New Year, New Goal: Ultrarunning!

As an endurance runner, I am always looking for a new goal to reach.  I am an average marathoner and have 6 under my belt thus far, my most recent one being the Marine Corps two months ago with a time of 4.5 hours.  So, I am not fast, but I am persistent and work hard.  Hence, my running name became "Vertical Turtle".

This year, I have decided to attempt my first ultramarathon(s), with a goal of completing a 50 miler under 11 hours to qualify for the Western States 100!  It will be a tough challenge, completely agonizing at times.  But I am up for the challenge and have decided to document my progress as an ultrarunning "case study" that I can look back at later on, whether or not I have succeeded.

My first step is to train for and complete a "baby" ultra: 50 kilometers.  I have my heart set on the Ohlone Wilderness 50k on May 20, which is certainly one of the toughest 50k runs out there with 7800 feet of elevation gain.  I have hiked stretches of the Ohlone trail and the scenery is endless eye candy, so I just can't resist!
http://www.ohlone50k.com/
I plan to follow the 50k training plan developed by the UltraLadies (http://www.trailrunevents.com/ul/schedule-50k.asp).  The only changes I might make is adding in some cross training in place of some of the 4 mile runs, as well as increasing the "taper" period from 2 weeks to 3 weeks. 

If the 50k is a pleasurable success, my second step is to "step up" my training for a 50 miler.  I am shooting for the Firetrails 50 in Castro Valley, CA on October 8.  It, too, has beautiful scenery like the Ohlone 50k, but the elevation change is much less.  This fall race should give me enough time to adequately prepare for a sub 11 hour finish, I hope.
http://www.firetrails50.com/

And I might throw a marathon and another 50k (Skyline 50k?) in there somewhere to help train for the Firetrails 50...

View from the trail in Lake Chabot Regional Park

50k Training: Long Run #1
Today, my husband (also training for the same 50k) and I ran our first training run of the year together.  I am so fortunate to have a spouse patient enough to train with me, as he is naturally much faster than I am.  We ran 15.5 miles around Lake Chabot in Castro Valley, CA with Cliff bars and filled Camelbacks.  My hamstrings became sore by mile 10, unfortunately, and I had to really push through the final 5 miles.  When we finally spotted the Marina (our ending point) around a bend, it was a much anticipated oasis and our stomachs grumbled at the simultaneous thoughts of eating dinner... which had been cooking in our crockpot the entire time while we were running.  When we arrived home, we also popped some popcorn on the stove to accompany the soup cooking in the crockpot.  I originally found the vegetarian soup recipe on a Kaiser Permanente website, and altered it by adding more vegetables and spices, some of which are helpful anti-inflamatories.


Vertical Turtle's Lentil Curry Recovery Soup:

1. In a frying pan, saute 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 diced onion, 1 diced large carrot, 1 diced large stalk of celery, 1 diced tomato (or, add any veggies or potatoes that you like, instead)
2. After onions are cooked, add 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp ajwain seeds, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 6 fresh curry leaves (if available) and cook for another minute.  
3. Pour into crockpot and add 6 cups of water, 1 vegetable bouillon cube, 1 cup of dried lentils and cook on "low" for 6 hours or "high" for 3 hours, depending on the length of your run.
4. Add 1/2 cup of any greens (if available) such as kale, swiss chard, collards, or spinach cut into thin strips and cook another 10 minutes.
5.  Enjoy and happy recovering!