I'm trying not to panic.

So last December I had this brilliant idea:  I'll try to register for the Ice Age Trail 50 miler.  I've already done a 50K, so a 50 miler would be the next logical step, right?  And besides, that race fills up fast.  The chances of me getting in are slim.

Famous last words.

Thank you for using the website of RunRace.net to submit your event registration.
+---  Race Information  ---+
Race Name: Ice Age Trail 50 - 2016
  Location: La Grange
    State: Wisconsin, U.S.A.

+---  Event Information  ---+
Name of Event: Ice Age Trail 50 Mile
      Distance: 50
  Measurement: Miles
          Date: Saturday May 14th, 2016
    Start Time: 6:00 AM

So like any sane person, I celebrated for a moment, panicked for a moment, consulted /r/running on Reddit for a training plan, and mapped out the mileage that I'd have to accumulate over the coming months.

The training was going very well.  I hit most of my miles and got in my most important runs.  I did Crossfit a few days a week along the way and overall I felt stronger and faster than I've ever felt.

Then the littlest plague-beast came home with a bad cough.

Don't let this cuteness fool you.  This sweet little guy became a mess of respiratory gunk.  And little people loooooove to share their respiratory gunk with their mommas.  Within ten days, I was the sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-headed, fevered mess that the Ny-Quil ads warned me about.  And with every deep breath I could hear the telltale wheeze-and-pop of bronchitis that I struggled with two years ago.

Shit.

A planned 50-mile week dropped to a 30 mile week, which was followed up with a 15-mile week - not exactly ultra-distances.  I consulted Dr. Google and learned that I should not run for at least two weeks, that I should run more, and that I probably have Lupus.  I followed that up with a call to Dr. Reddit who was quite encouraging, but only slightly more helpful.

But the good news is that through it all, I didn't break my runstreak, and I seem to be on the mend.  The bad news is that this took a very solid chunk out of my training.  I have a marathon in 9 days that I'm using as a training run, and the longest I've run this week is 2 miles.  I'm trying not to panic, but...

It's proving to be difficult.  

Right now, I'm going to try to get in one 10 mile run before the marathon next weekend.  I'll take it easy on marathon day and see how it goes.  If I crash and burn, I have another marathon/training run later in the month that I'll try to use to redeem myself.  

I guess I'm just going to go out there and hope for the best.  

Does anyone have any advice on training after an illness?

2Toms - A Product Rave and a Cautionary Tale

Disclaimer: I received some samples of 2Toms Sport Shield to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com

The dreaded chafe.

I don't chafe easily, but when I do, I do it in spectacular fashion.  After spending my first relatively high-mileage summer a few years back training in blissfully low humidity, I woke up on the morning of my first marathon to record heat and humidity.  It was the kind of humidity that fogs your glasses and makes you gasp for air.  It was ugly, but I thought I was ready for it:  I had purchased Body Glide earlier in the year - everyone loves Body Glide, right?  I decided it was time to give it a try.  I applied it to all of the necessary areas, I ran 26.2 miles, and I chafed badly.  I'll spare you the details, but let's just say I didn't even know that women could chafe there.

Yeah.  Please don't think about that too long.  In fact, let's never speak of that again.

Needless to say, ever since then I've been very interested in finding an alternative to Body Glide.

I first heard about 2Toms from the guys on the fabulous Ten Junk Miles podcast.  They absolutely rave about the 2Toms line.  Their commentary piqued my interest, but I was never able to find it in stores and I wasn't quite ready to pull the trigger on buying it online.  But when BibRave gave me an opportunity to review it, I jumped at the chance to try it.

I totally should have bought 2Toms Sport Shield ages ago.

I received the women's 2Toms Sport Shield in two forms:  a roll-on bottle, and a few individually wrapped wipes.

I couldn't wait to try it.  I've spent a fair amount of time this winter putting in miles on the indoor track at the Pettit Ice Center.  While I love having the Pettit as an option, its extremely dry climate combined with the relentlessness of long track miles (oh look, a left turn...another left turn...hey, I think I'll turn left up here...) wreaked havoc on my feet.  I started getting blisters for the first time ever.  Blisters are not an option for a streak runner.

Fortunately, my 2Toms arrived just in time.  I started using the roll-on Sport Shield on my toes, and the blistering issues went away.  I've logged six runs longer than thirteen miles at the Pettit in the past few months, and the blistering issue that I was struggling with is totally gone.  I'll spare you a picture of my feet as proof (I'm rocking two black toenails right now, so my career as a foot model is on hold for the time being) but the piggies have never felt happier.

