Jacks 50k Trail Race

Jacks 50k Trail Race

I lined up several races this fall to use as my long training runs, running solo gets a little boring and I thought the races would help those long runs be more exciting! I was really excited to run Mala Compra this weekend as a 30+ mile training run. Mala Compra is a 6 (ish) mile loop course. I love loop courses because I feel like it's really easy to access your drop bag, aid stations, spectators and to know exactly what to expect each leg. I also can judge what pace I need to be per loop to get whatever time I am going for.

Race: Jacks 50k Trail Race (at Graham Swamp)
Date: October 23rd, 2016
Finish Time: 6 hours, 41 minutes, 18 seconds
Distance: 33 miles
Gain: 8 ft

We had a wonderful little hurricane blow threw the week before the race, Hurricane Matthew and he destroyed our beautiful trail course. Dawn, the race director for this race had to make a quick decision on what to do. Rather than cancelling or post-poning the race, she decided to move it to another local trail that was about the same distance. Yay, you'd think... Great idea! She moved her race to Graham Swamp which is about a 6.5 mile loop course, but it's a tough mountain bike course! I know the swamp well because I run there regularly, but I could not imagine running more than 1 loop around it. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck ALL WEEK about this race. I messaged friends and family trying to decide if I should drop down to the 30k option... I was scared I would DNF. Everyone told me the same thing "oh don't worry, you'll be fine". For your information you people out there reading this... that does not help! LOL.

 I found out it had an 8 hour cut off so I did the math and thought "if I can average 90 minutes per loop that would give me roughly a 30 minute buffer at the end". I normally run the swamp at an easy chatting pace around 75 minutes per loop. So I decided my plan was to run the first two loops around 80 minutes, then slow down as needed without exceeding 100 minutes my last 2 loops. I knew loop 3 would be the hardest loop for me both physically and mentally. It would mark the "highest" point of the race in my mind. That point was like reaching the top of the mountain because during the 3rd loop I knew I would be getting bored, tired, hungry, and sore. I knew 15 more miles would seem impossible. But once I got past that 3rd loop it was all down hill from there, counting down the loops was so much easier than counting up the loops 2...3...4...5... seemed like a lot, but "only 2 left" or "only 1 more loop" seemed easy! #mentalgames

I reminded myself over and over before the start of the race, I run this trail often, I have been diligent with my hip strengthening exercises (worried about re-rupturing my Achilles on such a technical trail), I know I have the endurance as long as my legs don't fail me. I carb-loaded for 3 days prior trying a little different approach as I was viewing this race as another trail run. I ate steal cut oatmeal and a banana for breakfast and headed out.

Race Start!
8:30 am sharp the race started. The 10k and 50k started at the same time, while the 30k race started 2 hours later at 10:30 am. I knew the first loop would be very congested and that it would thin out some by the time we went out for loop 2. Sure enough we took off onto the single file trail and felt very slow to start. I was running with a friend at the beginning and we joked that it was a blessing we were being held back from the get-go. We got to save our legs a little bit from the beginning with the hill-walking. Nothing really eventful happened during our first loop except the crazy people who wanted to go much much faster than everyone else. I happily stepped aside for them, while we casually passed a few others along the way... As we came in to the start/finish area (marking 1 loop) I saw my grandparents and mom standing there! I was so surprised this literally MADE MY DAY. They most certainly got me through that 2nd loop which was uncharted territory for me. My friend Mike and I made a very quick pit stop filling our water bottles and grabbing salt, then we snapped a quick picture to say "heading out for loop 2!"

Loop 1 - 78 Minutes

 Starting Loop 2 

Thanks Chris for the photo!
Hurricane Matthew's destruction path
on the trail was crazy!

I love the area's through
the pine trees. Beautiful.

Stay on the trail you are on and on't hop trails! And yes, they're ALL
UPHILL. LOL.

Loop 2 was empty, almost desolate! Along this loop we met a cool older guy named Joe. Joe drove up alone the night before, and was driving home after the race. Crazy! He was a super cool guy who I chatted with several times along the 5 loop course. He has ran several 100 mile races and offered me some great ultra running advice. He was also looking into a 200k he had just learned about... that is crazy! 

