October 2018 Monthly Running Challenge

Loopet Loppet 12 Hour Trail Race Report

Short version - I finished with 42 miles (and over 88,000 steps)! Eight 5 mile loops and two 1 mile loops, and finished just 90 seconds before the end of the 12 hours. There was some pain and lots of food involved. I finished 8th out of 59 racers. The first place runner logged 61 miles.

Very long verion:

The Loopet Loppet is a 12 hour trail race in Theodore Wirth Park, a 740 acre urban park in Minneapolis. The race consists of a running 5 mile loops. After 10 hours there a 1 mile loop opens up. The goal is to run as far as possible in 12 hours. Only full loops count. Their were solo runners and relay teams of up to 4 runners each. This was my first timed race. I love the idea of a timed race, but I wasn't sure how I'd like running the same loop over and over. My first goal was to get a new distance PR (35 miles) and my second goal was to hit 40 miles. My stretch (very stretch) goal was 50 miles, but considering where my training was at, I didn't think that was really feasible. Or smart.

The race started at 7 am. I woke up at 4:30, had a couple of cups of coffee to drink with my whole wheat toast with peanut butter. It's become my traditional race day breakfast. I got everything ready the night before, even showering, so it was a fairly stress free morning. Wake up, dress, drink coffee, eat, hit the bathroom, load up, and go. Kody, my 4-legged running partner, was pretty excited thinking we were off on another grand running adventure, but I had to disappoint him and leave him behind. I always hate that.

I arrived at 6:15 am and was one of the first people there. A quick check-in to get my bib and race buff (in lieu of a shirt. great buff!), then back to my truck to finish race prep...put on my HR strap and Garmin, lube up my toes and other areas, and make final clothing selections. The weather was tricky. The temp wasn't an issue, varying from 35F to 42F...a nice narrow band...but the wind speed (MPH) was forecast to be in the mid 20's, gusting to 35 before dying down late in the afternoon. Between the wind and my plan to walk about half of the day, I decided to wear lightweight tights, mid-weight gloves, a buff, a thin long sleeve shirt, a thing fleece jacket, and a thin windbreaker. I also had my new Salomon Advance Skin 3 Belt, which nicely fills the void between my SPIBelt and my UD hydration vest.

The 7 am to 7 pm race time meant we started and finished in the dark. I thought about taking my headlamp, but decided to go with a very small single AAA flashlight. I used it for all of one mile and never bothered with a light at the end.

The loops were mostly on mountain bike trails. They're open to hiking and running, but designed for mountain biking. As such, it was wider single track and had many rollers, jumps, switchbacks, and other biking features, with many parallel trail sections so you could see runners up and down the hill, either ahead of you or behind you. The trails were in great shape with no mud or standing water. There was about a mile of the loop on paved trail to get from one area to the other. Not my favorite, but I can't say I hated it.

I fell into a great rhythm on my first loop and though I did power hike the first half mile, I ran a very easy pace on the rest of the loop. It became quite apparent that over dressed and was getting drenched in sweat.

Back at the start, I knew I had to change. The only thing I kept on were my socks, shoes and underwear. I went to my drop bag (a large, clear plastic tote) and grabbed shorts, a short sleeve shirt, arm sleeves, and my light-weight gloves. I would wear this the rest of the day. I used to think arm sleeves were silly, but I was given a pair and I'm a convert now. They're great for temperature regulation by rolling them up or down or taking them off completely.

All changed, pottied, fed and watered at the aid station, I got back on the trail. That first stop took 20 minutes! Oh well. I tried to minimize my aid station time from then on out to 5 minutes, but with some stops requiring bathroom breaks and relubing, some AS stops took 15 minutes or more.

Here's the loop summary. They time the loops after you come in, so any time hanging around the aid station, changing, or whatever is added to the next loop. There was one Strava segment on the course. I figure my segment pace is representative of my running pace, so I've included that as my pace for the loop.

LOOP - TIME (Hr:Min) - PACE (Min:Sec)

1 - 1:04 - 10:59
2 - 1:24 - 11:02
3 - 1:09 - 11:37
4 - 1:24 - 12:26
5 - 1:25 - 12:19
6 - 1:19 - 13:07
7 - 1:36 - 15:30
8 - 1:47 - 18:37

During the Loop 1 I had some pain starting out in my right calf. On Loop 2 that subsided but then I had pain in my right ball of my foot, leftover from my HM the previous weekend. On Loop 3 my right hip started hurting and this alarmed me. I had never felt pain in my right hip before from running. For Loop 4 I slowed it down and did more walking, knowing I had already been doing much more running than I had planned, and was hoping the hip would sort itself out, which it did. For Loop 5 I felt like I had a second wind and ran more than the previous loop, but halfway through, I decided to back off so I had something left for the final big loop, when my son would be there to pace me. I was on Loop 5 at the 6 hour mark, having gone 24 miles. I felt like a new distance PR was assured and 40 miles was a good possibility.

On Loop 6 I felt like I had a good mix of run/walk that I could sustain to the end, but half way through, I started getting some pain on the TOP of my right foot! Again, this was pain I hadn't felt before from running. As near as I can tell, it was muscle or tendon pain from the dorsiflexion of my foot (bending my ankle as I raised my foot on each step). Soon after that I started feeling some pain in the joint of my left knee. I was now 28 miles or so into this run and I came to the realization that I had out run my current level of training. After all, I hadn't gone on a run longer than 15 miles, and only had one week greater than 30 miles since May. To push the running further would be to invite a blowup. I went into power hiking mode.