My Pettit bag:  headphones, water bottle, cash, GUs, and 2Toms.

And 2Toms doesn't seem to sweat off, either.  I'll own up to the fact that my feet get pretty sweaty, but the 2Toms didn't seem affected.  I've only ever needed a single application for a run.

The 2Toms Sport Shield single use wipes are great too - without getting too PG-13 in my descriptions, the wipes are great for getting at all of the nooks and crannies that can chafe and blister.  I was a little worried the first time I opened the wipes - they felt a little dry.  I think because they are packaged like wet-naps, I expected them to be as moist as wet-naps, but they aren't.  They aren't supposed to be.  But they work wonderfully, and are a must-have in my race bag.

And now, my cautionary tale.  2Toms is slippery - good news for your body, but potentially bad news for other things.  For instance, if you lube up your feet and then walk across your hardwood floor before putting on socks, the 2Toms may leave a slick residue on your floor.  It won't be visible, but it will be there waiting for you.  And this residue may be so slippery that, days later, when you are in a haste to get ready for work you may find yourself skidding comically across your floor in a fashion usually reserved for cartoon characters stepping on banana peels.  And in doing so you may fall on your ass in such a spectacularly noisy fashion that you wake everyone in the house.  I'm not saying that happened to me, but...well, just be careful.  This stuff is slick.

Want to try 2Toms for yourself?  Here's the deets:

Find them at 2Toms.com

Check MediDyne's Facebook page.

Follow 2Toms on Twitter.

And best of all:  get 20% off of your order through the end of April, 2016 by using the code "2Toms20"

Ten Things Pettit Runners Know

If you are a runner in the greater Milwaukee area, you are lucky.  Not only do you have a great running club and great local races, but you also have the Pettit National Ice Center's run/walk track to help you stay in top condition during our long, cold winters.  I have spent many Saturdays and Sundays this winter making my slow way around the track.  (Personal record:  61 laps).

I'm grateful to have the Pettit.  It beats running on icy sidewalks in wind chills that get into the double-digits below zero.  But like anything, you sometimes have to take the good with the bad.

Ten Things Pettit Runners Know

1.  There's always something to see on the ice.  The Pettit hosts all kinds of great ice skating events, from ice hockey to skating lessons to speed skating time trials.  When your friends ask you if you ever get bored running in circles, you can tell them about the adorable kids you saw taking their first steps onto the ice, the raucous hockey match you witnessed, or the figure skaters you saw practicing their routines.

2.  But it can be a little dull, too.  Running isn't always exciting, right?  The key to a good, long workout at the Pettit is a good playlist, some good podcasts, or some good company.

3.  After a few laps, you'll either be great at math, or you'll forget how to count.  The track is 445.2 meters long (measured on the inside lane), which makes a mile slightly under four laps.  Because that makes for some ugly math, runners going for long distances track laps instead of miles and then calculate their mileage at the end by using the handy chart by the track.  But even counting laps gets strangely challenging after about a dozen times around the circle.  Maybe we all get a little dizzy by then?

4.  Fifty-five degrees is not as warm as it sounds.  When the whether outside is below zero, a run in perfectly controlled 55 degree conditions sounds lovely.  But with the Pettit's low humidity, it actually feels pretty cold.  A hat and gloves are nice to have until you get warmed up.

5.  The Pettit Lung is real.  That dry air can wreak havoc on your lungs and you might develop a bit of a hacking cough after a hard workout on the track.  Still better than freeze-your-face-off wind chill.  Have a nice cup of hot tea after you cool down from your run - it seems to help.

6.  Sometimes you have to pull over for the National Anthem.  Many of the sporting events at the Pettit kick off with the National Anthem.  You may be in the middle of an 800, but the right thing to do is pull over, take off your hat, and listen respectfully.   Your 800 will be there when the song is done.

7.  You'll see all kinds of characters on the track.  There's the barefoot guy who makes his way around the track with a slow-but-steady distinct cadence.  Army guys and gals run in between sets of situps.  You'll always see a few impossibly fast people who make the rest of us look like we're taking a leisurely stroll.  And there's nothing quite as humbling as being passed by a kid who looks like he's about six - kids are welcome at the Pettit run/walk track, and the few that I've seen there have always been super fast and incredibly awesome.

