North Fork 50 Mile Race Recap

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve lined up for a 50 mile race, but this last Saturday was finally the day…the day for North Fork 50M!

For some reason, I was incredibly nervous for the race. The day before, I listened to the run free podcast with Ryan Hall where he discussed the power of running a race with a heart of love instead of fear. Love for your competitors, love for your body, love for the distance. Making the drive up to the race, I prayed that I would run the race in love and not fear, practicing gratitude the whole day.

The course starts with a mile on dirt road before hitting uphill single track. I tried to get into a good position before the single track, avoiding getting caught in a crowd during the climb. I settled into 7th position and started up the climb. The trail climbed from mile 2 till around mile 13 and I noticed I was the first female. Whenever I get into that placement early on I always get really anxious, knowing there’s a long day ahead. I’m much better on the downhill than uphill so the 2nd place female caught up to me around mile 14. We shared a few miles together, leap frogging until the mile 22 aid where we both got passed by the 3rd female. I was able to settle into and hold 2nd place until the end of the race. Instead of running with fear of losing my 2nd position or trying to get into first, I reminded myself to run with love and truly appreciate the opportunity to run through beautiful terrain. Other than a few miles here and there, I basically ran in no mans land -never with a group of people, so there were countless hours to reflect on the day.

One Step at a Time

It can be challenging to stay in the moment and not get caught up in the miles that still lie before you. Thoughts of, “Did I do enough training?”, “Did I bring the right gear?”, “Am I drinking enough water?” can play on constant repeat in your mind. While everything certainly won’t go as planned, staying in the moment and focusing solely on the next section helps me stay present and put those voices to rest. The only way to get to the finish line is to put one foot in front of the other and knock out those miles. Instead of looking at the enormity of 50 miles I focused on aid station to aid station. I memorized what miles the aids would be at and worked on running the distance between the next stops. It’s far easier to think “run 5.5 miles more to the next aid” than “run 35.5 miles more to the finish.” When things got really hard, I even focused on running tree to tree. Simply one step at a time.There was a 50k race going on the same day as well, so it was fun to catch up to the other runners throughout the day.

I waited till mile 25 to stick in the headphones. But only waited 30 minutes before getting food on my shirt :)

Plan to Deal with Setbacks

If there’s anything you can count on in an ultra, it’s that you can’t count on anything. One minute you’re flying high, the next your stomach takes a turn. For me on Saturday, it was my nagging achy heel and the unexpected heat, which reached well into the 80’s with very little cloud coverage until later in the day. Sometimes unexpected setbacks can be corrected with small changes to your fueling or pacing, and others just require an attitude adjustment. I knew there wasn’t anything I could do about my heel or the weather so I tried my best to stay positive, and not veer down the path of negative self talk. I find that when I become overwhelmed with something not going to plan I tend to tense up and and lose focus of my breathing, so I made it a point to stay on top of those negative thoughts by staying centered in my breath and the moment. Now, the heat, extra surprise miles, and heal pain definitely contributed to a much slower time than I was hoping, but at the end of the day I had to stay centered on my why, with a single focus on getting to the finish line, no matter how long it took.

Positivity Goes a Long Way

Going into the race I was nervous for the outcome, and wasn’t sure if I had it in me to run 52.5 miles that day (well I thought 48 but turns out the course ended up being 52.5). After the nerves settled during the first climb, I made it my mission to stay positive and encouraging to both the volunteers and other runners. It really is crazy how taking the lens off yourself for a few minutes can make you forget about your troubles. There were several little out and back sections on the loop where runners would pass each other and just a simple, “keep it up”, “you got this”, or “looking strong” really is uplifting to not just the one receiving the encouragement but to the giver as well.

Sticking your head in a cool stream is a game changer during hot ultras!

Ultras are Just Plain Hard

At the end of the day, despite the positivity, making a plan for setbacks, and staying mental focused, ultras are just plain hard. There will come a time when you are so over the race and just want to be done. For me this was at mile 45. I realized the course was a bit long and it would be closer to 53 miles instead of the 48 from my 2019 run. It’s at that moment that you have to stop thinking, stop focusing, and just run with your heart. Run with your passion. Run with your why. Life’s the same really. If we focus one step at a time, prepare for the unexpected, remain positive, lead with our heart, and keep showing up, we will reach our goals. It may not be the goal we originally planned for but it may just be the goal that was so perfectly designed for us. Keep on showing up. Keep on living. Keep on running. North fork 50 (check) Silver Rush 50 up next.

The Power In A Morning Routine

If you’ve run any type of race, from your local 5k to a 100 miler, you can relate with the rookie mistake of going out to fast, not pacing yourself at all, and hitting the wall. Before you know it the Grandma, with her neon sweat band, and walkman is soon passing you. Is it because she’s better than you…errr we don’t have to answer that. Or is it because she’s learned a thing or two about setting her self up for success early on in the race?

I’ll admit, my 2020 morning routine was oddly similar to that race. I’d wake up in a whirlwind, (probably having hit snooze one too many times), throw my hair into a pony tail, running shoes on, and within 5 minutes I was out the door- 5 minutes into the day and already stressed and rushed to get to work on time. I’d start the day on full throttle, without any pacing or plan (other than run) and by mid-morning I felt like I’d hit the wall. By that evening I’d vow to give myself more time the next morning to drink coffee, set intentions for the day, and just overall wake up a little before my run, but every morning 5:30 would roll around, and I forgot all about the previous day’s woes.When tired or hungry never assume you’ll make the most logical decision!

