Rumblings

Pre-Race

Strong finish

Words of wisdom from Ultra Grand Slammer Drew Meyer:

If you're being chased by a sweaty crew
So that you could become trail stew
And your pace is too fast
To let them get past
Just stop to tie either shoe

Rumble Report

I had a good race today!

After getting to bed a little past midnight, my morning started at a strikingly early 5:30am. I fumbled my way around the apartment, thankful that I had laid everything out the night before.

I decided to drop down from the 30K to the 15K, which turned out to be a good thing. I knew the course would be long (trail runs are always longer than what is marked), but the 18.6 mi/30K was actually 21.2 mi! Needless to say, I was happy with my 9.3 mi/15K (which was actually 9.9 mi).

We had absolutely beautiful running weather and the trails were in perfect condition despite yesterday's rain. I started the race off in the front of the pack for some reason. By the time we got into the woods, I realized I was leading a group of about 20 people. My dad had given me the challenge of running negative splits (run the second half faster than the first), but I had to push the pace with 20 people on my heels. I thought it was pretty funny when I nearly ate it, tripping over a covert tree stump. Around mile 2, about 12 of them passed me; shortly after, I "stopped to tie my shoe" so that I could have the trail to myself.

When I woke up this morning, I had a protein shake and 1/2 of a balance bar. These didn't go down too well and I had a stitch in my side most of the first half. I had to walk several times, but by the turnaround I had found my rhythm. They refilled my water bottle at the aid station and then I was just cruising!

I got lost in the woods - metaphysically speaking. Every now and then I would pass or be passed, but during the second half I simply reveled in the delight of trail running. I kept a steady pace and only walked up a few steep hills. It warmed up by the end, so I managed to take off my long-sleeve shirt and transfer my race number to my base layer, which took quite a bit of concentration at that point.

The Rumble's race finish consists of climbing up a set of steep stairs. The race is a tribute to America's veterans, so the stairs were lined with U.S. flags and patriotic signs. "No matter what," I thought, "I have to finish strong and run up those stairs." Thankfully, by the end I still had the energy to do so. What made it even better was that my dad was the one on the mic who announced my finish. "And here is #379, Katie Ryan, finishing her first Rumble!"


What a great run. I finished with even splits (right at 2hrs), ate Pam's red beans & rice afterward, and didn't even have to see Brian Blenden puke on the trail (sorry, inside joke)!

Success.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

I'm getting psyched up for the Rumble this Saturday. I did Yasso 800s on Friday and am planning to do it again before the run. I'm not doing a marathon, but Yasso 800s are supposedly a good predictor of your marathon time.

Basically, you run 800m several times with 400m cool downs in between. You then convert your average minute:second time into hours:minutes in order to predict your marathon time. For example, I averaged 4 min 10 seconds for the 800s, so theoretically my marathon time would be 4 hours 10 minutes. I would be stoked to do that well. I'm hoping to break 4 hours this Sat for 19 miles, so we'll see...

Here's a throwback to the '90s. That's right - Jock Jams. You remember how awesome it is.

I need calories.

I had a freak-out moment earlier this week. I looked at the calendar on Monday and realized I only had 6 weeks till the Rockledge Rumble. Only 6 weeks till I'm supposed to run 30K (about 19mi) and I'm not trained for it!

So I was motivated to run this week and maybe increased my mileage too much. I did three 4-mile runs, which is respectable. Then yesterday I ran @ GV Lake from MADD to Fargate - roughly 8.5mi. Apparently I didn't fuel enough. I did fine on the run - no problems; I even ran & chatted with fellow NTTR member Fred Thompson for a while. But by the time I got home and showered, I could not stop shaking. I ate really well the rest of the day - high protein, good fats, some carbs - but was still shaky by the time I went to sleep. I was also an emotional wreck. Not good.

Moral of the story - I need calories. Specifically, I need calories at the right time. That is, I need to eat before the run, periodically during the run (i.e. more GUs and Perpetuem), and for recovery after the run.

Oh well, next time...

Trail Running 101

Trail running is amazing. But before you begin, here are a few tips:

1. Don't sweat it - it's just a trail run. Trail runners are a lot more laid back than road runners. They are typically an older crowd and are more concerned about distance than time.
2. Get used to peeing in the woods. Ladies, if you're going on a long run, stuff some toilet paper in your pocket.
   
