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| Stephanie T |
Blogmaster's Note: This Flyers Blog entry was written by Stephanie T, enhanced by her husband Ray's photography, and includes additional perspectives provided by her partners in crime, Felicity L and Julie W, as so noted below.
Stephanie: I am a planner. This is a fact I begrudgingly admit. During my morning subway commute to work, I plan
out my schedule for the day to the minute so that I maximize the use of my time. I schedule
my vacation plans with my husband to the hour. I also, as most distance runners
do, follow a training schedule and establish a goal pace for my marathons.
I knew long before my training had started for the
JFK 50 Mile that I would find it difficult to plan out the logistics for this race. When
I received the exciting news on May 10
th that my race entry had been
accepted, I had just started to run up to 8 miles at a time
–– the most mileage
in more than six months
–– due to a knee injury. I recognized that I had over-trained
last fall, and was now slow and out of running shape. However, I was confident that I would be able
to train the “right” way this year, and for my first ultramarathon at that!
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The JFK 50 Mile Race
Confirmation Mailed to Participants
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The JFK 50 Mile is a race of historic significance, making it all the more special. It
was first held in the spring of 1963 and was one of numerous 50 mile events held around the country as part of President John F. Kennedy's push to promote physical fitness. The initial inspiration behind the event came from President Kennedy challenging his military officers to meet the requirements that Teddy Roosevelt had set for his own military officers at the dawn of the 20th Century. It is the only original JFK 50 Mile Challenge event to be held every year since the challenge was launched. Many many military personnel continue to participate each year. This year marked the 50th running of this illustrious event.
MONTHS BEFORE RACE DAY
Stephanie: The first planning-related obstacle I tackled was finding a
training schedule for an event of this distance. We’ve all come across numerous 5K, 10K, half
marathon and marathon training plans in magazines, in books and on the
internet, but a 50-mile one was hard to find.
After sifting through online forums for advice, I was directed to read
Bryon Powell’s
Relentless ForwardProgress: A Guide to Ultramarathons, from which I created a schedule, in
conjunction with the New York Flyers’ Marathon Training Program—the book became
the foundation for my training.
I followed my 4.5-month schedule closely as long as I felt
good and strong, and I learned from last year to give myself days off when I
felt too tired or sick. I completed three 14, 16, 20 and 24-mile long runs, two
18-mile back-to-back runs and one 50K long run, and I mixed in a lot of long
bike rides and yoga classes, mostly during the first half of training. I immediately grew accustomed to running with
a hydration pack, in which I stored my water, food and extra clothing, and
realized I preferred using it over a fuel belt (I tried carrying a bottle, and
hated it so much I hid it behind some bushes after the first of four Central
Park loops one day!).
I practiced and enjoyed eating solid food on my long runs, mostly PB 'n' J quarter sandwiches and halves of Honey Stinger waffles, a practice that I learned is the norm in ultras. I started using salt tablets during long runs, and discovered that water plus salt worked much better than Gatorade for me, and diminished feelings of nausea I used to experience during runs.
Felicity: To be honest, I
didn’t really follow a training plan. Basically, I did the Flyers Tuesday night
speed work outs, Thursday night runs, and a long weekend run. I’ve found that I
get injured easily when I run more than three times a week, and this schedule
works really well for me. My long runs (not in order) were 33, 31, 30, 27, 25,
23, and a bunch of 20’s. I also travel a lot for work, and often to places
where running is impossible, so my training schedule was pretty unorthodox. I did a lot of my long
runs in the Palisades trails (as well as trails in Arizona and Kenya) which I
think definitely helped my trail running skills and prepared me well for the
Appalachian trail section. I don’t like eating solid food on long runs and have
trouble eating enough, but I found that the Hammer Sustained Energy powder
mixed with OJ kept me going for hours!
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Hartford Marathon +
4.9 Miles = My First 50K Run!
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Julie: This would be the third ultra I would run this year (having run a
12-hour in June and a 24-hour in July), so I already had a good base. I
followed the same training plan as Stephanie, jumping right back in after
taking two weeks off from the 24 hour race. This was the same program I had
used for the 24 hour race (except I followed the 100 mile plan for that one).
Stephanie and I actually met one another at the Hartford Marathon, which we
were using as a 50K training run. Yay, marathons as training runs!
