My first 50k ultra-marathon~

As I’ve written in this blog over the past few days, I’m preparing for a 50k ultra-marathon.  That’s right at 31 miles, the longest I’ve ever run at one time in my life.  What’s worse is that it’s on July 28^th, the dog days of summer here in Mississippi.

I’m not going for any speed in this event.  As any long distance runner will tell you, the goal of your first long distance event is simply to finish.  I’ve now run 5 marathons with a best personal finishing time of 4:01.  Fortunately, I’ve finished them all.  And, I’ve learned a little something with each marathon and tweaked my training accordingly.

The main thing I’ve heard about running an ultra is not only the conditioning , but the acclimation to the heat.  As we all know, heat can take your strength, but throw in the humidity here in Mississippi and you’ve got yourself a real pot-boiler.

Anyway, that is my goal, simply to finish.  I estimate that I’ll set a goal of 12:00/mile and a finishing time around 6:15.  I hope that I’ll be ready.

After 30 miles this week, today is a rest day.

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner