Yikes. Time flies when you're not paying to attention to posting. And you're going crazy.
The first week of my ridiculous attempt at an ultramarathon training program is complete. Results? It is done. There was some significant pain in the top of my foot, which first showed itself after the half-marathon, but I haven't felt it for a couple of days, so I am wiping it from my memory.
The weekend back to back runs which are a staple of this and many ultra plans were rather interesting. On Saturday it dropped down to about 18 degrees and everything was frozen. As I ran and sweated my shirt and pants became hard as a rock, frozen as they were by the cold. I was running with my new hydration pack (North Face Thresher if you're interested) and the water in the tube kept freezing. I realized I had to drink more frequently just so the tube wouldn't bust because of the ice. Crazy. The other crazy part was the ice. Did I mention it was everywhere? Especially on the ground. Especially on these rock steps going down on to a trail in the neighborhood. Despite my internal warning dialogue of, "Oh man I better go slow this is really sli----" I managed to do the whole- feet flying up into the air, landing on the patootie, yelping a loud vulgarity, and then looking around for any youngsters' ears that had been polluted. Thankfully in that weather, NO ONE was outside.
I feel like I've finally gotten into my slow, plodding, I can run for a long time, rhythm and endurance which is nice. As the mileage steps up we'll see how long that lasts. Seventeen weeks to go.
Finally, congrats go out to my awesome sis! She ran a half-marathon in Fargo, North Dakota (yeah its kinda cold there too) despite all her friends dropping out of the race, depsite the weather, and despite having a few less training runs than she had hoped for :) and she had a PR that beat her previous time BY ALMOST AN HOUR! Incredible! Grats Sis. I hate to imagine how fast you will be when you actually train for one of these (i.e. it will be a lot faster than me)
Ace's ultramarathon link of the hour:
Ultramarathon running advice for first timers, by the guru of ultras,
Here's the trailer for the movie, The Runner, about David's speed attempt on the Pacific Coast Trail (Goes from Mexico to Canada....) The trailer has too much crying, but the movie is highly recommended!
Day 647 - 2.0 in 22:02
Day 648 - 1.0 in 10:42
Day 649 - 9.0 in 1:10:42 It was cold.
Day 650 - 5.0 in 52:42 See above.
Day 651 - 1.0 in 12:42
Day 652 - 2.0 in 22:11 The fog rolled in during the run! Awesome.
Comments
And congrats to you on your @$$ plant too :)
ONce you started talking about ultras, I had to look up some training plans, and I saw the whole "2 long runs on back to back days" thing. I should have been smart enough to figure out that on my own, but I wasn't.
I'm sure it will be a blast when you get to those 4 5 and 6 hour runs...Good luck!
At first I thought, "what's with all the crying??" and then I realized that if anyone deserves to be able to cry whenever they want, it's someone who runs 2700 mile trails. Correction, RACES 2700 mile trails.