Race Report: Running Ragged 20in20, Day 19

Today was the second to last day of the Running Ragged 20in20 Series.  We were back at Quarry Park & Nature Preserve, but today we had another new course.  It was our 5th different route through this park.  Parts of this course overlapped one we ran before, but now there’s more color.

Since the beginning of this series, I’ve had occasional issues with my left Achilles tendon.  It hasn’t been serious, but I pay close attention to it.  Yesterday, I started to notice my right Achilles tendon.  I iced it after the race and I was stretching it throughout the afternoon and evening.  By this morning, I was noticing the left Achilles tendon more than the right one, but I needed to pay attention to both of  them.

Today, we were joined by Jeff, who ran several races earlier in this series.  His presence ensured that we would once again have enough finishers today.  Meanwhile, there were still eight runners who have finished marathons every day.

Last night, I had an unusually large dinner.  In addition to a small deep-dish pizza, I also ate an order of cheese curds.  When I eat large dinners – particularly meals with a lot of protein – I often get hot during the night.  I woke up feeling hot at 3 AM, and it took a long time to get back to sleep.  For the second straight day, I filled one of by bottles with Coke, instead of just drinking Gatorade.

The temperature at the start was the same as yesterday, but we didn’t have any rain.  It wasn’t going to warm up as much today, so I once again opted to wear tights.  I regretted it yesterday, but that may be the only time I’ve ever regretted wearing tights.  In general, I’d rather err on the side of being too warm.  My legs don’t respond well if they get cold.  As soon as I got out of the car and felt the cold wind, I knew I made the right choice.

During our pre-race briefing, Daniel described the new course.  He told us to let him know after the first lap or two which course we liked better, this one or the one we ran yesterday.  Whichever course was more popular would be the course for tomorrow.

As Jesse led us through the first lap, the first runner behind him was Chris, who was doing the half marathon.  I followed Chris, but didn’t try to keep up.  Nobody else was keeping up with me.

The entire course was gravel.  We started out on a wide section of trail that leads to the most popular swimming hole, known as Quarry #11.

I was stopping to take pictures, so by the time I reached quarry #11, I had already lost sight of Jesse and Chris.  We were told what to expect, and the course was well-marked, so I didn’t have any trouble finding the way on my own.

The next section of trail wasn’t as wide.  This section is kind of rolling.  It led us past the observation deck.

As I kept stopping to take pictures, I was surprised nobody was catching up to me.  I knew I was going the right way, or I would’ve been worried.  Where was everybody?

So far, we were following the same route as a course we ran two weeks ago.  After the observation deck, we made another sharp left onto a trail we hadn’t seen before.  This trail took us around one end of a meadow.  Last week, we ran by the same meadow, but this time we were on the other side.

Along here, I saw Chris and Jesse coming back.  Our route continued just far enough to connect up with the trail we ran last week.  Then we turned around and came back.  I still didn’t see any of the runners behind me.  Finally, when I was about a third of the way back, I saw a group of runners coming around a turn.  They were all walking.

It was obvious by now that I wasn’t going to have any competition today.  That left me free to run the whole race at my own pace.  I needed to run 14 laps.  On other days when we had a 14-lap course, I usually paced myself for 20-minute laps.  I was unsure if I would do that today, or if I would slow it down to 21 minutes per lap.

Because I was taking pictures, my first lap was slow.  That lap took 20:36.  I still didn’t know if I would pace for 20 or 21 minutes per lap.  Either way, I didn’t have time for much of a walking break.  It’s just as well, since I was still trying to get warm.  I was wearing a jacket, but I was still cold.

After putting my camera away and drinking some Coke, I started my second lap.  For the second straight lap, I ran the whole way, except this time I wasn’t stopping to take pictures.  In contrast to yesterday, I ran at a nice relaxed pace.

During my second lap, I started to see other people running.  I think I know why they all started out walking.  By this point in the series, most people are waking up feeling stiff.  They probably wanted several minutes of walking to loosen up before beginning to run.  Most of them were going to do liberal amounts of walking anyway.

When I finished my second lap, my time was 39 minutes.  If I wanted to pace for 20-minute laps, I would only get to walk for a minute.  I decided that pace was too fast today.  I committed to 21-minute laps and started my third lap with a three-minute walking break.  By now, I had finally unzipped the front of my jacket.  It would be another lap before I would finally be warm enough to take the jacket off.

At the aid station, they had some peanut butter & jelly sandwiches made with cinnamon raisin bread.  They were kept in a sealed container.  We’re not supposed to handle the food ourselves, unless it has already been divided into individual portions and sealed in baggies.  As I went past the food table, I asked Kelly if she could hand me a PBJ when I came past on my way back, after going through the rest of the aid station and turning around.  As I started my 5th lap, my walking break was just long enough to finish eating it.

