Training in Montana

Bighorn Trail Run 52M

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Location:

Billings,MT,

Member Since:

Jan 10, 2011

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

~~Longest Ultra: Bighorn Trail Run: 12:19:00, 52 miles, Bighorn Mountains, WY, June 20, 2015

50K: Bighorn Trail Run: 5:52:13, 32 miles, Bighorn Mountains, WY, June 15, 2013

Marathon: 3:25:01, Deseret News Marathon, SLC, UT, July 24, 2013

Half-Marathon: 1:37:00 (downhill), Deseret News Marathon Split, SLC, UT, July 24, 2013

10K: 44:07, Big Sky State Games, Billings, MT, July 2012

5K: 20:25, Big Sky State Games, Billings, MT, July 2013

Short-Term Running Goals:

Get back into running shape.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Not get super fat, and qualify for Boston before I'm 50 (April 2023).

Personal:

Started running seriously in March 2010. Married 22 years to a hot momma and we have 3 boys, 1 sweet girl, 2 dogs, 3 2 0 1 cat, and 6     4 5 6 3 5 3 1 2 0 chickens (until Spring 2019 when we'll start over). As of September 2018 I'm looking for work... yay. I'm on the local School Board.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Adrenaline 18 Lifetime Miles: 424.24
Cascadia 12 Lifetime Miles: 396.50
Adrenaline 18 #2 Lifetime Miles: 64.00
Altra Lifetime Miles: 50.50
Brooks 20 Lifetime Miles: 50.00
Cascadia Green/orange Lifetime Miles: 223.00
Total Distance
113.00
Brooks Adrenaline 15 Miles: 28.50Cascadia 10 Miles: 20.50Cascadia 10 Pt2 Miles: 46.00Cascadia 9 Miles: 18.00
Weight: 0.00
Total Distance
4.50

4 1/2 slow miles at lunch time. Didn't realize how heavy my legs were from Saturday as I've missed my last few Monday runs and having 2 days rest after a long run is pretty nice. I wanted to run in temps and we're finally above 70 at Noon. I ran from 74-77 degrees, 48% humidity. It wasn't bad but I could use lots more heat training. I know I'll need it on the 20th. I know a slog fest is coming but that's what ultras are.

AP: 8:52

Brooks Adrenaline 15 Miles: 4.50
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
0.50

1/2 mile this morning from home. The legs weren't there so I stopped and walked home. I was going at a snail's pace (10:30) and it felt awful. I guess my Monday rest days in the past few weeks have been more beneficial than I knew. Should've rested yesterday. Oh well, no worries. Will rest today and run tomorrow.

Cascadia 10 Miles: 0.50
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
5.00

Slept in today thank goodness then went for a run at lunchtime. My legs are toast! This is so weird. I did 28 miles a couple Saturdays ago, the following Tuesday I did 12 miles no problem. I only did 20 on Saturday and Tuesday I could barely run and today isn't much better after a 30 hour rest. So bizarre. I guess my body is trying to tell me something and I'll let it. I'm kind of tired of running at the moment. I'm ready to coast into my race.

AP: 9:35

Brooks Adrenaline 15 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Total Distance
6.00

My body is really tired or something as I once again had very little this morning. Was meant to do 8 but with how slow I was going I cut it way short. I walked a couple times for 3-4 minutes each time. This is so weird. During the day and night I don't feel exhausted, but when running this week my quads have felt like lead bricks with no explosiveness or turnover. It's almost to the point of giving me a complex but I'll wait another few days. I expect tomorrow will suck just as bad but hopefully next week the legs will return. Bah.

Cascadia 10 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
10.00

I'm not sure I'm back but I had a good run and it was even in the heat. Started at 1:30 pm with 75F and 39% humidity and ended at 78F and 40%. Love the west. Went up my normal 10 mile route, 5 out and back. At 4.3 miles I had to turn around as I hit a cow jam. No joke. Rancher Joe was moving pastures with a herd of 100 cows or so. I promptly turned around and headed back. I got my miles by heading 0.7 miles up another road a few miles later. I felt pretty good on this run. My first mile started out slow as the other runs this week, 10+ pace but I didn't let it get me down. Just kept going and eventually I warmed up a bit. I worried about going up my Veyo hill but it wasn't a big challenge, and I made it up in under 10 pace. I brought 44 ounces of drink and I used all of it so I'm glad I had it. Used Twizzlers as my power. Yum. Although actually it was a bit ick as cherry flavored licorice has a long aftertaste. 

