Post Oak Lodge 50k

Well, I can now say I am an ultra-marathoner!

This past weekend I ran in the Tulsa Running Club Post Oak Lodge 50k (31 miles). A 50k is the entry level distance for ultras and since Houston was only 5 weeks behind me, I figured no time like the present to kick one out. This 50k was run completely on trails just north of Tulsa and I loved it.


The main difference between a 50k and a marathon was my approach to the race. In a marathon I always have a "goal" time in mind and the physical aspect of the run is much more certain. For this race, I just wanted to finish (mental) and come out injury free (physical). Thankfully I was able to accomplish both. These 4 pictures were stolen from the course website, and give you a great idea of what it was like to run.

  

Here are some random takeaways from the race.

Check elevation chart before you run. I envisioned "Oklahoma; Native American Lands; Plains; Flat". What I got was an Extension of SW Missouri Hills.

Open mouth; insert foot: As you enter the Post Oak Lodge driveway a couple signs greet you that say "Hill From Hell". I turn to my mom and say, "that hill does not scare me, I have been running in Farmington".

Hill From Hell > Farmington

Conquered  (twice)

The Hill From Hell 

When running a trail race be constantly aware of directional signage.

Road races = never alone. 50k trail race = 25k racing alone. 

Road races = water and Gatorade aid stations. 50k trail race = bacon and beer

Oklahoma drills for oil everywhere; including right next to their trails. 

Tweet a pic of your race medal to @runitfast they post it online and give you some twitter love in return. 

Let your mom know if you plan on changing shirts mid-race. This info makes it easier for her to spot you at the end. I started in a lime green long sleeve with an orange shirt underneath, but finished in the Shamrock shirt. She noticed just in time to take these two photos. Both of them were easy to take as I was in survivor shuffle mode. Afterwards she was impressed with my "salty face".



Mud on the legs, just to prove I ran a trail race. After 5:19:08, McDonalds is a must. Coldest ice bath ever!

Back home with my baby girls! Someone is looking very 23 weeks! 

Braid Paisley that night to cap it all off! (no, we were not that close)

 

Run-Trail-Run

My right ankle has been feeling a little sore this week so I was worried about putting in too much time on the trails over the weekend leading up to the Post Oak Trail 50k this Saturday. In addition, Aimee wanted to trail run too, but not for 3 hours like I wanted to. Solution? I killed two birds with one stone by going with Aimee to the trails, but only for an hour, decreasing the trail time on my ankle and added road runs both before and after the trail to get in my 3 hours (I figure it will take 5 hours for the 50k). I left the house for an 8 miler and had Aimee meet me on the other side of town closer to the highway that leads to Hawn State Park. It was perfect timing as she pulled in the parking lot from one direction and I entered running from the other direction. From there is was roughly a 12 minute drive to the trail for 6 miles, then a return trip to the same parking lot where I ran another 8 miles home. The 22 miles was my longest since Houston 4 weeks ago and I was feeling it later that day. Plenty of rest this week. Longest ever this Saturday.

 I took the video above while Aimee, Kevin (Aimee's dad) and I mixed with the masses in Soulard.    

Did you know Mardi Gras is this Tuesday? Did you know STL has the 2nd largest Mardi Gras behind New Orleans? Are you choosing to Lent? Aimee and I are getting rid of all candy, soda, sweets, and chips as we do every year for Lent, but this year could be a bigger challenge with one of us pregnant and the other increasing his racing. 

Weekly Recap 49 miles: Monday off; Tuesday 6 easy + weights; Wednesday 5 easy + swim; Thursday 8 tempo + weights; Friday swim; Saturday 8 easy; Sunday 22 long

Snow Day Snow Run

This week we had two snow days! Tomorrow we have a professional development day, so no students; this means I only had to teach two days this week! Sometimes I love teaching. The snow days gave me an opportunity to do the following:

1. Marlie and I went on a snow run Tuesday before all the snow melted

2. I spent too much time reading about Lance Armstrong and Ironman Panama 70.3; which led me to work on swimming so I can complete a triathlon this year

