Voyageur Review

To be perfectly honest, as I sit here right now, I could probably sum up the Voyageur in one word; Ouch! But as you'd expect from a 50 mile race, there are many things that occur and many things that one has to go through from start to finish.

I started out my morning with a 4am wakeup.  A little bit of coffee an english muffin, and three M&M's (one red, one orange, and one yellow) and I was ready to go.

The forecast called for temps in the 80's and a 50% chance of rain in the afternoon.  When I got to Carlton at 6am it was obvious that it was going to be a very warm day and eventually the forecast proved to be right.

We got going at 7am and as I did last year, I hung towards the middle of the pack, keeping things slow and easy for the first 3.5 miles.  This first section of the race is mostly single track trail, filled with roots and rocks, it's great fun to run on this challenging terrain when you're fresh.  Not so much after you've already ran 47 miles however, as happens upon your return back to Carlton.

After crossing the swinging bridge, it's there that I often feel like the race actually starts.  We swing onto some open ski trail in Jay Cooke.  It's a chance to run a bit quicker if you like, and to chat with runners.  I ran with fellow DRC Team Member, Ron Hendrickson through a good chunk of Jay Cooke.

For me, the first 10 miles or so went by very smoothly and I was feeling great.  Then, the power lines.  It's in the infamous power line section that the first introduction of hurt begins in the Voyageur.  Many of these steep hills are simply un-runnable, you work your way up and gently tread your way down them, over and over again, all while being exposed to the sun and heat of the day.  I got behind a couple of guys who were probably going a bit slower than I wanted to at the time, but I decided to hang back with them and move ahead a little later.

I got through the power line section rather easily and moved on down the trail, still full of running and feeling very good.  For most of the rest of the first half of the race, I was feeling great.  I was passing runners and moving smoothly.  I began to imagine who I would catch, could I move in to the top 10?  Either way, I just wanted to stay consistent and prepare myself for the voyage back.

Running the long downhill into the zoo, I started to see some of the lead runners making their way back. Another fellow DRC Team Member, Chris Rubesch was looking solid in 5th place at the time, we wished each other luck and continued on our respective ways.  (Chris would end up running a great race and finishing 4th)

I got to the Zoo in 4 hours 3 minutes, which was a bit slower than I had hoped, but not too bad.  It was great to see everyone there, helping out and chatting.  Kandi, Paul, Shane and Dave were awesome and really lifted my spirits.  It was tempting just to stay there and hang with them for the rest of the day!

However, I still had the second half of the race to go, so I started the long climb out of the zoo and over Spirit Mountain.  It was there that I started having trouble.  It was very, very hot down by the zoo and my stomach started cramping.  I was experiencing some difficulty and decided to take things easy for a while and hopefully I could get through this bad patch and start moving better again soon.

There comes a time in every 50 mile race when things are not going well and having the experience of being through that before comes in very handy.  Also, having run the same race last year was of great help to me because I knew what to expect and what parts of the course would be more runnable than others given my state of discomfort.

So I was able to locate some strength and locate some motivation and once the long climb was over I was able to start pushing again.  I had been passed by quite a few people between the aid station and my slow climb but I knew that there was a very good chance that I'd see some of them again as the second half of the race is a totally different thing than the first half of the race.

Things started improving as I made my way out of Magney and down Skyline.  I got to the Becks Road aid station and I was starting to feel better.  It was obvious to me that I'd worked through the bad patch and I was able to start moving more fluidly again.

Moving through the rest of the course on the way back was still a lot of work.  As you'd expect, my legs were heavy and sore, my stomach was still not 100% but it was getting better.  It's in these times of the race that you simply move forward, running when you can and walking when you need to.  And when I say "running", it's really more like a shuffle, nowhere near the kind of running that one does for the first part.

Often, for the trip back, you're running by yourself and things can get lonely but as you come into an aid station, you hear human voices and your spirit magically lifts!  This happened to me at the Peterson's aid station.  I had just turned a corner and slowed to a walk, my head was down and I was hurting.  Then the aid station volunteers spotted me through the trees and started cheering!  Instantly a smile came to my face and I was running again and there, at the aid station, I discovered a magical food; salty bananas!

I can only describe salty bananas by saying they taste just as bad as you'd expect!  I watched as another runner took a bit of banana and rolled it in a bowl of salt.  "Brilliant!" I though to myself and since she was doing that, and was ahead of me, I figured I'd try it too.  Plus with the intense heat, I had been loosing a lot of salt and my stomach couldn't really handle my Heed/Whey drink I had left in my drop bags, so I was only taking water at the aid stations.

I rolled a chunk of banana in the bowl of salt and took a tentative bite.  Yuck!  It tasted exactly like salt on a banana, which is not a tasty combination.  But it worked!  I started running again out of the aid station and though my stomach complained a bit later, my energy level returned and I was able to run much quicker and more consistent.

