Cream the shortening and add the sugar, creaming until mixture is fluffy.
Add the molasses and egg and beat until smooth.
Fold in the sifted dry ingredients gradually, then add lemon rind, water and vinegar and blend thoroughly. If you have crystallized ginger add it now.
Cover dough and chill.
Roll out small portions of the dough on a floured board to ¼ inch thickness.
Cut cookies using a cookie cutter and transfer carefully to greased, floured baking sheets.
Bake in a moderate oven (350°F) for about 8 to 9 minutes. (The original recipe calls for 20 minutes, but I find that for ultra trail running it is easier to eat the gingerbread cookies when they are softer).
Last Friday I was at a Boulder Trail Runner’s BBQ and the subject came up about having to drop out of races because of upset or sour stomach issues. It is frustrating on race day when the mind and legs are willing, but the stomach has its own plans. It always seems like the odds are against us having mind, body, and stomach all cooperating together on race day. After searching the web for helpful advice about how to deal with an upset or sour stomach during an ultra trail run I have come up pretty much empty handed. It seems like there are too many moving parts: effort exerted, dinner the night before, breakfast, fueling during the race, heat, cold, etc. However, this was the first season that I only had a problem in one ultra race and that was at the Jemez Mountain 50 Mile Trail run. Hmmm, could it have been the spicy Mexican dinner the night before?
My usually culprit for having stomach issues is heat and pushing really hard. Even if I try to run a 5k as fast as I can I will have stomach issues the rest of the day. So, how did I manage to make it through this season without any issues? I hate to say it, but I really do not know for sure, but I will share with you what I changed in my prerace and race-day rituals this season.
Breakfast
My normal routine for running a race usually consists of being done eating breakfast two hours before the race starts. My reasoning for this is because our digestive track takes about an hour and a half to “wake-up” after we physically get up. In the past my normal breakfast would consists of: Breakfast Burrito, cereal with skim milk, a large glass of orange juice, a few cookies, and a few cups of coffee. Hmmm, could I have been over doing the breakfast? Maybe. So for this season here is how I changed my breakfast: breakfast burrito, small glass of orange juice or skim milk, a few cookies, and coffee. I totally cut the fiber out of my breakfast; eating fiber is a great method for getting the GI track moving. And move it will. And lastly, I greatly reduced the amount of orange juice I drink.
Dinner
I also changed what I have for dinner the night prior to an ultra trail race. In the past I would pretty much eat anything the night before and wash it down with a beer. My one bad race this year consisted of eating a spicy Mexican dinner the night before the Jemez Mountain 50 mile Trail Run. Combined with the heat of the day and all the climbing I had to endure, my stomach went south. Although I am not Type A about what I eat the night before; I would prefer a dinner of pasta with marinara sauce, bread, and a salad. I have also cut the per race dinner beer out of my routine. Well, almost.
Ginger
Ginger Root
This year I have incorporated ginger into my ultra running menu. I incorporate ginger in three different ways while I am running an ultra trail race: 1) Crystallized Ginger, 2) Ginger Ale, and 3) Ginger Cookies
Crystallized Ginger
Since ginger is a natural way to treat upset stomach problems I decided to experiment with eating Crystallized Ginger during my training runs. First off, I have to say that I really, really like the taste of ginger; so that really helped with me being able to eat it while I run. However, I did find that the cost of Crystallized Ginger was a bit steep, so I started to make my own.
My homemade crystallized ginger
To make Crystallized Ginger you have to finely chop ginger root into small cubes and boil it in sugar water. There is usually about three cups of ginger water after the first step of making Crystallized Ginger and I did not want to throw it away, so I found a recipe for making homemade ginger ale.
Ginger Ale
I did not realize until this year that store bought ginger ale such as Canada Dry, Schweppes, etc. actually have no ginger in them. Just good old fashion artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup. All these years I have been duped drinking it while I have been sick thinking it was making me feel better. Now, I take the ginger water add some club soda, a bit of lime, and wa-la real Ginger Ale!
