No need to panic!!

Monday was a rest day for me and ALL I could think about was running.  Rather unusual for me on a Monday.  I kept picturing where I went wrong Sunday (Hi Johnny!) on the Secret Trail/Sammy C intersection (to stay on the Sammy C after the Secret Trail and not go down the Duck Road - that sucked, lots of ducking!) and zigged when I should have zagged or zagged when I should have zigged and wanted to get it right.  Plus running over those domes was pretty cool.  

To quell my desire I spent lunch reading running blogs, the race recaps are so fun love reading about what happens in the front of the pack, and, took a peek on the narrative about the Ice Age 50 50K course.   Section 1:  13 miles out and back on what sounds like typical trails I run, roots and rocks, there will be several climbs (dare I say close to 100 ft), so not so much the climbs. Section 2: 18 miles consisting of two laps of the 9 mile Nordic Loop.  The 1/2 last year was two 6.5 mile loops of the Nordic Trail.  

I’m not that concerned about the Nordic Loop, not to say I’m all cocky oh I can do that in my sleep, it is that I THINK I know what to expect, long flats and a few climbs, over soft pine needles in new and old growth pine forest.  Nirvana? Eden?  Bliss?  

Blissful section of the Nordic Trail

I’ve been studying the 50M elevation profile to figure out which section is the 13 mile out and back section.  So glad this  torture, erm, fun, is first!!

Read it Right to Left AS9 is ~mile 43.3 on the 50M map  AS8 is about mile 47.6.
The last 2.4 is from AS8 to the finish.  Make sense?

The 13 mile out and back is described as:
“From AS 8 you begin your climb of Indian Signal Hill (Bald Bluff on the map) to the highest point on the course.   At the top, enjoy the view and the significance of this Native American spiritual site that (according to settler accounts in the mid-1800′s) attracted Native American peoples from as far away as Illinois and other Wisconsin areas. The very trails you run are the trails used by earlier peoples traveling to this site for centuries.

The terrain from AS 8 to AS 9 is constantly changing. Expect narrow, single track winding up and over hill after hill until you finally reach AS 9. There are some flats; but, they are few and far between. At AS 9, appreciate the hard work by Franny Keyes and other seasoned Ice Age veterans who man this critical aid station. This is your turnaround and you begin your trek back to the finish line at the Nordic Trail for a total of 13 miles.”

Sounds like Burlingame with Arcadia and Lantern Hill for the climbs?  Looking forward to Saturday Crutch!!  I promise not to whine too much!

I also gleened a little bit about the course from this blog:
http://therunfactory.com/2013/05/13/lux-aeterna-and-oreos-the-2013-ice-age-trail-50k-race-report/ 

 

50 M course (the upper out and back is the 50K out and back and then some)

 

50K course

 

Sincerely,

Beth, overthinking, not panicking, looking forward to the challenge!  :) 

Trail Cuteness!

Saturday 15.4 / 2.3  - Since this ultra is on a trail I need to get in trail miles. Well, yeah, duh, ultras are traditionally off road.   Burlingame is close, familiar, well marked, well traveled, and very pretty.

Anyhoodles, 16 was on the schedule and Burlingame is 8 mile loop, ok 7ish mile loop if you don't start at the line at the top of the road, which I didn't.  I stopped the spacewatch at 15.4 miles.  I contemplated running around the parking lot to get to an even 16 . Yeah, that didn't happen, I was ready to be done.  Even after wandering around for a bit I couldn't summon up the ambition or desire to do 5 laps of the parking lot (a lap is about 0.1 miles).  

Dave had already biked, he was up and out the door by 6:45 a.m. ugh...  I figured 9 a.m. would be more reasonable, especially after a bottle of wine and too much Chinese food at Dave's cousins house on Friday night.  I seriously have a problem with overindulgence.  Guess I can be glad I haven't put on 12 lbs in 5 weeks (ha ha ha)??   Dave passed me on his way home (my way out to the trail) and called to wish me luck and let me know there were two spots a little slippery in the north part of Burlingame.  Oh ok...  I was a little nervous about this,  why?  Oh, who knows why I get nervous, it is a silly waste of time, yet, still I do.  And wait, when did this good luck thing start... *scratches head*

Lap 1 was nice, a few bikers out there, one other runner, it was a little chilly at first but I warmed up quickly and settled in to a rhythm.  I do like the hydration backpack there is storage and the sloshing noise is comforting, well, when it doesn't spook me.   I'm a screamer, more of a yelper, when I'm startled.  And yes, on occasion the sloshing would startle me.  Don't ask, I've lived in this mind for 46 years and it still confuses me!  Friday night, I was telling my BIL and a cousin-in-law about the night run of the Bourbon Chase and how people would 'sneak up on me' say hi and I would scream.  I was off in my own little world and easily startled.  So yeah, approach with caution I may be off somewhere else.  I do this at work to, as Mike couldn't find the time in 3 weeks off to update his blog B could attest to.  Anyhoodles, off course, again, this trail is very runable with rooty and rocky sections I partly run and partly walk.  By May, hopefully before, I expect I will be able to run nearly the whole trail.   The Ice Age 50K trail has limited rock gardens and roots, there are however, relentless hills.  I will attack the hill part on my Wednesday runs, there are good hills around campus that will work well for that part of training.  

Trail Cuteness! There was a stocking on the other side.  Very sweet.

Lap 2 felt more difficult in parts.  By the end I felt pretty exhausted.  Eventually I'll wear the heart rate monitor and get some sort of effort reading/suffer score.  I saw a couple of the same bikers, one stopped and chatted for a minute.  I step off the trail so they can get by, that is how it works, right?  Always say Hi, have a great ride or something pleasant.  He knows several of the guys Dave knows, that was interesting.  I tried to remember something distinctive because dollars to donuts Dave was going to try and figure out who the person was.  I was thankful for the distraction and trying to think of the 20 questions Dave would ask about who I saw and knowing I didn't pay attention to the right details.  HA!

My goal was to keep my pacing between 12 and 15, and end up in the 13s  13:07 was my over all.  I'm honestly pleased with my results.   At the moment I can't imagine running 4 laps, equivalent to 50K,  I do have 19 weeks to get to that point!!  

I did move pretty slow and carefully the rest of the day, that was the most miles I've run (or is it ran) at one time since October.  I hadn't realized there had been no long runs in the last 8 weeks, huh...  A couple mile dog walk after dinner was welcome to soothe some of the aches! 

Sunday - 6 up and out before the weather turned ugly.  Dave and I have been in discussions about does it feel colder when it is dry or when it is damp. I'm still on the fence on this. What do you think?  This a.m. was low 40s and damp and it felt colder to me than if it was low 40's and dry.  I think.  I nearly turned around and put on a hat and gloves.   That may have just been an excuse to delay the inevitable first mile working out the kinks. 

Debated on the North End or not and decided to start out on one of the routes I used to walk Diesel, the first 1.5 miles.  As the steps clicked away everything felt better and better, although gloves would have been welcome.  My hands still don't feel warm.

To get to 6 a lap around the track was necessary, flat and welcome before descending towards home.  

Sincerely,
Beth, on the way to 50K, one step, one run at a time.