Two more aid stations came before the end and I went with the salty bananas the rest of the way.  I was certainly dead tired and ready to be done, but I knew that I'd finish fine and knowing that really improved my mood.

It was great to see familiar faces, friends of mine at the last aid station at Jay Cooke.  Lisa, and Ron (who unfortunately had to drop out) and Shane really brightened my spirits and helped make the last 3 miles along the river more tolerable.

I moved along through the roots and rocks as best I could, walking through some of the more rocky sections and some of the ups but mostly just trying to get the damn thing over with!  After what seemed like a long 3 miles, I came to the Munger Trail.  I was nearly home!

It's such a relief coming back to the Munger and making that turn into town toward the school.  It's funny how you can be so incredibly tire and still locate some strength to run hard, to finish strong.

So it was another successful Voyageur for me.  I ran a little slower this year than last year, but I feel like I ran better.  I certainly ran tougher and smarter.  It helped having some inspiration from so many volunteers and friends that came to watch and those who were in my heart and mind.  Thank you all!

*(Photos courtesy of Paul Behrens)

Shoes!

No, I don't have a problem, I'm totally in control of my shoe buying.  I can quit anytime I want.  It's just that I don't WANT to quit right now.  Shoes are simply too fun!

From racing flats to trail shoes, from road trainers to minimalist shoes, I've had them all over the years.  Every catagory, nearly every brand, in an entire spectrum of colors.  My all time favorite being these beauties:

Mizuno Phantom

The Mizuno Phantom.  The best shoe ever made!  I bought a pair of these in 1999 and my feet partied in them for quite some time.  I still have the same pair, boxed up in my closet.  I break them out on occasion, when I'm feeling nostalgic.

Among the others shoes that are sharing closet space with my beloved Phantoms and those that I'm running in today, are these:

My Arsenal

Shoes, I've convinced myself, are not an indulgence.  They are a necessity for enhancing the running experience.  They aid in your swiftness your agility.  They offer protection and speed.  And dammit, they're really cool!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

So I've recently been yelled at for not posting enough on this thing.  I've no idea why they'd want to read the drivel I produce, glutton for punishment apparently.  But, since I've been in a letter writing mood tonight, I may as well put a few words down here, too.

So one thing I wanted to post about last time, but I forgot to, was the most important details of our trip to the William O'Brien race a couple of weeks ago.  Forget about mile splits, finishing time and all the rest, the data that, to me, sums up the day is the caloric intake that occurred at Hardee's roughly an hour after the race.

I'm not sure what possessed us to stop at Hardee's, maybe it was Dave's constant whining about how hungry he was, maybe it was a force of habit for Erik to stop at any random fast food joint (he is only 23, after all!).  I can't be sure, but I think I may have protested quite a bit, suggesting perhaps a much classier and healthier eating establishment.  I don't know, that's how I remember it, but of course my memory can be a little fuzzy (I am 40, after all!)

Either way, we walked into the place, ready to take on the best or worst that Hardee's could dish out.  I remember feeling a little like Clint Eastwood, weary but prepared to fight.  And fight we did, as all three of us ordered the 2/3 lb. Monster Thick Burger.  It looks like this ->
only not as appetizing.

The thing pretty much has an entire farm in between two buns with a half gallon of mayo slopped in there.  And I start to question my sanity when I go on 28 mile training runs?  Trying to eat this thing was as difficult as Dante had in reaching the sixth circle of hell!

Add to this cardiac arrest inducing behemoth a medium fries and a diet Coke (because I want to stay healthy!) and you get, according to the Hardee's website: A total of 1750 calories, 1030 of those coming from fat, 40 grams of that fat the saturated kind, 215 grams of cholesterol, 4000 mg of sodium, oh and 70 grams of protein.

Having recently gotten a CPR/AED certification, I was starting to get a little nervous.  I know I could get Erik or Dave out of trouble, but could those goof balls save me?  Would I have to perform CPR on myself?  We didn't go over self-CPR in class!  Can it even be done?  My god, would I die of a heart attack in a frickin' Hardee's along the damn interstate!?  Oh why didn't I order the Gluten-Sensitive Side Salad and a water?  Water is good, and I guess it's okay to avoid Gluten every now and then, right.  I've heard some horror stories about that nasty Gluten!

So I'm pretty convinced now that as soon as our state government gets back up and running (any day now, really) we should petition them to make it a law to have an AED in every Hardee's.  It's a public health issue!

Well, fortunately for me, I couldn't stomach the entire burger.  I left about 3 bites left and a few fries.  I just couldn't take it any longer, so I waved the white flag.  You won this round Hardee's but I'll be back. I'll be back with a steely eyed look and say to you, "Go ahead, make my day".

First race in a long time

What a great weekend I had.  The weather was great, and I was fortunate enough to spend time with some great people.

