Afton Voyager July
12’
I put the two of
these events together because there was only 3 weeks separating them. My longest training run leading up to Afton
was Superior on May 19th and for the three weeks prior to Afton I
was unable to do really anything except a green lighting 3 miler the Wednesday
before the race. There were really 3
days that I used to train for Voyager, the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday the
week between the events.
June was a busy month
with surgery on the 22nd, a family reunion on the 23rd,
Cora getting married on the 30th, the first Daddy/Caden fun
day. I’ll go into that in a minute. Training for Afton was my first real
experience managing the recovery/train/race equation. Up until June 19th, I wasn’t doing
much running, just letting my body recover from Superior which took a lot out
of me with how hot it was and how long in took.
My muscles were pretty shot and I could feel that I wasn’t quite
recovered for quite some time. On the 19th,
20th, and 21st I was able to put a few solid days
together of training. I focused on
mileage on the 19th and 20th and upped the intensity on
the 21st knowing that I wouldn’t be able to train until race
day.
Surgery on the 22nd
went as well as could be expected and recovery began immediately when I got
home. The next day we drove to Jeffers
for the Pankonin family reunion. It was
a great time. We got a tour of Mark’s feedlot
and learned a lot all about how he runs his business. It was quite interesting being in the health
and wellness industry to see how the cows are taken care of and treated and fed
so well. They take real good care of
those animals down there. There must
have been 50 + people there for the reunion on a beautiful Saturday in
Southwestern Minnesota.
I worked all week but
was unable to train. The following
weekend was a busy weekend and it turned out to be a busy week too with family
from all over the country in town to celebrate the marriage between Tommie and
Cora. It was a beautiful ceremony and is
always great to be around family. The
wedding was on the 30th, and then the 31st was a
gathering at mom and dad’s for gift opening and breakfast before saying
goodbyes to the extended family. A great
weekend and I’m so glad to have Tommie as a part of our family now officially.
Once we said our
goodbyes it was off to Daddy/Caden fun day.
I don’t know how the idea came about to do a full day of fun stuff
together but I had been looking forward to this as much as Caden. First, we needed to get some things lined up
for fishing and camping so we made a special trip out to Grandma and Grandpa’s
house to get some camping gear. Then, we
stopped at Cabela’s on our way home to pick up some worms and got Caden a new
fishing pole. We also picked up a couple
of hooks, sinkers, and bobbers too. We
then returned the tux and headed on home to finish packing up. I had booked a campsite at the Lebanon Hills
Campground in Apple Valley earlier in the month, as it was real close to the
Minnesota Zoo, which would be our first stop on The 1st of July. We cruised down to Apple Valley (Caden slept
most of the way), set up camp, ate our supper, and headed to the opposite side
of the park to do some fishing off the pier.
We found the pier and started fishing.
It was very apparent that this place was perfect to take a kid
fishing. I mean they had corn right
there on the dock and a couple of perfect gaps in the lilly pads. Just right for catching panfish at will. Even the turtles got in on the action. In fact after catching a number of small sunnies,
Caden hooked up with… TURTLE MURTLE. I’m
pretty sure it was the biggest turtle lurking in these murky waters and it was
now on the end of Caden’s fishing line.
We had an exciting moment there on the dock. One that I’m sure he won’t soon forget and neither
will I. Caden brought that turtle up
onto the dock; I took the hook out of its mouth, picked it up, and put him back
in the lake. After catching a few more
sunnies and a largemouth bass (Cade was pretty pumped about that), we loaded up
and headed back to camp. It was a hot
night and I knew it would be tough to get real quality sleep especially knowing
that I had forgotten the air mattress at home too. After having smores and chatting about nature
and talking about animals and what the next day would hold, we closed our eyes
and nodded off to sleep.
The next morning we
woke with the sun and I’m pretty sure we were the only ones up that early. I needed to shower so we went to the
community bathroom building, I showered, and we talked about the animals we
would see and what we were most excited about for the day. Once we were out of there, the Zoo didn’t
even open until 9 and it was still before 6am.
We decided it would be fun to see about getting some breakfast and try
out the pond where TURTLE MURTLE lived again.
