Game Time
It's finally here -In a few short hours I fly out for Houston, TX (and the big-hunkin' Sam Houston statue) with Cathy Maslowski, Danielle Malberg, Ned Breslin, Elise Harrington and Dave Longcope to finally run the Sunmart Ultra Marathon! Cathy, Danielle and Ned will do the 50km while Elise, Dave and I take on the 50-miler. I'll try to make this entry shorter (too late!) as my need for sleep and rest trumps the blog. I've been absolutely cranking all week trying to get everything ready for the group training run, follow up on coaching E-mails, and trying to stay on very long "to do list". But here I am at Midnight blogging when I should be asleep...
(Like Randall Caley after the KC Marathon.)
(Or here's another bald, sexy guy - Me last year at Christmas. Free tip: Never fall asleep with your wife and kid brother on hand to mess with you!)
The Definition of Irony
Dictionary.com provides one definition of "irony" as "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected." Or, a good example might be if I was out doing my final 3M taper run this evening and did something really idiotic and took a fall. Well, you got it.... While hosting a fun-run in Littleton at Boulder Running Company's holiday party, I went ass-over-tea-kettle. Champ had just pulled over to do the do, and after disposing of the goods and then picking up the pace, I got caught up in her leash and went down. It wasn't terrible and I was able to roll more than skid, but I still ended up bruising up my hip and knee a bit. Let's hope that's some sort of good omen and at the very least isn't a factor Saturday morning.
Sunmart - The Course
Without having seen it personally, I can only go by what I have read and heard. Here it is in a nutshell: Flat, soft, and apparently (hopefully) very well shaded. The majority of the race course is soft-surface on single-track trail and 4X4 road, but not crusher-fines like a lot of trails in the Denver area, and instead more soft/grassy/sandy. Probably most similar to the Barr Lake Trail that I ran last month. It's a loop course, with the 50km runners doing a 10km out-back followed by 2 laps. The 50-milers run four 12.5-mile laps, so mentally that brings several strategies into play on how to break up the mileage. Personally, I'm going to try to treat each lap as an independent 12.5-mile training run and hope that I will won't have to reduce it to something like, "just get to that next damn tree. OK, now get to THAT next damn tree...." If I'm hurtin', then I'm sure that's what will happen!
Aid Stations
Thankfully, there are plenty of aid stations at Sunmart, which is probably a contributing factor to why it is considered the most popular ultra for first-timers at 50km and 50M distances. They'll provide everything a regular marathon would, and then some: Gatorade, water, energy gels, pretzels, fruit, chips, candy, mini-PB&J sandwiches, boiled potato wedges, cookies... Thankfully I've trained my stomach to digest on the fly, so I can sample the fare. No wonder ultra marathoning is becoming more popular. You can eat like crap, and still not gain a pound!
Chicago Revisited
As all of you know, the Chicago Marathon was pretty much a furnace and the race organizers finally had to cancel it halfway through because it was so hot. Well, Sunmart could be similar with a projected temperature of 80 degrees and humidity of 80%. This factor has provided me much more anxiety than I was hoping for, because I traditionally struggle in hot/humid conditions. So to combat this I'll be popping eCaps like candy; targeting 1 cap every 20 minutes for the first two laps so I can be sure to stay ahead of my body's sweat rate. And if the weather gets too hot/muggy, that will definitely impact my pacing strategy and goal time. Which brings me to my next point.......
Pacing Strategy & Goal Time
Boy, I think all of you who voted on my finishing time poll may have a bit too much faith in my ability for my first ultra! Overwhelmingly the majority of voters think I'm going to finish sub-9. I think that MIGHT be doable under ideal conditions, but Saturday's weather may force me to totally rethink and adjust my pace. Obviously with this being my first ultra marathon, the primary "A-Goal" is to finish and hopefully strong at that. Time-wise, I was thinking sub-10 hours and if everything was really clicking to aim for sub-9. If the weather is cool enough (and not too swamp-esque), I'll pace out conservatively at 10:00's for the first 3-5 miles and then gradually pick it up to 9:45's for the rest of the first lap, targeting 2:10 or so for the first 12.5-mile lap. From there, I'll try to settle into my "one speed" of 9:30's, which I know I can generally hold even while really fatigued. I will also be taking walk-breaks through the aid stations too which will help me digest solid food faster and keep my heart-rate lower. In theory that should help me stay stronger.... Again, weather permitting! Oh, and if you want to see what the winner did last year, READ THIS. And oh-by-the-way, this year Sunmart just happens to be the World Trail Championships, so the talent level is that much higher... Which means that many more times I'll get lapped.
The Play List
Many of you know that I'm a big proponent of running headphone-free. I don't have time to get into all of the reasons for why MP3 players and running just don't mix, however I finally broke down a few weeks ago and purchased my first iPod Nano. I haven't listened to music during marathon training since 2002 (when some crack head broke into my studio apartment and stole my Sony CD-Walkman), but I figure that there is a very distinct possibility that I could be in an altered state (similar to the crack head), and will need some tunes to keep me going. So here's what's on tap for Sunmart (in no particular order): Dieselboy, Cirrus, Bad Boy Bill, Fatboy Slim (Julie's fav!), The Chemical Brothers, Paul Oakenfold, The Prodigy, Orange 9mm, Linkin Park, Leftfield, Paul Oakenfold, The Crystal Method, Beastie Boys, The Urge, BT, Republica, New Order, Goldie, Aphrodite, 311 and Jamiroquai. JAM ON!
