Famous last words, right?
It all started with a trail 25k last September. The Epic Ultras Flat Rock event in
Independence, Kansas was a truly ‘Epic’ day.
I had a blast killing my quads on the rocks and trails. I met another runner as she was falling down
a hill and we ended up running the last half together and it all made for a
great day. My trouble started the next
week when the promised “heads up” email and early registration for the 2013
event came out. Then the messages
started…if you sign up for the 50k, I will…I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a
challenge and promptly signed up for the 50k.
Fast forward to early 2013 and I’m starting to think about my
upcoming races and looking into good training events for Justin as he was preparing
for his first 100 mile race. I found a
little jewel in Iowa called the Hawkeye 50k and I was in luck because there was
a 25k option too. Perfect, Justin could
run the 50k and I’d run the 25K. The
course also looked to be really good for me for easing into more trail running,
part was on the road, part on crushed gravel trail and then the last third was
hardcore trail. Then comes the ‘sucker’
part again as Justin calls me to say he’s signing up for the 50k and asked if I
was doing the 50k too. I said, “No, I’m
running the 25k”. And he says again, “The
50k right?”…finally I relented; I’ve run a couple marathons and thought really,
what’s five more miles??
Training leading up to the event went well. I had a good 16 mile run in very cold, windy
weather and then two 20 mile runs in decent weather (a little snow, a little
wind) and felt ready for the race. Then,
the week before the race the freak of winter storm comes through and dumps snow
across Kansas and Iowa. I admit, that
got me a little nervous, but I was hoping for it to melt off and be gone come
race day.
We drove in to North Liberty, Iowa late the Friday night
before the event. We even made a drive
out to the MacBride Nature/Recreation Area to make sure we knew where to go
Saturday morning. Next thing we know,
it’s race morning and it’s only 12 degrees out!
Cold and snowy weather, what a great race day combination. After the typical pre-race milling around, we
were off and into the snow! No chance to
keep the feet dry for even a little while because the race starts off in about
a 1 mile trail section before getting to the road. Once the road got us to Solon, the course
headed out on a crushed gravel (or on this day, I’ll say ‘ice’) trail. All was going well until I misjudged a
section as far as the gravel coming all the way through the ice. One misstep and I was landing on my
backside. I gingerly got back up…sore
knee, sore ankle, sore toe, but I was walking and then running again. Not doing too bad either, maybe it was too
cold to feel anything, but I was moving and that’s what mattered. Through about the first 10 miles, the course
is relatively flat, then it switches over to cross county ski trail which was a
wide trail, but full of 6 inches of powdery snow. I had to slow down a bit at that point
because I was having a hard time making it up hill through the snow, but still
managed to make it around and to the last section which is single-track
trail. Once I was back almost to the
finish line, I had to stop at the vehicle to change out my hydration pack for a
hand-held bottle. Then, when I got to
the finish line, I stopped to change out my shoes and socks. At this point was the big decision because
through the single-track, I had spent a lot of time trying to decide if I was
going to make the second loop, it’s a daunting thought after trudging 5 -6
miles through deep snow. Finally, with
dry shoes laced up and a bottle full of Gatorade, I tossed the bag with my wet
shoes back by the wall and told myself to get moving. The second loop wasn’t any better than the
first, some of the ice was now mud, but the snow was still there and still took
some trudging to get through. The second
loop was pretty lonely, other than the two aid stations, I had exactly one
person pass me in the first 3rd of the course and I passed one
person on the last 3rd. The
single-track area was packed and slick which made navigating it a little
tougher. I even fell again there,
although the way my feet slowly slid out from under me and then I slid several
feet down the hill, I would be hard pressed to call that a ‘fall’. Finally, I could see the opening that leads
to the last 200 yards to the finish line…I was going to make it!
So, what did I learn on this first go at the 50k
distance? Busting your backside on ice at mile 6 of a 50k is not fun, a Camelback is just a cold, heavy weight on your back if you let the tubing freeze in 12 degree weather, running downhill in 6 inches of snow is fun, trying to run uphill in 6 inches of snow is not fun, and crossing the finish line in a 50k is priceless! 