AP: 8:52

Cascadia 10 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
8.00

8 warm morning miles, a rarity in this rarefied air of Montana. Temps were 71F 47% at 7 am and 77F 39% at 8 am, which is about the time I finished. Had to drop off son #2 at the high school at 6:30 am for his lifting/crossfit class so I parked at the Y and hit the pavement and concrete. Although the harder surfaces are a bit tough for me it's a change of scenery which was pretty nice. It was also nice seeing people on a morning run. I normally see not a single two-legged soul except for a few who drive to work around 7 am, so it was nice to run by people and nod and grunt good morning.

Legs felt just fine today. Not fresh as can be, but not sluggish. A good solid challenging run.

The Garmin died about 7.25 miles so I'm not sure of pace, but somewhere around 8 minute mile. It was challenging but not difficult. Lots of sweat.

Brooks Adrenaline 15 Miles: 8.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
4.00

4 miles from home this morning. Beautiful weather, 61F 81% slight breeze. I didn't read my schedule very well as it has me seriously tapering and planned for 4 miles Monday, 0 Tuesday, 6 Wednesday. I'm glad I ran yesterday though. Legs today didn't feel totally fresh but good enough. They'll be great on the 20th.

AP: 8:50

Cascadia 10 Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Total Distance
10.00

Massive taper week had me skip Thursday & Friday runs and just do 10 today. I needed to drop off son #3 at the church for a Boy Scout 5 mile hike, so I did my 10 on the West end bike path. I've heard that asphalt/concrete running is actually a good change of pace for trail runners and I think that's true. Even with almost no elevation change my legs felt it.

AP: 8:28

Brooks Adrenaline 15 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(2)
Total Distance
4.00

4 miles on the rimrock trail above town at Noon. Nice easy effort as that's about all my legs are tuned into. Next time I do an ultra I'll make sure to continue doing some speed work as I think that would help mentally.

I ran in new shoes, so a shout out to Brooks. My current Cascadias have worn a hole in the right upper where the foot flexes. I submitted a warranty claim with a picture and they sent me a "one-time replacement pair" of the exact same shoe. Bonus! I have 2 drop bags on my race, so I really wanted three total pairs of trail shoes and I've got them. The start will be the muddiest section of the race so I'll start with my Cascadia 9s as they still have a little bit of life left in them and the first 18 miles is mostly downhill. They should be fine. The next section is the most incline and a potential for mud with rain forecast most of this week. I'll wear the new shoes with the most tread. At mile 34 I'll switch into my older Cascadia 10s and wear them to the end.

The day of currently is forecasting 77 degrees with 20-40% chance of rain. Not horrible, not great. I'll take rain over heat anyday although on a dirt trail I may be wishing for a hot day to get rid of mud. This may be an interesting race.

Cascadia 10 Pt2 Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
3.00

3 miles this morning from home. Last night was the first time I had the "holy crap what am I doing?" thought while I was sleeping. I think it came about 3 am while rolling over for a better side sleep position. I'm expecting a few more of those this week. After 22 weeks of training specifically for this race I'm ready for the cycle to be over and also amazed that race day is coming soon.

Cascadia 10 Pt2 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Total Distance
2.00

Running only 2 miles feels very weird. But at the end of a long training cycle, it feels AWESOME! I'm as ready as can be. I've got my drop bags packed and repacked (and will probably repack one more time just to be sure I didn't forget something crucial). I've got all my summer and winter running clothes ready to go, just in case the weather is wacky at 8000 feet. I think I'm as ready as I can be. I would feel more confident if I had hit all of my prescribed long runs, but I had some good ones in there which make me feel good. I'm nervous about this race, probably more nervous than my first marathon. I think I can do it, I think the last 5 1/2 years of running have prepared me for this but we'll see in a few days how it goes. I'm sure of one thing: it's going to suck really bad the last 6 miles on a hot dusty dirt road. And I'm pretty sure I'll have long stretches of "this sucks" in between. I can't wait!

Cascadia 10 Pt2 Miles: 2.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Race: Bighorn Trail Run 52M (52 Miles) 12:19:00, Place overall: 58, Place in age division: 16
Total Distance
52.00

I finished. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't fun. Never doing a 50 miler again. It's way too far for me.

