Woah.

So.

I quit my job of 12 years in what is most likely the worst possible socio-economic time to do so. I have started down a new path, and it's been a great challenge but all the same it feels so damn rewarding!

The new work is intense and I feel like I am kind of the master of my own destiny...so obviously that's what's been taking front and center stage lately.

It took a great deal of courage to finally admit my time at my old company was really finally up. And it's still really fucking scary day-to-day in my new situation full of a great deal of responsibility and new information and making my own decisions! This is definitely a brave new world.

I've run a few times this week, but I have done so with no Garmin, no set mileage in mind - I've just been wanting to get out and do it. I am feeling a little better after the 50 - but dang it still a little tired in the legs and joints!

But whatever...

Ah...life is GOOD!

The Bolder Dash 5K

This morning after oversleeping for a few minutes I picked up my Bolder Options Mentee and his family and we headed down to Lake Nokomis for the Bolder Options "Bolder Dash 5K."

He pushed pretty hard for a 12 year old and finished it in a hair over 35 minutes! The good parts of the race were:
When he wanted to stop and walk or complain about his leg cramps, or stop and watch airplanes but then he was a sport and rallied to start running again.
Him saying he 'can't' sprint to the end but then I encouraged him to do it anyway...and he did! (we learned the valuable lesson of never using the word "can't" ever, ever again).

But the very best part of the race was seeing him be proud of finishing the race because he had pushed through the hard times. He didn't just "walk it out," or slack off when things got hard for him. I don't know if it was just the post-race Pepsi sugar rush or what, but he was beaming from ear to ear when he told his mom how he did.

It goes without saying how proud I was of him as well. I actually got a little lump in my throat when he sprinted through the finish line.

I would encourage any runners or cyclists to check out the Bolder Options program and get involved if you can!

Burnout Posts

There have been quite a few instances of what I like to call "burnout posts" lately in the running blogosphere. This is the logical end result of training really hard and making the most out of every available last minute of daylight when a person can get outside - and in the case of most of us, balancing that passion for the great outdoors with a career, friends and family (or those you love like family).

I know that I've definitely treaded the thin line between 'just-right' and 'burnout,' especially after running my first 50 mile run (I still cannot turn that distance around right in my mind...I couldn't imagine running three blocks a scant three years ago). Of course now I've got some pretty tired legs and achy joints. Comes with the territory, I guess! I'm going to let time do its thing.

I am trying to look at the present situation objectively and ask my body what it needs. Right now, the body and mind both say "I need some R and R, you a-hole." I've had a really great season of running and only have one more big race on the horizon before a winter of taking a different approach and doing some strength training and base-building.

My goals for going into winter:

1. Be as strong as I can be come next season and open with a strong 50k.
2. Remain injury free (aches and pains do not count as injury).
3. Focus on a few key races and do them to the best of my ability.

So that's what I'm going to do. No hard running for a while. Focus on doing a good job on the work I am fortunate to have. See family this weekend and hopefully spend some quality time with S.M. Enjoy some leisurely paced runs with no aggressive schedule in mind and love, love, love the autumn coolness descending upon the state.

Recovery

I'm still dealing with a little bit of body stiffness and popping, cracking joints a week after the Superior Trail 50 mile run. I've been eating just about everything I want to lately, including lots of good fish, venison, bison and everything green I can stand. But I also used this week as a nice cookie and pie indulgence. I was feeling pretty slim after last Saturday!

I haven't run a step since last Saturday! I am going to hydrate and fuel well today and the goal is to get out and run tomorrow morning.

The goal distance will be a nice round 6 miles on the fairly level paths by the parkway. No river bottom action just yet, as squatting to check out the bottom shelf of groceries still makes me wince upon rising.

As usual, I'm treating my body very carefully so shortly after having it do something it's never even fathomed doing before.

It's beginning to feel a lot like autumn out there. My favorite time to run!

Superior Haiku by Jeffrey Swainhart

Jeffrey posted some great haiku on the MN DRS yahoo group.

I am reposting them here with his permission. Enjoy!

climb up carlton - by kel doyle

Superior Haiku
by Jeffrey Swainhart



Rocks and many roots

Visions both real and unreal

Finish in the dark



*



Are we getting close?

