Eagle Up Ultra 50 Mile Race Report

Last Saturday I ran my first 50 miler. I had no idea going into it how it would feel since the only other time I ran 50 miles was in my 100 miler last summer. Since I am once again running the Canal Corridor 100 miler on July 7 I thought that running the Eagle Up 50 miler would be an ideal training run for me. I hope that it will better prepare me for this year's 100. My expectations for Eagle Up were low key and I did not put a lot of pressure on myself. That is one of the things I like most about ultras and ultrarunners - generally the races and people are easy going with these longer distances. It makes sense because a lot can happen with your body in 50 or 100+ miles plus some days you feel better than others so you just go into it with a flexible mindset.

race start I'm the pink skirt left side :)

I lined up Saturday with a goal of trying to maintain 9-10 minute miles for as much of the race as possible. Most of my miles were between 9:15-10 minutes so right on target. Of course stopping at the aid station added a little time to each loop. The course was setup in a 5 mile loop consisting of about 2.5 on the Towpath and 2.5 on another trail just like the towpath. I actually really liked this setup. The loops went very fast for me mentally.

After the first loop I ate a Honeystinger waffle and just dropped off my water bottle. After the second loop I also ate a Honeystinger waffle and picked up my water bottle again. By the end of the third loop I had to stop and use the porta potty and I also hit up the aid station for some pbj and watermelon. After the 4th loop (20 miles) and 5th loop I also hit the aid station for similar fare. During my 6th loop I felt like crap having some cramps and just decided to walk for a while to see if it would pass. I debated dropping down to 50k but figured I could at minimum walk a lap and see if it passed. I walked the first half of the loop (2.5 miles) and decided to run again following the aid station. I felt much better! From there on out I walked about 1/2 mile after each 5 mile loop to give my body a little break. This worked well because by mile 40 (start of 9th loop) I could grab a slice of cheese pizza and walk while I ate it.

All smiles for most of the race anyways!

I felt really good the last couple of loops and was super excited near the end when the guy who was winning the 100 miler told me that I was likely first female in the 50 miler! It had not dawned on me that I could finish first because there are people running 50k, the relay, 50 miles, 100k, 100 miles so it was hard to know where I was in the race. That gave me a little boost and I pushed on to finish the race in 8:44:44 (10:28 avg). I think if my 6th loop was better I may have finished closer to 8:30 but I was pretty excited to finish and also to learn from the timers that I was indeed first female in the 50 mile race! :) P.S. The Skirt Sports Lioness Skirt in Holiday print was a big success as probably at least 20 people said "Love that skirt" to me!

My friend and fellow Skirt Sports ambassador Mary had came to cheer and drop off some goodies she picked up from me at the Skirt Sports store in Colorado so it was nice to see her there at the finish as well as my hubby who also ran the 50 miler and was technically first in the 50 miler too so that was awesome! We ate some food and had a couple of beers/ciders before heading home for a much needed shower!

Weather wise it ended up being a pretty mild, cloudy day for the first 4-5 hours with some off and on rain the back few hours but it was manageable. The race vibe was fabulous - so many people cheering and great volunteers and also made some new running friends from all around while running and chatting. The race swag included a nice women's fit tech tee and goodie bag along with a 50 mile medal. I would highly recommend this race! It would be a great first ultra or great for a PR at any distance. I am thinking I will run this again next year although not sure what distance - perhaps the 50 again or the 100K. I guess I have time to think it over.

My recovery this week is on schedule. I took a few days off of running and got in 4 miles yesterday morning, which went fine. I've been walking a lot of miles and doing some cycling. Next up is the Charlevoix Marathon next Saturday in Michigan. It's a great small-town marathon. Another marathon PR right now may be too lofty of a goal but I'll see how I feel that day and run accordingly. I will get in a good training run and have some fun to say the least!

Finally two weeks later is the Canal Corridor 100 again (eek)! I hope to start healthier this year and take some hours off of my time as well as have some fun! This year my husband is running it also so it will be fun to see him out there on the course! After the 100 I am taking a summer break to rest and cross train more and will start ramping up for fall races when I'm ready. I have some ideas about what I'd like to do but plan to allow myself more recovery time this year.

Post race with my speedy husband!

Post race with my Skirt Sister Mary!

Hard earned adult beverage. MMM!