We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Caden made the comment, “This
isn’t as good as Mimi’s.” I agree. Mimi makes a mean cinnamon roll. The sunnies were awake as we were getting
bites as soon as our worms or leeches hit the water. The turtles were awake too but we decided it
would be better to leave them alone for now…
We headed back to camp at 8, packed up the tent, and headed to the
Minnesota Zoo, our first stop for the day.
We were early which
was fine. Our mission was to see every
animal that they had and I think we did in just over an hour. We even saw the dinosaurs, which were a
little bit too lifelike at first, especially since I played it off like they
were roaring at me.
We finished there and
headed to the MOA. Our first stop was
the Lego store where we picked up a batch of assorted Legos from the wall of
pieces that they have there. They’ve got
some pretty sweet Lego sculptures at that place. We then stopped by to see my friend Kathy,
headed up to the food court for lunch, bought some tickets for the rides and
hit up the Flume and the Backyardigans ride where you swing and fly in a
circle. Caden wasn’t so sure about that
one once we got in the air so we pretended we were birds and it was quite an
adventure. It was time to go.
Our next stop was the
Como Zoo. Again our goal was to see all
animals and I’m pretty sure we did. On
the way out we got ICEEs. It had been
awhile since I had one of those. It was
a nice treat.
The plan was to stop
at Subway on the way home to pick up dinner.
We skipped that part and headed home to watch Star Wars III. The only one that Caden hadn’t seen yet. We thought the Aniken on fire thing was a
little much at the end.
It was a great
finish to a busy and memorable day. I
look forward to many more Daddy/Caden fun days in the future. Now we need to plan some Daddy/ Elli fun days
and Daddy/Hannah fun days too!
Afton 50k
Afton was a great day
filled with some doubt about how I would feel running that far having not
lifted or ran really for the 3 weeks leading up to the race. I had a vasectomy done and couldn’t do
anything. Todd and Tom showed up at the
launch the morning of the 7th.
They did the 25k.
The heat had broken
the night prior and thank goodness it did.
It had been 100+ for weeks leading up the Afton and it topped out in the
mid 90’s on race day. Still hot but it
felt good comparatively speaking. The
day started off really nice although there are quite a few hills out there at
Afton. There’s a mix of terrain with
some gravel road, rolling grass hills allowing for about 5 wide although it
never needed to be with the number of participants and the length of the event. Through the first lap it was pretty
comfortable cruising the trail. On the
loop events I always, on the first lap, think about what the same spot on the
second lap will feel like. I knew on the
first lap of Afton, there would be some tough time on lap two. There were.
The toughest stretch
for me was a straight away by the St. Croix River that is about 1.75 miles
long. At the time of lap two it was
about 11am and the sun was pretty high in the sky. There’s not a lot of shade on that flat
stretch and you can’t see the end of the straight until it is right on
you. Once we got through that part it was
on to the “meat grinder”, which is a hill that does not end. There are twists and turns and the grade
seems to get steeper and steeper.
Through that and out
to the last aid was refreshing. One of
the volunteers had more energy than any participant or volunteer that I’ve been
around at any of these events. She was
so motivating by the way she was ringing her bell and hollering praises and
encouragement. It was just what we needed
to hear at that moment. I finished in 6
hours plus and headed home. Once home I
took a short nap and headed to TGIFridays with all three kids to have a rack of
well deserved ribs.
Two days later on the
9th, I would head to KC for the MLB All Star Game! I was pumped.
I love baseball and there is no greater place to be than the All Star
Game. Doug lives in KC and invited me to
join him for a couple of days down there.
We had a blast. I got down on Monday
about 3pm and we were pretty much off to Kauffman Stadium for the Home Run
Derby. First off, we had dinner at the
Fox Sports tent, then were served all night just below the ESPN bar out in
right field. Homeruns were flying out
all around us. It was a great night.
I had a tee time for
the following morning and played Prairie Highlands. I played horribly on the first 3 holes but
got it together to shoot in the low 90’s.
Then it was back to Doug’s place for a rest and prep for the All Star
Game. We had seats just a few rows off
the field down the left field line and had a great view of the game. Again, we ate before the game at the Fox
Sports Net tent.