There’s another hill to climb

Racing the cut offs



*



Food, water, Advils

Finally a chair, must sit

Volunteers be blessed



*



We start in the dark

The trail goes fifty-two miles

At the end we rest

The 2008 Superior Trail 50 Mile Race: Difficult and Painful Doesn't Mean Not Fun

Hi. My name is Keith and I just ran 52.1 miles on the Superior Hiking Trail in my Vibram FiveFingers KSO's. I really had quite a bit of fun and tested myself. I'm grateful to have had the chance to go and do it and I thank Larry and the volunteers who put this race on flawlessly.

Friday afternoon I picked up Jim Wilson and we headed north on I35 towards Caribou Highlands. We stopped briefly at Holiday for a nutritious meal of turkey sandwiches, beef jerky, pringles and an apple.

We dropped off a couple of my drop bags on the way up, one at Temperance (where contrary to the name of the aid station Pam and Sarah were having a few beers when Jim and I arrived) and one at Oberg. By the time we got to our lodging it was around 10:30. After some catching up with Alicia and Jeffrey Swainhart we finally hit the sack at around midnight.

A big thanks goes out to Matt Patten for lodging!!

After four hours of sleep we rousted ourselves out of bed (the fire was still smoldering!). I quickly popped in my contacts, got my trusty race-ready shorts on and strapped into a pair of well-broken-in KSO's. After a quick breakfast Alicia, Jeffrey and I made our way to the lodge for the long bus ride to Finland aid station for the start of the 50 mile race.

I didn't even have time to get nervous after registering and taking care of a few last minute details, because before I knew it Larry had us all lined up on the road to start the short run down the gravel road into the woods for the beginning of my first 50 mile race.

The 50 mile race of years past was an out and back of the Moose Mountain Marathon course. This year, it was a point to point through much more difficult terrain. The finishing times definitely reflect the new technical sections and climbs of the first 25 miles of the course!

I stayed as far back in the pack as I could. I had no idea how much I was going to need in the tank for the rest of the day. It was very tempting to pass people on the stretch of trail through the dark woods, but I refrained. This would turn out to be a good idea.

The woods were cool and humid. I pitter-patted gently on the damp leaves that covered some sections of the trail. The Superior Hiking Trail was living up to its name as a rugged place for a trail run as the roots and rocks started to jump up in the dark and stub my toes (get used to it! I thought to myself). I got into a good rhythm and tucked in behind Alicia. I was definitely not used to running a 50 mile pace. It felt easy. My average HR through this section was around 148 and my max was about 160. Usually in shorter races 160 is my low-end and my max is...205 or my maximum HR! In fact, during my first 50 miler, my HR never went above 175 the whole day!*

As I said at Oberg aid station: "I was running as conservatively as Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly's love child."

But it's a funny thing, it may not look like you're putting in a great deal of effort as far as the time reflects, but the terrain dictates the pace. Aside from the stellar performances of a select few, "running" on the SHT requires patience and a series of 13-15+ minute miles.

A note about roots. Christian Griffith puts it well on his blog that they're "like mini-hurdles." Yes, they are. Your foot never lands the same way twice. Get your foot caught between roots and your're begging for a broken ankle or worse. The Superior Hiking Trail demands your 100% attention at all times!

Alicia and I got into the very well-lit Sonju Lake aid station after a stop on the way to bandage her hand after she took a pretty good spill. I thought it looked like stitches time for her, but after they cleaned it up at the aid station it looked a lot better than it did initially. I got a cup of coffee at Sonju and we took off again.

The Crosby Manitou section of the trail was quite demanding. Very technical. Lots of roots, a few tough climbs and some sharp rocks thrown in for good measure. We were just rolling along, watching the miles tick by on my Garmin. We stopped at another aid station and stocked up on cookies, strawberries and sandwiches, got our water bottles filled and then got back on the trail.

I was drinking one bottle of heed and one bottle of water. It worked out fairly well, I feel. I never felt dehydrated through the whole race, right up to the finish. I also took 1 S! cap an hour. I fueled on everything that looked good to me. I ate everything! I had Espresso Love Gu and Coke when I started to feel like I needed a little pick me up and that worked out very well, as well.

