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The afterglow of completing an Ultra
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cragchick yes there has to be enjoyment most definately-but like you, even during the harder parts i know damn well within a few minutes of finishing i will be saying i loved it and looking forward to the next one.
the competiveness for me is with myself and to go further, not really against anyone else on the day.i rarely scrutinise finsh times, have no idea what my northants time was exactly and not too fussed so long as im in comfortably. maybe as i do a few more or go bac and repeat events im sure i will look at reducing the times maybe. but until then its learning and enjoying
cragchick: I'm self-competitive as well, which is why I'd set myself the initial 10-hours target and really pushed for it when, at 12 miles out, I realised it was within reach. I -know - I'm not the fastest runner out there, at any distance, but I like seeing what I can achieve for myself, at whatever distance I'm running. I can still have fun knocking time off my parkrun PB, for example.
One nice thing about having reached the 50 is that now it's about maintaining fitness, rather than building it (having spent some 14 months building to this point after my foot injury).
And yes, I'm sure I'll want to up the distances again in a while, just to try it out and confirm that I -can- do it, but I also want to find great trail races to run, whatever the distance (and preferably on a Sunday, so they don't interfere with managing the parkrun).
Cragchick, Loula, you have articulated what I am feeling much better than I did. I am also very goal-orientated and self-competitive. I feel quite flat after NDW, now that the elation has worn away, particularly as I haven't come out of it thinking either 'that was so tough I will never do that distance again' or 'OK, now I am ready for a bigger challenge'. Perhaps the flatness is also down to fatigue?
My problem is that I need to have a goal which will challenge me, which was certainly the case with NDW50. I think for the next few seasons, I shall stick with similarish distances (and possibly multi-day events), enjoy the trail running and improve my hillwork.
You could always try a 50 with a bit more ascent/descent. Doing more 50s on different types of terrain will give you a better idea of which 100 you might want to do.
In any event, I think that pretty much all the 100 mile events in the UK are sold out up to May next year, so that will enforce a period of consolidation.
Rosemary i agree totally. NDW50 was challenge to myself not against anyone else.like you i came out of pretty unscathed and was asked minutes after i finished would i do it again-and i didnt have to think twice before saying yes. Had i had a really awful time and missed cut offs then i think id be saying well, maybe 50 isnt for me or flatter etc but like yourself new things are always needed. i too though will stick to 50,40,45,30 for a year or so and try to reduce times in managable /realistic amounts. i am not fast but have done very little hillwork so with more i could probably gain strength and get a little quicker. at the end of the day we choose to do this because we ENJOY it...its not meant to be a punishment
Talking about maintaining fitness, if I run B2B 20+ and 10-12 every second weekend and 10/10 or similar the alternate weekends (with shorter runs during the week, of course), that should keep me ticking over, I'd have thought?
That ought to get the job done. What I will say, is that if your commitments restrict the time you can spend running, focus on quality rather than quantity. Make sure that you work in hills session and speed sessions amongst other things.
Yes, that sounds sensible. I know I need more hill work. I tend to let speedwork drop while I'm increasing mileage, to reduce the risk of injury, but now I'm at "maintenance" for mileage, I'll add some speedwork back in. Come the winter, I may be taking part in the local crosscountry league with my club, which should be good for me, I think.
Exactly right Ben. I still go down the track for short and fast reps. I think it is very good to be doing that for speed, strength and to enforce good running form as well.
Debra - X country rocks! I use it as a very hard training session and a guage of fitness. I have had tough ones and some where I have surprised myself at where I have finished. They are good fun though.