On other days, I always found 20-minute laps to be surprisingly easy, even though it put me on pace to break 4:40.  Today, I was going slower, but it didn’t feel any easier.  Other days, my walking breaks quickly grew to be more than four minutes.  Today, they were never longer than three minutes, and often they were only 2:30.  I was running at a slower pace, but it didn’t feel as easy as I thought it should.

They usually had music playing at the aid station.  When I finished my 7th lap, they were playing “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi.  The first words I heard as I reached the aid station were, “Woah, we're half way there.”  The timing could not have been better, as I was now half done with the race.

It gradually warmed up, but not as quickly as other days.  I ran eight laps before I was finally warm enough to take off my gloves.  Now I just had six laps to go.  At that point, it usually starts to feel easier, just because there aren’t many laps left.  Instead, I started to notice some soreness at the top of my left hamstring.  I noticed the same thing yesterday morning, but I didn’t notice it during yesterday’s race.

I couldn’t tell if it was the muscle or the tendon, which made me nervous.  What I did notice is that I always felt it when I was going uphill, even if the slope was gradual.  I was afraid to put any effort into hills.  For the rest of the race, I ran much slower when I was going uphill.  That caused my overall pace to slow down, with the result that my walking breaks started getting shorter.

I was about halfway through my 10th lap when I realized I was slowing down going uphill, but I wasn’t speeding up going downhill.  I didn’t feel any soreness going downhill, so there wasn’t any reason I couldn’t run faster on those sections.  After that I ran the downhill sections faster to compensate for slowing down going uphill.

When I finished my 10th lap, I told myself I had 18 laps to go.  I only had four more laps today, but I’ll need to run another 14 laps tomorrow.  That was a way to remind myself that I shouldn’t just pace myself for today, but I should pace myself for both today and tomorrow.

In the second half of the race, the sun sometimes came out, and I wondered if I would start to get too warm.  Then it would cloud up again and the wind would pick up.  It went from warm back to cold quickly.

I gradually noticed my left leg less and less going up hills.  Instead, I started to notice tightness in my right Achilles tendon.  One way or another, I couldn’t run uphill without some body part complaining.  Now I wasn’t just slowing down on hills.  I sometimes felt like I was grinding almost to a halt.  It wasn’t that I couldn’t go faster.  I was afraid to go faster.  To compensate, I not only picked up my pace on the downhill sections, but also on the flat sections.  After that, my walking breaks grew to three minutes again.

On gravel courses, I usually wore gaiters.  Today, I forgot them.  In the last few laps, I was noticing grit getting into my shoes.  It entered around my ankles, but gradually worked its way into the toe box.  It was never a big issue, but it was annoying.  I’ll be sure to remember my gaiters tomorrow.

In my last lap, I finally had the energy to go faster.  I sped up more on the flat and downhill sections, and I didn’t slow down as much on the uphill sections.  Because that lap was fast, I came in way under my target time for that lap.  I finished the race in 4:48:51.

Henry happened to be finishing a lap, so I got to talk to him before he headed out again.  Yesterday, I wrote that Henry wouldn’t have time to run the marathon on the last day.  Today, I learned that he would.  After tomorrow’s race, he’s traveling to run in a 48-hour race, but it’s OK if he arrives late.  The clock will already be running, but he can start whenever he gets there.  His goal is to run 50 miles, and he won’t need the whole 48 hours to do that.  That means there will be eight runners finishing all 20 marathons.

For most of this series, my biggest concerns were my right knee and my left Achilles tendon.  Now my biggest concerns are my right Achilles tendon and my left hamstring (or tendon).  Neither of those was an issue before yesterday.  I’m beginning to feel like I’m being held together with duct tape.

I’m also at the point where all of the races are taking a cumulative toll on me.  I had three hard races in a row.  On Sunday, I ran my fastest race of the series.  On Monday, I ran on a grass surface that tired me out.  Yesterday, I started too fast and overheated later, because I was overdressed.  Today, I ran at a pace that should’ve felt easy, but it didn’t.  I may have finally reached the point in this series where nothing will be easy anymore.  Thankfully, after 19 marathons, I only have one more to go.

Race Statistics

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:48:51

Average Pace:  11:01

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  424

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  77

Series Statistics

Races Completed:  19

Under Five Hours:  19

Average Time:  4:40:11

Wins:  12

Race Report: Running Ragged 20in20, Day 18

Yesterday, we ran at Mississippi River County Park for the last time.  We’ve also bid goodbye to three other race venues.  Today, we returned to Quarry Park & Nature Preserve, where we already ran eight races on four different courses.  We’ll be here for the rest of the series.

I’ve done well in this series, because I’ve managed my effort well.  Even though I’m running marathons every day, they feel more like training runs.  I always finish the race feeling like I still had some gas left in the tank.  That was even true on day 16, when I was racing with Tim.