3. It's the one year anniversary for "Scots on the Rocks" at the Polar Bear Plunge. Epic!

 4. Swimming is hard. The end.

Running while Preggo: 2nd Trimester

I am almost 22 weeks along and have been so blessed to be able to continue running. Second trimester has treated me well. In general I feel great, almost better than pre-pregnancy. I have been able to run faster with less walking than the first trimester (but not faster than pre-pregnancy- still a minute or 2 per mile slower). I try to keep it under 5 miles at a time, running 3-5 miles about 5-6 days/week and I always keep a conversational pace. I actually ran a few races leisurely and one weekend took Marlie along for his first race. The only issues I have had have been within the last week. It started as calve "tiredness". It isn't a cramp, they just feel heavy and tired early on in my run. This morning I ran with Dustin. He is so sweet and always tries to run with me for part of his runs or on his short runs so he can run with me "as much as possible" before I can't run anymore. I actually had to stop and walk a few times because my legs felt like I had hit a wall after running 21 miles. It was really frustrating! I mentioned it to my mom and she said it is probably from the baby weight cutting off circulation. That made sense! Maybe I'm not getting enough oxygenated blood to my legs. So I ordered a "belly support belt" and made a commitment to wear my compression running socks. I have pink ones, but I went ahead and ordered a second pair since I will be wearing them on a more daily basis. I added the ones I like to the gear tab of the blog.
All in all, running is going well and I am thankful that my baby girl lets me continue. It's funny because Dustin teases me as my belly sticks out of my ever shrinking running apparel. It is amazing how tight clothes get with an extra 10 pounds in the belly! It's a good thing we run in the dark :)

Welcome Back Winter

After weeks of running in shorts and long sleeves, winter has returned to Missouri. This weekend was easily the two consecutive coldest days of 2012. I actually caught myself thinking about warmer temps and longing for the cold weather to be over with, then I realized it had only been cold for like 48 hours! Anyway, here is the forecast for the next few days. Looks like winter might decide to stick around...

Check out these pictures of 

Pickle Creek I took after my trail run this morning

Here is a map of my run this morning; Hawn State Park is kinda in the middle of nowhere. It's a place where deer flock like the salmon of Capistrano and a squirrel on frozen leaves sounds like a massive beast!

Weekly Recap 47 miles: Monday 4 easy + weights; Tuesday off; Wednesday 7 easy + weights; Thursday Double 6 + 3; Friday 7 tempo; Saturday 7 trail + weights; Sunday 13 trail

Week That Was

Monday: Happy Birthday Mom!

Sure is nice to play golf at the end of January in Missouri.  

Tuesday: Aimee shows off her baby bump.

20 weeks, we are 1/2 way there! 

I get back to work on #plankaday with help from Marlie. 

Wednesday: Chicago Marathon 

Will be one of the masses (45,000). Good thing I registered early, it sold out today in only 6 days. Crazy Runners! My friend Justin will also be running. Good Luck buddy! Only 243 days to go. Non running related. Who needs this much hair gel? 

  

Thursday: Groundhog Day! 

This is my favorite clip. 

Friday: Special Delivery 

Got these sweet onesies in the mail today! 

Saturday: Last Frostbite Series Race 

Aimee and Marlie ran in the 3 miler together for Marlie's first official race. I finished 10th overall (58:28) in this weeks 15k (9.3 miles) setting a PR by 4:18! After all 5 races in the series, I finished with 3 new PR's and 2nd in my age division. Mizzou beats KU! and @seedouglasrun brings back the Twitter Road Race.    

Sunday: Back to the trails 

In gearing up for the 50k (now 3 weeks away), Marlie and I went back to Hawn State Park. My goal was to run for 2 hours. There are two main loops, a 6 and a 4 miler, so I ran them both and it took 2:07:00. I backtracked a few times, bringing my total miles to 10.5 and about 10 minutes of my time was spent figuring ways to cross the creek without getting knee deep. After my last post about trail lessons, I discovered two more: 11) review rules #2 and #3 before running; 12) leap over logs, not on top of them.  

Before The Run                                                                    After The Run 

Super Bowl commercials were not that great, but there were two that were running related, both involved dogs and both were funny. 

Weekly Recap (35 total): Monday 5 easy + weights; Tuesday off; Wednesday 6 speed work + weights; Thursday off; Friday 4 easy; Saturday 15k; Sunday 10.5 trails.