On July 17, I ran the last
race of the Mainly Marathons Heartland Series.
This series has races in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,
Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I only ran the
Minnesota race, which was in St. Cloud.
I’ve never done any of
the other races of this series, but I’ve done the Minnesota race several
times. I find it convenient, because
it’s usually the day before the Summer Camp Series starts, and all the races of
that series are in the St. Cloud area.
I’ve come to think of today’s race as Summer Camp, day zero.
I drove to St. Cloud
yesterday. I’ll be staying in the same
hotel for a week. My room has a
kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator, so I brought a few gel ice packs
from home. After checking in, I went
grocery shopping, so I can make my own breakfast and lunch each day.
Today’s race was held on the
Beaver Islands Trail. The start/finish
area was set up in a gravel parking lot just south of the Herb Brooks National Hockey
Center.
The race started at 6:00,
but they had an early start at 5:00 for people who wanted extra time. I was planning to take the 6:00 start, but I
woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep.
Since I was already up, I got there in time for the early start.
The course was 12 laps of
an out-and-back route. The entire course
was paved. The start/finish area was in
a parking lot.
Conditions were far from
ideal. It was a hot day. That’s not unusual for July. My bigger concern was the air quality. There are forest fires in southern Ontario
and northeastern Minnesota. Earlier in
the week, the smoke from those fires was blowing farther east. Yesterday, a shift in wind direction started
bringing that smoke into central and southern Minnesota. Thankfully, the air quality improved
overnight. Yesterday, it was in the
“hazardous” range. This morning, it was
only “poor.”
My only goal was to keep
my time under six hours. I was mostly
running at a comfortable pace, but I also took walking breaks.
There was one
well-stocked aid station in the start finish area. I came back to the aid station often enough
that I didn’t need to carry fluids with me.
I kept a bottle of Gatorade at the aid station, and I periodically
refilled it.
Because I took the early
start, I started running before the sun rose.
I didn’t bring a flashlight or headlamp, but there was enough ambient
light that I could see the course.
By my second lap, there
was more light, and I started to get views of the Beaver Islands and the
Mississippi River.
For the first half of the
race, the temperature was in the 70s, but I felt surprisingly comfortable. I was mostly running. I only took walking breaks when I had the
opportunity to briefly walk with someone I knew.
After four laps, I was on
pace to finish in five hours, but after that, I gradually slowed down.
After six laps, I was
half done. I was still well ahead of my
target pace, but it was getting hotter now, so I knew I would need to walk more
to keep from overexerting myself in the heat.
There’s always some type
of hot food at the aid station, but it’s something different each day. The last day of a series is hot dog day, so
today they had different kinds of hot dogs.
Before starting my seventh lap, I paused at the aid station long enough
to eat half a hot dog and wash it down with some Gatorade.
In the second half of the
race, the temperature was in the 80s and climbing toward 90. The sun was getting higher in the sky. Most of the course is well-shaded, but I
really noticed the sun when I came out in the open.
Starting with my seventh
lap, I took a long walking break on the same section of each lap. I picked a section that was slightly uphill.
As I got hot and sweaty,
the sweat seemed to attract biting flies.
I had applied bug spray before the race, but in one lap, I got bites on
both of my shoulders.
I was nearing the end of
my 10th lap when I saw my friend Karen going the other direction. She was walking, and she said she was waiting
for me to catch up to her.
In my next lap, I skipped
my walking break, so I would have a better chance of catching up to Karen. I finally caught up with her near the end of
lap 11. I walked with Karen for the rest
of that lap and all of my last lap.
When I got back to the
start/finish area for the last time, I tried to run the last little bit through
the parking lot. After walking for so
long, it was tough to run. I finished in
5:40:20.
The finisher medals for this
series are designed to form a chain. The
more races you do, the longer the chain gets.
Since I only did one race of this series, my chain was minimal. The top and bottom pieces go to anyone who
does at least one race of this series.
The middle piece was the medal for today’s race.
After the race, I had the
opportunity to pick up my race packet for the Summer Camp Series. I’ll wear the same race bib every day, so won’t
have to arrive early for packet pickup before any of the Summer Camp races.
Before leaving, I had
another half hot dog and an ice pop.
When I walked back to my car, my legs were already getting stiff, even
though I went slow today. Hot weather
races always take more out of me.
When I got back to the hotel, I took a hot bath and did some stretches. My legs felt better, but my left Achilles tendon is tight. I expect that to be an issue for all of the Summer Camp races.
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