Marvelous March

March 2022 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 399.6

• Feb. 28-March 6: 110.3
• March 7-13: 93.0
• March 14-20: 88.0
• March 21-27: 70.2
• March 28-April 3: 80.0

Miles from Mentor Saturday long run crew of 11

Races:

• March 12:  Running of the Squirrels 3.25 mile 5k as part of a long run workout in 19:50 for 1st overall female and a white squirrel!
• March 19: Havin' a Crappie Weekend Outdoor Festival Crappie Challenge for fun, pacing, and prize money! I coasted through the 1 mile in 5:43, paced Abby to her second fastest 5k ever in 20:17, and ran an 8.5 mile technical trail race in 1:08. I laughed a lot about doing 3 events that I don't even run!
• March 26:  Prairie Spirit 50k in 3:37:05 for a new Kansas 50k overall female state record, a Prairie Spirit women's course record, 1st OAF, and an experience!

DST took our morning weekday run
 daylight - this was post-run :-(

Workouts:

• March 2:  8 mile wave tempo on rolling hills in 6:44, 6:01, 6:42, 6:09, 6:50, 6:18, 6:39, 6:02. My goal was 6:00-6:10 alternating with 6:40-6:50 (MP-20 and MP+20), so everything was right where I wanted aside from mile 6, but that mile had about 60 ft of gain and I've run the route enough to know that 6:10 effort would yield a 6:20 split, so my goal was to stay under 6:20 there, which I did! Spencer ran this with me, which was very helpful. He hammered his last mile in 5:52 but otherwise we were stride-by-stride. He has Strava premium so I knew my grade-adjusted paces from his data, which took off 4 seconds on average (e.g., we averaged 6:27 pace but grade adjusted was 6:23). This workout is also known as Marathon Pace The Hard Way and I really enjoy it!
• March 5:  4-3-2-1 mile progressive tempos in a 22.6 mile run (5 easy to start, 0.5 recoveries between most but 1 mile between the 3 and 2 mile tempos due to my running buddy taking a bathroom stop, 5.6 easy to finish). My goal times were 6:30-6:20-6:10-6:00 per segment and splits were 6:31, 6:28, 6:30, 6:26 / 6:26, 6:38, 6:33 (this section was nearly all uphill and all into the 20-30 mph wind, so we decided it was worth 6:20 average) / 6:10, 6:11 / 6:03. I love this workout and my paces were pretty consistent with what I've done before on it, but I've never run such a hilly course so I was proud of myself. The 5 miles easy plus the workout portion was 17 miles total and had 1094 ft of gain per Strava. Spencer and I ran this together except for the last mile when he stomped me!
• March 9: The Michigan with 2 mile tempos all on the roads. My goal was to match or better the paces I hit for this workout on the same course in January with 1 mile tempos, and I did. It was about 25 degrees with no wind, which felt pretty perfect. Spencer ran with me which also helped! He was ahead of me on all of the 5k-10k pace stuff but we ran the threshold parts side-by-side. My splits were: 1 mile @ 10k in 5:43, 2 mile threshold in 6:01/6:00, 0.75 @ 10k at 5:53, 2 mile threshold in 6:02/6:00, 0.5 @ 5k at 5:30, 2 mile threshold in 6:05/6:02, 0.25 faster than 5k at 5:25. There was a 3:00 recovery jog after each threshold portion and 2:00 recovery jog after each 10k/5k pace portion. 6 total threshold miles at 6:00-6:05 was great for me, then throwing in the faster work really made this a fantastic workout. I don't think I could actually run a 10k at 5:43 pace or a 5k at 5:30 pace right now, but it felt good to press and didn't seem to hurt the rest of the workout!
• March 12: 5 easy, 3.2 miles at threshold (6:10, 6:12, 6:07), 0.5 jog, 3 miles at marathon pace (6:27, 6:23, 6:16), easy to 18.5. I did the very cold and slightly long Running of the Squirrels 5k for the threshold miles, which was fun - then did the course a second time for the marathon pace work.
• March 16: 3 x (1 mile @ MGP, 1:00 jog, 1 mile @ HMGP, 1:00 jog, 1 mile @ 10k GP, 3:00 jog) in 6:19, 6:03, 5:51 | 6:17, 6:00, 5:47 | 6:16, 6:00, 5:47. Perfect weather and fast friends made this a successful final big workout! I was happy with my times but even happier with how good I felt running this. The entire run (with warm up, cool down, and recovery jogs) was 14 miles, with 9 miles of work, but it flew by. I haven't really bombed any workouts this season, so I knew this could be the one, but looks like I dodged that bullet and that the Run with the Wind 25k was my worst workout of the season - worst meaning I ran pretty much my exact goal pace but found it much harder than I wanted it to be. Spencer ran the MP miles with me, and a shade faster than me on the HM and 10k pace work, so chasing him helped a lot. Also there is nothing like 10k pace to make MP feel easy!
• March 19 and 20: I did the Havin' a Crappie Weekend Challenge as my final tune up workout for my 50k. Saturday afternoon I ran 13.8 miles total (includes a 3 mile morning shake out) with the 1 mile and 5k events. Sunday morning I ran 12 miles total with an 8.5ish mile trail race.
• March 22:  The Race Week Workout That Everyone Runs Too Fast 4 x 1 mile at MP (6:10, 6:05, 6:06, 6:09) plus 0.5 mile hammer (2:48) with 1:30 recoveries. 6:10 or under is my dream MP, but not my current MP, so I held true to the workout's name! I added the 0.5 hammer to help me keep the miles under control, and thinking "I get to hammer at the end" helped but not enough for me to slow down to current MP, which I estimate to be around 6:25.
• March 31: 4 mile wave tempo alternating MP/threshold, 2:00 jog, 3 x 1:00 faster/1:00 off. My wave tempo half mile paces were 6:26, 6:06, 6:26, 6:08, 6:42, 6:07, 6:37, 6:10 and my 1:00 fasters were 5:26, 5:27, 5:38. I wasn't planning to workout until April 3, but I felt good enough to try one on the short side, plus I felt like I needed to stop slogging post-50k! I felt okay enough considering, but I couldn't dig and starting drifting on my paces towards the end of the wave tempo (I was targeting 6:25-6:35/6:05-6:10).
• Doubles: March 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 29, 31.
• Favorite workout: I really had fun with The Michigan with 2 mile tempos!

