Swim, Bike, and Run your Age!
If Not Now, When?
Iron Pol's Gold Medal Run
First, for the record, with my 40th birthday approaching in December, I put together several runs that qualified for gold, including two runs in August that totaled 50 miles in 24 hours, a 40 mile run comprised of a half and full marathon back to back in September, and culminating with the "official" run on October 25th. That was an official race, the Fall 50, held in Door County, Wisconsin. A 50-mile ultramarathon, their motto is "Start at Gills Rock, face south, and don't stop running until somebody hands you a beer." My official time was 8:58 even. That was good enough for 24th out of 56 total racers, and 22nd out of 42 males. Most importantly, it was good enough for my first official ultramarathon in the bag.
The fun with this race actually started shortly after the final five hour long run, when I fell victim to a head and chest cold my kids brought home. My three week taper more closely resembled an off-season, and I only managed to get in one run of 18 miles. It ended with several nights of "sleep" in the recliner holding my 3-year old daughter as she struggled with congestion. Races are important. Kids are more important. So, I went into the race with a bit more off-time than desired, and a lot less sleep.
Solo runners started the day at 7 a.m. and we had great weather. It was cool, with slightly overcast skies. Putting Galloway training into practice, I was using 5 minute run intervals with 2 minute walks. Most of the runners were quickly out of sight, though I would see many of them again closer to the end of the race. Focused on my goal of maintaining a moderate pace, I enjoyed the scenery, particularly the changing trees.
My one concern over the first 25 miles was having my "nemesis" ahead of me. This is a guy who has been at just about every endurance running race I've ever run. Having him ahead of me and not knowing exactly WHERE was the one thing making me want to push harder, and I worked hard to keep my pace under control.
When I made it to the "half-way buffet" at mile 27.5, I saw him grabbing a bite to eat, and he was still there as I headed out after refilling bottles and grabbing a few pieces of candy. I wouldn't see him again until he made it to the finish line. Knowing he was behind me eased the desire to push the pace.
Despite the sleep and training situation of the final weeks leading up to the race, I felt good through about mile 30. That was when I started up the 13 mile "hill that wasn't." While I can't say I was specifically hallucinating, my perception of the road conditions was a bit skewed. After about 10 miles of running up this "hill," I asked some volunteers if they knew when it would end. They pointed out that the road was fairly level, and would stay that way for the rest of the race. I left that aid station fairly certain the should run the course if they felt it was level. A few miles further down the road (still uphill, as I saw it), I looked to my rate at the shore of Green Bay. It was then that it clicked in my head that I had been following that same shoreline for every one of the 13 "uphill" miles.
Though the road still seemed to be uphill, I was forced to accept that the lake certainly WASN'T going uphill.
I started feeling the effects of the mileage at around the 30 mile point. I was 7 minutes ahead of my 10-minute pace goal through 25 miles, 3 minutes under that pace at 40 miles, and losing ground with every mile. I pushed myself to maintain the 5 run/2 walk intervals through at least mile 40. At that point, I called my wife to share that I was setting a new personal distance record with every step.
After 44 miles, I shifted my intervals to 3:30 run/3:30 walk. The five minute run intervals had become too long, but I wanted to make sure I was still running more than walking. At mile 48, I realized that two miles at 12:30 pace would get me to the finish line before the nine hour mark (my primary time goal). I switched back to 5/2 intervals, and found a team runner to draft off.
I must say I was pretty happy to see the finish line after making the final turn. And I was most impressed that after 50 miles, I somehow remembered to stop my watch.
After completing this race, I feel safe in saying that 50 miles is probably the pinnacle of my ultramarathoning career. To which my wife said, "Hallelujah!" She had threatened me with broken legs if I broached the idea of a 100 mile race, and was pleased to hear me say that wouldn't be required.
For those considering a race at this distance, my best advice would be to train the way you will race. That means that unless you will be racing with a training partner, your long runs should be completed alone. I was amazed at how much of this race was completed by myself.
