I’m choosing to prioritize my fitness as I close out 2023 and start leaning into 2024. Improvement is a choice, success is a choice and these choices require action, consistency and a desire to seek improvement. Most importantly it requires discipline.
This is in stark contrast to what happened in November and December of 2022 following my City of Oaks Marathon. After crossing the finish line at my first Marathon, I stopped. I completed only a handful of runs after the Marathon and logged only 13 miles in the entire month of December 2022. I gained nearly 25lbs of weight and lost an incredible amount of strength. I slid head first into complacency and ate my way through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. It was gross.
So in stark contrast to 2022, I’ve put myself in a position where complacency isn’t an option!
I’ve signed up for my first Ultra Marathon!
Ok, I’m going to be honest here. It’s the SHORTEST possible distance that actually qualifies as an “Ultra” - the 50K. (31.1 miles). Even crazier, the race is on January 27th! The race is in just 70 days. I have no time to rest on my heels or get fat. While this may be my first Ultra, I’ve been having conversations with our Ultra runners over the past few years and it’s clear to me that running an Ultra is a completely different mindset and approach than The Marathon.
I’ve been having “Ultra” conversations with the run club ultra group for a while now and every time I’m done talking to them, I leave 100% convinced I’ll sign up for my first one. That’s been going on for 3 years now!
January and February in North Carolina is always cold. February is the coldest month of the year and this race will be taking place on January 27th. It’s going to be cold, possibly sub zero and a small chance of snow or ice on the trail. This 50K is hosted by a local run club, is free to enter and is 100% self supported. There are no medals, no shirts, no bibs and absolutely no whining.
It is a 10.4 mile loop with an aid station at mile 5 and the start/finish is at the parking lot. It’s on sandy dirt roads with minimal elevation. Since signing up I’ve had no less than 5 other people in the run club sign up. There are a handful of us where this will be our first ULTRA.
Why am I pursuing such madness. Because it’s fucking hard. That’s why. I also need a goal to go after. I need something to chase to keep my discipline aligned with achieving that goal.
I wouldn’t say I took this week off, but I certainly ate what I wanted and only logged two runs for a total of 11.44 miles. On the flip side, I’ve started lifting weights again and spent this week lifting with my 17yr old son who has found a renewed interest in getting strong. This week I lifted 3x and ran 2x, and honestly I feel like this was a pretty good “recovery” week following the RVA Marathon.
My first run post race was an easy 5K at a 10’21” pace and my heart rate stayed below 130 and it was good to get in a run with Jon again and was thankful he stuck with me on this slow 5K when I know he could have gone much faster or further. You want to be a better runner, run with better runners.
The second run of the week was a trail run with the club. Starting off I really wasn’t too sure what my mileage was going to be, but overall it ended up just over 8 miles. We had a great group of people show up, a few first timers to the trail and a few others first time running with the club. It’s always great to see the club grow.
I decided to take my son’s GoPro with me and get some footage. I’ve had many conversations with runners who are hesitant to hit the trails, so I decided to make a video. Here’s a glimpse into trail running with my club.
Starting tomorrow, on Monday, November 20th I start my 10 week journey to my first Ultra-Marathon in the dead winter of North Carolina!
I’m making a monumental shift in my training for this upcoming Ultra in that I’ll be doing much more strength training in the form of weightlifting and calisthenics. We’ll see how this helps with the 50K in 10 weeks!