Revenge of the Sloth....Hennepin Hundred 2016

Revenge of the Sloth

In 2015 I attempted my first 100 mile Ultra, with not so epic results.  I ended up a miserable heap and dropped at mile 73.  I immediately signed up for 2016 Hennepin Hundred, and began plotting my revenge.  After evaluating the race I felt that I had made a couple major mistakes.  First, I did not spend enough time doing back to back long runs.  Second, I ran to fast and aggressively too early in an attempt to "bank" time for the end.

With that in mind, I also signed up for the Illinois Slam, which included Four 100 mile races in Illinois, go big or go home right.  Well that plan was derailed in April when I got my second consecutive DNF at the 100 mile distance at the Potawatomi Trail Race, and now have another race to avenge.  The good that came out of that DNF was I learned even more about what it takes.  Pot and Hennepin are very different races, to say the least.  Pot has 12K of climbing (yes you read that right, an Illinois race with a ton of elevation), creek crossings, is mostly in the woods,, and is a 10 mile loop course.  I paced better for Pot, but was not trained for all the up and especially down hill, and my quads were shot by the time I got to mile 80.  The good news was I spent over 24 hours running for the first time, and it made me much more sure I could get things done at The Hennepin Hundred which could not be more flatter, a gravel/paved trail, with very little shade.

Since I DNF'd at Pot, the next race in the series was Cry Me A River, also in Peoria, and also with a ton of climbing,  Since completing all four 100's was out of the picture, I chose to do the 55K rather than the 100, and I am glad I did.  CMAR is one of the toughest races I've done to date.  It's 20 mile loops are about 85% climbing or descending the ravines running along the Illinois River, in July where the heat is bad, and the humidity is worse.  I ran a solid race, but was very happy to be done at 34 miles, and bow down to those that finished the 100 miles there!

This left me a little over 2 months to finish training for Hennepin, and I was not going to be denied the belt buckle this time.  While I got advice from everyone I know in the Ultra world, I have to thank Terry Knull the most.  He and I spent countless hours on Saturday mornings practicing our 4:2 run:walk plan (Thanks Stormy Kies, that ratio was the magic elixir), in heat, humidity, and even some rain.  With each long run followed by another long run my confidence grew that I could get this done, and maybe even under 24 hours.

Terry & I Ready to Run

Race Day:  Terry's wife Kristi, crew chief extraordinaire, drove us to Sinnissippi Park for the start.  I was feeling pretty relaxed, ready to run and get this thing on the trial.  After chatting with so many of my ultra friends at the start, some racers, some pacers, some volunteers, it was time to tighten up the shoes and get this show on the road.  That was my first issue of the day.  My new Altra Olympus lace eye loop blew out, and the shoes I planned on starting the race in were now shot.  Everyone says a big part of finishing an ultra is the ability to adapt, but really before the start!  With help from the race director's idea (thanks Michelle) Kristi used a safety pin to fix the shoe, which would come in handy later.  I decided to start in my older pair of Altra's anyway.

We are on he Slow Train to The Finish

First 50K: Terry and I planned to follow our 4:2 run walk plan for at least the first 50K.  During our training we averaged between 10:45 and 11:45 for most of our long runs with this method, so we figured shooting for an 11:00 average for this segment was fast enough without pushing it too hard. Turns out we were right.  We played leap frog with lots of different runners, had some great conversations, and even picked up a fellow Flatlander Ultrarunner, Christian Pukala round mile 20 doing his first 50 miler and was in need of some company, and fell right into our 4:2 plan perfectly.  We planned to be "crewless" for the first 50K, allowing Kristi to get in her morning run, and Bob Lenning and my son Brannan to sleep in a bit, and meet us at the first major AS at mile 32.  Not much to say about this section, other than it was a bit warmer and more humid than we planned.  Terry and I both brought a change of shirts, and were glad we had.  Another Flatlander, Ryan Parker, jumped in and grabbed my sweating hat and shirt and told me he would get it back to me later.  What a bonus to not have to deal with that for the next 15 miles.  Just another example of how generous and helpful the Ultra world is,