I also tried
to listen to my body rather than doggedly following the training plan, and
there were times I cut back a bit, particularly if I had run a race or hard run
the week before. I did very little (read: no) cross-training, other than
occasional brief workouts with my kettle bell and walking between 3 and 6 miles
to and from work and 5 miles on Sundays with a friend.
Unlike most ultra
runners, I prefer a waist pack, which holds two 24 ounce bottles and plenty of
pockets for gels, electrolyte capsules, etc. I don’t like carrying things on my
shoulders, and find I don’t notice the pack at all. Most of my training was
done on roads (which came back to haunt me a bit on the Appalachian Trail),
with shorter long runs on the hills of Central Park, and longer ones around the
perimeter of Manhattan for the most part.
After having experienced stomach
upset trying to take in lots of gels and solid food in my 24-hour race, I
decided to make a drastic change in my eating habits and adopt the primal diet. I also found the book The Paleo Diet for Athletes by Dr. Loren Cordain
particularly helpful. The idea is that over time, you train your body to use
stored fat as its primary fuel source, rather than sugars. This enables the
endurance athlete to not only run longer without “hitting the wall”, but also
to drastically limit the amount of calories required during endurance events,
thus decreasing the chances of stomach upset, etc.
For my long runs, I mainly
fueled with a superstarch drink mix called Generation UCAN, but still
took in the occasional gel if needed. I also only drank water and supplemented
electrolytes with Saltstick capsules.
WEEKS BEFORE RACE DAY
Stephanie: The next planning-related obstacle was one that truly took
me by surprise— I would not be able to plan a race pace nor could I predict my
finish time! When I looked to my ultra
friends for advice on how to pace myself, my friend (and
Team In Training
coach) Mike B. responded: “The thing with ultras is that the courses are all so
different, compared to run of the mill road races that one 50K or 50-miler cannot
be compared to another, and they certainly (if it's a trail ultra with some
decent elevation gain) can't be compared to a marathon.” I had at least started with a pace group for my
last seven out of 11 marathons, so to think that I wouldn’t be able to determine
a race pace was mind-boggling to me at the time (but makes complete sense now
post-race!).
Felicity: Totally agree.
Really hard to predict! I knew the trail section would be slow but not having
run it before, it was hard to estimate. I crunched some numbers and came up
with an estimate of 10 - 10.5 hours, which turned out to be correct. As my
first ultra though I really was just focused on finishing rather than on time.
Julie: Ah, the blessed variety of the ultra! When asked what my
predicted finish time was, I always said I just wanted to finish under the 12
hour cutoff. This was the first ultra I had run that had strict time cutoffs at
various points along the way, and while this stressed me out a bit at the
start, I found it was also a great motivating force to run harder! I found that
imagining the race as three races, as Stephanie outlines below, helped me to
better prepare mentally for what was to come.
DAY BEFORE RACE DAY
Stephanie: The day before the JFK 50 Mile had finally arrived, and I
was overwhelmed with excitement and nerves! I felt like I had a golf ball stuck
in my throat, and my heart beat faster every time I thought about the race!! My
nerves were diminished as
Flyer Julie W, Flyer Felicity L, Felicity’s
boyfriend Zack B, my husband Ray T. and I shared running and other stories (such
as Julie often works with dead rats, and Felicity tapered in South Sudan!) during
our pasta dinner at a local Italian restaurant.
Ultra-veteran Julie also shared a great piece of advice with us, one
that I recalled throughout the race—she advised us to break the race up into segments
that felt doable. She suggested three races:
(1) The first 15 miles on the
Appalachian Trail;
(2) A marathon on the C 'n O Canal tow path; and
(3) The
final 8 miles.
In my mind, I no longer
thought of the race as a 50-miler, but rather three smaller races, a
last-minute change in perspective that would prove to be of huge help..
