Headed to Hennepin Week 14 and Evergreen Lake 50k Recap

Week 14 was a big week for me, as it marked my longest training run before the Hennepin 50. It was a week that I was both nervous but excited for as it marked a 50k being a training run distance vs a race that I was training for. While the race itself did not go as I expected, I was able to take away a lot from the run and it still is satisfying to complete the distance especially in less than ideal conditions.

The first half of the week was similar to most weeks of training - I had a ladder fartlek on Tuesday and easy miles on Thursday. The mileage was a little less than usual, but my coach did not want to taper me for the 50k as it was treated as a training run and not a race. All week long I felt strong when I was running, and just had a feeling that the 50k was going to be a good day. I focused on eating well, upping my carbs a bit, creating my race day nutrition plan, and hydrating. I discussed a few goals with my coach, which were the following:

• Run the first loop (25k) super easy and conservatively, then pick up the pace and intensity during the 2nd loop
• Practice pacing
• Have the stamina and intensity for a strong finish
• Up my calories and carb intake each hour
• Focus on hydration

When I arrived at packet pickup on Friday, I was really pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the park was. Having lived in southern IL for 4 years attending college, I was very used to cornfields and flat land, and I felt inspired by the little bits of the trail that I saw. 

The race started at 6:30 am for 50k runners so it was an early morning, but everything was going smoothly. I was really enjoying the small, low-key vibe of the race as it reminded me a lot of the local Paleozoic races I've done, and it was touching to hear the race director thank everyone for coming and supporting their trail community as there are many more popular races to run. These are the little things that are important to me when selecting races. I would much rather run a small, local race like this than a large well known race just to say that I ran X race. Overall this was a really well organized race that I would easily recommend to others, and wish it were more well known as it is worth the drive a few hours south.

I started the first loop and the sun was starting to come up so it was stunning to see the sunrise over the lake. It was slightly unnerving to have a lot of people pass me, but I kept reminding myself of my race plan - keep it nice and easy. The trail itself was completely varied in terrain. There were a few miles on grass, then miles on a mountain bike trail, then some single track, a creek crossing, a few stretches on a road, and miles through open field and thick, deep grass. I felt slightly uneasy when I realized that this race was not as flat as advertised. This is not to say that the hills or climbs were anything like the GRT 50k, or what I don't run on locally. However, I selected this race because I thought it would be flat and more similar to the Hennepin. Once I accepted the fact that this was a more traditional trail race, I focuses less on pace and more on running easy and keeping my effort low for the first loop.

The creek crossing was...interesting. We were warned that it was waist high, and that there was a sunken bridge somewhere on the bottom. My size 12 feet caught the end of this sunken bridge and I pitched forward in the water and submerged myself up to my neck. This really threw me off a bit, but thankfully my nutrition was in a plastic bag, my phone was waterproof, and I was wearing wool socks thanks to the advice of some people on my running team. I was not pleased that my clothes were soaking wet which reminded me of my training run a few weeks ago where I was wet for 22 miles, but I guess that prepared me well for the feeling. Thankfully the second time I crossed the creek, I was more prepared and made it through without falling.

There were a few stretches on an open road and these sections are where I really let my training pay off. A lot of people were walking but I pushed it and gained a lot of ground. The last 4 miles or so of the first loop were in the field with the sun beating down on me. I started to feel very hot and I was pushing it a bit harder to finish the first loop and get out of the sun. My garmin was also off and registering about a mile behind, so I was messed up in thinking where I was until I realized I was off. I will be honest in saying that I had thoughts of quitting. The RD said that any 50k runner who wanted to drop after 25k would be considered a 25k finisher and not a DNF. Seeing as this was a training run and not a race, I didn't feel the pressure of having to finish something I trained months for. I was hot, wet, and starting to feel dehydrated, but as my husband put it, I was already there, had the time, and so I took a few minutes to get myself pulled together and headed out on the second loop.

I enjoyed the second loop at first because I was able to see some of the 25k and 50k runners coming in and I could cheer them on. The first loop I met a few runners that I ran long stretches with and had some great conversation and tips for my first 50, but the second loop was much more lonelier. Most of the group I had been running with headed out of the 25k aid station before me, so once I was back on the trail I was by myself. I was still struggling mentally with the fact that I had to go through this loop again. This is when I realized I should just never run anything that is a loop. While I thought 2 loops would better and not like the 6 of the Earth Day 50k, I realized that it is much easier to commit to a distance when you don't stop and have to repeat what you just did again. Some may love this, but I am just not that person. However, this is also the moment when I realized that I had it in me. I asked myself, what kind of person do you want to be? A person that gives up, or one who is strong? I may not be a fast runner, but I am committed and I finish what I start.