And last but definitely not least I need to mention all of the support from everyone reading this blog! I've been swamped with E-mails from Runner's Edge of the Rockies members and friends wishing me luck, so I feel like I'll have all of you there with me as I bang out 50 miles. So thank you!! I will try to post an update with the results ASAP, once I get back to Denver....
IT'S GAME TIME!!
(Like Randall Caley after the KC Marathon.)
(Or here's another bald, sexy guy - Me last year at Christmas. Free tip: Never fall asleep with your wife and kid brother on hand to mess with you!)
The Definition of Irony
Dictionary.com provides one definition of "irony" as "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected." Or, a good example might be if I was out doing my final 3M taper run this evening and did something really idiotic and took a fall. Well, you got it.... While hosting a fun-run in Littleton at Boulder Running Company's holiday party, I went ass-over-tea-kettle. Champ had just pulled over to do the do, and after disposing of the goods and then picking up the pace, I got caught up in her leash and went down. It wasn't terrible and I was able to roll more than skid, but I still ended up bruising up my hip and knee a bit. Let's hope that's some sort of good omen and at the very least isn't a factor Saturday morning.
Sunmart - The Course
Without having seen it personally, I can only go by what I have read and heard. Here it is in a nutshell: Flat, soft, and apparently (hopefully) very well shaded. The majority of the race course is soft-surface on single-track trail and 4X4 road, but not crusher-fines like a lot of trails in the Denver area, and instead more soft/grassy/sandy. Probably most similar to the Barr Lake Trail that I ran last month. It's a loop course, with the 50km runners doing a 10km out-back followed by 2 laps. The 50-milers run four 12.5-mile laps, so mentally that brings several strategies into play on how to break up the mileage. Personally, I'm going to try to treat each lap as an independent 12.5-mile training run and hope that I will won't have to reduce it to something like, "just get to that next damn tree. OK, now get to THAT next damn tree...." If I'm hurtin', then I'm sure that's what will happen!
Aid Stations
Thankfully, there are plenty of aid stations at Sunmart, which is probably a contributing factor to why it is considered the most popular ultra for first-timers at 50km and 50M distances. They'll provide everything a regular marathon would, and then some: Gatorade, water, energy gels, pretzels, fruit, chips, candy, mini-PB&J sandwiches, boiled potato wedges, cookies... Thankfully I've trained my stomach to digest on the fly, so I can sample the fare. No wonder ultra marathoning is becoming more popular. You can eat like crap, and still not gain a pound!
Chicago Revisited
As all of you know, the Chicago Marathon was pretty much a furnace and the race organizers finally had to cancel it halfway through because it was so hot. Well, Sunmart could be similar with a projected temperature of 80 degrees and humidity of 80%. This factor has provided me much more anxiety than I was hoping for, because I traditionally struggle in hot/humid conditions. So to combat this I'll be popping eCaps like candy; targeting 1 cap every 20 minutes for the first two laps so I can be sure to stay ahead of my body's sweat rate. And if the weather gets too hot/muggy, that will definitely impact my pacing strategy and goal time. Which brings me to my next point.......
Pacing Strategy & Goal Time
Boy, I think all of you who voted on my finishing time poll may have a bit too much faith in my ability for my first ultra! Overwhelmingly the majority of voters think I'm going to finish sub-9. I think that MIGHT be doable under ideal conditions, but Saturday's weather may force me to totally rethink and adjust my pace. Obviously with this being my first ultra marathon, the primary "A-Goal" is to finish and hopefully strong at that. Time-wise, I was thinking sub-10 hours and if everything was really clicking to aim for sub-9. If the weather is cool enough (and not too swamp-esque), I'll pace out conservatively at 10:00's for the first 3-5 miles and then gradually pick it up to 9:45's for the rest of the first lap, targeting 2:10 or so for the first 12.5-mile lap. From there, I'll try to settle into my "one speed" of 9:30's, which I know I can generally hold even while really fatigued. I will also be taking walk-breaks through the aid stations too which will help me digest solid food faster and keep my heart-rate lower. In theory that should help me stay stronger.... Again, weather permitting! Oh, and if you want to see what the winner did last year, READ THIS. And oh-by-the-way, this year Sunmart just happens to be the World Trail Championships, so the talent level is that much higher... Which means that many more times I'll get lapped.
The Play List
Many of you know that I'm a big proponent of running headphone-free. I don't have time to get into all of the reasons for why MP3 players and running just don't mix, however I finally broke down a few weeks ago and purchased my first iPod Nano. I haven't listened to music during marathon training since 2002 (when some crack head broke into my studio apartment and stole my Sony CD-Walkman), but I figure that there is a very distinct possibility that I could be in an altered state (similar to the crack head), and will need some tunes to keep me going. So here's what's on tap for Sunmart (in no particular order): Dieselboy, Cirrus, Bad Boy Bill, Fatboy Slim (Julie's fav!), The Chemical Brothers, Paul Oakenfold, The Prodigy, Orange 9mm, Linkin Park, Leftfield, Paul Oakenfold, The Crystal Method, Beastie Boys, The Urge, BT, Republica, New Order, Goldie, Aphrodite, 311 and Jamiroquai. JAM ON!
And last but definitely not least I need to mention all of the support from everyone reading this blog! I've been swamped with E-mails from Runner's Edge of the Rockies members and friends wishing me luck, so I feel like I'll have all of you there with me as I bang out 50 miles. So thank you!! I will try to post an update with the results ASAP, once I get back to Denver....
IT'S GAME TIME!!
GOOD LUCK DAVID! I'm sure you'll kick ass!