Listserv Gold Part IX - Old Guys at Multidays

This post probably would have gone by unnoticed if Across the Years 72-hour wasn't looming less than two weeks away. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), the author is, once again, Joe Judd. I think this is the third or fourth time one of Joe's posts have made ULG.

from joe judd
to UList List
date Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 5:26 PM
subject Re: 60 year old peeps (not the Easter candy)

If any of you folks decide to get yourself into a 72 hour, or a six day, you better watch out for those 'old guys'. They'll kick your butt. Oh sure, you may be young and fast. But by the middle of day two, you'll be heading to a comfy room to lick your wounds, thinking "I'm happy with my miles." Meantime, the metronomes will be out there, patiently moving forward.

I talked to Ed Rousseau at a 72 hour. I believe he was 69 or 70 at the time. He told me that he had stopped twice during the race. Once because he had been out in a driving rain overnight and just couldn't get warm. So he sat in the heated car for 20 minutes. His other stop was 10 minutes sitting in a chair. That's over 72 hours! I arrived on the final day of the race for the 24 hour. I never saw him moving at more than a brisk walk. But Ed NEVER stopped, while people one third of his age were crying for mommy and calling it a day.

Ultrarunning Listserv Gold: Where I quote something I found inspiring, interesting, or generally valuable on one of the various ultrarunning email distribution lists I subscribe to. To view all editions of ULG, please click here.

Listserv Gold Part VIII - Free Advice

I actually have two articles that I had planned to write for today. I was wondering all week which one I should post. And now, it's Thursday - I've been too busy and haven't finished either article.

oops.

Then, out of the blue, someone on the ultra list posted a link to an article on the Free Advice section of Stan Jensen's run100s.com web site (a site I visit often.) Free advice section?? I've not seen that!

http://www.run100s.com/Freebies/

If you go there, you'll find a couple dozen articles on ultrarunning. I've only read a couple (Really busy this week, remember?), but it seems like there's a mix of useful/serious stuff and funny stuff. Perfect.

So, hit the link above for the following articles:

How to reach 100 miles in 24 hours by Kevin Setnes
Running at altitude by Chip Tuthill
All about Ultras by Dana Roueche & Mick Grant
Trail running is better than sex by Don Herres
Downhill training a collection by George Beinhorn
Advice on your first 50-miler by Andy MacGinnitie
And a few more tips by Karl King
Various stuff about fluids
How to get to Grand Canyon by Jennifer Aviles
Grand Canyon II by Jennifer Aviles
The five "Hypos"
Jan Ryerse's tips: your first 100 to a sub-24hr 100
Ultra advice for low-mileage runners by Ed Furtaw
Various medical problems
You might enjoy ... by Brick Robbins (for Movin Shoes)
Some ultrarunners' occupations
Art of Pacing by Gary Wang
Ultra Philosophy by Eric Robinson
Quilts from T-shirts by Jackie Kelley
100 milers ranked by difficulty (a work in progress)
"Real Food" by Karl King
"Recovering from ultras" by Karl King
Other resources (UltraRunning, lists, etc.)
Trail Runners Test
Track Ultras checklist
Ultra Test
UltraWhining Test by Larry Gassan
"Top 10 Reasons to Run Ultramarathons" (PostScript version)
You know you're an Ultrarunner if ...
Some words of wisdom re: H2O by Karl King
Largest Ultras from UltraRunning
The Grand Slam: 4 months, 4 100s (start planning)
What is an Ultramarathon? by David Blaikie
Five Stages to Becoming an Ultrarunner by Matt Mahoney
Shawn McDonald's UR Advice
Heat index (temp. & humidity)
Your First 50-Miler by George Beinhorn



New entries for Steve's blog are published on Mondays and Thursdays at 10:00am NY time

Listserv Gold Part VII - Early Morning Running

Ultrarunning Listserv Gold: I quote something I found inspiring, interesting, or generally valuable on one of the various ultrarunning email distribution lists I subscribe to. To view all editions of ULG, please click here.

