I've been sick for the past three days and it doesn't appear to be going away. Funny how I get sick as soon as I go back to work after a 10 day vacation. There's a lesson in there somewhere (as in, vacation should probably just be longer). Fortunately I had really light weekday mileage scheduled for this week, so there is probably no better time to be sick. Except...I'm running a 50k tomorrow! I know I've been mentioning for weeks, but for whatever reason it still seemed really far away. Except it's not. It's tomorrow. Hrmmm.
Head to toe covered, including my new Smart Wool running socks (PS. After one run with them I can officially say AWESOME).
So yes, this is how I pictured myself, bundled up as much as possible, toughing it out through 31 miles of trails and climbs Saturday morning. Turns out it's actually going to be a balmy 53 degrees. So I suppose I should be happy about that, but frankly I'm still not sure how to dress. It will be closer to 30 around the start so maybe I'll just remove layers halfway through.
But enough about what to wear, let's get to the goals!
Goal #1: Finish!
I have a sort of good idea about how 31 miles will feel. It will probably be a combination about how I felt the day after the marathon (death) and during the last 10 miles of my Ragnar legs. Basically, I anticipate being in a lot of pain. But I'm pretty resilient, and my body seems to be able to recover from these things quickly. Plus it's 90% mental, right?
Goal #2: Fuel correctly
My biggest concern for this race is actually the fuel intake. I know I won't be running nearly as fast as I have been, but 31 miles is still 31 miles and I'm going to need to eat. I plan on packing some PB & J, granola bars, Sport Beans, bananas, fig newtons, and lots of water of course. This is a pretty laid back ultra, so it's a good opportunity for me to test some stuff out and see what works for next time!
Goat #3: Sub 6
Bigger goal: sub 5:30. We'll see. I really have no idea how I will handle the trails. I have done two trail races (recaps here and here), but they were very short and pretty tame. There's also about 3,000 feet of climbing, which is not something I've done before. One good motivation I will have is to finish fast is so poor Mike doesn't have to keep waiting around for me! (*I'm probably being wayyyy too optimistic about these times by the way!)
Goal #4: Have fun!
I'm nervous about the race, but overall I'm super siked to finally be doing it. Running ultras is something I've been dreaming about since March of last year, when I first discovered it. It feels a little surreal to finally be doing one after waiting for so long. Hopefully I'll make some friends and have a blast. And since this a more low key, laid back race than some others, no better time to focus on fun rather than performance!
What's on your schedule this weekend? Got a big race?
I first heard about the PHUNT 50k on No Meat Athlete, one of the first blogs I started reading. In prepping for this race I was thinking it would pretty chilly out, as early January usually is. I pictured myself wearing something akin to what I wore on Tuesday night's run this week, when it was 20 degrees.
Head to toe covered, including my new Smart Wool running socks (PS. After one run with them I can officially say AWESOME).
So yes, this is how I pictured myself, bundled up as much as possible, toughing it out through 31 miles of trails and climbs Saturday morning. Turns out it's actually going to be a balmy 53 degrees. So I suppose I should be happy about that, but frankly I'm still not sure how to dress. It will be closer to 30 around the start so maybe I'll just remove layers halfway through.
But enough about what to wear, let's get to the goals!
Goal #1: Finish!
I have a sort of good idea about how 31 miles will feel. It will probably be a combination about how I felt the day after the marathon (death) and during the last 10 miles of my Ragnar legs. Basically, I anticipate being in a lot of pain. But I'm pretty resilient, and my body seems to be able to recover from these things quickly. Plus it's 90% mental, right?
Goal #2: Fuel correctly
My biggest concern for this race is actually the fuel intake. I know I won't be running nearly as fast as I have been, but 31 miles is still 31 miles and I'm going to need to eat. I plan on packing some PB & J, granola bars, Sport Beans, bananas, fig newtons, and lots of water of course. This is a pretty laid back ultra, so it's a good opportunity for me to test some stuff out and see what works for next time!
Goat #3: Sub 6
Bigger goal: sub 5:30. We'll see. I really have no idea how I will handle the trails. I have done two trail races (recaps here and here), but they were very short and pretty tame. There's also about 3,000 feet of climbing, which is not something I've done before. One good motivation I will have is to finish fast is so poor Mike doesn't have to keep waiting around for me! (*I'm probably being wayyyy too optimistic about these times by the way!)
Goal #4: Have fun!
I'm nervous about the race, but overall I'm super siked to finally be doing it. Running ultras is something I've been dreaming about since March of last year, when I first discovered it. It feels a little surreal to finally be doing one after waiting for so long. Hopefully I'll make some friends and have a blast. And since this a more low key, laid back race than some others, no better time to focus on fun rather than performance!
What's on your schedule this weekend? Got a big race?
Don't forget to VOTE for me to join Team Refuel! Vote 'Kristin Hoeberlein' once a day now through January 15th!
Hope you feel better for tomorrow. Have a blast out in the woods!
ReplyDeleteWe'll be doing quite different races at the same time! I am racing 800 and 1500 meters!
ReplyDeleteThat's a long race!! (but I suppose you know that, haha). Good luck and have fun!
ReplyDelete