50k complete. Barely.

Yesterday, I completed a 50k race!

Not well, but completed.

In fact, I see it far more as a learning experience than anything else.  This is new for me.  When I did my first long distances (half-marathons and marathons), I followed the training plan, did what I was supposed to and finished around where I thought I would finish.  Not so in this case.

I should say that I turned my ankle at 2 miles and while it hurt for a while, I realized that I was fine to run.  This was, of course, the same ankle that I sprained in November.  So I had to walk any sections with roots.  This wasn't too much on this particular course, but it was still a decision that had to be made.  I figured that if I turned my ankle again, that might be the end of my day.

Also, I broke pretty much every race rule ever.  I ate something I don't usually eat for dinner.  I stayed up late watching a movie.  I ate new things on the course.  And you know what?  None of these things were my undoing.

The weather was perfect.  The weather could not have been more perfect, in fact (today is hot again).  The course was great.  Organization was stellar.  Friends wanting to help were incredibly great and I am very grateful.  So all of these things were good.  Even the forest spiders weren't that scary, except maybe when I saw what appeared to be a nest of them.  Ew.

Here is what I learned (and there are so many things):

1) I undertrained.  One of the ultramarathoners came and joined me for my last little stretch, and I grumbled that I undertrained.  He said everyone always feels like they undertrained.  Fair.  But really, I did.  In the future, I will need to set aside more training time if I want to do this distance.

2) I thought of this as a long-ish marathon.  That's silly.  It's not.  It's a whole other thing.  That goes back to undertraining; I missed some runs because I thought, 'It will be okay, it's like a long marathon.'  No.

3) My fueling strategy was not good because do you know what?  By the time you have been on a course for 6-7 hours, you want something other than caffeinated jelly beans.  So next time I will think more carefully about how to fuel and get advice from other ultra runners.

4) I should have started run-walking early.  I started for real on the second of three loops (I mean, I had had sections where I walked earlier, but there wasn't a routine).  No.  Earlier.  Possibly throughout.  Also, I did get advice from a ultra person to learn how to walk more efficiently because it will help save time. 

5) I didn't hate it, I didn't die, and I'm not injured, other than an ouchy ankle.  I would like to do it again, although now is not the time because I have too much happening to put in the training.  But I am not swearing them off.  Someday.