5 Days 'till My First 50

The prep work is largely complete.

Somehow, barring a stray sniper clipping me on my last short run on Wednesday, I made it through my training plan with no significant injuries.

Saturday morning at 7AM I’ll be taking the first step in my first try at a 50-mile Ultra.  According to some who dismissed my 50K as “just a long marathon”, this will be my first foray into ultramarathons.  I’ve never gone beyond 32 miles in a single run before, training or racing.  The great unknown.  Testing my mental and physical boundaries.  I’m really looking forward to this.

I've survived 24 weeks of training specifically targeted for this race.  My underlying training plan was specifically defined for running.  I tried to add in cross-training, including weight training, along the way.  I was able to stick very closely to the plan.  You never know what you’re body is going to feel like on race day, but mentally I feel good about my training:

• 1,055 miles of running
• 297 miles on the bike
• 33 trips to the gym for strength training (mostly upper body and core)

Despite the hurricane currently wreaking havoc on the Eastern U.S., the forecast for Saturday looks good.  Lows in the 30s, highs in the upper 50s, and sunshine.  I know better than put too much stock in extended forecasts, but I’m hoping this forecast holds up.  Mostly just hoping the rain stays away.

I’ve got my race day strategy figured out, and have a loose plan for nutrition and hydration.  Past races have taught me that I have a tendency to overhydrate and over-carb (gels, chomps, etc.) on race day, so I’m taking the less-is-more approach here that worked well in my recent marathon.

My biggest focus this week, aside from packing properly, is getting sleep.  I can’t fix my poor job of getting sleep over the last few months, but I can get myself to bed early and sleep as late as the taper allows this week, so I’m feeling well-rested on race day.

One key decision still remains open …. the official post-race celebratory craft beer.  These races serve as an excuse to overspend on an unusual craft-brewed Stout, so I have to choose wisely.  If that’s the biggest worry on my mind right now, then I know I’m feeling confident.

Bring on the Fiddy.

2012 First Half Review - Ready for Ramp Up

With the start of July I’m trying to take stock of my year thus far, and figure out what is working, what needs tweaking, and where I need to man-up.

I consider the first half of the year to be successful based primarily on one criterion … no injury-forced downtime.  That’s not to say that I haven’t had some angry body parts along the way – IT Bands, Plantar Fascia, Calf knots … but I’ve been able to pay attention to them and manage them such that they haven’t put me on the sidelines.  Adding the bike and swimming (but far too little swimming) has helped, as has mixing in some PT exercises to keep my right knee/quad working well with the rest of my right leg.

I was doing a much better job of cross-training early in the year, but once I made the decision to run a 50k, and then train for a 50-miler in the Fall, I shifted back to a more run-heavy plan.  I know this runs counter to the notion of cross-training to reduce the repetitive strain of running, but I need to get a feel for how my body reacts to higher mileage than I’ve tried for marathon training, and I need to ramp up to the peak of 70 weekly running miles that my current plan calls for.  I’m still getting out on the bike at least a couple times a month, and I should be doing better with the swimming now that the neighborhood pool is open for the Summer.

Here are the stats for the first 6 months of the year:

Running:  90 runs, 757.34 miles total

Biking:  18 rides, 349.8 miles total

Swimming:  10 swims, 7 miles total

Weight training:  41 trips to the gym

March was my best month so far this year, with 157 miles run, 99 miles biked, 2 swims, and 8 trips to the gym.

Race-wise, I paced a friend in a half-marathon in March, ran a 200-mile 12-person relay and my first-ever 5k in April, and ran the Outer Banks 50k in May.  No races in June, and nothing firmly planned between now and the 50-mile run on 11/3, although I’m hoping to run a few 5ks, maybe a half-marathon, and a full-marathon close to the Ultra as a long training run.

I’m really liking the training plan I’ve got going now, but the mileage is a lot higher than anything I’ve done in the past, and I’m pretty wiped out by the end of each week.  I HAVE to start getting more sleep to keep with this plan and stay healthy.  Unfortunately, knowing what to do doesn’t magically get it done.