The Buzzard Day 50K scheduled for March 14th, 2020 was going to be my 15th consecutive month of completing at least one ultra marathon per month, until I found myself unpacking our vehicle at the last minute due to a forced cancelation. The pandemic quickly altered plans, races, goals etc. It was a great streak of ultras, but it wouldn’t be so special if I hadn’t been defying some odds. All tapered and rested, I wondered what to do with that invaluable energy. About fifteen hours later, my wife dropped me off for a scenic 50K point-to point run on roads and trails back home. That run got me wondering again whether I was fit enough to run a 50K every weekend? So I did this for four weekends, with details in my blog; “Dayton Shines. 4 DIY 50K’s/4 Weeks. Covid-19 Consequences.” Everything is energy and we are a most miraculous bundle of infinite potential. Savor it while it lasts.
It’s all alive.
After four weeks of tapering, recovering and knocking out 50K’s weekly, I was missing more frequent adventures. The image below shows I had less than three days rest before starting the ten days of running at least ten miles per day. My intention was to run less than eleven miles daily, but one special run in the Yellow Springs area went well over twelve miles. I don’t follow any particular training plan and I’m not much of a fan of “canned” training plans. Everyone is in their own unique place, with infinite variables impacting how or when we may be ready to tackle our goals. For those interested in running one hundred miles, I often suggest that they build fitness until they can run about ten to eleven miles per day for ten consecutive days safely. With that fitness base, they are likely to be up for the challenge, depending on many other variables. This general guideline is scalable to lesser distances.
I was not successful at adding these Suunto Route images to my four 50K’s post, so here are the four routes:
Below is my Suunto GPS watch graphic for the ten consecutive days, plus the marathon I ran with my wife for her Dayton/Boston Strong run. That was a faster marathon than I’d normally run and only two days rest after my other 50K and 10/10 “experiments”. I was concerned. However, we had an excellent run and our most awesome three daughters were in Yellow Springs with “finish line” tape for Megan to run through, and to drive us home.
I was pleasantly surprised by just how enjoyable ALL ten of these runs were. Before doing them, I expected some runs to be really tough to start or finish. I claimed that some should be tough or that I wasn’t pushing hard enough, possibly not making enough progress. It was such a pleasure to run by and through some local landmarks that I don’t often see. Seeing the world while running is ideal, passing very special places, where I’ve built homes as an “owner contractor”, built my life, worked and created a family. One morning, I was particularly giddy, literally laughing out loud about some funny stuff my wife and I had done the afternoon prior. Being near a major mall, with the streets and parking lots SO empty was odd, yet nice. At least a couple times, I was “off” in my own little world, laughing about some crazy idea, when I realized there were workers in a truck or van nearby, sitting quietly. They must have thought I was crazy, running in the dark rain, wearing sandals and carrying a pack suitable for an ultra marathon, solo, laughing.
My ten runs started April 7th and ended on April 16th. I listened to a podcast with Anton Krupicka, where he noted how “easy” running became when he was running thirty hours per week. Tallying up my miles and hours for the ten days, I hit approximately 22 hours and fourteen minutes for 105.3 miles. Not exactly blazing speed and not Anton level hours, but I hit some tough trails and hills and I focus on the long haul. By long haul, I mean I’d like to be running in my eighties. Anton is an inspirational and fast racer, but the speed and distance has left him often sidelined from running. He used to carve his shoes down with a buck knife. I tend to use kitchen scissors, belt sanders, a dremel, and a leather hole punch tool to tweak my footwear to less than most would consider. This in part acts as a “speed bump” for me. While the glory and fame may often be in competition, speed and winning … those are not my focuses. Injury free, frequent runs and super long runs have been my rewards thus far. If “toiling” in obscurity is the path to living and running deep into senior years, then so be it. I have many people I look to for wisdom and inspiration. We all have our blind spots, but closing those windows means borrowing the best ideas from the best minds and not adopting any of our hero’s blind spots. If haste makes waste, I ain’t got time for that.
I have a chunk of metal with a metal loop on top that I picked up on the side of the road we live on, I suspect it fell off a dump truck. I painted it to say “The Dude Abides” on one side and “Vivere” (enjoy life) on the other. I like to think I abide well by the general truths learned since my “Born To Run” experiments began a few years after going through thyroid cancer and other health concerns. I’ve had the good fortune to be able to focus on learning how to more deeply enjoy life. Running is at the center of much of that effort. When we seek wisdom over wealth long enough we see the obvious. Wisdom is wealth. Health is wealth.
The Xero Z-Trails featured in the photo below are deeply worn. My new pair have seen heavy use already and future plans include an attempt to run 100 miles, possibly in the new Z-Trails May 9-10. We’d start by ringing the cowbell hanging in a tree by our garage and run the bike trails to Xenia, Ohio, then to Loveland, Ohio and back! The ten-ten as well as the many 50K’s prior should have me ready for a smooth 100 mile “fun run”. Xero Shoes have had an incredibly positive impact on my well being and enjoyment of life.
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