JFK 50 Week 18 of 18

DINNER

The dinner was wonderful. I made it all the way to the hotel (490 miles) only to get turned around and semi lost the last 2 miles. On the way I drove through a horrible snowstorm, slippery, wet snow and I started to do some mental meteorology scenarios and figured the worse case scenario was snow on the AT, and as slow as I am it would translate to slippery and muddy. It turned out not to be the case as I drove the rest of the way in some sunshine and a few clouds. But it was a lot colder than I have been used to. I got to packet pick up, went back to the hotel to change, and I saw Mike and his family on the way to a store and then to dinner. I knocked on Chris' door- but no answer. While I was down in the lobby getting ready to leave him a note he came in and we ended up going to the dinner together. It was the best ever to meet everyone! It's hard to put it all in words, but there really can be so much caring and joy about people you have a connection with but haven't ever met in person. It just proves our physical beings don't define who we are but our spirits and personalities will and that's how we have built on these friendships to create a family, a caring community that extends across state lines and time zones. It was more like a reunion than a first meeting. Food was good. Rick gave me a beautiful picture frame which I will use to put out picture in. For most of us it was our first 50-miler so we asked Dave and Brian a lot of questions. I was back at the hotel before 9 and puttered around and slept not-so-great.

RACE MORNING: My start and DNF : (

I know Rick loves to eat big before an ultra so he had already scoped out a breakfast place, a 24-hour Denny's where we were to meet at 5 am. I had my coffee and some pancakes and bacon with Mike, Rick, Chris, Jerry and Wanda. I might add at this point that Jerry looked dressed to run. In a way I was soooooo hoping he was going to try, and in another way not. Rick left to go back and change and we went on to the start. It was a 15 minute drive and pretty neat to see the line of cars in front of us and back of us. We got to the school and had to park waaaay out in a playground area. In the gym I found Angus just as he was taking down his Traildawgs flag. He's just as upbeat and enthusiastic as I expected him to be. He introduced me to several people whose names I will never remember. I hope they all had good days. Angus had a stellar race. Dave, too. We all walked to the start, a reported 900 yards, but I'll bet the farm it was significantly longer. I started out very slow as I only wanted to get onto the trail portion without my calf hurting too badly. Tom caught up with me and told me he saw Lynda and Dave. I had seen Dave and he took my picture.

I felt certain that once I was on a softer surface I had a shot at a finish. My nerves really messed with my breathing and heart rate, so I slowed a bit more and Tom took off on his own. Soon I was at the big hill onto the trail and my calf started to bother me. Ugh. I could hear the sweep vehicle behind me. But I got on the trail, and immediately felt better. It was more of a dirt utility road, easy to run. It wasn't long before I was at the first aid station, but I was 10 minutes slower than I wanted to be. Here we start on what I referred to an an asphalt mountain. It was a long long hill and before long every step hurt. It was so discouraging, only me and some guy in front who kept doubling back to shout out stupid questions. I kid you not. He finally turned around and went back to the aid station. I later learned that they pulled him out there. Apparently he was convinced he went the wrong way. Not soon enough I was back on the trail which at this point is rockier with some runnable areas. I did the best I could, but ran out of time and got pulled from the race by the official at the 9.3 aid station/checkpoint. They were so nice, told me to be sure to come back next year and made sure I had a ride to the next checkpoint to meet up with Jerry and Wanda and Dave and Lynda. I made the 'walk of shame' to the sag wagon with my head up high. I tried. The ends of my hair had ice on them. Frost on my fleece collar. Fleece is awesome, wet and frozen, I was still warm. So one good thing was that I had dressed correctly. Too bad it didn't matter for more than a few hours. I still have time to work on my hardcore-in-pink persona.

CREW REPORT:

I got to the Weverton area, which ends the AT portion. It was an electric and exciting atmosphere. I saw Jerry and Wanda and hated to tell them I was out, and they offered to bring me anywhere I wanted to go. I had an old (thin) pair of workout pants and a hoodie at the start in my car, so after we saw everyone go by we made a quick detour to my car. At Weverton we saw Mike, who told me how hard the second section of the AT was. We saw Chris and then Rick and Tom. Then off to my car and onto mile 27.