Post-long run #2 for the weekend

Those 2 nailed a workout on 3/6!

Long Runs:

• March 5:  22.6 miles, with a workout described above.
• March 6:  16.2 miles (8:20), for the last big double long run weekend of the season - which made me sad!
• March 12:  18.5 miles (7:12), with a workout described above.
• March 13: 12.5 miles (7:58) that felt a lot easier than the last few Sunday long runs I'd done. Turns out there is a big difference between running 18 miles on Saturday vs. 22-26!
• March 19: 13.8 miles total, although I did 3.3 in the morning then 10.5 kind of split in the afternoon at the Havin' a Crappie Weekend Outdoor Festival.
• March 20: 12 miles (8:12) total that included my first real trail race!
• March 26: 31.1 miles (6:58) at the Prairie Spirit 50k!
• Most mid-week workouts added up to long run mileage as well but I did not double-include them.
• Favorite long run: I am a huge fan of the long run workout I did on March 5.

Our UCAN sample run!

Running Highlights:

• I set a new rolling 7 day mileage PR of 116.1 from February 25 to March 3. I wrote about it here because who knows if this will ever happen again!
• My second ultra is in the books!
• I am at 7 overall female wins in 7 races in 2022 so far. I'm celebrating this streak before it ends on April 18! My undefeated in the masters division in road racing streak is also going to end (the only race I haven't won masters in since I turned 40 was on the track). Hopefully Boston is worth it!

I love this Strava graph more
than one should love a graph

Life Highlights:

• Spring break for Albani and MSU + more snow, then spring!

Happy St. Pats!

Books:

• The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
• Luster by Raven Leilani
• Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks
• Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
• How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman
• A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
• The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Theme for the month:

• Keeping it fun. I greatly enjoyed this month of running!

Prairie Spirit 50k Photo Documentary

Mile 90 Photography did such an amazing job with these I thought they should get their own post!

