I finished the JFK 50 miler in 7 hours and 57 minutes, 76th out of approximately 1300 starters. Aside from the first 16 miles over the Appalachian Trail, this is a relatively easy run following the Potomac River along a former tow path for almost one half of the race. But its relative ease allows runners to push it faster without the usual and much useful walking breaks to hike steep hills. This, in turn, results in injuries and a whole set of other problems.
The last 1/2 of this race was not easy for me. Unbeknownst to me, I was overhydrated and low in sodium. I was very hot during a cold day, and this should have served as a clue that I was not sweating enough due to low sodium. But because the day was so cold, I never gave much consideration to my total sodium intake. In any event, I learned something new, though I suffered unnecessarily for 4 hours.
I ran this race in 2005 and gave a colorful description of that
race then. It's funny how four years of trail running experience turns a difficult course into a mild one.
It's now 5 days after this year's race, and I haven't run much since. I've decided to take my break now and allow my body to recover fully for a month before I commence my heavy training for Western States. I had a 50 miler and a 100k scheduled for December; I'll probably pass on both.
For now, it's time to eat, rest, and be merry.
Two Personal Bests
Two personal bests: 8 hours 48 minutes (37 out of 234 starters) at the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Mile Race in Castro Valley, California on October 10, 2009 (my friend Eric Vaughan says that my faster finish at the much easier JFK 50 Miler doesn't count as a personal best for a 50 mile trail run) and 3 hours 19 minutes (3,078 out of 44,000 starters) at the NY City Marathon on November 1st.
Also ran the crazy Mountain Madness 50K race in Ringwood, NJ the week after Firetrails 50M and ran the challenging and extremely well organized Mount Masochist 50++M race in Lynchburg, VA 6 days after the NYC Marathon.
Suffered the most at Mount Masochist, as I had two injuries from the NYC marathon and a cold; pushed through nonetheless and finished in 11 hours +.
Frankly, I'm fairly amazed that I can run strong, back-to-back ultras on consecutive weekends at this stage of my training. I hope I can stay healthy so I can dial it up a notch in the coming months.
Also ran the crazy Mountain Madness 50K race in Ringwood, NJ the week after Firetrails 50M and ran the challenging and extremely well organized Mount Masochist 50++M race in Lynchburg, VA 6 days after the NYC Marathon.
Suffered the most at Mount Masochist, as I had two injuries from the NYC marathon and a cold; pushed through nonetheless and finished in 11 hours +.
Frankly, I'm fairly amazed that I can run strong, back-to-back ultras on consecutive weekends at this stage of my training. I hope I can stay healthy so I can dial it up a notch in the coming months.
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