Readjusting...

Sorry for the long absence and I'll be back to post more soon but wanted to recap the last bit of silence from my running...

So last we left off after my pretty great experience at the Dances with Dirt 50K, I had fun, a lot of fun actually which was just what I needed.  I had a pretty rough time after Grandma's trying to figure out the ultimate cause of my epic crash and burn and subsequently took my runs straight to the trails where I could distress and recoup from a hard 42 weeks of straight training (over 2K miles total) and DWD was the day I needed to feel better again.  After the race, still being a bit lost on my goals, I decided I would knock off a goal not planned yet for this year... finishing my first 50 mile race.

Training for the 50 went pretty great with the exception of some growing PF pain that I shrugged off due to overall mileage and figured with the slower pace I could tough it through.  I think ultimately my stubbornness overtook me listening to my body and one afternoon on a road run I pushed a little two hard and felt a pop in my arch... since that day I've been dealing with my first significant injury in years although I didn't realize it at that point.  I was less than two weeks from the 50 so I took the next days off hoping my fitness level would be there and the time off would have whatever was happening calm down.  I purchased a night splint boot and did a lot of swimming.  I was optimistic I could make it through, even if things got tough... I have been in some pretty crappy race situations and always was able to make it though...

UPDATE : So I've written a race recap on the NorthFace 50 Miler a good dozen times since September but never posted as I didn't think a recap did it justice...  I'll just say it was a pretty rough failure of a race.  I made it 41 miles of out the 50 total miles and that will certainly bug me for a long time.  I'm not the type of person to drop out of anything when I've committed to it and the subsequent injury and the last 16 weeks of rehab and not racing and training has been pretty tough.  I'll have more updates on that soon but wanted to finally post and move on from what has been a pretty rough fall...  hopefully I will be back training soon.. hope to be in full force by Jan/Feb and I'll keep everyone posted..

Happy Running!!
-Cory

2016 Dances with Dirt 50K Race Recap

2016 Dances with Dirt 50K Race Recap

I am very happy to report some good race news after my rough experience at Grandma’s Marathon in June;  the 2016 Dances with Dirt 50K went awesome!!  I was nervous about this one as it was mid-July with potentially very hot temps to be combined with about 3,600 feet of elevation climb but everything went off just as I would have hoped, the temps were mild and I think I finally nailed my nutrition correctly!

“The Dances with Dirt 50K” is a trail race held annually at Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin.  The area is beautiful and known for its large lake surrounded with 700 foot tall cliffs, making for some outstanding view and challenging climbs to get to the peak.  The area is littered with trails and even the famed “Ice Age Trail” goes right through the side of the park.  The 50K event is one of several distances put on that day ranging from 10K to a 50 mile race distances and although all races at some point are going on simultaneously there isn’t much confusion as they do a great job of marking off the individual courses.

My race started at 5:50AM so I camped out the night before at a close by camping facility along with a few of my DBQ running friends.  I really enjoyed the laid back night before and getting a chance to sit down with Shannon and Rob and just hang out, I didn’t have the pressure of a time goal on my shoulders like Grandma’s so I really enjoyed myself a lot more.  I went to bed around 10 and slept like a rock too, I woke up around 4am refreshed and ready to rock… I did the 10 minute tent breakdown, quick cold shower and I was off to the race start!!

The crew all met up that morning prerace as some had driven up from DBQ that morning, we had a total of about 15 people at the race and 10 of us doing the 50K distance.  We got some group photos did our pre-race rituals and were off to the races!  The gun went off and we wondered off into the woods on our journey.  The course was great, although very rocky which beat up my feet pretty bad, especially since I has been doing so much road running in the weeks leading up to this event I wasn’t lifting my legs as much as I should have and this the occasional tall rock.  But the great views and really nicely groomed trails made up for the rockiness and the miles just melted away as we got telling stories and interacting with the runners around us.  By the first aid station the group had already split, some of us in the front had gotten so into our storytelling we didn’t realize we had separated off from the rest and after waiting a few minutes at the first aid station and not seeing the remainder of the group we set off falling into a comfortable pace.  The four of us; Jason, Dizzol and Sarah stuck together for the first half of the race, unfortunately Dizzol had to drop back due to a groin issue and we caught up with Joe Kauder about half way through the race and he stuck with Jason and I to the finish.   It was just a great race as I got to relax, enjoy the course and chow on some great food…before I knew it we passed mile 20, then 25 and we were at the home stretch!

We finished the race strong feeling very well, for the first time in two years I was able to finish a run longer than 26 miles without throwing up or getting sick at all which I attribute to a better intake of both electrolytes and aid station nutrition, I was THRILLED!!!   I love running the long distances and it has become a real bummer to get sick after every race, I finally felt like I was making some significant progress with my nutrition and I couldn’t be happier!  In fact I was so pumped about finally having my nutrition on track I decided to take the next step and jump up to my first 50 mile race this September at “The Northface Challenge” in Wisconsin, more info to come!

So I have a lot more fun to look forward to this year and some great long runs and races on the trails coming up, I’ll keep you all in the loop with my training as it goes on and in the meantime HAPPY RUNNING! J

-Cory

https://www.strava.com/activities/635471065