Through the first three aid stations everything was going swimmingly. I was still with Alicia at this point, leapfrogging Karen Gall and the guy who was running with her. Life was good. I had been in great spirits for the entire race to this point, feeling very upbeat.

Then we hit the stretch between Sugarloaf and Cramer Road.

Along the river, the kiwi-sized rocks along the river beat up my feet pretty bad. It didn't matter how I tried to land on them, aside from gingerly stepping on them at a snail's pace, they just plain hurt. Add to that the fact I made the mistake of looking at my mileage at some point in this stretch and let myself think "you're only halfway done! What are you gonna do for another 25 miles?!"

By the time we got into Cramer Road (after a long stretch of gravel road which also did a number on the tootsies), I had a short heart to heart with Alicia about what I should do. She devised (while basically ruining her own chances to PR) a plan to help us finish and some suggestions to mitigate the pain that was going up my legs from the last 30-some miles of fairly unforgiving terrain: Ibuprofen.

I had resisted the idea of "Ibuprofen" for some time. I thought I would be able to tough it out, but that thought was beginning to sound more and more ludicrous with every passing mile.

I would say at this point that my feet hurt about exactly the same as they did at the same mileage in the marathon last year (of course, at this point last year, I would have been done, and not have the equivalent of another marathon to run). The choice of footwear had very little to do with the pain. The pain was just the result of miles and miles on the most rugged trail in the state! Grapefruit sized rocks and roots as thick as a person's leg will do that to you whether you're in the most advanced bulletproof shoes or my supple KSO's.

(I will say that I immensely enjoyed the experience of running this race, on this trail in the KSO's! I felt totally aware of what I was doing at all times and very connected to the trail I was running on. Of course it hurt to stub my toes, but what more could I do about it than squeeze my water bottles a little harder and make the "pain noises" one makes...Although Alicia said that it was starting to hurt her every time I kicked a stump or a rock because of the sound it made...sorry Alicia! It sounded a lot worse than it felt, I'm sure. Besides that, I still have all my toenails...)

Anyhoo - back to Temperance River aid station.

At 32.1 miles, I had officially run farther than I'd ever run at one time. It had taken us nine hours to run close to 34 miles. As I sat on a big water jug at Temperance, Pam and Sarah took my water bottles and asked if I needed anything. I dolefully asked whether if I showed up at Oberg at around an hour past the cutoff (7:00 p.m.) if they'd let me finish? I was sure I could make it there by 8:00, but 7:00? I wasn't so sure.

The answer of course, was "No!"

All I could think of was how much I hurt after the Calhoun 50K and wondering if that pain would just get worse and worse until I couldn't take it any more. I had no idea what would happen. I thought about dropping right there.

Alicia was standing there talking to the aid station volunteers looking fresh as a daisy, Karen Gall came in and she looked good to go, and then Jeffrey showed up also looking strong.

I asked for a couple of ibuprofen. "It always never gets worse," I told myself. I washed the ibuprofen and an S! Cap down with some cold water, then got some food and broth. I hobbled out of Temperance behind Alicia and we got onto the smooth trail along side Temperance River. I started to feel better as I visualized the inflammation in my legs going down. We had four hours to go 11 miles. No small feat on this trail! Anything could happen!

I downed an Espresso Love GU and told Alicia I was going to push a little bit as long as the trail was so nice. We ran 10 minute miles up to the first big climb between Temperance and Sawbill! We hammered the climbs, and were really motoring through this section. It's funny how things can turn around just by looking at them a little differently.

We rolled in to Sawbill aid station to cheers from the aid station workers with 45 minutes to spare.

getting my confidence back at Sawbill - photo courtesy of Scott Mark

We had put some good mileage in the bank and were ready to tackle the big climbs between Sawbill and Oberg. My favorite climb of the run is in this section, where you literally climb up a craggly rock face. I was feeling good again, so I told Alicia I was going to push again. I did not want to get dropped at Oberg!

It sprinkled a little bit after climbing the rock face and passing Jennifer from Coon Rapids. She was running her first trail race! What a choice for your first trail race: a 50 Mile Ultra on the Superior Hiking Trail. SH-eee-iT!

I felt like a well-oiled machine all of the sudden, and decided to air it out a little bit after my favorite climb. The trail here is dotted with a few rocks you have to watch out for, but all-in-all it's totally runnable.

