Tough Turkey

I really should know better than to write a blog post when I am feeling so rueful. Especially on Thanksgiving. Sometimes I wonder about this holiday with its diffuse "thankfulness" that is used as an excuse to stuff ourselves with generally unhealthy food. I don't want to say we shouldn't appreciate life, but maybe that we should think more about who we are thanking more than exactly how great our lives are. 

I was sitting in the sauna yesterday with two women with notably darker skin than myself and when they asked me what my favorite holiday was, I said, almost feeling guilty, Martin Luther King Jr. day. I like holidays that make us think about history (especially civil rights) and how the world could be better and how we as humans can make that change.

For months I have had the Tough Turkey 1 miler and Gobble Gallop 5k on our family running schedule. The plan was, I was going to run the 1 miler while Nanna watched the boys, then we would all run the 5k, me with the boys and she would go for a placing (and a pie).

The race is put on by Duluth Running Company. This store has held a very special place in the hearts of SR and myself ever since we deposited my unborn fetus in the trashcan outside of their store after my miscarriage between the two boys. We will always look at that trashcan and think of "Freja" in there. 

Ok, so the race. We ran with the babyjogger 1.5 miles in the deep snow and, with both boys in it, and a strong headwind, it took ages. My race was in just 20 minutes, so I went out to warm up and in the meantime, the boys and Nanna got colder. I knew this was happening so I encouraged Christian to run the 1/4 mile kids race as a warmup. That didn't go great and he gave up because it was too cold. I really felt I had dressed them well, but all of us had freezing toes syndrome. despite wool socks.

So 5 minutes to the 1 mile start and I hadn't really warmed up. It was so cold that the startline balloon deflated and fell on those of us closest to the front. I could not make these things up. So we froze while the balloon was emergently reinflated.

Ready -go! Of course there were 50 guys ahead of me at the start, but after about 400 meters, I took the lead for the men and women! It was such a weird experience to be behind the lead bike! I felt good until we were supposed to turn around and my legs were so frozen that I felt like I was stuck in place around the cone. Well, I got my momentum up again and was in the lead on the home stretch (super cool feeling!)

Tough Turkey 1 mile, in the lead (!), photo by Nanna Olesen.

 Gradually my feet became more and more numb until it felt like I was running on peg legs. (I always had trouble with my circulation playing piano where I would have to stop in the winter and warm up my fingers on the heater to keep going --- I am sad this same problem is affecting my running... silly me to think wool socks would help!)

With 200 meters to go, I slowed a bit and about 4 guys passed me at once. I crossed the finish right after them in unknown time.

By the time I found Nanna with the boys before the 5k, both boys were both screaming and crying at the top of their lungs. We retreated to the Duluth Running Company. None of them wanted to run the 5k.

I may appear here to be a decent mom, but shouldn't I have been baking a turkey or something rather than forcing my kids into the cold? Mattias looks exasperated and will one day need thousands of dollars of orthodontic work because I force him into these situations and give him a nuk to calm him.

After the 5k was done, we ran into friends and life was good and I knew I had won a pie for winning the 1 miler, but when they called up the top 5 women, they didn't even say my name. Ok, I was leading the whole way until the last couple hundred meters and they didn't even notice me? Darn chip timing system! Seriously, this is why I like small races and ultras because if you win, people aren't inclined to believe an electronic timer over their own eyes. Anyway, I went up in utter abashment, and said I was actually the winner. They got it all straightened out and Christian got to pick out our pie (apple).

Christian and I ran home. I had run to get the car for Nanna and Mattias while we were waiting for the awards.

 And I started thinking. All the goodness in life revolves around people. And today (and she does read this blog) I want to thank this amazing woman who has worked her way into my heart and the heart of my family and has made our life of constant change manageable. Maybe we as humans underestimate our powers, how much good we can do. Well, Nanna, you are a superhuman with constant positive energy and we are so, so fortunate to have met you.

