Afton 50k Race Report

Afton 50k, July 6, 2013. I was pretty nervous for this race, mostly because this was my first ultra, and only a five weeks prior I had looked at the elevation chart and realized what I signed up for. Smartly I decided to get out to Afton and start running those hills. Well, mostly hiking. Afton has become one of my favorite places to run. I've since done some camping and night running there as well, and there is nothing like finishing a 25 miler and then jumping in the St. Croix for a dip. I've found some really cool unused trails there too!

Afton 50K - 4,670 Ascent 4,670 Descent 9,340 Ft. Net Change

My other reason for the nerves was that my stomach cramped up for 5 miles in my marathon, so I had been learning how to eat and run. I learned to run with a waist pack, eat medjool dates, almonds, bananas, oranges, potatoes, and drink electrolyte fluids. I also had tested taking various supplements, such as vitamin B12 (helps mood), Alkadrenergy (balances adrenals), Super-V (a balanced multivitamin), and Trace Minerals (alkalizes body) from Morter.com. I think the alkalizing effect of such supplements is amazing, both pre and post running. If you haven't read much about the importance of pH and its' role in the body, understanding it can have a dramatic affect on your stance about eating kale over bacon...not that I don't love a bit of bacon now and then :) Anyway, my stomach did well at Afton - no issues, until the very end and it was full of water, an effect of over-hydrating due to the heat.

Fortunately I had also learned not to go out too fast since my marathon. So when Afton started, I just let people run by me for awhile, singin James Brown's "I Feel Good" in my head over the second mile. By mile 5 I was starting to pass a few people, and this continued for the rest of the race. I ran better having started slow - solid race advice any newbie should take, and I learned the hard way in April. Probably the smartest thing I did was find someone to pace with - I ran about 20 miles with Maria Barton, a MN local who has done over 75 ultras. I was honored, and picked her brain for tips and talked about races and kids and whatever. In a sense she is kinda my trail mom, getting me to my first ultra finish! Thanks Maria :)

Maria and me running about mile 8. And yes, running with Vibram Five Fingers!

We started at 6am, and it was 75F with about 80% humidity. By 10 it was 95F. I would enter an aid station and just dump ice water over myself to cool off. I ran really well with minimal issues - at mile 22 my hip flexors tightened up, something I still am working out. I had done some heat training for 10 days before, running with multiple long sleeve shirts, sittting in my mom's 120F red light sauna for 45 minutes at a time. I didn't have a problem with the heat until the last three miles, when my stomach was sloshing and I couldn't drink. A bit of walking helped it settle, but that walking was the hardest I had ever done, because I didn't want to walk in to the finish. I guess the first thing to go in an ultra (or maybe the last) is your ego. After about a mile my stomach settled and I was able to finish strong and running, which was awesome! I also had the pleasure of being chicked for the first time, right before I began walking. Lovely sensation! I came in with a time of 5:45:20 at an 11:07 pace. I was 58th out of 168 starters, not to shabby for my first 50k!

Coming into the finish line happy and hot!

Is ultra running addicting? Not any more than a good brew or cup of joe. So yes, I immediately went out and dreamed about my next race. Lots to learn and try out before then. As they say, this is an experiment of one, and I am excited to continue my journey of physical and self exploration! Thanks for reading :)

Into (actual) Barefoot Running

A cool rusty windmill on the trail

Last Friday I was on a trail run and suddenly noticed my left heel and achilles tendon felt tight. Actually, it felt like it was rubbing against the heel of the VFF shoe I was wearing. I've logged about 700 miles in VFF, but over 2 different pairs: a black pair which has the bulk of road running, 600+ miles, and a red pair I bought for summer trail running (i.e., more tread and less wear). Both are the Treksport style. I was a little suspicious of the shoes, given that they were the newer red pair, and I've sensed that I've been breaking them in on my runs by comparison to the older shoes. My first thought was to take off my shoes, and yep - the tendon was pretty sore. Like an idiot I said to myself, "I'm in the middle of my run - so I'll just finish these last 8 miles." Hah! My heel did NOT like this, and though I made it through to the end (of 11 miles total), I was limping slightly at the end.

