Jodee Adams-Moore has long found great success on the trails of the Pacific Northwest. More recently, she’s begun to travel more broadly in her racing, while, at the same time, increasing the distances that she’s racing. This weekend, she’ll be giving 50 miles her first go at the 2014 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile. In the following interview, Jodee talks about the long trip to Sonoma, why she blew up at Chuckanut, and what her strategy will be for her first 50 miler, as well as her unconventional race-fuel choice.
[Editor’s Note: Get up to speed on this year’s race with our full 2014 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile women’s and men’s previews. We’ll also have Lake Sonoma 50 Mile live coverage on Saturday.]
[Click here if you can’t see the video above.]
Jodee Adams-Moore Pre-2014 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Bryon Powell of iRunFar here with Jodee Adams-Moore before the 2014 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile. How are you doing, Jodee?
Jodee Adams-Moore: I’m doing great. Finally out of the car.
iRunFar: You have had a two-day road trip to get to the race.
Adams-Moore: We have, yes.
iRunFar: Most of your racing that I know of has been up in the Pacific Northwest up near your home in Bellingham. Is this the furthest you’ve traveled [to race]?
Adams-Moore: Well, I flew to Moab and ran the Red Hot, so that was a flight. Then I did Speedgoat 50k last summer. I’d driven, but it was long. So this was a kind of quicker last-minute decision after Chuckanut 50k to do this race. I wanted to be able to have my boyfriend and my dog come. So here we are.
iRunFar: You did race Chuckanut a couple weeks ago. You were very aggressive from the outsider’s perspective.
Adams-Moore: I wanted to break four hours, and that’s how I tried to run it.
iRunFar: You went for it and suffered a little for it at the end.
Adams-Moore: Yes.
iRunFar: A calculated risk.
Adams-Moore: Absolutely.
iRunFar: Can’t see what you’re capable of unless you give it a shot.
Adams-Moore: Yes.
iRunFar: So do you think four hours is a possibility up at Chuckanut?
Adams-Moore: Oh, I mean, yeah. I’ve run 4:01 there two years ago, and I have more miles and just a little more know-how… kind of, I guess… I went out…
iRunFar: You have more confidence.
Adams-Moore: It’s totally doable.
iRunFar: It wasn’t a rookie mistake. It was ‘going for it.’
Adams-Moore: I don’t know. Yeah, a little bit of everything I guess. It’s still 50k and running that long, there are a lot of unknowns that can still happen. I’m still pretty new at it. Yeah, my body kind of reacted in a way that I hadn’t quite had to deal with before. Yeah.
iRunFar: So you learned a new experience about what can happen.
Adams-Moore: Yeah.
iRunFar: You do only have a pretty limited ultra resume. You’ve done some 50k’s—Chuckanut, Speedgoat, as well as now Red Hot. What draws you to these longer distances because you were racing shorter distances prior to that?
Adams-Moore: It’s just… they’re easier. It seems that any run I do now, what a long run used to be to me even a year ago, I can almost double that now. Two hours is now just a run around a little mountain. It’s not… I don’t know. I’m getting older. Time is going by in a different way. My body is adjusting to that, and it’s fun.
iRunFar: So you like being able to be out there for more time.
Adams-Moore: Yes. I’m lost in it for longer.
iRunFar: This is your first 50-mile race if I’m correct?
Adams-Moore: Yes.
iRunFar: Are you excited for that? Nervous?
Adams-Moore: Yes.
iRunFar: What are you excited about?
Adams-Moore: To see if I can do it. To see how well I can do it. Yeah, to see what that amount of time running feels like.
iRunFar: What are you most nervous about?
Adams-Moore: It getting really hard. I’m really trying not to go out over aggressively at all—just take this in. I want to be as happy as I can throughout most of the race because I hate… We’re all going to suffer at some point during the races, but it’s not why I’m really running. I don’t like to be in too much agony for too long.
iRunFar: You don’t need five hours of suffering tomorrow.
Adams-Moore: Absolutely not. I want to be able to take it all in and with a smile if not on my face at least in my heart.
iRunFar: It’s going to be a beautiful course. It’s greening out.
Adams-Moore: I’m so excited. I’m so happy.
iRunFar: The flowers are out. It’s awesome out there. At other races you’ve been aggressive, too. Speedgoat last year you were…
Adams-Moore: Yeah, I don’t go into it thinking, I’m being aggressive. It’s still like I’m learning the distance and realizing that at 10 miles to go, at the end of that sort of race, you have to ‘put your cards out okay’… I don’t know in the beginning, I’m still learning about that.
iRunFar: So how do you… knowing that that happens sometimes, do you have a plan on how you’re going to be able to hold yourself back?
Adams-Moore: No, just go out a lot more relaxed. That’s my plan.
iRunFar: Doing your 50k’s have you developed a nutrition plan that you’re comfortable with?
Adams-Moore: No, absolutely not. It’s still a… sometimes it’s okay, and sometimes it’s really not okay. I get an upset stomach. Gel packs—I’m not a fan of. I know there’s something better out there. I’m going to try a few different things tomorrow.
iRunFar: What are you going to try? People are interested in different approaches.
Adams-Moore: Okay. Well, we’re… this one’s a little bit different. I made some nettle pesto. There are some seeds and a little bit of nuts in it and a little bit of salt and a tiny bit of honey and stuff. It’s a lot of pulverized nettles which maybe spinach could be good, too. I’m going to try that. I’m thinking that too much sugary stuff is not really that great.
iRunFar: It’s not working for you.
Adams-Moore: It’s not working. Yeah, so maybe I’ll carry a little bit of that.
iRunFar: Do you put it in a bag?
Adams-Moore: Yeah, I’ll put it in a little bag probably. Yeah, I’ll try that.
iRunFar: You’re just testing out a waist pack?
Adams-Moore: Testing out this new pack, yes. I’ll be carrying this, I think, tomorrow.
iRunFar: You’re going to go with water or a sports drink?
Adams-Moore: Probably just water, yeah.
iRunFar: Keep it simple.
Adams-Moore: Yeah, try to keep it simple. I’m sure I’ll be eating at the aid stations for sure.
iRunFar: So you will be taking in more real food in addition to what you’re carrying.
Adams-Moore: Yeah, I just have to be careful. I don’t know. My stomach seems so… once I’m moving in that way, it’s super… normally I feel like I have an iron gut, but, no…
iRunFar: It’s a little fickle when you’re racing at that effort.
Adams-Moore: For sure, yeah. It’s hard to know. We were talking about it on the drive down. I don’t know. It’s a big experiment still.
iRunFar: One thing you’ll learn in a 50 miler is the effort, as you were talking about, you want the effort to be lower than a 50k. So you may be able to process…
Adams-Moore: Right. Yeah. Hopefully.
iRunFar: Those nuts or what-have-you a little better.
Adams-Moore: Yeah. What do you like to eat?
iRunFar: I’m one of the people who can subsist on gels for 100 miles, two an hour all day.
Adams-Moore: Yeah.
iRunFar: It’s not pleasant, but it’s fuel enough for the day.
Adams-Moore: Yeah.
iRunFar: Here we are in beautiful Sonoma, California. Are you going to partake in a nice glass of wine to relax this evening?
Adams-Moore: Yes. I am.
iRunFar: Well enjoy that and have fun out there tomorrow.
Adams-Moore: Thank you.