Watching the sun rise during a run is immensely satisfying - Photo credit: Bill Rhodes

Brad L asks:

I've been telling my wife that I'm going to start running in the mornings, yet I never seem to be able to get myself out of bed and going... <snip> This would be a TOTAL change in my lifestyle. I'm an evening/night person and move ULTRA SLOW in the mornings. I do believe that it can be done, and
I know many of you folks have schedules similar to this.

Can anyone offer me some advice on how I can make these lifestyle changes?

Christine B responds:

Sorry but my advice (being a morning runner for 3+yrs) is just do it. Don't attempt long runs that force you out earlier than 5am. Start out determined to do it and you will reset your body clock. But be warned you may not see much of the evening. I may not be the best example but I rarely see 9pm weeknights. I run from my door 3-4 days a week and go off road on weekends. It was hard at first but is a routine that now works great. My alarm is set for 5am but my eyes open 4:45ish and I'm out the door after a glass of water and bite of a banana by 5:30 at the latest. All year round. Even in the dark, cold winter.

You can do it - start tomorrow.

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time

Umstead Preview #4: Banish the doubts, run and have fun.

A combined preview/listservGold post. Credit goes to Karl King, this time from the Yahoo group:

"The last race I completed was a 50 miler but I was in my thirties and training was very different."

Eric, oh ye of little faith.... I started running ( 1 mile ) at age 42. 3 years later I did 50K/50 miles. Ran VT 100 at age 49.5 on 6 months of 25 mile/week training, with my longest week being 42 miles. You are way, way better off than that. Banish the doubts, run and have fun. -Karl King

There's a lot more I can say right now, but that would just be a diversion from how I really feel: LET'S GET IT ON!!


tick tock tick tock..

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time

Listserv Gold V - "Activation Energy"

Time for another edition of Ultrarunning Listserv Gold, a semi-regular feature of this blog where I quote something I found inspiring, interesting, or generally valuable on one of the various ultrarunning email distribution lists I subscribe to. To view all editions of ULG, please click here. This particular one comes from the yahoo group, where you can subscribe at http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/ultrarunning/

Gordon C and Mike M on "Activation Energy"

Gordon writes,

After all of these years of running (45!) I have learned (but often forget) one immutable fact: You never know which runs are going to be great and which awful or which are going to fall somewhere in between (the vast majority fall here), until you do it. I cursed getting dressed out, tying on my Nikes, digging out my rain shell, and sloshing down the low fairway grass, and then near the end, the sun broke out, the sky was an incredible late evening blue-purple and 72 minutes had passed in the blink of an eye.

Much better than what I deserved. Thank you for my blessings.

Mike responds,

Well said! I too am a runner of long tenure, now into my 37th year of running (and into my 15th year without missing a day) and I too STILL struggle with what I call the 'activation energy' issue.

In a chemical reaction, many times when you mix two reactive ingredients together nothing happens - they just sit there. Until you add a small amount of what is called 'activation energy' - it's like the spark that turns the starter on a car's engine. It might be some small amount of heat, or a spark - whatever - but this small amount of 'activation energy' added into the mix kick-starts the chemical reaction and then the reaction takes off and proceeds to completion on its own, without any further energy input. But without the 'activation energy', the reaction would never get started.

In my running, I have to use a small amount of 'activation energy' to kick-start my fat dead a$$ out the door and into the first half-mile. I'm often grumpy and mumbling vulgarities as I shuffle off, but four or five minutes into the run my 'chemical reaction' kicks in and suddenly it's just not 'difficult' anymore, and I begin to smooth out and my breathing gets stronger and regular and I relax and really enjoy the physical movement and activity. Often, by the middle of the run I've picked up the pace significantly and by the finish I'm steaming in, hitting on all cylinders and having a wonderful time. I nearly always finish with a big smile on my face, and I'm ALWAYS happy that I mustered the 'activation energy' to get started.

I hope to never lose those feelings...