I'll leave you all with a couple pictures.

Storm and cold coming from the north over Lake Superior.

Reunited after 4 weeks in Lester Park. I don't want to say "I am thankful" because to me it sounds like I am bragging about having a good life. Instead I will say, I love you, SR.

The Wasatch Mountains

"The Mormon looked toward Heaven, but his Heaven was a Heaven on Earth and he would inherit bliss in the flesh"

´- Wallace Stegner, Mormon Country

The first thing I should probably clear up is I am not a Mormon. I don't think anyone who has been reading this blog for longer than 20 seconds thought I was, but now there is no lingering uncertainty.

When you see the Wasatch Mountains from Salt Lake City, though, it makes sense that many Mormons believe the celestial kingdom will one day be on Earth. (The celestial is better than terrestrial and telestrial, by the way. Telestial is only for whoremongers)

Even more so when you are running in these mountians- in the middle of the night- you might even believe heaven IS a place on earth, or rather a place inside of you, you have accessed in the mountains.

 Ok, so let's rewind... WHAT am I doing in SLC when...

these boys are in Duluth? (picture from this morning from SR)

I am on the interview trail. I am applying for training that can't be found in Denmark: it is Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and will allow me to apply for a Sports Medicine Fellowship and then I can practice this medicine and do research in this field anywhere in the world. It is exciting! This training program, whichever university I match to, will start in July of 2015.

I arrived at the University Guest House last night, right next to the hopsital and the Skaggs (relation??) pharmacy buidling and - there was the trail- there were the mountains, a 5 minute jog away, and a 30 second jog from the hospital door. I'm trying to see a downside to this. It's strange, it's like I'm incapable of being negative these days. I feel so happy and in love-- or ready to fall in love-- with humanity, with life, with the beauty of the earth. It is like all of the vitamins and minerals in my body are at the right level (or maybe it's because I have slept the last 3 weeks without warm little boy bodies next to me? )  I am ready to enshroud my boys with love and kisses on Saturday when I get back.

So 4 AM, I charge up the Wasatch Mountains, alone with my headlamp, shoes and maybe some clothing. 

It is rare to find a more beautiful phrase on a sign than "interpretive mountain trail"

The greatest thing about Salomon Sense is they don't collect mud on their soles ;-)

 But conditions in the mountains change by the meter. And soon I was just running again,out of the mud, in the wind-still darkness, feeling the contours of the mountains in very much the same way you feel emotions. It is almost not an analogy; it is just true. The rocky sloping and diving and delicate snow become symmetric with your soul. Don't believe me? Just try it.

Here I sat down and took a break, at my turnaround, looking over the valley.

And it looked like this. Not in reality, because everything was covered with fog, but I could feel that it looked like this. And now I can't even find where I got this picture, but it is exactly where I was running.

 On the way back, I got into trouble. One section got super slippery and I was crawling on my hands and knees, digging my fingers in the mud so I wouldn't tumble down the ridge. I was scared and SR called at that very moment. It is weird to be in the throes of nature, fighting for your life, and your i phone rings.

Baptized in mud.

Not about to waste a free day in my hotel room, I headed down to Salt Lake Power Yoga for some hot yoga with a view of the mountains.

Here I was anxiously awaiting the moment we would do mountain pose--- and we did. And you should have seen the smile spread across my face when she said "now do the inversion of your choice" and I inverted into my headstand!! Who knew inversion in Salt Lake City could be a good thing?

 At this yoga class, I met not one, but two runners who had had surgery done for Femoacetabular Impingement (FAI). It didn't sound like either of them was doing that much better after the surgery. I couldn't help thinking--- if only they had learned to run correctly! Well, no one is touching my acetabulum with anything! Below is a nice intro video to pose running Ole posted today. I really looking forward to getting certified as a pose instructor this March!


How do you define "Running"? from POSEtv on Vimeo.


But back to SLC..