8.  Zamboni Crossing is an actual thing.  Look both ways!

9.  You may start to wonder what it would be like to run a marathon around a track.  And if you really want to see what it's like, you can!  The Icebreaker Indoor Marathon takes place every January.  94.9 laps around the Pettit will get you to 26.2 miles.  (The less cuckoo among us can opt for the half marathon, which comes in at about 48 laps.  But if 94.9 laps doesn't feel like enough, there's always the Gold Medal Challenge, where runners can do the half marathon and the full marathon on consecutive days).  The post-race cookies make it all worthwhile.

10.  We're lucky to have the Pettit.  It keeps us off the treadmill during these long, cold winters.

Running With Podcasts

I'll say it:  I'm not sure I'd be a runner if not for podcasts.  Listening to podcasts has gotten me through some of my most tedious treadmill slogs, my most gloomy runs at the Pettit, and my most arduous training runs.  I used to be committed to my music playlists when I ran, but now I rarely turn on the tunes (unless I need a little extra burst of speed  - then you betcha I've got some Taylor Swift ready to go. #trueconfessions).

To state what might not be obvious to everyone, a podcast is an episodic digital audio file not unlike a radio show or serial.  There are podcasts out there about everything:  running podcasts, human interest story podcasts, Star Wars podcasts, Sudoku fan podcasts, hiking and mountaineering podcasts.  Basically, choose your interest and there's probably at least a half dozen podcasts on the topic.

Podcasts can be downloaded to your iPhone either through the iTunes player or through a third party podcast app.  I use an app called Podcruncher.  Podcruncher has a simple interface and a lot of options that make it easy to download and listen to podcasts.  My favorite feature is the playlist creator.  (If you have an Android phone or some other device, sorry: I know nothing about them but I suspect through the use of voodoo and good vibes you can listen to podcasts on your weird non-Apple device too).  #nothelpful

So, how about some podcast recommendations?  I have plenty.

Running podcasts

If you are reading this at all, you probably have at least a passing interest in running, so let's start out with some great running podcasts.

Ten Junk Miles - TJM is my favorite running podcast.  The podcast is created by a group of mostly ultrarunners who talk about everything from chafing to karaoke to some of their weird and crazy race experiences.  (I want an invite to the Retaste of Chicago someday!) They typically have guests from the ultrarunning world who are always interesting and entertaining.  The podcast can get laugh-out-loud funny at times, and it really makes the miles go by.  I save this one for my long runs.

Ultrarunner Podcast - URP takes on ultrarunning from the speedy side of things by interviewing mostly accomplished ultrarunners.  While I can't relate to their speed, I enjoy listening to their take on various races around the world, and it is a neat glimpse into how the other half lives and runs.

Trail Runner Nation - This podcast is a little more diverse.  It has interviews with accomplished trail runners, but it has plenty of episodes featuring Q&As with sports medicine folks, nutritionists, coaches, races directors, and people from all sides of trail running.

Okay, it can't all be about running, can it?  Let's switch it up.

True Crime Podcasts

True crime is all the rage right now.  The Netflix documentary Making a Murderer is everywhere, there has been a surge in true crime podcasts of all stripes, and Serial, the podcast that added the word "podcast" to the lexicons of millions of people is in its second season.

Serial - You just can't talk about podcasts without taking on Serial.  In fact, if you are new to podcasts, Serial Season One is probably the best place to start.  Created by the creators of This American Life, Season One featured journalist Sarah Koenig's investigation into the 1999 murder of a young woman named Hae Min Lee.  Through compelling storytelling, Koenig leads listeners through the evidence in a way that calls into question whether the man who is doing time for her murder is really the killer.  It is a great listen and it truly deserves the accolades that it has received.

Sword and Scale - This is one of the grittier and more graphic true crime podcasts that I have come across.  Each episode features a strange and awful crime, ranging from the Jonestown massacre to "satanic panic" to more obscure and strange murders.  The episodes can be a little hard to listen to as they often include "real" media, like 911 calls and interviews, but that's also part of what makes this podcast so compelling.  I have actually fallen out of love with this podcast recently as I feel as though the quality has declined a bit, but I still recommend the earlier episodes as they are very well done.

Criminal - Criminal takes on the subject of crime from all angles.  In one episode we hear about the beautiful relationship between a police officer and his retired K9 partner.  In another we hear about a woman who was duped by an online love interest.  In another we learn more than we ever wanted to know about the theft of wood from the Petrified Forest National Park.  You never know what you'll get with Criminal, but it is always a solid, entertaining listen.