On Sunday, I headed to Marine on St. Croix, MN for a 10 mile trail race at William O'Brien State Park.  Schuney and Erik came with, so Duluth had a nice contingent in the roughly 150 person race field.

I was pretty anxious to race after watching the Grandma's races over the weekend, and not having raced since February at Snowshoe Nationals.  I had been looking for a race with a bit of distance, preferably a half marathon, just to test my fitness a bit.  I found this race off the Northland Runner site and decided it'd be a good enough test as sometimes 10 miles on the trail is worth 13 on the road in terms of effort.  I'd say this one was pretty close.

The race was deceptive in its toughness.  The trails themselves were easy.  Virtually no single track to speak of, and very little dirt in general.  Some of the trails were crushed rock, but the vast majority of the race was held on grassy ski trails, about 20 feet wide.  The relatively long grass was difficult to run through and did tire my legs a bit, but overall that wasn't the main difficulty.  The biggest reason for the tough race was the hills.  The constant hills.  There was a steady climb at the start, followed by a series of constant ups and downs, not unlike Lester Park here in Duluth.

I traditionally like to start out slow for races, but this time I went out a bit quicker than I would've liked.  However, that "quicker" would soon be reduced to a "less quicker" as we began to climb for 3 miles or so.  At that point in the race I knew that it would be a grinder for the next 7.   I ran about 15 seconds back of Schuney for a good majority of the race, but mostly it was a solo run, almost more like a workout.  That was a bit frustrating to not see anybody to try to chase down.

I ended up finishing 8th overall, Schuney was 7th and Erik was 5th.  The crazy thing is that though I finished 8th overall, I finished 3rd in my age group!  There are some truly impressive old guys out there!

So I'm pleased with the race.  I ran as well as I could have and it was nice to get on some new trails and see some new sites.

It was a very good weekend, indeed.

William O'Brien 10 mile race by tsrun26 at Garmin Connect - Details

William O'Brien 10 mile race by tsrun26 at Garmin Connect - Details

Feels like Summer

One of my favorite things to do is to hang around outside on a Summer evening.  I have vivid memories from my youth of playing baseball until the sun went down.  Until it became so difficult to see the ball that you actually got scared a line drive would knock your teeth out, simply because you wouldn't be able to see it coming.  I remember that after the sun went down the lightning bugs would come out and my brother and I would go to the garage and get the wiffle ball bats.  It was time for lightning bug baseball!  We would walk around the yard, bat in hand, and wait.  Wait for that instant, yellow glow to appear and then...THWAK!  With one targeted swing, we'd send a mini yellow meteor flying through the air.  It was great fun.  Maybe a bit cruel, I admit, but great fun none the less.

And now here I sit, on a summer evening, on my front porch.  The sun is going down, kids are out playing and I'm reminiscing about those great summer nights.  And it's so nice that it finally feels like a summer night.  We've had to endure such a difficult Spring, with cold temps and wind and rain.  The one good thing about all of that is that it makes you appreciate these golden, sunshine days.  And they always come, the days of sun.  It's up to us to make the most of them.

BONK!

Two weeks ago I ran 28 at Lester.  Things went well with that run, as well as 28 miles can go.  But afterwards, I got pretty sick.  I lost a full week of training to a nasty virus that kept me from running, and kept me out of work for a bit.  I think that 28 probably depleted my immune system a bit and the virus had free reign to move in and put up a couple of hotels.  The rent was high.

So finally, earlier this week, I started feeling better and was anxious to get back into running again.  So what did I do today?  Another 28 in Lester.  What the hell is wrong with me?  Shouldn't I be getting wiser with my rapidly advancing age?  More and more stubborn seems to be the case.

So today's run started out okay.  I knew I didn't have the bounce in my legs that I like to feel, so I tried to keep it casual for the first lap or two, but on the second loop, I kinda had a feeling that it was going to be a rough day.  Schuney joined my for my third loop and that lifted my spirits again and we ran a bit quicker than what I'd previously been running.

Then Schuney had to go and I was staring into the face of two more loops.  Solo.  This was not going to be pretty.  Today's fourth loop felt like last time's fifth loop and I knew that was a bad omen.  I was able to gut that one out without too much trouble.  The ultimate loop saw my demise.  Within a mile I was reduced to a walk, followed by a shuffle, followed by a walk.  I would repeat this slow dance for the next 4 miles until the last, downhill mile when I had finally had enough suffering and just had to get home.

I had mostly suffered from glycogen depletion, I think.  I probably didn't eat enough the night before the run and I think that effected me.  Plus, I think not having ran very much for the past week and my illness caused me to lose some fitness, certainly some strength.

So lesson learned.  And anyway, it's just a training run.  Bonking isn't a helluva lot of fun but it's better to do it in a training run than it is in a race.  So tonight it's ice cream and compression socks!  That'll fix whatever ails ya!  But man, I could sure use a massage, and a Cadbury Creme Egg.