Free bikes - or $5 for 24 hours (just like in Copenhagen!). I got one to bike back up the foothills to the hotel.

I don't just have a bad aim when taking pictures of myself. I have learned that if I only include half of my face, I am less likely to look asymmetric.

Running song of the day:

Closer by Tegan and Sara (okay, the entire heartthrob album is awesome, except "Now I'm all messed up") and this song totally reminds me of Taylor Swift in a cute way.

Now it is out to dinner with the PM&R residents and a day-long interview tomorrow. I'm ready with my photon joke! :-)

Grenaa 6 Hour Run

Yesterday's 6 hour run was definitely one for the books. Not just the race itself, but the entire experience of travelling from Næstved to Grenaa, staying at a lovely home in Sangstrup and being part of the Grenaa 6 hour weekend. Honestly, had it not been this particular 6 hour race and the timing of it, I may have never run a 6 hour race again. I had this voice in my head that said I could never again run on such an unvaried surface for so long without getting problems with my hip. This was my chance to tackle my fear with a new running technique and new training plan.

At the start line (yes, you can see me in the white compression socks), I couldn't help thinking of being in the exact same place last year... and dropping out after running 42 km in 4 hours with severe hip pain. I had a much better feeling yesterday. For one, I felt energetic and ready to race.

The start was really interesting. Almost immediately I noticed I had forgotten to change my Garmin from miles to kilometers and staying on pace for running 70k was going to be a constant challenge of my math skills.

Shortly after that, a woman passed me. I entertained the notion of holding on to her, but she was going 6:30 min/mile pace. I did not recognize her and I doubted a woman out here could run 80 km in 6 hours, so I figured it was smartest to let her go.

Just before the marathon, I passed her and felt very good in my skin.

There were really no lows yesterday. I just enjoyed running. The joy of constantly lapping people doesn't get old. I had also forgotten that about 80% of the course is on forest trails and only 20% on asphalt, so really an ideal surface for someone like me to run a 6 hour race on. Not to mention all of the people cheering at the aid station and really all along the course. This is a big advantage of a compact route.

It was, to be exact, a 3.13 km loop, which had two really sharp turns that really irritated my right hip. And that hip was killing me between miles 10 and 20, but I had also experienced this at Superior and Glacial Trail and it went away. The same thing happened yesterday. The more I live with my dysfunctional hip, the more I realize, the femoral head is simply not attached to the acetabulum correctly. It probably never will be. As I run, the problem gets worse, but then my muscles tighten and get inflamed and the actual hip pain goes away. And, in all honestly, the length and severity of the problem keeps becoming less, so maybe it will actually go away.

I did run with a back pack, despite an aid station every 3 km. I am the picture of someone who should develop hyponatremia. I drank constantly. But I was also constantly thirsty. I have to say, I think I know my body's signals well enough and the principals of exercise-associated hyponatremia that I know how to avoid it.

The drink of choice was an all natural tropical punch (yum). Food staple was potatoes with or without salt (in little pink bowl). In the red bag were 4 extra pairs of shoes. Just in case. I guess I am one of those runners who feels you can never be too prepared. It's almost too much, though, isn't it?

I'm posting this picture to remind myself NOT to tuck in my shirt next time. Good Lord. It never ceases to amaze me how despite not actually having a pot belly, I always look like I have one. It's like the opposite of a corset. So cool. But both my feet ARE off the ground. Photo by Ib Stokkebye.

According to my Garmin:
 marathon in 3:30
50 k in 4:12
60 k in 5:08

Ok, but what was 70k?? I kept saying to myself it was 43 miles, but it's actually 43.5 miles! (this is where Garmins in the right units come in handy. Or the ability to do math in your head while running an ultra. It alwasy seems so easy to do this math once I am done!).