The skies opened up and turned the twists and turns in the trail into muddy slip-hazards. A good, steady, heavy rain soaked me and my KSO's. I love running through the rain, though, so I turned on the afterburners on the steady solo decent into Oberg. I looked down at my Garmin shortly before it turned off and was on an 8:00/mile pace through here. It felt so good to go really fast!

I didn't worry too much about what I had left, I just needed to make the 7 pm cutoff at Oberg. I wasn't going to let them drop me there!

I passed a number of 100 milers and a couple 50 milers. My running felt effortless. I wasn't even breathing hard. It was like I was running in one of my running dreams, almost flying! I looked down and my Garmin's screen was blank! My most inspired running and there was going to be no record of it! Dammit!

Of course, this also meant I had no idea what time it was or how far I had to go to the Oberg aid station. I ran harder, telling myself it was 6:45 and I was still three miles out (an impossible predicament, but I figured I'd have a better leg to stand on if I was close). I splashed through puddles and down slick rock faces. The siped soles of the KSO's gripped very well in the wet. I felt sure footed on the wet boardwalks, as well.

I passed a sign that said "Oberg Parking Lot" but I didn't let that slow me down. I knew from last year that the parking lot was still quite a ways away.

I was cruising along the trail when I saw a wolf crouched in the grass on the side of a boardwalk, ready to pounce. I slipped my water bottle off of my hand and got ready to launch it at its head. I kept running, thinking I would stun it with the bottle then try to out run it and climb a tree.

It turned out it was just a log. With wolf ears.

The trail turned into some hard packed gravel or chip and suddenly I was in the Oberg parking lot! I had made it! Or did I? I asked in a panic what time it was. 6:30!! Ah. I could relax and wait for Alicia and the gang to come along.

An angelic Kate Havelin set me up in a folding chair. At first I resisted the blanket she wanted to give me, but as I sat there stripping off soaked socks and shoes I started to shiver uncontrollably. She got me broth and food and gels and she made me sit under the blanket. She was so very nice, making sure I was well-taken care of. I will definitely be volunteering next year to return the favor so hopefully she can run the race if she wants to!

Alicia showed up with a small crowd of 100 mile runners and another 50 mile runner, Jennifer from Coon Rapids! Hangin' on, looking strong! She joined Alicia and I for the home stretch. It was nice to have some company up Moose Mountain and Mystery mountain. We strong-hiked and ran most of it and then God turned out the lights. There's not much running to be done in the dark even with a headlamp on through those woods on that trail.

We turned on our lights and hiked the rest of the way in to the road leading to Caribou. We had a lot of good laughs and some nice conversation. Before we knew it, we heard the river, the muffled cheers of the folks at Caribou as runners ahead of us rolled into the finish and...coyotes!

We got to the road and broke into a run. The finish looks so much different in the dark!!

Alicia and I came in to the finish together, but I wouldn't have made it to that point without her. She's such a strong runner and so consistent. She kept everyone's spirits buoyed with her "deep optimism." I'm glad she was there for my first 50 Miler! Thanks, Alicia!

I basked in the glow of people coming into the finish, got a big hug from JoAnn Fallis and chatted with a few other runners. Larry was there to shake my hand (how many race directors do you know who shake every finisher's hand?!) Fatigue was catching up with me fast though. We got back to the townhouse and to a nice warm soak, clean clothes and a good night's sleep.

I woke to Matt Patten quietly watching television at around 6 am, tending to his bee sting wounds (huge blisters) and all-over body ache from finishing the 100 mile. We chatted for a while about the race before I nodded off again. It would be a pattern I would repeat all morning. At one point I fell asleep while people were getting ready and woke up running in place in my sleeping bag!

Adam Harmer got up shortly after and congratulated me on my first 50 miler. He saw Matt's bee-sting wound and suggested we pop the blisters -- "maybe," he said "bees would fly out of them!" This cracked me up.

Jim, Jeffrey, Alica and I met John Storkamp at Betty's Pies for breakfast/lunch and saw the Female winner of the 100 miler, Humble Helen Lavin. Congratulations, Helen!