At the next point we were on the Towpath. We missed Mike but saw Chris, Tom and Rick. Again the atmosphere was so exciting, so many out there supporting their families and running clubs helping their members. Each time we would see Dave and Lynda, too. We also saw the same runners over and over. It was really heartwarming and helped take the sting out of my day. Jerry and Wanda are a true match made in Heaven. She was the navigator and got us to where we needed to be. At each checkpoint we waited and saw that Tom, Chris and Rick were okay and had what they needed. Chris looked good every time we saw him. As it got later and longer Rick looked like he was in pain from a recent hip injury. That was at the Aqueduct I think, but the next time we saw him he looked better and stronger. Tom was the epitome of steady pacing. Seeing him and Jerry at each checkpoint made me teary eyed. They are true brothers in spirit. Dave took good care of Lynda and went on to the finish while we went to the last checkpoint at mile 46. It was dark- cold- and we were so happy to see Rick and then Tom knowing the next time would be at the finish line. The drive to the finish with the line of reflective vests on the side of the road was humbling. I will never forget what that looked like.

The finish line was our last stop. I saw the guy from Frankfort, KY finish. He spotted me on the Towpath, so I was delighted that he finished.
We saw Rick first, and then Tom. When Tom pulled out the letter from Scott I almost cried. He took Scott with him...a symbolic act that no matter what we never leave our children.

I had dinner with Jerry and Wanda and slept okay.

The crewing experience was awesome. I got to take part in something much bigger than my DNF. Although now I'm left with the memory of the poor performance, having had a part in everyone else's race day was worth it.

I love you guys, too.

JFK 50 Week 17 of 18

Still having some calf issues. I've decided rest is best.

11 miles total for the week ending Sunday November 16, 2008.

JFK 50 Week 16 of 18

For the week ending Sunday, November 9, 2008

I have 22 miles for the week. 12 Saturday and 10 Sunday. Both were jog/walk, with Sunday's being more of a jog/hike. My calf is still bothering me, but it bothered me a lot less on Sunday on the trail and CC sections. It's safe to say I'm freaking out a little.

So the taper begins. I feel like I've been in taper mode for a month already with the lower mileage.

JFK 50 Week 15 of 18

Not the big bang mileage week I hoped for, but my calf is feeling a lot better and I will settle for a 2-week taper and slightly shorter last long run this weekend. Yesterday and last night my calf was quite sore, but today it's a lot better.
Thank you Biofreeze and Motrin.

Total for the week is 23 miles.
Monday- off
Tuesday- 6
Wednesday- 2 and I hurt my right calf.
Thursday- off
Friday- off
Saturday- off but was on my feet literally all day at the MOC CC meet from 9-4:30 so I'm sure it helped my endurance some...
Sunday- 15 I had 12 on the trails and 3 on pavement. The pavement was a big a$$ mistake. As soon as I started I felt tight- it may have been the pavement but was more likely caused by the 10 minute drive when my muscles had a chance to lock up.

I have learned a lot, I think.

RR:

I can go a lot longer and more often than I thought I could.
Slower sometimes is better.
I am pretty happy with whatever is at the aid stations and always find something I can eat/drink.
Hand held bottles are the bomb once you get used to them.
On a trail you can wear black socks and look cool not dorky.
No matter how much time I put into trail running I'm still going to fall.
But I'd still rather be on a trail than anywhere else.
I'm definitely going to do another one.

NRR:

I said 'no' to some long-held jobs at church and it was fine.
Nothing usually happens after 9 pm (my bedtime, lately) that can't wait until I get up in the morning.
I'm only working 2 CC meets this season and I didn't miss a thing. I am a T&F geek at heart, I guess.

JFK 50 Week 14 of 18

Recovery after the 50K was a slow recovery. The race took a lot more out of me than I expected. Saturday was an USRD due to a brief stomach virus that has been going around here. Sunday I managed 10 very slow miles.

I stayed off the trails all week. No sense taking a chance on falling again.