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JFK 50 Mile Map &
Elevation Chart
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Julie: This day was filled
with unexpected stress for me, as I experienced car trouble on the way and
almost didn’t make it to the hotel. Fortunately, there was a car rental place
within walking distance of where I was staying, and although they only had a
giant white “soccer mom” minivan left, I gladly took it. I make it a habit to
stay in a hotel with a kitchen the night before a big race so I can prepare my
own food, but took a chance and had dinner out with Stephanie and Felicity. I
was very glad I did this, as it helped calm my nerves, and it felt good to
offer advice to the “newbies”…they didn’t really need it though. Plus, the chicken smothered in cream sauce and
butter that I ate was SO good. And by the way, I don’t work that much with dead
rats…mostly mutant mice. They are FAR more interesting!
RACE DAY!
Stephanie: On race day, Ray and I walked together from a high school
where the mandatory pre-race meeting was held to downtown Boonsboro, MD along
with over a thousand runners and their families and friends to the race
start. We quickly found Julie, Felicity
and Zack, and, without any warning (or national anthem or speech), we heard a
gunshot to signify that the race had begun!
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Stephanie, Julie W and Felicity L
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Felicity: I really loved this part of the race! The trail was super-pretty and more run-able than I expected. Here and there the trail was a bit crowded, but as my main goal was to just keep moving at a reasonable pace and not fall on my face, it wasn’t a major problem. I actually finished the first 15 miles about half an hour faster than I thought I would, and didn’t feel too worn out – though moving on to the relatively easy terrain of the towpath was a relief for my ankles!
Stephanie: My quads felt sore and my feet and ankles beat up at the
start of the towpath . A man named Don approached me who inspired me with his
story. Don was an ultrarunner who had a
heart attack and open heart surgery only a year ago. Only months after surgery,
Don continued to run 50 and 100-mile races, though at a much slower pace now. He
simply loved to run. I lost Don during a
Port-A-Potty break at Mile 22, and only then realized how monotonous it was
running on the towpath. The scenery
never changed—water to the left, trees to my right, and brown leaves beneath my
feet.
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Mile 15 – The End of
the Appalachian Trail
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By the time I saw Ray and Zack at the Mile 27 aid station, I
was struggling—physically and mentally.
I only now realized the toll that the trail had taken on my body, and
the thought of having to run nearly another marathon was more than I could
bear. Ray let me know that they would meet me again at Mile 39, and I
contemplated ways to call him to tell him I wanted to stop.
I never called Ray. I
continued to contemplate the idea until Mile 36, when the physical pains
subsided, and a switch went off with the realization that I only had a “short”
long run to go—I could finish this. I
picked up the pace and smiled widely as I approached them again! I savored
nearly every item that was offered at the aid station—a blueberry bagel quarter
with cream cheese, an orange slice, chicken noodle soup, red velvet cake, a
half of a banana and Coke—as my handler Ray restocked my hydration pack with
water, and helped me slip it back on.
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Mile 39 - Ray Refills My Water Bladder
(As I Refuel On Red Velvet Cake, A Blueberry Bagel Quarter
AND A Piece of Banana) |
Felicity: The toughest
part of the race for me was miles 27 to 39… knowing that I’d gone a long way
but still had some hours to go. And it didn’t help that I was expecting the Mile 39 aid station at Mile 36 (optimistic/can’t read properly). I’d been able to
keep up a strong pace so far though, so I knew that as long as I kept moving I
could beat the 12-hour cut-off no matter what. I found the towpath really
beautiful as well —
not too monotonous!
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| Felicity Approaching Mile 39 -- Finally! |
I think I hit the
nutrition really well – until Mile 40 I only drank my Hammer drink concoction,
water, and two granola bars – and felt great; I was able to take in enough
calories and felt pretty strong throughout the entire race. The caffeinated
shot blocks I added in at Miles 40-50 helped too J But I didn’t want to start experimenting
with all the aid station food, so I only paused long enough for water. And in
fact this saved me a lot of time in the end – a lot of faster runners would
pass me on the towpath and then I’d catch them at every aid station. One of the
pieces of advice I’d read about this race is that since there are SO MANY aid
stations (like every 2-4 miles) you need to be strategic about getting in and
out because it’s easy to get distracted and lose a lot of time.
Stephanie: I continued to run out the towpath, slipping on the “vest of
shame,” worn by runners that didn’t arrive at mile 41.8 by 3pm, onto the last 8
miles on asphalt, and toward the mile 46 aid station, toward Ray, but barely
stopped when I reached it, knowing I was almost there! I trotted up and down the rolling hills,
enjoying the sights of cows and the smells of farm land. The skies were black when I ran toward the
finish line. A man’s voice behind me screamed, “I’m going to get you. Pick it
up!” I responded, “Let’s do this!” as I sprinted and leapt to the finish!
