A Beautiful Day, Fun Course, and an Awesome Experience - The Chippewa 50k 2014
Date: 4/27/14
Current Weight: 180 lbs.
Total Miles Last Week: 43
Long Run This Past Weekend: 31 miles @ Chippewa 50k
There are few things that feel quite as good as extending your legs over the green grass at the finish of an ultra distance race. From the finish line I looked out over the big final climb of the Chippewa course watching other runners pushing their way through the final stretch to earn a spot on the grass next to me. I had just finished my first trail ultra marathon, and I had already began daydreaming of my next.
One thing that makes ultras very different than road races is that you seem to make a lot of friends quickly. Everyone you find yourself running alongside has something in common... they have put in countless miles and dedicated themselves to pushing their bodies to the limit, running distances beyond what most think of as crazy and obsessive. Another interesting thing about ultras is that you can never quite spot the "leaders of the pack" by just looking. The top finishers range from being young, lean, and in shape (what you'd expect) to older with a few extra pounds and a bit of a limp in their stride (what you may not expect). I find the age of top ultra runners to be a unique and alluring part about the sport. Ultras tend to cater to the more experienced runner, so often times you see guys in their late 40's and 50's in the front of the pack. Whereas, the top finishers at road races are just about always in their 20's or early 30's, lean, and lightweight.
My day at the Chippewa 50k started at 3:42 am. I woke up just before my alarm clock, as I normally do when I am excited about something the next day. I ate a bowl of oatmeal, drank a cup of coffee, and hit the road with Tony at 4:45 am. After getting lost only two times, and following the Google directions which pointed us to an identical address about 30 miles west of the actual destination, we finally arrived at the Ice Age Visitors Center at about 7:25 am. We checked in, put our race numbers and timing chips on, and got ready at the start line with just a few minutes to spare. After a short choreographed dual stretching routine that probably made us the coolest guys on the course, the race start was announced and we were off. The first thing you hit on the course is a downhill with a good 30 degree decline that gets the quads fired up quickly. From there you loop around the car park, across a prairie, and onto the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The website for the Chippewa 50k say the course is known for having "A lot of little hills." That statement is right on the money. While the climbs are babies compared to those at the Zumbro course, there is rarely a stretch of more than an eighth of a mile where you aren't doing some climbing. One interesting challenge this poses is whether to run or walk the hills. For ultra runners, walking hills is common practice to conserve energy and allow you maintain an overall faster pace and keep the legs feeling fresh. However, when the climb is maybe only 30 or 40 feet, sometimes it makes more sense to just keep running. The trail is all weaving single track, with rocks, roots, and all of the good stuff you'd expect from a good old school hiking trail. There are actually only two very short sections during the race where you are off single track trail. One is a muddy logging road about 5 miles in, and the other is a quarter mile stretch of pavement leading to aid station 2. We started and finished the day with perfect running weather. It was about 32 degrees and cloudy at the start and 50 degrees and partly cloudy at the finish. I dressed perfectly for the conditions (sometimes this is a big feat because you don't know what the day might bring over a 6+ hour period..), leaving in shorts and a secondhand REI long sleeve tech top, and switching at the turnaround to my bright orange "Louisiana Running" singlet that I got in New Orleans.
The first half was peaceful, scenic, and just about everything you'd hope from a trail run on a beautiful spring morning. I got to the turnaround feeling great energy wise, and knowing that I was on pace to hit the goal I had in the back of my mind of 6:30. After the turnaround I picked up my pace a bit, and managed to gain some ground that would pay off in the more challenging parts of the course that would come in the last few miles before the finish. I felt great until about mile 24 when a particularly muddy section of the course slowed me down and forced me to feel the condition of my legs. It's interesting when you get into a groove running how little you notice the fatigue and soreness in your legs. Once that groove is broken; however, you get a pretty quick wake-up call with just how stiff and sore you really are. I felt good when I had an extended portion of running, but when I found myself at the base of a hill about to switch to a power hike up the incline, a sweeping feeling of light pain and soreness washed down from my hips to my feet. I wouldn't say I ever hit a physical "wall" during the race, but I did hit a mental one from about miles 24-28. At mile 28 is the final aid station before the finish. This aid station was just what I needed. I downed a banana, a couple glasses of water, filled my handheld bottle with Gatorade, and left energized and excited with how close I was to the finish. For the second half of the race, I had a vivid picture of just how good it was going to feel to sit down after crossing the finish line in the grass, legs extended, victory in hand. The last three miles holds climbs that caused most runners to push with their hands against their knees to get to the top. As you climb the last hill, a good 250-300 meters with a 30 degree incline, you can see the finish line and feel the personal victory already. After I crossed the finish line at 6:27, I filled my water bottle, said a couple congrats to people I met along the course, and sat on the grass with my feet extended waiting to get a picture of Tony when he crossed the finish line. I had finished, and I had earned my spot on the grass.
My fueling strategy for this race seemed just about perfect. I had a 3 day "Carb Load" leading up to the run, where I increased my carbohydrates to about 350-400g per day leading up to race day. I normally eat 150-200g of carbohydrates per day, so this was a big jump for me. I also drank an electrolyte drink (Powerade Zero) in place of plain water in the two days and morning leading up to the race. During the race I drank 2-3 cups of water at each aid station and filled my handheld bottle with Gatorade for some calories on the run. I had a Lara Alt Bar and a bite size nut roll at the half way point, and a another half banana at the aid stations on the way back. I find that most foods seem to be agreeable with my stomach during slower running, so I didn't worry too much about becoming sick or nauseous from eating whole foods on the run.
