Every Wish That We Put Into Motion.... (comments welcome!)

[garneska]

Good idea on running or hiking some of the trail. I did that for my 50k trail and was so glad I did. I did the major elevation that was in the state park. I was glad I did it.

 

[avondale]

Currently it's schedule for what appears to be a 2 week taper?

Hmm... I'm reading that your longest long run is on Aug. 2 at 20 miles, yes? And the race is the weekend of Aug. 23/24? That looks like a 3-week taper. that seems good. Depending on how much rest you get, you might go shorter on that last 10-mi long run and leading right up to the race.

There's a lot of talk about keeping your legs "fresh" by running soon before the race, but I feel like that applies more to faster paces than you're going to get in your 50k. Any free time you have in the week leading up to the race, get off your feet, and if possible, sleep.

As a side note, I'm very unlikely to do the full 20mi on the 2nd. That's just a really, really, really long run for me. Like 5+ hours in the hottest part of our summer.

Well, this is why I'm a proponent for running for time, not distance. Then you could call this longest long run "5 hours" (or whatever was appropriate leading up to this long run) and at least you'd know how much time you'd be spending.

I do understand this is a lot of time to spend on a run, especially in peak T+D time, but try to get out there for as long as you can (not exceeding this distance, of course). Your actual race will be 50% longer than this. Even expecting to be walking toward the end of the race, you need to build up the time on your feet.

Most ultra-running guidelines I see are to build up to a long run that is about 75% as long in time as you expect your race to be. The time limit for the 50k is 14 hours. Do you have a time goal? If you're estimating even something like 10 hours, then you're looking at a longest long run time of 7.5 hours by that guideline. Of course, planning from the beginning to have a lot of walking time would probably mitigate this to some extent, but not completely, because 30 miles on your feet at once is still 30 miles on your feet at once.

You have to do what you have to do, but the shortness of this longest long run does worry me a bit. You'll need to be really conservative on race day to not burn yourself out early.

near the race trail so I can get out on it for a few sections that weekend in July

Fantastic idea! Having a feel for even part of the trail you'll be racing will give you some confidence. It will make things feel a bit more familiar.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Hmm... I'm reading that your longest long run is on Aug. 2 at 20 miles, yes? And the race is the weekend of Aug. 23/24? That looks like a 3-week taper. that seems good. Depending on how much rest you get, you might go shorter on that last 10-mi long run and leading right up to the race.

Yes. The longest long run of the plan is 20mi. And considering that I’ve never gone over 13.1 for Dopey training and I did 14 yesterday, and am planning on 16mi in a couple of weeks. I’m mental just kind of meh about going 20 (even though I think it would be good for me.

There's a lot of talk about keeping your legs "fresh" by running soon before the race, but I feel like that applies more to faster paces than you're going to get in your 50k. Any free time you have in the week leading up to the race, get off your feet, and if possible, sleep.

I can get behind this sentiment.

Well, this is why I'm a proponent for running for time, not distance. Then you could call this longest long run "5 hours" (or whatever was appropriate leading up to this long run) and at least you'd know how much time you'd be spending.

Right. “5 hours” is basing it on a 15min pace, which is about right when I factor in hills. I can go more like mid/upper 13s on a flat, especially if I’m running with someone, but I know I have a lot of elevation for race day.

I do understand this is a lot of time to spend on a run, especially in peak T+D time, but try to get out there for as long as you can (not exceeding this distance, of course). Your actual race will be 50% longer than this. Even expecting to be walking toward the end of the race, you need to build up the time on your feet.

Most ultra-running guidelines I see are to build up to a long run that is about 75% as long in time as you expect your race to be. The time limit for the 50k is 14 hours. Do you have a time goal? If you're estimating even something like 10 hours, then you're looking at a longest long run time of 7.5 hours by that guideline. Of course, planning from the beginning to have a lot of walking time would probably mitigate this to some extent, but not completely, because 30 miles on your feet at once is still 30 miles on your feet at once.

The time limit is actually 9 hours for the 50k. 14 hours is for the 50 miler on Saturday. My only goal is to finish within the allotted time. And I’ve been mulling asking if they would allow me to start 30min early on the days my nerves are higher. But then it would be dark dark when I started and I’d have to deal with a light and a drop bag (they have 2 locations for these) and stuff.

You have to do what you have to do, but the shortness of this longest long run does worry me a bit. You'll need to be really conservative on race day to not burn yourself out early.

Nooooo! Don’t say you’re nervous! I’m already nervous! My “plan” at this point (having not set foot on the course YET) is to try to hold 15min pace or faster (on the flat part) for the first 20ish miles which will allow for almost 20min pace for the hilly last 8ish miles. Spending as little time as possible at aid stations (because I can’t afford the time) and having someone jump in with me with around 10k to go (the pacer information is confusing and seems more geared toward the 50k from a logistics perspective.)

Fantastic idea! Having a feel for even part of the trail you'll be racing will give you some confidence. It will make things feel a bit more familiar.

Right. My biggest priority is the super hilly last 10ish miles.

 

[avondale]

Nooooo! Don’t say you’re nervous! I’m already nervous! My “plan” at this point (having not set foot on the course YET) is to try to hold 15min pace or faster (on the flat part) for the first 20ish miles which will allow for almost 20min pace for the hilly last 8ish miles. Spending as little time as possible at aid stations (because I can’t afford the time) and having someone jump in with me with around 10k to go (the pacer information is confusing and seems more geared toward the 50k from a logistics perspective.)

Ok, a 9-hour time limit is going to be tight for you. I remember that now when you were initially discussing this, because that's a pretty tight time limit for a 50k, really. Not sure why they do that when there's a lot of daylight in northern Michigan in August. It starts at 6:30am - why do they need all 50k runners to be finished by 3:30pm? It's a mystery. Hmm...it's on Sunday (while the 50-miler is Saturday), so maybe they are worried about cleaning things up from the event before the weekend is over.

I'm just worried that you're looking at 9 hours of continuously moving and you will have maybe done half that time in one of your long runs. But this may be where all your refereeing will help because you spend so much time on your feet with that.

I finished my first 50k in 9 hours (https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...c-2018-comments-welcome.3725621/post-65241987). I had trained to aim for 8 hours and I think that was a very reasonable goal, but (1) we had apocalyptic rainfall for the first several hours so the course was a mudpit and (2) I was sick. (Don't do a race soon after Christmas when you can pick up germs from all the relatives you visit.) But that averaged out to a 16:00 pace...I mention that because, yes, it means if you can keep to 15:00 pace, you will be good. That's going to be tough, though.

You should consider having a change of socks (and shoes if you have two pairs you like) in a drop area, especially if it will be raining. It will make your feet feel a lot better. This can also be a time to either refill reservoirs or trade out empty bottles for filled ones. It won't take that much time for all of this, but, yes, it will be something to think about in terms of pacing. A pacer for the end of the course will definitely help keep you moving, too, so that's a bonus if you can make that work.

It's too late to change your plan now, so I guess I just suggest doing as much of that longest long run as you can.