Left calf is acting up again, clearly not enjoying the muddy trails of last weekend.  Off to get a referral to a sports medicine doc in the hopes of getting this fixed quickly.  Blech.

Fighting some soreness, I managed to only get about 19 miles in this week. My long run on Saturday was through the pouring rain on a very muddy trail. Every. Single. Stabilizing muscle I own hurts at the moment. The medium run on Sunday was enough to convince me that this Long/Medium dyad that will make up my weekends for the next 24 weeks is going to hurt like hell. I really have to go get a consult on shoes later this week as well, since I think my road shoes are failing me.

Essentially…here’s what my training program looks like:

Monday: off, Tuesday: short run, Wednesday: medium run, Thursday: short run, Friday: off, Saturday: LONG run, Sunday: medium ‘recovery’ run. The Sunday run is designed to get me used to being on my feet for mile after mile after mile.

From Herb Hedgecock (an ‘older’ runner of some note), to a first timer:

1. Have a crew to drive along and help. It’s really useful to have someone ahead of you in a car, with the window rolled down 2 inches and the doors locked, yelling to run faster, and that you only have 47 more miles to go.
2. Get someone to jog along with you for the latter parts of the race. This gives them and you practice in conflict resolution as you become surlier, curse more, and literally go to hell.
3. Learn to pee on the run. Why stop? And who really cares about wet shoes after 20 miles?! And if you finish the 50, you will smell so bad that no one will notice the shoes.
4. Eat and drink at every aid station. Remember that you paid good money to abuse your body doing an ultra. The least you can do is get part of that money back in food and drink. Also steal as much food as you can at the finish area before you leave.
5. If you really want to run a fast competitive first 50 miler, then watch your diet, get plenty of rest, do some long training runs of 4-6 hours while practicing eating and walking, do some speed training, pick the right genes from your parents, etc. However, the best idea is to forget all of that foolishness of running a fast first race. Instead go out drinking with the ultra veterans who know how to beer-load, and enjoy yourself. Remember your body is going to let you know for a long time that it went 50 miles. Be nice to it – beer – before the run.
6. The 25:5 method is to WALK 25, then get in a car and drive 5! Get it right; otherwise your body will really be mad at you.
7. If you’re really still serious about this non-sense, then consider therapy; you may yet be one of those who can be saved.