Hello friends! Hope all of you are doing well and that 2014 is being
kind to you! After a couple of crazy weeks, I think that I'm finally getting
back into the swing of doing some decent training. Sometimes the holidays can
be a real pain in the ass. Personally, I think that anyone who believes the
last two months of the year should be spent limiting yourself with regards to
food and drink is a complete idiot. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not a time to
eat like a monster either. But, it is a time to enjoy some of the finer
pleasures in life like pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies and a glass of red wine
waiting for the fat man to come down the chimney. Unfortunately, no matter how
hard I try, the time between Thanksgiving and New Years becomes one of overindulgence!
Even at 40 I still seem to have a huge problem with portion control. The workouts
go out the window. At the end of the year the running season is pretty much
done with here. I'm also a huge romantic when it comes to celebrating with my family.
Trust me, it's not pretty. With a glass of scotch, warm fire and White
Christmas playing of the TV, I almost ball like the Irishman that I am!
I was looking forward to doing the whole cliché thing and rebooting in
January. But, my 96 year old grandmother passed away. It wasn't sudden. We all
knew it was coming. But, that didn't make it any easier. More relishing the
good times and memories with my family. Attention to the diet continued to go out
the window! Now though, I've managed to log almost three solid weeks in the
books! I'm sore from all the cross-training and my hamstrings are outright
screaming at me. But, it feels good to get physical again!
I'm starting to do some basic research with regards to 50K training
plans. Found some stuff that I like. I'm definitely going to shoot for the Can
50 scheduled for October 11th. It's short for the Canandaigua Lake
50K and 50 Mile Ultra. It's really close which means that I can spend race eve
at home, eat my own food and sleep in my own bed. Bonus!
So, let's
talk about what the heck an ultra marathon is. Basically, it's any race longer
than the distance of a marathon, which is 26.2 miles. They're typically more
low-keyed events run on a trail course versus the open road. The most popular
distances are the 50K (about 31.2 miles), the 50 mile and the 100 mile. I'm not
crazy enough to try my hand at running a 100 miler! Well, not yet. I've always
been a huge believer that anyone can do anything that they put their minds to.
But, any length distance race requires preparation and training. I just can't
see being able to squeeze additional time out of my daily schedule to honestly
train for anything longer than a 50K.
One of the first documented ultra marathons
in North America was held in 1926 as part of the Central American Games. Tomas Zafiro and Leoncio San Miguel, both Tarahumara Indians from the
Copper Canyons in Mexico Mexico City
In 2009 Chris McDougall's published the now famous book, Born to Run. In
the book he focuses on those incredible Tarahumara Indians and how by
studying and running with them he overcomes his own running related injuries.
He makes a strong case for minimalist running and outright slams the running
shoe industry. He puts forward the "endurance running hypothesis".
Which asserts that humans developed their long distance running ability to
chase prey down on the plains of Africa . It seems that
humans can regulate our body heat much better than most animals. That's why we
can run the distances that we do. Lots of interesting facts. I personally
believe this hypothesis to be dead on. I've read the book. It's quite
compelling. Many other Americans thought so too. The "Barefoot
Running" boom was born and more attention was devoted to ultra running and
racing. Great book and if you're not even interested in ultra running, you
should read it. Rumor is that a movie is coming out! Can't wait!
Ultra marathons require a different
approach. Runners don't get the luxury of cleanly paved roads. I've
experimented with trail running now for about two years. It's freakin fun. But,
just as hard as it is fun. You've gotta have a good pair of shoes, with good
treads. The trails are full of roots, rocks and other little evil things that
can send you flying. I've tripped on more than one occasion and have impaled
myself with a stick or two. You need to pay attention and watch where you're
running.
There are as many flat marathons out there
as there are hilly. But, most ultra marathons are hilly. That requires runners
to develop almost a race walking technique when climbing inclines. Also, the
distance man! For the average distance runner like myself, there's just no way
that I could not walk during a race of that magnitude. It's just too long to be
running. Unless you're a Tarahumara Indian of course.
The other issue is calorie replacement. Gels
may work for half and full marathons. But, over ultra distances the human body
needs real food. That's going to be a huge challenge for me. My stomach is
usually a mess when I throw real food into it during a race. But, as with
something like speed work, I'm going to have to get used to it and figure out
what works the best for me. Severe dehydration is more likely to occur during
an ultra too. The one thing I keep getting from every ultra runner that I know
is, to eat and drink like it's going out of style. Even if I don't want to.
In the 50 and 100 mile races gear and
clothing can also be a factor. Clothing and socks need to be changed and maybe
even your shoes. I don't think that I'll have to worry much about this though.
I should be able to get that extra five miles in what I'll be wearing.
Doesn't ultra running sound like a blast?
Yeah. I know that even those of you who are runners shudder at the thought of
distances beyond the marathon. I can explain my decision this year. I could
probably continue to improve my marathon PR time. Even at 40, I know that I'm
not done getting faster. Not just yet. For me though, it's never been about
speed. I've never been all that fast. It's always been about the distance. I've
wanted to try ultra running for such a long time. But, it just scared the hell
out of me. In 2012 I broke the four hour marathon barrier. Last year I ran
those 366 days in a row. In doing those, I proved that fears are just fears. I
managed to break out of a mold that I fell into a long, long time ago.
Complacency. Who doesn't like feeling comfortable? For far too long I settled
into a pattern of train, run a marathon in longer than four hours. I got stuck
in that stupid pattern for like nine years! Well, no more stupid patterns.
Starting in 2012, I decided that comfortable isn't where I want to be anymore.
Form that point on, I decided what smarter people have been telling me for a
long time was true. What good are goals if they don't scare you?
Now you know what an ultra marathon is. I am
scared and it is good! Put some miles into your life my friends and get
scared...
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