No Great Mountain Views on This Ultra, just lots of Corn and Soy Beans

"Flipping" Around to start heading back

Mile 32-Mile 52:  It was a big boost to hit this aid station and see the smiling faces of our crew.  Kristi, Bob and Brannan were excited to see us, and jumped right in getting us changed into dry clothes (it was still humid) and back down the trail with our gear.  This is where the "repaired" shoe came in.  I decided to take a chance with the safety pin fixed shoe, and glad I did.  The newer shoes felt great on my feet, and the lace would holdup for another 68 miles!  From this point to the 50 mile finish we decided to start alternating between 4:2 and 3:5 for our run:walk ratio.  The sun was pretty intense, and we were now sort of wishing the weather that was predicted to be cool and rainy would have come through.  Our moral was still pretty high, and not feeling nearly as bad as I did at this point in 2015, so that was very encouraging.  We all got a big boost when we got to the Flatlanders/Ten Junk Miles Aid Station.  They know how to do it, lots of volunteers, loud music, and the energy we need to keep pushing on.  Another Flatlander friends, Brian Smock grabbed my pack, and loaded it with ice and water like I asked, and I got to sit a minute and re-energize.  Bob, Kristi and Brannan took care of everything else, and we were back on the trail quickly.  Christian mentioned that his plan was to try to get around a 10 hour 50 mile, and we thought we could get him there, so we kept on clicking off miles.   That plan came of the rails when we got to an AS about mile 42, and Christian saw another Flatlander, Doug Beattie, who was having some hamstring issues and resting a bit at the Mom's Run This Town (better known as MILF) AS.  He decided to hang with Doug, and off we went down the trail,  The turnaround is past the AS/Finish for the 50 mile race, so we come into the AS, then do a 2.5 mile out/back to get back here at 52 miles.  We adjusted our plan at this point ot a 2:4 run:walk, but were still able to maintain a pretty good pace.

Can't forget To Have Fun

Stormy (doing 200) Terry, Christine & Meredith

Mile 52-67:  Was not feeling great coming into mile 52, and it was time to start getting ready for the night run by the next AS.  I had fallen behind on my nutrition a bit, and my stomach was feeling pretty sour.  Brannan found my stash of  Snickers bars, and I gobbled one down, which tasted great, but didn't do much to help my stomach.  This is an Ultra, so I knew it all couldn't be rainbows and kittens, so time to suck it up and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  The good news is my feet and legs still felt pretty strong, and we were still running all our 2 minute segments, so the miles were clicking and the shot at a sub 24 hour finish was still very realistic.  When we made it to the next AS, MILF's again, my stomach was pretty bad.  I forced down a half of a grilled cheese sandwich, tasted great, but not quite as good as the bacon and MILF hug I got from my good friend Carrie Wagner from the Libertyville Running Club who was running this AS the first time we went through here.   We grabbed our nighttime gear, I prefer my handheld Nathan flashlight to a headlamp (those things kill my head), and off into the gnats and skeeters we went.   Onset of night was not a high point, to say the least.  The good news was my stomach was feeling better.  Don't remember much of the stretch from MILF back to Flatlanders, Terry and I were pretty quiet most of this segment, and it seemed to take longer than it should have, but we finally got the the park, heard the music, and made it to the point were Brannan would run the next long segment with us.  As it's been said, be ready to adapt.  Brannan, being a 19 year old, was asleep in the van, LOL. So much for some new company.  Had a cold hotdog, bit of some cookie, and off we went after the Flatlanders loaded our packs.  Terry and I knew this next section was long and boring, and we were not disappointed.  The good was we still maintained our 2:4 and were not hurting too much.

Mile 67-72:  Coming back to this AS is a good boost, because we were finally done with the middle out and back segment, and would be heading to all new trail.  My confidence was growing, because in 2015 I was barely able to leave this AS.  The surprise to us was our crew was not there.  It turned out that Terry and I made much better time than they predicted, and they were in the van hiding from the mosquitoes. Without our crew, and Brannan who was going to run with us for the next 5 miles, Terry and I decided to just grab some quick nutrition and get out of there right away.  He called Kristi as we were leaving to tell her to just meet us at the next one, and she said they were there, and would send Brannan after us.  He caught us right away (I was glad he had some food and an Ibuprofen for me) and was great company for the next 5 miles.  We also picked up another runner, I wish I had asked her name, who decided she liked our pace and spent a lot of this section with us.  She would drift ahead on the walk, and we would catch her on the run.  I really got a boost sharing these miles with my boy, he kept us entertained, and pushed me when I needed it., all of which  I needed it as we were coming into the AS where I dropped in 2015.  What a difference an AS Captain can make.  In 2015 it was just a couple people and a small fire, this year my friend Joe Gowe from the MUDD group took it over, and it was the polar opposite,  It was lit up like a runway with huge blow up Christmas decorations, the volunteers jumped right to helping, and it was clearly a NO DROP ZONE as he had promised.  We did drop Brannan, but after a quick bite, down the trail we went.

