PST-50 Race Update

Well, I finished.  That is what ultras are all about, finishing.  Of course I had to keep reminding myself that as I watched people much older than me pass by.  It is amazing the condition some of these guys are in...well into their sixties and seventies I might add.  And I can't leave out the ladies. Plenty of female runners passed by, too.  And to think, there was a day when women didn't run in any organized foot races.

I kept asking myself, "Should I be going faster?" and then saying, "Remember your training.  You trained to run slow and take walk breaks." Then I would remind myself, "You have two metal plates in your leg and sixteen screws...the doctor didn't even think you would run again.  Just finish!"  Quite honestly, I really wasn't sure how I would hold up, so it was quite an honor just to be able to finish.

But it gets better.  Around the half way point, the predicted (and dreaded) storm came in...apparently even worse than anyone expected.  In fact, the only preparation I had made for the storm was to bring a wind breaker to put over my fleece pullover if it got windy or started to sprinkle.  How could I know I would be pelted in the face by sleet coming at me sideways?  And don't forget it was supposed to be Spring. 

My face froze and went numb.  Soon the sleet turned into giant flakes of snow that were accumulating quickly.  At one point, I felt like I had a brain freeze.  I started thinking I should have worn a hat.  Then I felt my head, and there was a hat there...of sorts.  It was about an inch of snow that had accumulated on top of my hair (thus the brain freeze).

I guess the snow did provide some positives, however.  The landing was a bit softer on my Planters Fasciitis I had acquired a week or two earlier.  My feet and toes were numb so I couldn't feel the usual pain that comes in that region after twenty five miles or so (okay, I felt it plenty, but maybe it would have been worse if had not been for the snow!)

I have got to say, it was pretty terrible to run in when you got to pavement.  Immediately my feet were drenched and soggy in the slushy snow.  Every time I lifted my feet out of the slush, my hip flexors were yelling "Mommy!"  But anyway...

My mind really went to the fact that I was originally going to try the 100-miler.  Many of these guys would still be running ten hours or so after I finished.  By the way, after I finished the snow really started coming down.  On my way home, I could see little lights bobbing up and down in the snowy darkness as the brave runners pressed on.  As it turns out, only five of the sixty 100-milers finished before their race was called off.  I guess there was six, but it turns out one of them was disqualified (I don't know enough details to speak about that situation).

This was my first ultra with Epic Ultras. I will tell you right now, if you are an ultra runner or interested in your first ultra marathon, Eric Steele and his crew have got what it takes to make your experience...well, epic.  Perhaps that is an overused word, but it actually fits here.  One definition of the word "epic" is simply "Extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope."  Well, by that definition, all ultras are epic, and Epic Ultras goes beyond the ordinary in other ways.

Everything that I saw in this race was very well thought out and organized.  Each worker at the aid stations were very helpful and polite.  All provisions seemed to have been made.  I only apologize that I couldn't think clearly enough to communicate well with the workers, but they did a good job interpreting my frozen tongue language.  I hope they understood that I was thanking them profusely for being there.

I plan on being back next year for the 100...and perhaps I won't be able to make it that long before I find myself signing up for another grueling ultra...but let's make it a warm one this time, without the snow!

Slight Change of Plans For Race Day

So, things have changed a bit. I am officially entered into the Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra event, but I will be running the 50 miler, not the 100.  This is probably best for a few different reasons. 

First, it is the first ultra attempt since my broken leg.  I have recently run 25-30 mile long runs in training, but I have no idea what I will be like at 50-60 miles.  So, it is probably better to start with a 50 and see what happens.

Second, I committed long ago not to let ultra running interfere with church or church responsibilities.  If I would have ran the 100 miler, I question if I would have been able to make it in under 27 hours at this point.  In order to make it to church in time to teach Sunday School, I would have had to cut off at 26 hours.  If I would have had to quit at mile 95, that would have really stunk! Then, I would have still been extremely tired and sore as I attempted to teach Sunday School immediately after the race.  In a weird way, I was looking forward to teaching while sore and exhausted just to show the teens they can still make it to Sunday School no matter what they did the night before. (Only I thought it would push me to go ahead and finish in under 26 hours--who knows?)