 I watched two different people trip during this loop - tired legs were kicking in! I also met a girl this loop who was struggling a little with knee pain, she had gotten lost her first loop and ended up going 3 miles extra. My goodness how discouraging that would be, but she powered on and seemed like it didn't bother her at all. I encouraged her and told her my trick to not getting lost was to never look more than 6-10 ft in front of me. Seems like every time I look around at the Swamp I have to take a step back to remember what trail I am on because I end up off trail! As we came through the start finish this time My grandparents and Justin were there. I couldn't believe my grandparents came down to support and cheer for me for 3 minutes as I passed through. 
Loop 2 - 79 Minutes

Starting Loop 3

Beautiful scenery

I started on loop 3 still with my friend but he was starting to struggle, at this point I was surprised at how good I was still feeling. I tried to help support him and walk it out and encourage stretching ect, but in the end I ended up heading off on my own. This felt very early on to abandon my conversation buddy, but I thought it might bring me a nice challenge to run solo as I usually run tough races with company to distract and entertain me. I met an older guy this loop who had been lost on the trail, the aid station told him to head over the hill and meet up with the trail there. That's where he found me and decided to start running that direction. I couldn't imagine getting lost and adding all those extra miles on such a TOUGH trail. He didn't seem angry or frustrated, just excited to be back on course and going the right direction. I also saw my first of 4 snakes this loop! I came in finishing loop 3 alone and again saw my husband and Jess. I chatted for a few with them while refilling my water. I really needed some Vaseline or body glide because I could feel that my underarms were starting to chafe but didn't have any, I also needed to take my salt because in the excitement of unexpectedly seeing my family I totally spaced it. I grabbed another pack of gummies (which I left sitting on the chair they had) and headed out. My friends and family are amazing, I cannot believe the amount of support they provide to me, just seeing their faces is such a breath of fresh air and gives me so much push for the next "leg" of miles.
Loop 3 - 84 Minutes

Starting Loop 4
 I headed out for loop 4 and about 1 1/2 miles in I heard a weird noise in the bushes. I stopped to take a look and I saw a group of baby wild pigs. OH. MY. GAWD. They were SO cute. Probably 6-7 of them, some pink, some black and some spotted. Goodness seeing them stair at me just left me in awe of cuteness. I waited a few minutes hoping someone would come behind me on the trail and I could show them the wonderful cuteness I found, but no luck. As I stood there gawking over the itty bitty baby pigs I quickly realized where there are babies... there is a momma. I bailed pretty quick after that! This loop I met up with Joe again, and saw a few of my friends who were running the 30k. This course has a lot of switch backs so it was fun cheering for people I knew or met at the beginning of the race toward the end.
 

Never knew who was ahead of me or behind me on the trail, but it was fun cheering just the same! I met a girl from Ft Lauderdale who was running her first race EVER and she chose the 50k... on this very challenging course. I also met a girl in a cute running skirt who quickly moved aside for me but I stopped running and walked with her a minute. I enjoy "trail chat" and meeting people on the trails. It's probably one of my favorite things about rail races. Those little bits of conversation carried me a long way. During this loop I passed 12 people and heard comments from them saying I was looking "strong". I felt like I was running strong, I was feeling really good at this point (25 ish miles in the race). My legs felt strong, and mentally I felt "good". 

One more loop!

I came in from loop 4 feeling great, it was my fastest loop!
Loop 4 - 77 minutes

Starting Loop 5, my final loop!

ONE MORE LOOP. I got this. I felt good but was definitely getting a little bored and people on the trail weren't real chatty at this point. Most were hurting, and grumpy, and upset at how hard this course was. I ran into one guy who was hoping for a 50k PR before he started LOL, he decided after the first loop, he was hoping for a finish! I grabbed my music for this last loop, I needed a little something to distract me. I stopped to look for the pigs again but no luck. I ran along and I noticed ahead of me there were two guys who were just chatting away. They were in neon yellow and neon orange shirts, so they were hard to miss! I thought, "if I can catch up to them maybe I could just listen in on their conversation, or even join it!" I did catch up but the guy in the yellow had me pass telling me good job "speedy" and the guy in the orange just kind've took off. I met up with him later as he was struggling. He was from Miami and not accustomed to the climbs that the swamp offered. He was having some cramping issues, I ran with him a bit and ended up passing him.