When it is possible at ultra trail races I put some in each of my drop bags so I can chug some down during the race. At this year’s Leadville Trail 100 my crew had it ready for me at every aid station and I drank it down and I had no stomach issues throughout the entire race (well, except for climbing back over Hope Pass I did feel like I could have vomited, but I have a feeling that I was not the only one).
Ginger Cookies
The last weapon in my ginger arsenal is homemade ginger cookies. I have a great recipe from an old cookbook of my Mom’s. Everyone that has eaten my ginger cookies wants the recipe. The only modification that I have made to the recipe is that I take the Crystallized Ginger that I made and put it in the batter. This really gives the ginger cookies the over-the-top ginger protection that I am looking for to keep my stomach under control.
One of the best things that I have found while I am running an ultra trail race is that when I get to the point where all other foods have lost their appeal; I can still keep eating the ginger cookies. And one of the sayings about what to eat during an ultra trail races is “eat anything that you can keep down without vomiting”. Well, for now I have found that one food that I can keep eating all through an ultra trail race.
Many Moving Parts
This year’s ultra racing season was the best one of my life. I set PRs in a marathon, a 50 mile ultra trail run (twice), and took over four hours off my best time at the Leadville Trail 100! The big difference is that toward the end of all of the ultra trail races that I have done this year I still had gas in the tank and was able to pick it up during the last 10 miles. This reserve of energy comes from the fact that my stomach never went south and that I was able to keep fueling the entire race.
I am not sure what one thing that I changed that made the difference. Between eating an easy to digest dinner, cutting the fiber and acidic juice from my breakfast, and incorporating ginger into my race diet; I was able to have the ultra running season of my life. I have placed the recipes for the Crystallized Ginger, Ginger Ale, and Ginger Cookies under the recipe tab.
2010 Leadville Trail 100 - The Fish Hatchery Aid Station mile 23.5. photo by Rick Mann
Wow, what a race the 2010 Leadville Trail 100 turned out to be. 25 hours 7 minutes 29 seconds would have been impossible without the great crew that helped me get to the starting line and to the finish line. My great crew/team were: Laura Fahrenbrook: Crew Chief and Pacer (my sister too!), Rick Mann: Crewed with my sister for the entire race!, Lina Kelso: paced me from Winfield to Twin Lakes (miles 50 to 60.5), David Besnette: paced me from Twin lakes to Fish Hatchery (miles 60.5 to 76.5), and Neeraj Engineer: paced me from Fish Hatchery to the second boat ramp (miles 76.5 to about 93). Thank you so much for taking time out of your weekend to support me during the race.
Digging Deep
Running the Leadville Trail 100 requires runners to dig deep; deeper than they ever have before in their lives. This was my third Leadville Trail 100 and for each of them I had to dig deeper than I ever have in my life. My first was just to finish in under the 30 hour cutoff and I did with a time of 29 hours 44 minutes 6 seconds. My second attempt turned bad with the hot weather. I had lost 10 pounds by the time I made it to Winfield at the 50 mile turn-around and I was ready to quit. I managed to leave Winfield and start up Hope Pass were I left my mark (I threw up) and I was ready to quit again at the Hope Pass aid station. When I made it back to Twin Lakes my crew was so happy to see me I decided to run to the next aid station since the aid station would pull me because I wouldn’t make the cut-off. Well, I made the cut-off and had to keep going. I did cross the finish line in 29 hours 12 minutes 26 seconds.
This year I raised the bar to not just finishing, but finishing in under 25 hours to claim the coveted big “under 25 hour” belt buckle. I had all my split times between aid stations down to a science and now the pressure to make them was on. I was secretly hoping that I would run a bit faster on a few of the splits to start banking time. I was gaining just a few minutes but not the large amount that I was hoping for, so I had to keep digging deep and pushing the pace from aid station to aid station. When I left Winfield I had about 20 minutes banked and was feeling good running the 3 miles to the Sheep Gulch trail-head. I was shocked when I had nothing for the climb back over Hope Pass.
