Back in the game: Greenland Trail 50k Race Report

Hello!

Again, it has been a while since I last posted.  I ran two marathons last July (Mad Marathon (VT) and Bearbrook Trail Marathon (NH)), two in March (Dust Bowl Marathon Series Days 1 and 5 (TX and NM, respectively), the Cedro Peak 45k in April (NM), and yesterday, the Greenland Trail 50k (CO).  It has been a great year so far!  I joined the Marathon Maniacs and can't wait to run more!

So, I thought it would be cool to keep a race report deal...here is the first one:

Greenland Trail 50k: May 4, 2013 (Larkspur, CO).

Waking up at 4:20 am wasn't really the most fun thing to do, but it was necessary for me to be able to make it up to Larkspur, CO with time to check in and eat a bit of food before the 7 am start.  We arrived at the Greenland Open Space right at 6 am, right as the sun was coming up.  The temperature was in the mid 30s, not really my favorite, but at least it wasn't below freezing and there was no wind.

I ended up wearing running pants and a turtleneck because I hate cold.  The dude who ended up winning the race (for the 3rd time in a row) took off at the beginning at probably a 6:30 pace...I was just using this run as a training run, so I kept it slow, at around 9 minute pace, with brief walking breaks every mile or so.  It was a 4 lap course, with aid stations at either end of the lap (about 3.5-4 mile between them), so I really didn't need to wear my Camelbak, but I liked the security it offered.  I tried to down one gel at each aid station, followed by a couple sips of water.  I need to get down how to properly take in nutrition during an endurance race.  One would think that by now, after running marathons for 7 years now, that I would have it down, but who knows?  I seem to not be able to take in enough calories...gels are good, but I don't want to have any GI problems, so I limit myself to one every 4 miles or so. 

The race course was very well groomed and not hard to run on at all!  On the ultraunning calendar, it is listed as a "3 terrain" and a "2 surface," but it seemed a lot easier.  I would say that it is actually a "2 terrain" and a "1 surface."  During the race, I was telling someone that it is sort of a trail race...it doesn't offer too many challenges.  There are only about 3 real hills on the backside of the course, but if you run/walk an 11 minute mile, you make up the time on the downhills by easily running 7-8 minute miles.  Even on the last lap, when my foot was hurting and legs were tired, I was still managing to hit 7:30 pace on the downhills.

Speaking of the foot, I noticed around mile 22 that the outside left of my foot was hurting.  I knew that it couldn't have been overtraining, because I had only been averaging 20-40 miles a week for the past month (I have been swimming and biking a lot...triathlon style!).  Upon coming home, I noticed that it was a bit red where the peroneal tendon is.  I decided to try to self-diagnose (as I always seem to do) and was scared at first that it was a stress fracture or a tendon tear/rupture.  I iced a bit and took two cold soaks (mostly for the legs) and when I woke up saw that it was still only red, not purple/brown as a sprain/tear would be.  I basically think that the shoe was just too tight and caused a bruise on the foot...nothing too serious, but I will need to take it easy for the next couple of days.  The only thing planned is a 25 mile bike on Tuesday, so I have 2.5 days for it to feel better!

Back to the race, I finished the 50k course in 4:39:13, right on my planned pace!  This broke down to a 9 minute mile average; not bad for a long training run!  This course was a lot more easier than the Cedro Peak 45k, which took ~35 minutes longer for a course 3 miles shorter!  Since I have been running a lot this year, the legs are feeling pretty good today, a day later, and I look forward to a very speedy recovery before some quality bike rides this week and then my first triathlon on Saturday (the Ordinary Mortals Triathlon in Pueblo, CO).  I am very excited for this 3.5 run/12.5 bike/300 swim, but am worried that I won't have the speed in my legs that I want for the run.  I mean, I used to run a sub 18 min 5k no problem, every week...but now, a sub 20 would be pushing it (I did run a 24 min 4 miler last July, but that was after quick marathon training).  I want to run around 21-21:30 for the run, 38 min for the bike, and then a 7:00-7:30 swim, which would be at just around 1:10 (including transitions) for the triathlon...hoping for the best!  And also hoping that the foot bruising clears up!

Well, I guess that is all...this was sort of a race report.  Oh yeah, the best thing about the race yesterday was that there was free beer and pizza at the end!  I think I had 7 pieces of pizza (although they were small) and two Coors light.  A great way to start recovery :)

Until next time...happy training!