Change usually occurs when A) we’re forced to or B) when we’ve become fed up with our current situation. Well the later was it for me. However, for most of us mere mortals that’s not enough. You must make a plan. So I researched other’s morning routines, tried a few on for size, until I found something that stuck! Now, just like our race example above, pacing yourself out of the start line is only one factor to the race…you still have to run till the finish line…however, it sure does make the rest of the run more pleasant.

To make any morning routine stick, it’s helpful to:

1. Start Small & Realistic

2. Write it Down & Tell Someone

3. Make it Something You Enjoy

Start Small & Realistic

Want to start waking up earlier? Start with 15 minute time blocks. Instead of saying, I’m going to wake up at 5 instead of 6 so I have time to read, start with waking at 5:45. As time goes on lower that alarm by a few minutes and you’ll soon be at your goal time of 5am. Because you took the time to let your body adapt you’re more likely to stick to the plan. After you’ve tackled actually getting out of bed on time, be realistic with your next steps. Sure, I’d love to spend 20 minutes reading each morning, but that’s most likely not going to happen. Before I know it, I’m feeling discouraged and then the whole reading thing goes out the window. Instead of 20 minutes, aim to read at least 1 page. I can definitely do 1 page! From there maybe I’ll explore into 2 pages and before I know it I’m at 20 minutes. Lofty goals may sound good on paper, but small and realistic goals usually stick.

Write it Down & Tell Someone

Speaking of paper, the next step is writing your routine down. It comes back to the golden rule of decision making- when tired or angry, never assume you’ll make the most logical decision. Instead of rummaging through your groggy brain trying to remember what your morning routine was supposed to be, write it down step by step. At 5:45 wake up, 5:50 make warm lemon water, 6 read devotional, 6:15 journal…etc. Having an accountability partner is truly the secret weapon to your routine. It’s so much easier sticking to the plan when you know someone else is expecting you to follow through. Maybe it’s your spouse or a friend you know is waiting for your morning text. It’s helpful if that person is also attempting the same plan as you.

Make it Something you Enjoy

I don’t particularly like waking up at 5:30, but I do quite enjoy a glass of lemon ginger water, and typically wake up craving it. Even if your schedule doesn’t permit a ton of free time for your morning routine I recommend always starting with something you enjoy. Lemon water, 10 minutes of stretching, a 5 minute walk, journaling; whatever it is find something you truly look forward to first thing. Starting with something enjoyable will help the other factors fall into place.

Now, there’s no one size fits all approach to a morning routine, however, there are a few steps that can be very powerful in everyones morning. Below is my morning routine that I’ve come to enjoy (on most mornings…let’s be realistic here) and perhaps you may enjoy too.

5:45: Alarm

5:50: Warm Lemon Ginger Water

6:00: Prayer Time

6:15: Journal

• 5 things I’m grateful for

• Devotional

• Minimum 1 page from book

• 3 goals for the day (i.e. 6 servings of vegetables, 100 oz water etc.)

• 3 emotions I want to feel that day (focused, creative)

• Quote for the day

• Pick a person to reach out to later that day

6:45 depending on the day I will either do my strength routine or run next.

5 Minute Healthy Dessert

Living in Colorado, I've come to learn we can still get snow into the beginning of June so I don't really want to jinx this, but it has been beautiful lately...almost like spring. Temps topping out in the high 60's low 70's, blue bird skies, and the best part-long days!! Is there anything quite like those summer evenings out on the deck with some soft music play, an after dinner espresso and of course, a delicious dessert!

I have to get a little creative in the summer when it comes to baking desserts in order to keep the house cool. Yes, there's always a bowl of good ol ice cream, but sometimes you just want something a little more interesting...enter this deconstructed pie bowl. To be honest, I have this for breakfast or a snack a few times a month too, it's just that good.

I'm not sure this dessert even takes 5 minutes it's that quick. Start by pouring a cup of frozen berries into a bowl. You could use any type of berries but I prefer mixed berries. I always have a huge bag on hand for my morning smoothies. Place bowl in microwave for 60 seconds or until berries are warm and a nice sauce has formed in your bowl. If they are still cold and there's no sauce, stir and return for another 15 seconds. Growing up we had razzleberry pie almost every Sunday afternoon and this berry mixture reminds me of just that! Now, I find frozen berries can be a bit tart, so sometimes I'll add a drizzle of honey to curb the tart flavor, but if the berries are sweet enough I'll leave out the honey.

While still warm, I'll take a few scoops of Greek yogurt to place on top of the berry sauce. Because the berry mixture is still warm the yogurt starts to melt kind of like ice cream! I buy plain yogurt so if you want to sweeten things up a bit more you could add some honey on top of the yogurt but I really think the berries add the perfect amount of sweetness. Next, I'll add a handful of almonds that I've roasted and salted myself (honestly any nut would be good here-like cashews or macadamia nuts!) and sprinkle on top of the yogurt. The combination of the berries, yogurt and nuts taste so much like pie-and without all the added sugar.

If you're looking for the perfect after dinner treat or warm delicious breakfast try it out and let me know what you think!