At least this year I knew I would make it over Hope Pass and I did not throw up. However, I needed to spend a bit of time at the Hopeless Aid Station to regroup.
2010 Leadvile Trail 100 - regrouping at the Hopeless Aid Station at mile 55. photo by Lena Kelso
It was painful leaving the Hopeless Aid Station, but once I did I was on fire again. Hope Pass returning to Twin Lakes was the low point for me during the race. I really had to keep going to the well, throwing the bucket in and hoping that there would be something there when I pulled it up. As Ken Chlouber the race president says, “we had an unlimited deposit of guts, courage, and determination; we just have to dig deep and believe that we are better than we think we are, and can do more than we think we can.”
After returning to Twin Lakes I was only 2 minutes ahead of schedule so I could not take it “easy” for the rest of the race. I had to push from aid station to aid station. When I finally ran into the May Queen Aid Station I regrouped again and realized that this was it, I had to give it all I have if I was going to get that sub 25 hour buckle. When I left I had 3 hours 4 minutes 4 seconds to make it across the finish line in under 25 hours. To put this into perspective the last two years I ran the last 13.5 miles in 4 hours 1 minute and 3 hours 43 minutes respectively. I do not know where my energy came from but I was “running” again, I mean really running! I knew I had to put it all on the line and I never thought once that even though the odds were stacked against me that I couldn’t accomplish sub 25 hours. I ran the last 13.5 miles in 3 hours 10 minutes. Although it was not good enough for me to earn the sub 25 hour buckle I am so happy beyond words of my 25 hour 7 minute 29 second finish because I know that I gave it my all over the entire 100 miles.
2009 Leadville Trail 100 - The finish is in sight after 29 hour 12 minutes 26 seconds
For this years running of the Leadville Trail 100 my crew will try to make live updates on my progress during the race. The Leadville Trail 100 starts at 4:00 am on Saturday, August 21st. There is a 30 hour cut-off to complete the 100 miles; my goal is to run sub 25 hours. Rick Mann will be keeping everyone posted as long as he can get cell phone reception. I am ready to get this race started!
8/20 6:00 – It is six o’clock on Friday and it’s time for bed. I will be getting up at 2:00 am to eat breakfast and be heading to the starting line by 3:30 am.
8/21 – 2:30 a.m. – Breakfast down the hatch. Egg, potato and cheese burrito prepared in the hotel room on the “George Foreman” grill. Coffee and homemade gingerbread cookies. Ray got a few good hours of sleep. The temp is a balmy (by Leadville standards) 45 degrees. One hour until we depart for the starting line!
Believing in Yourself and Pushing Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Sun Rise at the 2010 Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run
The Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run – a brief description
The Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run is a 25 mile out-and-back course that takes place on the east side of Leadville, Colorado. The entire trail run is above 10,200 feet and runners top off over 12,000 feet four times! It is run on old mining roads and jeep trails that wind through the historical mining districts of the Leadville area. The Leadville Silver Rush run takes place the following day after the Leadville Silver Rush Mountain Bike race and follows the same course. The trail run starts going uphill right from the starting shotgun (yes, a real shotgun. Come on its Leadville!) Runners line up at the bottom of a short ski run and the first male and female to the top of the hill receive a silver dollar.
For me this 50 mile trail run is much tougher than the first 50 miles in the Leadville Trail 100 and it is a great last big 50 mile trail run before heading into the Leadville Trail 100. I had a fantastic day and set my PR for the trail race with 9 hours 57 minutes 58 seconds. But, I would like to talk about some of the other trail runners that I met during the Leadville Silver Rush that left their comfort zone.
Believing in Yourself and Pushing Yourself to a Place That You Have Never Been Before
Pushing yourself to a place that you have never been before; I call it living! I met a few brave souls that were ready to push themselves where they have never gone before.
Chicago
Both 1st time 50 Milers. "Chicago" is on the left.
