Earth Day 50K 2018 Race Report

What: 50K trail race

Where: about an hour Northwest of Chicago in Crystal Lake, IL Veterans Acres Park

When: 4/21/2018

This race takes place each year at a local park in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago in Crystal Lake. It is put on by Ornery Mule Racing which also does the Frozen Gnome 50K winter ultra and the Hennepin 100-mile race among others. This is the 3^rd year I have run the Earth Day 50K. The first time it kicked my but. I do not have a race report to refer to but I recall my ITB pretty much exploded.   I finished around 6:35 walking it in. After that I was off basically off a couple months due to ITB followed by another injury. Last year was my second running. I reread my race report in preparation for this race. Last year I went out too hard. For some reason (I had run an easier 50K at 5:01 then 5:02 and so I wanted to break 5h. At 25K I was on pace for that pretty much, but then blew up. I got really nauseous and had to slow way down. That one was about 6:20h. It was a really poorly executed race. This year I was more realistic about my goal. I thought maybe around 5:30 and if things went well, but to really use effort and HR to reign it in.

The course is a 5 ish mile loop and for the 50K you do 6. There was a 25K and a 5 mile as well. The course is mostly winding single track through woods with a little more open running on gravel or grass. Lots of twists and turns and short ups and downs with the single track. It is not easy to get into a rhythm with that. Lots of roots. Since it had snowed a couple times this week, I was worried about mud.   There were a couple short sections with mud but nothing significant, nothing demoralizing like last years Kettle 100K. The course is really similar to my stomping ground, the forest preserves in Palos Hills. I think the course has a little more hills. There is nothing like extended climbing, you hike up a couple minutes then down, but you do it enough to wear you out a little, my watch says 3441 ft of ascent.

Training

I started back running in January and once I got my base up around 40 mpw I started Pfitz 12/55 Marathon Program planned to end on 50K race day. I had toyed with the idea of running a Marathon but just never got excited about it or found the right time. Then my schedule opened up for Kettle 100, and I was in for that (100K), I really don’t have time. One of my goals this year is less racing to allow more training and recovery. Last year leading up Earth Day 50K, I had done a 50K the month before and really not tapered for the Earth Day.   I was planning on doing it more as training for Kettle, but then changed my mind basically the night before. I am not sure I have enough self-control to do a race as training run. Anyway, I digress. I would say with Pfitz plan, I kept to the spirit, but some things I missed. He has some longer weekday runs, with time constraints I could not always get in. Instead I ended up spreading those miles over more days. I substituted a 25K trail race for his tune up races which are 10-15K (see my last RR here). After that my ITB really kicked up and so my training really was cut back. I didn’t get in all the LR with MP but I did get a few. I got only one 20 mile. Nothing longer. I didn’t do back to back LRs. I tried to get out on the trails a couple times per week during March and April. Jan-Feb was mostly treadmill or road. Although I was not doing very long runs, I was doing a lot faster LRs and cut downs. I still ran, but also did more walking on treadmill and incline walking. Actually, for this race, that was likely better anyway to get some hiking in. I like the Pfitz plan, I feel stronger this year than last. But when I got to the VO2Max workouts at the back end of the plan, my ITB started hurting. I like those type of workout, but in general if I am doing that at the end of a block when I am already beaten down, I think my injury risk is pretty high. Next block I am going to do Critical Velocity intervals (slower and longer) and maybe not so many. Also, I may do some incline treadmill intervals, because you can get your HR up there but with much lower impact because your pace is much lower. I dunno. I do not have enough time between now and Kettle for a training block, so I am not sure when the next will be. The only other thing with training is that about a week before the race it was pretty wet, I got a decent size blister on my heel. A couple days before the race I put a gel band aid and then duct tape over that and forgot about it.   I cannot recall getting blisters before in training, very unusual for me (races sure), so I am a little concerned going into the race with one. But it turns out to be a non-issue, in fact, when I got home and took of my shoe, I saw the duct tape and that is when I remembered about it. Duct tape is indispensable. I was well tapered as a result of injury and the blister.

