Training for an Ultra (in Real Life)
So, guys, there are some incredible runners out there on the ultra scene, both local to me and in all the places where mountains live. I am not one of those runners. I don't even really try to be one of those runners. My husband is one of those runners. He runs every day, rain or shine, and never complains. In fact, the only time he might complain is if he missed getting a few miles in for the day and that never happens because dude will go downstairs and crank out treadmill miles at 9:30 at night if he really has to.... But this is not me.
I run long distances because I love the outdoors, because it is a challenge, and because then I can eat all the food and drink all the beer. I do not run for the exercise, for the PRs, or for race day. But I do, now and then, sign up for races. In fact, I've got one coming up in a few weeks that I'm grossly unprepared for because this is what it's like to train for an ultra in real life (and when you're a mom, because, let's be honest, it's different):
During my run today, I took two phone calls related to my daughter, who is getting braces and a back brace all in the next two weeks. One was insurance and back brace-related while the other was from the school nurse about her mouth pain. It's not the end of the world to me to have to take a break and take a call, but it does mess with one's rhythm. The bliss I feel after about 4 miles (which is a pretty long time to take to hit stride....sometimes I'm annoyed an entire run because it takes me this long to get out of my head) is interrupted and I come crashing back to awareness of each foot fall because I'm thinking again. I'm thinking about how the timing will work out because I'm going to be gone shortly after this back brace is done. I'm actually going to miss my 7 year old's single music concert this year too. And my girl's teeth hurt and the medicine I sent to school today was expired so they won't give it to her and the guilt comes crashing down. And I can't drop off new medicine because I drove 45 minutes to run for 3 hours and drive back home just in time to be here, smiling, when they get off the bus. You can see the spiral this is. Now imagine that you have 10 or 20 miles (2-4 hours) to contemplate this shit!
On the trail for 3 hours today, I considered the fact that I've taken my kids to at least 12 appointments this year already and those are the ones I can remember. And I can't remember which one of my kids was first in the bus line yesterday, so I'm guessing there have been more. (My daughter reminded me this morning, when I couldn't remember, that we were at an appointment yesterday morning, so her brother was first by default.) Every one of those appointments is an adjustment in my schedule, which is kind of a joke of a word because I don't have a schedule. My "schedule" is the 3-7 minute breaks between everyone else's schedules. That's not enough time to run, so I'm usually lucky to get two or three runs in a week. Let's be honest, I average one. One run a week.
And that's if I'm not working. I'm substitute teaching at the moment, which really should give me more time to run than if I had a traditional, every day job. But it's also a weird combination of flexible and inflexible. I work when I want to, but each day there is an appointment, I have to decline assignments. Each day a kid is sick, I have to decline assignments. And each time I have to decline an assignment, my week gets smaller because I really feel like I should pick a different one up and there's only so many days in a week. So it doesn't matter if I plan to run on Monday or Wednesday or Friday, odds are good that it won't work out as planned.
Heaven forbid I get sick. During my prime training weeks this Spring, I got sick. I ran 15 miles on a Thursday, which should have gently brought me toward my highest mileage weeks. Instead, I came down with Influenza and lost 3 weeks. I couldn't take five breaths without coughing. I certainly couldn't run 5 miles toward my goal of 50.
To add to the fun of today, my running watch wasn't working when I arrived at the trail. It wasn't a huge deal, but it helps me pace and I was running trails I wasn't terribly familiar with, so knowing how many miles I've covered helps in navigating the map. I also had to be home, smiling, for the bus because my husband was going to be gone (doing something other than running), which is rare. So I had a set amount of time and a LOT of miles I hoped to cover. In the end, the watch worked, though the screen didn't, so I still didn't have much more than the hope that I heard all of the 1 mile lap pings. My phone died because Life. And though Grandma agreed to cover me if I was going to be late, I was worried I wouldn't be able to reach her as my phone's battery dipped below the dreaded 10% (and it was a good thing I cancelled her when I did because I couldn't turn my phone on again until I got home!).
All that doesn't begin to touch on the normal ultra training questions I manage to need to ask every time I go out for a run. How many gels do I need to carry for this run? How much faster do I need to go to complete x miles in y amount of time? (I do a lot of math in my head on the trail when I have a race coming up.) Am I on pace? Am I still on the trail?! Is this mile almost over? Will this hill ever end? Is this a good tree to stop and pee behind? Is someone coming? Do I have a blister? I think I have a blister. Man, I wish my phone wasn't dead because some Hamilton might give me a little spring in my step. This flat stretch is pretty long. I wish there was a hill so I could justify some hiking. Ooo, puppy! Ooo, eagle! Ooo, turtle! Ew, snake! Just kidding, snakes don't really bother me, but they definitely startle me!