On Loop 7 I started feeling the burn in my quads. Going uphill was fine, but going downhill was painful. The final quarter mile of the loop is relatively flat, and you have to look good, right? So I start into a slow run when POP! I felt a sharp pain in the top of my right foot. Oh hell! So now I'm thinking this isn't just a muscle or tendon strain, this is a stress fracture! *kitten*! I kept up the slow jog in anyway, logged my loop, and looked for my son. He was over at the aid station, helping himself, LOL!

A big hug, a refeed for me, a bathroom break and we were off. I told him about all my aches and pains and told him I was only going to power hike from there on out. He was disappointed and relieved at the same time (he's not a runner but I figured there wouldn't be much running this late in the race). I've always felt that I was one who wouldn't need or want a pacer, but I have to say, having my son join for my last loop was HUGE boost to my attitude. We had a great time talking about our past adventures and misadventures. All the talking took my mind off my pain, but it also took my mind off my pace and we slowed down even more.

During the last mile or so of Loop 8 I noted our pace and figured we were hiking 18 minute miles. Coming in with 41 minutes to go, We had time for two 1 mile loops. My son asked if he had to stay with me because he wanted to run. Yes, technically a pacer needs to stay with the runner, but I didn't think the race folks would care so I set him free for the final two miles. The first mile took me 22 minutes but that included a final stop at the aid station. The last mile took 18 minutes, finishing with less than a minute and a half left in the race. It was good to be done! My son came over, gave me a high five and a hug.

I finished with 42 miles, officially, and finished 8th out of 59 racers. The first place runner logged 61 miles. The loops must have been a bit longer than stated, because my GPS logged 43.8 miles.

One thing I really liked about this looped format is that I didn't have to carry much. There was a full aid station at the start, and a water/Tailwind aid station at two points on the course. I fueled my run on Tailwind, pancakes, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, KitKats, Whoppers, and Larabars. There may have been a few cookies in there too. I ate well. Other things I liked about this race and format was having a real bathroom at the start, being able to access my dropbag ever 5 miles (and my truck too, if needed), seeing the same folks over and over and getting to know them, single track trail for most of it

A funny story my son, who abandoned me for the final two 1 mile laps, told me. As he came in from the first of the 1 mile loops, the conversation when like this:

RD: What's your number?
Son: I don't have a number, I'm a pacer
<RD looks around, confused>
RD: Where's your runner?
Son: I decided to run on ahead, he was too slow.
RD: Ok, sounds good, keep up the great pacing job!

My son had a great time and said he wanted to do it again. He even suggested that we do it as a relay team next year, which would be pretty fun. He said he wants to start trail running, but we'll see. At the least, I'd do this race again just to have him pace me. Maybe next year I'll have my younger son pace me for a loop as well.

For race swag we got a really nice buff and a sticker. Anyone getting 27 miles or more got an Ultra Finisher sticker. They also had random door prizes throughout the day and I ended up winning three times, getting three pairs of socks. And the food...I consider that race swag as well, and I ate, and ate, and ate. I tried to get in 300 calories each big loop. Garmin says I burned 5,500 calories.

My recovery is going better than I thought it would. I was able to do yard work yesterday without too much trouble and while using stairs is painful, it's not unbearably so. I do have a lingering concern though, and that's my right foot. I mentioned the pop I felt. Now my second toe, which is normally tight to my third toe, is hanging down on its own like it's not getting tendon support to lift it up. I don't know if something is torn or what. I'll give it a couple of days and then have it looked at if it doesn't improve.

October Goal: 20 miles run & maintain 15K training plan best to my ability

With over 600 posts & over 30 pages, no WAY I'm going to get caught up!

Did the (almost) 30 mile bike ride, and no WAY was I prepared for those hills! Yes, hills in Florida! Where I live, it's flat, altitude around 20 - 45 feet. This ride, I got a Garmin badge, as I was over 1,000 feet. I had to get off and walk up some of them, but the descents were great, and scenery was gorgeous. Met some great people as well, and all for a great cause. Down side, 4 day migraine afterwards. Argh!

Now to switch back to running focus!

10/8 - 7.1 miles stationary bike (GCN HIIT video)
10/9 - 2.02 miles - 17.98 remain
10/13 - 28.8 miles, Think Pink bike ride
10/18 - 2.0 miles
10/22 - 2.5 miles - 13.48 remains

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11/22 - ALSO Turkey Trot 5K

@7lenny7 Great race, and great race report! Loved the "Ok, sounds good, keep up the great pacing job!"...LMAO!!!

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The new chest strap I ordered arrived yesterday, and so I wore it for this morning's run. I've never worn a chest strap for a run before, as the oHRM of my watch has convenience written all over it, but as we head towards cooler weather, I'll want to start wearing my watch on top of my outer layers. Also, the immediate no-lag feedback of my heart rate made maintaining 170 bpm so much easier, and I was able to run at my lactate threshold without going over.

With that, I ran a couple of miles to warm up, and then the next 13 miles at LT, with a final half mile to cool down. The run felt solid and I didn't feel 'spent'...it truly was a comfortably hard run, and I put that down to having a more exact and immediate HR reading. Also, I didn't intend to set any PRs, but Garmin says I set three: 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon...obviously all unofficial, but I'll still take 'em.

@7lenny7 you're amazing. What a fantastic effort and result. Well done. (Now go get that foot looked at!)

@RunRachelleRun I was always told sunblock last, and pat it on, don't rub, that way you get maximum coverage and don't unintentionally wipe some off during application. (And, glad to see you back on the horse, as it were!)