108. Challenge #1 - 50K Run & Done

Saturday saw me take on an important first challenge - 50km ultra... and I'm pleased to say I completed it!

It's important for a few reasons:

1. It's an essential distance to put in my legs before I take on the Jurassic 100k

2. It's a testing ground for kit and fuel

3. I'll end up doing six of these back to back in a few months

4. I needed to know how my injuries would react

I know all of the above as of the end of that day. I have that important 50k in line with my long-run targets ahead of my Taper into the 100k in just over 4 weeks' time. It wasn't pretty and i am carrying way more weight than I'd like. The video shots I took on the route are shocking. The camera adds ten pounds, and while I had one camera, I looked like I had 3 on me.

Kit worked well, but my trusty Salomon pack is looking shabby now. I need a new one... but the one I need isn't available anywhere. I have to make a call as to buy a new one, or see if this one holds out just a little longer. The thing that I wanted to know most was would my ass and hip hold out following the injuries?

It did, though I really felt the less-than-ideal training through Feb and early March. It hit me hard around the 30k mark. That and the frustrating lack of weight loss (you'll see from the video the camera was not flattering AT ALL to me!) combined to make it one of the tougher runs I've ever done.

This was made worse by a rather nasty stomach upset after the first rest stop. It was one of the most touch-and-go (literally) moments I've had. Thank God that I found a restroom in time... I almost didn't! Once empty I could carry on, but I'm certain it was my Tailwind electrolytes and that this was the first use of them for a year, which was the culprit. It cost me almost 20 minutes as a detour and the time taken to ensure there was no more.

Lots to learn from this, and will use the tailwind and gels on my future long runs up to the 100k to ensure my stomach is used to it. I will take my Imodium BEFORE my next event rather than once the 'horse has already bolted'.

One thought I had though, when I really started to suffer towards the last quarter was that I have to do 6 of these back to back. On Saturday, I simply couldn't see how i could. It looked so far away. It's easy to get despondent at a low moment. I just need to work very hard over the next 5 months and work on the right things. This run showed me some of those...

Technique - My run technique is still in need of improving. I need to have greater hip mobility, glute strength and to run in a way that focuses more on my glute than my quads and hamstrings. I need to cover the ground faster without exerting more energy. Hitting the ground with slightly bent knees, foot contact with ground under hips, and a glute drive rather than a quad and calf drive through the push part of the motion is needed to be hardwired into how i run. I can sprint well, but jogging I still need to work hard on the technique. My walking technique has to improve as well. At some points people were walking as fast as i was jogging. I'm trying out a few things over the coming runs and will add in a lot of strengthening as well as bursts of high speed walking to get my body used to moving with greater cadence and speed.

In spite of all this I survived and finished the challenge in the top 25% of challengers. Not too bad considering where i was only 4 weeks earlier.

There is a final note as well... well done to my buddy Graham. He was performing an experiment and will dedicate the next post to having the Cahones to carry it out.... Until then, enjoy the video and thanks for reading (and watching)