3. Know when to take walk breaks (aka. "old man walking"). Short 30 sec - 1 min breaks can help you increase your distance. One rule of thumb: Walk up any hills you can't see over. Also, there is no use in trying to run through some terrain (i.e. sand/mud pits).
4. That said, keep up the pace on walk breaks. You can lose a lot of time by walking slowly.
5. Take advantage of the downhills. Keep walk breaks for uphills.
6. Hills - Don't break when running down hills or you'll trash your quads. Don't lean forward when climbing hills or you'll strain your back.
   
7. Know your trail running etiquette. Bikers have the right of way. They will usually let you know if there are more bikers behind them or if it's "clear back." Also, leave the trail the way you found it (don't litter the trail with your empty GU packets).
8. Be friendly. As I said earlier, trail runners are a laid back crowd and are usually pretty friendly. So give a friendly wave and say hello with a smile.

Standard Running Tips:

• Kedge. Kedge is a nautical term meaning "to haul a vessel by means of a light anchor." Simply put, you need a race goal in order to train well. As the soon-to-be Grand-Slam ultrarunner Drew Meyer puts it, "If you don't have a race on the horizon, you're not training.
• Hydrate & fuel. Hammer Nutrition offers a great line of products - including the HEED sports drink and Hammer Gels (the equivalent of GUs).
• Pace yourself. Especially if you're going for longer distances, be sure not to go out too fast.
• Train with a group. Running with other people always helps.

MUDLANDS 2010

The weather for the Grasslands Trail Run has never been predictable. Sometimes you luck out and have fantastic weather, as we did last year, and other times rain floods the course turning it into seemingly unending mud pits, as it did this year. This is where the nickname "Mudlands" comes in.

But believe it or not, we lucked out with the weather today. Yes, it was in the 30's and it rained for 7 hours preceding the race, but it did not rain during the race, which makes a BIG difference.

So here's my race report: Mud, mud, mud water, and more mud. The end.

Okay, I'll expound a little. About 70% of the time, we were trekking through either mud or streams that were ankle deep. No hope of getting around it. At one point, one of the 50-mile runners said, "Ooh boy, if you don't have a sense of humor, this is really going to be a long day!"

At first, everyone tried to skirt to the sides of trail to avoid the mud pits, but by about mile 2 we all realized that our efforts were in vain and decided to throw caution to the wind.

Almost immediately, my shoes were waterlogged and thickly caked with mud. I should have followed the example of some of my fellow runners by putting plastic bags over my feet. For a good portion of the course, there was no point even trying to run - either you'd lose your shoe or you'd slip and faceplant (which I almost did twice, but I'm a good faller).

Even though the conditions were much worse than the OKC, I felt great. For me, being out there wasn't hard. I just did the time and kept laughing as I slogged through mud. I passed my bro Ronald somewhere around mile 6 and finished the race in about 3:20 (hours: minutes).

Ronald, however, was not at all ready for this race. He came in about 20 min after me and realized aloud, "I can see why you'd need to train for a marathon." Ha ha, gotta love it. He thinks he's sore now, just wait till tomorrow! (*My dad's ultra buddy Drew congratulated Ronald on his first half and then oh-so-graciously let him know that he had been 'chicked' by his sister. : )

All in all, it was good race, one that I will not soon forget. So glad I ran it. I will post pix soon and the results and race photos will be posted on the NTTR website in a few days.

Previous Race Reports:

• Oklahoma City Marathon - 4/26/09
  
• Grasslands Trail Run Marathon - 3/21/09
• Marathon Training Updates - 2008/2009
  

Grasslands Half Marathon

My brother Ronald and I are running the Grasslands Half Marathon this Saturday. Woot woot!

History: The Grasslands Trail Run was my first full marathon and it was an AMAZING experience. A month after Grasslands I ran the OKC Marathon, which was...memorable (terrible weather and the most challenging thing I've ever done).

I'm excited about the half marathon this Sat though and it will be interesting for a two reasons:

1. We have had beautiful weather this week, but on Sat it's supposed to get into the 40's and rain from 9am - 1pm. The half starts at 8:30am and I'm expecting to be out there for 3hrs (trail runs are a little harder and usually longer than they say). Grasslands may turn out to be Mudlands.
   
2. Ronald and I aren't trained for it. He has been home a week and has done very little cardio over the past 4 months and my run volume has been pretty low so far this year.

But as my Grasslands pacer Tom Crull said last year, "This is no big deal. It's just a trail run. Time doesn't matter." And that's really true. It is just a trail run and I can walk it if things get bad - it's only 13.1 miles.