Zumbro 17m 2015

Date: Saturday, April 12th 2015, 9am start
Distance: 17 miles
Finish time: 4:06:27
Pace: 14:30 minutes/mile
Place: 226/275 (overall), 90/122 (female only), 11/31 (female age group 40-49)

Training: I very much enjoy training in cooler weather so after completing my first 25k trail run in October 2014 (Surf the Murph, finish 3:27:37), I knew I wanted to run another in the early spring so I could take advantage of training throughout the winter. Zumbro seemed like the perfect fit, even though I had heard such weather-related horror stories! Honestly, I wasn’t too worried. I don’t mind snow or rain, but I very much mind heat and humidity. Figured I’d give it a shot. My brother has run many ultras and got me hooked on the trail bug. So while I’m nowhere near the distance he likes to run, I do like these shorter races a lot! In fact, I’m also signed up to run the Superior Spring 25k, along with my husband, my brother and sister-in-law and their 2 good friends.

After finishing Surf, I averaged about 27 miles/week throughout November and December. We had a VERY mild winter this year – both in temps (rarely did we get below zero) and snow. In fact, I didn’t miss a single day training and only had to run at the gym once due to cold weather!

Starting in January, 13 weeks before race day,  my average went down a bit (25.3 miles/week), but I was able to pick up running out at Afton. I had 4 really good runs out at Afton, ranging from 9m-15m. For the 15m run, I actually ran the Afton Trail Race route which was fun! I really enjoyed running there on Fridays after dropping the girls off at school. It was very quiet, hardly a sole!

About a week before race day, I watched the weather like a hawk. We had no snow on the ground and temps were looking pretty good. Too good for what I’d heard about Zumbro. Anywhere from torrential hail and thunderstorms to blizzards are common. Forecast this year was for rain but not on race day! Instead, the course got at least 2” of rain earlier in the week. Fortunately, race day was perfect. Dry, sunny and ranging from 45-60°.

Day before race (Friday): Marcus had taken the day off months ago as we weren’t sure if we were going to head down the day before or not. In the end, since the girls had the week off from school, we ended up going to the MN Zoo, to Ikea (“first apartment” presents for Kylah’s 19^th birthday) the Good Earth for lunch (fabulous salmon and hot tea) and then dropped the girls off at Mom and Dad’s for the night before heading back home. I was a bit worried about a hip pain I’d had over the last week. I didn’t think it was running-related, but I wasn’t sure as I hadn’t run much this week. And every step I took, I could feel it. Thought walking around the zoo for several hours would help, but it just made me even more sore and worried.

Jonah had a concert to attend with a friend (Chris Hardwick). Marcus and I binge-watched 3-4 episodes of the new Netflix show, Daredevil. I tried to get to bed on time as I really hoped to sleep well as my alarm was set to go off at 5am. I am NOT a morning person! Unfortunately, and I honestly don’t know how this was possible, but I did not sleep for a single minute all night long! Honestly, I wasn’t worried, I wasn’t nervous and I had no excuse not to sleep! I just couldn’t get to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. I think I was thinking too much about the 100 and 50 milers that were all out there running. It seemed off that I was in bed while they were working their butts off. It was a weird feeling.

Race day (Saturday): Gave up on sleep at 4:45am, wandered around a bit and we left at 5:30. Took a wrong turn somewhere, but still managed to get to the race an hour early. I had tried to eat in the car, but really wasn’t hungry and was slightly nauseous so I decided not to push it. Had some success (runners, you know what I mean) at a gas station along the way so wasn’t too worried.

Note to self: Print out paper instructions in case you lose cell service and can’t count on google maps! Thankfully, I was quickly able to snap a screenshot of the directions before we were completely screwed. Getting there will be so much easier next year, now that we know where it is. Staying in Lake City would be a close-enough area, it was very pretty.

Getting to the race start early was good. No worries about where to park or having to stand in line! Lots of tents scattered about the parking lot. Marcus saw an older lady curled up and sleeping inside a sleeping bag next to her car! Not sure if she was in between laps or waiting to run. A few campfires going and people trying to stay warm as it was in the low 30’s, but I knew it was going to quickly warm up. I picked up my race bib, packet, paid for my t-shirt and sweatshirt and headed back to the car to stay warm. Watched a few runners getting ready for their races, including Larry (the founder of the Zumbro races), it was cool to think that we were going to run with him, he’s a legend! Finally stripped off my outer layers and started milling around with people around 8:30. Peed at least 3-4 times, too! Also drank a bit of coffee shortly before starting as I was really needing a pick-me-up right about then. Talked with several people before and during the race. Among them, I was the only non-veteran! It seemed as if everyone had run this race before! It was encouraging to know a lot of people are loyal and come back.

John Storkamp went through the pre-race briefing and off we went! The first mile was pretty much all uphill. As I had hoped to walk all the uphills, these veteran runners were all way more interested in seeing who could get to the top first! It wasn’t until we were nearly at the top that those in the back (including me) finally decided to hold back a bit and walk. The overlooks were quite impressive and there were a few of them throughout the race. While we were very high up and could see for miles, the terrain was pretty colorless this early in the spring. Once hitting the first peak, we ran through quite a bit of mud and what John had termed “water-filled deathtraps”. Once we got to the first downhill, it was purely a matter of figuring out how not to fall on your ass as it was all one big mudslide! Thankfully, my hip was fine! Didn’t notice it at all.