Then, with a half an hour to go, things took an unexpected twist. "You're in second" said the race director Ove. "What?!" I told him I thought I was in first. All day, people kept saying I was in first and suddenly I get this information!? On my next and final trip through the aid station, I learned that she was slowing down and "5 minutes ahead". What was the chance I could make up 5 minutes in 15 minutes?! I held onto the hope she was walking and SPRINTED the last 15 minutes, like my life depended on it. I passed woman after woman, but what did she look like? I had passed the woman who started ahead of me... (I thought!).

The horn blew. The six hours were up. I did not know if I was in first or second or how much I had run. My Garmin said 43.03 miles and I thought that was 70 km. Whatever happened I was satisfied! It was actually fun! I could not walk off of the course to save my life, but it WAS fun.

I know this is going to be confusing since I said my Garmin was in miles, but Endomondo automatically reads in kilometers, so above was the final reading.

How I managed to run almost an extra kilometer that was not part of the course, I am not sure, but next time I should not run off into the woods with the first guy I meet named Svendrik. This will be my number one strategy for improvement next year.

Below are the laps times for myself and the first woman, Gitte Sørensen, who ran over 4km longer than she ran at Grenaa last year, so that is awesome!

This is what lap times look like when you FEEL like you are running an even pace :.-) I should point out, I think the 22nd lap, though I didn't quite complete it, was faster than the first. The end result was still almost a 5km 6 hour PR.

Edit - Ok, this post would not be complete without a shot of this guy, Poul Petersern (sponsored by Asics), who won for the men, running 79.1 km (6 km ahead of the 2nd place Krisitan Birk). This shot, again by Ib Stokkebye, captures his essence. Notice how he calmly yet totally effectively has just tossed his cup into the trash WHILE both feet are off the ground and no pot belly. Throwing away a plastic cup - like a boss. :-) (honestly, it was fun to watch him run; he is good).

While we were waiting for the final results, awesome times with good friends. The open, interesting conversations you have after a race are unparallelled in life. Everyone was so relaxedand humorous.  Pictured are Alice Kristensen,  "kisser" Claus Christensen, Anne-Dorte Mahato and a fascinting guy from the German border (who was Danish, but LOVED Germans!)

Finally getting a good look at the woman I apparently ran right behind all day! How I wish SR had been there to give me information on her whereabouts (and existence). I thrive on competition and it just didn't happen!!

Here are the 500 kr. I won which covered all of my travel expenses, so that was awesome. Of course, I didn't know I would forget all of my swimming stuff in the locker room.  But then again, I didn't know that today at our local pool, "pool master" Carl would give me an awesome pink Speedo swimsuit since he felt bad for me (provided a did a dance in it on the way out to the pool.. small price to pay) Edit: it was of course only AFTER I was at the bank I realized the check was made out to Gitte Sørensen. I wonder if she has mine?! Thisis all very confusing since 2nd place prize was 500 kr.

In Summary:

1. I am now going to speak with a Jutland accent all of the time because it is much easier and people can almost not hear I am an American import.

2. When I got home I read the standard for getting on the Danish 100k national team was 70km in six hours. Bøøøøø. So close! But until Denmark allows double citizenship, it doesn't affect me. I just think... wouldn't it be better to have MORE women to choose from on the team so that every time Denmark goes to worlds they have more than 2 or 3 going?! There should ALWAYS be a full team and if there are women on the edge who are fresh and ready to go, they will do better than an injured woman who has previously met the standards and is only luke-warm about going. Just my thoughts. Bring back the alternates!

3. The way into the heart of a Dane is through running. This study was no surprise to me to read (http://loeberne.dk/studerende-laver-faellestraening-til-halvmarathon/) that a country with one of the worst reputations in the world for accepting foreigners, is much more open to foreigners who run races (competere: striving together). Perhaps that helps explain why this clumsy American bookworm has been disguising herself as an athlete :-). Well, no regrets. I am having the time of my life and have never felt so at home in Denmark or so in shape.

