A Special Type... of Crazy
So December rolls along, along with the miles. It seems like my life right now is pretty much a blur of budgets, Christmas parties, my son's basketball... and running.
The last of those is probably good, as Team Type 1 has formally decided that one of the focal races for 2011 will be the NJ Ultra Festival on March 19, which includes 26.2 mile, 50k, 50 mile, 100k and 100 mile options.
And on that day, with a little help from above plus a handful of painkillers, I'll be aiming to do my first 50 mile race.
Without a doubt, it's a strange goal: I always said I'd do ultras after I qualified for Boston and - to date - I haven't. Moreover, 50 miles is just... well, kind of far.
But there were a few things that led me to this decision:
* Though my base is strong right now, we're heading into the time of year where doing fast work will really suck. I did speedwork last January, and it was a special stage of hell. Instead, I'd rather do a ton of miles.
* Team Type 1 is almost creepily full of guys with major ultra experience... Guys who seemingly do 50s and 100s on a whim. And me, well I'm susceptible to both temptation and stupidity.
* My training partner has said he'll likely do it. Now that I've blogged it, I expect he'll feel committed. :) But seriously, the ability to do this race with Team Type 1 AND my regular training partner? That's a great opportunity.
Goals, you ask? Well I've never done a 50 mile race, and that's part of the beauty. Survive, really is my most important goal. Experts say to double your marathon time and add 2 hours. If I were to go for a marathon in March, I would go for a 3:20, so that would be an 8:40. But like I said, who knows what will happen? And truth is, if I can finish strong, that's all I need from the experience.
The last of those is probably good, as Team Type 1 has formally decided that one of the focal races for 2011 will be the NJ Ultra Festival on March 19, which includes 26.2 mile, 50k, 50 mile, 100k and 100 mile options.
And on that day, with a little help from above plus a handful of painkillers, I'll be aiming to do my first 50 mile race.
Without a doubt, it's a strange goal: I always said I'd do ultras after I qualified for Boston and - to date - I haven't. Moreover, 50 miles is just... well, kind of far.
But there were a few things that led me to this decision:
* Though my base is strong right now, we're heading into the time of year where doing fast work will really suck. I did speedwork last January, and it was a special stage of hell. Instead, I'd rather do a ton of miles.
* Team Type 1 is almost creepily full of guys with major ultra experience... Guys who seemingly do 50s and 100s on a whim. And me, well I'm susceptible to both temptation and stupidity.
* My training partner has said he'll likely do it. Now that I've blogged it, I expect he'll feel committed. :) But seriously, the ability to do this race with Team Type 1 AND my regular training partner? That's a great opportunity.
Goals, you ask? Well I've never done a 50 mile race, and that's part of the beauty. Survive, really is my most important goal. Experts say to double your marathon time and add 2 hours. If I were to go for a marathon in March, I would go for a 3:20, so that would be an 8:40. But like I said, who knows what will happen? And truth is, if I can finish strong, that's all I need from the experience.