Too serious?  I'll admit that I scared the heck out of myself when I made the mistake of listening to a certain episode of Sword and Scale while on a long, lonely run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail.  #boo! If true crime is too real for you, there are other options.

Offbeat Podcasts

The Mystery Show - The Mystery Show tackles a new, slightly wacky, totally inconsequential mystery each episode.  Despite the stakes being about as low as they could possibly be, every single mystery unfolds in such a compelling way that you can't help but be engaged.  From reuniting a weird belt buckle with its owner to figuring out what Britney Spears is reading, The Mystery Show is always delightful.

Reasonable Doubt - I can't say that I'm a huge fan of comedian Adam Carolla or attorney Mark Geragos, but when they are together for the Reasonable Doubt podcast, they put on a great show.  They tackle the legal side of current events without ever getting dull or bogged down in the uninteresting side of the law. Mark always has great insight from some of his high-profile cases, and Adam's off-the-cuff remarks make the show very listenable.  New episodes are released every Saturday, and before I take on my Saturday long run I always make sure I have the latest Reasonable Doubt loaded up.

The Moth - The Moth is about all about storytelling.  Great storytellers share their stories that are sometimes grand, sometimes mundane, but always entertaining and often moving.  I have been moved to tears by this podcast and I have been reduced to laughter by it as well - sometimes within the same episode.

Limetown - Limetown takes Serial's compelling investigative format and turns it on a fictional storyline.  The result is an incredibly immersive adventure which goes well with a good, long run. I can't say much about the plot without giving it away, but I suspect you'll be hooked after an episode. Season one recently ended with little closure and I am looking forward to more Limetown in the future.

The world of podcasts is booming right now, and because I listen to so many podcasts, I'd like to make podcast reviewing a regular feature on the ol' blog.

Do you listen to podcasts?  What are you listening to these days?  Recommend something - I'm always looking for more things to listen to.

Tough Mudder Wisconsin - September 12, 2015

I did the Wisconsin Tough Mudder on Saturday.  If you haven't done the race before, you may know it as the long mud run (12-ish miles) with the electric shock obstacle (as opposed to Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, or the zillion other mud runs that have popped up).  I've done plenty of other mud runs and lots of other regular running races, but this was my first Tough Mudder.

Tough Mudder is not timed; rather, it is about teamwork.  Some of the obstacles are literally impossible to do without a team.  At first, that was really off-putting to me.  I'm a solo runner and I like to race the clock.  That said, the teamwork stuff was actually pretty cool.  Most of my team consisted of friends-of-friends who I hadn't met prior to the day of, and over the course of run I felt like I really got to know these people and could happily hang with them over some beers anytime.   I guess helping people in and out of mud will do that.

The Course

The course varies from state to state of course, but they really hit a home run in Wisconsin by having this at Road America.  They used the miles of rocky, rooty, rollercoaster hills on their offroading trails and it was fantastic.  My trail runner heart had a blast bombing down the hills and chugging up the steep inclines.  I want to go back and run the trails again and again.  There were plenty of long segments of running in between the obstacles, so unlike some of the shorter obstacles courses, there was plenty of time to stretch the legs.  I loved it.

The Obstacles

Honestly?  Pretty fun.  There were tall walls to scale, barbed wire to snake under, mud to forge,  heavy logs to carry, etc.  Some of the more memorable obstacles included the "Arctic Enema" which was a waterslide that lands in chest-deep ice water, "Everest" which is a slick half-pipe that you run up (and if you are part of the 95% who can't scale it without help, you hope for some strong arms to grab you and haul you over the crest - plenty of people are willing to lend a hand to help a fellow Mudder, so no problem there).  I loved watching King of the Swingers which involved jumping off of a 15 foot platform to grab a swinging bar and landing in deep water.  Incredibly fun to watch, but as a non-swimmer I had to opt out of this one.  "Electroshock Therapy" involves shocking electrical wires that you basically have to put your head down and power through.  I took a good shock to the hip that rocked me, but other than that it was okay.

