I’m not sure when I told myself running a 50 miler was a good idea…I guess it just seemed like the “next step” up the distance running ladder after last year’s Strolling Jim 40 miler. The Frisco Railroad Run appeared to be a great place to start….But was doing a 50 miler amidst what has been a good year of marathoning smart at all?? I recently read an article out of Trail Runner magazine where they were talking to Meb Keflezighi about training he does on trails. At the end of the article, they asked him what it would take to get him to run a 166km race. He said “It would take an NBA salary for me to try a 166km trail run. I am very happy for those who can do it”.  I had to laugh, and think, there is the difference in mindsets for a world class runner like Meb, and a sub elite runner like me. All it takes for me to go do something silly is a van load of friends willing to go with me!! I knew/know it was risky, but when I set my mind on something (which had happened sometime last year), my follow through is pretty good….for better or worse. So, in retrospect, here are my thoughts on my first 50…

The Good:

The Frisco Run event offers an 8k, half marathon, marathon, 50k and 50m distance.  All are run as out and backs on the Frisco Highline Trail, which is a “rails to trails” converted railway that has been made into a recreational trail of soft packed dirt and gravel. There were no photographers on the race course, but you can see behind me in my goof off photo here, what the trail looked like for all but the first and last 2.3 miles (which were paved).

Pretending i'm a gymnast post-race. This was about mile 5 (and 45). Look at that killer form! The Russian judge gave me a 2.2!! Come on lady, I just ran 50 miles! Cut me some slack!!

The soft surface was much more forgiving on my body than being on the road. I figured at least for a day or two after this everything would hurt, and I am NOT denying that my body has been fatigued. But, there was little to no soreness like you experience after a road marathon.  I am positive that I gained some mental toughness too. I will elaborate on how in “the Bad”…but no matter how it is achieved, the end result of mental tenacity is a good tool to put in the box for future races. I will call on my memories of miles 35-50 often when I have “at least it’s not as bad as….” moments, I am sure.  I didn’t really know what to expect for a finishing time. The 40 miler I ran last year was very hilly, and I averaged right around 7:00/mile. So, in theory one might think I would have been faster on this flat course, but I wanted to go into it somewhat conservative being that it was uncharted territory for me. I will elaborate on pace strategy later as well, but since we are in “the Good”…. my finish time of 6:00:31 was good for the overall win, which garnered me this sweet award:

Something is wrong with this picture..... beer me!!

I also technically got some “prize money” when I passed through the 15.5 mile aid station. One of the guys working the station said “here, the guy who lives here wanted us to give the first runner though a dollar”….it cracked me up! Quite the high roller I am making $.02 a mile!! At the time of my finish, I was really thrilled to be done and didn’t think too much about the time on the clock. I was informed later however, that it ranks 4th on the all time list for 50 mile performances by American women….. I can’t help but think that is only because women who kick my butt in the marathon haven’t chosen to run a 50 (and most probably won’t…) but it is still pretty cool to be ranked that high in any running event. Here is a link to the little shout out I got on ultrarunning.com http://www.ultrarunning.com/ultra/features/news/thorvilson-blisters-50-mi.shtml  Despite my “survival mode” finish, I did manage a sad attempt at jumping up and smacking the finish arch. My spirit was not diminished by the distance!!

This is the only "race photo" I have. Attempting to jump and hit the finish....I can't remember if I made any contact but based on this pic, I would guess that I missed...lookin pretty pitiful. Lol!

Before we leave “the Good” section, I have to add (and rub in with a nice photo) that the travel and companionship of this trip was great. No matter what the outcome had been, quality time with good friends is always worth while. And, the carb-loading on the way up was off the charts. Haha! If you are ever passing through Leslie, Arkansas, do not miss the opportunity to stop at Serenity Farms bakery and cafe. They make their own breads, pizzas, and pastries…we ordered one of every kind of pizza they had….and they let us bring in our own beer too! (burrrrp)…..

YUM!!! Serenity Farms pizzas, made with their homemade bread. My mouth squirted just looking back at the photo!