I gave my heel a good massage and applied some ice and compression, and it was feeling good enough to put on the VFF on Saturday afternoon. It had been a stressful day, so I decided that since my foot felt pretty good, I would give it a go and try the same trail route again, this time with my broken-in, trusted pair of black VFF. Well, immediately on leaving the car and walking a bit just to try things out, my heel felt tight. I knew it was either cancel the run or - wait for it - just take off those nearly barefoot shoes, and become an actually barefoot runner.

Which I did immediately, because there was no way I was going to give up my Saturday run. There were a lot of bikers on the trails during afternoon, and even a few runners too (yeah!), but you get a few really strange looks because as you crossing each other's path they know something's missing, but can't place exactly what it is...

This was my first time running barefoot, with the exception of on grass, the beach, all generally 'foot safe' places to run. The first thing I noticed was that my feet were tougher than I thought. They held up quite well to the new slapping sounds I was making, and there was not much difference agility-wise between running with or without VFF - you just don't want to step on rocks or jagged roots. But I found myself obsessively checking my footing, and it was a good thing too - I found half a dozen shards of broken glass on the trail, which I often ran narrowly close to. In the end I did step on a few mean roots, acutely stopping my progress momentarily. Here are a few shots taken after the second bang-up. Notice the amount of mud packed on there - it wasn't even wet, but somehow your feet find the mud.

I did end up bruising my foot just under my right little toe, but I didn't  discover this until the next day. My feet felt alive, and my achilles tendon was magically healed by this earthing moment. I loved the childish playful nature of not having shoes on, though I did spend a few minutes fantasizing about slicing my foot up on some glass, having to do a makeshift tourniquet and hobble miles back to my car. I'm convinced that the VFF running has conditioned my feet perfectly for this actual barefoot adventure, assessed by the fact that I didn't tear them up over those 11 miles.

Will I do it again? Well, I think, there's always Barefoot Ted, who runners have all met in Born to Run. I've been feeling I need to get a pair of non-VFF shoes as I move into longer distances. I keep reading about ultrarunners changing shoes and continuing with a great fresh feeling (yeah right, it's an ultra)... I'm searching for a nice pair of minimal shoes (I tried on some at Dick's Sporting Goods today), but reminding myself of Barefoot Ted gets me thinking about huaraches, now accessible in their commercially transformed Luna Sandal state. This week I've been comfortable settling back into the familiar VFF runs, and have yet to attempt a barefoot road run - although I know people do these (I've seen videos!), and even run marathons or longer barefoot. While I do like the craziness and the au naturel feel, I'm not quite sure how dedicated I want to be to a shoeless sport that might leave me, well, runless.

Surviving Running in a Minnesota Winter

This was my first winter living in Minnesota since I've moved back from NJ. I lived in MN for 12 years before I moved to the East Coast, and remember all to well the frigid icy cold that lasts from late October to well into April, so I was at least aware of the frozen tundra. Though by comparison to Wisconsin, North Dakota and Alaska winters, a Twin Cities winter is not too bad. I've also never trained through a winter at all, so this would be another first for me. I usually hit March about 10-15 pounds heavier, and it takes 1-2 months of reluctant exercise to get me back to an enjoyable state of fitness.

All but one of the running partners I had abandoned running outside during a MN winter and opted for the luxury of a safe, warm gym with track or treadmill. But given my limited finances, and the fact that I hate treadmills (read: I've been on them less than 5 times in my life), I decided to give it a serious try.

Gear. I'd done some intense winter camping as a Boy Scout, and some casual downhill skiing, but never a sport so streamlined that I would be concerned with being both warm and light. So my first task was to figure out equipment and clothing. I had just switched to Vibram Five Fingers, and was having success with my feet and tendons running in these, so I decided to stick with the VFF throughout the winter. I added a pair of thick injinji socks to give some warmth, and settled on some compression pants, and 3-4 core layers (including both long-sleeve and short-sleeve compression shirts), depending on how cold it was. I usually just monitored the temp, not wind chill, though there were a few grueling runs where not figuring in the wind chill really took its toll on me. I oscillated between gloves that could work an iPhone and the warmer, thick wool gloves that I could warm up by breathing into. Gear and clothing were really a work in progress, as my body adapted to what I perceived as 'cold', and as I realized how much I would really heat up to after a few miles of running.

