Ultra Death

At 8 miles to go, things were going somewhat according to plan. 

I hated the fact that I was wearing a pair of Inov8 Mudrocs. I had thought mud = Mudrocs; they had to be better than road racing flats, I figured. Well, it wasn't super muddy, and whenever it was muddy, it was on the low flats, where the mud was so deep it wasn't really a question about traction.

Those shoes were bugging the hell out of me. My toes were burning, like I was in a road cycling shoe that was too tight. The shoes are so inflexible that I was forming all kinds of blisters. And it suddenly occured to me they might be low-drop shoes. 

But anyway, except for the much-maligned Mudrocs, I was where I wanted to be at 7 miles to go.

I was running with Alex kurt; Rubesch was a little bit behind. Jordan Hanlon and another guy were up ahead. I had run conservatively all day. Nutrition had been good. I felt ready to put it a nice little late-race surge. I drank a 5-Hour Enenrgy (which contains caffeine) and told Alex I was going to go for it. I turned on my music and charged for home, honestly thinking I had a chance at catching up with the two leaders.

Yeah. That didn't happen. At 5 miles to go, Jordan Hanlon suddenly came running toward me on the trail. He thought he was lost and wanted to run back to find the right trail. Alex caught up and said he thought we were on the course. At which point Jordan turned arund and took off at what looked like 6-minute mile pace. 

That's when Ultra Death had started to set in. Alex disappeared in the distance. Rubesch went by me with a cat-like stride. I walked on, hurting everywhere, feeling faint. I walked and hobbled the rest of the way in. Another guy passed me on the last hill, just for good measure. 

Jordan Hanlon ran the last 5 miles 16 minutes faster than me! He passed the second-place guy, whose name I didn't catch, in the last few miles. I was impressed.

From treadmill to Chippewa 50K

Saturday is Chippewa. Our very first ultra back in 2007, when Christian was a tiny baby. We both ran it in 2011 and then again in 2012. In 2012, the spring had been so warm that late April felt like the middle of summer. The trails were very fast. 

This year, It looks like there will be some mud and snow, although not as much as I would have thought two months ago. 

All my training has been on a treadmill. All of it; okay, except for two weeks in Denmark in March. How 50K on the trails will go down, I have no clue. I know I'll be wearing my clunky Inov8 Mudrocks (Mudrox?), which I don't really like. All my other shoes are racing flats. No, the Girl has not been able to hook me up with a pair of Salomons.

I looked at the list of entrants and found plenty of competition. 

Jake Hegge would normally be the favorite, but he ran the Zumbro 50 Miles. I have trained some with Hegge, and I know he recovers fast. I still remember how he outsprinted John Storkamp up the last hill in 2012. Jake was on the UW La Crosse track team, but chose to focus on trails. If I am with him near the end, I need to drop him before the last hill. Most likely, I will be far behind him, and if not, I don't see myself dropping him anyway.

At least Mike Borst is not on the list. When Jake and Mike, the two wise men of La Crosse, show up, they usually place 1-2.

Jordan Hanlon is faster than me for sure. I beat him at Afton a few years ago, only because he started out with the leaders, while I was weaseling away at my own pace. I think he has a 2:35 marathon, which may be faster than Hegge (although Hegge has a sub-15 5K as I recall).

Chris Rubesch could kill me at 50 miles. 50K is a little short for him, but in any case, he is peaking for Ice Age, so he may just use this as a training run.

John Storkamp is always running in the front group, chatting away and cracking jokes. Like Rubesch, he is a pure ultra guy, and 50K may be a little short for him. Maybe the mud benefits him? 

I may have missed some names on the list, and obviously some fast folks from outside the group of usual suspects may show up. 

The women, you ask? I honestly think the Girl would win this one, but in her absence, I did see Christine Crawford on the list. I did not see the Scotches (nee Lavin) on there. Alicia Hudelson is injured and far away. I did not see the fast Duluthians, like Christi Nowak or Leslie Semler. But, honestly, there are so many women excelling at ultras that someone whose name I don't recognize could show up and chick me. 

April 2014 Running Log

2 5K@8% 21:30?. 5K@8%. ? time

4 5K%8% (no time; pager went off in the middle. "4x800" 15:20

6 2M@5% 12:19, "4x800" 15:18. PR

8 5K@8% 20:20 PR. 4x800 15:19

9 An hour or so with Christian on his bike.

115K@8%, 2M@5% 12:09 (though on unreliable YMCA treadmill

13 A few miles with Andreas in the hotel gym

15 2M@5% 12:16. "4x800" 15:25. I think I got fatter on vacation

17 8 x 800, I think. i forget the times.

19 2M@5% 12:11. PR? but the treadmill seems like one of the faster ones

21 800 m intervals. Got interrupted too many times.

23 9 miles. 10 K "progression intervals in 39 something

26 Chippewa 50K. 4:12. Terrible race.

28 Swam some

30 sore legs on the treadmill