For the week ending on October 26, 2008

Monday- off
Tuesday- 1 mile
Wednesday- 4 miles
Thursday- 6 miles
Friday- off
Saturday- off sick
Sunday- 10 miles

21 total miles, all in the paved park- all pretty slow and easy.

Souvenir from the Stone Steps

 

It looks a lot worse than it feels!

Stone Steps 50K Trail Race

Stone Steps 50K, Mt Airy Forest
October 19, Cincinnati, OH
37*, sunny

I finished in 8:48. It was the longest trail run I have ever done. Definitely not a blazing fast time as I went into it as a training run
for JFK. The course is rocky with a lot of hills. A lot more than I remember from running there Labor Day weekend. I never did see the "Stone Steps" when I was there to check out the course. But on race day... they were impressive in a quad-killer-climb sort of way.


For a week or so I have been having some right hamstring pain, but shortly after the first mile I fell pretty hard and the bruise on my
left knee made me forget all about my hammie.


There are 2 loops for the course- the first 5+ miles followed by a 3+ miler. We ran the long loop 4 times and the short loop 3 times,
starting with the long loop. The covered shelter was the aid station and a great place to keep your stuff since we passed through it after
every loop completed. I was able to adjust clothing needs throughout the day as it was 37* at the start and 60's when I finished.

Although I have run out there a couple of times the only part I recognized was some of the short loop. It was a lot more technical
than I remember- lots and lots of imbeded rock and tons of foot tripping roots. On the long loop I fell 3 times between miles 1 and 2
during the first 3 times I ran it. The trail is very narrow and goes over a ridge with the left side (downhill side) banked by tons of
jutting rocks. I have always had to be mindful of my left foot because it seems to be the foot that trips me me up, so this
particular stretch was hard for me. My most spectacular fall was on the short loop going downhill about halfway through the race. I have
a huge bruise on my left thigh and shoulder from the fall and roll.

I'm pretty sure I was DFL. Full results are not up, but they had 68 starters. When I was getting ready to do my last long loop I had 30 minutes to finish within the official time. I need to bust out five 6-minute miles or finish on my own. I finished just ahead of the race people taking down ribbons and flags and got a nice email from the RD telling me he heard I finished strong and would include me in the results. He was a great RD, he puts on a good event.

Ironically my last long loop was my fastest by a minute and the only time I didn't fall.

All in all I'm happy with the day- I got in 31 miles on a tough course. My hamstring held up and actually feels better today than it has in a week. Today I'm sore, but not as sore as covering the 24+ miles at the MT a couple of weeks ago. I think I'd like to do this race again next year. (I can drive up and train on some of those hills- sort of a 'home court advantage'.)

JFK 50 Week 13 of 18

For the week ending October 19, 2008

40 miles total for the week- not so bad considering my hamstring pain and mini taper for the 50K race on Sunday.

M-off
Tue- 5
Wed-off
Thur-off
Fri-4
Sat-off
Sun- 31 --- 50K trail race.

3 big weekends left in my training cycle.

JFK 50 Week 12 of 18

For the week ending October 12, 2008

Monday- 2, recovering from the MT. Some blisters and calf soreness.
Tuesday- 3, still sore from MT.
Wednesday- 0 as life was too busy
Thursday- 9 quite slow- some trail but mostly utility road
Friday- 0 the idea was to rest for b2b weekend runs
Saturday- 21- wanted 24, but I ran (literally) out of time.
Sunday- 1 mile as I was hurting

36 for the week. 9 on trails.


I had a lot of pain behind my right knee all day Sunday. I iced and rested, so it ended up as a much lower mileage week than I wanted.

JFK 50 Week 11 of 18

Mileage for the week ending October 5

Monday- off
Tuesday- 5
Wednesday- 4
Thursday- 4.5
Friday- off to travel
Saturday- 24.5 hike
Sunday- off travel

38 miles. 27 on trails.

Saturday I was on the starting line of my 3rd Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect, a brutal 25.5 mile trail challenge which takes runners up the mountain 4 times. Elevation gains are 5676 feet and loss. I missed the last checkpoint by 3 minutes.

(Next year the mountain is mine.)