Thankfully, Jim drove pretty much the whole way home. I was still dozing off from time to time and am still pretty out of it tonight. How long will it take the ultra fog to clear?! I'm just glad I could coherently order a burrito and a chocolate and hot fudge malt at Little Tijuana's...My legs are pretty damn sore today (I'm pretty hobbled), and I can tell exactly where I've been bruised on my feet. But other than that, life is good! I wanted to test myself a little bit and I sure as hell did!

So that's the story of my first 50 miler. Thanks for hanging in there with me to the end of such a tale! Thanks to Larry for putting on a great run and thanks to all of the volunteers who make it go off without a hitch. Thanks especially to Matt, Alicia, Jim, Jeffrey and Adam for good company.

I think I'll rest up for a week and then try and get a few good runs in before the Nerstrand Big Woods 1/2 marathon!

*except after my Garmin's battery died and I was worried about making the cutoff into Oberg. Then I'm pretty sure I was up in the low 190's.

See You in Superior

Well it's just about go time. After taking care of some very exciting things here in town, I'm headed up to Caribou Highlands Lodge and the Superior Hiking Trail.

I can barely wrap my mind around the fact that the 100 mile runners have ALREADY STARTED AND WON'T FINISH UNTIL SOMETIME TOMORROW AFTERNOON. Unless you're Wynn Davis, who will probably be done by the time the 50 mile starts tomorrow morning.

I'm excited, but also a little nervous. I am sure that will develop into a full-on case of "The Nerves" by tomorrow. I slightly rolled my ankle while walking down the stairs at work and simultaneously trying to read blueprints (read: full on donnybrooked it down the last three steps and landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs). Woops. It's a little tight from my ankle to my knee this morning, but I think it will be ok. I have been wearing running shoes all week to "give my feet a break" and I walk like a baby calf in them, I swear.

I'm looking forward to getting the KSO's on and dueling with the trail!

My Secret Weapon for the Superior Trail 50 Mile Race

Here is what I will be downing at aid stations along the Superior Hiking Trail on Saturday.

1 instance of language, but it's too funny to pass up.



I am sold. I want to be good at sports and have MENERGY!! Drink more "olytes" than MY BODY HAS ROOM FOR!! And finally, I want to RUN ABNORMALLY FAST AGAINST ACTUAL KENYANS!! (but not have it be a tie so I get deported back to KENYA).

Thank You, Fellow Runners!

Thanks for all of the kind words of encouragement!

I really value the strong running community here in the upper midwest, as well as all of the 'virtual' runners I have gotten to know over the past year plus!

Please visit the folks who commented on the previous post and say hello to them and check out the links section of the blogs I read in the lower right corner (you may need to scroll down).

As far as last week, well we all know how that went. I took my mentee for a 3+ mile walk/run yesterday, then went for a long, long walk myself up and down the hills in my neighborhood. I have a feeling I'm going to do a little walking on Saturday! This morning I went for a 30+ mile bike ride with my dad. Gotta stretch out the hips! I always feel like such a machine on the bike. It was enjoyable, but got tight at the end trying to keep up with the experience of pops.

My other observation: Road bikes are like flakey dogs...you never know when they're going to go squirrely on you and turn on you.

We saw the end result of a bike on bike on rollerbladers collision on the Greenway during our ride. Not pretty. We came up on a lady in the weeds, some austrian rollerbladers dusting themselves off and a hotshot cyclist dude all in a tangled mess. The lady had borne the brunt of the collision. She was cuts and scrapes from the waist down.

While pops was fixing her bent wheel and out of whack handlebars, I told the lady in an attempt to cheer her up some: "Geez. All ya wanna do is go out and get a little exercise and before ya know it...BAM! You're wondering what happened and picking undergrowth from out of your hair." The more I talked to her the more I realized she was super out of it and in shock. I got her some water and helped her to sit down off of the trail, as she was not fit to stand quite yet. I am glad the guy who hit her and the dude she was with (he was unscathed) stuck around and was going to see her to her car.

I hope she's ok. She was wearing a helmet, so she had that going for her. But there's a good probability she took one on the jaw on the way down. Hence the punch-drunkness.

Eesh. Anyhoo.

Save for my little bike ride, here's my plan for the week:

Commuting to work on bike to stay loose.

I am also going to try and just do some easy 20-30 minute jogs to stay loose this week and get focused on the weekend's goal: Finishing the ST50 mile!