March review

I started this month with a 30 day today of 158 miles. I ended the month with a 30 day total of 206. The main achievement was running at least 20 miles 4 times including a 28 and 30 miler. I guess officially I have run three non-official ultramarthons now (anything longer than 26.2 miles).

I seem to be on track for the 41.2 mile Strolling Jim. The long runs are going well. The biggest challenge will likely be the weather. I've been lucky in a way that the temperatures for my long runs have been cool. Hopefully it will be cool for the run but I tend to doubt that will happen in May. I may go out of my way to do some longer runs on warmer days.

This coming month should see me do at least two more 30 mile runs. I might go for three depending on how much time I have and how well I recover from the long runs. So far I seem to be recovering quickly.

20.1 miles: Finding hills

Today I ran 20.1 miles (2 liters water, 360 calories, 1 Endurolyte). It went fairly well considering I ran 30 miles 5 days ago. I knew I was going to run closer to twenty miles than thirty, so the goal was to run hills. We don't have great hills around here but I ran all the good hills I could find. I felt pretty good running up all of them. My legs did get tried starting around mile 17. I don't know if that was from the hills or from the big run a few days ago, likely both I guess.

By mile 19 I was considering going for 30. However, my shoes had gotten wet (it was raining on and off) and it felt like I had a few pre-blister hotspots developing. I really don't want to get a blister now and so I kept to the original plan and just ran the 20. I said this would be a down mileage week and I'm trying to stick to that plan. I know sometimes less is better but that is not always easy to believe.

Up next: Friday and Saturday likely 12 each and 5 on Sunday.

5 mile Starbucks run

Today I did the to Starbucks and back 5 mile free run (no gear, no water, no calories). I had a really good pace. My legs were not 100% but they were good enough to go fast for me.

I took yesterday off. In the morning, I didn't feel like running but by the afternoon I was itching to go but held off till this morning. It seems like that was a good idea as my legs appeared to have basically recovered from the 30 mile run.

30.3 miles: A great day for my first 30.

Photo: From around mile 5 in Franklin.

Today I ran 30.3 miles. It was rainy and cool (lower 40's), a perfect day for my first 30. I can't say I felt great at the end but was nowhere near dead. I could have run a few more miles I'm sure.

I took in 170 calories via gels, 2 endurolytes, 1 half sized turkey sub (500 calories?) and 1 coke (180 calories). I think I need to take in more calories during really long runs and this was the first attempt at eating something real. Internet sources suggest I burned between 4900-5100 calories during today's run. So clearly a few hundred empty calories in coke is not a problem.

It had no ill effects and I think it helped. I took about a 10 minute break to get the food from a store and eat it. The coke may seem out of place but a lot of ultrarunners will have a Coke during events and sometimes it is offered by the organizers of these events. I figured if the cool kids are doing it, I'd give it a try now in training. I don't want to make it a habit but now I know that if it's there during an ultra and I think it sounds good at the time, I'll have one.

Today's run was different in that I ran about 10 miles (miles 19-29.5 map) around a loop that is just under a mile at a local park. I generally hate running in circles but there were a number of reasons I did it today. 1) It was raining on and off and I was getting fairly cold (shorts and t-shirt) and if the wind picked up I may have had to call the run short. If this happened, I didn't want to be far from home. 2) My ability to process data at intersections decreases around mile 20. I didn't really want to have to think about cars. 3) I knew this park would be empty. It's closed to car traffic during the week and it was raining on and off. I had the place to myself the whole time. 4) It has a good clean bathroom in the center of the park. It seemed like a good idea to be close to a bathroom (it was).

Up next: I may make this upcoming week a down week mileage wise. I can then build again for about three weeks before entering the taper for the Ultra. I may just do a 5 mile run tomorrow. If my legs are dead. I might not run at all.

12.1 miles around the town

Photo: from around mile 4.5 on map below

I ran 12.1 miles today. I'm making Friday the really long run (20-30) this week. We are expecting afternoon thunderstorms here today, so I ran this morning and now I'm going to work. Friday should be sunny and 10 degrees cooler than day. Cooler and no thunderstorms sounded good to me. I took in 1.2 liters of water and 90 calories.

5 mile free Starbucks run

The normal 5 mile Sunday morning run got moved to today. It should reappear at its normal time next week. I didn't push the pace tonight because I plan on doing a long run tomorrow.

Up next: long runs Wednesday and Friday. I'm not sure yet which will be the really long run. It will depend on work and the weather.

12.1 miles

I ran 12.1 miles today. It was basically the same run as yesterday. For some odd reason, I felt pretty good. Today's run was a full minute per mile faster than Friday's run over the same distance and route. It's not like I was moving really fast today, just that I felt better than I did yesterday. It's good to know I can run 12 miles faster the day after running 12 miles. Today I took in 90 calories via one gel, 1 endurolyte, and 1.2 liters of water.

On a side note I've given up beer I pay for until the 40 mile event. What I mean by that is I will still take a free beer if someone offers me one. I was only drinking about six a week anyway but this 40 miler (really 41.2 I've learned) is no joke. If not drinking for a few weeks help me lose a pound or two I'll take it. I can imagine being at the starting line and someone asking me if I want to put an extra pound or two in my pack. I'm fairly sure I'd say no; that's the thinking behind this.