It's been a fantastic 3 weeks filled with work, running, time with friends, lectures, but my family is in the US (!) and Tuesday I head back to the states. January, we'll all be back.

I have SO many songs to recommend. Where to begin? Well, I took a 30k bike ride today, windless, sunny, in the 50's

Næstelsø in the background, fantastic photochromic glasses sponsored by Ryders, helmet that ... does the job.

and listened to - on repeat- too many times to admit--

"Ways to Go" by Grouplove. Nothing more than a kick-ass love song.

And I want to say thank you to all of the friends and family members out cheering in Grenaa, Ove Kvist and the many volunteers for a fantastic race, my coach Ole for a training plan that is working, makes me energetic and happy and to Team Salomon Denmark for always supporting me, even off the trails (I LOVE that vest!). 

5k PR's and the 10 Golden Rules

It is a huge privilege to coach someone. When I started with my coach Ole, for some reason I didn't look at it this way. Honestly, I felt bad for him that he had to deal with someone like me. I still do. But that aside, ever-inspired by my experiences with what does and does not work in training, but also inspired by my own coach's plans, the foundations SR taught me about speed training, my obsessive reading on the subject and, most of all, the need to spread my passion for the sport, I was thrilled to start coaching Cindee.

Already, when she contacted me, I knew she was golden because whe wanted to improve. She contacted me after all. I would never ask an athlete if they wanted a coach. It has to be something they want and something they believe in, otherwise it won't work.

To get to the point, today Cindee took 3 min and 10 second off of her previous PR after just under 2 months of training with me and ran a 24:48 today. Congrats, Cindee!!!! You have made me proud.

Cindee and daughter at 5k start this afternoon

Cindee had the interesting training plan of 3 miles a day always at about the same pace. This was something I could relate to. Years ago, in medical school, I ran 10 miles a day, always at the same pace. I burned calories and felt good generally, but never got better and never got stronger. I just maintained. I figured this was "good enough". Then I broke my hip (!) and couldn't run for 6 months, learned to cross train and started to look further into proper training.

Also, with the time I was spending, I could do a heck of a lot better, not only in terms of racing times, but general health and strength.

Training plans need to be tailored very specifically to each athlete, the time they can committ and exactly what they are training for (though this last one can also be vague, if desired).That being said, I was going to give you my long-winded take on generally how to improve (which involves variety, strength-training, rest, avoidance of overtraining, speedwork, technique work and most importantly belief in yourself) when I ran across this excellent compilation of rules by Alberto Salazar (sometimes you read something and you think "I could not have said it better"... well, with no further ado):

Alberto Salazar's 10 Golden Rules from Outside Magainze. (my extra comments in pink)

1. BE CONSISTENT Find a training plan that you can stick to long-term. 

2. TAKE RECOVERY DAYS SERIOUSLY 

3. INCREASE MILEAGE GRADUALLY 

4. STAY ON THE TRAIL Pavement damages joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles. (Kilian Jornet just dropped out of a race for the first time- too much pavement!)

5. RUN FASTER It's hard to race faster than you train. 

6. STRENGTHEN YOUR WHOLE BODY ... Stay away from machine weights and stick to Pilates, climbing, and dynamic flexibility work like yoga (yes!!!!).

7. WEAR THE RIGHT SHOES 

8. PERFECT YOUR FORM Every motion your body makes should propel you directly forward. (Pose technique is probably the easiest form to find online training for that will do just this, but it is much better to learn from a certified instructor)

9. TACKLE DOUBT HEAD-ON ...Never think you are mentally weak. Don't doubt what you can do.

10. EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY I like this, but I would add, don't rely on it and DON'T pace your races with a gps. Be in tune with your body's signals and respect the length of race you are going into!! (this is the only rule that I agree with only 50%)

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Now some photos from the weekend:

Christian's second 5k. (He seriously begs daily to find races)

Sprint finish at Cooper Elementary in Superior yesterday. He just barely beat the girl in green! :0). He ran over a 7 minute PR of 38:10. I am gosh darn proud of him. He wanted to do it again today so we ran to the grocery store, but he got really tired after 4k. See AS rule #2! (I can't help but noticing that is 9k over two days and that SHOULD be normal for a 5 year old; it just isn't, except in Kenya. If they produced any good runners, we might take them seriously.).