Yesterday was different.  It wasn’t as fast as some of the other races, but it took more out of me.  Running on grass and wet leaves takes much more effort than running on pavement or firmly packed gravel.  Yesterday was the first day that I felt completely spent.

One way you can tell if you’re over-training (or over-racing) is by how a hard workout affects your sleep.  Ideally you should sleep better after a hard workout.  One of the symptoms of over-training is having more trouble sleeping after a hard workout.  For most of this series, I’ve been sleeping well, often getting eight or nine hours of sleep.  Last night I slept well for a few hours and then I was wide awake.  I eventually got back to sleep, but my restlessness during the night is a troubling sign.

I woke up this morning with some soreness near the top of my left hamstring.  That’s something new.  I think it’s from continuously running with uneven footing during yesterday’s race.  Thankfully, that was the last time we had to run on grass.  Today, we were back on gravel trails with solid footing.

The temperature at the start was similar to yesterday, so I wore tights again.  I knew it would warm up more during the race, but we were starting the race in intermittent light rain, and I didn’t want my legs to get cold.  When it comes to my legs, I’m more will to risk being too hot than too cold.  Because of the rain, I also started the race wearing gloves and a Tyvek jacket.

Today, we ran on the same course that we ran on last Thursday and Friday.  I was happy to hear that.  Aside from not having any roots or uneven footing, it’s also the flattest of the courses we’ve run in this park.

To count as an official race, you have to have at least ten finishers.  For most of this series we’ve had anywhere from 15 to 27 finishers.  Yesterday, several runners dropped down to the half marathon, with the result that the marathon only had 11 finishers.  Eight of them were the runners who have finished the marathons every day.  Another was Jim, who sometimes does the marathon and sometimes does the half marathon.  The other two were runners who went home today.

Before the race, I did some asking around to find out if we would have at least ten people running the marathon.  I knew I could count on the eight runners who are still vying to finish marathons every day.  I learned that Jim was also planning to do the marathon.  That made nine.  Then I learned that Angela was going to be here today, and she always does the marathon.  That makes ten.  There were other runners who were originally trying to do all 20 marathons, but have had at least one bad day where they dropped down to the half marathon.  I wasn’t sure about any of them.  Just before the race, I learned that Jun was doing the marathon today.  That made eleven, which gave us some insurance.

I didn’t know of any new arrivals today, so I didn’t expect to have any competition.  With that in mind, my only goal was to break five hours.  This course was 14 laps.  The last few times I did a 14-lap course, I paced myself for 20-minute laps.  I didn’t actually need to go that fast.  I tentatively planned to do 21-minute laps instead.

I start running with Greg.  When we got to a small hill, Greg walked, so I did too.  I usually do all my walking at the beginning of a lap, but I knew I’d be walking somewhere.  Just as we got to the top of the hill, another runner sped by us.  It was Chad, who joined us for one race last week.  He was apparently a last-minute arrival today.  I didn’t know he would be there.

I assumed Chad was doing the marathon.  The last time he was here, he ran the marathon in 4:32.  That was faster than I wanted to run, but I could run that fast if I had to.  I swore, but sped up and tried to catch up with Chad.

After reaching the turnaround, I asked him if he was doing the marathon.  He said he only does marathons.  I swore again and gave chase.

It seemed like we were going much faster than a 4:32 marathon.  The last time Chad ran with us, he arrived late, so his actual time on the course was several minutes faster than his official time.  These races don’t have chip timing.  It’s all “gun times.”  Still, I had run 4:18 on Sunday.  This felt much faster.

When we finished that lap, I looked at the clock.  If I remember right, our time for the first lap was 15:45.  I didn’t realize at the time how fast that was.  We were on pace for 3:40.

I overheard Chad asking Jesse to let him know what 240 divided by 14 was.  I interpreted that to mean he wanted to run a four-hour marathon.  There are 240 minutes in four hours, and we were running 14 laps.

At the beginning of the second lap, I caught up to Chad just long enough to ask him if he was pacing for a four-hour marathon.  He said he was for now.  That was too fast for me.  I let him go and backed off to a pace that seemed more reasonable.  As Chad pulled away from me, I yelled that 17 minutes per lap would be a 3:58 marathon.

By the end of my second lap, Chad already had a huge lead.  My time after two laps was 34 minutes.  Having already done the math, I realized I was now on pace for a 3:58 marathon, even after easing up in that lap.  I needed to slow down some more.

I started my third lap with two minutes of walking.  I tentatively decided to pace for 18-minute laps, as long as it felt like it might be sustainable.  That was sort of a compromise.  It was still much faster than I originally planned to run, but it wouldn’t make me blow up.  If Chad ran 17-minute laps, and I ran 18-minute laps, I wouldn’t fall behind too quickly.

Three times during this series, I fell behind another runner by as much as 15 minutes, but still caught them before the end of the race.  I didn’t think that was likely to happen today.  Chad is an experienced runner, and I assumed he would pace himself intelligently.  Still, I didn’t want to give up too easily.