JFK 50 Week 10 of 18

 

For the week ending September 28, 2008

Monday- off
Tuesday- off unexpectedly
Wednesday- 5 trails in my new shoes
Thursday- 10 paved park
Friday- 6 with some hill repeats thrown in for fun!
Saturday- 8 at the track
Sunday- off- didn't feel well

Yikes! Only 29 miles...

The photograph is from the Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect in 2007.

Tough week to look back on, but I'm looking at it as only one bad week out of 18. I have the Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect to look forward to on October 4th. I'm going to bring my camera along and try and get some pictures along the whole course.

JFK 50 Week 9 of 18

My week ending Sunday, September 21

Monday- 4 miles
Tuesday- 5 miles
Wednesday- 12 miles trail.
Thursday- 9 miles
Friday- off
Saturday- 21 plus 2.5 walk
Sunday- 12 miles trail

63 miles total. My highest mileage week ever.

JFK 50 Week 8 of 18

 

Week Ending Sunday, September 14:

Monday- 4.5 Usually a SRD but my afternoon cleared so I went for a short run
Tuesday-7
Wednesday- 10 Trails
Thursday- 7
Friday- off
Saturday- 20
Sunday- off-weather

48.5 total miles for the week. I would have been in the 60 mpw range if I ran yesterday, but there was too much wind, too much stuff blowing around.

Sometimes it seems like this training has been going on forever and sometimes it seems like November 22 is coming too soon.

The Megatransect (October 4) is 24.9 miles but with 4 killer climbs and 2 other significant uphill efforts plus 4 cruel downhills. I'd love to do it in 7.5 hours which will be the longest time I've been out there for this training cycle. With 5000 feet of elevation gain (and loss) it's a tough course. It's a long travel haul for me, so it won't be followed up by any significant mileage the next day.

I have a 50K on October 19 and I'm planning to attempt a 20-mile effort the next day. There is an 8-hour cut off time. It's in Cincinnati, a 90 minute drive so I'll go up the race day and drive home after.

The following week I plan to cut my mid week runs and maybe, maybe, think about a 10 hour run/walk 3 weeks out on November 2 or a 25/25 b2b weekend for the last big training week.

JFK 50 Week 7 of 18

For the week ending September 7, 2008


Monday- 9 miles on the trails in Cincinnati, hillier and a lot more technical than I'm used to.
Tuesday- 2 miles in my neighborhood, recovery, just to loosen up my legs.
Wednesday- 7 hot humid miles
Thursday- off
Friday- 5 on the trails
Saturday- 8.5 trails and 4.5 paved park
Sunday- 10 miles paved park

Total 46 miles.

22.5 trail miles and 23.5 asphalt miles.

Physically I feel pretty good.

My knees feel tight when I squat down. Not pain, just tight, like maybe I won't get all the way down. I have been (predictably) bad about strength training. I always start a weight lifting program with the best of intentions but never have stuck with it for more than a few weeks. I do think lifting will help me overall with recovery from all the miles, and it will certainly help with core strength (form) while I'm running.

Mentally, I'm drawing on my 35 miler finish in June I'm and looking forward to a much improved Megatransect this year.

Is it almost time to taper?

JFK 50 Week 6 of 18

 

For the week ending August 31, 2008

Monday- 8 trails
Tuesday- off
Wednesday- 5 paved park
Thursday- 9 trails
Friday- 5 trails
Saturday- 4 paved park and 14 trails
Sunday- no running, but lots of running around at the IM.

Total 45 miles. 9 pavement and 36 trail

The picture is from Mt Airy Forest in Cincinnati. It's a beautiful network of trails which are mostly packed dirt and roots with some areas of imbedded rock.

JFK 50 Week 5 of 18

For the week ending Sunday, August 24, 2008

Monday- off
Tuesday- 10 miles trails
Wednesday- 7 miles paved park, rolling hills
Thursday- 12 miles trails
Friday- off travel to Indy
Saturday- stairwells in hotel for 4 x 15 floors
Sunday- 5 miles paved park

Total 34 miles

JFK 50 Week 4 of 18

For the week ending Sunday, August 17, 2008.

