What did I sign up for?

Here's a profile of the craziness (in a good way) I'm looking forward to in two weeks:

Over the next few days, I will be posting notes about my preparation for this run. The 32 mile run on Sunday was the best thing I ever did and I felt strong later to do an hour long Yoga and groceries (touch wood). Looking back into my training log, I feel excited about this race. But there are somethings I need to worry about:

1. Gear - I am running this without crew support. For the first time, I will have to worry about packing & changing gears in a race. The race also mandated a headlamp at start that I bought recently.

2. Distance - I'm now in taper mode as far as this race is concerned and most likely will not be doing a training run longer than 32 miles before the race. So, I have no idea what to expect during the additional 18 miles.

3. Race diet - I will be eating solid foods during a race for the first time. I have had little time to experiment what works but have to go beyond the traditional gels to keep going the additional distance.

4. Pacing - If you start with a wrong pace in marathons chances are you might only affect your time but in an ultra a bad starting pace can easily lead to a DNF or not making the cut off time.

5. Shoes - This race is mostly on the trails but I haven't run once in trail running shoes. Finding a shoe that works for you can take months. At this point, I don't see any way of experimenting with a trail shoe.

6. Starting point - As a car-less student runner, getting to a starting point in the middle of nowhere is something I've never had to worry about running marathons held in big cities.

There's a first for everything. Interestingly when I ran my first marathon without running any kind of race before I never had to think much. I just went there and did it. That's my attitude for this race too. Just go there and do it.

Sunday run: First 50K

Today's run was mental. Ever since I decided to do the 50 miler, the fact that I haven't run an ultra before was bothering me. I crossed that mental barrier today morning doing a 32 mile run; a tad bit more than the standard 50K but I was loving it! Also the great 60s weather helped a lot too. So, I did my first ultra without any fanfare or a medal to show.

Miles 1-10:
Apart from the mental prep, I set out two packs of Gu and a bottle of Gatorade -- something I never do in my usual long runs.  I started out as usual towards the Harbor and then headed towards Eastern ave passing through little Italy and the latino neighborhood. After a brief detour at the Patterson Park, I made my way back to the harbor expecting the bottle of Gatorade to be near the flower bed where I had hid it. It was gone!

Miles 11-20:
This was mostly in the Canton area. I took the familiar Boston St. route. At mile 18, I briefly stopped at a  Starbucks and downed the first pack of Gu with the free water. Still the loss of Gatorade was on my mind. I didn't know if I needed it but didn't want it to f*k with my mind.

Miles 21-32:
This is where I started running towards Fort McHenry. I had to stop at the Royal Farms on Key Hwy to buy a bottle of Gatorade. Peace of mind. I continued running to the Fort. My Fort runs are never boring. The gorgeous weather inspired people and geese alike to enjoy the Fort. I made 7 loops around the Fort and the beginning of my second loop I saw this lovely old couple setting up picnic basket at a table overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. By loop three, I saw them eating cereal. Loop four, the lady was spreading jelly over a croissant. This made me hungry! It was mile 25 and I thought if this was the actual race, I would be half done. The Gatorade was unopened, so I had to have it merely to justify my purchase. Two quick gulps and I continued my loops watching the couple with great interest. The romance, the spark they had at this ripe old age was amazing and inspiring. During one of my loops I saw them seated, holding hands, and the husband showing a bird to his wife using his binoculars. My faith in the world is reassured. This brief anthropological curiosity made me run without realizing how far I had gotten. It was mile 29 already. This was going to be my last loop; I waved at the couple and headed home. La vie est belle!

Here's what a 50K in Baltimore looks like:

32.01 miles in 04:37:12

A summary of the week that was:

Mon - 7 miles @ 7:08 min/mile

Tue  - 7 miles @ 7:30 min/mile

Wed - 8 miles @ 6:52 min/mile

Thu  - 3 miles @ 8:20 min/mile

Fri    - 3 miles @ 8:20 min/mile

Sat   - 9 miles @  9:00 min/mile

Sun  - 32 miles @ 8:39 min/mile

Out of the closet: 50 mile race

It's official. I'm coming out and admitting on this blog about my entry to the 50miler in DC on June 5th. 23 days people and I'm psyched! Although I registered for it more than a month back it took me a while to post it here; this reticence was from self-doubt due to the recent Piriformis injury.

The night before the Mountain Maryland Marathon, I was trying to calm my race nerves by shopping for other marathons to run before Chicago. After not finding anything interesting that was inexpensive, out of a whim I started looking for ultras in the neighborhood. I missed the HAT 50K run in Maryland but fortunately the North Face Endurance Challenge in DC was open.

Why 50mile? I don't know. Just to see if I can do it? Anybody who runs knows the effort is not proportional to distance. I've been having a consistent & reasonable mileage but under different conditions. Being in the city and not having a car, I rarely get to run on trails. Also I haven't run an ultra before. So, my expectations from this race is rather low. I'm running it as opposed to racing it. My goal for this race is to avoid a DNF.

I will leave you guys with the immortal words of the poet William Blake:

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom; for we never know what is enough until we know what is more than enough."

Thursday: The week so far

Sun  - 25.2 miles @ 8:46 min/mile
Mon - 7 miles @ 7:08 min/mile
Tue  - 7 miles @ 7:30 min/mile
Wed - 8 miles @ 6:52 min/mile

Ideally, Monday should've been my recovery run but Jay joined me and I didn't want to slow him down.

Sunday run: Marathon - 1

After a yucky weather last Sunday, Baltimore got a great weather this weekend that could make any runner go the extra mile. I was looking forward to today's run and planned to run 25 miles today. This planning is very unlike me but then given the last week's nasty weather, I had to take full advantage of today's weather.

The run was on the familiar Canton-Fort route but on my way to the Fort, I tripped on a pavement, fell, and busted my Gu packet. Fortunately, the backup packet came handy. On training runs that are 20 or less, I don't take Gu or water but I needed the encouragement for the extra 5 miles I was planning to put in.

25.2 miles @ 8.7 min/mile

A summary of the week that was:

Mon -  8 miles @ 7.5 min/mile

Tue  -  4 miles @ 7.2 min/mile

Wed -  3 miles @ 7.0 min/mile

Thu - 10 miles @ 7.8 min/mile

Fri -     8 miles @ 7.1 min/mile

Sat -  10.5 miles @ 8.0 min/mile

Sun - 25.2 miles @ 8.7 min/mile

Thursday: Port and Fort

The week so far:
Mon - 8 miles @ 7.5 min/mile
Tue  - 4 miles @ 7.2 min/mile
Wed - 3 miles @ 7.0 min/mile
Today - 10 miles @ 7.8 min/mile

Today's run was not very unusual. Except I felt like going on Pratt. Running towards the Fort seems to be the favorite route of many Baltimore city runners. While running, I see many runners doing wrong things that I have to resist my urge to stop and correct them. But occasionally you can also spot elite runners - or at least runners who know what they are doing. What gives that away? Running form. Running form is like obscenity -- you know it when you see it. I will write more about what I learnt about my form later when the homework pile is not so intimidating.

Weekend Runs: The worse is yet to come

Sat - 10 mi @ 8:30 min/mi
Sun - 17.16 @ 8:12 min/mi

Today's run was the usual Fort-Canton-Harbor run but the weather in just a period of two days has turned hot and humid. By the time I finished my run today (around 9:20am) I was soaked in sweat and dehydrated. Running in the following weeks will be challenging. Suddenly, running in those horrible winter months appear more appealing.

Sunday run - Fort/Canton/Harbor - 17.16 miles