Last week a good friend and business partner of a friend and co-worker of mine passed away of an aggressive and incurable form of lymph cancer at just 40 years old. A couple days later at lunch we were talking about how the passing had affected him, and how it made him realize what is important in life. Family, friends, and the importance of life experiences and goals all came up in the conversation. For me, this event was the type of experience that makes life rich and fulfilling. It's hard to explain why goals and experiences have become so important to me over the past few years, but they have. Completing the Chippewa 50k was a goal I set back in November, and it was a great experience that I will never forget. I'll be excited to come back next year to test myself again on the course for a second time!
I'd also like to throw out a special thanks to my beautiful girlfriend, Isabel, for putting up with me running countless hours each week. : )
Personal Stats:
Finshing Time: 6:27 (98th out of 225 runners)
Overall Stats from 2014 Chippewa 50k:
225 runners total
Average finish time: 6:35
Range of finish times: 3:58 - 9:03
Current Weight: 180 lbs.
Total Miles Last Week: 43
Long Run This Past Weekend: 31 miles @ Chippewa 50k
 |
| Tony and I at the start line |
One thing that makes ultras very different than road races is that you seem to make a lot of friends quickly. Everyone you find yourself running alongside has something in common... they have put in countless miles and dedicated themselves to pushing their bodies to the limit, running distances beyond what most think of as crazy and obsessive. Another interesting thing about ultras is that you can never quite spot the "leaders of the pack" by just looking. The top finishers range from being young, lean, and in shape (what you'd expect) to older with a few extra pounds and a bit of a limp in their stride (what you may not expect). I find the age of top ultra runners to be a unique and alluring part about the sport. Ultras tend to cater to the more experienced runner, so often times you see guys in their late 40's and 50's in the front of the pack. Whereas, the top finishers at road races are just about always in their 20's or early 30's, lean, and lightweight.
 |
| Game faces before we hit the start line |
The first half was peaceful, scenic, and just about everything you'd hope from a trail run on a beautiful spring morning. I got to the turnaround feeling great energy wise, and knowing that I was on pace to hit the goal I had in the back of my mind of 6:30. After the turnaround I picked up my pace a bit, and managed to gain some ground that would pay off in the more challenging parts of the course that would come in the last few miles before the finish. I felt great until about mile 24 when a particularly muddy section of the course slowed me down and forced me to feel the condition of my legs. It's interesting when you get into a groove running how little you notice the fatigue and soreness in your legs. Once that groove is broken; however, you get a pretty quick wake-up call with just how stiff and sore you really are. I felt good when I had an extended portion of running, but when I found myself at the base of a hill about to switch to a power hike up the incline, a sweeping feeling of light pain and soreness washed down from my hips to my feet. I wouldn't say I ever hit a physical "wall" during the race, but I did hit a mental one from about miles 24-28. At mile 28 is the final aid station before the finish. This aid station was just what I needed. I downed a banana, a couple glasses of water, filled my handheld bottle with Gatorade, and left energized and excited with how close I was to the finish. For the second half of the race, I had a vivid picture of just how good it was going to feel to sit down after crossing the finish line in the grass, legs extended, victory in hand. The last three miles holds climbs that caused most runners to push with their hands against their knees to get to the top. As you climb the last hill, a good 250-300 meters with a 30 degree incline, you can see the finish line and feel the personal victory already. After I crossed the finish line at 6:27, I filled my water bottle, said a couple congrats to people I met along the course, and sat on the grass with my feet extended waiting to get a picture of Tony when he crossed the finish line. I had finished, and I had earned my spot on the grass.
 |
| Tony crossing the finish line |
My fueling strategy for this race seemed just about perfect. I had a 3 day "Carb Load" leading up to the run, where I increased my carbohydrates to about 350-400g per day leading up to race day. I normally eat 150-200g of carbohydrates per day, so this was a big jump for me. I also drank an electrolyte drink (Powerade Zero) in place of plain water in the two days and morning leading up to the race. During the race I drank 2-3 cups of water at each aid station and filled my handheld bottle with Gatorade for some calories on the run. I had a Lara Alt Bar and a bite size nut roll at the half way point, and a another half banana at the aid stations on the way back. I find that most foods seem to be agreeable with my stomach during slower running, so I didn't worry too much about becoming sick or nauseous from eating whole foods on the run.
Last week a good friend and business partner of a friend and co-worker of mine passed away of an aggressive and incurable form of lymph cancer at just 40 years old. A couple days later at lunch we were talking about how the passing had affected him, and how it made him realize what is important in life. Family, friends, and the importance of life experiences and goals all came up in the conversation. For me, this event was the type of experience that makes life rich and fulfilling. It's hard to explain why goals and experiences have become so important to me over the past few years, but they have. Completing the Chippewa 50k was a goal I set back in November, and it was a great experience that I will never forget. I'll be excited to come back next year to test myself again on the course for a second time!
I'd also like to throw out a special thanks to my beautiful girlfriend, Isabel, for putting up with me running countless hours each week. : )
Personal Stats:
Finshing Time: 6:27 (98th out of 225 runners)
Overall Stats from 2014 Chippewa 50k:
225 runners total
Average finish time: 6:35
Range of finish times: 3:58 - 9:03
 |
| Course Map |
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