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race week!!!! — Woodside Ramble 50k

race week!!!! — Woodside Ramble 50k

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Well, aside from the fact that we’re smack in the middle of my favorite stretch of year, we’re also in my favorite type of week: race week, baby! If all goes according to plan, I’ll post a few more shorty-short jaunts just to keep the blood movin’ and come Sunday morning, I’ll go drop 31+ miles in the woods over in, appropriately named, Woodside.

beginning to memorize this...
I’m beginning to memorize this…

 

Usually, this would be the time in my “ohemgee it’s race week yay emotions and second-guessing everything!” post where I’d try to do something dramatic, like write a single-word or single-sentence paragraph to showcase my heightened emotions, anxieties, and whatever else coursin’ through these veins in advance of the event of choice, but this time around, at least at this point in the week, I’m feeling calm. Excited, even. And a little intrigued.

The beauty of doing something for the first time, like I’ve said before, is that you really don’t have any expectations going into it, as well as no previous experiences from which you can extrapolate. Having not raced anything more than a marathon/42k, like I wrote before, I don’t know what I don’t know about racing a 50k on trails with about 5k’ of gain, and I’m pretty sure none of the 25 previous (non-trail) marathons I’ve raced will help me much… yet really, aside from the aforementioned fear of GMBAML (getting mauled by a mountain lion), I’m sure it’ll be amazing!!!! And yup, all the exclamation points are completely necessary!!!!

Seriously. I think it will be awesome. My goal is to finish and to have a freakin’ blast. If I can realize both of those goals, I will be golden.

The truth of the matter is that when I found out that life would preclude me from racing CIM, initially I was a bit bummed because it’s such a big deal here—and I knew so many people who were also doing it as their A race for the winter/autumn—but I also felt a little relieved. I’ve run and raced a lot this year—which has been fabulous, and it’s been healthy stuff, and very gratifying on so many levels—but at least early on, I questioned how into it my heart would be for CIM. Part of it was simply that I’ve been frustrated in myself, in not only my propensity for choosing some really tough courses for which I train my ass off and try to go all-out in and PR (looking at you, Oakland and SF), but also in my ability—nay, my fucking penchant, it’s seemingly that habitual—to make novice, stupid-ass errors that jeopardize my ability to execute on race day goals and strategies (looking at you, Chicago and NYC ’13 and Newport ’14).

but no matter the frustration... this feeling. my god, this. feeling.
but no matter the frustration… this feeling. my god, this. feeling.

 

At any rate, though I’m truly elated with how my running has progressed from Houston ’13 to the present, I was kinda beginning to feel like maybe I needed a time-out from roads/26.2 after 26.2, and when the 50k seemed like a viable option, I thought… perfect. I’d be dumb to not take this glaring opportunity.

In the past few weeks, I’ve done a quick-and-dirty overview of my training for this race, and I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to healthily post about 97% of my projected training mileage; fuck yeah I’ll take that without complaint. I’ve had to mix some things up a bit to accommodate life, but hey, who doesn’t. Really, the biggest difference between my 50k and previous marathon training has been my lack of concerted speedwork/pace work/tempo stuff for this greater distance, as well as my intentionally slowing my longer runs to emphasize time on my feet over stuff like fast finishes or progressions. That part—making my long runs long, and slower, and without bells and whistles—was tough (because I really do enjoy that stuff in my LRs), but it was also a nice departure from the same ol’, same ol’.

also a good departure from same ol', same 'ol. en route to Monument Peak in SJ, CA (11/14)
also a good departure from same ol’, same ‘ol. en route to Monument Peak in SJ, CA (11/14)

 

Probably the most important focus for me for this 50k has been in how I’ve approached my weekend long runs, and more often than not—but not always—I’ve posted back-to-back (if not also back-to-back-to-back) long runs to, again, emphasize time on my feet. For some weeks, life intervened, or I was feeling like ass/burnt out, but overwhelmingly, things went swimmingly. The end result, beginning from pacing the Santa Rosa Marathon, because that kinda sorta marked the unofficial beginning of this little journey:

Saturday Sunday
Week of 8/18 Shakeout 3ish in SR w Austin 26.2 / 3:35 pacer
Week of 8/25 7 (Vegas) 6 (Vegas)
Week of 9/1 7 14 (including a trail race 13.5)
Week of 9/8 8 6
Week of 9/15 18 10
Week of 9/22 12.12 24.3
Week of 9/29 rest (outpatient surgery) 20 (including RNRSJ half)
Week of 10/6 20.05 13.05
Week of 10/13 rest 23ish (including Nike Women’s half in SF)
Week of 10/20 Rest – disneyland rest – disneyland
Week of 10/27 22.11 12.27
Week of 11/3 rest 27.06
Week of 11/10 12.1 18.06
Week of 11/17 13.2 28.15 (11 a.m.; 17 p.m.)
Week of 11/24 rest 20.1
Week of 12/1 (taper) 5 10
Week of 12/8 (taper/race) Probably some shakeout Big day!

