My First Ultra

No, I didn't run one. But I experienced one today. As a spectator. [I did participate (but not excel) in the half marathon race as part of the North Face Endurance Challenge.]

Cindy Lewandowski and Brian Woods from St. Cloud were there to run their first 50-milers. And they did. And they did so well!! Unofficially they finished in 8:51 and 9:01 respectively. Let's start at the beginning ...

Cindy drove down to Rochester to pick me up (so very kind of her!) Friday noon. We left Rochester with snow coming down in huge, wet flakes. (When I got home I learned we got 4" of snow yesterday! There is still a little on the ground here and there.) Packet pick-up ...

was at Laacke & Joys, an outdoors goods store. We arrived before the panel of guest speakers began and got good seats. The featured speaker was about 45 minutes late. He left San Francisco and arrived in Milwaukee about 7:00 PM after a couple of canceled or delayed flights. (Probably that darn snow!) Who was it you might ask?

Noted ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes. He's not as big in person as he seems on the screen. Or in my imagination. But it was fun to see him in person. One of the other speakers was a gal who lost a leg as a result of a motorcycle accident when she was 21.

I saw her finish the 50-miler today (smiling). Awesome runner. She finished very strong. I can't imagine running on that course with a prosthetic leg. Incredible. It was about 8:15 I think when we left to get something to eat. We went to Potbelly's for a turkey sandwich.

It was good. A lot like Quizno's. Toasted. Then it was back to our room to go through our goodie bags.

Nice technical shirts and socks. And a hand-held water bottle for the 50K'ers and 50-milers. We both deliberated about what to wear. Always such a dilema when the weather is questionable and precipitation and wind are forecasted. We both decided on shorts and a long-sleeved top and gloves. (A lot of people had a lot more clothes on than that. Lots in tights and some in tights and shorts and a shirt and a jacket.) Then, time for some shut-eye after checking the forecast one last time. Multiple alarms (phones, actually) were set for 4:30 AM with a 6:00 AM lift-off for the 50-milers.

Morning arrived quickly. We had a bit to eat then it was down to Kettle Moraine State Forest where the race took place. Brian and Cindy were ready to get started. It was cold standing around waiting!

Soon they were off, with their mandatory headlamps (for the first hour).

I caught up with Cindy at the first aid station (6.5 miles).

She was doing awesome!!

Then it was back to the hotel to eat my breakfast and check out and get back to the starting line for my 10:00 AM race. My race. OK, but not great. 1:46:04 (or :05--can't remember the official time). 4/60 in my age group. 11/247 for females. I did alright for about 8 miles or so (despite some wicked hills--trail running is a lot more challenging that the road. You have to pay attention to where you put your foot down EVERY SINGLE TIME). I was feeling twinges of cramps, my hamstrings were hurting. I got a sharp pain in my left calf about mile 11. I was afraid I'd pulled it. I backed way off, mostly out of necessity. And being afraid of trashing my marathon next Sunday. Certainly the most challenging half marathon I'd ever run.

The lowdown:

My splits: 7:26 7:51 8:06 8:09 7:44 7:29 7:47 8:09 8:18 8:46 8:17 9:22 7:31 (it felt very good to get back on pavement that last mile).

4th of 65 in my age group

11th of 247 for women

I was very cold at the finish as it was so windy so I quickly put on dry clothes and went for a sandwich at the LaGrange store on the recommendation of Lynn Saari.

 

It's a deli/soda fountain/ice cream parlor ...

and bike shop.

Fun place in an UNINCORPORATED town in the middle of Nnowhere, WI. :-)

Then it was back to try to find Cindy on the course. I stopped at aid station 7 but she was running faster than predicted so I'd missed her by 20 minutes. I couldn't get to the next aid station accoding to their directions, so it was back to the finish line for me. Soon enough, there came Cindy. Looking so strong after 50 miles.

She is an amazingly strong runner. She can crank out the (fast!) marathons like nobody's business. (She's in my 5-year age group and ran a 3:20 and then the next weekend a 3:24--just two weeks ago!). What an awesome accomplishment. I am SO PROUD of her. Then just a few minutes later, Brian finished, also very strong. Here they are looking none the worse for wear.

You guys rock!! Cindy says "never again". Brian says he wants to do a 100-miler next. :-)

That's my story. And theirs. And I'm sticking to it.

Good night!