"In most cases, it isn’t
as if an ultra is just a marathon with more distance added. In some
ways they’re harder due to added distance and (usually) elevation gain
and the occasional mountain ascent/descent, but in other ways they’re
easier because no one judges you if you stop in the middle for a several mile stroll while drinking coffee and eating a bunch of cookies."
My thoughts exactly. Yay cookies. Also known as - why I want to run ultras. This quote was pulled from a post on the UltraPedestrian blog (read the whole thing here). This is the same blog where there was a podcast that briefly touched on 'Mountain Lion facts'. They gladly informed me that most people don't die from cougar attacks so we can run easy in the woods. Yeah, thanks. A little mauling doesn't bother me in the least, after all... Also that most attacks occur in California - gee thanks, that may be reassuring to your Washington listeners (UltraPedestrian is based in Seattle) but it doesn't do much at all for me! Oh well :) I will continue to fear being eaten, at least I can now look forward to a disfigured survival.
T, Ruger, and I headed out to JugHandle today for a longer than our usual run (not quite enough for me to call a long run, but satisfactorily tiring). At our brief pause at one end of the trail, a much speedier runner than we came sailing past. We decided that he was going so fast because he had 'runner legs' (basically much more definition than we'll be seeing any time soon...) T asked how soon he might be headed back (should Ruger be leashed) but no way of knowing if he was doing some more miles on the fire roads or just taking the boardwalk through the pygmy trees and heading back, in which case not too long since it's only .2 of a mile. Gave me some motivation to run on ahead and see how far I could make it before he catches me. Further than I expected, but while I was moving at a fairly reasonable pace, I felt like wading through a vat of Gu compared to the glide of Speedy politely asking for trail and vanishing ahead faster than a blink (a brief moment I thought about trying to keep up for a moment then remembered I was doing two laps today and therefore wasn't less than 2 miles from the car like normal). Pleased to see some good negative splits today (down 60s, another 60s, then another 30s). And felt good the whole way, even reasonable hitting the stairs at the near-end of the trail. I liked the tailwind (lemon again, 1.5 scoops 20oz water) and am confident enough in giving it a proper test based on how my stomach felt, and I think it's partially responsible for feeling an increase in strength towards the end of my run. Will be interesting to see how the half goes at the end of the month. We both used the tailwind today, and since it wasn't a huge run just had the one bottle each, therefore no plain water for poor Ruger. T ended up not doing the second lap so he could go back to the truck for water, and wait there while T ran back out to meet me on my way back. Need to find a little dog pack for trails that don't have easy water access for four legged training partners. Suggestions?
LOL at runner legs. I'm starting to realize that only about 10% of the people who run long distances actually feel like they're real runners. It's the Imposter Syndrome Sport.
ReplyDeleteI've still got a packet of Tailwind I keep meaning to try. I've tasted it and it went down well, but I haven't used it in a ride/race situation. I'm terrible at feeding myself during runs (I'm only out there for like two hours at the absolute most, how could I possibly need food for that? and why am I sore the day after I run without eating a damn thing? Surely these questions are not connected) and I need to work on it.
REI for dog backpacks, or if you have a Pet Food Express I think they've got some gear too?
True, Mr Speedy probably doesn't feel like a runner either. Tailwind did good for me on a hilly run this morning. Feeling pretty confident on it so far, a good three hour would be nice but doubt I can fit that in before GGH so guess I'll throw something in my pack for backup just in case and see where I end up. Even though I know the whole nutrition thing and its effect on my performance, I forget. Not so bad at rides (years of being a trail guide spending all day in the saddle eating whenever you can),so hopefully this is a reasonable compromise for me :) If you see me falling off the side of or waddling behind my horse at the Derby we'll know it failed lol
DeleteI run for ice cream! And I agree with you about ultras and trail running wuth the walking thing. Ive never had to have a conversation with other trail runners about whether im a real runner because I walk some duribg races. Apparently to some I didnt actually run ky tmarathons bc I took walk breaks. Lol. In trails the majority of people walk at some point! Also I wonder how people get runners legs????? Im cer5aintly not even close!
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