 

And there we have it. Hard to believe that this 50k training is coming on the heels of me posting 2,500 miles for the year—new personal distance record—but dammit if it isn’t a hell of a way to close out 2014 and my first year living in CA. I’m beginning to think that I’m drinking the kool-aid here in more ways than one.

Sunday will be interesting. I joke that I was hazed into marathoning, since Chicago ’07 was so damn hot, and I think Sunday will be a mud-fest with all the rain that we’ve (finally) been getting, but hey. It’s all about the memories, right. Why not.

Here we go, 50k!

50k training: quick and dirty ‘stuff’ review

50k training: quick and dirty ‘stuff’ review

Comments 6 comments

I generally don’t write (or haven’t written, I should say) gear reviews because there is no shortage of posts out there on this very subject–and often written by people much better-versed in this topic than me–but a few friends had inquired about some stuff I’ve used for this training cycle, so I thought I’d throw it all down here for your edification. None of the links are affiliates; in other words, I paid for everything I’m using and am not getting any sort of kick-back to help promote it. Basically: these are my opinions. Promise. 🙂

  • Ultimate Direction (UD) women’s ultra vesta. I originally learned about the UD brand when I was a ZOOMA Napa Valley ’14 ambassador, though at the time I wasn’t using any of their products. UD worked with Scott Jurek’s wife, Jenny, also a kickass runner, to design this ergonomically-appropriate-for-women hydration vest, so when I saw that it had the Jurek seal of approval, I felt like it had more credibility than some of the other systems out there. Since moving to CA, I’ve had to get used to carrying my own fluids on my run (world’s smallest violin here, I know), and for a long time, I was simply using a Nathan belt. Nathan worked for a long time for me–the better part of this year, in fact–but eventually, I think it began to kinda fuck with my hips some and exacerbate some long-dormant ITBS. I had high hopes for this vest, and it has been wonderful. I honestly can’t feel it when I wear it–it’s pretty much like a second skin now–and I think it’s only chafed me maaaaaaybe once in the past 3-4 months. My only complaint? The bottles’ lids are kinda finicky (to me), so if you’re not super careful to shut them as tightly as possible, you’ll be reminded of your errors when you go to run and have a bunch of water fly up and hit you in the face or go barreling up your nose.  You can definitely use other bottles in place of the UD ones though–and for a while, I was using my Nathan ones instead–but honestly, my issue is probably more user error than anything.
from the UD website
from the UD website

 

recycled pic from a MP summit with Saurabh, but this is a decent profile view of the vest. On the front I've got 2 10-oz (ish) Nathan bottles (plus I managed to stick my Note 4 behind one of the water bottles), and on the back side, I've got a small fridge's worth of food and another 20 oz of fluids in the UD bottles.
recycled pic from a MP summit with Saurabh, but this is a decent profile view of the vest. On the front I’ve got 2 10-oz (ish) Nathan bottles (plus I managed to stick my Note 4 behind one of the water bottles), and on the back side, I’ve got a small fridge’s worth of food and another 20 oz of fluids in the UD bottles. On my run on Sunday, the pack also contained two headlamps, a jacket, and food, so yea… you can get a lot in there.
another recycled pic so you can see the back view of the vest. the way that the vest sits on my chest makes me pretty much forget it's there; no bouncing, no chafing, nothing. for sizing reference, I ordered a M/L but probably could have gone down to the S because there's not much up top. if you do go for the larger size, though, and find that it's a bit bigger than you were anticipating, you can pull the straps so the vest becomes snug with chest/sternum and it'll be allllllll good.
another recycled pic so you can see the back view of the vest. the way that the vest sits on my chest makes me pretty much forget it’s there; no bouncing, no chafing, nothing. for sizing reference, I ordered a M/L but probably could have gone down to the S because there’s not much on me up top (barely pushing a 34B, for reference). if you do go for the larger size, though, and find that it’s a bit bigger than you were anticipating, you can pull the straps so the vest becomes snug with your chest/sternum and it’ll be allllllll good.

 

  • shoes. Honestly, whatever. If you want trail shoes, then go for it, but I haven’t made the plunge because I’ve felt perfectly fine alternating between Ghosts (which function similar to Hokas) and PureFlows. Some people swear by exclusively using trail shoes for trail running, while others say it doesn’t matter as much as we think. Whatever floats your boat, gang.

 

  • food/fuel. I think it’s a tad problematic to liken our bodies to machines or engines, buuuuuuuuut in the discourse of endurance running, I think it can actually be pretty helpful. That said, quality in = quality out. If your diet sucks, and you’re not rebounding and recovering from hours-long runs with nutrient-dense food, your subsequent runs and, in general, your body, will surely suffer. It’s not rocket science. It’s hard to recommend any one particular thing because our bodies all respond so differently to food (especially mid-run!), but here’s a smattering of what’s worked for me, in no particular order: pancakes, naan, clementines, bananas, pepitas, pbj on white bread, super salty pretzels, and variably, nuun. When I’m out for several hours and am refueling with non-gel (read: real food) items, I tend to go for the stuff that’s going to give me calories as quickly as possible and, hopefully, with as few gastrointestinal issues as possible. My stomach can react absolutely horrendously to eating while running (hello, the 10+ times I had to go ‘bond with nature’ on my Saturday run, ugh!), so if you’re anything like me, I can’t recommend enough experimenting early and often throughout your training.  If, however, you’ve got a stomach of steel… you’re lucky.