Windswept MN pretty close to sunset

There were some key runs that taught me some great lessons the hard way - here are some highlights:

My first run on icy roads was a 10 miler. At this point I'd been running on snow on and off, but ice (hidden and in-your-way slippery) presented a new challenge. I had learned that I had to run with a very center-of-the-foot landing to avoid being off balance on snow, but I was still often trying to run too fast. This first run left me on my keister twice, and a third near-fall strained my achilles tendon so bad it took two weeks for a full recovery. Lesson: run with short strides, and a completely neutral mid-foot landing.

I did a few double-run days in January: a 2 hour soccer game indoors followed by a long run. The first one of these was a 14 mile run. I was not at all prepared for how my quads would feel after 2 hours of sprinting around in all directions, and my first thought was "hello quads, I think you're almost shot." But it got worse - around the end of mile 1 I realized how intense the wind chill was. Gusts that literally caused me to have trouble breathing, and a 3 mile section where I had to run with my eyes mostly closed due to road sand being blown around. The wind just tore right through me - after 8 miles, I was frozen, my body was saying no, and I was very far from home. It was probably one of the lowest points I had ever been at in terms of mental and physical pain, and the tears and prayers came streaming out. What brought me out of it was realizing who I am by shouting some affirmations - "I am Craig Woodward! I am persistent! I am a Woodward!" My great-great grandfather crossed the plains on foot 6 times as a Mormon pioneer, so its in my genes to persevere.  Fortunately I had brought some dates and a Morter energy drink called AlkaBoost, and this gave me some needed calories and sugar to keep moving forward. I learned something about myself this day, and it has served me as I move forward to longer runs. And the next weekend I went out and did it again, only longer.

This winter brought about many small injuries - in addition to the achilles strain, I twisted my knee, dealt with tight ITB's and runner's knee in both legs, bruised my foot on ice, had minor frostbite on my ankles, and sometimes came in with numb toes. I blew out my quads, calves, hamstrings and glutes, and I ran until my water froze and I had icicles on my eyelids. But with each challenge that arose I found a solution, be it a new stretch to try or implementing a new training idea or nutrition plan. And I finished my first running winter feeling proud of my accomplishment, and quite a bit tougher for my efforts. Now that temperatures have hit the 70s, I kinda miss those quiet winter runs, where the solitude was palpable, the highs and lows exquisite and the after effect of having gone up against Mother Nature left a longing for more. Now having got my feet wet (and then frozen), I am aware that in the distance a few extremely daunting races taunt me: Minnesota's Arrowhead 135, Wisconsin's Tuscobia, and the great Alaskan Iditarod. I am still new to running, and have yet to pop my ultra cherry, but one thing I have learned: that there is no bad experience, each one holds a lesson, and the more I learn and train, the stronger I get.     

My First Marathon

I ran the Run for the Lakes Marathon on April 27! It's in Nisswa, north of Brainard, and my wife and kids stayed with her sister in Crosby. They planned on coming out to see me for the last part of the race, when I figured I'd need the moral support. On the drive up we found out that her cousin now lives only a half mile from the race start, so I was able to stay there! Basically about as close to a hotel as I could get - thanks Angie and Jeremy! I had a great homemade lasagna dinner early, and was in bed relatively early (9:30), but pre-race nerves got me up at 4:30am, and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I did some hydration, some qigong, deep breathing, yoga, stretching, massaging, checked email, went outside to feel the weather, had tea, played with the cat, prepped my race number, looked for tape to affix a split time paper to my race number, ate oatmeal, ate a banana, and eventually found myself locked out of the house with a half hour to go! The door swung shut the second time I went outside and was on autolock or something, and so I had to run around the house banging until I woke up Jeremy, who was not that happy about rising early.

Anyway, I got my number and headed out the door, jogged the short distance to the race, and all was well. It was 33º F for the 8:00 start, but it would warm up to 66º by the time I was mid-race. Since it was a small race, I started at the front, which was really fun! We only had 137 people racing the marathon, which was a double half-marathon loop. The course was pretty flat with some rolling hills, and there were quite a few neighbors and small crowds cheering us on, which was fantastic! I was running really strong the first half at an 8:01 pace, feeling good and chatting it up with some of the racers. There was a guy there who had finished 250 marathons, doing as many as 20 to 30 some years! I was in awe.