And for those who like the nutrition information, I used food every 56 minutes. The sequence was Gu Tri Berry, CarBoom Kiwi Strawberry, a second Gu Tri Berry, and Lemon Lime Shot Bloks. I had enough for two cycles of that. I also picked up two small packs of M&Ms and ate one miniature 3 Musketeers candy bar. For hydration I used my four bottle Amphipod with Gatorade and one scoop of Endurolytes powder in each bottle. I refilled bottles at aid stations each time I had two empty bottles. For the last six miles, I switched to straight water.
Congratulations to all the other athletes who completed their own birthday events!
The fun with this race actually started shortly after the final five hour long run, when I fell victim to a head and chest cold my kids brought home. My three week taper more closely resembled an off-season, and I only managed to get in one run of 18 miles. It ended with several nights of "sleep" in the recliner holding my 3-year old daughter as she struggled with congestion. Races are important. Kids are more important. So, I went into the race with a bit more off-time than desired, and a lot less sleep.
Solo runners started the day at 7 a.m. and we had great weather. It was cool, with slightly overcast skies. Putting Galloway training into practice, I was using 5 minute run intervals with 2 minute walks. Most of the runners were quickly out of sight, though I would see many of them again closer to the end of the race. Focused on my goal of maintaining a moderate pace, I enjoyed the scenery, particularly the changing trees.
My one concern over the first 25 miles was having my "nemesis" ahead of me. This is a guy who has been at just about every endurance running race I've ever run. Having him ahead of me and not knowing exactly WHERE was the one thing making me want to push harder, and I worked hard to keep my pace under control.
When I made it to the "half-way buffet" at mile 27.5, I saw him grabbing a bite to eat, and he was still there as I headed out after refilling bottles and grabbing a few pieces of candy. I wouldn't see him again until he made it to the finish line. Knowing he was behind me eased the desire to push the pace.
Despite the sleep and training situation of the final weeks leading up to the race, I felt good through about mile 30. That was when I started up the 13 mile "hill that wasn't." While I can't say I was specifically hallucinating, my perception of the road conditions was a bit skewed. After about 10 miles of running up this "hill," I asked some volunteers if they knew when it would end. They pointed out that the road was fairly level, and would stay that way for the rest of the race. I left that aid station fairly certain the should run the course if they felt it was level. A few miles further down the road (still uphill, as I saw it), I looked to my rate at the shore of Green Bay. It was then that it clicked in my head that I had been following that same shoreline for every one of the 13 "uphill" miles.
Though the road still seemed to be uphill, I was forced to accept that the lake certainly WASN'T going uphill.
I started feeling the effects of the mileage at around the 30 mile point. I was 7 minutes ahead of my 10-minute pace goal through 25 miles, 3 minutes under that pace at 40 miles, and losing ground with every mile. I pushed myself to maintain the 5 run/2 walk intervals through at least mile 40. At that point, I called my wife to share that I was setting a new personal distance record with every step.
After 44 miles, I shifted my intervals to 3:30 run/3:30 walk. The five minute run intervals had become too long, but I wanted to make sure I was still running more than walking. At mile 48, I realized that two miles at 12:30 pace would get me to the finish line before the nine hour mark (my primary time goal). I switched back to 5/2 intervals, and found a team runner to draft off.
I must say I was pretty happy to see the finish line after making the final turn. And I was most impressed that after 50 miles, I somehow remembered to stop my watch.
After completing this race, I feel safe in saying that 50 miles is probably the pinnacle of my ultramarathoning career. To which my wife said, "Hallelujah!" She had threatened me with broken legs if I broached the idea of a 100 mile race, and was pleased to hear me say that wouldn't be required.
For those considering a race at this distance, my best advice would be to train the way you will race. That means that unless you will be racing with a training partner, your long runs should be completed alone. I was amazed at how much of this race was completed by myself.
And for those who like the nutrition information, I used food every 56 minutes. The sequence was Gu Tri Berry, CarBoom Kiwi Strawberry, a second Gu Tri Berry, and Lemon Lime Shot Bloks. I had enough for two cycles of that. I also picked up two small packs of M&Ms and ate one miniature 3 Musketeers candy bar. For hydration I used my four bottle Amphipod with Gatorade and one scoop of Endurolytes powder in each bottle. I refilled bottles at aid stations each time I had two empty bottles. For the last six miles, I switched to straight water.
Congratulations to all the other athletes who completed their own birthday events!
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