I made some pretty big assumptions that Tough Mudder would have the same AROO!BEASTMODECROSSFIT4LYFE attitude that the Spartan Races have, but it doesn't.  Tough Mudder is about working with your team to make it through any way you want.  If you want to run Tough Mudder, that's cool - no one will look down on you for making a run of the course.  If you want to walk it with your friends, that's cool too.  Make it an 11 mile party?  Sweet.  You do your Tough Mudder your way.  I've been on both ends of the spectrum, from the balls-out Spartan Races to the "let's take 2 hours for this 5K and then go get a cosmo and donuts" Dirty Girl mud runs, and this was a nice in-between.

So, all that said, was this the smartest race to run 3 weeks before my 50K?  Maybe not.  The potential for injury in an obstacle course race is pretty big as there's lots of room to fall, turn an ankle, etc., but I think I got a huge benefit from the hillwork I did and the time on the trail.  I'd definitely do it again in a heartbeat, especially off-season.

Finally, here's the obligatory team before and after pics.

Photo Credits:  Jeff Hammes.  Aren't these amazing photos?  I am blown away by how great the pictures turned out.

Thoughts on a 100 Day Runstreak

I've heard it time and time again:  rest days are important.  You can't run every day because your body needs to recover.  Running every day is a recipe for injury.  Respect the rest day.

But then I read about the runstreakers - the men and women who run every single day, rain or shine, sometimes for years.  Sometimes for decades.  I read a few articles with mild interest but didn't think much more about it.  While there are plenty of article extolling the virtues of the rest day, I reasoned that running just a mile each day probably isn't going to be harmful to someone who isn't injury prone and who is used to running distances.  But it wasn't something I had considered for myself.  I like my rest days.

Then on June 1, 2015, my Crossfit box posted a message with its workout of the day challenging us all to run one mile each day for a full week.  Since running is my thing, I considered doing a run streak of my own: something more than a week, but less than forever.  So I challenged myself to run every day in the month of June.  The rules:  one mile.  It can be slow.  It can be outside or on a treadmill.  But it has to be at least a mile.  I declared my intention on Strava, thereby making it officially official so I couldn't back out.

It wasn't easy.  My first half marathon of the year was in mid-June and I was worried about not taking a few days off of running beforehand.  That fear was unfounded, and I PRd my race.  Then I got a bad cough and chest cold and wondered how anyone could run through feeling sick.  I lamented about it on Facebook and some runstreak friends told me to get out there and do my mile.  I did, and strangely enough, I felt better.  Before I knew it, June was done and I had ran all 30 days.

Then July ticked by and then August.  I ran at least a mile each day, usually more.  And I became a stronger runner.  Sure, there were days when my calves just felt tired.  Never painful, never injured, but tired.  Those would have been cause for a rest day in my pre-streak times, but the runstreak version of myself just ran an easy mile on those days.  There were days that weather and scheduling made a run difficult, but with some finagling I always managed to find ten minutes to eke out a mile, even if it was a treadmill mile.  Most days, I felt good.  I put up decent mileage each week, and even in the heat of summer my "easy" pace got quicker.  Whereas last year I struggled to put up a single ten minute mile, this year 9:30 became a comfortable pace for a reasonable number of miles.

Robot Capris from InkNBurn.  I seriously love them.

I never intended to have my run streak last 100 days.  It lasted through races, through speedwork, through tough Crossfit days where two-a-day workouts were the only way for me to get my run in.  It lasted through illness and bad weather.   And now, on Day 100 - a milestone far greater than I ever intended to see - I don't see a reason to stop.

Ah yes, a self-indulgent photo montage.  I'm celebrating, okay?  

I find that I have less excuses not to run.  Before my run streak, a little ache or a bit of laziness led me to declare a rest day when rest probably wasn't needed.  Now I just go do it because it is what I do.  No excuses, no laziness, no looking for a reason not to run:  I just go do it.

I can't imagine I'll be a lifetime runstreaker - bronchitis or something awful in my respiratory system usually gets the best of me at some point and I'm not sure I'll be able to run through that.  But until then I'll keep on going, grateful for each day.  Maybe on to 200.

A Festival of Suffering (aka Badgerland Striders 24-12-6 hour race)

Hot and humid.

No shade.

No cloud cover, no sign of rain.

And you're running on a track.  For hours.

This was the Badgerland Striders 24-12-6 hour race.  I ran the six hour version, and before I give the wrong impression, let me assure you that it is a fantastic race.  Well run, great volunteers, great site.  An all-around class act event.

It was just really tough on such a hot day.