By the end of my third lap, I was pretty sure the rain had stopped.  At the end of that lap, I took off my jacket and put it in my drop bag.  My time after three laps was 53 minutes.  If I stuck to 18-minute laps, I would only be able to walk for one minute.  I decided that wasn’t a sustainable pacing plan.  After that, I always walked for two minutes, even if it meant drifting into a slower pace and falling farther behind Chad.  I had to be realistic.  Chad was still going faster than 17 minutes per lap.  With each lap, his lead grew noticeably.

During my 5th lap, I noticed my legs were getting warm.  I couldn’t do anything about that, so to compensate, I took off my gloves.  At first, my hands were cold, but I knew that wouldn’t last long.

Because I didn’t sleep well last night, I was drinking Coke for the first half of the race.  A consequence of that is that I needed to make bathroom stops.  After my 5th lap, I made my first bathroom stop.  Despite that delay, I still walked for two minutes at the start of my next lap.

As I started my 7th lap, I saw Chad was about to finish his 7th.  He was now half done, and he was on pace for 3:45.  Shortly after I finished my walking break and resumed running, Chad lapped me.  At this point, I dropped any pretense of competing with him.  When I eventually finished that lap, I was on pace for 4:23.

As I began the second half of the race, I slowed down.  I was still only doing two minutes of walking per lap, but I allowed my running pace to become much more relaxed.

Before starting my 9th lap, I stopped to get my camera out of my drop bag.  During the next lap, I took pictures of all the runners who had completed marathons every day so far.

This is Trisha.  She did every marathon carrying an American flag for the whole race.

Here are Kevin and Liz.  In addition to completing every marathon, they’ve been helping set up the aid station every morning.

This is Clyde.  Each day, while Clyde runs the marathon, his wife Kelly takes care of the aid station.  We call Kelly the “water goddess.”

This is Greg.  I think he’s the only one of these runners besides me to have a sub five hour marathon during this series.

Here are Evelyn and Henry.  Sadly, Henry won’t be able to do all 20 marathons.  He has to leave on Thursday to get to another race, so he’ll only have time for the half marathon that day.

Finally, here's a picture of me that Sonny took during the race.

I also took a picture of Chad, who went on to win the race in 3:36:30.

That was probably my slowest lap of the race.  After that, I stopped paying attention to my lap times.  I looked at my watch only to time my walking breaks.  Eventually, I didn’t even do that.  I just walked to the same spot on every lap.

I didn’t eat any solid food during the first half of the race.  In the second half, I sometimes ate a cookie or candy bar.

One of the rules is that you have to wear a mask or other face covering when you’re at the aid station.  You can take it off while you’re running.  You don’t need to put it on if you’re just grabbing something as you go by the aid station, but you’re supposed to put it on if you stop at the aid station for any period of time.

After one of my laps, I wanted to get something to eat, but I was indecisive.  As I stood there for several seconds, Kelly reminded me to put on my mask.  I was embarrassed when I realized I didn’t have it with me.  On the lap when I was taking pictures, I temporarily took my mask out of my fanny pack to make room for my camera.  When I returned my camera to my drop bag, I forgot to retrieve the mask and put it back in my fanny pack.

I pulled my shirt up over my nose and mouth, quickly grabbed a baggie with some wafer cookies, and started my next lap.  When I finished that lap, I made a point of putting my mask back in my fanny pack, so I would have it with me.

Late in the race, I started getting hot.  It got warmer than I thought, and I started to regret wearing tights.  There was hardly any wind today, which didn’t help.  Usually, I cool off when I take walking breaks, but today they weren’t helping.  My tights were trapping too much heat from my legs.  Even when I walked, my legs didn’t cool down.  For the last few laps, I was just shuffling along, trying to get them done.

With two laps to go, I finally looked at the clock.  I wanted to make sure I was on pace to finish within five hours.  I was pretty sure I was well ahead of that pace, but I didn’t want any last-minute surprises.

In my last lap, the sun came out.  Now I was really hot.  I really slowed down in that lap, but at this point, it didn’t matter.  I still finished in 4:42:42.  I ran positive splits by 20 minutes.  Partly, that was because of my fast start, but getting so hot in the second half didn’t help.

My right knee never bothered me today.  My left Achilles tendon, which didn’t bother me yesterday, also didn’t bother me today.  Instead, it was my right Achilles tendon that was getting tight.  After the race, it was really tight.  Now I have one more body part to ice before and after each race.  Fortunately, my room has a full-size refrigerator, and I have the freezer well-stocked with gel ice packs.  This is me after the race.

So far, I’ve managed to keep any of these nagging injuries from getting out of control.  In particular, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how well my knee is holding up.  With only two races to go, I think I’ve got this.