Finally, the 50-miler was paid for.  Can't beat that!  I was about to drop out entirely because I couldn't justify spending the money on the entrance fee.  A friend, who wanted to see me enter, paid my way into the 50 miler in exchange for a little work for them.  Now I have to finish for my friend and I know that this the race I am "supposed" to be running this year.

(Week 7) "Moving on..."

Before I embarrass myself about last week, let me say that yesterday evening I jogged a pretty good 20 miler that was encouraging.  I felt pretty good today, too, so I have the rest of the week to see if I can get my mileage back up.  But now, about last week...

Mon. 21st
After all those things I said in my last update about things looking so good, things took a bad turn.  I only ran 11 miles on Monday when I was going to run 25.  My legs were hurting and I felt like I was coming down with something.  I got through it and decided to try again later in the week. 

Tues. 22nd-Wed. 23rd
Feeling kind of sick and still achy, I skipped Tuesday and tried again Wednesday.  Yeah, still feeling bad! And my legs weren't better (surprisingly, it was my right leg that was mostly hurting rather than the "broken" leg).  I only ran 2 1/2 miles that morning and decided to turn around and walk back.

Thurs. 24th-Fri. 25th
I skipped Thursday, still feeling bad.  Then on Friday I was going to see how things went and hopefully get in 20 miles or more.  I barely made it 11, walking a good portion of it.  By this time I was really ready for this week to go away.

Sat. 26th-Sun. 27th
Skipped Saturday.  Took Sunday off as usual. Feeling quite a bit better so I was ready to go for 20-25 miles on Monday morning.

Week 6 "Critical Mass"

Last week may have been a pivotal point in my current training. I significantly increased both speed and total mileage for the week.  Most importantly, I did so without injury or over fatigue.  I think I have reached a point where the training is going to keep improving very rapidly.  I hope this is the case because I have only about 5 weeks to more than double what I am doing now before I feel like I am ready. Then there will be a few weeks to do sort of a taper to rest my legs and avoid injury. 

It is definitely dangerous to increase too much too quickly.  Some say you should increase your total mileage only about 10 percent each week.  I have found that, in training for ultras this is just about never realistic.  You may have to run through some minor injuries and suffer a bit, but you HAVE to increase the mileage!

Last week I went from running about 29 total milrd the week before to 41 miles. That is about a 40 percent increase.  My long runs have stayed under 20 miles (that's what I will be increasing next). In four or five weeks I will try to be up over 80 miles for the week and then I will run between a 40-50 mile long run. If I can make it to that point without injury, I feel like I will be ready to suffer through the 100 miler a few weeks later.

My main concern has been my left leg which I shattered a couple years ago.  I now have two plates and sixteen screws holding it together.  I have been worried about over stressing it, but the funny thing is my right leg has been more subject to soreness in my last few runs.  Perhaps I am over compensating.  Hopefully I will have a good report next week.  Until then, Praise the Lord for all He has done!

(Week 4) Week By Week, Day By Day

So, New Year's Eve I had a good, 16-mile hike/jog, but then comes the New Year...you know, when you're supposed to start fresh and meet all your goals?

-January 1: "Workout cancelled"
-January 2: "Workout cancelled"

...not good.

By the way, I have found myself re-adjusting my training plan every week--I think, for the better.  So here is what I am thinking, instead of starting the year fresh, my focus all year should be starting each week fresh...perhaps even each day.  Every day we mess up our goals and our efforts to do better.  Perhaps this is why the apostle Paul says in the Bible, "I die daily."  So, here I go.  Another week.  Another day.

The secret is, TRY! Keep saying, "I'll do better next time," and TRY.  We all love to point out that "Nobody is perfect," but we forget that Jesus said, "Be ye perfect." Maybe we aren't, but we need to try.  That is my plan for the New Year...no, that is my plan for this next week...and tomorrow morning!

