jturnerx Member

December is lottery month for a lot of trail ultras so 2014 won't solidify for me for another couple of weeks. Most of the races I will put money down on will be in the 50k and longer distances. One thing I do know for sure, I'll do my first 100 miler in 2014.

I have two first marathon memories. My first road marathon was Chicago in October of 2010. I'd had almost two years of running experience by race day. I have ambivalent feelings about it to be honest. I had put a lot of expectations on myself considering so much about it ended up being new - distance (a given), locale…

I've qualified many times over but I never bothered.

Less than an hour nothing. Two or three hours a little bit more than nothing. Maybe a gel. Maybe a chew or 3 (not packages, individual pieces). I bite them in half and tuck them inside a cheek to dissolve. A few sips of water from an available water fountain. I just drink when I'm thirsty. Longer than three hours I take in…

I did NYC this year and it was awesome. That's saying something because I have no love for road races. Good luck to all of you entering.

It may be a spark that gets things started initially but it's not a sustainable or mentally healthy mode of operation for the long term. Give yourself the time to grieve and heal of course but in my mind the best thing to do is look forward, not back.

I like my rest days. No run streaks for me.

And if you really want to be pampered do a trail ultra. The aid station tables are unbelievable - stocked with all sorts of goodies most of which resemble real food. People run out to you to fill your water bottles. You'll be surrounded by volunteers who want nothing more that to see to your every whim. They have chairs.…

The first thing you should do as a new runner is HIIT and Tabata intervals - every day.

For me it's dependent on the effort I put into the race. If it was my "A" goal race then the following month is mostly unstructured running (go when I feel like for however long I feel like at whatever pace I feel like) and do some different things. I like to volunteer at our local trail races. It's nice to give back and…

2014: Finish my first 100 miler. That is all.

I've been running since 2009. How far do I run on a regular basis? Well it depends on what I'm training for. In terms of races my progression has been: 2009 - half marathon, 2010 - full marathon, 2011 - 50 miler, 2013 - 100k. In 2014 I'm hoping to do my first hundred which, quite frankly, scares the pants off of me.

I think it's awesome. Mike and Hal are elites in the ultrarunning world so they know what they are doing. Covering that distance is one thing but to do it in record time is amazing.

I remember crashing and burning badly on a planned 14 mile run. I'd done longer runs before so the distance wasn't anything new to me. A couple of miles from my house I started feeling a little weird but pressed on. Then a mile away that was it. I couldn't run anymore. I didn't feel bad and I didn't even feel especially…

My medals are hanging off the bar on my squat rack. I've run out of room on the bar and need a new squat rack. ;) You can see my squat rack gets a lot of use. lol

Spread out over 31 miles will definitely help. lol A half with 3,190 feet of gain is a toughie. I did a half that had a bit less than 4,000' and I wanted to kill myself.

That's so funny. I tried the Bondi B initially (no Tarmac existed at the time) and I hated those.

I run in Hokas both on the trail and on the road. I remember seeing people wearing them at our local trail races and thought they were the most ridiculous things I'd ever seen and no way in hell would I ever be caught wearing them. I was in Brooks Cascadias when I started trail running but then a particular model came out…

Yes, they are! I am a 4 hour road marathoner and just cracked the sub 6:30 mark on what I consider an "easy" 50k (~4,800 feet of gain). Most of the 50ks in our area are 6-7000+ feet of gain. I think Big Sur has about 1000 feet of gain.

I went out with a pace group for a half marathon I did early on in my running life. They went out way too fast on an abnormally hot day and the pace group fell apart. After than I never bothered and at this point feel a lot more confident in running my own race.

I qualified with a 50 miler this year but the WS lottery being what it is I think I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than getting in. So I'm already pondering what do about next year.

I started running in 2009 when I was 46. I'm now 50 and have done a 100k, five 50 milers, nine 50ks and more half and full marathons than I can remember. As long as you're still breathing it's never to late to start anything. You just have to start.

Ya think?

There is a coastal trail run I do from my house. I live less than a mile from the ocean. It's called the Lands End Trail - http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/environmentnature/ss/landsendphotos.htm. I can take the tiniest of detours off that trail and there is a very cool labyrinth -…

When I first started running I was 4 days per week (Tu, Th, Sa, Su). Now I do 5 days per week (Tu, We, Th, Sa, Su). I've wanted to add another day or do some doubles but that hasn't worked out well for me. I seem to have hit a volume ceiling and if I go over that I start having issues.

You'll see a lot of hydration packs at trail ultras. This makes sense to me since I've been in races where it could be 10+ miles to the next aid station and depending on the terrain and weather conditions or if you get lost it could 3+ hours before you hit the next aid. I don't see much need to carry water on you at a road…

Not for one bloody second. lol

I'm generalizing of course but I've found most folks who do their first ultra come out the other side either hooked or they have no interest in doing another one. I fall into the former category although the thought of "I'm never going to do this again" crosses my mind, sometimes frequently, during the tail end of an…

Wow, you have 12 hours to get to mile 40 then no cut off afterwards? That's really generous. It's cool for your first 50 miler that you don't have to worry about a cut off.

I've done both trail and road marathons. I started my running life on the road like most people but I now almost exclusively do trail races. You can do either as your first. It just depends on where you prefer to spend your time and money. Try and train as much as possible on conditions that simulate whatever course you…