The day's other awesome performance was Nanna's (our wonderful nanny from Denmark, who already feels like part of the family) who won the womens' 5k race. Here she is accepting her gift certificate to Play it Again Sports.

Mattias on the "pumpkin train" in Duluth.

'

Michael Koppy and Andy Holak allowed me to mark the Wild Duluth 50/100k with them. 

The day we had for marking was much more beautiful than the day of the race.... but at least you get a good impression of the course from my pictures

Chris Rubesch after winning the Wild Duluth 100k in 11:01 next to Eric Nordgren (volunteered ALL day) and RD, Andy Holak, to the left (er, your right, their left... this is what happens when you think anatomically)

Here we are at the Highland Aid Station at Wild Duluth last night. We made a family event out of it and even Mattias was there. He was very good at eating the Goldfish and Three Musketeers. Christian was actually a huge help. We were pretty much freezing in this picture.

Glacial Trail 50 Mile

I have these vivid memories of running ultras 5 or 6 years ago, where I would see the lead woman (Helen Lavin (now Scotch) at Voyageur, Meghan Hicks at Chippewa come to mind) returning on an out and back course and thinking to myself how extremely easy the race looked for them. They appeared so poised, beautiful, radiant, as if an ultramarathon were an effortless, yet fully satisfying walk in the park. ("One day I will get there!" I assured myself triumphantly!)

Fast forward to two days ago. I'm running the Glacial Trail 50 Miler and see Michael Borst after the turnaround, leading for the men, making it look absolutely easy. I didn’t know, but he had run the first 25 miles is 3:06 (edit:it was actually 3:15). On that course, that either means you are insane (and you will go down) or insanely good (luckily for him it was the latter). He was named second place young ultrarunner of the year last year, so it was honestly quite an honor to watch him in action (Did I get that right? I’m pretty sure I read that in Ultrarunner Magazine’s Year in Review. And wasn’t Jake Hegge, also of La Crosse, fourth?).

Back to the race... After the 25 mile turnaround, I was the lead woman. And let me tell you… I WAS SUFFERING! Everything hurt. I had only slept two hours because of stomach problems that kept me awake (I kept thinking that all of my headstands caused me to get extra air in my colon--- you know, the very logical things that cross your head as you are half asleep). During the race, the thought of pretty much any food nauseated me, so I once again survived on soda and potatoes (honestly, that was the plan anyway) and my right hip was bothering me. I thought, if there is any woman close to me after I turn at 25 miles, I am going to drop. Then, four minutes after I had turned around, there was the next woman. Too close for comfort, but suddenly, I looked in my bag of tricks and I gave her the biggest, warmest, most confident smile I have ever conjured and she… looked like she was suffering. BAG OF TRICKS, folks.

But let's rewind to the start of the race.

I have gotten slightly smarter about this stuff. Or rather, my life revolves even more fully around ultras. I have a suitcase packed and ready to go at all times with all of my essential ultra running gear. It sits there in my closet.

What I wasn't prepared for was a cold race. Local forecast predicted 37 F in Greenbush at race start (6AM) so I cut up a pair of my mom's unmatched socks (I got permission)

I didn't actually use these because I found thinner ones, but this shows you what I did (highly complex art form, I know)

SR got up with me at 3:40 AM to drive to Greenbush. His race started an hour later, but he acted chipper and was encouraging as always.

The sock-sleeves added just the warmth I needed and were super easy to take off and slip into my backpack (much better than a long-sleeved shirt!)