On the outbound section of the Leadville Silver Rush Trail Run I met a fellow trail runner who was from Chicago. I asked him if he had ever run the Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run and he answered, “I have never even run a marathon before”. Talk about pushing to a place that he has never been before, wow! As we talked he had a smile on his face and I could tell that he would be seeing the finish line later that day. He told me he wanted to set the bar high, so he chose the Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run as his first 50 mile trail race. He is currently training for a marathon and I told him that, “after today when you are feeling your low point in the marathon to think back to the Leadville Silver Rush and how it felt. It will make however you are feeling in the marathon seem like nothing and you will stop your cry babying and start feeling better.” I also gave him some mental advice about what was in store for him for the rest of the race. Later, I watched him come across the finish line completing his first 50 mile trail race.
Newbies
My friend Francisco from Texas came back to Leadville to get in one more big training run in before the Leadville Trail 100. He came with two running “newbie” (newbies to ultra running) friends that heard all about Leadville and wanted to see what it was all about. One of them had run about 16 miles as his longest run of the year. The other runner did not even have that long of a run under his belt yet for the year. But here they were; both lined up at the starting line of the Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Trail Run. My advice to them was, “don’t do anything stupid, walk the up hills, and you gotta keep moving”. I have to admit that I did not think it was going to be a fun day for either of them.
During the race I was returning from the 25 mile point and trudging back uphill when I saw them both running down and with smiles on their faces. They were having a good time and enjoying the race and all of its beautiful surroundings. They were running close to the cut-off and I figured that they would get pulled from the race.
After I finished I hung around the finish to see my friend Francisco finish. When Francisco came across the line he looked fresh and I knew he was ready for the Leadville Trail 100. We waited around for a while for the “newbies” to finish, but it got to a point that we thought that they got pulled from the race. As we were leaving the parking lot guess who were coming across the finish line. These two guys dug deeper than they ever have in their lives and came across the finish line of their first 50 mile trail run.
Tri-Guy
Another story that I did not realize until we were having a few beers at the Silver Dollar Saloon later that evening was about a fellow runner that I met during the Leadville Trail 100 Training Camp. Paul is a triathlete who ran on trails for the first time in his life at the 2010 Leadville Trail 100 Training Camp. During the Leadville Silver Rush Paul and I were running about the same pace for the first ten miles. Paul being a triathlete is no stranger to pushing his body for a long period of time. What was new to Paul was trail running and running 50 miles for the first time. Paul was running with a friend that was keeping a conservative pace during the beginning of the race, but seemed to slow for Paul. So, Paul decided to pick it up and start running at a faster pace.
He told me that he was not sure what was going to happen, but that he needed to run at a faster pace because it felt comfortable. He took the chance of blowing-up and trudging across the finish line. Well, he never blew-up. Paul came in about 1 minute after me, but he also took a wrong turn and ran about 30 minutes off course. Even with the extra mileage he looked great afterword.
You MUST Believe in Yourself!
Above are just three examples of stories from one race about people who believed in themselves to do something that they have never done before in their lives. The limits that anyone has are the limits that they place on themselves. In life, if you back off once you start to feel uncomfortable and don’t push beyond your comfort zone you are not truly living. As an ultra runner we are constantly expanding and pushing the limits of our comfort zone.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay the first to summit Mt. Everest
I really like the quote from Sir Edmund Hillary, “I believe that if you set out on an adventure and you’re absolutely convinced you are going to be successful, why bother starting?”
Hydration Systems for Ultra Trail Running -Which Hydration System is Right for You?
Just a few of the ultra trail running hydration systems I have experimented using.
For ultra trail running I have been asked many time what type of hydration system that I use. Over the trail running seasons I have gone through the gamut of different hydration systems and I will discuss how I came to my latest hydration system. Please note that the article below is specifically for running ultra races, not training runs or other short running races. If I am doing a long training run between 5-8 hours with no place to restock; then I am going to take my backpack system and load it full of extra liquids, foods, and clothing. If I am going for a short run of about two hours I might still take my handhelds. This is a very personal subject and each ultra trail runner will have a reason why they have chosen their current system.