So, today I ran and I loved it and I was tired and frustrated and sweaty and happy, because that's pretty much ultrarunning in a nutshell (in real life).
I run long distances because I love the outdoors, because it is a challenge, and because then I can eat all the food and drink all the beer. I do not run for the exercise, for the PRs, or for race day. But I do, now and then, sign up for races. In fact, I've got one coming up in a few weeks that I'm grossly unprepared for because this is what it's like to train for an ultra in real life (and when you're a mom, because, let's be honest, it's different):
During my run today, I took two phone calls related to my daughter, who is getting braces and a back brace all in the next two weeks. One was insurance and back brace-related while the other was from the school nurse about her mouth pain. It's not the end of the world to me to have to take a break and take a call, but it does mess with one's rhythm. The bliss I feel after about 4 miles (which is a pretty long time to take to hit stride....sometimes I'm annoyed an entire run because it takes me this long to get out of my head) is interrupted and I come crashing back to awareness of each foot fall because I'm thinking again. I'm thinking about how the timing will work out because I'm going to be gone shortly after this back brace is done. I'm actually going to miss my 7 year old's single music concert this year too. And my girl's teeth hurt and the medicine I sent to school today was expired so they won't give it to her and the guilt comes crashing down. And I can't drop off new medicine because I drove 45 minutes to run for 3 hours and drive back home just in time to be here, smiling, when they get off the bus. You can see the spiral this is. Now imagine that you have 10 or 20 miles (2-4 hours) to contemplate this shit!
On the trail for 3 hours today, I considered the fact that I've taken my kids to at least 12 appointments this year already and those are the ones I can remember. And I can't remember which one of my kids was first in the bus line yesterday, so I'm guessing there have been more. (My daughter reminded me this morning, when I couldn't remember, that we were at an appointment yesterday morning, so her brother was first by default.) Every one of those appointments is an adjustment in my schedule, which is kind of a joke of a word because I don't have a schedule. My "schedule" is the 3-7 minute breaks between everyone else's schedules. That's not enough time to run, so I'm usually lucky to get two or three runs in a week. Let's be honest, I average one. One run a week.
And that's if I'm not working. I'm substitute teaching at the moment, which really should give me more time to run than if I had a traditional, every day job. But it's also a weird combination of flexible and inflexible. I work when I want to, but each day there is an appointment, I have to decline assignments. Each day a kid is sick, I have to decline assignments. And each time I have to decline an assignment, my week gets smaller because I really feel like I should pick a different one up and there's only so many days in a week. So it doesn't matter if I plan to run on Monday or Wednesday or Friday, odds are good that it won't work out as planned.
Heaven forbid I get sick. During my prime training weeks this Spring, I got sick. I ran 15 miles on a Thursday, which should have gently brought me toward my highest mileage weeks. Instead, I came down with Influenza and lost 3 weeks. I couldn't take five breaths without coughing. I certainly couldn't run 5 miles toward my goal of 50.
To add to the fun of today, my running watch wasn't working when I arrived at the trail. It wasn't a huge deal, but it helps me pace and I was running trails I wasn't terribly familiar with, so knowing how many miles I've covered helps in navigating the map. I also had to be home, smiling, for the bus because my husband was going to be gone (doing something other than running), which is rare. So I had a set amount of time and a LOT of miles I hoped to cover. In the end, the watch worked, though the screen didn't, so I still didn't have much more than the hope that I heard all of the 1 mile lap pings. My phone died because Life. And though Grandma agreed to cover me if I was going to be late, I was worried I wouldn't be able to reach her as my phone's battery dipped below the dreaded 10% (and it was a good thing I cancelled her when I did because I couldn't turn my phone on again until I got home!).
All that doesn't begin to touch on the normal ultra training questions I manage to need to ask every time I go out for a run. How many gels do I need to carry for this run? How much faster do I need to go to complete x miles in y amount of time? (I do a lot of math in my head on the trail when I have a race coming up.) Am I on pace? Am I still on the trail?! Is this mile almost over? Will this hill ever end? Is this a good tree to stop and pee behind? Is someone coming? Do I have a blister? I think I have a blister. Man, I wish my phone wasn't dead because some Hamilton might give me a little spring in my step. This flat stretch is pretty long. I wish there was a hill so I could justify some hiking. Ooo, puppy! Ooo, eagle! Ooo, turtle! Ew, snake! Just kidding, snakes don't really bother me, but they definitely startle me!
So, today I ran and I loved it and I was tired and frustrated and sweaty and happy, because that's pretty much ultrarunning in a nutshell (in real life).
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