Note the headlamp as well. It is a Petzl Nao. If you want credibility, walk into any trail outfitter store and ask for a Petzl Nao. When I asked for one at Trail Fitters in Duluth, SR had never seen anyone take me so seriously -ever. This headlamp creates so much light that when the sun actually is up, you will be longing to put your headlamp back on-- no joke. It's that good. SO good that I had two guys following me (very closely) just to suck off my light. This is one way you can attract men if you are single. Also, they can't see you (good for me since I more often than not have chocolate/mud all over my face), they can only see you are fast at running in the dark. I should add that it is also super light and you hardly notice you are wearing it. No, Petzl doesn't sponsor me (trust me, you would know); I just know I would like to know about it if I were looking for a headlamp for running!

As the sun came up, the woods illuminated and it was magical. There is no time or place on earth like the Northern Kettle Morrain in mid-October. It is stunningly beautiful with the hills, fallen leaves, million and one fall colors and sparkling sunlight falling in an ever-changing way, creating shadows and illuminations that will remind you how alive you are and how fantastic this life is.

Here is the route from my Garmin: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/258602637/8324663

The Glacial Trail 50Mi/50k is run on the Northern Kettle Moraine Ice Age Trail. The Ice Age Trail Ultra is run on the southern Terminal Moraine and Chippewa is run on the more northern Terminal Moraine. These three Wisconsin ultras on the Ice Age Trail can be confusing, but you can't go wrong! They are all fantastic!

Back to the race...
I was caught up in it and let myself run fast with two new friends, nice men I never exchanged names with. One got ahead, one fell behind, but we had shared that magical morning.

I made it to the 50k turn-around (25k- I live to help the mathematically challenged ;o)) in 2:23. This was under Cassie Scallon's course record pace (in brief, too fast). Her course record was not a tenable goal. My goals were the following:

1. 50 mile PR (below 8:49)
2. Beat the second fastest female time on the course (Christine Crawford's 8:58) (edit: Christine's was the 4th fastest female time)
3. Win

I made it to the 25 mile turnaround in 4 hours flat. Things were looking ok, but I felt, well "dicey" seems like the right word. If a person can be described as dicey, that is exactly what I was.

You wouldn't think that getting lost would help matters. I did indeed get lost, and lost maybe 2-3 minutes, but this happening sure upped my adrenaline and suddenly I was flying again. It was just the pick-me-up I needed.

There is a section on the course, were you go through a large, open prairie over long grass with big hills and it is just a killer. It seems easy, but I was wiped after I ran it and downed all of my fluid (1.3 L to be exact: 2 500 mL soft bottles in front and one reserve 300mL soft in back). Just as I ran out of fluid, I ran over a road where SR had parked to meet me! He let me know he had won the 50k in an awesome 3:56!! If you look at these pictures, though, I am NOT happy. I am telling him I am out of fluid and 3 miles to the next aid station. He documented my suffering (there are so many reasons I love him). And he said he'd grab me a drink out of the car. Well, before you get your undies in a bundle, I refused the drink. I know you can't accept outside help in any athletic event, so why would I be an exception? (SR seemed quite amazed by my refusal)

Here I am refusing to accept the extra fluid from SR. I recall this as a major low in the race.

But low points are only temporary.

 I did survive (no one dies of dehydration in one day let alone a half an hour) to the aid station and filled up my soft bottles with half soda half sports drink. 

By the way the mud was from a fall when I was reaching to give a fellow runner a high five. You have to pay attention at every second during this race--- there are rocks and roots everywhere!

Ok, seven miles to go. I wonder how far behind the next woman is! I look at my Garmin, calculating the pace. I may not run a PR if I keep going the same pace or slower.

2 miles later, a blond, kind-hearted guy pops out from behind a tree and tells me the 2nd place woman is only 3 minutes behind me and looks strong. (this guy was SR of course). "No way!" I had not expected that, but I started to run like my life depended on it and I was doing sub 9 minute miles again. What a huge advantage to have SR there as my spy!

