Marshall Mangler 50k 2015 Race Recap

31 miles, over 4500 feet of gain, and one hell of a good time!

I woke up at 3:45 AM and had a big glass of water, a banana, and toast with Wild Friends Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter. Oh man is that stuff gold!  I headed out the door to pick Alyssa up with a mixer bottle in hand filled of one serving UCan superstarch and 3/4 serving of Hammer vegan protein powder, which I started drinking at 5:00 AM.
 

The Trail Family

We were the first runners to arrive. We got hoodies and pre-registration goodies including gloves and a mug with the Marshall Mangler logo.  Around 6:15 I downed another serving of UCan. People were starting to trickle in. We checked our race packs to make sure we had everything. Alyssa offered me a packet of pickle juice. I accepted and tucked it into a front pouch and forgot about it. We set our drop bags in the designated area and put everything else in the car. It was 10 minutes to start and looking around the room I was surprised to see very few people.  5 minutes to the start and we went out to the line. Still there was only a few people! Was this it? No. People started filing in from the parking lot. All said we had a small field of less than 30 when the race started.


The 50k race started at 7AM. Temperatures were in the upper 30's with a good breeze. The first 5 miles were comprised of the orange loop around the golf course, a very runnable loop.  I was happily moving along at a pace in the 11's. At around 1.5-2 miles in I came around a turn in the trail to hear some intense screaming and crying.  One of the front runners had taken a fall on the roots and rocks and lacerated her leg! A number of people had already stopped with her and were calling 911 for help.  There was ample help so I continued on.

At the Pigeon Aid station I caught up to Lamar​ and we spent the next 18 miles or so running together, pacing each other by switching of lead.  The first 5 miles of the red-blue trail have some good climbs and our pace dropped to around 12:00 all the way up to the Wisconsin Shelter Aid Station around mile 10-11. From there we were able to modestly increase speed.

The next loop of the course went well..at first.  At mile 16 at the Pigeon Aid Station a volunteer dug my last serving of UCan out, a 5 ounce soft flask of which I drank on trail over the next 5 minutes. I also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich square and a small handful of pringles before leaving the aid station. The pace had slowed down just a little bit, but I was still running strong . That is until around mile 23.  I had neglected hydration and the Ucan I had taken wore off leaving my blood sugar low.  Bonk! I was in trouble. The first 23 miles I had only drank around 30 ounces of water. I began walking because I simply couldn't run and felt my legs starting to cramp.

Realizing my mistake I started drinking water, took a salt cap, and had some Honey Stinger chews. After two 20 minute miles I started feeling a little more human and by this time I had arrived at the Wisconsin aid station where I met up with Lisa (aka Coach Cupcake)​, who graciously volunteered to run the last 7 with me. We slowly left the aid station and made our way along the trail, my legs threatening to cramp up when ever I tried to push so I just let myself run comfortably and took many walking breaks.

I stopped to let some runners by and then remembered the packet of pickle juice from Alyssa. Let's see if this stuff can help at all.  I downed that puppy and almost immediately felt my legs ease up. Within a mile or so I was back at it with some gusto. My feet felt battered with every footstrike, but Lisa kept me moving like she was a cowboy and I a cow, coaxing me forward when I walked too long. Coming up the big climb at mile 28 with 260 feet of gain I was running more and more, stopping less and less.  Then came the mostly flats and downhills. The pounding of the downs really were crushing my feet. The trail here is loaded with rock and I was wincing with each footfall by the end of mile 30.

It was up the damn oil line hill one more time, cursing it the whole way and then an easy decent down the bathtub trail, appropriately named for the bathtub on the side of the trail. Lisa kept saying " Go!, Go!" To which I finally replied "I'm gonna!" and took off down the final 0.3 miles at an 8:30 pace. Gotta love the downhills with soft, forgiving trail underfoot.

I was happy to see Lamar waiting to see me cross the finish.  Then it was inside for some Hammer Recoverite, food, and rest before moseying out just in time to catch Alyssa tearing down the final hill!

The Marshall Mangler closed out my 2015 race year.  It has been one hell of a year for me running. I ran 3 marathons and 3 ultras including two 50ks and my first 50 miler. Over the course of the year I had PR's in the mile and 5k (ok those first two were training runs),and also the marathon, and 50k. This race was a PR by a whopping 39:26!  This coming year will be a distance year with big goals of running both a 70 miler and 100 miler.

Plans in Flux and Jars of Oatmeal

I am about five weeks into training for the Pittsburgh Marathon. This time around training I'm running more miles, eating better, and training smarter.  I've upped the load by about 10 miles per week as a starting point compared to previous training cycles and have active recovery or step back weeks on every third week. Regular crosstraining, varying terrain, and planned rotating speed sessions are in he mix. I am feeling great and looking forward to the increase in mileage ahead.

I say I'm training for the Pittsburgh Marathon and that is true, but really it is the first in a 3 part trial hopefully leading up to a qualification for the Marathon Maniacs.  If all goes well the period from May 3rd to June 27th is going to be intense...and awesome!

May 3rd- Pittsburgh Marathon
June 6th- God's Country Marathon (rated one of the 10 toughest marathons by Runners World)
June 27th- Hell Hath No Hurry 50k trail  
June 28th-July 1st, Sleep and eat
July 2nd- eat more
July 3rd and 4th - light fireworks, drink, and eat more
July 5th - start training for a PR at the Akron Marathon

At the end of January I had 120 miles over 23 runs, the most runs I have taken in a month and close to my max monthly mileage. Excited doesn't begin to cover it.

In the past I would have been fairly wiped out with this much training early on. There are three things that I have improved on that have made all the difference:
1. Crosstraining regularly - hitting the gym and working the whole body; core, lower and upper body
2. A solid base of miles behind me - months and months of fairly consistent 20-25 mile weeks and a two month easy running period as a "break"
3. A good nutrition plan.

I could blab on about all three points, but I'll briefly mention nutrition. Tara, my better half,  sent me a link for a recipe a while back. Oatmeal jars.  I had been meaning to make some up and try it, but I didn't actually do it until recently.  Best. Recovery. Meal. Period. 

Oatmeal Jars
Take a half pint mason jar and put some good old fashioned organic rolled oats in it. Fill about half the jar. Add in a tablespoon or two or three of organic chia seeds, add organic whole milk yogurt, grass fed whole milk and fruit.  I have tried blueberries and strawberries so far. (You can get frozen organic blueberries and strawberries at Aldi on the cheap! ..and a lot of other organic yummies). Mix it all up. Maybe add some spices..I put some cinnamon in my strawberry jars.

There are a million ways to use this recipe. Fiddle with it. Try your favorites. Since I have started eating these post run my energy is more stable and I am not starving and binging on everything in sight afterward, though after the last 13 mile run I did have to stop by Vanilla Pastry Studio for one of their amazing cupcakes. Okay, I bought three..but one and a half were for Tara....don't judge me.  :-)

One of the great truths of running is there is always more to learn, whether it be about running itself or about ones self. Learning can come in the form of books, articles, timely advice. For me it usually comes in the form of pain and my attempts to correct the causal factors.  Always a challenge, always a joy.

So raise a glass of Nuun with me and toast the inevitable cycle of learning, growing, and reaching new heights. Happy running and happy training to everyone out there