Run for the Lakes elevation change

But at mile 14 I got these horrible stomach cramps - not side cramps, but as if I wasn't digesting breakfast well. I guessed that the banana was the culprit (fiendish yellow fruit!) and had to start doing walk-runs. At this point I hadn't had to walk, and was on for a 3:35 finish, but I had to let that goal slip by. The race got really tough for me: not only was I doing all I could not to vomit, but the sun was out and it was really too hot to walk, and then I think I got dehydrated as I couldn't drink enough on an unsettled stomach. Taking gatorade didn't work so well, as I don't really like the stuff and don't regularly drink it - man, I wish I had a salt tab. This went on for 5 lonely miles, as all the half marathoners were finished. It sucked being passed by people, including a group of pacers (the 8:35 pace team) who weren't pacing anyone, just running along passing people and chatting. Eventually I started running next to a guy from Eagan who was also doing some walk-running, and this helped to lift my spirits! I started getting my stomach back around mile 19, and the company helped motivate my legs. This guy was running 4 marathons over the next month, so this was really just a training run for him!

Finally at mile 23 I was running pretty strong again, and my wife, kids, and my wife's cousin and sister were all there to cheer me on! This even brought some tears to my eyes as I ran past them, feeling how great it was to be supported. I spent the last 2 miles trying to distance myself from a guy who kept moaning, because this was a real downer. I didn't ever second-guess my ability to finish the marathon, which felt really great mentally. This marathon came 11 months after beginning running, and 6 months after my first half marathon. When I first began running, even getting out for a mile was tough, and I went through many training days where I just collapsed in doubt on the trail, overwhelmed with my mental ineptitude. But even though this race was tough, I was really proud that I ran it well, that I finished and also that I broke 4 hours, even given the cramps and walking! I ended up with a 3:52:15, a time I will definitely come back to challenge in the future. I'm pretty sure that without my stomach turning against me that I could have maintained an 8:00 pace... especially since after the race we had free massages, and I jumped off the table, to many people's surprise!

And I was also really proud that I recovered so well! I was only moderately sore the next day, but still walking around and not hobbling. The week following the marathon I felt recovered, so I ran 33 miles over the week and felt great! I'm really glad that the marathon turned out the way it did - now I know how to train for future races, and have had first-hand experience about the importance of salt, electrolytes, hydration, and pre-race fuel. Bananas, we love you, just not before a race! Now I begin training for my next distance, the Afton Trail 50K on July 6. Steamy Minnesota summer and 31 miles, baby!

Into (mostly) Barefoot Running

Since my first half marathon back in late October 2012, I felt I needed to make some major changes if I wanted to run better. First was to my change of shoes. I had begun running in a regular pair of sneakers, which caused me unbearable knee pain. I figured this was partially due to being a soccer player and having sustained knee injuries over the years (kicks, twists, nothing that major). So I switched to a pair of NB Minimus. I loved these shoes! Except as I gradually increased my miles, I noticed horrible pain developing on the side and bottom of each foot. I figured this was the feared Plantar Fasciitis...but never actually went to the doc to get it checked out.

So with self-diagnosis accepted, I proceeded to massage, roll out, and do all sorts of foot strengthening exercises (toe curls, towel grabs), which helped to alleviate some of the pain. But then I'd be on a run and it would be back within a mile or two. So more reading, including the now-famous Born to Run, and I decided to start doing some barefoot running on the grass. Not only did my feet feel These short runs in the grass equalled no pain! So immediately after my October half marathon, which included a fair amount of foot pain, I immediately switched to trying out a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, the Treksport style.

Within one week I was transformed as a runner! The foot pain I had experienced completely disappeared, which convinced me that the NB shoes were the culprit, especially given that they featured a heavy rubber strap across the top width of the foot, which must have been restricting my foot from expanding fully as it hit the ground. All the stuff out there about taking it easy is absolutely right though. Over the first two week in the VFF I did small walks and slow short jogs, nothing over 2 miles, but even a two miles run left my calves burning and the balls of my feet little devilish hotspots. Some improvement, right? But at least my feet didn't hurt, and I figured that at least these barefoot shoes were supposed to strengthen feet over time. I just had to wait it out.