 

The Bad:

Okay…I don’t mean for this to come off as me totally slamming this event. The people I encountered on the course were friendly and accommodating, and a few people post race thanked me personally for coming…But, I have to say it was single handedly the most boring run I have ever done. One might chalk that up to the distance, but it was only about 9 miles longer than Strolling Jim (SJ is called a 40, but it’s actually 41.2…what a bargain!) and I very much enjoyed that race.  I think the difference was that SJ was roads and most runners had a crew meeting up with them every few miles. You got to know the other crews and looked forward to seeing your crew, someone else’s crew, crew vehicles passing (as you knew that meant not long until you would see people). In Frisco, I ran with the lead male marathoner for a few miles, but once he turned around it was just me, and the horse poop, and the trees for 37 miles…. Okay…i’m exaggerating, there were aid stations, and a few cyclists out riding…. but it was a long lonely haul. Several of the aid stations had been abandoned too. There were supplies left, but instead of looking forward to seeing people, it was only looking forward to chugging down 3 cups of Powerade and a handful of Tostitos…which I wish I had a picture of. It was like I forgot how to feed myself, aimlessly smashing chips into my face, desperate for salt (nom nom nom). There were several places that road intersected the trail and had I known how lonely I was going to be, I would have paid a van full of strangers to meet me at every single one!  My friends and I actually went back to the abandoned 4.9 mile aid station to cheer in some of the Arkie crew who were finishing, as well as to provide support to the other runners. We had fun cheering, filling their bottles for them, bringing them beer if they wanted….we even sang happy birthday to one runner.

Ambush!! The way aid stations should be!

Also disappointing was the fact that the finisher’s arch and timing mats were pulled down right around 8 hours. Now, I understand that 8 hours is a long time, but the race advertised a 12 hour cut off and said nothing about not receiving a chip time if you were over 8 hours. I asked one of the race staff what had happened to the finish and he told me “oh, the 50 milers aren’t chip timed, only the marathon and 50k”….yeah, that was a fail…considering they had cut the chip off my shoe when I finished 50 miles I knew better!! I told him it was very disappointing. I know someone reading this is probably wondering why I give a shit, but the reason is two fold. One, judging by the number of entrants, the prizes offered (not cash), and the level of competition, this is clearly not an elite race. I don’t mean it is not good, just that they are not focused on bringing an elite competitive crowd in, and that is absolutely fine. But….if you aren’t concerned with bringing in elites, and you also aren’t concerned with keeping every entrant in the race feeling special regardless of time, then exactly who are   you trying to make happy here?? Secondly, as an RD, have some follow through. If you advertised a 12 hour cut off, keep the damn finish line up for 12 hours and let those people get their time and let their friends snap their photo under the finish banner. Period. Okay, off my little soapbox. We managed to find some tie downs in the back of our travel van that we used as a makeshift finish line…..obviously we weren’t able to record chip times on it, but at least it was symbolic. The last bad I will say is not related to the race itself, but it fits in “the Bad” for sure. That is, holy cow I hate carrying a handheld. I hated the thing from about mile 2 and tolerating it got worse as the run went on. I was switching it back and forth about every half mile trying to help my arms out. I finally asked a guy at the (un-abandoned at that point) 4.9/45.1 mile aid station if I could leave it there . He said “yeah, you tired of carrying that thing?”….lol….yeah, I’ve been tired of carrying it for 40 miles. So…..I have rambled a lot and not really broken down much on how I executed the race…which would bring us to….

The Ugly:

So going into this I had no intention of trying for a time. The goal was simply to  finish happy and healthy. I have long term goals regarding times for ultra distances, but for the first time out I thought it best to just experience it and not do anything to jeopardize my marathoning goals (I can already hear someone saying “too late! you jeopardized that when you entered the race!”….yeah, be quiet).  I had actually had this “genius” plan of breaking up the run into a workout. I would do 5 sets of 8 miles easy, 2 miles hard. Looking back, this may not have been a bad idea if I had strategized more on what defined “hard” when running that far…. Since I had not defined it…I decided that marathon race pace or something close to that sounded good. Go ahead and laugh. It actually worked beautfully for the first 2 sets (20 miles). After that, I decided maybe 8 miles was a bit long to be waiting as it was hard initially to get the rythym going after being set in a different pace zone. So, I decided I would instead do the remainder of the sets as 4 miles easy, 1 mile hard….but I realized that would put me running full boar into the turnaround aid station where I would have to get in my drop bag and swap out trash in my handheld for fresh gels etc….that sounded like a bad idea, so I just decided to throw in the next hard mile at 23 instead….I even thought momentarilly that I would continue this routine. I would run every 4th mile as an effort mile with 3 miles recovery….Haha…that didn’t last long. After the turnaround my next and final “hard” mile was mile 30. I planned to shift gears again at 35 and it never happened. It was survival mode, it was a death march, it was repeating “relentless forward motion” to myself, over and over. Was it the faster miles early that caused me to fizzle out? Or was it just the longer distance than I was used to? Or was it the humidity and heat just draining me? I won’t know that until I try again, but I am guessing the early pushes had something to do with it. Do as I say, not as I do…..if you are going to try a 50, maybe just run easy the whole way….or at least the first half….. I am not too proud to admit that I didn’t run that smart, and I am not to proud to post my Garmin data so you can all look at the slow, painful death if you want to. Ha…http://connect.garmin.com/activity/173503864 At the final aid station there was a woman who I guess knew me, I couldn’t even turn my head to look and see who it was….but she said “you look great Leah! How do you feel?” and all I could muster was a barbaric grunt as I dumped water over my head and shuffled on. I guess there is hope that if I can run a race poorly and post a good time…..what could I run if I ran smarter? had better weather? had more competition? more experience?…..For now, those questions will remain unanswered as I turn my focus back to the marathon. I’m ready to run fast….and ready to make use of this trophy!

