Training Log Archive: Bash

So hard to sleep with sore legs!

Kettle Moraine 100

Kettle Moraine 100
La Grange, Wisconsin
http://www.kettle100.com
*** New photos added ***

Timato suggested a trip to the KM100 since their 100 miler is an established Western States qualifier. 'Bent and I figured the timing was good for our longest training runs prior to the Eiger Ultra Trail in 6 weeks. 'Bent is doing 51 km in Switzerland so he ran the 50K here. I'll be doing 101 km next month so I did the 100K at Kettle (actually 103K on my Ambit).

It may sound strange to do a training race that is the same distance as our goal race but the Kettle Moraine and the Alps have very different topography so I don't think of the distances as being the same. Right or wrong - and I have yet to find out which - I viewed this race as the completion of my running build-up for the Eiger.

The idea today was to get lots of time on my feet and do a legit test of clothing, gear, GPS settings, food and hydration. After this, I plan to focus on hill training and strength and do shorter long runs for maintenance. Let's face it, I won't be doing a lot of running in a 101 km race with 6700 m of elevation gain!

Timato and I started at 6 a.m. His friend Mike drove us over so 'Bent got to sleep in.



This race is very well organized - well-marked course, great aid stations, virtually 100% on trail. The organizers have put a lot of thought into the design of the event to optimize their resources and ensure that runners don't spend too much time alone on the trail. The 100K course is the first part of the 100-mile course - an out-and-back, mostly on the Ice Age Trail, a National Scenic Trail that runs almost 2,000 km through Wisconsin.

The 50K racers are bussed to the far end of that section where they run alongside the 100K/100 mile racers back to the finish in two waves starting in the early afternoon. The second part of the 100 miler is another out-and-back that follows the Ice Age Trail in the opposite direction. An evening fun run also follows that route, which gives the 100 milers some company. There was also a 4-person 100 mile relay where runners could transition at any crew-accessible aid station. Across all the courses, the event attracted about 600 runners.



The first 12 km twisted through a nordic ski area on its way to meet the Ice Age Trail. I didn't run quickly but I didn't try to run especially slowly either. In these long events, I don't aim for consistent splits since I'm not running with the same body in the second half of the race. My pace later on is usually limited more by pain from repetitive motion than by cardio, and that doesn't change much if I go really slowly at the start. (Ultrarunner Charlotte V. shared that strategy with me.)

We live and run on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and the Kettle Moraine felt very familiar - like Palgrave or Glen Haffy with the same rolling hills and beautiful runnable trails.

The one exception was "the prairie", a 13 km section of the trail (25-38K and 65-78K) that was 90% open with marshy areas, tall grass, wetland shrubs and boardwalks. The local microclimate was hotter and more humid than surrounding areas. That, more than any hills or rocks or roots, was the crux of the 100K course - especially the second crossing in the afternoon. My first crossing started at 9:15 a.m. so it was OK at first and got steadily hotter. Compared to some other years though, we were lucky; it wasn't a super-hot day and there was even a light breeze at times.

As always at a North American ultra, there were some friendly people to chat with along the trail. At my 40K mark, I saw the first runner returning from the turnaround. The winning 100K runner was a 22 year old who finished in 8 hrs 35 min!

I saw Timato about 4 km from the turnaround.



I knew I'd get to the turnaround at Scuppernong close to 'Bent's 50K start time, which was 7.5 hours after mine. I came in around 7:09 so I had a support crew - yay!





Most of my aid stations were quick. I used a 1.5L bladder in my 12L Salomon Skin Pack because that's what I'll be using at Eiger Ultra Trail. This, along with some aid station drinks, meant that I could go several hours without refilling my water. One good runner in my category who ran with a small bottle started to make exasperated comments because we kept leapfrogging one another all day since I didn't need to stop as often. (I ended up beating her with the use of my bladder - not my legs. :) )

I took my only long aid station break at Scuppernong - about 11 minutes for aid station food, replenishment of personal food from my drop bag, water refill, all-over sunscreen and garbage disposal. It was the only time I sat down all day and I was impressed at how energetic I felt when I left. I usually think it's a bad idea to stop moving in a race but maybe there are benefits to my body and brain if I take short breaks.



I'll have to try to estimate my calorie total. I ate about 2,000 calories of my own food (Ensure shakes, Honey Stinger chews, chips) and snacked on real food at aid stations - sandwiches, cookies, pickles, cheese, hard-boiled egg, potato, etc. 'Bent thought I was joking when I mentioned eating a sandwich during the race. He has never had the stomach to look very hard at aid station food! I probably got 200 calories per hour, which is about as much as I ever eat while exercising, and I drank more than usual. I still had brief waves of feeling lightheaded, which I'd hoped could be prevented by better nutrition and hydration. I'm beginning to think that is just fatigue and possibly out of my control.