More hurricane Matthew destruction

Coming in for the finish!

Trail roots

 Another guy I saw frequently was in a blue tank, same color as mine! I joked in my head (because after 4 loops of the swamp I was a little nutty and thought I was hilarious) how we looked like twins in our matching outfits #twinsies. I ended up passing this guy, who then passed me again. We chatted a bit and ran together for quite awhile. He was an ultra runner and had ran the 50k the day before. He encouraged me to keep my pace up because he was pretty sure I was one of the top females. I told him I thought he was mistaken, I mean afterall, I was just running easy and hoping to finish within the time cut off. My heart rate at this point averaged 157 BPM so I was doing good at taking it easy. I chatted with him for a bit, and he mentioned for me to let him know if I wanted to pass him. Why would I do that, then I would be alone again? LOL. I said "no thanks, I feel pretty comfortable at this pace". This seamed to light the fire under him, in shock he was like "WHAT!" I was just running an easy training run, and have to recover quick for more upcoming races, so comfort was where I was trying to stay the whole run. He gradually picked up the pace, so I did to. We only had about 2 miles to go and he powered up the last few climbs so fast! He kept reminding me that "Heather" who was "a closer" was catching up to us, and told me not to let her pass me. Ok? I thought. So I tried to keep up with him till the end. He lost me about 1/2 mile from the finish and finished 2 minutes before me! I passed 8 runners this loop!
Final loop 84 minutes

Final time was 6:41:18, I had hoped for 7:30 so that was a huge jump from my expectations of how I would do.

I rounded the corner to finish and saw my amazing husband, best friend Jess, Todd and Jenn (who were along the course the ENTIRE day from the start of the race encouraging and cheering for all of us who were running), and Carrie (who got 1st place woman in the 30k) all shouting at the finish line. What a boost that was to run in and see a bunch of my FCR friends standing there cheering for me :) Our running group has got to be one of the most supportive groups of people I have ever met, they are amazing.

Coming in to the finish!

Also, I beat the illusive closer "Heather" who I never got to meet but apparently she is a well known amazing runner-thanks to Andy and his crazy push at the end. I came in 3rd place overall female (10th overall finisher). Crazy? Did I really just run the swamp 5 times fairly COMFORTABLE? I could feel a little twinge in my hips but overall, I felt good. Like, really unexpectedly good! My training is paying off. I am feeling so strong and confident going into my 100 mile race in January. 

Post race Andy came and shook my hand telling me I would do great at the 100 if I ran it anything like I did the course today. I found out later that he is some crazy amazing awesome elite Ultra Runner who has done everything up to 200 mile races! And he feels like I am training well? What a boost of confidence that was. 

I've learned with Ultra running the littlest things that you say or do can help someone to finish their race. It doesn't usually take much, but those little interactions you have make a huge overall impact. I had a blast out there on this course meeting people and enjoying the beautiful TOUGH trail. It had 1 aid station on course, then the start/finish aid station (roughly ever 3 miles or so you had water refill, fresh fruit, avocado rolls, pickles, coke and cookies). Only downside to the race was there was only 1 porto-potty and it was located at the start/finish. Maybe there could have been 2? But that could have been part of the Hurricane Matthew debacle too, not sure if that was an original plan or all she could get to that location last minute.

Southernmost Marathon - SOMO!

Southernmost Marathon - SOMO
Wow. What a week we had leading up to Somo. We ended up having to evacuate due to Hurricane Matthew so all of our travel plans got changed. Originally my kids were supposed to bounce between grandparents for this race, but because of the seriousness of the storm, I ended up bringing our friend (who also nanny's for us as needed) along so we wouldn't miss the race. I basically didn't run all week between work and storm prep... which was all so stressful! We spent all day Wednesday putting up our storm shutters, packing and preparing to come home to no power (dry food storage/water ect).

