…I ran a 50K! Not a race- I ran it on my own as a training run. Our heat is back- it was forecast to be 80 degrees by late morning- so I started at 5 am.
I ran the first 10 miles back and forth on fairly well-lit and well-traveled streets, for safety reasons. This was my view for about seven miles:
Then the sun started to come up, so I branched off onto some side streets. After 10 miles (1/3 of the way through already!) I got on the trail.
I broke it up like this: an 8 mile loop, stopped at the “aid station” (aka my car) to refill water. Then another 8 mile loop. At that point I was at 26 miles… 5 to go. I stopped at my car again where I had my secret weapon…
I’ve never drank a Monster before in my life, but I knew I wanted to try it out prior to my race. I wanted to make sure it didn’t make me jittery, or throw up. The whole can has 200 mg of caffeine, and I drank about 2/3 of it.
It did NOT make me nauseous or jittery- in fact, it gave me a second wind and I will DEFINITELY have a can of this during my race.
During the last mile I started to die a little- but I think that was psychological. I think my brain decides that I’m super tired when I get towards the very end. But, I did it!!!
There were a few moments during this run where I just wanted it to be over- but overall I enjoyed this adventure!
What was the last thing you did that you’d consider an “adventure?”
Do you have any unusual hobbies!
25 Responses
Congrats on the ultra! It sounds like you’re in great shape to take on 60 (the race distance and the age)!
I’ve never had a Monster either, but I bet the ones that you have during your race will be the best things that you’ve ever tasted.
Unusual hobbies? Do blogging, meeting bloggers, traveling to all 50 states & 10 provinces, state capitols, FLW houses, watching every Alfred Hitchcock movie (two to go!), hiking in winter, and snuggling with my German Shepherd/Husky/Pit Bull mix count?
Ha ha yes- those all count!!! And yes- that Monster was surprisingly delicious. Ice cold, sugary, and fizzy- just what I needed at that moment.
Wooo hoooo! I cannot believe you can go out there and run that far and that long with no other support than what you provide yourself both physically and mentally. Truly, you are an inspiration! You got this birthday run girl!! You got this!
OH thank you Noemi! Honestly I’m nervous about the birthday run- it’s going to be a lot farther. I believe I can do it- but there might be a lot of pain and suffering involved!
Great job!! I’m so impressed that you can run so far. Glad that the monster drink worked as hydration and caffeine boost.
No hobbies, no adventure here- I can’t even walk a mile without having to go the bathroom. I spend a lot of my time waiting to pick someone up or drop someone off.
Ha, you’re in a phase of parenting where it’s hard to have weird hobbies. I definitely wasn’t doing things like this when my kids were little.
Wooo!!1 amazing Jenny! I didn’t know you are supposed to run the full distance as training run. is it part of the plan you are doing? how long did it take?
Well let’s see here- this was NOT the full distance! Not even close!!! The full distance will be 60 miles and I’m nervous about that. This run took me a little less than seven hours.
You are a superstar, Jenny! Way to go!
Aw thanks, Suzanne!!!
Fantastic job, Jenny!!
And here I am, whining and fretting about my 33km done tomorrow…. You’re my inspiration! And I’ll have to get a Monster Drink like that, too!!
Catrina, you will be running that 33k a lot faster than I just ran- I really meandered and took my time. But I do highly recommend a Monster- it will definitely pep you up.
I’m so impressed that you did a 50K on your own! The longest I’ve done outside of a race is 20 miles and that felt long so I can’t imagine doing another 11 miles. I’m hoping to do a marathon or 50K distance solo before my big race in May but it seems so daunting — I may have to break it up like you did, or at least come back to my car a couple times to refill water & regroup! I just couldn’t find a local 50K that worked with the timing of my race — there are a couple I could do but they’re both 2 weeks out from my race which is way too close and I’ll be tapering by then.