Bottoms up!!

This morning I had the honor and privilege of helping out with the Jackson 5k. Jackson Dennis is a very sweet young man who had planned to run his second 5k last Saturday during Little Rock Marathon weekend. My friend Alison was going to run with him and help him set a new PR. His first 5k had been around 36:00. On race morning, Jackson woke up unable to move his neck. Instead of toeing the start line for his race, he ended up in the ER. Fortunately, it turned out to be a muscle spasms, and nothing life threatening. While clearly the important thing here is that he was okay, Jackson and Ali were both bummed they had missed the race. So, Ali decided to give him his own 5k. Because runners are amazing people, and our local “family” I happen to think is extra special, she made a few phone calls and the troops we’re rallied. Mile markers, an official medal from the race he had to miss, a personalized finish tape, a water stop, post race snacks….done. The “official” Jackson 5k was scheduled for 10:00 this morning. The weather man didn’t deal us a great hand, with chilly rain falling all morning…but not a single person bailed out, and Jackson’s spirits weren’t dampened a bit. He said his goal was 32 minutes, but he’d be happy with anything under 36. A few jumping jacks and some nervous bouncing around as we gave the final countdown…and they were off!! When reports came that they were a little less than a half mile out, I checked my watch….it was 10:26!! Jackson not only beat his old PR, and beat his goal of 32 minutes, he broke 30 minutes!!  The “official” results of the Jackson 5k were:  Jackson Dennis  29:16, Alison Acott  29:17, Dan Belanger 30:51. That’s one heck of a podium full of greatness!!  Once he had caught his breath and posed for a few winners photos, I asked young Jackson for a statement about the race….I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was not ready for such a composed answer out of a ten year old. He looked me straight in the eye and said “I just want to say how proud I am of everyone for coming out in the freezing cold and rain to run this race, and (as he pumped his fist into the air) for finishing!” I am pretty sure Jackson will remember this 5k for the rest of his life. I know the rest of us will.

Jackson tears through the finishers tape, crushing his old PR!!

Victorious!! Jackson with his finishers medal. He looks awfully natural in that champion's stance, don't you think?

The Jackson 5k "event staff" and participants. Back row (L-R) Ginea Qualls and Savannah Qualls (official race cheerleaders), Polly Russell (aid station creator/worker), Carl Carter (along with wife Kim, post race snack coordinator), John Russell (you can only see his orange jacket and hat...official pace car driver), Rich Dennis (proud father of Jackson), Hobbit Singleton (official race cheerleader), Dan Belanger (race starter, and liason of awesome), Kim Carter (co-post race snack coordinator) Front Row (L-R) myself (finish tape creator and token idiot in a blanket), Alison Acott (race director and founder), Jackson Dennis (the star of the show), Regina Dennis (proud mother of Jackson) Not photographed are the official race photogs: Michael Harmon, Tom Singleton, and Erin Taylor

Well it’s 3 days post race, and I imagine eventually I will come down from the high I have been on since 10:37:26 on Sunday morning….but it hasn’t happened yet. I am still bouncing around like a kid on Christmas morning, grinning from ear to ear when I look through race photos, and getting choked up just typing “Little Rock Marathon” into the title of my blog. I understand that my time won’t bump me to the top of any world or even American performance lists. I also understand that some may think I missed the mark not having this race 7 weeks ago at the Olympic Trials, and that I may be criticized for racing too much. That’s fine. It’s been 3 years since I ran a PR in the marathon….there is nothing you can tell me that will convince me Sunday wasn’t amazing.

