Today I ran my first 50 kilometer ultra. There was no official race, just me and the road with a goal in mind. I started the day just hoping to get a nice run in. Heading towards Bayfield, WI I decided that a marathon was within reach. A marathon would have been the longest run in the books for me. I didn't have any water with me and only had a single energy gel, so that wasn't the smartest on my part. I reached mile fourteen in Bayfield and turned around to return towards Washburn. The run back towards Washburn was a little more difficult than the way there, because I was starting to feel the effects of dehydration. At mile 23 I stopped at a friends house and stole a quick drink of water. The water helped a lot and I was feeling better soon after.
Just after hydrating, I decided that a 50 km was within reach. Why run a marathon when you can run a 50 km ultra? My mind was set on it and so I hung a right on one of the backroads to add on the extra 4.8 miles. I started to struggle a little just after 26 miles and ended up stopping at another friends house for a another re-fuel. The next four miles proved to be rather challenging and I had to take a couple short walking breaks. After stopping for water in town, I continued to stager up the hill towards my house to complete my run. The last mile up the hill was the most difficult and I was having a hard time even walking some of it. I was able to complete 50 kilometers today though, and accomplishing this feat has given me confidence that I can achieve greater distances over longer periods of time.
I thought about a lot of things on my long run today, everything really. I even thought about thinking, and now my mind is clear. Just a tip: Plastic bags are not good water bottles. I tried to bring one along to fill when water was available, I don't know why I ever thought it would work.
Just after hydrating, I decided that a 50 km was within reach. Why run a marathon when you can run a 50 km ultra? My mind was set on it and so I hung a right on one of the backroads to add on the extra 4.8 miles. I started to struggle a little just after 26 miles and ended up stopping at another friends house for a another re-fuel. The next four miles proved to be rather challenging and I had to take a couple short walking breaks. After stopping for water in town, I continued to stager up the hill towards my house to complete my run. The last mile up the hill was the most difficult and I was having a hard time even walking some of it. I was able to complete 50 kilometers today though, and accomplishing this feat has given me confidence that I can achieve greater distances over longer periods of time.
I thought about a lot of things on my long run today, everything really. I even thought about thinking, and now my mind is clear. Just a tip: Plastic bags are not good water bottles. I tried to bring one along to fill when water was available, I don't know why I ever thought it would work.