Hydration Systems, Three Basic Choices
There are many types of hydration systems available for ultra trail runners: fuel belts, single bottle fanny packs, waist packs with a bladder, etc. I will talk about three ultra trail running hydrations systems that I have experience running ultra trail races with: 1) backpack/bladder, 2) handheld bottles, and 3) fanny packs. The order that I have listed is the same order that I have progressed through my ultra trail running exploits. I will briefly go over the pros and cons as I have experienced.
Backpack/Bladder
This type of hydration system is a backpack style pouch that holds a water bladder of various sizes and has a hose that the runner can drink out of while on the move. This system is a no brainer for mountain biking since it elevates having to fumble for your water bottles while bombing downhill. However, for running it is a different story.
Pros
I like to drink a lot of liquids while I ultra trail run (about 20 ounces per hour) and the backpack hydration system offers a wide choices of bladder sizes. I can’t remember ever running out of fluid while running an ultra trail race (maybe because I was not drinking enough). I also like many of the features that the backpacks have to offer as far as storage space for extra gear.
Cons
What I find limiting to this hydration system is that I can’t gauge how much fluids that I have been taking in each hour. Yes, I know that there are now little gizmos that can attach to the hose, but I do not want to rely on a system that depends on batteries.
Refilling the bladder at an aid station during an ultra trail race is not a fun. Getting to an aid station you have to take the pack off, unzip the bladder compartment, take the bladder out, try to open it, and then finagle it under the drink station, and then put it all back together. This is even harder when it is cold outside and your fingers are of no use.
I also found that I did not like how the backpack hydration system made my back sweat. For me this is a very uncomfortable feeling especially when it starts to get cold out, and it is even more uncomfortable when the heat starts to crank up.
The last con I found is that I am delegated to drinking whatever is in the bladder; I have no choices on what to drink. So, if I get to a point in a race and whatever I have in my hydration system no longer tastes good, it leaves me no alternative. This might lead to me not drinking as much as I need to which could result in the slippery slope to dehydration.
Handheld Water Bottles
My next progression was to handheld water bottles. This system uses a water bottle that has a wrap around the bottle that the runner can fit their hand through. This method allows the runner to carry the water bottle but they do not have to use a “death grip” to hold on to the bottle. The handhelds that I had could be snitched tight around the hand so I did not even have to grip them at all.
Pros
This hydration system solved the issues that I was having wearing a backpack: 1) no more sweaty back, 2) I can easily gauge how much water I am drinking per hour, and 3) I fill one bottle up with a sports drink, and the other with plain water. I also like that each bottle had a little pocket that I could store my keys, ID, and a little bit of TP. All issues solved . . . well sort of.
Cons
Now I had to adjust to not having the use of my hands. This made it difficult to eat, get stuff out of my pockets, go pee, wipe the sweat from my face, etc. Although they worked better than the backpack hydration system, I still had my issues with them, and I found that I still needed to wear some sort of fanny pack to carry my extra gear. Plus, I was finding that after running an ultra trail race my shoulders were killing me.
The straw that broke the camels back for me was an article I read about the efficiencies of each system and runners using handheld water bottles use 8% more energy than the fanny packs or backpack hydration systems. So, I made my next switch to the fanny pack hydration system.
Fanny Pack with Two Water Bottle Holders
Although there are a variety of different hydration belts I did not try any of them since I like to have extra storage space for my gear, food, TP, etc. Therefore, I tried a range of different fanny pack hydration systems before I settled on my current fanny pack. Some of the issues that I had with the fanny pack systems were how they bruised my hips, or rub the small of my back raw. I never had an issue like I have heard from other ultra trail runners about the packs bouncing too much.
Pros
This was my first season of using a fanny pack hydration system and I have loved the results. I no longer have sore shoulders and I feel like I have more energy during the ultra trail runs since I am no lugging around 20 ounces in each hand. With my current pack I have had no bruising of my hips or any other “hot” spots from the pack rubbing.
A very important thing to look for when choosing a fanny pack hydration system is that your arms do not hit the water bottles while you are running.
