Running the Ultramarathon before the Marathon

In what follows I will share my experience training for the Gone Loco 55k and subsequently the Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon…

For context I returned from my travels in Germany on January 12th. The Gone Loco was scheduled for February 12th and the Marathon was March 5th. After recovering from jet lag, I had less than four weeks to prepare for an ultramarathon. I ran some in Germany (see my previous blog), but nothing longer than an eleven mile run and my weekly distance was no more than twenty miles. So I ramped up my training with an increase in the amount of my runs. Running consistently everyday with two break days a week and a long run on the weekends helped to considerably improve my fitness even in  a short amount of time. My long runs never went longer than eighteen miles, however, on the first weekend of February I ran back to back long runs, eighteen on Saturday and sixteen on Sunday. The Terra Trot was especially helpful to my training because it simulated a hint of the ultramarathon experience: breaks every few miles and a slow and steady pace. The week before the ultramarathon I only ran once, a little 3 miler. Day of, my two friends (who I convinced to run with me) and I headed up to Athens. We had not run the course before and only heard that it was flat and graveled. Indeed this 55k course is likely the flattest available. Physically, we each felt underprepared, so we took off decently slow, forcing ourselves not to get caught up with the excitement of our first ultrathon. The course lapped three times with two main aid stations at the start and turn around point. 11 miles in, I was feeling good and I stopped to change shoes. The refreshing feeling of cool shoes on my hot swollen feet felt amazing. I took a shot of fireball from the race directors and took off with a new burst of energy. I surpassed my longest run ever on that second lap, and hit my first marathon distance ever. At the aid stations stops, I paused briefly to refill my water bottle. Mile 27 was the first point where I really started to feel pain. I had never experienced a calf cramp before, but my right calf began tweaking with sharp jabs of pain every few minutes. Running back to the finish felt like a painful crawl, but I committed to not walking. Hobbling, I made my way back towards the finish. My watch displayed 34 miles and I knew this 50k race was indeed a 55k. Every .1 mile marker sign began to pass me by slower and slower. I started to heavily favor my left leg as my right leg cramped more frequently, but mentally and physically I had not bonked. I pushed through and made it to the finish line. The last stretch, with the finish line in sight, I actually increased my speed to a full run. David Kyle caught me as I blew into the finish. My friends and family were all there smiling as I teared up every so slightly, and felt the wave of shock rush through my now halted body that had been running for five hours and seventeen minutes. I watched my friends finish soon after me, listened to their similar experiences of pain and suffering but utter joy at the accomplishment. 

Three weeks later, I was at the start line for the Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon. I had run roughly five times since the 55k. I had a new pair of shoes, made specially for a faster marathon, the Brooks Hyperion Max, one handheld water bottle, and 8 nutrition gels stuffed into my pockets. This would be my first official marathon. Unlike the ultrathon, I told myself that I would not walk at all, not up hills, and not at aid stations. In fact, probably unwisely I did not use the first few aid stations I saw. The race started with the half marathon runners, so it was crowded and quick. I tried to keep a slow pace at the beginning but ended up going around an 8:30 pace because of the quick flow of runners around me. Brennan, my fellow Terra twin, was with me, running the half-marthon, and Dillon (who ran the Gone Loco with me) was doing the full. Dillon and I were separated around mile seven, however, he stayed relatively close behind me. He was close enough to see the 3hr 40 min pacer and I make the wrong turn at mile 14. My watch started buzzing, and I looked down to see that Dillon was calling me. I answered and he, panting, told me that I had cut off two miles of the course by making the wrong turn, and I, huffing back, argued that the pacer was with me so that it was not possible. But sure, enough, I passed the mile 17 marker and I was only at mile 15 on my watch. So, begrudgingly, I turned around (the pacer and two other runners decided not to turn around, but I did not want to risk cheating). I ran back to a timing mat checkpoint. There was a worker there to whom I explained my situation, while running. I told him I would make up my distance in the parking lot behind him. So, I ran two miles in a hotel parking lot and showed him my watch once I was at 16.8. I continued on, still ahead of Dillon. This was a big setback mentally. I was a bit angry at the pacer for taking us the wrong way, and sore from running tight laps in a parking lot. Nonetheless, I brightened up when I looked around. I was running all alone. I saw no one in front of me and no one behind, and, furthermore, the street ( just past the aquarium) was empty of cars and spectators. It was quiet except for my footsteps, as I climbed the hill to the bridge. I felt pain at the top of my foot at this point, which I assumed to be a stress fracture, regardless, I pushed through, slowing down ever so slightly. I called Dillon back as I ran over the bridge; I told him about my parking lot experience and discovered that he was not far behind. I encountered few runners beyond this point, but when I saw them ahead, I made it my slow and steady goal to catch them. Four miles to the end of the marathon, there was no shade and no spectators. I listened to a song I liked that matched my cadence well, and decided to play it on repeat for the rest of the race. I rounded the final corner and looked way down, probably a half mile, towards the finish line arch. Getting excited, I started to push faster, but the distance was more than anticipated. My final sprint created a forced bonk right as I finished at 3:35:30. I was really happy with my time as I had no expectations, but soon went into a fog of dehydration. Dillon came in soon after. 

I ran an ultramarathon before my first marathon, and it worked okay for me. I am happy with my times, and my ability to finish with minimal walking for the ultramarathon and no walking for the marathon. Nonetheless, if I could change the past, I would have sought to prepare much more for these races and distances. Base mileage is incredibly important, and jumping into long distances without proper training can shock the body. I believe I am lucky that I had no long lasting injuries. For the future, I would like to work towards a 70k race ( I am currently looking at the Tushars Mtn race in Utah in July), but I will do so with many 40 mile weeks beforehand, instead of just the one I had before my first ultramarathon.