The game was pretty
much over in the first inning when Verlander gave up 5 and Cain came out to
shut the A.L. down. It was a great night
to be at the ballpark and the stars were definitely out. As we were cruising the concourse Doug says,
“there he is!” Charlie Sheen turns,
reaches out his hand, and says, “hey, good to see ya’’?” No sooner did he turn to walk away and the
throng following him creates a wave behind him.
Thank you Doug for
the experience! You’re coming here in
14’ to Target Field. I’m looking forward
to it already!
Now to really play
the recovery to race game. I had just
three weeks before Voyager. I took it
kind of easy at Afton. It was a tougher
race than I had anticipated though.
Partially because of the lack of training leading up to the run and
partially because I didn’t give that track enough credit going in. It was a tough course with the hills and the
varying terrain, not to mention the fact that it is 50 kilometers long. I was excited for Voyager though. This race has been going on for 31
years. This year the course was forced
to be a little bit different though because of the flooding in Duluth. The race would not be able to go through any
part of Jay Cooke State Park as that park needed to be closed. The floods were bad back in June when roads
were falling, bridges were being taken over by water and Duluth was partially
under water from 2 days of intense rainfall.
It was unfortunate to say the least what the people of Duluth went
through. It was neat to see what those
floods had done to some of the trails up there at the same time.
I took the week after
Afton off and began a three-day training “block” on the 16th with 27
holes at Fox Hollow walking with my competitive uncle Glenn. We had a blast and since we were tied after
18 we needed to play another 9 to see who would be declared the winner. I had a great time and look forward to
another game with Glenn. Then, on the 17th
I went out for a 100 minute run in the afternoon around Elm Creek Park Reserve
out of my house. The following day, the
18th, I would split up 12 miles into 2 separate runs, each with
different focuses. In the morning I
headed out to Lone Lake to do some laps in the woods during a very intense rainstorm. I love running in the rain. In the afternoon I went to Hyland to tackle
some hills. If I remember correctly it
was back to the club where I inhaled an entire pizza.
That was about it for
that block. I would play a round of golf
in an Anoka Chamber tourney on the 23rd with Grandpa, Jesse, and
Tomm, but that was about it until the 28th and the Voyager 50
mile.
Voyager 50 Mile
A great weekend for
so many reasons. I was able to reconnect
with an old friend who I hadn’t seen for 15 years. My family made the trip up in the afternoon
to see what I train for and they support all the time. I felt great the entire day, made a new friend,
and got a new coffee mug just for finishing.
Here’s how it went down:
There was some
traffic on the way to Duluth where 35 was 1 lane but the drive up was pretty
uneventful. I stopped on my way to
Mike’s to pick up the race packet. That
was much less eventful than I thought it would be. Then I headed out to find my friend Mike’s
house on the north side of Duluth. A
neat little house and a neat family. It
was great to reconnect and talk about old times. It brought me back to a time in my life where
I was very competitive and driven. I
gave it everything I had every day as if it were my last opportunity. I want to be more like that now too. Mike motivated me for Saturday’s race like he
often did on Friday nights under the lights against Mounds View, or Park
Center, or maybe Maple Grove that first year.
That Mounds View win was a big one.
Thanks Mike. You have a beautiful
family and I appreciate you letting me stay and get good rest before Voyager.
I slept great, had
fresh coffee in the morning, and I was off to the Superior Zoo where my day
would start at 6am. It was a two-loop
race so I knew if I needed anything at the half waypoint, I would have access
at midday. I dropped a bag and didn’t
need to go to the car after the start.
There were two opportunities for drop bags on the course. One was at mile 15 and 40. That was the section just before the power
lines. The other was at the 25-mile
mark. The start of the race. After a brief pre race speech it was off to
the races. My plan this time around was
to start off real slow, walking a bunch early on, running only on the downhills
and even walking some of the flats. The
first 15 miles were comfortable really.
Lot’s of rolling grass hills.
There was one unusual challenge in this section though. I don’t even really know how to explain
it. Jaro’s beach is what they call
it. As you head down the trail you’re
asked to abruptly take a left hand turn into Jaro’s beach. Let me explain it like this. I don’t know who this Jaro is. I don’t even know if I spelled his name
right. All I know is he was at the start
of the race and he was also on the course guiding the runners into his
beach. Here’s his beach. They took ALL of the jagged rocks in the
north woods, put them all together so that they weren’t stacked on top of each
other. They were just next to each
other. Then they squeezed me’ together
to form a garden of compressed rocky ridges.
