oh...running: August 2019

High Cliff Ultra 25K - August 3rd 2019

time = 2:49:52
pace = 10:56
placed 1 in my age group (45-49) out of 15
placed 12 in women out of 76
placed 25 overall out of 124
link to strava data

what to say about this... well, i've DNS'd the past 2 years in a row due to my near-constant injury after injury. this year i really wanted to run this so i waited until 3 weeks before the race and signed up. i suppose i should mention that when i signed up the longest distance i had run since may was maybe 10 miles. i figured i would run it and not really race it and just make sure that i finished as the goal.

i ran a 15 mile training run out at nordic with sid the saturday before and it went well with no aches or pains but we took it really easy and ran pretty slow. then on my tuesday run the next week my left leg felt so bad! my quad was all kinds of knotted up and i could barely roll it without tears. because i wanted to run this race i decided not to run the rest of last week (leading up to the race) so i could just roll the knots out of my quad and be good for the race. it proved to be the right tactic because my legs felt great going into the race!

high cliff state park is approximately 1:47 minutes from my house. i drove up the morning of the race since my race didn't start until 9am so i could get up at a decent time and make it there with time to spare. my gps sent me to the wrong place at first but it must happen all the time because that place is a storage area for the park and they have a sign right out front that says so much and gives directions on how to get to the actual park entrance. so i turned around and headed into the quaint little village of sherwood, wi. i finally found the park and drove up to where all the hand written signs were telling me to go.

once i arrived i got a primo parking spot right at the starting line. i think people thought it was a handicap spot as it was right next to the actual handicap spot, but it was not... don't worry i checked... it was just for me!

i got there just in time to see the 50K start. denny was running that and i cheered him on, but alas... he did not hear me. after that i went looking for my bib.

got my bib and noticed that there was no timing chip! what the hell?!? i got all nervous and fb'd a friend who told me that Mark, the race director, does it old school and they write down your time as you come through the finish. craziness... hard for my type-A personality to be ok with it but what the hell?!? i went with it and hoped that they got it right.

the race starts pretty bare-bones... like a lot of trail races i've run... just a little yell and off we went.

the first 2/10 of a mile was a steep service road downhill. it spread people out but only by a smidge. then we ran a bit of flat paved trail for the other 8/10 of the first mile to go ahead and start climbing single track trail back to the bluff. to be honest... i don't remember the flat being that long but in all the excitement things get weird.

the single track was frustrating because it was up down up down up down and i was stuck behind a couple of people. when i'd finally get past them there'd be an incline and we all know how well i "run" those... so i'd be walking and they'd pass me again. i make up my walking time on the downs so i was really frustrated that i couldn't get away from these people so that i could really open up my downs. finally, we got to some flat area (maybe near mile 4?), and i was able to give it some gas and put a little space between us. i ended up running with a really nice woman until about mile 6 or so. we kept passing each other as one of us would walk and the other would run by and this went on for a couple of miles until at an aid station in the prairie i lost her for good. it's too bad too because i was really enjoying her company and it would have been nice to run with her through the prairie that came next.

miles 6-12 were basically scorching hot as balls prairie in full sun and about 85º with very very short brakes of woods for about a stride or two throughout. to say the prairie was hot as balls is an understatement. it was more like running on a treadmill in an oven with a heat lamp beating down on you. there were very short bursts of a gentle cool breeze but they were few and far between. it was freaking hot! when i was coming back around to the aid station between miles 12 and 13 i noticed that my fingers were swollen up like sausages. i needed some salt.

i want to take a moment to thank the volunteers at this aid station. they were absolutely the best and really boosted my mood both times i went through. they worked tirelessly to make sure that each and every runner that came through felt special and cared for and it was just what i needed at that moment. so the space between 12 and 13... i asked one of the volunteers if anyone had any s-tabs and no one did but he offered me a potato. here's the thing about trail races (if you've never done one)... they have real food. real good food. all of the things really...

so i took a tiny potato out of the water it was hanging out in and dipped it in the bowl of salt sitting next to it. there was so much salt on that damn potato but i sure as hell popped it in my mouth and got it into my belly. grimace and all.

then i chugged some water, ate some watermelon, and was on my way. the sign leaving the aid station says 2.3 miles left so i thought... i got this.

my hips had started hurting a couple miles back so i was walking a lot more than anticipated but i felt good and wasn't crying. i kept running when i could and taking walk breaks when i needed to. i didn't think i would be winning any placements so i really wasn't pushing through the pain. i walked a lot in those last 2 miles.

i passed a couple of dudes who smoked me earlier in the race... they were walking now. the heat really got to a lot of people i think. i just kept drinking like crazy and making sure my bottle was filled up each chance i got to fill it. thankfully they had tailwind so i didn't take in anything weird that my belly isn't used to.

so i'm run-walking through the 2.3 miles to the finish and i realize i'm walking more than i'm running so i push a bit harder and that's when i trip. i saved myself so all was well with the world but i tend to not lift my feet when i get tired so i started paying a little more attention to that so i wouldn't actually fall.

when i'm about a mile out (or so i thought based on what a 25K distance is supposed to be and comparing that to what my watch was telling me) i am passed by 3 women. one right after the other...

so i start to run. i start to run as hard as i can because hell... i'm almost done and i should be able to run a mile without stopping... right? i pass 2 of the women who just passed me and then my right hip was all... nah... we're gonna walk.

so i walked. my watch clocked the course at 15.67 which is why i got confused when i didn't see the finish at 15.5. it's prairie and then woods and then prairie and then turn into the woods and finally some single track and poof! we're out of the woods and back at the start/finish where i'm proud to say i ran it in.

i'm pretty proud of this race. i don't think i was properly trained to be racing this distance and even tho' i said i would go in and just run it... i've never gone in and just run a race. i race all races.

i did race it conservatively tho' in that i didn't finish with tears or so spent that i couldn't have run a few more miles if necessary. my hips were hurting which is why i would have had any trouble running farther otherwise i felt pretty good.

this was a really fun race. it was a lot harder than i thought it would be and i would absolutely run it again. they had stone-fired pizzas at the end and that was amazing! i also drank a can of coke which also tasted amazing.

the race director sends out a handwritten note to each participant when they register which i think is a really great touch. it's meaningful and really drives the olive garden feel home...

"when you're here, you're family"