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JFK 50 Mile - RunUltra Marathon


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Boonsboro, Maryland
United States
Cumberland Valley Athletic Club
50.2F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 10h 18m 1s
Overall Rank = 467/1014
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got down to Maryland a bit later than we had planned. Got to bed as early as possible. Woke up at 1:11 am to Chrissy snoring in her usual way. Woke up at 330 ate a bagel and a half, drank some coffee, drank a bottle of water, and a gel about 20 minutes prior to race.
Event warmup:

No real warmup. Used the walk from the gym to the start which was like a 15 minute walk as a warmup. Chrissy and Linda joined me on this walk.

I need to note here that while waiting in the gymnasium the boys had a huge line for the bathroom and the women basically walked right into ours. It was nice to finally see the men waiting :-) I guess the men to women ratio at this race was a bit different than I'm familiar with.
Run
  • 10h 18m 1s
  • 50.2 miles
  • 12m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

I didn't know what to expect. I knew this was going to be hard. I knew that I would have moments of weakness and brief moments that were good. I really had no idea how this day was going to go. I had a nutrition plan and that was about it. I met these two folks in the beginning who were veterans so I decided to kind of keep my eye on this chick at least for the first section so I didn't leave the gates too fast. About 1 mile into it she was falling back so I thought to myself that I don't need to follow anyone as my pacing has been pretty good during training. SO, off I went. This first few miles before you get onto the AT is really all uphill. I took it nice and easy for this. Didn't push it too hard - felt good. Lots of people were walking most of this. I managed to just run easy until it got a bit steep then I would walk. I think I handled this nicely. Heart rate was awesome.

I rocked the AT section, for me! I got to 9.4 with an unofficial split time from Linda of 1:45. This section was really rocky - really rocky! There were also some somewhat treacherous switchbacks. I did take a huge face plant on this section but thankfully landed where there were no rocks. I also rolled my ankle pretty bad but the pain from that soon went away. This was BY FAR my favorite section and I could have run this for the entire 50 miles.

Next section was the towpath. GOD this was awful. At first it was simply beautiful; however, it got old QUICK. Everyone was kind of telling me "just get through the AT section and pick up your speed on the towpath." This was opposite for me. I would have much prefered the entire race been on the AT. Mile 30-38 was mentally AWFUL for me which was obvious in my running split for this section. This section is where I did all of my unscheduled walks. It was tough here for me-not so bad, though. Here is also where I started to feel sick to my stomach. Nothing appealed to me; however, I knew I had to keep taking my gels and drinking my gatorade and water, at least. Around mile 40 this all passed. Linda met me around at about mile 36 and ran to 38 with me. After this aid station I picked it up mentally because I only had 12 miles to go. This is a much more manageable distance to wrap my head around. I still had a few more miles on the towpath but I focused on only 12 to go.

As I was leaving the towpath I stopped into the bathroom and ended up being in there for about 10 minutes. Oh well! It needed to be done! It was one of those visits to the bathroom where you wished you were in the comfort of your own bathroom with a magazine. I felt good and thankful that spent this time here. It certainly wasn't a waste of time as I don't remember seeing many bathrooms on the remaining miles, so I think I avoided a catastrophe here.

I was looking forward to getting onto these hill even to walk to change my muscle groups a little. I did much better on the road. Saw Linda at mile 44 ish and she ran me to 46ish. I'm so close to the finish at this point that I wanted to really run it in. I think I did a pretty good job. Mile 46-47 I was able to hold a 9 minute pace with walking up the hills. I was happy with how I was feeling overall at this point - still having gas in the tank was something I was worried about.

Some side notes: I was hurting during this run. My feet & knees were killing me, and my hip flexor was bothering me for about half of the run. I had to keep my stride in check because my leg was really painful. I expected a certain amount of pain and basically got what I expected.

Overall my issues have always been nutrition. I felt I did very well with this. I stayed on target with everything even through stomach issues. I probably could have ate a bit more and drank a bit more water but I felt good as far as energy throughout the entire run and I was peeing well. Was running with a fellow for a while who hadn't peed all day. He was concerned but he looked really good so I wouldn't have been worried.

Chrissy and Linda did a very good job at being were they were supposed to be. I fixated on this at times and it definitely caused a lift in my spirits when I saw them; on the flip side, it caused some sadness when I knew I wasn't going to see them for a while.