Putting up shutters at
our house

Putting shutters up at my
grandparents house

The Category 4 hurricane covering our state

 We left Thursday morning to head west and spent the night in Naples. Normally a 4 ish hour drive took us well over 10 hours because of traffic.  After a very long night watching the storm and trying to keep in touch with family who stayed behind, we left Naples Friday morning to head south trying to miss the storm. Got to Key West around 6 pm, picked up our packets and checked into the resort.

Race: Southernmost 1/2 Marathon
Date: October 8th, 2016
Finish Time: 2 hours, 44 minutes
Distance: 13.1 miles
Gain: 376 ft

Originally there were 12 of us going down to run this race, 3 running their first full marathons, 1 running her first half, 1 trying for a BQ after a long summer of training... a lot of excitement for this race (pre-hurricane Matthew). Only 4 of us ended up running the race, the all stayed behind to care for their loved ones, or homes. Race morning my husband and I woke up, and decided to drop to the 1/2 marathon. It had been such a stressful week we both decided we wanted to just have a nice easy fun run with friends. My best friend (Jess) was running her first 1/2 and I trained all summer with her so it was really exciting to actually be able to run the race with her. I had two complaints about the start of the race...

Justin, me and Jess at the start line!

1) There were only about 8 outhouses at the start line for everyone to share. I feel like there should have been quite a few more.
2) When we sang the National Anthem, there was no flag to salute. Found this a little odd.

Jess' husband Jason was running the full so he took off promptly at 5:30 am start time. The 1/2 started at 5:45 am giving a little room between the full and half marathons. This course was beautiful but Key West is extremely hot and humid. This is coming from a group of us who LIVE IN FLORIDA. I couldn't imagine running this race if I had traveled from somewhere not humid already. I would have died, pretty sure! LOL.

We took off at a nice and easy pace at 5:45 am. It was dark and none of us came prepared so we tried to stay behind people with headlamps or flash lights! Justin started the race really strong, I thought he would end up taking off and leaving us in his dust! He didn't but I kept waiting for it to happen. We hit the southernmost point around mile 3 and they had a photographer there grabbing everyone's pictures as they ran through, that was exciting.
 
I remember Jess saying she was excited we hit mile 6 (about half way) and she hadn't walked at all yet. This aid station was pretty cool, they had lots of cool lights and loud music playing. The sun was starting to come out now, and the sunrise coming over the water was gorgeous. As the sun came up, it was getting even hotter... which was unimaginable!

We got to the 1/2 marathon and marathon split (mile 8) and Jason was sitting on the ground there waiting for us! He decided to bail on the full and finish the half with us. He was in the lead of the marathon group but realized by mile 6 he wasn't enjoying himself and knew he would slow down as the sun came out, and we have all had SUCH A STRESSFUL week.

Best Friends

Power walking up the last bridge :)

We were so surprised to see him, but excited for him to join us! The 4 of us ran the last 5 miles together, and crossed the finish line together. It was awesome. Jess had an initial goal to finish between 2:15-2:30 and that was before we knew how humid it was going to be. We crossed the finish line at 2:31. So impressed with her pushing through! It was really cool to have trained together for the last 5 months and we all got to run the whole race together as well. It's a race I won't forget!

The course was great, we crossed a few bridges (that was the only bit of elevation change we had), we ran along the water almost the whole time, the sites were beautiful, we got to see the Southernmost point buoy around mile 3 and water stations every 1-2 miles (with ice cold water and gatorade that wasn't super diluted, which was needed for how hot and humid it was)...

I would NOT recommend it as a first marathon or half I believe you will be disappointed because it was so hot and humid it makes the race so difficult. I would recommend it as a runcation with friends. We won't forget this experience anytime soon, and have already talked about heading down to do it again (with no time goals... just a fun run with friends :D) We enjoyed the rest of the weekend in the keys including a sunset boat cruise, the aquarium, lots of pool time at the resort, site seeing, key lime pie and great fun with family and friends.