Patience is not a virtue of beginning runners though. The first 'long' run I did at the end of 3 1/2 weeks was only 6 miles, but it was one of the toughest 6 miles I'd ever done. I ended up shuffling through the last 2 miles with semi-cramped calves. And after each successively longer distance in the VFF my calves would scream at me, and it would only be painful self-massage and ice baths that prompted muscle recovery. Eventually though, once I could take on a 9 mile run, my feet and calves suddenly were a non-issue! This entire process took about 6 weeks, with me only running in VFF and walking in them as much as possible during the day. Now my feet are spoiled - I can't seem to find a pair of regular sneakers that fit quite as comfortably as my VFF, and I'm not sure I want to either.

My foray into running and health - from NYC to MN

A view of NYC before an amazing storm from Liberty Park in Jersey City

Last May, 2012, I was living in Jersey City and getting fat and lazy. I'm a musician - composer and pianist - and I played hard and partied hard, having lived in Manhattan for 6 1/2 years prior to Jersey City. My wife and I moved to NYC three weeks before 9/11 so I could go to Manhattan School of Music. It was a crazy time in our lives - you didn't know whether you would be on a subway and a dirty bomb or anthrax attack would go off. But it was also a fantastical time, going to 20+ concerts a week some weeks, and making music with new friends constantly!

Then in 2005 I started playing pickup soccer in NYC, which got me motivated enough to quit smoking (I'd smoked for 11 years). Pickup soccer really filled a space in my life for camaraderie, competition and exercise. I remember the first time I played soccer after quitting - it was as if I had lost all lung endurance completely, and got winded just running a short 10 meters. By 2012 I had really got on a health-kick roll, doing some yoga, qigong and breath work, and quitting a few stimulatory substances that had just kept me jittery, like soda and coffee. Let me say that quitting coffee was the worst. I didn't even know I was that addicted until I went a day without it, and then it was 3 weeks of miserable hell while my entire adrenal and digestive systems reset themselves. But afterwords, the amount of energy I had was amazing! I mean, I no longer crashed at 10am, or after lunch, or before dinner, etc. I was energized!

Spurred on by some of these healthy changes, I decided to start running in May of 2012. I had run very intermittently aside from soccer, and usually didn't enjoy it. It was not easy to get beyond a few miles. But I was 30 pounds overweight, drinking excessively, and approaching 34. I knew I had to make some further life changes. My first runs in Jersey City were excruciating. I had very bad shin splints, side aches, a semi-recovered ankle from a bad sprain (yeah, soccer is rough on the body!), and tight IT bands and knees from old injuries and lack of use. By the time I moved to Minnesota in June, I had made it by walk/runs all the way up to 3 miles. I immediately charged forward into a goal to loose weight. I began running about 2 miles four or five days a week, juicing breakfast and lunch, and doing a few BodyRock workouts each week. What happened was amazing! The dedication was intense, but I lost 10 pounds the first 11 days, and after 2 months had dropped 25 pounds that stayed off. But it wasn't until I really committed to being sober that I started making huge gains. Until I did this, I just couldn't increase my mileage beyond 10-12 miles a week without pain. After a month sober, I was able to get up to 15-20 miles per week, and was able to start working on my form. Just to stay motivated, I signed up for my first race ever, a half marathon in St. Paul.

The Monster Dash half marathon was on October 26, 2012. I wanted to start the race with my sister-in-law, Barb, who invited me to run the race, and was a huge inspiration in getting me out to do longer distances. I ran my first 8 miler with her! But immediately upon the start I knew I wanted to run faster, and so I began to pass a lot of people - I ended up passing over 1,000 people during the race, which meant I had started too far back. I ran in a pair of NB Minimus Trail shoes, which I loved but had recently began to hurt my feet. Ignoring slight foot pain, I ran decently for the first 10 miles, until I hit a wall. It was really a pain wall, because my right knee and right foot were beginning to seize up. So I had to start stretching and walking, and those last 3 miles were really tough. I mean, what I was calling hills my friend argued were just gentle inclines. I was in pain, not breathing well, and just overwhelmed by the effort as I crossed the finished line. I was thrilled though, finishing in 1:49:16, a great first race! Especially thinking back that to begin with I hadn't even been able to run a half mile without massive pain and wheezing. Barb did great too, finishing in 2:02. I had now tentatively entered my journey into running, though I had a lot to figure out about my feet, knees, form, diet, and mental attitude.