jturnerx Member

Thanks, all, for taking the time to read and/or listen. Ultra marathons come up in this forum with some frequency and that's one of the reasons I wanted to share it. And if I can impart any words of advice it's to be thoughtful about your training. You only get one first-time, make it count.

Yes, I do. I'm working on the race report right now. It's a lot to process as you can imagine.

I just finished my first 100 mile race. 511 starters, 288 finishers. Crushed my time goal. That is all. ;)

It's all relative. I can knock out 20+ milers without thinking twice about it. Actually the runs I find hardest to get out the door for are my 4-6 mile recovery runs.

I hardly take anything up to about 20 mile training runs. I always carry something either a package of chews or a gel which I may or may not use.

I use the Black Diamond Spot. It throws a lot of light in a small package.

I've DNF'd at two ultras so far. I'm sure I'll have more. I've experienced when things have gone like clockwork and epic blow ups. It happens and there is no sugar-coating how much it sucks. But you've already taken the best, first step and that's examining your decision making and learning from those lessons moving…

Thanks! It went great. No issues whatsoever and felt super positive from start to finish. It was an out and back with something around 8,000 feet of elevation gain. On that course and with the heat I figured if I was having a good day I'd be sub-12 hours and I came in at 11:25, my fastest time on a hard course. I'm really…

I looked at my last hike. It was 8 miles, about 1000 feet of elevation gain so not particularly difficult. It took me 2.5 hours.

Aren't pickles awesome? lol I'm doing my last 50 miler of the year this weekend and I'm putting a small jar of pickle juice in my lone drop bag at the turn around point. It's also going to be a hot one and I wish we had some stream crossings but it's dry as a bone. We've been given a heads up about bees and wasps so that…

I'm 51 now and I started running consistently five years ago. I'm still seeing improvements but realistically I suspect that will only last for maybe a few more years. I'm sure I would have been a lot faster when I was in my 20s but I wasn't running in my 20s or my 30s so I can't miss what I never had.

I don't generally bother with rain specific running gear. Actually I don't think I have any. I have super light-weight jackets from Salomon and Patagonia that I might put on as a cold layer but they are more like wind breakers. Water resistance is minimal and it would have to be really cold for me to put them on. Anything…

I use a Salomon vest that uses two 17 oz soft flasks that are kept in front pockets. The pack can also accommodate a bladder in the back for those times I need more water but so far I haven't needed to use it. I've gone through the gamut of various hydration packs and so far the Salomon has been my go to both in training…

That's the lowest entry level to Marathon Maniacs (2 Marathons within a 16 day time frame). Since you can't throw a rock into a start corral these days without hitting someone in a yellow MM shirt, this doesn't seem to be that out of the ordinary anymore. Race the first one and chill on the second or take it easy on both…

That's great to hear! On a hot day I bet those creek crossing felt awesome. I'll lay down in one if it's a hot day!

It sounds like you have a realistic assessment of your training going into this so just have fun with it. I've done a 50 miler with creek crossings and the only thing I did different was use a different brand of sock. Normally in dry conditions I'm in Balegas but if I know it's going to be wet I switch to Drymax. Of…

Apples, meet oranges.

I wear the sleeves to keep the poison oak at bay.

That sounds like a lot of fun. In November I'm doing the Quad Dipsea. November and things named "Quad". lol I would agree with doing back to back long runs as well, like a 10 mi / 10 mi on the weekends perhaps. Or maybe even three 8 milers back to back. You want to try and simulate the multi-day race conditions. It goes…

LOL Really, I didn't. I couldn't even relate to most of the things on that list. Maybe that makes me the most ironic ultra runner ever. ;)

17 of 50: Congratulations! You have a perfectly healthy relationship to running. Considering I'm an ultrarunner who's training for their first 100 miler and I've done more marathons, 50ks, and 50 milers than I can remember this is a win. lol

Two words: Run commute.

I've done a ton of 50k's and most of them don't accept drop bags. There was one though that did take drop bags. It had a centrally located aid station that was a hub for several different loops. I knew it was going to be hot so I had a spray bottle and towel so I could wipe the salty grime off my face and feel refreshed…

The Tanaka, Monahan, and Seals formula is new to me. The closest thing I've done to a stress test was a 2 mile time trial back in 2010. It was downright awful and a pain cave I haven't visited since. I was 47 at the time and my heart rate peaked at 177 a little over 10 minutes in and stayed at 175-176 for the duration. I…

Instead of speculating about the full now how about carry on as you are? Give your "A" performance to your half marathon. Once you see how that goes re-evaluate how you want to approach the full. You'll have 3 weeks and more concrete information to make a realistic informed decision.

No, because I know how to pick my battles.

Anyone hanging around Letsrun is just asking to have their buttons pushed.

I don't really understand the question. The longest I've ever used mine was during a 24 hour event. Other than having to recharge it with an external battery on the fly it was no different than using it for a one hour run.

The road marathon I did a few weeks ago had some interesting split data too. There was only a 1:50 (min:sec) difference between my first half and second half times, the closest I've ever come to running an even split marathon. Just for kicks I looked at the numbers for people I'd finished ahead of, especially the ones…

I've been running ultras since 2011 so that's not long enough to know what long term effects might come into play. I know I rarely get sick and the couple of significant injuries I did have occurred in the first couple of years when my inexperience resulted in poor decision making. I just did too much too soon. I'm just…