My first ultra!

Ultra Running! My first 50K

After one year of training and failing to train, my year goal finally arrived! Running the OT 50K!
Let me provide a little history. Ever since I was younger, about 16, I wanted to learn a new physical activity every year and so I did: scuba diving, dance, archery, down hills ski racing and last year I got a little taste of cycling and trail running. I never liked running and I believe it is because I simply got bored too quickly when I ran on the road. Coming to Arkansas changed that completely. I met my boyfriend who was into ultra running and the notion of being in constant movement surrounded by nature was something that sparked my interest.
Off course I started running too fast too soon and got injured two times. Once I ran with a blister and overcompensated on the other side and last year in September after pacing a friend for 32 miles (mainly walking), I received an IT issue as a reward! Having a IT band problem is not fun and I ended up having to stop running for 2 months only to start running again very slowly in the new year. The first time I saw my boyfriend run an ultra was last year at the OT 50. He set his personal and course record, running the 50K in 4 hours and 16 minutes. I seem to think I had something to do with that ;) But seeing him run, watching everyone cheer each other on and feeling at home in that warm and supportive environment made me want to do it as well. So I said next year is my turn! I set my goal that OT 50 in 2009 would be my first 50K and kept with it. I started really training in February and tried to work up to running a long 20 mile trail run but my longest run on single track trails ended up being like 17 miles. Before this race I did run two other shorter races to get ready: a 20 and 25K, two of which I did fairly well in and gave me confidence to try the 50K. As April rolled around, I realized I had a lot on my plate: the AAHPERD conference including 2 presentations, my mom's arrival and visit for 2 weeks and the OT 50K! I kind of feel that April has been a continuous marathon but keeping myself busy kept my spirits high. I had a wonderful learning experience at AAHPERD and had an amazing time with my mom while she was here. I said good bye last Wednesday evening and rested on Thursday and Friday before the race.
I ended up buying a Nathan race vest and just walking around the block once to see what it felt like. A friend had one and recommended it to me. During races I always end up with stomach problems and loosen my hydration pack that sits around my waist with a result of it bouncing around when I am running. That really hinders my run so I thought this race vest may just do the trick and it did! I hardly felt it was there.Before the race I picked up the necessary nutrition supply I needed which included:
- 8 baggies of sport beans
- banana for before the run
- chocolate ensure for before the run
- chocolate milk for after the run
I also had packed 3 carb boom gels for in the first hours of the race.