I knew lining up for the race that I was fit. All my workouts had indicated that I was ready to run faster than I had my past few races. But, Little Rock is the most challenging of the 4 courses I have run, so I wasn’t 100% sure how my improvements in workouts would translate time wise. Though I only voiced it to my coach, my personal goal was to break 2:40. I knew breaking 2:40 on that course would mean I was probably ready to PR on an easier course. I don’t want to get too technical or detailed in the breakdown of my race because I think that most people would lose interest after a few sentences…so…here is a link to my Garmin upload you can look at if you want to see the breakdown, and if you don’t care then that’s fine too :) http://connect.garmin.com/activity/155873591

Basically I tried to pace myself in the beginning, but knew from previous runs that it was highly unlikely I would negative split this course so I needed to have a little bit of money in the bank. Early on I was running with a couple local guys whom I knew would be going out about the same pace as me. They picked up the pace between the 2 and 3 mile and I let them go because I knew we were already under pace. I rejoined them just a few miles later going over the Broadway bridge. This was where I really started to notice, that in the 6 years I have run the Little Rock Marathon, this was by far and away the loudest cheering spectator crowd ever. It brought tears to my eyes to have such amazing home town love. I guess I caught the momentum of the crowd, or the early pace caught up with the guys I’d been running with because by mile 6 I was pretty much on my own…but I never felt like it. I kept my focus on the men ahead who had started to fall back from the lead pack. Along with them, I had early start marathoners on the course, whom I started to encounter about mile 9. They gave me all kinds of encouragement. I never, ever have a memory of even one second of feeling lonely or isolated. The dreaded part of the race for me is usually the out and back flat section on the River Trail between miles 18 and 24. When I hit mile 18 feeling strong and solid, I knew it was going to be a fast time. I stopped looking at my watch and just ran. I had asked a friend for words of wisdom the night before (he is a far more accomplished runner than me) and he told me “don’t be afraid to get out of your own way and run outside your skin”. That was my mantra over the last 6.2 miles….don’t look at the watch, try not to slow down, and don’t be afraid to hurt. I remember asking myself “how much harder could you push if someone were on your tail? Are you leaving it all out there? If you try to grab another gear are you going to crack?” In the end I don’t guess the answers to any of those questions matter. When my eyes hit the finish clock and I knew it was going to be a PR, I am pretty sure my jaw dropped. I literally exclaimed “fuck yes!!!” (sorry mom and dad if you’re reading this…I know you don’t like “F bombs”…but that’s what I screamed) All the crappy races in 2011, all the nights of anxiety over if I should keep chasing the running dream or let it be just a hobby, every little ache or cramp or fidgety lost hour of sleep…..worth it. I can’t even put into words the relief, and shock, and joy that I was feeling. I think there is a video somewhere of me and the race directors jumping up and down and screaming. I am getting too wordy here….AND, I finally remembered how to post pictures!! Yeay me!! So, I’ll give a few highlights from the day, photo blog style.  Maybe you will be inspired to come run Little Rock Marathon yourself?

It's way too lame and boring to only post photos you think are flattering. The hotness factor here is very low, but it's funny. Giving a "woo hooo!!!" back to the crowds as I came over the Broadway bridge just past mile 5.

This was shot right as I was dropping the "F yes!!" that I was talking about earlier.

 

Total shock and awe expression after crossing the finish line. Shortly after this photo hands were released from face and shrieking began.

 

Getting a big, happy hug from coach on the sidelines after taking my "victory lap" in the finish chute.

 

With Mark Chepses, who was the the men's overall winner in 2:29:42, and our gigantic finishers medals.

 

Eating chicken fingers off my medal, just as I had promised I would do. The dipping sauce fit perfectly onto the disco ball in the center. Bon apetite!!

 

Celebrating the big day with the best of friends at Bosco's. We may or may not have had a few irish car bombs prior to taking this photo...which has nothing to do with why I look bald. HAAWWWWT.

 

"The birds" basking in the glow of the disco ball trophy....daydreaming about new PRs.

 

Decked out disco-style with the infamous Dave Mari at the post race party. I danced so much the spinner in my medal broke out. Oooops....

 

Violating Liberace....sorry buddy....that's what you get for being a cardboard cutout!!! PS...you're ear tastes like a Mac n Cheese box....not exactly what I look for in a guy....what's that? I'm not quite your type anyway...ah, bummer.

 

Final photo....if I had to choose a single picture to illustrate the emotion I have been feeling ever since the race ended....this is the one. Happiest girl on the planet., running down a dream.