Trying to hang on in the final 5 miles

Pace group for the first 18

Nearing the 17.3 mile turn around

Sweet relief

After I had some time to come back from the dead

Picking up pacer Andrew

Trying unsuccessfully to hang on

Trying to stand up

Crew hugs

My shorts pockets are definitely stuffed with gels!

Prairie Spirit 50k: What went wrong, what went right

I'm not disappointed with Prairie Spirit but I'm not out-of-my-mind excited about my performance either. It was good/fine - just like Cabin Fever, the only other race I've raced all-out this year so far...also much like every fall race I did in 2021! The last race I feel like I really knocked out the park was the Tobacco Road Marathon, but I also haven't had any unexplainable bad races in several years (the steamy 10,000 m at USATF Masters Nationals and the marathon I ran with bronchitis were very explainable). My workouts have been the same - I'm not running anything groundbreaking but I haven't had a bad workout for a very long time. All of this to say, I'm kind of in this spot where I'm happy enough with my running performances - not insanely thrilled but also not upset. All in all, most things went right for Prairie Spirit. 

Sunrise start

What went right:

My training cycle. I completed it all as planned through some rough winter weather, and handled the highest volume I've ever done (5 weeks of 100-110) really well. I hit all my workouts and felt really strong through all of the training. I was also 100% healthy without even a niggle.

The course. Prairie Spirit had less elevation gain than Frisco and for the most part was well-maintained crushed limestone. It was a little soft from recent rain but I don't think that necessarily hurt me.

The weather. I complain enough about bad race weather that I'd better to point out when it's fabulous - and this was! 32 degrees at the start and likely in the high-40s when I finished, which is about perfect long race weather for me. The wind was low for Kansas at 8-10 mph and I tried to draft off Andrew when we were running into it.

The company. I had running buddies the entire race, with Colin for about a marathon, pacer Andrew from 17.3 to the end, and Hans and Logan (both of whom I met during the race) for the first 20 miles. Can't beat that!

Pace crew, split here due to upcoming aid station

Chafing, or more precisely lack thereof. Nothing chafed except for my chest a bit from stuffing gel wrappers and my empty handheld into my sports bra at times. When I got in the shower after the race, multiple little gel tabs fell out because I was throwing away the large trash when we passed a trash can and after I finished, but the little tabs you pull off to open mostly stayed in. Shout out to rabbit for the awesome clothing that didn't rub one bit!

Pacing, I think. I wish I could have finished stronger, but I picked a very reasonable pacing strategy and stuck to it well, even when it felt super slow during the first 1/3 of the race.

Fueling, I think. I took 8 gels during the race and had zero issues with that...though afterward I never want to see another gel! I sipped on water as needed, but with it being cool I didn't need that much. My pre-race meal of oatmeal mixed with cinnamon and vanilla UCAN energy + protein 2.5 hours before the race followed by 2 scoops of UCAN energy in water 45 minutes before the race is always dependable for me! See below for one fueling issue though.

Records. Kansas overall female state record, Prairie Spirit women's course record, and the #5 time in North America for women in 2022 so far. I sometimes feel greedy saying that I didn't achieve my time goals when I set records, and I'm super thankful for them, just wanted to make them faster.

Kansas state record

North American female top 2022 performances

What went wrong:

The two hairpin turn arounds, slightly. The first was marked with chalk on the ground and a cone with a sign on the side of the road on the sidewalk, and it was just really lucky that I even saw it at all, because the guys I was with didn't. I turned my head as we passed the turn around and saw the sign, so we only went a few steps past it, but then I had to convince the men that it was actually the turn around ("Are you sure?", "Look, the sign on the cone on the sidewalk!"). The second was at a timing mat that we ran over and continued past until I asked, "Where do we turn around?" maybe 5 seconds later. Again, the men I was with didn't know either...so what I've learned from writing this is that all 3 of them owe me, hah!

Lack of caffeinated gel when I needed it most. Jon did an excellent job crewing aside from forgetting to put my final gel with caffeine in my handheld pocket at the 23.8 mile aid station. I was really counting on it to perk me up at that point! I wrote him very, very detailed instructions and he followed everything else exactly - not to mention got up at 6:00 a.m. to watch me run for over 3.5 hours - so I can't complain too much, but oh how I wanted that caffeine!

