Ultra Training: 11/10/12

I began my official training for my 2013 ultras this week.  My ironman race was on 10/20/12, three weeks ago.  I did a 15 mile long run at Umstead Park last weekend, mostly just to get myself moving again and to push myself a bit.  After two weeks of leisurely exercise, I felt the need to burn it out a little.  I ran the Umstead 100 loop and added some extra at the end.  I ran all of the hills of Turkey Creek and the rest of the route, staying on the bike and bridle trails. It was a great run, and I was happy to run all those hills.  I averaged a pace of 10:40, not at all bad for this slow runner.

Today I added 4 miles of single track trail to the 100 loop and ended up with 17 miles.  I was sore most of this week from last Saturday's effort and then speed walking on Thursday.  I was surprised by how sore I felt after 3 miles of speed walking.  The muscles outside of my shins were still sore even this morning.  After a few miles of running today, though, they began to loosen up a bit and cooperate.  My IT bands were also tight and sore, so it was a literal exercise in patience and tolerance of pain.  Good practice, I think, for running 100 miles.  I'm going to have to be diligent about stretching and taking good care of my muscles, resting when I'm supposed to AND when I feel the need.

For the first time, I also experimented today with eating solid food on a longer run.  At mile 10 I ate a mini peanut butter and jelly bagel.  It tasted delicious, and it was a great reprieve from energy gels.  My stomach handled it pretty well, although by the end of the run 7 miles later, my stomach was really rumbling and I really needed the bathroom.  On any given day, though, that could be the case.  I took 2 Imodium before I left the house this morning, and I think that helped.  I'll be keeping track here of what I do on these long runs - what works and what doesn't.  What I'm gathering from talking to veteran ultra marathoners and reading and research is that pretty much everyone experiences GI distress on these long runs.  I need to expect it to happen (I do) and know what will help (I'm learning).

All in all, today's run was great.  I was certainly slower than last week (averaged ~12 min/mile pace), but I was consciously careful (and slow) on the single track and also took several short walk breaks during the rest of the run.  My leg muscles were sore and unhappy that I was pushing them again so soon, so I took care to baby them and take it easy.  It was a beautiful day in Raleigh/Durham, with a high around 72 and full sunshine.  On my way out of the park at the end of my run, I took the pictures below.  Fall is in all its glory, and I'm loving it.














I'm looking forward to tackling 20 miles next week.