Masters of All Terrain Trail 1/2 Marathon

Masters of All Terrain

We are on the left behind the lady in blue. The guys are in grey, Justin with
a hat on... My head is popping up behind their shoulders!

The course was crazy!

The 1/2 marathon started at 7 am, it was 75 degrees at the start of the race but warmed up pretty quickly. We left the house at 4:45 am to meet up with Jason, Jessica and Terry; and headed out!

Race: Masters of All Terrain
Date: September 11th, 2016
Location: Little Big Econ State Forest
Finish Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Distance: 13.1 miles
Gain: 64 ft

Start line!

Many bridges!

I decided to run this race with my husband, I needed the "time on my feet" for training and I knew I wasn't in "race condition"... it's also been quite a while since we got to run a race together so this was a great opportunity! The course was great. The first 4 miles or so were wide and pretty boring/flat. It was wide so made for a little less bottle necking at the beginning.

More beautiful trails

Wide tracks were nice for
passing and getting passed! 

Nothing really eventful happened during this time. We hit the first aid station (and skipped it because we had our handheld bottles) around mile 2 (ish?). The next one was around mile 4 and we stopped here to refill. Justin tripped leaving this aid station: Face Plant #1. He was ok and able to shake it off and continue.

So gorgeous!

 We then hit a narrow, single track section of trail that was beautiful. It ran along the water weaving in and out of the woods.

It was fairly technical with a lot of roots and stumps. We really had to watch our footing through here so we didn't trip! We ran through sections like this until 7.5 miles where we hit aid station #4 (which we hit 3 times #3, #4 and #5 due to the loops) and went into another wide section of trail. We ran this next out and back hitting some narrow single track trail on the "loop" part of the out and back where racers were coming and going opposite directions. This area is where Justin had Face Plant #2! He used a lot of energy trying not to fall, and having to catch himself when he did fall but managed to not get hurt - thank God! We had one section of about 30 feet (that we hit twice) that was really muddy and wet. There was no avoiding it! 

Some parts had a lot of roots to navigate

We crossed 4-5 bridges throughout the course each way

So much MUD!

Pretty trails!

We got back to the aid station #5 around mile 10 and had mostly wide track back to the finish line. This was the only stretch we hit some sun on, the rest was all shaded. The course was cut short due to some flooding so surprisingly we crossed the finish line at 11.44 miles (I then kept running to make the full 13.1). Yes, I'm that guy.

Justin, Me, Terry and Jason all completed the 1/2 marathon.
All 3 guys PR'd for a trial half and did amazing.

Justin had a HUGE PR at this race, we calculated his average pace the last few miles and totaled it up, he would have finished around 2:55, the last Masters of All Terrain Trail 1/2 Marathon he ran 3:15. I'm so proud of him!  Everyone had a great race, this course was awesome. It was a bit technical in parts, all shaded, had well stocked aid stations with great volunteers, and the course was very well marked. Only downside or negative I have was having to share the single track with runners going both directions. Although most trail runners are very courteous and aware, some are oblivious to other people on the course, or have music playing far too loud which was dangerous when coming both directions. Also that the course was cut short. I know it happens - but it was still such a bummer!

Dirty legs!

I love trail running

This was my first real test with training for my next big challenge - 100 miles! I ran the most miles ever this week capping out at 71.4. These runs included back to back miles days of 11/15/13.1 (trail half). I ended the week feeling great. My fueling has been spot on, my Achilles Tendon is a bit inflamed a little bit so I am icing extra and doing more of my PT exercises. All and all I feel great. I'm not real sore but do feel the fatigue in my legs and body. Excited for the day off tomorrow (Monday). I need to work on getting a little more protein post run, and just ordered Tailwind so I am anxious to try that out on my next long run. 100 miles with a smile! That is going to be my goal... along with finishing of course :)

Masters of All Terrain Trail Marathon 2016

Masters of All Terrain

The marathon started at 7am, which was a pretty late start for a June marathon in Florida. The temperature reached 92 over the course of the day, and when we started it was 100% humidity. Blue skies for days which I normally love, today... not so much.