Decided not to divorce him, though at mile 27
it was questionable, haha!

Handheld sizing issues. I had one Osprey Packs Dyna handheld bottle that I'd tested on a few long runs, since Prairie Spirit required us to carry fluids the whole race. I bought a second one so I could rotate between the two at aid stations - dropping an empty one and Jon handing me a refilled one. I ordered a second one in a different color, not realizing the different color was the men's version. I didn't use it before the race because I thought it was exactly the same as the one I already had. I found out in the early miles of the the race that it was too big! Colin owns the same bottle and confirmed the red was men's. The final time I had it I ended up shoving it into my sports bra because I was too tired to deal with it being oversized (it required more holding onto because of the size). I don't think this hurt my performance, it was just annoying!

Miles 5 and 20 got a little quick (6:37 and 6:39). I don't think this was enough to hurt me, but it was a little faster than planned. For the most part I did well with staying around 6:50 until 29-31 (25-28 drifted slightly but not extremely).

Tapering. The best taper for each person is a lot of trial and error, and I've learned that I do well with less of a taper. When I'm coaching myself, tapering myself is possibly my biggest weakness. My two biggest Monday through Sunday weeks were both 110, 3 and 4 weeks out. 2 weeks out I did 93 and 1 week out 88. Race week I kept it pretty low with 70.2 - meaning only 39 outside of the race. I think that this was all fine, but some have told me I should have cut back more. 88-93 was a 20ish mile drop from peak weekly mileage though!

Body fat. I don't weigh myself - I stopped in 2019 and it's been so liberating! - but I can tell I have some winter fluff on me right now. I usually lean down during training cycles but I didn't as much as in the past during this one. I know that lighter doesn't always equal faster, but I definitely have a little more on me I did when I ran my PRs and it adds up over the miles.

Missed my goal. I'm not exactly sure why I couldn't run a PR or a 3:29, but I'm filing it under something that went wrong. I believe I gave it all I had on the day, and I'm not sure why I didn't have a little more, but I'm going to keep looking for it.

What to think about:

Pacing. The 50k is still a bit of a puzzle to me. I don't think I paced too aggressively and I was pretty even in my pacing (especially when accounting for long inclines and declines), but I couldn't maintain through the end. All of this can also be said about my first 50k. I ran high mileage in prep, so I'm still figuring out how to stay strong through the end.

Fueling. Although I think I fueled adequately with 8 gels (~800 calories), I might consider mixing gels and caloric fluids next time. I may also add electrolytes. Maybe I need 1000 calories?

Guidance/coaching. I self-coached for both of my 50k builds. I treated the training like marathon training plus back-to-back Saturday/Sunday long runs, which has also come to be my absolute favorie training. I tried to read and learn everything I could about the 50k, but there is far less information on 50k training than on marathon training available (not to mention almost nothing on pacing, fueling, etc. for a non-technical 50k). Most of the information I found was targeted either at 50ks on technical trails, or when the goal was completion vs. performance and training mileage was much lower than mine. There is quite a bit of information available on training for a sub-3:00 marathon or even a 2:45 marathon, but not on running a fast 50k. I am leaning towards working with a coach for my 2023 50k. 

Finally, was it any coincidence I received an email linking this article the day of the race?

My Prairie Spirit race recap is here, and photos are here.

Her smiling here was a victory

We are true ultra runners with belt buckles now

My mom took most of the day's photos
but I got one with her too!

Bling

Prairie Spirit 50k: I Run UltramarathonS

The short:

I now have two data points to tell me that the 50k is not "only" 5 more miles than a marathon! Prairie Spirit didn't go quite as I hoped, as I didn't better my debut time or negative split, but I set a Kansas overall female 50k state record and a new Prairie Spirit female course record with a 3:37:06 on the rails to trails gravel course. I loved this training cycle so much, so I stepped up to the starting line feeling like I'd already won. I couldn't execute as I wanted, even though I had great weather, a nice course, fantastic pacing buddies, and the best crew. Thankful but not satisfied...and I am definitely going to run a third 50k now, once I forget how the end of this one felt!

