41. 8 hours and 7 minutes is a long time, and that is exactly how long it took me to complete the race. If you don't ever plan on running 50 miles, here's a few things you could do in the same amount of time it took me to finish: 1. You could work a standard day at your job. 2. You could watch the entire Back to the Future Trilogy on DVD, then go back and watch the entire first Back to the Future movie again while listening to the director's commentary, and then watch the documentary Back to the Future: Making the Trilogy. 3. You could fly from Detroit, MI to Paris, France. 4. You could watch Psy's Gangnum Style music video on you tube 115 times in a row...feel free to enjoy it while you read the rest of the post.
When I started the list a few months ago, this video was still relevant...
42. Several people have asked me how I paced myself for this race. My plan was to run at a casual 8 1/2 to 9 minute per mile pace, and after every 4-5miles to take a 5 minute walking break. I figured I'd slow down as the race went on, and I wanted to finish below a 10 min/mile pace(8hrs 20minutes total time). I was well ahead of my pace at the 1/2 way point, and eventually ran into some trouble around mile 30. After that I did a lot more walking than I'd have liked, but finally recovered and still finished faster than a 10min/mile pace. Here are my mile split times from the race(according to my Garmin watch)....
Mile Time Cumulative Time Notes
1 8:50 8:50
2 8:25 17:15
3 8:22 25:37
4 8:41 34:18
5 8:31 42:49
6 9:23 52:12 First walking break
7 8:28 1:00:40
8 8:28 1:09:08
9 8:25 1:17:33
10 8:31 1:26:04
11 9:37 1:35:41 Walking Break
12 8:26 1:44:07
13 8:29 1:52:36
14 8:29 2:01:05
15 11:33 2:12:38 1st Drop Bag - changed shoes, socks, shirts, saw Maren and the girls
16 8:21 2:20:59
17 8:15 2:29:14
18 8:24 2:37:38
19 8:39 2:46:17
20 8:15 2:54:32
21 9:47 3:04:19 Walking Break
22 8:20 3:12:39
23 8:09 3:20:48
24 8:11 3:28:59
25 8:19 3:37:18
26 9:07 3:46:25 Walking Break
27 14:58 4:01:23 2nd Drop Bag - Refueled, stretched, changed socks, re-lubed
28 8:24 4:09:47
29 8:26 4:18:13
30 9:18 4:27:31
31 8:47 4:36:18
32 11:42 4:48:00 First major cramp - stopped to stretch, also stopped at a water station
33 9:07 4:57:07
34 9:11 5:06:18
35 12:52 5:19:10 Hit with major cramps, walked and stretched a lot
36 10:05 5:29:15 Mixed waking and running for the next 10 miles
37 10:13 5:39:28
38 10:26 5:49:54
39 16:34 6:06:28 2nd time at my 1st drop bag - hit a major wall after leaving the station
40 10:35 6:17:03
41 11:27 6:28:30
42 14:17 6:42:47 Stopped at a water station to stretch and talk to volunteers
43 10:07 6:52:54
44 12:25 7:05:19 Struggled with calf cramps over the next 2 miles - walked a lot
45 12:07 7:17:26
46 10:13 7:27:39
47 11:34 7:39:13 Stopped at the last water station to stretch and talk to volunteers
48 10:20 7:49:33 Finally realized the end was near and ran the rest of the way!
49 9:49 7:58:22
50 9:00 8:06:22
43. You can't run 50 miles without meeting a lot of interesting people. I met a lot of people at the ultra, each with an interesting story as to how they got into running and what made them want to try a 50 miler. They came from all sorts of backgrounds: men & women, single & married with children, college sophomores & grandparents, bartenders & businessmen, professional distance runners & people like myself who were just out there for the fun of it.
I had the pleasure of running with a lot of them and swapping stories and training tips. I ran with one guy for about 15miles and listened to him talk about growing up as the son of two missionaries in Brazil - less than 1/2 mile from the Amazon River. He moved to the US to go to college, and now lived in the Chicago area. Meeting people like this and hearing their stories totally made the experience worth all the time and labor I spent training for it.