The second time through the prairie was hotter. A few times, I caught myself taking dizzy, staggering steps. To keep that in check, I got into a pattern of 40 running steps to 15 walking steps; eventually, I started running a bit more again. Yikes, it was slow but that was expected.

At the end of the prairie at the Emma Carlin aid station, there was just 25 km left and it was like the horse could smell the barn! I picked up my pace. I love shade! I love running! I love cooler temperatures!

This state of bliss lasted exactly 4 km until I caught my toe on a root and crashed onto my face. It could have been much worse. Many parts of the trail are lined with lush poison ivy but there was none where I fell. Also, I didn't land on any of the rocks that I saw mid-flight. However, I smashed one of my toenails somehow, and the creaky parts of my body felt a lot more creaky after that. Ouch. I toned down my enthusiasm.

I saw Mike waiting for Timato at the Bluff Aid Station at 91 km, then 2 km later, I saw Timato coming toward me, heading out for the final segment of his 100 miler. After 14.5 hours, he was 20 km ahead of me. Good stuff! (He finished in the top 10% with 22:21 - very impressive.)

The last 12K went slowly. The sides of my hips ached and so did my heels. My left knee injury from last year's Giant's Rib Raid had been niggling all day, as it often does when I've been mountain biking a fair bit. Looking at the results, I see that my split for this final section was better than most people in my part of the pack, and I even passed two people somehow. However, my perception for the last hour was that I was just barely hanging in there, constantly glancing at my GPS, willing it to turn over another tenth of a kilometer.

One thing about ultras - like adventure racing - is that you are rarely the only one having trouble. Although my splits show that I slowed way down - 7:09 for the first 51.5K, 0:11 at the turnaround aid station and 8:50 for the second 51.5K - I moved up 16 places out of 109 runners in the second half of the race.

I'd been thinking that I should be able to finish in about 16 hours, and that's pretty much what happened. I was 13th of the 30 women who started the race and also the oldest (sigh). Assuming that I don't take too long to recover, don't get poison ivy and didn't miss finding a tick, I will count this race a success.

Note the dirt on my legs from the Superman dive at 82K!





Poor 'Bent felt rough for the final 15-20 km of his 50K race. His pace suddenly dropped about 2 min/km, and he threw up repeatedly after he finished although not during the race. Because of that, he didn't have much fun after the first few hours but he crushed the age group course record by 1 hr 18 min and took the win, finishing 8th of 80 starters. I wish we could figure things out for him since he has so much running talent.





I have very occasional feelings of nausea during ultras - usually lasting less than a minute or two, and not in every race. This time, the only time I felt sick was about 90 minutes after the race finished and it was a stronger feeling than usual. It didn't turn into anything but I had to lie down, which was not such a terrible thing at midnight after waking up at 4:20 a.m. to run 103K.

Congrats to Timato on his impressive 100 mile performance. Hope you get into Western States!

Timato chose a good restaurant for our pre-race dinner.

UPDATED
The live webcast and photos will be here.
http://runrace.net/home.php

For anyone so inclined, there is supposed to be a live webcast of the Kettle 100 tomorrow in Wisconsin. Timato and I both start at 6 a.m. (7 a.m. Toronto time). He'll be doing 100 miles and I'm doing 100 km. 'Bent's 50K race starts at 1:30 p.m. (2:30 Toronto time). Another wave of 50K racers starts half an hour later.

The first 100K of the 100-miler is an out-and-back on the Ice Age Trail, which also serves as the 100K course. The 50K racers are bussed to the turnaround point of that section, then they run back to the finish, sharing the trail with 100K and 100-mile racers. After that, the 100-milers head in a different direction on the Ice Age Trail for another out-and-back.

There is a treeless section that we'll run for a couple of hours in each direction. The forecast is looking moderate but on a hot day, this part can be tough. Other than that, the terrain looks similar to what we have around here - with a few more ticks.

The race organization seems really good - at least so far. Here's the race website.
http://www.kettle100.com/
And the live webcast site.
http://runrace.net/home.php

Have a great weekend!

From the Friends of Algonquin Park: In the early morning fog, Park Superintendent David Coulas and staff member Mike Evegroen paddled the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Torch across the still waters of Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park.

I celebrated National Running Day by not running.

Easy taper run around Palgrave West. So nice to feel comfortable on the private forest trails again now that turkey hunting season is over.

Poison Ivy Quiz - how good are you at recognizing it? Many people get their first rash in their 30s or 40s after multiple exposures so if you've never had it before, it may still be in your future! About 5 in 6 people are sensitive to it.
http://www.poison-ivy.org/poison-ivy-quiz

Our race this weekend is in a ticky area so I sprayed my shoes, socks, calf sleeves and hat with permethrin. What I've learned so far is that I'm more afraid of pesticide than ticks.