OPSF 50K: Ultrarunning Remediation

In novels, I often think of the basic structure of a protagonist who wants something, and at the end of the novel, they either a) get it, b) don’t get it, or c) get it but realize they didn’t really want it and so they still aren’t fulfilled. My experience at OPSF 50k yesterday was another version of this: I had a very specific goal in mind, but the lessons I learned in NOT achieving it were more valuable than achieving it would have been.

Last year, I finished first female in a time of 6:36 with nasty conditions: rain, snow, sleet, hail, and MUD unlike anything I had ever seen before. I came back because I assumed I would be able to run significantly faster because conditions HAD to be better. I set 3 tiers of goals: A) Break 6 hours, B) Under 6:14, the fastest women’s time I had access to, albeit on a different course of the same race, and C) faster than last year’s time of 6:36, which I thought was a given.

In the month leading up the race, I struggled with IT band pain, and a combination of high (for me) peak mileage of 64 miles plus running on slanted surfaces like the beach aggravated it to the point that I didn’t run at all for 3 days before the race, scheduling ibuprofen and feeling anxious. It was possible I would run 1-2 miles and then DNF. I adjusted my goals as I lay in bed the night before: 1) Be grateful, 2) Take the downhills hard (if IT band allows), and 3) Run to respect yourself the next day. I thought #3 would mean go hard the last 8 miles rather than cruising in, but it ended up meaning something different.

The weather was terrific: 20s to 40s and sunny and the trail conditions were reportedly the best they will ever be for this race. But the course sits on natural springs and so there was still a fair amount of mud, worse than my muddiest of training runs in Ohio and at times deep enough to come up 2 inches above my ankle. The hills are a bit nasty, even the lead men in the 14 mile race were walking them. And almost the entire course has uncomfortable footing, not with the rocks and roots that I find fun, but with mud, ruts, and debris. By the end of the race I had learned that when I wasn’t sure where the course went and the options were what looked like a nice even trail or a nasty wide ditch of mud, I was supposed to go through the ditch of mud.

Even with my adjusted goals, I still fixated on my pace early on in the race, targeting a 6 hour finish. My legs were tired by mile 13. Whoops. A woman named Victoria caught up with me, also interested in targeting a 6 hour time, so we planned to run together. She was running this 50k as TRAINING for a marathon: crazy! After a few more miles, I was no longer able to maintain the pace I had started with, and I slowed dramatically.

Throughout the run, I recited my goals to myself. As soon I thought, “Be grateful,” I immediately felt better and realized how lucky I was to even be running on such a beautiful day. Even though my second half was slow, I was smiling for most of it. I realized that I am the only person who cares about my time or place, and people who love me care about those things only because I do: If they stopped mattering to me, they wouldn’t matter to my loved ones either. I also realized that I have no business using my GPS watch in race. Pacing should be based on effort level, not pace or place in the field.

Within minutes of the finish, I saw Victoria ahead of me, walking. I could have run hard to try to pass her at the end to finish 3^rd place female, but that wouldn’t be in the spirit of the sport. Instead I jogged in to finish likely 10 seconds behind her in a time of 6:44. This quiet jog to the finish ended up being how I met my goal of respecting myself the next day.

While I failed to achieve my time goals at OPSF 50k, I learned some really valuable lessons. This year, I am targeting sub-24 hours at Burning River as my “A” goal. Without this experience at OPSF, I think I would have been likely to make the same mistakes at Burning River. Now, I will think about that time goal to motivate my training, and if appropriate, at the end of the race, but otherwise put my focus on things like gratitude.

Speaking of gratitude, thank you so much to the RDs and volunteers who made this event possible and fed me grilled cheese when I finished!

Jordan

 

OPSF 50k: Mud Slushies and STUDs ladies sweep

I chose the OPSF 50k largely because of the timing; it fit well in my training plan for IMTUF 100. Though it was a "B" race, I still decided to race it and I set an audacious goal: to win the women's race. I even made it official by telling people (okay, only Nathan and my mom) that this was my goal. Ultimately, this was a huge factor in maintaining consistency in my training over the past 2 months.

