Can I build to a 50mi in 20weeks? (Page 2)

EVERYONE falls. I fell at mile 17 into my first 50mi and banged up my knee pretty good. I still finished. A friend fell at mile 40 of her first 100 (and ended with a broken foot), but she finished. My first year of wanting to run ultras (trails) I fell ONE MILE into my first trail run...and broke my ankle. So, my trail career didn't start until 4 years later.

You WILL fall. Learning to shake it off and give yourself a min or two to regroup if it's extra painful, is key. Hopefully you got your practice ones out of the way! Maybe you won't at your race. But if you do, there's nothing you can do once it happens...except make sure you're not seriously injured, then get up and keep going.

The result:  A DNF.  However- my training build went very well, which included two runs 30miles or more, peak running week of 73 miles, back to back long runs- the works.  I have no doubt that, under different conditions, I could have completed this race.  

the short answer is- that storm that you heard about on the news that hit california on friday... well it hit the OP50 course on Saturday.  Strong winds and heavy rains.  hypothermia and trails that turned into raging creeks made me utter those difficult words- "Runner #18 is dropping".

you're welcome to read the whole race report.  it's long.

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=511827&posts=1&page=1

33 miles. Not due to fatigue. Everything was working pretty well, no issues, no cramping or pain, felt reasonably strong- until the cold got to my bones. Then, my agility and ability just started shutting down. Between that and the trail (river) conditions- I just couldn't move fast enough to keep my heart rate up enough to stay warm.

The race takes 175 sign-ups. Not sure how many runners started this year, but many wisely chose not to. Maybe 100-110 runners?

The RD indicated in an email that this year he had 85 runners drop out (normally, he'll get about 15). Not sure how many finished. A couple dozen- maybe? There were cases of severe hypothermia (disorientation, lack of ability to move, body stops shaking, pale color) and stories of super human efforts to rescue some of these runners, by both runners and volunteers. The volunteers were just incredible. Cannot thank them all enough.

On a completely separate note- I've got a major bone to pick with my Salomon S-lab XT6 trail shoes.  They're sealed around the base of the upper and hold water like a glass.  They don't drain at all.  What an amazingly poor design.  Plus- the footbed insert is a sponge.  Soaks up the water and gets really soft and scrunches down- so you don't have a footbed any more.  Funny- I never really noticed these problems running in them for the last 200 miles... as this was the first friggen time it has rained in Tucson in 4 months!  I'm calling the company.  Hard to say- but a more suitable pair of shoes, may have made the difference.