The Main Event

The race is about 1 hour from where I live and starts at 8 am so pretty nice. I packed the day before. Since it is a loop course 5 mile, there’s no drop bags. I just put everything in a plastic bin and a soft cooler, really easy. I planned to use ensure and gel shots for nutrition. The race uses Tailwind which works for me. I threw a few other things in there like peanut m & ms, snickers, kit kat. Although it had snowed a couple times this week, it wasn’t much, and this weekend was supposed to be 40-50s cloudy but only 10% chance rain. (there was none). I would say for me this is perfect race weather. The warmer it is, the more my stomach acts up. I didn’t sleep well at all last night but I don’t care. The reason is someone told me awhile back, you may not sleep well the night before but if you sleep well the previous days and you are tapered you are good to go. I have found that to be true. Also, I had a beer with coffee for dinner and then watched Walking Dead up until bedtime. Neither is great for sound sleep.  I think I will sleep good tonight.

Loop 1: Mile 1-5+ (my miles, paces, except finish time are all off the top of my head, so if your that Ultramarathon Investigation Guy go F-yourself, I was not hiding in the porta potty -which I wont even go in even to take a crap it is so disturbing a place).  There is no hand cleaner, then you go to the aid station and stick your hand in a bowel of M and Ms.  Maybe that's why everyone vomits in ultras)

The crowd is pretty much usual trail running crowd, with some locals mixed in. Honestly, I feel like sometimes I am putting on a little costume to go out and play, with all the stuff you wear, tech shirts, jacket, hat, bandanna, gloves, crazy shoes (Altra TIMP), and a weird vest with soft bottles with long straws dangling around. You could run this one pretty well with just a handheld (or even nothing) as it is all 5-mile loop (and a couple spots they had water out), but I am not a fan of hand helds, I just like my hands free. (I should add last year I forgot my vest and did have to fashion handhelds with water bottles and duct tape, that worked fine).

All the race distances start at once. We all start up on a hill and go down around a pond on a bridge. Then it goes up a staircase and onto some single track. So right from the start there is a big log jam. I find this very frustrating because there is no way to get in stride and its really slow. I guess I should have lined up front more, but I am not a speedy guy so I feel like a douche doing that. Anyway, in the end it turned out fine because the actual pace for the first couple miles which were crowded was my average pace for the race, so infact, it’s likely helped keep me from going out too fast or at least gave me a little extra energy for the later part. I am all good with that. At longer races, like Tunnel, I lined up on purpose at the back for this reason, but that isn’t single track. During this loop I am mostly looking at people’s shoes, legs, and the ground. I notice my heart rate seems too fast like 80-83% max, so I guess I am excited. My breathing also seems higher than it should be for pace. I honestly think it takes me several miles sometimes 3-6 to really warm up because this eventually calms down. There is a guy in a Squirrel suit because the race has them as a sponsor. They gave out little cans of it there at the start. I will write a separate detailed review on that after I use it /s. By the middle of this loop, I feel like I have an idea about I realistic average pace. My A goal is finish under six hours. It seems like average pace 11 min/mi (5:30ish) should be doable. Of course, this gets revised as the race progresses. In the end its 11:30.

Loop 2: Mile 5-10

I get out of the aid station really fast, just needed water. I start drinking my first nutrition of the race, a dark chocolate Ensure. Someday when I am old and in a nursing home, they will give me that, and it will bring back my fond memories of ultrarunning. It goes down fine. The pace and HR on the gps all seem off. HR too high, pace is wonky, I think there are just too many little winding trails to get good distance data. So, I end up just using effort and then each loop you pass by the race clock so with that and average pace, I could get an idea where I am at.

Loop 3:   Mile 10-15

For me this is the make or break loop. Like I said, ITB has been a problem the last few weeks.   I think if it is going to be an issue, it will show up around then, as it often did in training runs. So far so good. For this lap, I just have Tailwind for nutrition and no solid food I can recall. In and out of the aid station pretty fast, no fussing around. Race clock checks out good for beating 6 hours. I see the 25K winner, Coree Woltering, same guy who one the last 25K I was in, he just rocks.

