Track Ultra WA (West Aus) 12hr - I WON!!!

taeliesyn

On the weekend I had my first foray into a Track Ultra (Any Ultra actually). Due to someone having to pull out earlier in the week, I had snared an entry into the 12hr event, and I won it!
I ran an official total of 85.3km over the 12 hours, which more than tripled my previous longest run.
There were 3, 6, 12 and 24 hour categories and despite running around a 1/4mile track for 12 hours, it was never that boring. I basically ran when I could, walked when I was having a drink, something to eat, or when I felt I needed to. The first 7 hours were fairly brutal with full sun and the temperature in the 30C (86F) region, which was a shock as it is the middle of winter here. I quickly dropped to a drink/fuel every 15 minutes to try and keep my hydration up, but even that was barely enough and it wasn't until the sun went down that I managed to get enough fluid in that I needed to use the amenities.

It was a great event, and I'm definitely hoping to do it again next year.

LLduds

You are amazing, @taeliesyn. Totally insane, but amazing Meanwhile I've been complaining this week that upping my mileage to 6 miles has me feeling a bit sleepy during the day...LOL!

ftrobbie

A great pair of posts that made me smile.

Taeliesyn, as elsewhere, you are the man, an inspiration to us all. I enjoyed keeping tabs on you at the weekend. Doing it again, you are barking my man.

LLDuds we all have our predisposed barriers, mine was cycling. As you get stronger and as you keep pushing at the boundaries you will go further and as you do, you will change what you think is easy and not worth getting changed for. Enjoy your running and just keep pushing at those boundaries.

runfoorun

That's freaking amazing! Congrats!

taeliesyn

@LLduds As you run you begin to knock down walls, the longer you run, the more incredible the walls and barriers you knock down are, especially once you've got a good foot in the running community. Not that it would have mattered if I didn't know anyone at the track ultra, nearly everyone is out there for fun and will cheer you on. Before the event I was scared about running a marathon, now it's not such a big deal. Unless I'm doing the almighty PB run.

@ftrobbie I don't think I've ever claimed sanity, and I might as well not try now, you've definitely helped me along the way mate.

@runfoorun - Thanks! I just hope I can get a write up done. Love reading about your adventures dude.

JustWant2Run

Congratulation!

lporter229

Pretty amazing!!!

mbaker566

wow. well done

michellemybelll

holy crap! you go dude! that may launch you into the super human category!

taeliesyn

Thanks everyone!
I think this goes to show if you can get the training miles in, you can go further than you ever expected.

skippygirlsmom

Wow congrats!

taeliesyn

Thanks @skippygirlsmom

Daisy471

Congrats! I couldn't imagine running that long, and around a track too - amazing!

WhatMeRunning

Fantastic! Tripled your longest distance?? Truly amazing!

mwyvr

Truly impressive! Echoing what Chris said, tripling your longest distance is amazing!

taeliesyn

Thanks everyone
Before the event I was averaging 60ish km a week, usually with at least 1 run exceeding 20km. The week before, I had actually hit 90k for the week. Even though I regularly hit 20-24k in a run, there was some mental block about pushing much beyond that amount, especially in a solo run (How I do most of my runs).
The track ultra environment was/is perfect for stepping into an ultra in my opinion, as long as you're not the sort of person to run yourself into the ground. You can run as little as you like, to as much as you can. Take breaks when you need and it's super easy to self crew (Although crew do help when you start getting brain fuzzies later in the race) and in the worst case scenario, it's not far at all for help.

I am more proud of the fact I successfully ran double the marathon distance and just over tripled my longest run, than that I won. I'm already thinking about hitting the 24hr category next year with a goal of 100miles and a stretch goal of 200km.