The rocks are between the size of a beach ball and a large wagon. This section was so unusually challenging
that the race director advised the racers, “please don’t try to run through
Jaro’s beach. The combination of wet
rock, sharp jagged points, and moss on the rocks is a broken leg waiting to
happen.” As far as I know, no one
suffered such fate this day, but one false step and well… rock wins. That was an interesting section and it added
to the adventure.
The other adventurous
portion of the race is the famous power lines section. I first heard of the power lines from my
friend Debbie who has done this race a number of times. The hills weren’t as steep (except for one)
as I thought but, especially on lap 2, they seemed to not end. Combine that with the steady gradual incline
that the last 4 miles of that section had to offer and it was a pretty tricky
little stretch. It’s a series of hills,
which power line poles sit on. The trail
is single track with ravines gauged out of the middle where the water had
eroded the earth away. The down’s proved
painful on lap 2 when my quads were fairly shot as it were.
Aid just before the
power line section on the second lap is where my family met me in the
afternoon. My parents and my son Caden
came early in the day to support me and I saw them a couple of times before
noon. Then, my wife and 2 daughters
joined the support team after noon.
Hannah napped in the van on the way up and screamed the whole way
home. It brings tears to my eyes
thinking of the support and sacrifice that my family makes for me to compete in
these events. I try to minimize the time
away from time with them that I spend training, but I still spend a lot of
energy on running. I think it’s good for
us all and I’m really thankful that my wife and children got to experience the
energy around these ultra events. I hope
they take away resiliency from that experience, as they won’t get to see me run
again this summer.
Voyager 12’ was a
fairly uneventful day for me. I was
hydrated and felt like I had sufficient energy all day long. Yes, it gets intense as the day wears on, but
some days are better than others. With
each event I learn a little bit more about how to train, how to eat in and
around, and I get a little bit more in tune with the signs that my body gives
me when it gets tired and wants to stop.
I finished in 13.5 hours and my whole family was there to see me
finish. It was a good day in the north
woods. I met Sam and he and I spent a
good part of the day working through struggles on the trail.
I learned a little
bit about myself on the trip to Duluth.
I had a great time with Mike and his family on Friday night. I am blessed to have the support system
around me that I do. I’ve got 2 races to
go this summer to finish what I set out to accomplish. Voyager was my first real test. Superior 50 mile looms and I know the trail
that awaits will not give in. It
requires fleet feet and a focused mind.
Fueling properly is a must before, during, and after as the Ozark Trail
100 November 3rd and 4th is scheduled to be my first 100-mile. I’ll run that for Barrett Todd and his family
as they go to Haiti and bring hope to that impoverished island nation.
Training since Voyager
Aug 9th-12
miles with 7 on the railroad tracks from CRT towards Chan and back around the
club w Jen and Allie
Aug 10th-
9 miles w hills at Hyland w Jen
Aug 12th- 6-mile
bike ride through Osseo w 3 sprints mixed in
Aug 13- 6 mile run at
Elm Creek
Aug 17- golf w Sally
Ann
Aug 18- work full day
then 12 through the Park Reserve/ tough one
Aug 20th-
6.5 easy from elm creek picnic area
Aug 23rd-
10 hills at Hyland then 25 minutes. Back
to the club do 1 leg hack squat, hack squat, lunge w 5# x over reach, inner
unit finish
24th Lasik
28th- 6
through park reserve
30th- 70
minutes back and forth level 8 stairs for 5-minutes/ 15 degree treadmill
holding vipr for 5 minutes
31st-
workout with Bob; hack squat w lunges, vipr circuit ed center, full upper run
circuit on bosu black side up, core finish, stretch, back to work
3rd-
120-180 minutes on the trail easy; walk/run
4th- full
body x 20 1 set before resting for Superior
5th- 3-5
miles easy
6th- full
foam roll and stretch/ eat
7th- eat
and drive
8th-
Superior 50 mile (52.5 miles) w Dan’s Garmin
JON HOWARD
ACES