Race Statistics

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:42:42

Average Pace:  10:47

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  423

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  76

Series Statistics

Races Completed:  18

Under Five Hours:  18

Average Time:  4:39:42

Wins:  11

Race Report: Running Ragged: 20in20, Day 17

Yesterday was my fastest race so far in the Running Ragged 20in20 Series.  Each time I go faster, I wonder if this is the race that’s going to make me feel sore or tired the next day.

The hotel where I’m staying has a pool area with a whirlpool, but it can only be used by one family at a time, and you have to make a reservation.  Last night, I was able to use the whirlpool after dinner.  I woke up this morning without any sore muscles.  Maybe the whirlpool helped.

For day 17 of the series, we returned to Mississippi River County Park.  We were there last Monday and the previous Monday, but this time we were on a different course, with hardly any roots.  Now that more leaves have fallen, the course we ran the last two Mondays would’ve been more treacherous.  It would’ve been impossible to see the roots.

It was a cooler day today.  It was 49 degrees when we started, and it only warmed up a few degrees during the race.  In cooler conditions, I wear tights, so I wore the cheetah outfit again today.  Before the race, I noticed how cold the wind was.  I made a last-minute decision to start the race wearing my Tyvek jacket.

I had to run one lap before I could get a feel for the new course.  We were running on grass for the entire race.  I find running on grass to be more tiring than running on pavement or gravel, so I kept my pace conservative.  There weren’t any new arrivals today.  The only runners keeping up with me in the first lap were two runners who were doing the half marathon.  By the end of my first lap, I knew I would be the only one running the marathon in less than five hours.  That left me free to run at my own pace.  My only goal was to break five hours.

In my second lap, I stopped frequently to take pictures of the course.  We started at the same pavilion that we used for our aid station the last two times we were in this park.

After leaving the pavilion, we followed a line of green cones across an open field.

Then we entered the woods and ran on grass trails that varied in width.  Where we needed to make turns, there were small green cones to lead us around the turn.

Where we intersected other trails, small red cones were used to block paths that we weren’t supposed to take.

At one point, we went up a small rise to cross a dirt road.  I usually walked up to the road.  I thought that would be easier on both my right knee and my left Achilles tendon.  This was one of three places where I walked every lap.

The 50K course has a different turnaround point in the last lap.  It was just a little bit before the turnaround for the marathon course, and it was marked with a purple cone.  During our pre-race briefing, we were told there was only one place on the course where we had to watch out for roots, and it happened to be near this cone.  This was the second place where I briefly slowed to a walk on each lap.

The third place I walked was going around the red cone at the marathon turnaround point.  I did this most days, because I don’t like to run around a tight 180-degree turn.

Despite walking in those three places, I was mostly running.  My walking breaks were more about safety and injury prevention than getting rest.  I rarely walked for more than 5-10 seconds at a time.

We were mostly running through woods and meadows.  It wasn’t until my second lap, that I noticed we were next to a pond when we were near the turnaround.

By the time I finished my second lap, I was feeling too warm with my jacket on.  Although the wind was strong near the pavilion, we were sheltered from it when we were in the woods.  I wasn’t as cold as I thought I would be.  I needed to stop after that lap to put my camera away, so I also took the time to put my jacket back in my drop bag.

By now, the two fastest runners in the half marathon had moved ahead of me.  Besides me, there were two or three other runners who were doing more running than walking.  They were also doing the half marathon.  Everyone else doing the marathon was mostly walking.  In contrast to yesterday’s race, where I ran with Tim the whole time, today I ran by myself the whole time.

To complete a marathon, I needed to run 16 laps.  To break five hours, I needed to average roughly 18:30 per lap.  For the first half of the race, my lap times were mostly between 17:00 and 17:30.  I wasn’t following a rigid pacing plan.

My left Achilles tendon has bothered me intermittently.  I was worried that running on grass would be hard on it.  Amazingly, it never bothered me at all.  I sometimes noticed my right knee walking up to the road, but other wise I felt pretty good.  I did notice, at times, that I was using some different muscles.  I could feel muscles that I don’t usually feel.  They were the ones that stabilized me on the uneven footing.

During my 8th lap, I felt a few drops of drizzle.  It wasn’t a big deal, but I knew there was rain in the forecast for the afternoon.  I decided to put my jacket on again when I finished that lap.  I didn’t really need it yet, but if I waited until I was wet, it would be more difficult to put it on.  When my arms are wet, the sleeves tend to cling to my arms, making it difficult to pull them on.

When I finished that lap, I was half done.  I was on pace for about 4:37, but I didn’t know if I would speed up or slow down in the second half.  On one hand, I usually have the confidence to speed up when I only have a few laps left.  On the other hand, running on grass might tire me out, forcing me to slow down.

