Run, Fall, Repeat

The day before the Mid Maryland 50K, I went out and ran 14.3 miles.  And two days before that, I biked 30 miles.  No tapering for this race.  I have now completed my second week of back-to-back-to-back long runs. My strategy is simple:  if I can get out and run obscenely long on three consecutive days, I will have the confidence that I need to run 100 miles in less than 30 hours.  Because I really have discovered that this ultra running thing is more about having the mindset to do it more so than the talent.

I am also faithfully stretching, icing, massaging, rolling, and anything else I can think of to keep my body from breaking down or rebelling at the mileage.  My favorite is a pillow really meant to massage your neck, but it also works great to get at the piriformus and upper hamstrings.  Sitting on that brings me great joy!

                   

It massages and heats all at the same time...heaven!

As for Mid Maryland, it was a success.  I thought I would be at least a little tired, but I wasn't.  Unlike last year when my legs and feet took the entire first 10K loop to warm up, I ran well from the start.  In fact, I was so in the zone that when one of the many, many, many roots tripped me up, I was down before I realized I had fallen.  And, got right back up and started running again.   That was about mile 3, and it wasn't until mile 18 or so that I could tell my tights were plastered to my knee and looked down to actually see "blood icicles" coming through where I must have hit hard.

Blood stays really red when it is frozen

 I just figured I would deal with it later and carried on.  3 laps, then 4, all the while feeling great and actually thinking that this was kind of sort of "easy" for a 50K.  (Thanks, Coach, for taking me to the Massanuttens).  Each time through the aid pavillion, I would grab a cup of coke and pull a quarter of a turkey sandwich from my pocket to munch on as we made the loop into the woods.  I ate a couple bite size snickers each loop as well, and I really do believe chocolate is the answer to any question one might possible have. 

Headed back out again chomping a candy bar

One thing I really liked was the  pretty cool result site  with runner tracking.  Since it is a 5 loop course, chips were used for tracking runners.  (and these could be velcro'd anywhere, so that was a plus too)

When you put the runners' bib numbers in the website, you actually could see a simulation as they ran through the loops.  Kind of gimmicky but kind of cool as well.  My husband was able to get a fairly accurate estimation of where I was and was right there at the end of loop 4 to grab my trash and cheer me on to my final loop!

Stepping it up towards the finish

 I was fortunate to run most of the first three laps with another gal who was also training for her first 100.  Funny how we all have the same worries.  I got ahead of her the last two laps, but watched her finish not too long after I came in.  After sharing trail miles with total strangers, it feels funny to just say goodbye and know you may never talk with them again, or hear how their goal race turned out. (But I have a feeling she will do just fine.)  At the end, I got a finisher's medal to go with the pretty cool Maryland flag shirt we were given as a premium.  Not a bad day in the woods at all!  And in case you are wondering, yes, we got more snow on Sunday so my shoveling shake out streak continues!