I want to start off saying that these are my feelings and experiences and mine alone. I am not stating for fact one is more difficult, better, fun other than how I view it. Do not take offense if you have participated in both and think opposite. The beauty of exercise is we get to choose what suits us best, what makes us most happy!
After a year of Ironman Choo I decided with much encouragement from the hubs to take a year off of triathlons. It was going to be an easy year! Helping pace the half marathon training program in the winter, do an occasional local race here and there, working on my strength training…. Not sure how I ended up signing up for a 50 miler. I would say it was temporary insanity if it wasn’t for the fact that two months later I signed up for an 8 hour ultra as well.
I started off loving the training for my ultra! Who wouldn’t love long slow runs with walk breaks and snacks? My friend Letitia always referred to it as a moving picnic! Every Saturday after my long run Cory and I would go out to eat and I could get whatever I wanted! Sunday’s I started off feeling pretty good doing a semi longer run to follow up Saturday! Instead of the 8-12 hours I was putting in Ironman training on the weekends last year, I was putting in maybe at most 5-6 hours a weekend ultratraining! It was awesome!
It was awesome. Till the spring decided to be non-existent. Temps reaching well into the 90’s at 8am, meaning I was out the door at 4:30am starting my run in the dark. About the time the humidity would disappear the sun would be out and a few hours into the run you were just drained. I would be out half the time as triathlon training and I would be twice as tired. Not sure if this was the weather, or because I was only running, I am sure it was a combo of both but I was just so tired. Chaffing, let us not even go there because there were places even I didn’t realize could chaff! Haha they can!!
I did have company to start most of my runs but people who aren’t ultra training do not really want to run over 13 miles in 90 degrees plus! So some runs were solo, all runs had parts that were solo. My major complaint about Ironman training was that it was so lonely. It is hard to train with others when we all have different schedules. I found myself on Saturdays biking 5-6 hours solo and running my long runs on Sunday when others already had theirs done for the weekend. I was excited for a year of running with others and it was so much better this year!
But as training continued and the temps continued to be hell, I found myself not liking it anymore. I was tired and starting to feel pain. It concerned me that I was heading down the road to injury again. On my cross training days I was sore and couldn’t do much more than just walk Remy. 3 weeks before my 8 hour ultra, and a few months out from the 50 miler, I started to have ankle pain after running for 5 miles. I had it for about 4 runs before the 8 hour ultra and then the last run before it I had no pain. I thought maybe it had all been in my head.
Race day comes and I got about 3-4 loops in (10-12 miles) when it was evident that it was not in my head. My ankle was hurting and it felt like I had adjusted my running and was dealing with a possible blister on my toe. I was only 2 hours into the 8 and knew I would need to do something to keep going so I switched shoes early on. It saved me. My toe never blister and after a loop my ankle never hurt again that day, but the bottoms of my feet were screaming at me. I thought maybe it was the changing of surfaces and not being used to it but I had a few others tell me theirs hurt too. The first two hours were humid, misty, cool, and not too bad. Then the sun came out blazing with no break for 6 hours. Luckily I was used to this! This was what we had all summer. However after 3-4 hours I was done on training runs, I still had several hours to go and I could no longer stomach anything but Coke and water. I felt I was going to fail. My secret goal was 35, because I wanted that so I could drop out of the 50. I had a little over 2 hours to get 10 miles. I wasn’t sure I could do it.
About this time in the race my friend V joins me to run a loop. My 9th loop and my worst. I was hurting, nauseous, and down on myself. She let me talk it out that loop, walk a lot, say I wasn’t going to get my goal. We got back to start loop 10 with about 1 hour 50 minutes left. I told her I wasn’t going to make 2 more loops. She said I would. I told her if we could do a loop in 50 minutes I would try for another. I feel this was a game changer. I started planning out when I would run and how long, she made me try watermelon and I was able to keep it down, I used the restroom and just that tiny stop refreshed me. We got back with not only an hour left, but an hour and 10 minutes! I was going to get my goal, and not only that, my friend Jeff joined us and we started talking about me trying to get his amount from the year he did it. I wanted 35, I ended up getting back and doing 3 out and back loops, the loops you do once it is too late to go back out for another long loop. I ended up with 37.69! I owe so much to them two and believing me in! I really have the best friends! I was so happy. I was so done with ultras too! I would be dropping the 50. Here is why.
Howl is the best race for a first time ultra runner I believe! It was an amazing experience! Not too many people, the loop is only 3.29 miles with 3 aid loaded aid stations (with wonderful helpers) so you don’t need to carry anything, it has amazing support, the people are wonderful, and you can have others run with you that aren’t racing. I loved the experience. I did not love the after feeling or the training.
When I trained for my Ironman I was strong. I weighed less this year training for my ultra, but my body didn’t feel as good. Training for the ultra just made me feel like I could run a long time. Training for the Ironman made me feel like I could do almost anything. I was the most fit I have ever been. After each workout I recovered quickly, which was necessary in training to be able to get back out there the next day and do it over again. I did not feel great ultra training. I felt tired, run down, hurt. When I look back I think it was harder Ironman training but ultra training was more exhausting and painful. By the end of the day when Ironman training I was exhausted. But I was exhausted and would go to sleep and feel good the next day. At the end of the day ultra training I would be exhausted and wake up exhausted, my body was exhausted. It made me feel weak. It made me realize that maybe just running long distances wasn’t for me. I didn’t love it enough to risk injury. I didn’t care about it enough.
It could be that this year was hotter than last year. It could be that I never really took a break after my Ironman and I am just run down. I could take time off both and try ultras again but I just don’t care too and I think that above any other reason is enough for me to drop it and go back to what I love doing. Life is short and all, so I would rather do it triing, than just running.
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