We stayed at a hotel about 30 minutes from the start line and the race started at 6 am so I planned to leave at 5:15 to be there 15 minutes early. I didn't want to stand around at 8800 feet and freeze. It worked out okay, but I should've gotten up earlier to give me more time to eat and use the hotel bathroom as my limited time was wholly unproductive. I didn't end up emptying my bowels until 34 miles and 8 hours into the race. Thankfully it was at a POP and it didn't impact the race. I also didn't eat or drink much before the race, just nibbled on a Cliff bar and sipped some Gatorade but not at all what I planned to do. Again, it didn't impact me thankfully. My wife and I left the hotel about 5:20 and I hauled butt down the road, slowing a few time for deer on the side of the road and blessed to see a couple bull elk with velvet antlers. It was a gorgeous drive. The race was 2.4 miles off the highway and thankfully good roads to get there, uneventful. I got my hydration pack filled with water as they had no Gu Brew at that station.

We started the race with 201 of us running the turnaround circle around the warmup tents and that thinned the herd a bit before going to single track. We were one long line of runners for the next who-knows-how-many-miles. Some super swampy areas up there and some small water crossings but nothing too bad. One lady right in front of me lost her shoe stepping across a small stream so I stopped and plucked it up for her. She later twisted her ankle really badly at 5.6 miles in and I strongly doubt she finished. The first 18 miles is all downhill, going from 8800 to 4500 feet with the last few miles high above a river. Gorgeous. I got to the Foot Bridge aid station and my first of two drop bags at about 3 hours 36 minutes. I could feel some hot spots, so I duct taped my feet and it was a fantastic decision. After washing my feet (bless you angels carrying water trays and towels to us) I wrapped one loop around the toe joint as I was working on a blister on the outside of my big toe joint (whatever that's called) then wrapped a loop around my heel and connected to the other tape and repeated on both sides. Then changed into my compression socks and my new Brooks Cascadias. I ended up wearing them the rest of the way. I changed into a sleeveless tech shirt, got sunscreened, ate some food, filled hydration pack with Gu Brew and I was off. Not sure how long the break was, but it was worth it.

The next 16 miles sucked. I knew it would, and it did. 16 miles of climbing from 4500 to 7500 feet. The first two miles I regained 2000 feet of elevation and it is just awful. I had to stop and lower my heart rate a number of times as I was just getting woozy. 3.5 miles in there's a backpacked-in aid station (there are some amazing volunteers on this race! 3 backpacked-in stations, 2 aid stations by horse and mule) and it was nice to rest for a bit, grab some jerky and gu, refill the water bottle, and go. I should've topped off the hydration pack as I ended up going dry before the next aid station but I was fine. I'd prefer a little extra weight and lots of water though. The next while there is quite a bit of sideways or minor up so I was able to run quite a bit of it and it's through trees and just beautiful. Little packs would form but I mostly ran on my own from here on but made a few friends along the way. At mile 28 we finally hit Cow Camp aid station which has bacon. I was really hungry so I ate 1/2 a PB&J, a couple strips of fat-packed bacon (too much fat) and some Fritos. Great salt. I burped up all this food the next 6 miles so maybe I ate too much, but I was glad to get rid of the pit. The next 6 to the last drop bag really suck. It's only 1000 foot gain, but it goes forever and ever and ever. You're climbing a canyon and can see the aid station 5 miles away and it's a horribly cruel mental game. During this stretch I realized I hate the 50 mile distance (actually, I think it was a few miles before, when I hit 26 miles and realized I was only 1/2 way there). I felt pretty good but I was just done with it. I considered dropping at the next aid station mainly because I just didn't want to run anymore and I figured getting a DNF for boredom was probably a bad idea. I also started doing the math and knew the race didn't end until 9 pm, and if I literally walked 20 minute miles the rest of the race I would finish. My kids needed me to finish. Knowing I could walk and finish removed any stress from me and I took my walking really serious from that point on. I ran when I wanted to but mostly I walked, and walked, and walked. I felt like a pioneer child (LDS primary song). When I came to streams (of which there are many) I walked right through them and it felt sooo good. I got to the aid station at 8 hours in and I changed into a tank top for the final stretch (and reapplied nipple bandaids as my first bandaids had fallen off) and switched from Gu Brew to water. I also used the POP and that helped mentally, knowing I didn't need to squat in the woods somewhere.