Race: Masters of All Terrain
Date: June 11th, 2016
Finish Time: 5 hours, 09 minutes
Distance: 26.2 miles
Gain: 279 ft

The Start

Jessica was running the 5 mile course, Justin ran the 1/2 marathon, and Jason and I ran the full marathon. We all started out together at the back of the pack, Jason and I quickly weaved through people making our way through the pack. The trail started out on a gravel/sand road, we stayed on this for the first 3 miles. We ran over a bridge past a beautiful waterfront and continued down the gravel road. We passed 2 aid stations during that time! 

The Jungle

We turned onto a trail here and ran a jungle trail for around 2 miles. It reminded me of a deer trail being very narrow and lush. I loved this section, it was my favorite. Very thick coverage of trail, with potential for water crossings if it had been rainy. There were hills through here and a lot of thick brush and a stream where we could hear an alligator. I liked to sing "In the Jungle the Mighty Jungle the Lion Sleeps Tonight..." through this area. It was so fitting. We came out of here about mile 5 crossing another aid station, then... ran right into the sugar sand.

Going up the deer trail

So hot... keep smiling!

Tip-toeing around the mud

Small patch of mud

The Sugar Sand

So they warn you before running this race, you will encounter roughly .25 miles of sugar sand along this course. Not worth training for right? WRONG. It must have been a typo because we ran roughly 2.5 miles of sugar sand, mostly UPHILL with no trees providing shade. It was horrible! Such a rough section to run. We powered through, continually passing people and moving forward

The Woods and Knee High Grass
We turned down a trail and hit knee high grass. We ran in this for awhile into the woods! We hit a few patches of soft sand here, lots of tall grass and this woods. It was an area we kept our eyes out for bear (the same place that 2 bear cubs were spotted climbing a tree later in the day)! We were only here for a few miles.

 The Burned Woods
The last 2-3 mile stretch of trail had been recently burned so it was very dry, sunny and even felt hotter than it probably was. The trail part was pretty cool but the burned area messed with you mentally! LOL. It was a cool section if it wasn't so hot out. Just a trail through the woods, seemed like it went forever (see the panorama picture at the bottom). Both times that we ran through this section were equally difficult for different reasons. The first time we both had to use the porta-potty SO BAD and there were no bathrooms on course, we were hot, tired, thirsty and had to pee! Jason ended up losing me on this trail by passing several people, and I ended up moving aside to let faster people pass me as I powered through. When we came off this section we ran through a wood gate where people were cheering and you could here the finish line music playing. We literally had to RUN THROUGH THE FINISH LINE and then continue on to run the loop again. I was done. Jason was long gone as I ran through the finish line, Jessica was there waiting... and I was done. But I wasn't. I found out Jason beam-lined straight to the porta-potty so I headed that direction where we met back up. 

I was tired, and hot, and had been pushing myself to run faster on that difficult terrain that I would have if I had been running by myself. Jason convinced me to keep going, telling me exactly what I needed to hear. "You are going to kick yourself in the butt if you stop now, you need to keep going, you committed to running this." Yes, yes I did. All those things were true. We started off to run our second loop. By mile 15 I got my second wind and felt amazing. The second loop was soo much easier than the first loop. I am definitely a distance runner not a fast runner. We took the second loop a little slower and I felt so strong. The humidity went down but the heat went up for our second loop. We also got a little breeze for that second loop which was so nice! Jason pushed me through the first half, and I was able to return the favor pushing him through the second. We are a good team! #runningbuddiesrock

Coming into the finish line for real, 26.27 miles-being the most accurate marathon course I have run to date!

Ya that's right, those are some BIG cheesy happy smiles.

 We finally crossed the finish line with the official time of 5:09:57. I know it was a very slow time, but I am so proud of it for how tough the course was and how hot the day was!

We ran a strong race, on very difficult terrain, on a very hot day. This has been one of the hardest races I have ever ran! Gosh I feel amazing having completed it! 

On a side note, Jessica ran an awesome 5 miles and completed her first trail run. Justin paced himself and finished his first trail run half marathon strong. We all had a great race day with a lot of ups and downs! Now, we head off to World of Beer to re-hydrate and have lunch!