My goals:  

We've had an extremely mild summer, so I expected that a goal of 50K was totally reasonable. Race day weather had other ideas though: mid-eighties and humid, with a "real feel" temp of 90. With no shade and no breeze, that's rough conditions for a race. Ultimately, the heat kept me from hitting 50K over the course of six hours. My secondary goal was to eke out something just over marathon distance, and in the event of a really hot day I at least wanted to get a 20-mile training run out of the way. I ended up with 103 laps for 25.4 miles. I had nothing left to give at the end, so I have no regrets about how I ran the race. I feel like it was a good training run for my 50K in October, and I feel like I can manage my heavy race calendar over the next four weeks pretty well now that I have this high mileage run in tough conditions out of the way.

The race:

Back to the beginning: this race has a number of options - there's a 6-hour, a 12-hour, and a 24-hour race. For the people wanting to escape the heat, they offer a 6 and 12-hour option at night. There are also distance divisions where you pick a goal mileage, like a marathon distance, 50K, etc. - and keep going until you get there.  I opted for the 6-hour daytime version of the race.

Because this race is so customizable, it attracts a lot of people with interesting goals and great stories.  One of the volunteers mentioned that they have a repeat racer who aims to run his age in miles each year - he's 73 this year. One young woman was aiming for a goal of ten miles and she kept going past her goal to eleven miles.  Her dad was running with her and he was so proud of her accomplishment.  It was great to see.

The race is chip-timed, so each lap is counted. Pretty neat.

The race is held at the Germantown (Wisconsin) High School track. Runners are welcome to set up their own "aid stations" along the track, and quite a few families cheered on their runners from beneath shaded awnings and tents. The race also provided a great aid station with the usual ultra fare: water, Heed, Coke, PB&J sandwiches, oranges, watermelon, trail mix, chips, cookies and more. I brought my own cooler with ice and drinks, and although it was totally unnecessary since the aid station was so well-equipped, it was nice to have a place I could stash my shirt every few laps so I could put on an ice cold shirt every so often to cool down.

Pre-race, before the cloud cover burned off.

The day started out nicely, with plenty of cloud cover and a dense fog. The forecast suggested that the cloud cover would burn off just before race time but we were fortunate and it hung on until around 10:30.  The nice weather was tempered by the fact that they were inexplicably playing Michael Jackson's early catalog over the loudspeakers. I don't dislike MJ, not by any means, but I'm more of a Thriller-era fan. After about an hour of listening to that music I began to wonder if North Korea was taking notes as this seemed like an effective way to torture prisoners. I had enough and I went for my headphones. I listened to Amy Poehler's "Yes, Please." I love running with audiobooks, and I enjoyed that one for about an hour. I kept a steady pace for the first two hours and felt great, although I pretty much never need to hear Michael Jackson again in my whole entire life.

Around 10:45 the weather decided it had given us enough time to put in some miles, and it cranked up the heat. Heat plus humidity equals suffering, and suffer we did. The hot black track with no shade and no breeze made it feel much hotter than the actual temperature. There were times when the heat was absolutely choking. There were a few drops at this point, including one of the 24-hour runners who was totally burning up the track all morning. He was running so strong - I'm not sure what happened but I was surprised to see him go.  It was a sobering reminder that no matter how good your training is, shit can in fact happen on race day.

The race director provided mileage updates about ten minutes after each hour, and for the first two hours I was happily on target, around 10:30 - 11:00 miles - very sustainable - but I knew that the heat was going to be a game-changer. Plus, after I pass ten miles in any run, I become intimate friends with the restroom for awhile. I'll spare the details but hitting the restroom every 2 laps does not help one's 50K aspirations. By hour three I had given up my 31 mile goal, which I figured would happen with the heat, but I still wanted to get in something over marathon distance.

Boredom?

When I decided I was going to do this race, friends asked me how I was going to run around a 400 meter track for six hours without being bored. Part of the reason I signed up for this race because I thought it would be a test of mental toughness. And as it turns out, I was anything but bored. I listened to part of an audiobook, a podcast and some music. I socialized with other runners - I'm not usually much of a talker when I run but oh were these some of the nicest people - you couldn't help but chat for a lap or two before digging back into the task at hand. It never felt boring.

But the fiddling with my iPhone to access audiobook and podcasts did hurt me a bit. I crashed Strava twice in the process. The first time I only lost a few minutes of running, but the second time I lost a whole hour so I just shut the program down. That was a really discouraging - I love my Strava data, and I think if I had a better way of gauging my pace I would have been able to manage my mileage better later in the race.

