Yep, I Did This

I just signed up for my first 50K.

The North Fork 50K. That will be 31 miles and some change through Pine, CO. It will be 100% trails with mainly single track and decent footing. It will be mostly through pine forest but the course will also take us through some of the burn area. The altitude ranges from 6,700 feet to 8,100 feet with approximately 4,500 feet of elevation gain throughout the 50K course.

I like their description.

So how hard is it??  Well, that depends on your experience and ability.  If you are a strong runner with experience on mountain trails, North Fork is a relatively easy race by mountain trail standards and quite runable.  If you are new to ultramarathons, not experienced on mountain trails, and/or not used to altitude, the race will feel hard.  There are a number of long climbs, and downhills on trails are slower than on the roads.  Most people will walk much of the uphill.  If the weather is hot, it will seem harder.  Be sure to study the elevation profile to get a feel for how much up and down there is. 

I like to think that I fall somewhere in the middle: new to ultras, but comfortable on the trails. Now I just have to train the brain to walk the uphills. This isn’t something that happened on a whim, just so you know. I have given it a lot of thought, talked with some good running friends, and discussed the time commitment with the hubs.

So here is why I feel I’m ready.

• This is something that I have been thinking about for a year or 2. I just thought I would do it via Ultra Relay experience first.
• After running my fastest marathon in October, I finished that race knowing, not thinking that I could’ve gone farther and faster.
• After running that race, I recovered super super quick with zero pain and only minor soreness.
• After that training program for the Detroit Marathon, I was prepared and confident in my distance abilities.
• When I think about it I’m nervous and excited!

This weekend I’m putting together my training plan with a little help from some friends. I do have a good race line up for this year so far that you can check out HERE.

That gives me 148 days or 4 months and 28 days to prepare!

WOO-HOO!!

Related articles

• Intro to Ultras: Choosing Your First Ultramarathon (saltyrunning.com)
• Manitou OKs legal use of Incline (articles.outtherecolorado.com)
• Better to Fall Up then Down (footprintsonthecourse.wordpress.com)
• 50k Training – The Battle with My Brain (tanyasylvan.com)

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