Loop 4: 15-20 miles.

I am starting to chafe south of the border. This is not typical so early in a race, so I think my choice of shorts was poor. Oh well. Running shorts are so damn expensive. Maybe I should track down that squirrel suit guy and get a sample. I put on glide, it stings? I put on Eucerin which is what I use to start with before the race and that works. They actually have a lube hut set up, but it is too small for me to fit in without risking toppling over at this point, plus I am not even sure it is really for use or just a prop because I have never seen that before at a race. My pace avg pace is slowing, but I still feel strong and the ITB and stomach have not reared their heads. I am not listening to music or podcasts this race, so I start thinking about running form. I never bother with that. Trail Runner podcast had the “Chi” running guy on, and I listened to that last week commuting. I always am skeptical of stuff like that, like someone is trying to sell me something. Also, I just run for fun really and that seems like a lot of effort. Anyway, I thought the guy had some great suggestions, so I tried a couple out, just basic stuff like keeping your cadence up high enough to avoid over stride, keeping centered over your pelvis, and leaning forward letting your body fall to generate forward momentum.      I spent some time with that the last ½ race as like a mantra thing. I forgot one of the main points which was relaxed running, but hey. Also, he mentioned not emphasizing the push off phase (unless you’re a sprinter), which I like, I was never sure how much of that to do, I do not think I need much to go my pace at all. So even though I do not think one size fits all and I do think we should mostly run how we run, we all are individuals as Brian says. (Camille Heron comes to mind, the first time I saw her running I literally though she may have had a stroke before and how cool is that, to come back from a stroke and run an ultra, but she kills it regardless and runs with joy). The bottom line is that gave me something to think about. Mostly I just thought about the roots. So many roots, I was like just don’t trip on them. I kept waiting for my required fall. Last year I fell twice in the exact same stretch, I swear the same root, but cannot verify that. This year though I didn’t fall or even stub my foot, so that was nice. I finish up the 20 miles at 3:45 ish, which would be a slow 20-mile-long run for certain but this is hillier than where I do those and more single track, so I will take it.

Loop 5: 20-25 miles

I am starting to feel the up hills more. I definitely need to focus training on hills so the effort is not so high. When I hike up my effort goes up, I feel my pulse pounding in the back of my head, HR up. Legs are weaker all around, but running flats, while slower is not really feeling to bad and my HR is not doing that. I am fueling with a couple of snickers minis, I just am not feeling like having any ensure. I want to keep it simple carbs. I think besides heat what drives my nausea is sloshing from too much volume. I am really conservative with hydration and tailwind. In the past, I would be sure to have at least 20 oz an hour fluid, now I am not really tracking it, just going by thirst. Near the end of the loop a bunch of white tail deer come bounding through the woods. They move crazy fast, do not need a trail, and make it look so easy.

I grab some ginger ale each loop. I fuel with a few gel shots. My time looks good. The average pace is 11 ish, enough that I calculate I can spend the last two loops at 12 min mile and still finish under 6, so that is a relief. That I can definitely do barring some gi explosion. The F1 passes me and closely followed by F2 at this point both looking pretty strong. When I finish the loop the clock looks good, I think 4:50 ish, not sure. I am passing people a lot, but you do not know what loop they are on, and a lot walking. Mostly these last two loops I am on my own, which is what I prefer.   Sometimes if I see someone ahead I may try to pace off them or catch them.

