Running Strategery: Free State Trail Runs 100K (4/19/2014)

Going back to Kansas for a trail ultra is sort of like coming home... Free State Trail Runs, and Clinton Lake State Park, is where I ran my first marathon in 2010, and my first 100K in 2012 after my 2011 deployment to Afghanistan... so it definitely has a special place in my heart.  More importantly it is the home of the Mud Babes and many of the Trail Nerds that I met back in 2010. Okay- enough with the nostalgia and on with the race report...

So for those not in Kansas- remember that Kansas is not quite flat...well not as flat as Florida, and not as hilly as let say anywhere with mountains... but the rollers are nothing to joke about.  So going in I knew I might struggle with the hills a little, and well my legs were a tad bit tired from all the sand-running the weekend before at the Wild Sebastian Marathon... so the plan was to start slow and then go from there... Free State is a 20+ mile loop course- so three laps for 100K... 

Pre-race with the Mud Babes- and Matt

Loop 1: Emily, Sophia and I ran just about the entire lap together... Emily lead us off from the start- maybe a little too fast for my legs- they may have needed a slower wake up in the morning... plus we were running most of the uphills in the early part of the course- but it is not everyday that I get to run with these amazing women- so I stuck with it- even though my inner voice was screaming at me.  Sophia was super helpful in talking through the landmarks along the course- it had been a couple years since I had run at Clinton- so I was trying to pay attention for my follow on laps...  Oddly I started to feel a little better as we came through the red section- a fun and rather technical part of the course. By this part Sophia was in the lead- we  switched on and off, all of us would take the lead and think we weren't pushing enough- but in most cases we were pushing just enough- or in some cases too much.  My legs would bear the brunt of this lap, just not taking way too much time recover after the ups. It was nice to see Kurt and Heather at the Land's End Aid Station, and Tony Clark at the KUS Aid Station... Lap 1 ended up at about 4:15 for me after I dropped back  a little from Sophia and Emily... While I love running with these ladies- we really need to have better pre-race communication- I have discovered that I need about a 90 second walk after an Aid Station really helps to kick start my digestion- or at least it makes me feel better... I however forgot to share this with Emily and Sophia..

Emily and I coming off of the Red trail (finally a pic together)

Nearing the end of first loop

Loop 2: After seeing Danny L. (the original Mud Stud) at the Start/Finish Aid Station I rolled out for the second loop.  It was starting to get a little warm, and my stomach was still trying to digest... so I started out with a brisk walk.  Emily and I started the second loop, Sophia sped ahead.  I was glad to see she was feeling good- especially after coming off of Bronchitis.  Emily was having issues with her calf so we enacted a walk up, run flat and down policy... we came up on Alissa- and then I demonstrated my acrobatic talents with a most spectacular tumble... Thanks to Emily who picked out the dead leaves from my skirt... apparently they would have cause some major chaffing- and my next two laps would be way more comfortable for it... Emily was really fighting through pain but I was happy to run with her and chit chat.  I stayed with her until the RWB aid station, where I left her in the capable hands of a shirtless man with "magic hands"  and rolled out... My stomach had finally digested the food from the first lap- that slow start to the second lap was helpful- and my legs really started to feel better- so I continued on- running more the walking. I saw Sophia coming out of the KUS Aid station- she was looking good.  I was doing pretty well then boom another fall- this time not nearly as graceful- I may have fallen in about the same spot two years prior-stupid stupid white trail...  I started to feel some weird twinging after that fall- and really started to struggle the last 3.5 miles of the loop.  Luckily Kurt was there to lift my spirits and give me a pig in a blanket and an ibuprofen (my first of the day) and of course he said to me- see you in about 10 miles...  and so I plodded along to the start/finish area. Thankfully Danny, Emily and Matt were there to give me what I needed- a swift kick in the ass- and an awesome roll-out and stretch... and what might be about 1/4 of a watermelon.... I was pretty much a pain in the ass- but they pushed me out of the aid station at 9:45 (almost and hour slower than my first time running this course) but I RAN out of the aid station....

Plodding along the last couple of miles of loop 2

finishing up loop 2... seriously unhappy

Headed out for loop 3- yes that is watermelon and yes I am running

 

Loop 3: Basically I decided once I ran out of the aid station that I was going to get er done.  I think I said "F*ck this, it is going to suck, but you don't want to be out here all night so keep running"  and thus the strategery for the last loop was born...  I was a good ten minutes behind Alissa at the start of loop 3, and oddly I had not seen many other runners at this point... weird- was I really going that slow... screw it- run faster... I hit the RWB aid station- Mel was there- she assisted my with my coke, ice and watermelon- let me know that Sophia was not too terribly far ahead of me- so I was in and out- and moving... I caught up to Alissa and and her pacer Amy on the red trail- I was happy to see them- that meant I was doing all right.   They left out of Land's End a little in front of me- but I was happy to have someone to chase. I saw the back of Sophia headed back on white as I headed out to the road- up the hill to KUS to put in my cheeseburger order (thanks Tony)- I was kind of hungry at this point- and I was happy it was still light out... I ran the heck out of the weird mile- and it was back for a cheeseburger. I caught back up with Carl and would chase him all the way back to the finish... I was trying to do math in my head as I came into Land's End calculating what my finish time might be... I needed just a bit more water to make it to the finish- I however was not about to take the pack off- so I got a pit stop re-water and they pushed me out-and I was thinking I might be able to make it in before 15 hours- not my original goal- but at this point I just wanted to be in the 14s.  I put Pitbull's Timber on repeat and started running- really running- and then boom- face plant! Weird that song really just had me running well... I revisited my strategery- and I moved on...  Running up the hill to and through the finish... barely squeaking in under 15 with an official time of 14:59:14... Come to find out I was the 13th finisher... out of 14- Alissa finished about 20ish minutes later... out of the 14 finishers- 8 were women... bad asses for sure.

Running into the finish...

Discussing Loop 3- F*ck it Strategy w/ Sophia

Happy to be finished

Post Race: Thanks to Sophia for mixing up my magic recovery drink... and Allison for picking me up and feeding me pizza and chocolate cake, and of course laughing with me at my weird looking happy feet- I think I was laughing so hard that Allison thought there was something seriously wrong...until she saw that my toes had dirt smiles... 

Happy Feet... 100K style

Parting Thoughts:  So it was a tough day... I learned that I need more hill training and that I can clearly survive the heat.  I need not listen to my inner voice when it is whining...I should punch it in the throat instead...  and that I should really always start slower than I think I should... and that I should always have a race strategy or there is a strategery that develops along the way... and F*ck It sometimes is the best back up strategy as it will get you to the finish line!

Finally thanks to Ben Holmes for another great experience at Free State, and the beer mug...and to Kristi and Rick Mayo of Mile 90 photography... they are AWESOME!!!!