Official results are here, including course records.

Kansas state records are here (you have to click on 50k after following the link).

Top 50k 2022 North American performances are here, and currently I sit at #5.

My Strava activity is here.

Race photos are here.

My dad's video of the finish is here.

Awards at the finish

The long:

I was more intimidated going into this race than going into my first 50k, because I remembered how agonizing the final 4 miles of the race felt last time! I think I benefitted a lot from the ignorance is bliss thing before I'd run a 50k - not only about how the race would feel but also about what performances were good. I ran fast in my debut but I didn't understand the implications until afterward, some not until days or weeks afterward (e.g., I ended up with the 4th best North American/3rd U.S. women's time of 2021 and was under the time standard of 3:35 needed to apply for the 2021 USATF World 50k team).

This time I had higher goals and expectations based on all of that, namely to break 3:30, make it into the top 3 women's 2022 times (the U.S. 50k national champs took place a few weeks before this race so there were some fast times to beat), and net a time to apply for the 2023 USATF World team (under 3:33). Conflictingly, I also was really scared of the end-of-the race pain!

Colin and I trained for the race together through some pretty brutal winter weather, including the two coldest races either of us had ever run, but race day gave us nearly perfect weather at 32 degrees at the start. The north wind was 8-10 mph by the time we were at midway, meaning we had a headwind from mile 17.3 to the finish, but considering the race was in Kansas I don't think we could have done any better! My biggest fear going into the race had been a 30+ mph headwind for half of the race.

Sunrise start

Colin and I planned to run together, and Andrew was joining at the mile 17.3 aid station, which was when 50k pacers were allowed. I was confident that Colin and I would be together at 17.3, so I knew I'd have someone to run with the whole time, which was comforting. It was also great knowing that Andrew would be with me during the hardest part of the race with 17.3 fewer miles on his legs than I had on mine! The rails to trails course wasn't very scenic and much like Frisco looked about the same the entire way - also much like Frisco it kind of felt uphill both ways. My race plan was to run the first 5 miles at about 7:00, the next 5 miles at about 6:50, then the next 21.1 [gulp] at 6:40-6:45, hoping to average 6:45ish. I positive split my first 50k and really wanted to negative split this one. I thought my fitness was similar to where it was for Frisco, so I hoped more conservative early pacing would yield an overall faster time.

Colin and I were leading the race before mile 1, tailed by two men who we met shortly after. Hans was an experienced ultra runner and Logan was an Ironman triathlete running his first ultra. We bantered, laughed, and worked together for the first 20 miles of the race. At mile 10 I pointed out that we were 1/3 finished but it turned out I was the only one optimistic about that! The miles flew by, and I was trying to keep tabs on where we were so I could execute my fueling plan of a gel every 3 miles, but many times I'd look down and be further along than I thought, which is always a nice surprise. I stayed on my gels well though, and it felt like I was almost constantly taking one. The race required that you carry fluid so I ran with handhelds that I switched out at each manned aid station.

The mile 10.8 aid station

We picked up pacer Andrew at the turn around, which we ran past because there was just a timing mat on the ground - no cone or sign or other indication. I knew the turn around was supposed to be at that aid station so I asked "where do we turn around?" after we'd run well past the mat, then someone told us "there!" pointing back to the mat. Jon said he was yelling at us to turn around at the mat but we didn't hear him. He also said that aid station wasn't ready for us since runners from the longer distances had been coming through - they started earlier than us and continued on south to their turn arounds, plus they were more apt to stop vs. our turn and burn plan. We probably lost about 10 seconds there, which didn't seem to matter in a 50k but in the end it did (stay tuned!), especially since we'd also run a bit past the ~2 mile turn around for a similar reason.

When we turned around, we also turned into a headwind. We went single file: Andrew, Colin, me, Hans, Logan. I was still in a good place but didn't feel like I should drop pace much, so I told Andrew 6:45-6:50 instead of the planned 6:40-6:45. He's a great pacer and also took the wind for us as much as he could. I could tell Logan was struggling to hang onto us, and I'm not exactly sure when he fell off but it was between the turn around and mile 20. He'd been hoping for a sub-3:00 marathon during the race, which would have been a PR for him, so my heart went out to him. 