Half The Race was spent in this Light Circle

72-82:  The next few miles my legs and feet really began to feel the miles.  I could tell Terry was doing better than me, and I told him if he was feeling good he could take off.  He was, but didn't take off just yet.  We kept pushing the 2:5 with a few more 1:6 run:walks, but hey, were were still moving toward that finish line.  Terry began to feel he could break 23 hours, I did not.  By the time we got to another great friend's AS, Mike Farrington, where I knew he had donuts, I knew it was time to cut Terry loose.  I think he knew I was going to finish, so was comfortable leaving me behind, and I'm glad he did.

82-93:  When we left Mike's AS, I watched Terry drift off into the night.  I was still running/walking, but his paces at both were just faster at this point.  About a mile out of the 86 mile AS, I texted Brannan and Bob that I needed food, Brannan and maybe a chair for a few minutes.  When I got there, it was great to see Kristi, Bob and Brannan.  I was hurting, but realized if I could just maintain my pace, I could get that sub-24 buckle I wanted so badly.  For having never paced anyone in an Ultra, Brannan did an outstanding job.  It was now 3 in the morning, I was tired, sore, and cranky, and he just kept pushing me along.  When my walking pace slowed, he would get me to pick it up.  When I wanted to quit a run segment early, he would push me to the full time.  I was really proud of how he carried me through this tough segment, which ended up being about 3/4 of a mile longer than the AS volunteer had told us.  For those that have done Ultras, this late in a race your life is boiled down to covering whatever the distance is to the next AS.  When it is not where you think it should be, one can get quite upset!

Got It Done!

93-Finish:  After dropping Brannan, eating a little soup, and almost getting stuck in a camping chair, I took off down after the finish line.  4 miles to the next AS, then 3.5 to the finish, no more crew until the end.  At this point I knew all I had to do was keep up a strong hiking pace (16-18 minute miles)  to get done around 23:30, so that was the plan.  Everything hurt, felt a couple blisters, quads/hamstrings screaming, feet sore, the ankle tracking device was digging a ditch into my ankle,  and I couldn't have been happier!  Marched along to the first AS, confirmed the distance to the finish, grabbed a banana, and kept on moving.  It's a pretty amazing place to be when you are as tired and fatigued as you have ever been, yet full of excitement to get to the finish line.  About 1/2 mile from the finish, I saw Brannan running out to find me, what an emotional moment.  He had a huge smile on his face and said, come on Dad let's run it in.  Surprisingly, with about 1/8th of a mile to go I began to run (probably more of an Ultra shuffle) to the finish line.  The smiling faces of Bob, Kristi, Terry (who finished in an incredible 22:55) and Michelle Hartwig, the race director, all standing there waiting for me to cross that finish line!  What a feeling to reach a goal that seems almost unreachable.  I collapsed into a chair, enjoyed the moment, and then almost puked for about 20 minutes, at least the nausea was after the finish.  Quick parking lot change, and piled into Bob's car for the long ride home, what a life saver not having to drive.

Summary:  I'm sure there are several other people I didn't mention here that I should thank, if I missed someone I'm sorry.  My Third attempt at the 100 mile distance, and I finally got it done, and sub 24 to boot. Could not have been more pleased with how the race went.  I'm sure there are adjustments I can make moving forward to get even faster, better and stronger. but that is always the case.  As I sit here three days removed, with most of the soreness gone, feet on the mend, and considering a little shake out run at lunch, I've already signed up for Potawatomi next spring to avenge that DNF, planning to stick with the 50 miler at Tunnel Hill in 5 weeks, and looking forward to where this journey takes me.  My biggest takeaway from the 2016HH is how amazing the Ultra Running community is.  Between the other runners, support crews, race organizers, Aid Station volunteers, just incredible people.  I've come to agree with the outlook that in life you get two families.  The one you are born into, and the one you choose.  My "birth" family is incredible, Angela, Brannan, Dylan and Mary Kate for putting up with me being gone for all the training and travel that Ultras require.  My Mom and Dad who don't get it, but still are proud and support me in doing it.  My "choice" family is the Ultra Running Community.  They are the most supportive, positive, giving and fun group of people to be around, and a big reason why I will continue to challenge myself to try bigger and badder races.