Training Tales Update
It's Thanksgiving week, your schedule might be winding down, but your fitness doesn't have to.
I want to start by saying this will be a bit different update than my usual Training Tales Update. Instead of sharing last week’s training, I am going to share how my experience was at the 50k ultramarathon I finished Saturday evening!
This might give you some much needed motivation to stay active and moving over this holiday week if you are able.
A Little Bit About Me
Besides my passion for competition and racing, including having completed now 4 50k ultras, 9 marathons, & 15 half marathons, I also have 12+ years of business management experience as well as coaching experience, I bring you REAL-LIFE experiences. I hold various fitness training certifications including, American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, STOTT Pilates Mat/Reformer Trainer, Certified TRX Trainer, and Certified Aligned Meditation Teacher, in addition to also having a B.S. in Exercise Science. I have also coached clients in a wide variety of settings: corporate sites, gym, studio, in-home, and currently do most of my coaching online.
Before The Start
For those that aren’t familiar with ultramarathons, typically each one is different in the course type, including the terrain, elevation, aid stations, specific gear you must run with, start time, etc. This is what makes each one challenging and separates ultras from road races which are more standardized with the distance and aid stations at around the same distance during each individual race.
For this specific 50k ultra I ran, the course was a loop style course, and we were required to carry any fuel, hydration or other gear we needed with us. For this particular race, the aid station was inside a horse arena (very unique). And this race started midday. Each loop was just over 10 miles in length with lots of different terrain changes. So, before the race start, you could set up your own aid station inside the horse arena with any gear you thought you might need at different points along the race.
Here’s my aid station set up:
I also debated about what clothes to wear because it was chilly and also windy. It was under 40 degrees before the start. I rarely ever wear leggings during a race, but I do like to have long sleeves, as I do not like feeling the wind going through my body… no thank you. I like to be as comfortable as possible during the race and not be thinking about my clothing. (One less thing to worry about)
I finally decided on starting with wearing a dri-fit short sleeve t-shirt and a long sleeve pullover top that I could take off if I got hot.
Many of the ultra-races also emphasize treating the environment with respect, so for this race you had to bring and use your own water and reusable water bottles. The race committee did provide water in a cooler, but you had to put it into your own reusable bottles. In addition, there was a no littering policy, so any of the energy chews or gels you consumed along the course you were to keep the trash with you as you ran.
Fast forward a bit, and I realized the time was getting closer to the race start time. I went and did my usual pre-race dynamic warmup, so my body felt loose and ready to tackle 50k on trails.
Then just a few minutes prior to the start, the race director corralled all of the 50k runners towards the start line and gave instructions, including things to watch out for, ways to stay safe, what course markings to follow, etc.
The Start
As usual, I was a bit nervous at the start. My main concern was that I didn’t want to go out too fast, as I’ve had that issue before, and also, I didn’t know how well my lungs would function as I had been sick with a sinus infection, the week and a half before the race, and I was a bit concerned my lungs would hurt.
The gun goes off and I’m off! The race has started!
I find that I am the lead female to start the race and didn’t know if that was good or bad. The first mile was a blur, but I heard my watch ding at the mile and my watch said I hit under a 7:40 min/mile pace. I was a little worried, given the elevation for this race, that might be a bit too fast to sustain long term, so I dropped my pace a bit.
Also, I got the sense my lungs were a bit sore, so I decided to start hydrating early, hoping this would help. (I carried 2 bottles with me, plus had a water bladder 1/2 full in my pack on my back.)
Around 4.5 miles we came upon some beastly fresh gravel that was a freaking BEAST trying to cross with your feet. This is where my feet first started to get torn up…. yikes! I still had a long way to go!
About 6 miles in, I finally started to feel a bit better and felt like I was finally getting into a better rhythm/found my running groove. I also took in my first energy chews here (you have to fuel for long distances so again I carried the fuel I needed with me).
Felt good so picked up the pace a bit after this. Finally, I realized I had 1 last climb up a hill before I was back at the horse arena and lap 1 was complete!
I made a really quick pit stop at the horse arena, took off my long sleeves and grabbed some extra energy chews (I use HoneyStinger energy chews). Then I was off!
Lap 2
I was really feeling good, so I increased my pace as much as I could for about the next 4 miles, until, once again, I came across the beastly fresh laid gravel. Here I dropped my pace and went more conservatively, as I needed my feet to continue forward for over 20 more miles!
I was so “in the zone” for the race I did not take many pictures until the later part of lap 2. I suppose that’s a good thing! My parents also texted me as they hadn’t heard anything from me-this was about 17 miles in or so. Sent them a quick picture and carried onward! On the later part of Lap 2, the terrain got a lot muddier, so on several of the steep climbs I had to be really careful not to fall into the mud.