Mile 17.3 aid station bottle hand off

Hans picked it up around mile 20, and after we clipped through a 6:39 mile I told Colin that he should go with Hans if he wanted to race for the overall win, but I didn't feel ready to pick it up. Colin didn't feel comfortable speeding up either, so we continued at 6:50ish. There was also a fast man who'd started late, so that was an X factor for the guys' placings; the race changed their start times from past years and some people had planned around the old start times so they allowed people to start late and use chip time. Hans knew who the other fast man was and thought he would be the one to beat (spoiler: Hans won, the other man was 2nd, and Colin 3rd).

The final manned aid station was at 23.8, and I was looking forward to seeing my family one last time on the course and getting my gel with 100 mg caffeine. My bottle/gel hand off from Jon went seamlessly, as had the first two exchanges, but when I unzipped the pocket of my fresh handheld my gel wasn't in there! I almost asked Andrew to go back for it, but muling was against the rules. I asked Colin if he had an extra gel with caffeine, but he didn't have any with caffeine. I didn't think I needed the gel - I still had one on me to take between there and the finish - but I sure needed the caffeine!

I tried to stay positive, and looked forward to seeing our marathon split. Our average pace for the entire race was hovering at 6:52-6:53, so I knew we wouldn't quite be sub-3:00, which was somewhat disappointing but finishing strong was more important to me in this race. I felt like at Frisco I was really concerned about keeping my marathon under 3 and not having any miles over 7:00, which may have hurt me in the final miles there. We passed the marathon in about 3:00:40 on our Garmins, but don't worry, I am not counting that against my sub-3:00 streak since it was in a 50k - although if I was under I'd have counted it, haha!

I felt a little better than I had at Frisco at that point in the race, but also not as good as I'd have liked to have felt, meaning I didn't feel confident about finishing strong. Colin began pulling away from me. Before the race I kept telling him that it was going to be just like Run with the Wind, where he pulled away in the final miles at 6:15 while I stayed at 6:45. This time I didn't stay at 6:45, but he did pull away! I stopped looking at my watch at that point and just gave all I had to get in as fast as my legs would carry me. 

Pain face final stretch

I felt okay enough until a bit after mile 28. When my watch beeped 28 I told Andrew, "Only a 5k to go!" but I was losing steam quickly. I kind of knew where we were at since we'd run the opposite direction on the same trail early in the race. I kept willing us to get to the highway crossing, for my watch to beep 29 and 30, to get to the pavement for the final mile. I could see Colin in the distance ahead of me and I also kept willing him to turn left, because I knew when he did it was only about 200 m to the finish from there. In my mind, the last 5k took longer than the first 28 miles, and I gritted it out but it wasn't pretty, and the final mile was all gentle incline which sure didn't help. I was quite thankful to hit the finish line because I was beyond running on empty! My official time was 3:37:06 - the 5th fastest women's time in North America in 2022. The reason those little bits of lost time at the turn arounds mattered? The 4th fastest time is 3:36:58. I'm more frustrated with myself for my slow final mile, but at the time it was all I had.

Clock shot

Kansas Record

5th in North America in 2022

Prairie Spirit top times

After I took a couple of minutes to gather myself while holding onto the building, the race organizers continued to announce information about my race - course record and Kansas state open female record. I knew I'd hit those times because I'd looked them up beforehand; they were my C and D goals for this race (A was sub-3:30, B was PR...but E was finishing of course!). I celebrated with my family and friends, accepted my awards, and vowed to never do that again.

But, of course I'll do it again! After all, I just know I've got a faster one in me! The agony of those final few miles and the pain for the remainder of the day will fade away, and I have very much fallen in love with 50k training. I'm still primarily a marathoner and this race was also my longest long run for the 2022 Boston Marathon on April 18, but there's something about those 5 extra miles that, God-willing, I am determined to solve.

More race details are here.

Miles from Mentor runners

The race asked me to pose for a pic
by the finish for their social & I wasn't
wasn't quite sure what to do, but this
is what they got from endophin-me!