Before starting my 9th lap, I put on my jacket.  I kept it unzipped in front, so it wouldn’t trap too much heat.  For the next lap, I felt fairly comfortable with the jacket on.  Early in my 10th lap, I started to feel too warm.  The occasional drops of drizzle I felt earlier had stopped.

Greg, who was going in the other direction, commented that it was hot going out and cold coming back.  After the turnaround, I realized he was right.  Going out, we had the wind at our backs, and I got hot.  Coming back, it was a strong headwind, and I felt like I needed the jacket.

In my next lap, I commented to Trisha that I was too hot with the jacket, but too cold without it.  She suggested taking it off and tying it around my waist.  I waited until the end of the lap.  I made a bathroom stop, and then I tied my jacket around my waist before heading out to start my 12th lap.

At this point in the race, I would usually be thinking about speeding up.  I had no motivation to do that running on grass.  I just wanted to keep moving at the same pace and get each lap done.  I was actually slowing down.  Now I was taking about 18 minutes for each lap.

I expected to be cold without the jacket, but I was surprised how comfortable I felt.  Then I remembered I was still in the warmer half of the lap.  After the turnaround, I was running into the wind.  My arms felt a little cold, but overall, I still felt fairly comfortable.  Taking off my jacket was definitely the right decision.

Near the beginning of my 13h lap, I started to feel drizzle again.  It wasn’t just a few stray drops now.  I was getting wet.  I considered stopping to put on my jacket, but my arms were already wet.  Plus, I would have to stop to untie it from my waist, which would take longer, now that the sleeves were wet.  I pressed on.

By the middle of that lap, the drizzle turned into a steady light rain.  I was getting cold.  Again, I considered stopping to put on the jacket, but I didn’t want to stand out in the cold rain and wind while I did it.  It made more sense to wait until the end of the lap, when I could do it while I was under the pavilion.

As I turned around and headed back into the wind, I was freezing.  Taking off my jacket was definitely the wrong decision.

By the time I neared the end of that lap, the rain seemed to be stopping.  As I got within sight of the pavilion, the sun came out.  The weather was toying with me.

I kept my jacket on as I started my 14th lap.  Sure enough, as soon as I got away from the pavilion and back into the woods, it started raining again.  At this point, I only had three laps to go.  At the pace I was going, it would take about 54 minutes.  I could hunker down and endure being cold for 54 minutes.

By now, more of the runners doing the half marathon had finished.  I was now the only person on the course who was doing much running.  I was also the only one on the course who wasn’t wearing a raincoat or rain poncho.  I had bare arms and wet clothes, but I was mostly running.  I would be too hot in a rain poncho.  Meanwhile, everyone else was walking.  They depended on waterproof layers to keep them warm, but they would be on the course for several more hours.  I depended on keeping warm by generating enough heat from running.  Also, I only had to hold out for a few laps.

As I started my 15th lap, I would normally be telling myself, “only two laps to go.”  Instead, I told myself, “only 36 minutes to go.”  That’s how I looked at it.  Distance didn’t matter.  I just had to keep moving for 36 more minutes.

In the second half of that lap, as I was passing some other runners, I must’ve taken my eyes off the trail.  As I was expecting my left foot to make contact with the ground, there was nothing there but air.  I stepped into a small depression that I didn’t notice.  My foot fell about two more inches before it hit the ground.  That caused some momentary discomfort in the muscles that absorbed the shock.

By the end of that lap, the rain stopped again.  Predictably, as soon as I entered the clearing and came within sight of the pavilion, the sun came out.  The weather was still toying with me.  I was noticing a pattern.  The closer I was to the pavilion, the more it seemed like it was doing to be sunny all day.  The farther away I was from the pavilion, the more it was cold, rainy, and windy.

At this point it didn’t matter.  Even if it was still raining, I wouldn’t take the time to put on my jacket.  With one lap to go, I didn’t want to waste any time.  I just wanted to finish.

Now I viewed it as one lap to go.  In the last lap, I knew I was passing each landmark for the last time.  Even still, I didn’t have any motivation to pick up the pace.  I just wanted to keep moving.

The weather stayed nice for that whole lap.  I assumed the weather was done toying with me, now that I was almost done anyway.  After crossing the road for the last time, I finally started to pick up the pace.  I saw a few runners near the end of that lap and promised them they wouldn’t have to worry about any more rain.  As soon as I was finished running, it would be sunny for the rest of the day.  (I was wrong.)

I finished in 4:41:19.  I ran positive splits by four minutes, but I really had no incentive to work any harder in the second half.  I’ve always found running on grass to be tiring.  Running on wet grass is worse.  I broke five hours by a fairly wide margin, and I easily won the race.  Apparently, I was the only one who wanted to put any effort at all into running on grass.

For the first two days of this series, there were other runners who were much too fast for me.  Then I finished first in the next six races.  In three of those races, I didn’t expect to win, but I came from behind in the late laps.  After winning six of the first eight races, I wondered if I could win a majority of the races in this series.  Today was my 11th win, so I’ve clinched that goal.

