I've been having this recurring (bad) dream that I entered myself into the 2010 Death Race...125km of pain - that's all I can think about.
The photo above sort of describes how I think I would feel...On this particular day, my trail running partner in crime - head-injury Bob - and I underestimated the loop we had planned out, turned out to be an 8hr + day. Bob snapped off this shot after 7hrs of running. Ugh-
The distance itself doesn't really scare me...it's the pain my bones will feel from pounding the ground...The longest distances I've run have all been in the 8 to 9hr mark. I've probably done this distance half a dozen times in the past few years - but another 5 to 6hrs on top of this is hard to imagine.
The other factor on my mind is would I be able to recover in time for TR which takes place only 3 weeks later...hmmm.
If you've got any worthy words of wisdom, fire away...
The photo above sort of describes how I think I would feel...On this particular day, my trail running partner in crime - head-injury Bob - and I underestimated the loop we had planned out, turned out to be an 8hr + day. Bob snapped off this shot after 7hrs of running. Ugh-
The distance itself doesn't really scare me...it's the pain my bones will feel from pounding the ground...The longest distances I've run have all been in the 8 to 9hr mark. I've probably done this distance half a dozen times in the past few years - but another 5 to 6hrs on top of this is hard to imagine.
The other factor on my mind is would I be able to recover in time for TR which takes place only 3 weeks later...hmmm.
If you've got any worthy words of wisdom, fire away...
7 comments:
Do it Phil! If you've done up to 8-9hr runs, you'll be totally fine for 125k! My long runs leading up to Haliburton last year didn't exceed 7hrs, but got a lot of 4.5-6hr long runs in with overall blocks of high mileage.
The recovery part...that might be tougher. Everyone is different and I expect you'll be feeling pretty good after two weeks. By three weeks?...hard to say if you'll be 100%, but pretty close. The big thing I've learned the hard way is to look after any little nigglies after race day before getting back at it. The good thing for you is that you won't really have a chance to 'train' hard between races, so it's all about recovery.
Happy New Year
Thanks for the feedback Derrick.
Maybe it was the wine, maybe just the anticipation of running...but I just went ahead an registered last night after I wrote this!
Think it was a: 'Do now, and beg for forgiveness later' mentality...but probably a 'What the hell, why not'.
Either way, I'm in...
Alright! Good stuff.
I think I need to get me some of that wine.
Good for you Phil - it's a nice race and they do a good job of pumping up the "death" part of it to make it fun. When I did it 2 years ago it was the longest race I'd attempted at that time and I can't tell you how fabulous it was to have completed
125 km There will be no stopping you now - ultra running here you come!! I can't give you any advice on how to tackle the race; you run way harder and faster than me! I was just glad to get to the finishing line!
I am doing it as well. I have never run further than 54km in an organized race. I have done 4 Ironman races but this is a whole other world. I look forward to reading about your training!
Brenda: I'm happy to say that the decision to run DR is getting better with every passing day - but regardless of how fast I'm going to run, I'll still be very happy to reach the finish line!
Amber: Thanks for checking in...I enjoyed reading your DR blog updates too - funny how it seems to be a common theme. Training...As opposed to the good'ol days, I tend to keep things pretty simple the past few years: run, run lots, and run when I can. Oh, and throw in a couple of harder runs in there too so the races don't hurt so much - ha.
I definitely say do it. I think you look great standing in the creek. It looks fresh and so do you. I can certainly see you rolling out another 5 or 6 hours. If you train real hard, maybe it'll only be 4.5 hours.
Seriously though, power to ya. Do it and then hit TR for a real fun and scenic week.
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