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time

Listerv Gold Part IV - 100 miles is a long way

Time for another edition of Ultrarunning Listserv Gold, a semi-regular feature of this blog where I quote something I found inspiring, interesting, or generally valuable on one of the various ultrarunning email distribution lists I subscribe to. To view all editions of ULG, please click here.

After finishing my first 100, the next one was much easier, just because I knew I could do it. It sounds like you have a mission to make Leadville your first 100. But, in my opinion, you'd be MUCH better prepared for Leadville after finishing at least one other 100 first. Even if it's dead flat loops in a 24 hour event, or 'just' going 80-90 miles. It is going to give you a much better chance at finishing LV. A hundred miles is a long way. It's a hell of a long way when you're not sure you can do it. Throw in a couple of laps on Hope Pass and it could be pretty daunting. -Joe Judd

This is not the first time I've published something Joe Judd wrote to ULG.


New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time and can be seen at http://www.tursi.com

Listserv Gold Part III - The cost of badwater

Badwater, the 135-mile asphalt road race through Death Valley in the middle of summer (where it gets to 125°F), has a $900 entry fee, and the total cost of running it can approach $10,000. This topic came up on the ultra list, and somebody asked,

Am I the only one who finds the average cost insane?

"bbob" responds,

oh yeah... the cost of these races is just totally nuts. deranged. unhinged. demented. harebrained. crazy. etc.

everything else about them is completely rational, of course.

really, doctor, it's true.

b

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time and can be seen at http://www.tursi.com

Ultra Listserv Gold Part II: Does running 100 miles ever get easy?

The wisdom of Lazarus:

Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 12:31 AM

i dont know that it becomes easier, so much as you simply adapt.
as you extend your boundaries, distances get easier.
50 miles makes 50 k easier.
100 k makes 50 miles easier.
100 miles makes 100 k easier.
and the first time you are excited to have "only" 100 miles left,
nothing is the same any more.

i look back on my earlier ultras,
and some of the reasons i felt i had to slow down... or drop out,
and i am amazed that i gave in so easily
when i later discovered how much more i could survive.

you learn to take the pain
wall it off in a corner of your mind
and just keep moving.
it doesnt matter if you are having a good day, or a bad day.
the only difference in the two is your time.
you dont think about quitting
you dont think about finishing.
you just keep moving.
because that is what you do.
that is who you are.

it is a useful skill,
knowing how to simply endure.
it is the ultimate reward for running ultras.

i think some people come by it naturally.
but everyone can acquire the skill.
if i can, anyone can.
no one is less inherently tough than me.

laz

New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time and can be seen at http://www.tursi.com

Ultrarunning Listserv Gold - How to run 50 miles in 12 hours

A bit of wisdom from Joe Judd of Colorado, who writes,

You are more than ready. I think that 50 miles in 12 hours is very
attainable, especially if it is a flat course.

1) Focus on keeping moving for the whole 12 hours.
2) A run/walk startegy works well for most people. Something like run for 5 minutes, then walk for one minute. I just run at a comfortable pace for as long as I can, then walk when I feel I need to have a break. Getting exhausted is hard to come back from.
3) Don't stop for too long. Keep aid stops to a maximum of around 5 minutes, maybe 10 minutes around dinner time. Remember, if you stop for 5 minutes every hour, you've lost a total of an hour of the race.
4) Most of what you need to overcome is in your head. It's not terribly hard to run a pace of 14:30 per mile. Doing it for 12 hours is another issue.
5) Stay in the moment. It is not a good idea to think of how much longer you have to run. Focus on how you're doing at THAT moment. The hours and miles will take care of themselves. Relentless forward motion!
6) It will get bad. But, then it will get better. It's never a consistent downhill spiral. No matter how bad you feel, you WILL bounce back.

BTW, pretty much all of these things I have learned from the ultra list. Of course, I've had to wade through some bad jokes.

The signal-to-noise ratio on the listserv is pretty darn low, but when something great does come through, it really makes it worth reading.


New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time and can be seen at http://www.tursi.com