I am planning some “recon” runs next week on part of the course though because I have a 4 day weekend! When I looked at the course I realized I actually ran some of it last summer when I was in Sedona for my birthday and didn’t even realize it, but there’s a few sections I’d like to see before the big day!
Absolutely make your car into an “aid station.” There’s no way you can carry enough water for a 50k. I have a little cooler in my car with ice and water bottles (and Monster, heh.) And if you break it up like I did it makes it easier- you’re just running 8 miles, then another 8, etc.
I’m very nervous that this was HALF the distance I’ll be running in March. EEK. But, you’ve run very long races and your longest long run is 20 miles, and as you said in a previous post you’ve always been able to finish. That definitely makes me feel better.
Wow, that’s great, Jenny!!! What an accomplishment!
I have had Monster before – my older son and husband have them every once in a while, and I have tried a few flavours. They’re pretty good!
My daughter and her friends all LOVE Monster. They drink the sugar-free version but I went with the original- the only time I consume sugar is when I’m running like this and need the energy.
Congratulations! That’s SO FAR. You’re amazing.
It’s hard to say when I last did an adventure because we refer to any leaving of the house as an adventure. “Hannah, ready for our adventure?” as we’re just walking around the block. “Let’s do this grocery store adventure!” That makes it super hard to tell what an actual adventure is, now that I think about it. I feel like there’s some how to live your life guru who said you should have one mini adventure and one big adventure every week and that seems impossible to me, so I just started calling everything an adventure to be a smart aleck, but now it’s stuck. But, hey, going around the block CAN be an adventure if you set your mind to it.
Well done! I think Angie was off school yesterday so it was a good day to tackle this early in the morning when you didn’t have to shuttle her to school! I am glad it went well and that the Monster drink didn’t bother your stomach! I am sure that jolt of caffeine really helps!
My adventure was driving my kids to/from swimming lessons last night. We got a bunch of snow and there was a layer of ice under the snow so the roads were super icy. Then when we got home, I realized I somehow forgot their swim bag so I had to drive back to get it! That was not fun…
I do not have any weird hobbies but Phil would tell you I play too many word games (spelling bee, wordle, connections, minicrossword puzzle) plus some other daily games on linkedin.com. But I figure there are worse ways to spend my time!
Wow. So impressive. Glad you stuck to the lighted street while it was dark out. Glad the Monster worked for you. I hate caffeine, so this would’ve been a no-go for me.
I guess taking a bunch of tots/babies to the zoo or something is my latest adventure. Really, adopting teenage girls with trauma in their background . . . well, if I’m being honest – most days are an adventure. 😉
I don’t think I have any weird hobbies, but I suppose some would say tailgating and propping a huge Gumby up on the roof of my car might count as a weird hobby.
This is beyond impressive, Jenny. The amount of self-discipline it takes to pull something like this off is next level.
My husband uses Monster Energy Drinks when he travels. His FAVOURITE is the Mango Loco, I think it’s called? It does taste good, but I only have a few sips a few times a year if I’m heavily jet-lagged.
Weird hobbies. Hmm. I’m with Birchie: not unless you consider all the blogging things I do as weird (like having people stay at my house I’ve never met in person before, haha!)!
Wow, wow, wow! Congratulations! I am so impressed. Our weather is sometimes nearly the same, but we had SNOW here this morning! We never get snow, but had big flakes falling for about 30 minutes. It was a fun little thing and now we have some blue skies visible.
Are you ever going to do a Ultramarathon competition or is this just an overtrain for a shorter event? Either way, very impressive!
WOW WOW WOW! Do you eat anything when you run that far? I feel like eating would make me throw up, but not eating…wow.
You’ve got this, you know all of the things to do that I clearly do not.
Yay! It sounds like your 50K went really well. That’s just amazing!
So amazed and awed by you!! Go, you!!
I’m so impressed by you, Jenny! Way to go on crushing this goal.
It was soooo hot today. I was blasting the AC in my car, and I am NOT READY FOR THAT. I still need temps in the 60s, please and thank you.