North Face 50K

This was my first venture beyond the marathon distance, and a completely different training plan.  For each of my three Marathons I had logged plenty of miles, but also focused on speed work and tempo runs during the training.  For this 50K attempt, my plan was to focus more on finishing as comfortably as possible.  I logged between 40-50 miles/week with all at an easy pace.  My only speed work was the Grayslake Running Club track interval workouts once/week.  I knew the course would be a challenge, around 1500 feet of gain (that's a lot for us Flatlanders) and all trail, so I set my goal a conservative 10:30/mile pace or 5:30 finish.

 Conditions at the start could not have been better.  It was a in the upper 50s for the 7AM start with low humidity.  The running gods seem to have smiled me for my first Ultra attempt.  Much of the last three weeks has been hot and humid, which would have made this a very uncomfortable race.

Start to Aid Station 1 (Mile 6.9) - The race starts in a recreation area, and we have about a mile run on a road to get to the Scuppernog area, which is the first section we loop.  We started a bit faster than planned (8:40 for mile 1) but I was able to back off and settle into a bit slower pace.  My plan was to run with my friend, but shortly after the fist aid station (2 miles in, we pass this same station 3 times) I had pulled away from him, not on purpose, I was just feeling good.  My average pace during this section was 9:00-9:15, but my HR was just fine and I felt very comfortable, so I figured just stay with it.  My plan was to keep the HR near 150 on the flats, and under 160 on the hills, which ended up being running 1/4 to 1/2 of most of the hills, then walking out the rest.

Scuppernog - Wilton (Mile 16.8)  After the  Scuppernog loop, and began our long loop down the Ice Age Trail and back.  I felt very strong through this section.  I had settled into a comfortable pace, was enjoying the scenery and the occasional runner I would pass or would pass me.  One runner was on a run/walk schedule that had him passing me during his running, and me catching a passing him while he walked.  We struck up a conversation and it turned out he is dating a woman from my running club, small world!  I was still well  ahead of my planned 10:30 pace maintaining the average pace in the lower 9:00's but knew I would be giving it back toward the end.

 Wilton - Hwy 67 (Mile 22.4)  This section included the "Meadows" section of the course.  In my plan I was going to push the pace through here.  It is about a 5 mile section through a grassy bog/meadow, with several wooden bridge crossings.  It is very flat, and should be fast, but just about mile I began to feel the race, and my legs were getting quite heavy.  I was finding it difficult to push the pace the way that I wanted too, and my average pace began to creep up, and my legs were starting to fatigue.

Hwy 67-Piper Rd. (Mile 27.7) - I knew I  had friends volunteering the Piper Rd station, and boy did I need to see some friendly faces.  While I got a great sense of accomplishment when my watch clicked past the 26.2 distance, my pace was struggling, I had a hot spot on a toe on my left foot (pretty good blister by the time I finished) and I was struggling to keep "running" (paces in this section 11's and 12's with plenty of walking).  Another thing that added to the slower paces of this section was the fact that it is run on Horse Trails that are made of very loose sand.  I tried to run on the edge of the trail when I could, and in the truck tire marks when they were there, but the slipping and sliding for several miles was not very fun.  I was quite relieved to reach the Piper Rd. aid station.  I Fueled up with some bananas, oranges, Coke and Mountain Dew, got some encouraging words from my friends (when the asked me what they could get me the only answer I had was, "the finish line") and headed off for the final march home.

Piper Road to Finish (31.4 Miles although my garmin read 30.87)  There was one more tough climb, a steeper hill  that is just over 1/2 mile long. Walked the whole thing, took a deep breath, and started my descent for Ottawa Lake.  By this point in the race, even the down hills were not fun, quads were burned out, feet and ankles aching and sore, and just wanted to be done.  This is an interesting part of the race as we pass the first aid station for the third time.  It was nice to hear them say it's only 1.8 mile home, since my Garmin had me needing significantly more than that.  It was a little demoralizing to see the Marathon relay runners on their way out and back at this point too.  They looked so good, are only running 10Ks, and were flying by me like I was standing still, though almost every one of them had encouraging me.  The good news is that were are too many spectators around to let myself walk, so I sucked it up and finished as strong as I could.

Crossed the finish 15 minutes faster than planned at 5:15, and enjoyed the glow of a really cool accomplishment.  My two friends I was at the start with both hit their goals too, one finished 4:50s with a course PR, the other just 5 minutes behind me and 10 minutes ahead of his 5:30 goal and a course PR for him.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/591992725

Summary:  I needed a break from marathon training and pushing for my BQ, and this was exactly what the Doctor ordered.  While I still want to hit my BQ again, and race Boston, the allure of longer distances, especially on trails, is quite strong.  I don't really have another race on my calendar, so I'll take a few weeks to recover, enjoy running without a plan, and determine what I'm going to conquer next!