I've been slacking on my writing, among other things. For the past couple of months, I have been in training mode for my first trail, first 6-hour endurance race. At the time I registered, I had in my mind that I was going to do 50k in this race. After all, 6 hours is only one hour longer than my marathon time, so what's 4-ish more miles in another hour? So the training plan I was following was for a 50k, having me run 5 days a week, doing cross-training on my "off" days, and putting in some crazy miles on the weekends. This is all taking place during the months of April, May, and June.
Come race day, I had so much fun. But my God, I hated training for it.
The race was Solemates' CYA (standing for "Cool Your Ass") 6/12/24 and 100 Mile endurance race in Prescott, AZ. The general idea was, it would be cooler to run in Prescott in July than running in Phoenix in July, and I wanted an opportunity to do a long run sometime during the summer. I signed up to do as many loops of the "Little Donkey" 3.15 mi course as I could complete in 6 hours.
The race I chose started at 7am, and I think I remember it being about 68 degrees. Perfect running weather! I met up with my usual counterparts in insanity in the parking lot; lathered up in various combinations of Body Glide, Vaseline, sunscreen, and baby powder; and headed off to the start line.
I felt really good during this race. Training for it, I was concerned about the elevation getting to me, but come race day I felt pretty good. Even 5, 6 laps in I felt pretty good although I was doing a lot of walking. I didn't reapply sunscreen nearly as often enough as I should have, and the thing that hurt the most at the end of the race was my sunburned skin rather than my muscles. I'm not sure if that's a success or a failure.
Ultimately I ended with 7 laps, or 22.05 miles, in what took me about 5.5 hours. I didn't go around another loop because I knew I wouldn't make it back in 30 minutes. (I think my last lap was something around 40-50 minutes. It was HOT. I think I remember somebody saying it was 93 degrees then. Jokes were made that CYA stood for "Cook Your Ass".) I hesitated on writing this post because, although I had such a great time, I'm not sure why I loved it so much.
I think it came down to the company. I raced with my best friend and some other really great friends I've made in my running "career". I also knew quite a few people volunteering, and the people in charge of Solemates' Ultra Running Events are pretty amazing people. And then there were the complete strangers I made friends with on the course.
There was Jenny and Tony, who paced with me and Scott for a long time. We talked about Across the Years and what it would take to complete 50k, 50 miles... We talked about Ironman, and what some of the best cities and courses are for that competition. I lost them around loop 4-5, but they were running really strong.
Then there was Dennis, who was there in pursuit of the 100 Mile buckle. We kept meeting each other near the aid station, about halfway around the loop, in one of the most sun-exposed parts of the course. We'd both start walking, and give each other a raised eyebrow when somebody decided to pass us. We talked about our running achievements, and he told me about people who had inspired him to run 100 miles. We also talked about our families, our careers... It was like therapy. He seemed to think 50k was still achievable for me that day, but when I met up with him about 5:20 into the race, I said, "Well Dennis, I don't think this is my day to do 50k."
"Well how many miles did you do?"
"It'll be 22 when I finish."
"22? That's still good. 22 miles on the trail is basically like 30, 31 on the road anyway."
"Yeah? I like the sound of it. I'll take it." Thanks Dennis. :)
There's something about a race like this that's just a little different than a road race. Obviously, the scenery is different. And there's something kind of cool about being able to get great food at the aid station every 3 miles or so. You can keep going, or quit when your body says "enough". It's so low pressure... it's fun.
I suppose I'll do another race like this eventually, although I haven't signed up for anything officially yet. Next on the race calendar is my first triathlon in October. But for now, here's a photo of me running away from you.
Come race day, I had so much fun. But my God, I hated training for it.
The race was Solemates' CYA (standing for "Cool Your Ass") 6/12/24 and 100 Mile endurance race in Prescott, AZ. The general idea was, it would be cooler to run in Prescott in July than running in Phoenix in July, and I wanted an opportunity to do a long run sometime during the summer. I signed up to do as many loops of the "Little Donkey" 3.15 mi course as I could complete in 6 hours.
The race I chose started at 7am, and I think I remember it being about 68 degrees. Perfect running weather! I met up with my usual counterparts in insanity in the parking lot; lathered up in various combinations of Body Glide, Vaseline, sunscreen, and baby powder; and headed off to the start line.
I felt really good during this race. Training for it, I was concerned about the elevation getting to me, but come race day I felt pretty good. Even 5, 6 laps in I felt pretty good although I was doing a lot of walking. I didn't reapply sunscreen nearly as often enough as I should have, and the thing that hurt the most at the end of the race was my sunburned skin rather than my muscles. I'm not sure if that's a success or a failure.
Ultimately I ended with 7 laps, or 22.05 miles, in what took me about 5.5 hours. I didn't go around another loop because I knew I wouldn't make it back in 30 minutes. (I think my last lap was something around 40-50 minutes. It was HOT. I think I remember somebody saying it was 93 degrees then. Jokes were made that CYA stood for "Cook Your Ass".) I hesitated on writing this post because, although I had such a great time, I'm not sure why I loved it so much.
I think it came down to the company. I raced with my best friend and some other really great friends I've made in my running "career". I also knew quite a few people volunteering, and the people in charge of Solemates' Ultra Running Events are pretty amazing people. And then there were the complete strangers I made friends with on the course.
There was Jenny and Tony, who paced with me and Scott for a long time. We talked about Across the Years and what it would take to complete 50k, 50 miles... We talked about Ironman, and what some of the best cities and courses are for that competition. I lost them around loop 4-5, but they were running really strong.
Then there was Dennis, who was there in pursuit of the 100 Mile buckle. We kept meeting each other near the aid station, about halfway around the loop, in one of the most sun-exposed parts of the course. We'd both start walking, and give each other a raised eyebrow when somebody decided to pass us. We talked about our running achievements, and he told me about people who had inspired him to run 100 miles. We also talked about our families, our careers... It was like therapy. He seemed to think 50k was still achievable for me that day, but when I met up with him about 5:20 into the race, I said, "Well Dennis, I don't think this is my day to do 50k."
"Well how many miles did you do?"
"It'll be 22 when I finish."
"22? That's still good. 22 miles on the trail is basically like 30, 31 on the road anyway."
"Yeah? I like the sound of it. I'll take it." Thanks Dennis. :)
There's something about a race like this that's just a little different than a road race. Obviously, the scenery is different. And there's something kind of cool about being able to get great food at the aid station every 3 miles or so. You can keep going, or quit when your body says "enough". It's so low pressure... it's fun.
I suppose I'll do another race like this eventually, although I haven't signed up for anything officially yet. Next on the race calendar is my first triathlon in October. But for now, here's a photo of me running away from you.
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