This was the first time in several years that I had managed such consistent training prior to a race, with several 50 mile weeks in a row before a short taper.

 

Still, the training was focused on IMTUF as the ultimate goal, and so my hard workouts were uphill intervals 1-3 times a week, with less emphasis on long runs and no running at intensity for longer than 3 minutes at a time.

The race is held at Owen Putnam State Forest near Poland, Indiana and offers 14 mile, 50k, and 50 mile distances on a lollipop course. The trails were rolling with some steep hills (I got 4900 feet of elevation gain over the 50k) and not technical, or wouldn't have been if it weren't for the mud. Apparently there is always some mud on the course, but it started raining and snowing a few hours before the race and we were expecting a day of 33 degrees and precipitation.

I started off at the front of the pack, though I didn't feel like I was going out too hard. My first mile was a little fast at 9:51 (my goal was to average 11:30ish miles and break 6 hours) but it had some road and more downhill than up. By 2 minutes in my feet were wet (and would remain so all day) and by 4 minutes in I was totally alone (and would remain so the majority of the day).

The first time around the "pop" of the lollipop course was mildly unpleasant with about 5% of the course made up of ankle deep slush (water and snow mix) in thick mud that sometimes sank down to cover your leg to mid-calf.  Another 10-15% was more "regular" thick mud that was still slow and exhausting to run in. I was on pace, but when I started the second loop around I realized what an advantage it had been to be at the front of the pack before. Now that 50 plus runners had come through, the majority of the trail was thick mud with even more standing water as it rained. I threw out my pace plans and decided to ignore my watch from there on and just go by effort. I then fell several times in a row, each time in the ankle deep mud water. I took a tree branch to the shin with one fall, ripping my favorite tights and giving myself a several inch long area of bruise/scrape that forced me to walk for a few minutes. My gloves were totally soaked now so I took them off since it was actually colder to have them on.

The run back to the start/finish before headed out for a shorter lollipop was definitely the low point of the race. It was now raining ice (I'm not really sure if it was hail or freezing rain) and also snowing. I couldn't feel my feet to have a sense of the trail beneath me. I had a bit of a mental breakdown with lots of swearing at the start/finish turnaround largely centered on confusion about where the trail was (the markings looked like they were blocking the trail) and inability to find my dry pair of gloves. All of this took about 10 minutes, but on the bright side, I gained about 3 minutes of being able to feel my feet, which was enough to lift my mood.

On the way back, I could see the runners coming in and I knew that I had a comfortable lead on second place. Since there was little point in a time goal now, I decided to just focus on keeping moving without pushing myself too hard so I could jump back into training soon after the race. For the last 3 miles of the race, I teamed up with a runner named Jared, who helped make the last part of the race much more enjoyable. We tied for our finish at 6:37 (7th place overall).

Fuller is modeling the finisher's award here:

And I won a beautiful ceramic plate for winning first female:

Aneta, tough as nails, would stick it out for another 29 miles and was the only female to finish the 50 mile race: only 4 people did total! The conditions were truly a special kind of miserable. It was a STUDs ladies sweep of the ultra events of the day!

The challenge wasn't over after the race, unfortunately, as my drive back through Indianapolis required several hours of 15-30 mph on poorly plowed highways as it actively snowed. I passed ~ 30 wrecks in and around Indianapolis. After waking up at 3 AM to get to the race (and driving through snow on the way there, too), I was totally exhausted by the time I got home. Nathan made a lovely meal of salmon, salad, and twice baked potatoes which was the perfect celebration.

Congratulations to everyone who toughed it out yesterday and thanks so much to all the dedicated volunteers who spent their Saturday in such nasty weather to make the event possible!

Thanks for reading!

-Jordan