When I made plans months ago to go to the Lost Dutchman Marathon, I had no idea what a treat I was in for. Two of my dear friends, Rob and Jonathan Young (father and son), were on their quest for 10 Marathon Maniac stars (I am too journalistically lazy to explain what Marathon Maniacs are…if you don’t know, google can help).  They were acheiving this by running 30 marathons in 30 different states in one year.  Jonathan mentioned to me that the final of the 30 marathons would be the Lost Dutchman, which is in Gold Canyon, Arizona.  My dad lives in Scotsdale, so it was a no brainer for me to combine a visit to dad with a marathon, and help my friends celebrate!!

I promise that I can’t put into words exactly how wonderful this race is. You really have to experience it for yourself. The start is a few miles up into the Superstition Mountains. Since it is still dark when the runners are bussed up there, it is a bit chilly. Probably a hundred little fire logs are set out for sitting around to stay toasty. It’s such a cool setting. Pictures don’t do it justice (and I still haven’t remembered how to upload pics on here…duh…sorry). The first 6 miles or so are on dirt road, and the view is very scenic. Uninhabited mountains and cactus….and even some longhorns on the side of the road!! I was using this race as a workout to prep for Little Rock Marathon (2 weeks later) so I had an absolute ball for the first 20 miles chit chatting with a couple guys hoping to break 3 hours, sharing stories with the pace biker, and even making a phone call to my best friend. My perception of how fast/easy this course is may be tainted by the fact that I wasn’t “racing” it, but the first 6 miles are mostly downhill, with the remainder lightly rolling and just a couple inclines that make you go hmmm….(okay, they probably make you go “ouch” but remember that song from the 80′s?? “Things that make you go, hmmm”????….no??…okay, never mind). My goal was to run the first 20 easy and the final 6.2 at or under goal race pace, which I did, finishing in 2:47:15. I guess I should mention that I got the win….because I’m sure someone reading this will want to know, but I don’t really want to write about me and my race, so…whatever. At the finish of the race there was a prospector and his donkey you could have your photo taken with. My friends and I wore that poor sucker out! The absolute best part of the race for me was when Jonathan and Rob finished. I went back out of the course to bring them in. Between friends from Arkansas, friends from Arizona, and my dad and his girlfriend, there were about 15 of us at the race together and 5 of us held hands and skipped across the line with Jonathan and Rob, breaking through a 10 star red and yellow (Marathon Maniac colors) finish tape Rob had made as a surprise. As we approached the 26 mile mark I said to them “well guys, this is it….the end of your 30 in 30 is finally here!” and it was choking me up so I can’t even imagine how they were feeling! I forgot to mention, with the exception of a race in Alaska, they drove to every one of the other marathons, sometimes spending the night in their car at the start line, running the race, and getting right back in the car to drive home. I have heard just a few of their adventures and trust me, they could write a book. Being able to be even a small part of the final chapter was incredible.  

I’m certain that this blog hasn’t been able to capture even a fraction of what made this race so special for me. Between the scenic beauty, the fast course, and the fun fun times with friends, it ranks easily among the top 5 of my 32 marathon experiences….I mean it when I say to put it on your “to do” list. I am also certain that this blog is riddled with enough grammatical errors and multiple uses of tenses to make an English teacher’s skin crawl. But, I have another marathon in 6 days, and a glamourous ice bath awaits…so it’ll have to do!

Oooh I am way behind….started writing this a long time ago…. mini blog summary of Tallahassee Marathon: great course! flat, fast, some of the friendliest volunteers i’ve ever encountered, and my award is like a sashimi platter!!! SCORE!! Weather was reportedly hottest it’s ever been for the event, starting out in the lower 60s and humid. Normally that doesn’t fair well for me but I came away with a 2:40:06! My 4th fastest of 31 marathons, a win, and a new course record. I am ready for faster, which is something I don’t know that I have ever said with such confidence right after a race. I just wasn’t willing to gamble and totally push the envelop being that my legs had been shredded after Houston and I didn’t know if 20… or 22… or hell, 18 miles in they were going to say “hahaha!! F you!!” Don’t get me wrong, I gave a hard effort, but I know that there is more there to give. This was a much needed confidence booster for me. I highly recommend this marathon to anyone looking for flat and fast! I also enjoyed getting to meet Shannon Hays, who is well on her way to being the first female to break 4 hours in the marathon in all 50 states… not to mention she is a super sweet person. Get it girl!! (…um…I wanted to add a picture of the fantastic award that I call a sashimi platter, but I can’t figure out how to upload a picture…I shouldn’t admit that, should I?…)