As I was driving back to the hotel, it started raining again.  This time, it was coming down in bigger drops.  I hope nobody is had at me that it didn’t stay sunny, like I promised.

Usually, when I get back to the hotel, the first thing I do is ice.  Today, my first priority was to hop in the whirlpool.  Nobody else had the pool area reserved.  When I used the whirlpool last night, it was all about preventing sore muscles.  Today, I just wanted to get warm.  After 30 minutes in the whirlpool, I still iced as usual.

Early in this series, I was intimidated by the number of blank spaces on this medal.  Even as I started filling them in, the number of remained races seemed overwhelming.  Now, most of them are filled in.  I just have three races to go.

Race Statistics

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:41:19

Average Pace:  10:44

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  422

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  75

Series Statistics

Races Completed:  17

Under Five Hours:  17

Average Time:  4:39:31

Wins:  11

Race Report: Running Ragged 20in20, Day 16

Today was day 16 of the Running Ragged 20in20 Series.  Today we were at a new venue.  We were running on trails next to the Mississippi River at Sauk Rapids Municipal Park.  Our start/finish area was next to a boat launch where we had these views of the river.

Yesterday, I ran my fastest race of the series.  The big question on my mind was, “How would I feel in the morning?”  Would I be sore or tired, or would I feel like it’s just another day?  I was a little bit stiff when I got out of bed, but it was still three hours before the race started.  After icing, taking a bath and doing some stretching, I felt as good as any other day.

Today, the temperature stayed in a comfortable range.  It was 54 degrees at the start and only got into the low 60s.  There was rain in the forecast for later in the day, but it didn’t no rain while I was running.

We were running on pavement for only the third time in this series.  The first two times, I did a mixture of half running and half race-walking.  The last time I did that, I started to develop a blister on the back of one heel.  It doesn’t hurt, but I didn’t want to risk making it bigger.  As it turns out, a 50-50 mix of running and race-walking would not have been fast enough to keep up with Tim.

Today was Tim’s last day.  He ran with us for 15 straight days, but needed to get home.  He was motivated to run a little faster today, so he could get an earlier start on driving home.  On Tim’s first race with us, he set a blistering pace that no one else could match.  He finished in 4:18:20 that day.  I was about 36 minutes behind him.  Knowing he could potentially run that fast again on his last day, I didn’t want to risk getting too far behind him.

I was curious to see if I would have any other competition besides Tim.  Justin went home today, but people doing just one race are mostly likely to come on a Saturday or Sunday.  Today was the last weekend day of the series.  As it turns out, Tim was my only competition.  The only faster runners were people who were doing shorter distances.

Our course was nice and flat.  To complete a marathon, we had to run 16 laps.  Besides winning the race, I also wanted to beat my time from yesterday.  To do that, I needed to average 16:30 per lap.

I started out running with Tim.  By the end of the first lap, I was running a little ahead of him.  I realized pretty quickly that I would need to make a bathroom stop after the first lap.  I’m usually up at least three hours before the race, so I have time to empty out my digestive system.  I thought I did that today, but I wasn’t quite done.

Normally, I take pictures during my first lap, but I didn’t do that today.  I didn’t dare fall behind while taking pictures, and then fall farther behind when I made a long bathroom stop.

After my bathroom stop, I was already behind my target time, so I didn’t have the luxury of a walking break.  Besides, I didn’t want to fall too far behind Tim.  Tim was far enough ahead that I couldn’t see where he was.  I had to pick up my pace in the second lap to catch up.  I was within sight of the turnaround before I saw how far ahead he was.

We were in the river valley and ran right under the Highway 15 bridge.  I drove over this bridge going to and from yesterday’s race, and drove over it again on my way to this race.  This picture showing the trail near the bridge was the only one I took during my second lap.

I’m usually fairly comfortable running with my camera in my fanny pack.  Today, I was conscious of the extra weight.  It was bouncing against my stomach.  After my second lap, I stopped briefly to put it in my drop bag.

By the end of my second lap, I had caught up with Tim, but he got ahead of me again while I was putting my camera away.  Once again, I didn’t have the luxury of a walking break.  Tim usually runs for the first half of the race, and then slows down and takes walking breaks in the second half.  I couldn’t count on him doing that today.

I caught up to Tim and ran with him for the rest of the lap.  After our third lap, it was Tim who had to make a bathroom stop.  For the rest of the race, we both made frequent bathroom stops.  I usually drink Gatorade after every lap.  Today, I started out drinking Dr. Pepper.  I was anticipating a faster race today, and I thought it would be a nice pick-me-up.  The downside is that the caffeine made me pee more often.  Tim had the same problem.  He drank a lot of coffee before the race.