 

  • socks. Whatever. Injinji–the crazy toe socks–work well for me, but I don’t discriminate. Honestly, whatever is clean is what I wear. Again, some people swear by a certain brand, or a certain thickness; I think it’s all just a matter of personal preference (and how well your socks and shoes jibe in terms of friction, moisture, and the like). I tend to swing Injinji and thin, but YMMV.

 

  • safety items: a headlamp and vest. My life schedule necessitates that I usually run between the hours of 4-6 a.m., and in Chicago, while a bit sketchy in some areas, it wouldn’t be that big a deal because the lakefront is completely illuminated. Here, though, I feel like the city of SJ goes to sleep at sunset and doesn’t awaken until well after sunrise; it is super dark here, even on the city streets! Shortly after I moved here, friends recommended the Black Diamond headlamp, and honestly, like the UD vest, it has been one of my best running investments this year. That little sucker is BRIGHT on the roads/trails and super comfortable on my head: no bouncing, no moving, nada.
pic from amazon, where I purchased this gem
pic from amazon, where I purchased this gem

For a vest, honestly, I think anything could work, as long as it’s bright and visible, but I’ve been wearing this guy for most of this year, and it’s been great. The less I notice something on the run, the happier I am. 🙂

 

  • reference/inspiration. I don’t know what I don’t know, so I turn to folks who have done this stuff before to show me the way. A couple sites, beyond my friends and cross-country/international training buddies, that have been especially helpful:
  1. strengthrunning.com. There’s lots of crap information on the webz about running, much of it nearly dangerously inaccurate, so this guy and his site is like a beacon of light on a stormy sea… or something. Anyway, he knows his stuff. Here’s a good one: http://strengthrunning.com/2014/08/how-to-become-an-ultramarathoner-5-steps-to-running-your-first-ultra/.
  2. rockcreekrunner.com. Recently relocated to NC but originally from DC, Doug knows trails and trail running and is determined to let people in on the little secret that trails and ultras are FANTASTIC. His site has lots of good, useful, and accessible information for runners who are looking to make the leap from marathons to ultras, and I appreciate his candor in his approach. He actually makes this stuff sound more fun than crazy 🙂  A good one: http://www.rockcreekrunner.com/2012/11/15/42-reasons-to-trail-run/.
  3. http://chrisultra.blogspot.com/.  For you IL-based folks, a downstate guy, who’s vegetarian, who’s been doing ultras for a good long while. Lots of good information on his site (especially if you’re looking to run some longer ones in IL). It’s been fun to follow his training since we connected in RYBQ in 2012. A good one from him:   http://chrisultra.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-ultra-running-advice.html.
  4. http://www.NoMeatAthlete.com. But of course. Matt’s another vegan ultra runner who’s got lots of good reference and inspiration up his sleeve, and it’s through him that I learned about Jason, and Doug, and Chris. Like the other guys, Matt’s got a lot of really great info on his site about going ultra, in addition to some good vegan lifestyle-centered stuff, too. One of the reasons I like Matt’s site and value what he has to say is because he’s married and has two small children at home and still manages to figure out how to get shit done and do crazy stuff, like train for and complete a 100-miler. One of his best: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/you-can-run-an-ultramarathon/.
  5. http://www.dirtytrailshoes.com/. Scott was an SF Marathon Ambassador this year, which is how I got to know him and began to follow his training on Strava (which is another great source of motivation, by the way). Scott’s well-versed in trails and ultras and has a ton of good information on his site, including some really excellent gear reviews. He also has some great race reviews and recaps of Bay Area races–super helpful to me since I’m still learning the area here and again, don’t know what I don’t know. Thanks, Scott!!! 🙂
  6. http://www.irunfar.com/. So. much. information. If you’re interested in stateside or international races, run-of-the-mill 50ks or crazy-ass, days-long races of attrition (hello, multi-stage!), chances are it’s covered here somewhere. Awesome, awesome resource. It’s from this site that I learned about Relentless Forward Progress and from where I’ve based a lot of my training for this forthcoming 50k. For more info about RFP: http://www.irunfar.com/rfp.Relentless-Forward-Progress-cover-250x375-200x300

 

I think that’s about it. There are certainly tons and tons more products, websites, books, or training guides out there I haven’t yet come upon, so I’d love to hear your recommendations. I think there’s definitely many opportunities for this stuff to go both ways between ultras and marathoning–what works in one might actually still work in the other–so let me know if you’ve come upon something recently that really gets you jazzed that might work in both marathon and ultra training.

Have an amazing Thanksgiving! It’s the busiest day of the year for runners (no joke!) and also one of my top three favorite holidays. 🙂

20 days ’til the 50k, baby!