Five good ones this morning, very little need for a headlamp.

QOTD: How have your views on what is possible as a runner changed over time?

This question came to mind as I was about to drift off to sleep last night. I thought about this guy I met in Okinawa when I was in the Marines. He claimed to have run back to back marathons. He said he ran a marathon, took a 30 minute break and then did another. I was 18. I told him that was impossible. He also claimed that the hair band Cinderella wanted him to be their lead singer but he had already joined the Marines (This was like '87). So, he was known to be full of crap. Anyway, when I first heard about ultra marathons, I thought of that guy, even though I know he was lying. However, at that time and until I heard about these things, I never imagined that it was possible for me to run a marathon, much less a 50K, 50M, 100K, or 100M run. I still have not ever run a marathon, but to me, running a marathon or greater is a great accomplishment for anyone. I wish that I would have had the same mindset when I was in the Marines and had the time to train hard and could have run WSER or something like that when I was young and fast and they were easy to get in. But I am thankful I discovered them, nonetheless.

7 very slow miles last night.  I was content just t slog it.

QOTD: My views have changed a lot.  I used to think that running a marathon was out of reach, then I did that.  In training for that, I thought that a 10 mile run was so far.  That kept getting stretched to 15 then 20.  Now a 20 mile training run is not a big deal physically or mentally - I just need to make sure I carve enough time out to do it.  Looking at what others accomplish, my thoughts have changed too.  Years ago, I could have never imagined people running a 100 miler, multiple 100 milers, running 75-100 miles consistently every week, running sub 15 min 5k, running a 4 min mile, etc.  I am still in awe at what some people are able to accomplish whether it's speed or distance.  Someday I hope to run and finish a 100 but I am just not there yet.  I just enjoy being a part of running.

Have a great day!

8 miles with Sir Smells A Lot. He thought whatever he rolled in smelt wonderful, me not so much. I think bath night is going to be moved up a few days.

When I decided to get in shape my first "run" was all of 100 yards before my heart was pounding my head felt like it was goin to explode and my shins were burning. A 5k sounded impossible, it took 8 years but I got a couple 100's, six or seven 50's and a couple 100k's under my belt. After that first run I would of never guessed i had anything close to that hiding in me.

 

QOTD: Until about 6 years ago I didn't realize there were so many ultra marathons. Mostly it was simply because running longer distances were not on my radar.  I was thinking about doing a marathon, but only because I was interested in doing triathlons.  At first I started out increasing my normal winter running program to include some 10k distances then kept running some into the summer with a run of 8 miles being my max. At that point I wasn't sure if I could ever do a 1/2 marathon. Endurance wasn't the problem it was my feet and knees. Even with shoes, such as Nike Air I was only good for one long run and one short one a week due to the beating my feet  and knees were taking.  About that time I stumbled on Hyner 25k.  Since I was looking for an event to enter and there were few bicycle races in my area I decided to try it out. During my initial training I really liked trail running and ended up signing up for at least two other races including one that was just slightly over 26.5 miles.  At that time I really thought a 100 miler was doable for me if  my feet and knees would just hold up.  Then I found Hokas and that has allowed me to increase mileage quite a bit.  It wasn't long until I signed up for a 100k and was planning my first 100 miler. Then the stomach issues struck and that is limiting what I now think is possible for me. So basically in the space of a year and half I went from not even thinking about long trail runs to planning a 100 miler. Prior to that my biggest focus was on doing several centuries on the bike every year.

 

 

Are you talking about stomach issues with running or some sort of illness?

Are you talking about stomach issues with running or some sort of illness?

With running. After about 15-25 miles, depending on the day, I get bloating and what I'll describe as nausea but is more from the fact that I have a difficult time belching. It seems like I need a higher calorie consumption than a lot of people and  I tend to have difficulty drinking enough when I'm running.  This never bothers me when I'm on the bike.

Ran few errands over lunch, so no run today, but at least my hair is nice and short just in time for tic season.

I had some belly issues with Hammer and Nuun.  Tailwind and real food don't bother me at all.

QOTD:  I got in to running through Tri's and Adventure Racing, so things have changed a lot. Marathon training was always hard, but when I switched to Ultra's it didn't seem so bad since some of my AR's were 12 hours or more and mentally I knew I could keep moving for a long time.

The first year I was running I had few problems just eating regular food and taking the occasional S-Cap. The second year was much worse and at some point I started using Perpetuem. Works well except there is a high incident of bear attacks with it. Minor inconvenience.  A year or two ago I tried Tailwind.  Now what I find works best is starting with Tailwind in my bladder and a bottle of Perpetuem. Still use S-CAps and Endurolytes as well. It really seems that I need to be very balanced with nutrition, hydration and electrolytes. Screw one thing up and I have the problems.  Last year at Call of the Wilds things went really well.  Then a few weeks later on some longer runs the problems again emerged.

I never liked perpetuem. And I never seemed to be able to get the right balance with Endurolytes, although I have used them plenty of times. I did, and still do, well with HEED if I don't have access to Tailwind for some reason. But I like Tailwind a lot.

Much less sore today but the running is still very slow, or at least was until I decided to throw in some 30 second strides to finish my run. I kinda surprised my self or it could be that the current pace on my Garmin was exaggerating my speed.

QOTD: I think my views have changed more on what I was willing to do rather than what was possible. I wasn't interested in long runs except as they were necessary for training for my goal races, and was not at all interested in racing at distances over 4 miles when I started. When my coach wanted me to run some longer races (8 miles and 12 miles), there was no question that I could do that and even run well. Same with my first marathon; it wasn't a question of whether it was possible, but how fast was I going to run it. It wasn't until I started training for my first ultra that whether it was possible was a real issue, and that mainly because of my age and low mileage in training. My views there haven't changed that much since my first ultra, and unless something changes drastically I still see 100 miles as not a realistic possibility. I still have yet to reach 100K even in my 24-hour races.