Tales from the Trails

I'm running a 50-miler on September 9th and I have been training pretty diligently this spring, after taking a short break because I was sick (bronchitis) after the Derby Marathon at the end of April. During this last portion of training, I've been thinking about my goals for the 50-miler. I think about my first ultra - Land Between the Lakes (LBL) in March 2017 - and I want this experience to be different. I want to be a better runner and I want to have more mental strength. I had trained on very hilly trails for LBL and found myself unprepared for all the plain old running! So I've been focusing on trails with less elevation change this time, and am trying to add in some runs with more intensity, like speedwork and hill work. I also did all of my long runs with friends, in preparation for LBL. Then I ran the race primarily alone, and when I was with friends, I couldn't find my voice to make conversation. Some of that was the shoulder pain consuming me and me not wan...

The morning started with an early 45 minute drive for me, and I met Jeanette at the pavilion about an hour before the race began. Our team was "Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee" and we checked in early so we could study the maps and plan our strategy. There was a trail race and there were 3 orienteering courses. The trail race was worth a lot of points so we were definitely doing that (about 6 miles), and then we would do the mandatory orange course and see where we were before deciding what to do next.  Racing flats, laid out the night before the race Ordered some compasses for the big day! (And future days!) Checking in! Ready to race! Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. After the trail race, we did the orange course. We sat down and planned our route, and then got going. We moved quickly and had a great time finding the checkpoints. We got our strategy down - I would use the map and compass and have Jeanette confirm where we thought we we...

This winter, Jeanette convinced me to sign up for the Mad Otter Adventure Race - 6 hours of orienteering with a trail race and points and checkpoints and a compass and a map. What did I get myself into? I was excited to try something new, but really felt out of my element. Luckily Jeanette had done races like this before - several with her husband. She talked to Bruce Moore, the race director, about setting up a training clinic for us. I was so relieved! We met Bruce at Otter Creek on a Saturday afternoon, May 13, one week before the race. Entry tickets to the park are $3 Me, Bruce, and Jeanette studying maps and learning the symbols and how to use a compass Jeanette's first assignment was to find a point on the map off the trail, using the compass and contours.  Jeanette and I truly enjoying the day! My turn to do an assignment and find something in the woods. Here I am "thumbing the map" to keep my place while we run/walk.  Bruce digging...