I had a warm earband and armwarmers on that I knew I’d take off early on. I was hoping Marcus would be able to get to the first aid station before me (apparently, we take the shortcut while they have to drive the long way) so I didn’t have to stash them in my pack. It was all downhill heading into the first aid station and I was feeling great (didn’t know it at the time, but the mile before the 1^st aid station was my fastest). Tore off my earband and armwarmers, threw them at Marcus and I was on my way, didn’t even stop. I knew he wouldn’t be at aid station 2 or 3 and likely not 4 so I was pretty much on my own from this point on. These hills were no joke! Just when you thought it couldn’t go any higher, you’d turn a corner and realize that, yep, that’s another hill! Only when all you could see the tops of trees did you know for sure you were at the top!

Getting into the 2^nd aid station, I stopped and had a bit to drink. I don’t normally drink pop, but for some reason, ginger-ale sure tastes good during a race! Weirdly, so did M&M’s and gummy bears.

Heading into the 3^rd leg, there was a lot more sand (I now know why the 2/3 aid stations are termed the “sand coulee” aid station). It was nearly impossible to run through, even though it was mostly flat. While going from the 1^st to the 2^nd aid station seemed to take awhile (probably because you “see” the 2^nd aid station shortly after leaving the 1^st, but it’s ages before you actually get there), getting to the 3^rd aid station took no time at all!

Took off for the 4^th aid station after just a few minutes. I knew that once I got past 12 miles (halfway between aid station 3 and 4), the steepest inclines were over. What I wasn’t prepared for was the gravel road heading into the last aid station! Similar to the long stretch of gravel along the river at Afton, this section was quite boring. Up until now, I hadn’t had much success listening to headphones. I tried a podcast for awhile with one earbud in, but I just wasn’t able to concentrate. I had been running on and off with a couple of different people at this point. One guy (I’ll call him the guy in the orange shirt as I never picked up his name) was really a great motivator. It was awesome to hear his cheeriness throughout the last half. We even got into a discussion on what the best bathroom break etiquette was in a course with very little foliage cover! I eventually found a tree partway down a hill and took a few minutes to pee.

Soon after I met Andy. While he’d run one marathon and this was his 2^nd time at Zumbro, he and I really agreed on liking these smaller distances and were very grateful they’re offered! Running with the 50 and 100 milers was incredibly special. Most of them were on the 3^rd or 6^th loop and it was clear they were “in the zone”. Some would chat, others really just wanted to be cheered for. I ran into a woman (Susan Donnelly) a decade older than me at the last aid station. Later found out this was her 7^th Zumbro finish (and she’s completed at least 10 sawtooth 100’s, too). She was awesome.

Heading out of the last aid station, I overheard the finish was less than 3 miles and was termed “a gentle finish”. So while there were a couple of uphills, there were also some very runnable downhills and a lot of winding single-tracks through the woods (my favorite type of running). The last mile or so wasn’t as much fun as we ended up on another gravel road which was a bit boring, but as a 100 miler told me, he’d take the flat gravel over the hills any day! I tried earbuds again, music this time. Packed them away about ½ mile before the finish.

Marcus was waiting for me at the finish. While I felt D.O.N.E., I didn’t feel wrecked. My toes hurt, but that was about it. I was curious to take off my shoes and assess the damage. A couple of blisters, but nothing too bad. This was mostly due to the fact that my laces were way too loose (which I have to do to keep my feet from falling asleep) and my feet had way too much wiggle room. I’ll try tightening them next time and see if that helps. Oh, wore my Saucony Kinvara Trails.

I had tentatively thought I’d finish in about 4 hours so a finish of 4:06:70 was an awfully good estimate!

Marcus and I hung out at the finish for awhile. I had been running on and off with a 12 year old girl and after seeing her check her blood sugar at the last aid station, I was kinda mama-bear about her and I wanted to see her finish. Which she did! So did Larry. It was very cool and brought tears to my eyes when John Storkamp gave him his medal and a big hug.

We finally headed back to the car where I changed (yep, head to toe, naked in the car). It felt good to strip off my wet clothes! Headed home, stopping at Caribou to get some much-needed caffeine and to stretch my legs a bit. Ate some snacks that I had pre-packed (cheese, strawberries, a Joia, rice cakes). Once home (which seemed to take about half as much time as getting there did), I took a shower and enjoyed a fabulous pizza while waiting for dad to bring the girls home.

Had very little else to eat that night – some shrimp Marcus had made a couple of bites of ice cream. A large glass of red wine and I was sound asleep by 9:30. Hardly moved until 9am this morning.

Post race (Sunday): Today I feel quite great. Not very sore at all, just a few twinges here and there. No Advil! Took Jonah shopping at Tanger outlet, but otherwise took it easy. Have a 5m run planned tomorrow morning and a 90 minute massage in the afternoon. All the kids are finally back in school after nearly 4 consecutive weeks of spring breaks.

Life is good.