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| Finished! |
The JFK 50 Mile was the most challenging race I’ve ever run
on so many levels. The unplanned
elements of training and the trails proved to be one of the most exciting
aspects. Ask me in another month if I’d
run another again!
Felicity: What an amazing
race! My bf Zack, Stephanie's husband Ray, and Flyer Derek C. were a great cheering / photography / handling crew.
And it was really fun to have a couple of awesome Flyer ladies to have dinner
with the night before and start off the race together. The race itself was
incredibly well organized, great volunteers, beautiful course – would
definitely recommend the JFK50.
Julie: One of the things I love most about running ultras is the
“small town” feel they have, even in one as big as the JFK 50. The start in the
middle of town was so cool. One potential mistake I made was to jog the entire
2 miles up the road before the entrance to the Appalachian Trail. I hadn’t
studied the map well enough to know about this part, and it kind of went
against my idea to walk all the hills. Who knows if it cost me any time later
in the race, but something to consider if I ever run it again. The most
physically trying part of the race for me was the trail, as it also beat up my
quads and ankles pretty badly. I also fell three times (fortunately on soft
leaves) and turned my ankle once. I’ve never been so glad to get off a
mountain!
I found the tow path “marathon” to be a mental challenge, due to its
flat tediousness. I was actually looking forward to the hills of the last 8
miles, so I could have an excuse to walk again! I passed the time talking to
various folks and “being in the moment” as much as possible, not thinking about
what was still to come. I even started to name some of the folks whom I kept
seeing, like the “most colorful man” wearing fluorescent green/yellow attire.
He turned out to be named Les and was a New Yorker as well, as I found out
after the race. The last 8 miles through scenic farmland was really a
“run/walk” in the park, as by that time I knew it was all over but the crying
(which I did with 1.5 miles to go…getting choked up and tearfully thanking the
aid station volunteers). I even managed to “sprint” to the finish (at least it
felt that way…although I probably was going like 4 mph at that point!).
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"Thanks" Brightroom for Lettting me "Borrow"
This Teensy Little Pic -- Yes, That's Me, Julie W,
Waving and Smiling on the Trail :) |
Due to concerns about stomach issues, my nutrition for race
day was far simpler than Stephanie’s: I
ate a banana, a packet of almond butter, and two hard boiled eggs two hours
before the race and followed this up with two packets of UCan 30 minutes prior
to the start. During the race, I took in a total of 3 packets of UCan, 5 gels,
and two packets of almond butter. My energy felt great, and my stomach gave me
no issues. I also felt mentally strong the whole time…no ups and downs.
Immediately
after finishing, I had a recovery drink called Mike’s Mix and managed to choke down a slice of pizza before
being accosted by Stephanie carrying pizza, a burrito, a Twinkie (where did
they find those?), and a HoHo. Proof of her ironclad stomach can be seen in our
finisher photo…notice the pizza crust still clutched in her left hand.
I also felt this race was the most challenging I have run to
date, at least physically. The variety of terrain, while nice mentally, takes
its toll. And while I easily beat the time cutoffs, that little voice in my
head never stopped reminding me that they were there (or maybe I was just
hearing things due to lack of calorie intake!). Additionally, this was the most
prestigious ultra I have ever run and I felt honored to have been a part of it,
particularly in its 50th year!
On the bus back to the start to pick up my
“soccer van,” I sat next to an elderly man who had run the race 21 times…what
an inspiration! And I also chatted with some folks who are planning to run the
Western States 100, which has been on my bucket list for a while. You don’t
have to wait a month to ask me if I will run another ultra…I already have 4,
possibly 5 planned for next year, including my first 100 miler! I’m also so
happy that I got to share this experience with Stephanie and Felicity…they made
me very proud!
Blogmaster's Other Note: Steph, Felicity and Julie were too modest to include their incredible race result times in their write-ups, but if you're curious and want to be impressed on how fast they chugged up and down and around and along this 50-mile rugged route, you should click HERE.
-Stephanie T, with Felicity L and Julie W
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