How prepared was your body to run 100 miles when you had just run a 100 mile race 3-4 weeks earlier?
Since I began my
never-take-another-day-off running streak a couple years ago, I made sure that
I would at least get out the very next day and “run” at least a mile. The
running more resembled a hobble, but I still would go for a mile. The next two
days were less painful, and I either completed the mile quicker or I would run
2-3 miles. By Wednesday (race was Saturday), I was just fine running my ‘short
loop’ of 5 miles at a more or less normal training run pace. Thursday through Saturday
I could easily run my 9+ mile loops without any problems or worries. For two full
years I had proceeded in this fashion after running 100-mile races. So when I
decided to run one 100-miler per month from the end of October through the end
of January (including a 100k and a 50-miler), I didn’t think it’d be too
difficult at all. By the following weekend I had always felt back to normal. And
there would be a full 3-4 weeks between all of these races (except for the one
week recovery from the final 100-miler to the 50-miler). I felt great going
into each race and I don’t think that I would’ve done any better had I not ran
any other races and only concentrated on that one. The only one that I didn’t
feel great at the start was the 50-miler at the very end.
I’m sure I’ll do this again this
coming fall/winter, unless a certain significant other can convince me
otherwise. I really enjoyed the whole thing this past year. Maybe not so much
in the later miles of each race, but I was always so happy and feeling like I accomplished
something cool when I finished. Plus I have to see if I can do all those races
and finish in under 100 hours (It took me 100 hours and 30 minutes this time.).
In 2010, before I was a crazy
runner, I put my name on a message board for the TIR (Texas Independence Relay).
It’s a relay race for 200 miles with teams of up to 12 runners. I had
previously ran a RAGNAR race with
some friends (the Texas one that only lasted one year) and had heard about the
TIR. I received an email and joined an 8-man team. I didn’t know any of the
team, but we all had a really fun time. But what caught my attention was that
there were two runners who were going to attempt to run the entire relay race
as a solo act. Again, I wasn’t crazy, yet, but I knew right there that that was
cool and could see myself doing that one day. I now see myself in a position
where I have quite a bit of experience running long ultras and want to know how
much farther I can run and how much further I can push myself. In March of 2016 I hope to be running the TIR as a solo entrant.
I don’t know if it was from watching
Forrest Gump or if I somehow came up with the idea on my own. But once it was
there, I knew it would be the best summer vacation ever. I should run across
the entire country. There’s no way I could afford it. Just food and renting an
RV for two months would cost a fortune. Luckily I’m a teacher, so I wouldn’t
need to take time off from work. That’s all I have to say about that.
There have recently been some interesting races
that have sprouted up. One in Tahoe and another in Colorado, possibly a few
others. They feature 200 miles (with no loops) in some beautiful mountains. One
of the only downsides is the cost just to enter the race. But it has definitely
peaked my interest.