Honestly, there wasn't a single point during this run that I thought I wanted to stop or couldn't continue. Of course, I would have been ok if the end of the run would have been at about mile 35 but since I knew it wasn't the end I knew I had to keep going. I thought the way I did my training, by running on tired legs ALL OF THE TIME, really helped me keep running all day. I really did think this was going to be harder than it was. Of course, I wasn't lightening fast and this is something I can work on, but I just imagined the last 20 or 10 miles being a suffer fest with a walk/run strategy created on the fly as a plan C to get me to the finish. It was only mile 30-38 were I had to do some additional walking because my stomach was upset and I was mentally low. I really am surprised with how enjoyable and awesome this day was.
What would you do differently?:

hmmm. I'm not sure. I would probably rest more in taper. My legs didn't feel that rested leading into the race. I think this was a problem - not a big one. I also probably would have done more back to backs. After this experience I'm not sure that increasing my long runs would have helped me out mentally & physically or not. What do I know? I don't have races to compare this to. My longest run had only been 27 and my longest back to back was 19 followed by 10 and I really didn't do a lot of back to backs. I did do a lot of 3-4.5 hour runs.

I had to build my runs slowly and didn't do any speedwork b/c this was my first one. Perhaps next time I can throw in a little bit of speed work and start with a better base mileage.

So faster training with a better taper next time :-)
Post race
Warm down:

Attempted to get a shower but the water wasn't hot. I rinsed off and sat shivering in the locker room. Chrissy said I reminded her of Rocky after his fight when he was shivering. I remember that scene - Chrissy doesn't make too many funny movie references so it made me laugh. Ate some food (not much though)which included a twinke and we drove home. I had trouble sleeping but was able to take a 4 hour nap the next day.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm not sure. I thought I had a good first 50 miler. My hip flexor issue really slowed me down for a bit there along with the upset stomach and the mental issues at mile 30-38, but what can you really do about that? Overall everything went as planned and again I enjoyed every second of the day.

Event comments:

This was a well run event. Plenty of aid stations, plenty of volunteers, nice folks, on time - loved it! Would definitely suggest this race to another.




Last updated: 2010-08-16 12:00 AM
Running
10:18:01 | 50.2 miles | 12m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 467/1014
Performance: Good
Course: First 14 miles were up and down, mostly up for the first long section and then down. The AT section was included in this, then it was 26 miles of flat towpath, followed by 8ish miles on the road with rolling small hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2010-11-23 7:10 AM

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Subject: JFK 50 Mile


2010-11-23 8:24 AM
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Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile

Carrie,

You were AWESOME!  I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience!  <img align='middle' src='https://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/images/emoticons/smile.gif'>

2010-11-23 9:08 AM
in reply to: #3222765

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Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile
Thank god there were no "catastrophe's" .
2010-11-23 1:11 PM
in reply to: #3222765

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Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile
Carrie--You are amazing!! I can't even imagine doing a race like that. 
2010-11-23 1:16 PM
in reply to: #3222765

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Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile
Great race report-- I can't imagine how you kept going with those pains, etc., but then you finished a HIM in your bare feet!
2010-11-23 2:02 PM
in reply to: #3222765

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Champion
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Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile
Congrats on a successful ultra!  I think you're right about miles 30-40 being the toughest...I was able to have my sons pace me for the 4th (30-40) and 5th (40-50) loops of my 50-miler. 


2010-11-23 7:02 PM
in reply to: #3222765

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Ft. Myers, Florida
Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile
Carrie,
Great job!!  Sorry I didn't get to meet you.  I loved the no line for the women's bathroom in the gym.  That was awesome.  You were smart to take your extended bathroom break when you did because you are right there weren't any port a johns after that.  I know because I was desperately looking for one.

Congratulations on sticking it out and getting it done.  Sounds like you did a very good job nutrition wise even with an upset stomach.  That is hard to do.

Now enjoy Thanksgiving!
2010-11-23 9:15 PM
in reply to: #3222765

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Frederick, Maryland
Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile
Nice report and gave a different experience than mine. As I said earlier, I just wanted off the AT since that's where I injured myself 4 weeks prior and I saw other folks go down in front me as well as one who sounded like he really did his ankle in. But, unlike you, I was able to train on the C&O and knew what to expect. I also really enjoyed the just flat out running. BTW, if you think it was dull/boring during the race, you should try running long on it when there isn't a race going on. Talk about being alone for periods at a time. And when the leaves are green, the scenery really doesn't change too much. Now, to give you an idea how much I picked up, my time to Weverton was 3 something and I was probably at a 13+ (maybe even 14) pace. But, covered the next 35 miles in somewhere around 6 hours which was 10:17. I must've passed you and Judy without realizing it somewhere along the C&O. As Judy said, sorry we didn't meet up. I think I might've been around the finish waiting for my crew when you and Judy finished. I did wait around in the food area for quite sometime and looked around but wasn't quite sure what you and Judy looked like.

Well, perhaps at Eagleman. Hey, again, great race and good report! Congrats once again! Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving! We've all earned the turkey this year I think!
2010-12-11 10:52 AM
in reply to: #3222765

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Hollidaysburg, PA
Subject: RE: JFK 50 Mile
Congrats!!!

I loved the AT also and would have enjoyed 50 miles of that, if there weren't people in my way slowing me down.
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