2 miles later, SR is back!! He reports the second place woman is now 5 minutes behind. I am figuring this must be Sarah Willis (Edit: turns out Sarah Willis was in 3rd and it was Wendy Lilly who was gaining on me, who recently took 2nd at the North Face Endurance Challenge in Madison). I had seen her name on the entrant list and knew she had been in the elite field at Run Rabbit Run and beat Jennifer Benna.

SR took the time to snap some pictures. It is hard to get an idea of how absolutely lovely the route was, but these pictures are a fairly nice representation.

At this point, with just two miles to go, I was pretty confident I had the win and the PR.

The last half mile is on asphalt through the town of Greenbush and the finish was actually really exciting. SR made it back to snap some pictures and I was immediately greeted by Rob Wehner, the outstanding race director and a good friend, who SR and I got to know well during Three Days of Syllamo. What an honor to win his classic, beautiful, challenging Glacial Trail race.

And for SR to win the 50k the same day. It felt like a fairy tale and we have lived in a happy bubble the last 48 hours. And the whole time we raced, the boys were happy and safe with my parents.

Yes, SLG, you can be happy now.

11 minute PR. (and look, I'm running at 1:25 min/mile: your typical shake out run while snapping photo)

A huge congrats to Michael Borst, who set a new course record in the 50 miler of 6:40, besting Jarrow Wahman's previous CR of 7:11 (gosh, Jarrow has been mentioned a lot on this blog over the last month!)

I have to say a huge thank you to all of the smiling, humorous, life-loving, supportive volunteers who spent their Sundays making this race possible.

There are A LOT of elements that come together to make running 50 miles on the Ice Age Trail possible: the volunteers, my parents, my husband, Rob Wehner, my coach Ole (who has helped me get stronger and stay uninjured!), the awesome support I get from Salomon Denmark AND you guys. Isn't it amazing the inspiration we can derive from other bloggers and runners?

And in summary: it hurt, it hurt just as badly as my first 50 miler and I had crises and they were bad. I guess even when you take first, these things don't go away. But this IS part of the fun. The uncharted territory of running ultramarthons in challenging terrain- as fast as you can. Pushing to your limits, learning how to keep improving, racing smarter, staying confident. I feel like I'm improving and gradually expanding my boundaries. It is an awesome feeling. The things I have learned from Ole have made me consider pursuing coaching myself. There really is a fascinating science to improvement and it is fun to see results.

Speaking of results, it has also been marvelous watching my mom's progress as a painter. SR and I are basically offering to pay my mom all the money we have saved to buy this painting she did of Christian and Mattias at Park Point beach in Duluth. She has really been focusing on the techniques involved in painting light. Oh, I just love it! She's not selling it, though.

It is fun to come home from a race with goodies and prizes, too. I love all of this stuff; I treasure it. I am not a lover of things, but these things I love, because I worked so hard to earn them.

One final thought. I was just reading some guidelines about what to post on Facebook. It basically revolved around never brag and only write things that are interesting. I was thinking that if my friends never "bragged" about the things they were doing, the joy in their lives, their achievements, their happiness, Facebook, the blogging world and the world in general would just be a lot less interesting; so much of the color and wonder would disappear. I LOVE reading about peoples' achievements. I guess I just want to say --- take pride in what you do! Love what you do and tell people about it and the world really will be a better place. Or that's what I think :o).

I really regret that I didn't get any pictures of SR (especially considering he took such an incredible number of pictures of me!). I felt pretty terrible at the finish again, but didn't faint. I got something to eat and drink right away and put my feet up. Disaster averted. But SR had an awesome race, a lot of fun and no cramping. He started out slowly and gradually took the lead. I don't want to give too much away. I'm sure he'll be on that story soon.

I didn't listen to any music while racing, but I'll be back with more songs in a few days.