A cut back week for me. I needed it more for "life happens" kind of stuff.

M- 3 track
T- off
W- 7 park
R- 5 trails
F- off
S- 15 trails
S- 5 park

Total 35 miles.

The trail run on Saturday was the best run all week. I did 3 loops which took longer by 1 minute on loop 2 and 3 minutes on loop 3 for a total of 3:14 with some walking. This trail is definitely not as technical or hilly as the AT. An adjacent football field had the youth football league championship games on Saturday so I could hear the announcers most of the time I was out there. Only 4 mountain bikers, 2 who I see most weekends. I got out there earlier, right at 9 am and it was cool with low humidity.

JFK 50 Week 3 of 18

For the week ending Sunday, August 10, 2008

My week felt like a cut back week, but after looking at my log it wasn't so bad after all. I ran Monday, unusual for me, but the weather was too nice to pass up. My b2b on Sat/ Sun never panned out as I had the babies a little longer than planned on Sunday and a boatload of teenagers in the house. I traded out a harder effort mid-week run for an easy 10 miler on Friday due to a scheduling conflict but came out with 38 miles, most of them on trails. Since I was so pressed for time of Sunday I went to the track because it's close to home and an easy running surface. Every other lap I ran the straights hard and jogged the turns to mix up the pace a little.

Monday: 4 trails
Tuesday: 7 trails
Wednesday: off
Thursday: off (USRD)
Friday: 10 park (paved)
Saturday: 12 trails
Sunday: 5 track

Total- 38 miles

No weight lifting- see how quickly I can fall off on that? I wish I liked it more as I know there are so many benefits.

After 3 weeks I'm tweaking the plan a little. I'm going to add some recovery miles on Mondays after the weekend b2b runs. Maybe this will offset some of the stiffness for my Tuesday trail runs. Next week I'll post some pictures of the trails and park.

School starts here next Wednesday and that may bring on some creative scheduling for the afternoon runs. (Somehow I don't think she'll appreciate me running to the car pool lane and making her run home with me.)

JFK 50 Week 2 of 18

This week went a little better than last week. I sure miss my early morning runs in this heat. So far my mileage remains low enough that I'm only training with water and salt pills. My back to backs are going well right now, but the mileage is still pretty low.

For the week ending August 3:

Monday - off running but I did do some weight lifting
Tuesday - 6 miles trails
Wednesday - 9 miles
Thursday - 6 miles trails
Friday - off
Saturday - 12 miles
Sunday - 8 miles trails

Total - 41 miles


Yesterday I took a good look at cut off times and aid stations on the course. I feel confident if I can make the 34 mile checkpoint I'll be fine even if I'm using all of the allotted time. There is one stretch that has me a little concerned, but it's still early in my training. By the end of August I'm hoping to put together some times runs and start to think about race day strategy.

JFK 50 Training Starts!

This is the year I turned 50, so I entered the JFK 50 Miler to celebrate. I'm bib # 141.

I've settled on a program with increasing back to back weekend long runs and a mid-week run between 9 and 13 miles. My runs are divided between trails (pictured above)and the paved county park with occasional long track runs to prepare for the monotony of the C & O Canal Towpath portion of the course. I have 2 races leading up to JFK, the Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect and the Stone Steps 50K.


Week 1 of 18 is finished. No split times yet: I'm getting in the miles and will track splits beginning in September.

For the week ending July 27:

Monday- rest
Tuesday- 5 miles on the trails
Wednesday- 9 miles on the trails
Thursday- 6 miles in the park
Friday- rest
Saturday- 12 miles on the HS track
Sunday- 8 miles in the park

Total- 40 miles
Add 2 weight workouts on Tuesday and Thursday.

Pikes Peak Ascent August 2007

The start at Pike Peak Ascent. It was a beautiful, sunny and cool morning. We double checked our gear and waited for the GO!


The view from the top of the W's. This series of switchbacks was a lot harder than we thought it would be. Our legs felt strong but every breath was getting harder as we climbed.


Great trail surface, even as we approached higher altitude.

We would catch glimpses of the summit in the distance.