#ultra-running

[titopostea]

Ultra Man

[vegancableguy-blog]

Accountability Post Revisited

Accountability Post Revisited - Run Across The Cape #capecod #vegan #ultramarathon

I posted something very similar to this on via my Facebook page and wanted to add it here (with some embellishment) to not only announce it here, but to share the link for this project.

In February of 2019 I turn 45.

I’ve had this thing the past couple years (since turning 40) that I attempt some ridiculous physical goal. In 2015 I attempted (DNF’d after 20 hours) the Winter Death Raceput on by…

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[brolympusrunning]

[rantsofarunner]

UROC

My oldest brother ran the Ultra Race of Champions last Saturday. It was a 100k (62 mile) race in Veil, CO. He was ranked twelfth and got fifth. He won prize money and pretty much killed it! Oh, and on the same day that he ran 62 miles, I ran 21 miles for marathon training. Yeah, somehow he still wins.

[upprvalley]

(via talkultra | Ian Corless host of Talk Ultra podcast)

[thenewvictorygarden]

Mental prep

Following the Western States 100 coverage yesterday and early this morning really helped to get me excited for this weekend's upcoming goal race. I'm still nervous though.

I'm really scared about the temperatures. I feel like I was aware of the fact that the temps would be a challenge for me. I knew when I signed up for a race in the summer that I would be running in the heat. Still, I'm thinking it's only sinking in now. 

I of course, in this state of freaking out, went ahead and looked at weather records for this past September when I ran the Vermont 50km. I was NOT mentally prepared for the weather that day. I remember stepping out of the hotel on our way to the race start and I felt my heart sink. I could have taken a bite out of the air that's how thick and humid it was. I remember seeing a high humidity percentage when I checked my phone. But today I went online to check. And I was indeed correct all this time, my memory served me right: 97% humidity. As the day pushed on the sun came out and the temps rose. The elevation was 6x worse than the race I'm coming up to this weekend.

In telling myself all of that I hope I can relax a little bit. Despite a few hiccups in training due to getting sick, getting a migraine, etc. I feel better with my training than I did for VT. The course is flatter, and I'm looking forward to the single track. It may be hot, but I dealt with my worst enemy in VT: high humidity. So unless it gets to a point where it's the same humidity or worse (I doubt it), I think I'll be okay. 

I had a great run this morning. Just a short 10km ish run. It was hot but I felt good. Afterward though I did not feel so great. I should have put electrolyte tabs in my water. Lesson learned, won't forget that for race day. 

Starting now to think about prepping, packing, planning. Stay tuned for some posts on that. 

[templeofthemorningstar-blog]

Riding the wind.

[jconrad-blog]

Oriflamme Canyon is a beast.

Oriflamme Canyon - 18 miles (3:32) - 2.25.12

The San Diego Dirt Devils is a trail running meetup group that explores the trails of greater San Diego and races in most of the local ultra marathon events (i.e. Noble Canyon 50k, Oriflamme Canyon 50k, San Diego 100 miler).  Living in downtown, I might have never known about the places I've seen running with these guys.  Everyone I've met has been super down to earth and ambitious to put in the miles.  This morning was a 7am meet-up at the Sunrise Trailhead (mile marker 34-2 on Sunrise Hwy).  Most of the group was out there training for the upcoming Oriflamme (say Or-ah-Flame) 50k race in March.  I was just out to see if I could hang with the group.  In my mind, I'm still undertrained and a virtual newbie to the whole ultra scene.  It's humbling to run with guys talking about their next 100 miler or how they "bonked" on mile 75 of their last one.  75 miles is an f-ing accomplishment!  And it seems so easy for these guys to just blow off the impossibilities and just run, run until it's over.  

Oriflamme canyon trail is essentially a multi-purpose trail leading down to the Anza-Borrego desert.  You make the 2000ft descent in just around 5 miles.  If you take the 50k race course you get to the top of the canyon trail (where the fun begins) at about mile 6 or 7 of a rolling ridge run on the PCT.  To state the obvious, the trail is steep at parts.  On top of that most of the terrain is loose, baseball-sized rocks.  On the way down, your biggest worries may be: 1. Whether you are going to roll your ankle on the next hundred thousand rocks in front of you, 2. Should I turn back now? and 3.  How the hell am i going to make it back up this 5 mile death march of a hill in one piece?  The bottom of the trail is just about mile 10 of the race course.  I turned around, along with everyone else, at the mile 10 and started the trek back up to the PCT (2000ft above you at that point).  The weather was cooperated nicely the entire morning and we made it back to the trailhead in just under 3 and a half hours.  Since I didn't necessarily "need" to run the full 20 miles, I took a bailout shortcut back to the Sunrise Trailhead parking lot.  Altogether it was an 18 mile morning jaunt down to the California desert and back.  I had a good time but I'm not sure my legs share the same sentiment.  It's okay, they'll learn.  The body is a very wise, resilient machine.