The weather had changed and it got cloudy and windy and it was cold but it was only 2 pm. I had kept my arm warmers that I started with and I put them on and wore them for the next 30 minutes which helped. I guy I'd met just earlier was freezing and I loaned him my windbreaker as he'd left his at the first aid station not thinking he'd need it. The sun came out about 30 minutes later and warmed quickly. I then kept walking and walking. I ran a little bit but mainly walked. A mile past that we hit a gravel road for the next few miles and I actually ran quite a bit of it. I was trailing a 100 miler who would run/walk so I knew I could do the same. After a few miles we finally hit the best trail of the run and I ran most of it. It's a fun single track that's mostly flat and it's just fun to run. I walked when I wanted to but ran when I could. I didn't want to sweat anymore so I only ran when it wasn't strenuous. I was tired of exerting myself. At the next aid station I didn't eat much and kept going. The nastiest walking section of the race was coming up and it is so hard. About 3/4 of a mile of nearly vertical. It's not actually a trail, but we all need to get to the final canyon and this is the only way they've figured out to get us there. I stopped 5-6 times just to catch my breath. Eventually I slowed my pace and just kept walking but breathing really hard. It is tough. At the top of the canyon I knew I'd get cell coverage so I texted my wife and told her I was about 90 minutes from the bottom of the canyon where I'd hit the last 5 miles of gravel road where the family would meet me on bikes. I then entered the canyon, thinking I'd run part of it but walk a lot. I ran it and I ran it fast (relatively). My legs felt great and I destroyed my quads. There are many stretches where you can't stop, just keep your feet moving in short little steps so you don't fall over. When I was coming up on walkers I'd yell "Runner! And I can't stop!" and they'd move out of my way. I was really cruising, and staring down at the trail so I didn't twist an ankle or worse. It's about 3.5 miles from the top of the canyon to the next aid station, and 3000 feet of drop. It always seems like that aid station will never come and the same was true this year. It was a blessed site. I refilled water, ate some grapes, and was off. 2.2 miles to the last aid station and the trail now had lots of up and downs. It felt great to up and I was surprised how much I like running the down parts. The trail levels off for a bit and the sun was out in full force. It was pretty warm at this point so as I'd done the whole race I doused my head, back, and chest with water from my hand held.

After the last aid station is the single worst part of the race: 5 miles of mostly flat gravel road. It sounds easy and it is horrible. Like seriously horrible. I don't know how anyone can run those entire 5 miles. I ran the first mile or so, then I walked nearly the rest of the way. Again, I did the math and I could walk 15 minute miles which would only take me 75 minutes. I was spot on. My cute wife walked out and met me with about 3 miles to go and that was fun. She'd left her bike a ways up the road. My 3 kids who were there then met me at intervals on their bikes and they walked and rode with me the rest of the way, which was the highlight of my day (my oldest was working in Billings so couldn't make the trip). A few 50 milers and even 100 milers passed me running, and good for them. I was content to walk it in. About 3/4 mile out we hit town and the road is paved and I ran it in from there. My family all ditched their bikes at the park and we ran across the finish line holding hands. I felt good.

Feelings immediately after the race: chocolate milk is awesome and 52 miles is a long freaking way to run. I will never run that far again, and I will definitely never run 100 miles. It is not a bucket list item. I was a bit under trained but I finished strong. I was really glad for my family support and happy they could be there with me.

GPS first 34 miles: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/814056161 (thanks Pat for lending me your watch!)

GPS last 18 miles: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/820956619

Cascadia 9 Miles: 18.00Cascadia 10 Pt2 Miles: 34.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(5)
Total Distance
0.00

After a rough Saturday night when sleep was a challenge with sore legs, and a rough Sunday trying to walk and even rougher Monday walking, finally today my legs are feeling not horrible. I'm sore from my feet to the top of my quads, and I'm even sore on my shoulders from the hydration pack straps. My feet have cuts on the top of them from the duct tape, but they're just flesh wounds and will heal nicely. The duct tape was absolutely worth it. 

Hoping I feel like running in a week or so. 

Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
1.00

I'll count 1 mile although I didn't run that entire way. I dropped my son off at conditioning class then went to the Y and headed outdoors. I did a 1 1/2-2 mile loop with no watch because I was just walking then I'd run a bit.

One thing I keep failing to mention is my left knee bugged me on the race and it still is a bit. I don't think it's my actual knee, just something on the outside of it. I'm guessing IT band or something like that. I haven't done any cross training recently so once I add that into the mix after recovering I expect to feel better. I felt it after a couple long runs and it went away. On the race I noticed it but it seemed to happen more when I was sloppy with my footwork. When I focused I didn't feel it. We'll see.

By the end of next week I should be running a few miles or more.

Brooks Adrenaline 15 Miles: 1.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
0.00

Did Noon Boot Camp today. It felt great to be somewhat normal. I gave it my full effort on some things but definitely on the running parts. I'm gonna be sore.

Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
3.00

I ran. Slowly. From home. It was good.

Cascadia 10 Pt2 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
113.00
Brooks Adrenaline 15 Miles: 28.50Cascadia 10 Miles: 20.50Cascadia 10 Pt2 Miles: 46.00Cascadia 9 Miles: 18.00
Weight: 0.00
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