As an experienced marathoner, the thought of running an ultramarathon has floated through my mind more than a few times. Usually, it ended with “hell no!” But after moving to Colorado, with better weather, more scenic trails and better options than Florida for ultramarathon races, “hell no” became “maybe one day” and now a “yes”.
The commitment to doing an ultramarathon has been years in the making, as my love of running has come and gone. Life happens, and sometimes running and extreme dedication to fitness takes a back burner.
Over the last couple of years, I have picked up skiing, hiking more, camping more, road cycling more and mountain biking. I love all of these things and giving up any one of them to just run seems awful. Thankfully, I found probably the best, and craziest, most outrageous option - The Grand Traverse Mountain Run and Mountain Bike Race.
The mountain run will take me 40 miles from Crested Butte, Colorado to Aspen, Colorado ascending approximately 6,197 feet and descending 7,072 feet over the course and taking me to a high point of 12,323 feet (there’s not a lot of oxygen up there). See the run course here.
The mountain bike race will take me 40 miles back from Aspen to Crested Butte over essentially the same route, ascending approximately 7,605 feet (about 3,200 of which is within the first 5 miles of the race) and descending 6,290 feet with the same high point as the run (did I mention there’s not a lot of oxygen up there?). See the bike course here.
Needless to say, this is going to take a lot of energy, a lot of dedication and a lot of training. It will also take A LOT of hill training and high elevation training. Fortunately, I have trained for, and completed 18 road marathons and about 32 half marathons (a few on the trail).
Another thing I have going for me is, once upon a time, I was a running coach, nutrition coach and personal trainer. I have a decent amount of knowledge to get me through training. Although, it is a little different being your own coach than someone else’s.
What I don’t have going for me is the lack of training support. In Florida, I had a massive support system. Here, in Colorado, it is a little different. I just have not lived here long enough to develop that support system. Essentially, I’ll be doing this solo. Hopefully, I will pick up some support along the way, but I have to be mentally prepared to only rely on myself during training and during the race.
The next hurdle is the weather. The race is only five months away and Colorado spring is bipolar. One day, it feels like summer, the next day we have five inches of snow. That makes running or biking on the trails almost impossible, especially at high altitude. It will be another couple of months before the high country thaws and dries out.
My current training options have been running on the road and just building up my base. I have been able to get a few trail runs in so far, but that is touch and go. For mountain biking, it is nearly impossible to get on the trails right now. Most trails have been too muddy to attempt it. Riding mountain bikes on muddy trails destroys the trails - not something any of us wants. In order to make sure I am at least working on my bike fitness, I have been limited to road biking.
I am certain I will run into more challenges - nutrition being a major one. This will be a huge trial and error experiment for me. I really do not know how my body will react to this. The only option is to just go on feel. If I feel I need more or less of something, I should not ignore that.
Lastly, I hope by documenting and sharing my training and journey, I can keep myself on track, maybe gain a little support and, hopefully, help others in the process.
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