Loop 6: 25+ -finish. Near the start of this loop my ITB starts to squawk. So, hear it is at last. It’s the left side, which is weird because recently the right has been giving me trouble but both have in the past. I decide I am having too much fun to spend the rest of the race just thinking about how much my ITB hurts. It is really hard to ignore. I pop a couple of Tylenol and put some lidocaine gel on it, then it calms down enough to be less distracting. My stomach holds up, I have a gel shot or two this loop but mostly just water and a little Tailwind. A couple times I feel a little dizzy/weak in the knees but the Tailwind fixes that. Walking the hills is still the most challenging. Running actually though slower still feels stronger than I would expect. I think, hey, I could get used to this 50K distance, not all the death marching, vomiting, or near hypothermia my 110k/100-mile experiences. The finish clock is 5:47 so I am really happy with that. Its taken 3 years, but I finally got a decently run race out of this. I got a nice shirt, a hat and the “metals they have are these neat pieces of wood the kids cut out a square and paint an Earth Day themed picture (each one is unique).   I will try to link in a picture here if I can figure it out. Your could look at my RR on RWOL forum last April for a nice pic of them, but its gone-RIP.

Summary:

If you are in the Chicago area around Earth Day, I would do this, 5, 25, or 50K.  I want to keep coming back to this race if I can. Use it as sort of a measure of fitness and it’s a lot of fun. The volunteers are great, so nice. I love the loop format (it’s like the movie Groundhog day). MUDD puts on good solid races (Besides Earth Days, I did their Hennepin 50 mile last year which was also well done.  After the race I talked to a nice guy I had seen last year at a couple Midwest races.   We both had better race this year. I am writing this the night after the race, I feel pretty good, but this is still the honeymoon period. Next race is Kettle 100K in June. Between now and then, I am going to recover, keep getting out to the trails, and work on hiking or incline milling. I am going to do the Myrtle and some core exercises on a more regular basis.  I may get an R8, not sure.  I think its time.  Maybe some Escalantes.  I don't think I will find them in a garage sale, so I may need to splurge and get a new pair.

-The End-

Congrats on a great time and a well executed race!  That conga line thing at the start sounded a little annoying.  At Lake Sonoma, they send the runners up the road to the next trailhead (instead of jumping on to the trail at the starting line) since it lets everyone spread out and position themselves before the single track starts.  Seems to work.  You doing anything for the ITB?  Rolling?  Icing?  Stretching?

Congrats on a great time and a well executed race!  That conga line thing at the start sounded a little annoying.  At Lake Sonoma, they send the runners up the road to the next trailhead (instead of jumping on to the trail at the starting line) since it lets everyone spread out and position themselves before the single track starts.  Seems to work.  You doing anything for the ITB?  Rolling?  Icing?  Stretching?

Conga was annoying but good to keep me in check. They used to do a cross country start which helped.  Another way would be stagger the different races.  I have also sorts of hip strengthening excercises which mostly are similar to the Myrtl routine and a roller.  Yesterday and today it’s been fine.  I won’t know until I start running again but that’s a really good sign.  ITB is so variable. I’ve had it where I can’t run a mile or when it doesn’t act up until after 30 miles.  I’m looking at getting an R8 roller which people rave about.  The good thing about ultra training is trails and incline walking /hiking are well tolerated.  It’s the hard road workouts that set it off.  Within a couple weeks after a race I avoid anything resembling a workout.    I think I’m just not built to be a speedy roadster which is okay.

thanks for the report and congrats on a well-executed race! love local ones i can do every year. you guys write such detailed reports it brings back memories of details from my own race i want to report now...but it too late!

 

While the first 2 miles were slower, they turned out to be close to my avg pace for the race, so it was a good way to keep things in check.  I lined up almost last for Tunnel 100 to keep slow, it’s also more fun in the back!

Yeah, unless you get a pair of talky women who yammer on the whole way, as I do EVERY FRIGGIN RACE.

Great job and congrats on that solid sub-6 performance!  Nice to hear the pesky ITB didn't kick in until the final loop.  When my ITB acts up, it usually ends a run very quickly.  Too funny about your theory why ultra runners puke (but there might be some truth to it).  Rest up and get ready for Kettle.  Thanks for the detailed RR!

I won’t know until I run but the ITB is nonexistent first few days post race so maybe my cutting back/more walking in training prior to taper helped.  I likely just worry too much about it because it has taken me out before all together, but not for awhile