After noon I started taking advantage of the cooler I had lugged to the sidelines and was stacking ice under my hat to deal with the heat. It worked well for awhile, and then it just gave me headaches. My hat was a great idea though - a ten dollar grab from Wal Mart and it kept the sun off of my face. Money well spent.  Around this time I also got some texts from my husband and son, and those gave me a boost.  I took a selfie to send them - my "I've been running for over three hours and it's hot and kind of miserable but I'm going to smile and pretend I'm A-OK and not actually dying" face.

Not dying!  Not dying!

After I abandoned my 31 mile goal I asked if I was on track to hit 27 miles. I was positive that I was but it turns out: I wasn't. I took it pretty hard and got discouraged. I really felt like I was still running relatively strongly, but apparently that wasn't so. I walked a lot after that. Physically I was beaten by the heat but mentally I was pushing on okay until then. The news that I wasn't going to hit just over marathon distance definitely took the wind out of my sails. It was tough after that. Very few people were running with any regularity at this point and eventually it really evolved into a timed carcass-drag to the six hour mark. My heart rate shot up and got fluttery a few times and that was enough to keep me to a brisk walk at the end. I crossed the timing mats at 6 hours, accepted a delicious frozen custard and enjoyed the shade of someone else's canopy for awhile.

This definitely would have been a different race in different weather, and now I understand why there are night running options. Overall, it was an educational race for me in that I learned what works for me (Sprite, please!) and what doesn't (food, mostly. And heat). If next year's forecast is like this one, I'll probably pass on this race but if we had something that was even a hair less humid I'll come back. It was fun, I met some great and really inspiring people, and it is a good opportunity to really define a goal and push myself.

And one final note:  somehow I managed to get a sunburn on my ass.  I promise, my ass was fully covered for the duration of the run.  I'm not sure how it happened, but, well...ow.

Rave Run: Waukesha to Wales via the Glacial Drumlin Trail

The Glacial Drumlin Trail is a 51 mile rails-to-trails path that connects Waukesha, Wisconsin with Cottage Grove.  The trail is flat, scenic, and on any mild-weathered Saturday home to bikers, runners, rollerbladers and walkers.  Some areas of the trail are canopied by trees, and other sections are wide open to the sky.  You'll find parks and towns along the trail, and you'll cruise by rivers, lakes and of course, drumlins!  (I had to look it up, too.  A drumlin is an elongated hill akin to an overturned spoon.  They are created by glacial activity).

But there's one particular section of the trail that I love:

Waukesha to Wales

7.0 miles each way (14 mile round trip)

You can begin this run by parking at the Fox River Sanctuary in Waukesha, located at 810 College Avenue.  The E.B. Shurts building has restrooms and a bubbler (that's a drinking fountain to you out-of-towners).  The trailhead is just to the West of the Shurts building, and it isn't particularly well marked, but you'll find the path leading into the woods fairly easily.  Make your way over the Fox River via a beautiful footbridge, pass the (active) railroad track and you're on the trail.

Along the way to Wales you'll find several street crossings, but they don't detract from the beauty and variety along the trail.  Wildlife is abundant, the plants are varied and beautiful.  You'll find Sunset Park on the left side of the trail a few miles in, featuring the an all-important (well, important to me) restroom.  Beyond that point the trail offers more variety in its scenery.  You'll find a handful of signs along the trail describing the scenery but I feel like the trail could use a few more informational points, particularly ones that describe the more obscure natural landmarks and formations.  Before you know it, you'll find Mile 7 of the trail in Wales, Wisconsin, and the must-stop site:  Mama D's Coffee.  (As you read this blog, you'll notice that I have a fondness for stopping for food on my runs.  For me, it is less about being fast and more about having fun).  

Mama D's is a sweet little coffee shop just off of the trail in Wales.   It caters to trailgoers like bikers and runners and features fantastic bakery and, of course, coffee.  You'll almost certainly run into fellow runners and bikers while you are there.  On my last trip there I enjoyed a Sunrise Muffin and a very good cup of coffee.  I wanted to stay longer and just enjoy the company of the other trailgoers, but I managed to force myself back on the trail for the return trip home.  

If you go:

There is no fee for walkers/runners/hikers or people under 16 on the path.  If you are over 16 and bike or rollerblade, you'll need a trail pass.  There are pass purchase stations along the trail, and Mama D's also sells trail passes.

Glacial Drumlin Trail East to West Cue Sheet

Trail Map

Happy running!