There are times that the things that I do don't make sense to me. This year I have set my goals high and I am planning to run a 100 mile ultra marathon. I also want to put in a total of 2000 miles of running this year. Most people think that I am stupid for wanting to obtain such goals, but luckily my biggest supporter, my wife, is completely on board for helping me reach these goals.
I am not much of a runner. Last year, I completed my first ultra, the Standhope 60k. I was not prepared for this race at all, and I mean not at all... My longest run prior to this race was a whopping 12 miles. This race was a killer race with over 10,000 ft of elevation gain. I had two goals for this run. 1. Finish the race. 2. Not to come in dead last.
I opted for the early start, so I could make the time cut offs. At the 20 mile mark, my wife parked our car because she was doing the 25k race. I was so tempted to just get in the car and drive back to camp. I was soaked and tired. After conflicting some inner demons, I went on to finish the race. On top of it all, I didn't get last... I got third to last which blew my expectations sky high.
I learned a couple of things from my first ultra. 1) Train before race day. 2) When they advise that this is not a good ultra for a beginner, listen to them. 3) At 30 miles I chaff in places that makes going to the bathroom miserable.
Right after the race, I made the claim that I was never going to run again. The next day, as I was sitting on the couch because I wasn't capable of walking, I started looking into my next ultra.
Here are some pics from the Standhope 60k. I hope to put a lot more posts about my runs, thoughts, and distractions while training for the Tushar 100 in July.
I am not much of a runner. Last year, I completed my first ultra, the Standhope 60k. I was not prepared for this race at all, and I mean not at all... My longest run prior to this race was a whopping 12 miles. This race was a killer race with over 10,000 ft of elevation gain. I had two goals for this run. 1. Finish the race. 2. Not to come in dead last.
I opted for the early start, so I could make the time cut offs. At the 20 mile mark, my wife parked our car because she was doing the 25k race. I was so tempted to just get in the car and drive back to camp. I was soaked and tired. After conflicting some inner demons, I went on to finish the race. On top of it all, I didn't get last... I got third to last which blew my expectations sky high.
I learned a couple of things from my first ultra. 1) Train before race day. 2) When they advise that this is not a good ultra for a beginner, listen to them. 3) At 30 miles I chaff in places that makes going to the bathroom miserable.
Right after the race, I made the claim that I was never going to run again. The next day, as I was sitting on the couch because I wasn't capable of walking, I started looking into my next ultra.
Here are some pics from the Standhope 60k. I hope to put a lot more posts about my runs, thoughts, and distractions while training for the Tushar 100 in July.
This was the first pass right as the sun was coming up
This was taken from the second pass during the run.
This is where I had a breakdown at about mile 28, where I doubted everything I was doing and life itself. I still had 10 miles to go and a couple thousand feet to gain, including the pass over 11,000 feet just right of Standhope Peak (center).
