I basically spent most of my weekend refreshing my browser on a page that tracked my best bud online.
She was the only female in a team of 9 core runners that participated in the 218km Run Around Singapore event to commemorate the 55th anniversary of NIE/NTU. She has always loved running, and to be given a chance to run around Singapore with vehicular and police support, why not?
Along the way, she was crowned the local female athlete to cover the longest distance! It was also her personal furthest distance covered and longest time on her feet. Quite a feat heh?
Although she stopped at 130km, she is grand enough to be my hero. She always has been. I knew she would not have stopped unless she was in a serious amount of pain. Indeed, her feet, that have been plaguing her lately, came back to gnaw at her.
Be proud of yourself lady. You did awesome!
(photo: Lynn Lee)
Hi,
I’m hoping you can help me out. I just finished AR50 yesterday. Due to various reasons I my training has been very limited – 2 days a week. A Wednesday run of 6 – 8 miles and a long run up 31 on Saturdays. I also just did Way to Cool.
I finished AR in 12 hours. I’m not fast. Feel great today.
Here’s my question. I signed up for Miwok. But I’m not sure with my lack of training if I’ll be able to make the time cutoffs.
I’ve been searching for a comparison of difficulty between AR50 and Miwok (realizing the extra 12 miles, but I get more time)
I found your blog and saw that last year you did both. How do they compare.
Thanks so much,
Ralph
C21-CPS@live.com
Hi Ralph
Firstly, congratulations to finishing the AR50 on such “limited” training and still feel great. Secondly, I am really not the best person to ask since I am still pretty “inexperience” in ultra-running.
Here’s what I have for you.
Based on my shallow experience and what I have heard, training for long endurance races is all about preparing your body to endure long hours on the feet while balancing adequate rest to prevent injury.
On paper, it might seem like your schedule is “lacking” (don’t we runners always feel more is better?) but it could be a great plan in disguise. If you are running 31 miles and more every weekend, you are pretty much doing the “long hours on your feet”. Plus you already have AR50 as your 12h long run! With the breaks through the week, you cover the “rest” bit. If you feel great after the 12h run, you are probably injury free, you must be doing something right!
With 3 more weeks to go, I really wouldn’t do anything more than 15miles on the weekends from now. The weekday maintenance runs/run should not be more than 6 miles too.
As for the course comparison, Miwok100 has way more elevation change compared to AR50 (duh, don’t you already know?). I prefer the ups and downs of Miwok100 and hated the flat bike path concluding with an abrupt climb. The change in terrain in Miwok100 allows the body to utilize different set of muscles, especially those that help you power hike up hills. Learning to hike uphill helps.
My mantra at Miwok100 was to “eat as much as I feel like, walk all uphills, run as much of the flats and go for the downhills”. It apparently worked. When I hiked up, people passed me but eventually I caught them while bombing down. On the longer flat portions, I took walk breaks. And I ate at every aid station. The important thing is to keep moving and stick to whatever strategy you have come up with.
When I finished AR50, an experienced runner friend commented with regards to Miwok100, “All you need to ask yourself now is if you are ready to go another 12 miles”. I totally understand your concern about the “12 extra miles”. I added 3h to my finish time for AR50 to predict my finish time for Miwok100. Sounds like +3h to your AR50 time is still well within the 16.5h cut off. If you have as good as day at AR50, you should have nothing to worry about.
I guess, the only other thing I can add is to prepare yourself mentally for a hilly course. For me, knowing all the hills I was getting myself into kept me away from feeling terrible. I knew there were hills to climb, I just needed to keep climbing. Work your strengths to your advantage and think of ways to manage your weaknesses or how to get out of your lows (hopefully your lows are short-lived).
Not sure if this is what you were looking for but it sure is long!
Good luck and stay healthy till then!