Tim’s bathroom stop gave me a chance to finally take a walking break.  My target time for lap three was 49:30.  We finished lap three about two minutes ahead of schedule.  I started walking, but before my two minutes was up, Tim caught up to me.  Then I immediately resumed running.

After our 4th lap, it was my turn to make a bathroom stop.  Tim kept running, so I once again had to work hard to catch up with him.  It took me more that half of the lap.

That’s how it went for most of the race.  When Tim stopped, I could get a walking break, but only until he caught up with me.  When I stopped, I fell behind and had to run faster to catch up.

We finished our 6th lap in 1:36.  We were averaging 16 minutes per lap, which put us on pace to finish in 4:16.  That’s even faster than Tim ran on day two, when he had fresh legs.  At the halfway mark, we were still on pace for 4:16.  After that, we slowed down a little, but not much.

Tim said he was planning to slow down and start taking walking breaks in the second half.  If he did, it would give me some breathing room.  Then I could start taking walking breaks myself and just pace myself to break 4:24.

There were one or two laps where we walked together at the beginning of a lap, but it was never as long as my pacing plan would have allowed.  If Tim wanted to start running earlier, I did too.

I ran with Tim for almost all of the race.  We had some good conversation.  The ironic thing is that as much as I was hoping Tim would slow down, I was the main reason he didn’t.  The laps seem to pass much easier when you’re talking to someone.  Tim and I were pushing each other, but in different ways.  He made me go faster, because I didn’t want to risk falling behind.  I made him go faster, by making it feel easier.  As long as he felt comfortable with the pace, he had no good reason to slow down.  Finishing quicker gave him a more comfortable schedule for driving home.

We didn’t take any walking breaks in the last five laps.  We slowed down for a lap or two, but then we sped up again.

With three laps to go, I just needed to average 17 minutes per lap to break 4:24.  So far, we only had one lap that was slower than that.  I knew I would need one more bathroom break, but I held out for another lap.

With two laps to go, I knew I could hold out for one more lap before taking a bathroom stop, but I couldn’t hold out for the whole race.  I made the decision to stop sooner rather than later.  If I was going to fall behind Tim, I wanted to have more than one lap to catch up again.  Trailing going into the last lap would be scary.  We both had a subconscious tendency to speed up in our last lap.  Catching up with Tim would be even harder if he was speeding up.

I made my last bathroom stop with two laps to go.  When I resumed running, I could barely see Tim’s gray shirt in the distance.  I saw him for only a split second before he entered the woods and disappeared around a corner.  I couldn’t see if he was walking or running.

I started running a little faster than before.  I was around the first two corners before I saw Tim again.  He was running.  I picked up my pace, but it took a half mile to catch him.  By then, I was getting tired.

After catching up to Tim, I stayed with him for the rest of the lap.  Usually, when I’m competing with someone, I would pour it on in the last lap.  I didn’t know if I could sustain a faster pace for a whole lap, so I waited.  I tentatively planned to pick up my pace after we reached the turnaround.

When we got to the turnaround, we were in the middle of a conversation.  I waited for a more convenient moment.  With about a kilometer to go, I told Tim I was going to take off.  He let me go and continued running at the same pace.

I took off at a pace that was too fast for the distance I had left.  With half a mile to go, I was already in oxygen debt.  I didn’t want to slow down again, so I kept pushing all the way to the finish.  I finished in 4:18:32.  Tim wasn’t far behind.

Looking back to day two, I thought Tim’s pace that day was insanely fast.  Tim also thinks it was too fast.  Today, we were only a little bit slower than that.

For most of the race, I didn’t have any aches and pains.  It helped that this was such a flat course.  That was easy on both my knees and my Achilles tendons.  It was only as I finished the race, that I felt some soreness behind my left heel, right where the Achilles tendon inserts.  After the race, I hurried back to the hotel, so I could ice it.

During the race, I rarely noticed the wind.  I felt a strong gust off the river once, but I think being at the bottom of the river valley sheltered us from the wind.  It was only as I was driving back to the hotel that I noticed how strong the wind was.  I could see trees swaying in the wind.

I also saw dark clouds.  We had periods of rain, starting around 3:30.  Most of the runners doing the half marathon were done by then, but many of the runners doing the marathon were still on the course.  Most of the runners doing all 20 marathons are walking most of the way.  Some of them would be on the course until 6:00.  Hopefully the rain didn’t make today too difficult for them.  For those of us who finished earlier, it was an easy day.

Now that I’ve finished 16 marathons, I only have four left.  Four marathons in four days is called a quadzilla.  That’s something I’ve done many times before.  From here on out, I can risk going a little bit faster.  I still don’t want to go all out, but if I have a little bit of soreness or fatigue, I know I can get through it.

Race Statistics

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:18:32

Average Pace:  9:52

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  421

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  74

Series Statistics

Races Completed:  16

Under Five Hours:  16

Average Time:  4:39:25

Wins:  10