Zero to 50K - I'm Taking on an Ultra!
Sooooo I signed up for a 50K race! This will be my first trail race and first ultra. I’ve never run more than 26.2 miles in my life (unless you count the crazy GPS signals from Chicago marathon that told me I ran over 27 miles), so this presents a plethora of new challenges for me. I just bought my first pair of trail shoes, but am pretty clueless on all of this! I am excited, nervous, and a bit conflicted about the decision, but felt it was time to switch things up.
Which Race?
I will be running the Griffith Park 50K on March 14th. Yes - it is coming up very soon! Here’s some details:
Elevation gain/loss: 6,309 ft/6,309 ft
# of finishers (2019): 141
Top finish time (female): 5:04
A few key things about these stats - I rarely have more than 100 ft of elevation in my daily runs and I usually runs marathons with over 4,000 participants. The race is small and that elevation is going to be brutal on me.
Why?
I am not surrendering my sub-3 hour marathon goal at all. I am looking at the 50K as a chance to capitalize on mileage building and to assemble more strength for those later miles of the marathon where I crashed and burned at CIM. The shortened training cycle at CIM allowed me to focus on speed, but endurance was still a little lacking. The main focus this spring will be endurance and mileage building which means slowing down to get the numbers up. Enter trail running and an ultra race!
I also need to get out of my comfort zone. I’ve trained for marathons for the last 5 years straight with one 5K/10K season sprinkled in there. 5Ks and 10Ks are great for speed and strength, but my body and mind need something different. Growth happens in these uncomfortable spaces. With how small and long this race is, it will also help me work on my mental abilities to push through when there’s no one to cheer me on to run faster.
Goals for the Race
I only have the goal of finishing the 50K. I’d love to run a decent time - whatever that means! Placing in the top 10 female finish times for the last 10 years (5:04-5:32) would be epic, but I am working on letting go of time and pace. I became so wrapped up with it in my sub-3 journey that it has become a barrier that I’m looking to break through. Ultimately, I want this experience to help catapult me to a stronger marathon and I think it will. The next time I attempt a sub-3, it will be to annihilate it rather than just try to slip under.
New Video Series!
I will be documenting my journey to the finish line of the 50K on YouTube pretty regularly over the next 7-8 weeks. I linked up the intro video below with more of my thoughts on this process and what I’m looking to gain from the experience!
Have you done an ultra or trail race before? What type of trail gear do you recommend?!
J
