June 14, 2008
Ridgeline Trail- Distance 36.00 miles
- Time 05:47:00
- Average Speed 6.22 mph
- Average Pace 9:38 min/mile
The "ultra" was fun. I was well on track for the entire 40 but near 33 my right ankle and knee started hurting at all the downhills. It seemed pretty stupid to keep going on a very up and down course and aggravate them further just to prove a point. The good news was that the hills and flats felt fine.
This time does not reflect the downtime at the aid stations. It only measures the time on wheels. There is no way that I could run an ultra this fast since the breaks every five miles allowed me to recuperate quite a lot. At mile 25 and 30 I tried cold Pepsi and boiled potatoes - those worked great for eliminating the head-bonking I was beginning to get. No upset stomach at all. The peanut butter and honey sandwich at mile 20 was pretty tasty also. I quit the gels at mile 20 since it seemed kind of pointless with the other, more flavorful foods, going in for fuel. The only change I'd make is to have a salt shaker at the aid station - the potatoes were salted but I could have used more - nevertheless, no cramping at all.
Jim ran a magnificent 23 miles. Sarah and Shane ran 10. Erik pulled up at mile 12 - a bit too much training at high speed lately for this run to be any fun - smart to call it before an injury.
Comments
Great run!!! I did half as much today (18) on Eckman Lk. Rd. if you're familiar with it. Yeah, let's have a beer or green tea tomorrow.
Wait, this was an ultra race on the Ridgeline Trail? Or an informal group run that happened to have aid stations?
It'd definitely be nice to see more ultras, either formal or informal in this immediate area...
For what it's worth- my thoughts on getting more speed. More mileage isn't working so change anything & everything. But esp. anything emphasizing fast twitch fibers. Short hill repeats. Turn your watch off and run for fun with fartleks. Bounding strides. Standing jumps. Work your core until it's sore! Do the Scandia 10K and win the 50 Y.O. group! Beach sprints overcoming the sand. Consistent long runs are known to convert fast twitch fibers into slow twitch. You know all this. So twice weekly speed drills! How's that for unsolicited advice from a runner with less speed than you.
Jake - this was an informal ultra (but to be honest, are there really any "formal" ultras -- that's why they're so much fun). It was just another of my hair-brained ideas (my head has very little hair but my brain is full of it). It worked out so well that I am definitely making it a repeat event - maybe do it twice a year. It had a lot of advantages: close by, easy to support every 5 miles, quick to set-up and take-down, cheap, friends could come and run pacer very easily since it was in 10 mile repeats, course is a perfect training course w/ plenty of vertical but not too much. The only disadvantage that I saw was that it was in fact a series of repeats but the woods there are so beautiful that it never, never gets boring. I will keep you posted with future silly ideas.
John, thanks for the reminders of the basics. Yes, sometimes I get so analytical that I forget to look at the more obvious possibilities. Your suggestions are a great, quick review of speed work that should be done. Fortunately, I had just come back today from some tempo miles when I saw your note - I felt a little less guilty reading your ideas since I had at least gotten out and stimulated a few fast-twitch fibers. I'll be out again on Thursday doing intervals per your suggestion. I'd do hill repeats but I know that I'll get plenty of hills in this Saturday and I'd like to let my knees get some healing in before all the downhill portions. Thanks again for the thoughts - it was fun talking w/ you the other night. I was shocked to know that we had both been in Sand Point, Alaska providing health care - almost at the same time - how weird to have our worlds collide more directly, through running and Waldport. Hmmm...
@Lonn:
Yeah, that's one thing I like about many ultras. You reach the finish line and you don't get a medal for your work, hell you're lucky if you get a t-shirt and a bottle of Cytomax... That's how it should be!
I'm gradually working my mileage up, so would definitely be interested in "entering" post-Portland. I need some way to stay in shape during the rainy, cold winter months, and when you're running alone, you tend to stay inside and get fat.
@John:
Great advice, thanks!
After my above post I read an article about doing fatigue intervals for speed. Sort of what Lonn did today. Run 8 miles first then do intervals. Another fast twitch recruiter is to ride a mountain bike in a low gear as fast as you can on a moderate hill- requires very quick turnover. I once e-mailed Bud Coates about bike cross training and he says 3-4 miles on a bike = 1 mile running for speed (he admits this is unproven).
@perdurabo: Does this mean you're running the Portland M.? I think I'll sign up- if the SOB doesn't kill me.
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