I fell in with another girl who I ran with for about a mile, and that helped boost my spirits a bit, so it wasn't until I hit some of the open field miles where I began to feel a little sick. I was supposed to fuel again at mile 22, but at mile 21 I started to feel nauseous. I told myself to eat just a little at mile 22, and I did, but the feeling increased. I wasn't sure if I was going to throw up, or have diarrhea (or both!), but I kept running until I felt sick, then walked until the feeling passed. At one point I stopped ready to pull my shorts down, but thankfully the feeling passed. I have NEVER experienced anything like this at all during a long run or race, so it was a helpless feeling. I wasn't sure if the increased calories were coming back to bite me in the ass, or if it was the heat. At the mile 26 aid station the volunteers asked if I wanted any food and I told them I just felt sick and wanted nothing. They said a lot of runners were coming in saying the same thing. I knew I should be eating at that point, but hoped I could get calories in through drinking them as I was trying to do. I may be a bad brand ambassador for saying this, but even Nuun was disgusting to me at that point. I wanted water, cold water, and I couldn't get enough. It was around this time that I was in the shade for a few miles, and while that was better than being in the direct sun, the hot still air started to make me feel sleepy. I felt like I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open, and I wanted nothing more than to lay down on the ground and sleep. This is also something I have never experienced before. I was concerned but told myself to keep moving. Around Mile 28 I could see the aid station from Mile 26 and I saw a woman there. I told myself that I couldn't let her catch up to me, even though I had almost 2 miles on her. Even though I didn't want to "beat" her for racing purposes, it was more the mental kick I needed to keep moving. 

As I already mentioned, the last few miles of a loop were in the sun and I was just suffering in the heat. I finally choked down a gel around Mile 27 and I think this helped as I felt that I could run more without vomiting, but I still had a sick feeling in my stomach. I tried to hang on to my goal of finishing with intensity, so when I was less than a mile from the finish I just kept running as hard as I could. I felt so ill at that point I barely remember much, other than some of the people I met during the first loop were waiting for people to finish and they were all coming by to hug me or shake my hand. My time was nothing to be proud of, but I wasn't racing for time. It wasn't my worst time, but it was not my best. Overall I can see on my watch I spent about 40 minutes total between all the aid stations, so it really shows how all those stops for water added up over the course of the day. 

I was so thirsty and drank some water, but then felt that I was going to throw up. I sat down and could not stop feeling ill. The woman I was trying to stay ahead of came in about 10 minutes behind me, and she sat down across from me and looked much the same. She was an ironman finisher, and so it made me feel a little better knowing that the day really was THAT hard for people who have done really hard things. It took a good 30 minutes before I felt well enough to head to the car. I still had no appetite and wanted nothing to eat, but I was going to try and drink some tart cherry juice I had in the cooler. It felt good to change my clothes, sit down, and after drinking the juice my nausea passed. I was able to eat something about an hour later, but did not have much of an appetite until later in the evening. 

If you don't enjoy TMI, skip this section! I will say that I had only peed once then entire day, so when I finally got home and went to the bathroom, I was surprised at the fact that my pee was brown. It was so dark and it was really disturbing that I was that dehydrated. I never felt like I had to go to the bathroom the rest of the evening and was concerned that something was wrong with my kidneys. I continued drinking as much as I could and while today I am still suffering, the color of my urine is more "normal". I have never been dehydrated like this ever in my life, and it did scare me.

Physically I feel better than expected today. I have certainly felt worse after a 50k, but I have a really bad headache, and after taking a walk around the neighborhood with the dog in the sun, I started to feel sick again. 

I am still deciding how to feel about the race/training run. One one hand, I don't feel disappointment. If this had been a goal race that I trained months for, I would have been extremely upset. I am happy with several things, primarily my initial pacing, the fact that I ran my own race and focused less on what others were doing and more on myself, and initially my nutrition and hydration. I also know the Hennepin will not have hills, creek crossing, roots, etc that will slow me down like this race. It is a completely different terrain and while there will be other challenges, I don't have to worry about tiring myself out on climbs. Most importantly, I am proud that I continued on even when I wanted to drop. Even when I wanted to throw up, take a nap, and quit, I kept moving. 

I don't know exactly what I could have done differently to address the nausea that I felt, or how dehydrated I got. The dehydration does scare me as the Hennepin is pretty much all in open sunlight, and until the sun goes down in the later miles, I will not have tree coverage. The weather could very much be like it was at Evergreen Lake. I need to ensure I don't feel this way again or it might be dangerous to run 50 miles in that state of dehydration. Mentally I now know I can make it through 50 miles because I made it through this despite an overwhelming feeling of wanting to quit, but I do have some work to do in the next few weeks to try and fine tine my nutrition and hydration.

I am not sure what the remaining few weeks of the plan will look like as I'm waiting to hear from my coach, however it does feel good to have gotten to this point and that most of the hard work is done. This was a big week and while I haven't come out of it feeling overly confident for the Hennepin, I am mentally a bit stronger.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Fartlek ladder

Wednesday: XT
Thursday: 40-50 min easy run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 50k
Sunday: Rest
Total:  39.77 miles