Monday:  Am) 16-mile hike/jog
Tuesday:  Workout cancelled
Wednesday:  Workout cancelled
Thursday:  Am) 1-hr stationary bike + 6-mile jog/hike (1/2)
Friday:  Pm) 1-hr stationary bike
Saturday:  Am) 1-hr on stationary bike
Sunday:    Off

(Week 2) "More Of The Same"

Week two was very much a repeat of week one.  I found that biking got a little easier, and I was able to hike a bit faster without much effort.  Thankfully, everything seems strong and I am ready to add some jogging.  But I will wait another week before adding more distance.  I did terrible on my diet as the holidays are coming near and there is plenty of junk to choose from, but that is not my main focus now.  After Christmas I will focus more on that, but for now I just want to get some early miles in on my legs and establish a pattern of making myself get out no matter the time or the weather.


Monday           am: 2 hour speed hike on the Prairie Spirit trail
Tuesday           am: 2 hour bike ride on the Prairie Spirit trail/pm: stretches and ab workout
Wednesday      pm: light weights, legs
Thursday          am: 2 hour speed hike on the Prairie Spirit trail (near blizzard conditions)
Friday              pm: 1 hour stationary bike/stretch and abs
Saturday          workout cancelled
Sunday             off

(Week 1) "Learning to Ride a Bike"

Last week seemed so light for ultramarathon training, especially considering how soon race day will be creeping up on me.  I remember the first 100-miler I trained for, I made myself get out there and start jogging 20-milers right away, having never ran farther than a half-marathon. This time, however, is going to have to be completely different than any training I have ever done in order to keep my left leg and ankle strong but not overworked (If it is injured during training, I'm done). So cross-training is in order to supplement only two long jog/hike workouts and one short, faster jog each week.

Right now I'm not even jogging really. I'm trying to ease into it, so I have to keep myself from running too much too soon...which is actually pretty hard at this point as I am really excited to be training again and am already noticing increased energy levels.  But I keep remembering previous ultamarathons; there were some people who walked the whole thing and beat some of the runners who had to take longer rest breaks.  Even if I never train for the running part, I could possibly finish 100 miles in 25 hours.

But this training is going to be unique for me in that it will include a lot of cycling which I have never been fond of, and in many ways I am currently "learning to ride a bike."  I know very little about how to sit on the bike, how to adjust the bike, how to shift gears...I am just concerned with pumping my legs to get them into proper shape.

So here is a quick summary of last week (week 1): 



Monday:      2 hr. speed hike (about 15 min/mile pace)
Tuesday:     (am) light weight, high reps/whole body
                    (pm) light weight, high reps/legs and abs
Wednesday:  10 mile bike ride
Thursday:    2 hr. speed hike (about 15 min/mile pace)
Friday:         2 hr. stationary bike
Saturday:     (cancelled--didn't get up early enough and was too
                    busy working on Christmas program rest of day)
Sunday:        (off)

Prairie Spirit Trail 100

Finally!

I hiked on this trail for the first time several years ago.  At the time, I had no idea I would one day live a mile away from the Iola trail head.  Almost immediately after we moved here I began training on the trail and day dreaming about one day organizing an ultra on it.  I had become an "ultra marathoner" a few years back when I ran the Mother Road 100 in OKC, and I was looking for more epic (and local) "adventures."

The Prairie Spirit Trail would be a fairly easy course (no major hills, no real tripping hazards, no turns, easy access for crew vehicles...)  However, I never got the motivation to go through with the whole "organizing" part.  I got as far as e-mailing a couple folks...and that was about it.  I got in touch with some folks involved with the Prairie Spirit Trail, and then I came across a blog, Running Freak, and was introduced to a man who had ran the entire trail...for fun! (My kind of guy).  So I e-mailed Darin who shared the idea of an organized Prairie Spirit Trail Ultra. I hoped that someone else would realize the potential of this trail...and finally someone has.

I don't think I have had the privilege of meeting Eric Steele of  Epic Ultras (perhaps once at the Heartland 100, I'm not sure).  I hear he has done an excellent job organizing some other Ultras that have become some of the best in the Midwest.  All I can say is...I'm in (assuming I can come up with the entry fee--ouch!--and can get my newly acquired metal plate and hardware in my left tibia and fibula bones to cooperate with me.)

Whether I make it to the starting line or not, I will be strictly following a 15 week training plan and am looking forward to it.  Please check in from time to time to see how the training is going. I need the accountability.