44. Know what time your race starts! This one seems pretty obvious, but I was running the Honest Abe Trail Marathon as part of a training run. I wanted to put in 5 miles before the marathon started, but I ended up getting in almost 8 miles because I thought the race started at 7am. I came jogging into the starting line and noticed there were only a few people standing around. I quickly found out out the race actually started at 7:30am. Instead of standing around and getting stiff, I decided to keep running until the race actually began. It wasn't a big deal that day, but if I learned one thing from this experience it was to double check all the race details!
45. Take time to consider what you will put in your drop bag(s), and make sure to check it at the correct aid station!. If your race allows you to have a drop bag, take the time to consider everything you might need during the race. I packed my favorite snacks, pedialyte, body glide, extra shoes, extra clothes, and my cell phone. We were allowed two drop bags, one that we would pass twice - at the aid station at mile 14 & 39(on the way back) - and the other bag was at the turnaround point. At the start of the race they had two places where the runners would check-in their drop bags. I almost made the fatal mistake of putting my bags in the opposite check points. This was a big deal because I had twice as much supplies and my extra pair of shoes in the drop bag that I would pass twice. Luckily, I realized the mistake when I decided to get my phone out of my bag to call Maren one last time before the race. I quickly switched the bags, and all was good.
46. Develop - a - mantra. Say it - to your - cadence. Repeat - over - and over.
47. Mile 32 is the third hardest mile of 50 mile race, mile 35 is the second toughest, and mile 39 is the worst of all. There were a couple points during the race when I had some doubts about finishing. Cramps were hitting me pretty badly and my leg muscles would suddenly lock up. During this portion of the race I walked a lot. All the walking provided a lot of time for negative thoughts to enter my mind. Fortunately, I was able to push through it, and after mile 39, things gradually improved. I had one other minor setback with cramps in my calves around miles 44-45. Then I actually felt really good for the last 5 miles or so.
48. No motivation is better than hearing your 2 year old cheer "good job daddy!" I've seen a lot of inspirational things at races, listened to songs to get me "pumped up", repeated different mantra's to keep me going, but nothing compares to hearing the high pitch squeal of delight when your child sees you approaching the finish line!
49. You can't run 50 miles by yourself. What I mean is that you can't do it without a supportive wife and family. There were several mornings when I'd be out on the road and our 5 month old would decide to wake up at 4:30am. Unfortunately that meant Maren had to get up as well. (With having an infant at home during the bulk of my training, that happened quite a few times!) When early morning runs weren't an option, I'd be gone running for a couple hours in the afternoon or the evening while she had to take care of the girls. I told her several times that I would gladly end the training if it was becoming too much of a burden for her. Maren seldom complained and encouraged me all along the way. I think the main reason she didn't want me to stop is because she enjoyed making fun of my reflective runner's vest, headlamps, and trips to the store with my jogging stroller. I couldn't have done it without her support, but I know she was relieved when it was finally over!
50. It feels so much better to finish a 50 miler than any other race I've done. I mean this from two perspectives: First, the actual physical nature of the finish feels better. I've done marathons, half-marathons, 10k's, 5k's and at the end of each of those I was light headed, out of breath, jelly legged, etc. I would always try to get the best time possible so I'd sprint the end of the race. When I finished the ultra, I just coasted into the finish line and took in the fact that I just ran 50 miles(honestly I didn't have any "sprint" left in my system). The second perspective is the emotional jubilation I felt when crossing the line. It took a lot of time, training, and effort for me to just finish the race. I trained hard for previous races as well, but they never felt special to me since there were literally thousands of other people doing the same thing I just did. Before completing the ultra I've never crossed a finish line and thought "Man, I just did something pretty cool." But that was the one thought I had when I finished up my 8 hour day on the trail.
Well there it is...the list is finally complete. Now you know what to expect should you ever take on the 50 mile challenge. Is anyone up for it?
No comments:
Post a Comment