Once again, I continued to fuel and hydrate as needed, and before I knew it, I was making it up the final climb back towards the horse arena, and Lap 2 was complete!
(But my feet felt on FIRE!! I knew I needed to make some adjustments with my socks and shoes before I started Lap 3, of the course, which was the final lap.)
Quick Adjustments
Several necessary adjustments I made before I exited the aid station area to start Lap 3:
-untied my shoes and let my feet relax for a bit
-changed wool socks into a more cushioned pair of wool socks
-put on my reflective running vest as I knew the day would be changing to night on this final lap
-put my headlamp in a pocket in my pack on my back
-drank cold water (not sure cold water ever tasted so good as it did here!)
This was overall, still a fairly quick stop- under 10 minutes. Then I was off! Started Lap 3!
Final Lap
I have to be honest here. My feet only felt a tiny bit better after changing into more cushioned socks. The pain I felt from my feet was really bad…ugh! Very intense! Not what I wanted to deal with, having still needing to make it 10+ miles.
To start this lap I did a run, walk method and this seemed to work and help get my feet to do what I wanted them to, ha! Mentally I was very focused and just kept telling myself to “keep moving forward.” I probably said this to myself like 500 times on this final lap!
I came back to the beastly gravel and knew this was going to be a major pain…..oh boy! And I definitely uttered a few words to myself I won’t use here. I just had to keep moving forward and make it through this gravel. Once I got past this, even though there was a lot of terrain I needed to climb on the next part, I still felt it was doable. Again, I REALLY had to push myself past the pain my feet were giving me. They felt like they got burnt.
I made it through an area of the trail I really enjoyed running through and this helped my spirit and added a slight pep to my step. I told myself I wasn’t sending another message to my parents under after I hit 25 miles in. I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself as I knew from a mental standpoint, the last few miles could be really tough (I learned this from the 3 previous ultras I’ve done).
As I looped around my favorite part of the trail, I realized I was in the home stretch! Also, the daylight was about gone, so I pulled my headlamp out of my front pocket and put it around my head, so it was ready to be used.
For those who have never run in the dark or used a headlamp it is really cool! Super peaceful outside and it’s just you and the great outdoors. I also saw other runners in passing in the distance with just the glow of their headlamp, which was neat!
I continued onward and had quite a few hills to climb and descend in the dark, so I was really in-tune with focusing on making sure I didn’t trip on the rocks and roots. I also realized my watch dinged mile 28, so I sent a message to my sister and parents and told them I was in the homestretch and heading towards the finish line.
Also, said to them to not expect the final miles to be super-fast because I was navigating the rocky terrain that was covered with leaves in the dark, you don’t know a tree root is there until you hit it with your foot. Ha!
Again, at about mile 29, I have to admit my feet were full on screaming at me by this point. They were not happy. This is where again; I had to dig deep mentally and try and do all I could to pick up my pace and keep moving forward.
I’m trudging forward and hear my watch hit 30 miles. I was moving closer to the finish line! I knew that there might be people behind me that would have extra energy at the end of the race, so this is when I really dug deep and really picked up my pace for pretty much the final 1.5 miles so. It can be a bit disorienting at times running in the night, so I kept turning a corner thinking I was near the finish line, but I actually wasn’t (this is really when the race can get tough towards the end). Finally, I hit 31 miles, and this is when I used my speed and dug in deep and powered up the final two hills to the finish line! I made it my mission no one was passing me the final two miles of the race, and no one did! I did it! Crossed the finish line of ultra #4! And I’m not sure who was happier I crossed the finish line, my feet or my mind. Ha!
Last Words
I am really proud of how I rallied and kept tough despite my feet being in intense pain! I did it! Finished my 4th ultra! I also finished in the Top 10 Overall for Women, and this was my fastest 50k for this year. A great achievement!
My fueling and hydration were also perfect, nothing I would change here. The only thing I would change is that I would wear more cushioned wool socks to start the race. Otherwise, everything else was perfect- and there are a lot of variables that can impact your ultra running performance!
I plan to take the next couple of days off to recover from this race, but plan to get back running on Thanksgiving! Remember, during this holiday season despite the busy-ness, you should celebrate all your body can do and that staying active will keep you feeling great in the meantime. There are others in this world that are unable to move well, so this is something you shouldn’t take for granted.
And just like I repeated to myself over 500 times on the last lap of my race “Keep Moving Forward.”
Feel free to ask me any questions you have about my race- training, race gear, fueling, hydration, mindset, etc.