I have a difficult time eating throughout the race and needed 200 calories at least each hour so eating the sport beans allowed me to stay on top of my nutrition.
I was extremely nervous the day before the race and took half a dosage of a sleeping aid which made me sleep 8 hours before the race. This was awesome as I really felt rested. The race began at 6 am so we had to get up at 4:30 am in order to be ready to run by 6. The weather conditions were not that great and when picking up my race package on Friday evening I was informed that the Pinnacle mountain hike was excluded due to the rain. That was disappointing to me because the 1000 feet climb was the biggest challenge of all and I was ready to try it! However, when we arrived in the morning, there was no rain in sight so the race went on as planned and we all had to do the 100o feet climb! The temperature was amazing, just perfect. I was not cold at all. I wore a T-shirt and skort and was ready at 5:45 am.
The great thing about running an ultra trail race is that people who are at the start either run the race or assist in the race. It is not like a marathon where you have 100s of people watching you run. I really like that. In fact, the majority of the race I ran by myself. I ran all alone with not one person in sight for most of the time and that is the neat thing about trail running.
Another great thing about running the OT 50K as my first ultra is that many of the people helping and running in the race I got to know through other racing events. The OT had 4 aid stations but as it was an out and back you actually had 7 aid stations. They are all between 3 ad 4 miles apart so you can supply yourself with water and food.
At the 3 days of Sylamo (a 3 day race: 50K, 50M, 20K) I was able to work at an aid station and loved it. I admire those people who work the aid stations because you stand around for a long time, up to 12 hours at times or more depending on a race. The volunteers did an amazing job!
I usually do not pick up a lot at an aid station in the fear I will get stomach problems so I stick with my routine: 1 piece of banana, a cup of coke with salt and refuel on water. I rarely pick up anything else. I was not used to running with the race vest and as it was difficult to estimate the amount of water in the pack I stopped a lot to get water and lost time. Next time I know I can get by with refueling only once as I think it holds 2 liters.
As people gathered by the start, we did not wait too long before Chrissy (race director) said to go run. It is funny because we don't all sprint away but slowly get going, some even starting with a short walk. I had a plan in mind. As I did not know what to expect, but had ran several pieces of the course, I decided to run the road part (2 to 3 miles) using a 10 min mile speed or something faster like that. I notice that if I start off slow, I never get going later in the run so i decided to run at a decent pace and slow down later. I ran the road part fairly well, I did not feel as long as it felt in the past when I ran it. The surprise came when I hit Pinnacle Mountain. I had hiked it several times but running the 3.5 miles before hand took its toll and that hike was extremely difficult for me but I just told myself to put one foot in front of the other and I made it!
When I was huffing and puffing on the top I thought to myself, great, only 26 miles more to go!
Going down Pinnacle scares me so I was focused on the boulders and placing my feet correctly.
The miles that came after went ok, the longest part was between Vista and Turn Around. Previously I thought I ran that part but I never did it correctly so it was much longer as I expected it to be. Anyway, coming at Turn Around I was happy to refuel and run home. My stomach held strong until about mile 20 when I did feel kind of heavy, loaded, bloated and all of the above. At that time I came across a smaller aid station manned by Bob, a trailrunner that I knew from previous races. He is always so motivating and last year he told me when I ran my first ultra he would give me a sticker that said "ultramarathoner". He knew I tended to have stomach issues as we talked about that during practice runs for Traveller. So when I arrived he asked me how my stomach was and when I said so and so he said: "drink this V8 and take some rock salt with you!" I did what I was told and that V8 did wonders. I felt alive again! Together with the rock salt my stomach settled down and I felt good about running again.
After running for 4.5 hours I started to feel it in my legs. At that time I thought about my students and the fact that I made myself accountable to reach that goal by getting them involved. So I said to myself: "You can do this, you are not a quitter, just one foot in front of the other." After 5 hours my mind started to wander and I did flip my ankle about 7 times in the race overall but kept going. At times I thought maybe I was just going to quick, after all, it was my first one and it was about finishing. My goal was to finish under 7 hours and I was going to make that. The last 10 miles were the toughest. I ran through the last aid station and when they asked if I needed anything, I just said: "no, just want to finish" and ran on. I hit the road part and turned to music to motivate myself. At that time, with 3 miles to go, I knew I would make it. I would make it under 7 hours and I would for the first time complete an ultra. I got a little emotional at that time and was quite sore but kept going. I crossed the finish line to see my boyfriend and was extremely happy that I accomplished this highly physical task. I was exhausted, everything was shaking but I was very happy. I ended up finishing with a time of 6 hours 27 minutes and 50 seconds. I was 3rd female and 9th overall and was really happy with the result. If I train hard, I can try to aim to finish under 6 hours next year but I know I pushed it and gave it my all, physically and mentally.
Running an ultra is one thing, walking the next day is another. Apparently this gets easier every time you run ultras but as I woke up the next morning I felt like I was run over by a truck. Everything hurts and 12 hours later everything still hurts. Any movement is difficult and driving from Little Rock to Fayetteville was a shore! I actually needed to physically lift my leg with my hands when I had to push the gas. Good thing I have an automatic!
Anyway, the pain is nothing compared to the experience of yesterday. It was one of the best days of the year and I am so glad the OT was my first 50! It was really the only goal I had set forth as I was not sure if I could do it but as people say, if you put your mind to something, you can move mountains!
What's next? I kind of really want to run the 3 days of Syllamo next year but that may be out of my reach for another year. Perhaps a 50 miler next... who knows..