Cons
The fanny pack that I finally decided on does not have enough pockets for my style of ultra trail running (I like to carry a lot of little crap with me). I did purchase two extra pockets that I have attached to the front which gives me easy access to my gear. The only other con is that if I need to take a rain jacket with me I need to tie it around my waist since there is not a storage pocket big enough for a jacket. Well, actually I have an extra poncho and my TP supply in the large pocket; my true ultra trail running necessities.
So, What Hydration System is Right for You?
It is all going to come down to personal preferences and running styles. I still use any one of the above hydration systems depending on the running I am doing that day. I have seen crews at aid stations that have two of everything and switch out complete backpack systems for their runners. It is whatever works best for you and I hope that my pros and cons of each helps you make the right choice.
Preparing for the Leadville Trail 100 Run; Climbing North Massive Peak at 10,340’
North Masse Peak at 14,340' from the north on the Continental Divide
In preparation for the Leadville Trail 100 trail run I took off with my buddy Simon and I spent my third weekend at altitude. But this time instead of my training revolving around running; I switched gears and climbed North Massive Peak. The two areas that I want to work on before the Leadville Trail 100 race are my hiking/climbing abilities, and acclimatizing to the high elevation of Leadville, Colorado. Having a full backpack stuffed with gear and trail blazing to the top of North Massive Peak accomplished what I was looking for . . . a long day of getting my butt kicked!
Trail Blazing from Windsor Lake
A really good method of acclimatizing is to actually spend time at elevation. You don’t need to be exercising to realize any gains (although I like to) ,rather just being at elevation helps you acclimate. That is the reason we camped overnight at the Windsor Lake Trailhead (10,900’) the night before our summit. It is just some extra time at elevation.
The next morning I left with Simon and started off on the trail to Windsor Lake. The trail goes about 1.25 miles to the lake and gets the heart pumping hard just a short distance up the trail. It is a steep short climb to Lake Windsor. Once reaching the lake the trail ends and the introduction to the summit of North Massive Peak is over. From this point there is not trail to the summit. Looking to the west the Continental Divide is a massive wall that will need to be climbed. It seems that there are two perspectives that I get when mountaineering: 1) the rock face that looks imposing actually become climbable the closer I get to it; and 2) the rock face that looks climbable becomes a wall that can’t be climbed without performing class 5 moves.
At this point I could not see a way up so I wanted to keep my options open and just started trail blazing closer to the Divide hoping my route would become apparent. There did not seem to be many options available but I kept climbing forward climbing to the highest point in front of me. From there I was able to spot a rock colure that looked like it might be climbable. The sad part was that all the work I just put in to gaining elevation and climbing up to my vantage point would have to be lost to reach the colure. Once at the base of the colure it looked a lot better than from far away, so Simon and I started our assent up the colure to the top of the Divide.
Simon on the Divide with Windsor Lake in the background
After a scramble through the colure I was sadly disappointed to look up and see that we were not even close to gaining the Divide; a false summit. At least this climb was not as steep as climbing the colure and after reaching the top we were actually on the Continental Divide. From there we hiked south toward North Massive Peak looming about 4.5 miles away. The round trip took us just about 8 hours to complete.
Training – How hiking Transfers to the Leadville Trail 100
This is excellent training for the Leadville Trail 100 since there is a lot of power hiking at altitude to be done during the race. Plus, being on my feet for 8 hours carrying a full backpack simulates about how I feel when I am trudging back up over Hope Pass. I know this might sound strange, but it was a great feeling to be sucking wind and not moving fast. It really did remind me of some of my low points during last year’s Leadville Trail 100: Hope Pass both directions, and the Power Lines. These three sections tore me apart last year and I am not going to let them get me again this year.
Simon’s 8th Birthday
July 4, 2010 was Simon’s 8th Birthday. Each year on his birthday he has been on top of a 14er! This was Simon’s 46th summit of a Colorado 14er.
Simon on the summit of North Masive Peak. Simon's 46th 14er and 8th Birthday!
For those of you who pooh-pooh our summit claim I challenge you to climb North Massive Peak from the Windsor Lake Trailhead and not “visit” the peak via Mount Massive. So there!
