It was a beautiful day at Palmer Lake for a 24 hour race! I had a few goals for my race…A) get in my 15 training miles B) toy with the idea of going 26.2 miles and C) toy with the idea of going 50K. I made my A goal, and failed at my B goal, and never even made it to my C goal, which is just fine by me!
This was also the first run over a 10K where I wore a costume. I reused my Indiana Jones costume from Dopey weekend. It held up much better in the humidity. It still needs about 100% more tulle to increase its density/coverage, but that will have to wait for some time when I have a lot of time on my hands.
We packed our cars as if we were doing all 24 hours. We just kind of planned to not have a plan, but also plan for the most extreme scenario. We brought our camping mattress, along with enough food and snacks to last us through the night.
My general run plan was to take it incredibly easy this time around. The half marathon a few weeks ago really took me out. There are some benefits to testing your fitness, but when it comes to Dopey training, I’m only going to push it to those limits a few times this season. This was really an “enjoy the day” strategy for me. (I’ll have a 17 miler in a few weeks that I can take more seriously, but unfortunately I will have to travel to Seattle for work that same weekend.)
I really like the overall atmosphere of this race. Ultra runners and trail runners are just a different bunch of folks. They are super friendly. You’ll also see a lot of 50 staters (people who are trying to finish races in all 50 states), as well as marathon/50K walkers who don’t mind the extended time on feet. Ultrarunners will also have their families there on site who hang out at their canopy. They’ll have cots, a food station, their own massage machines and other recovery items. It’s interesting to see their setup. We’ve been setting everything up in our cars as to keep the mess contained, but the downside is that we have to walk off the race path to access it. It’s not too far that it is demotivating, but far enough to mark some extra non-race mileage on our watches.
My costume garnered quite a bit of attention. The contest was mentioned three emails in to the “important race announcements” that week, buried under a bunch of links and other messages. There was one other person who dressed up in full costume, so at least I wasn’t alone. Next time I’ll have to find something more friendly for wind and a dry climate.
Ok, back to 15 miles…I took it really easy. Started with intervals but then stopped it periodically. I got called over to the tent a few times to grab my prize(s). I also stopped at the aid station, chatted with folks on the course, stopped to walk with my husband. After awhile I just gave up on following those intervals. Again, this “race” is not really a serious one and we’re all there to have a good time. Those intervals are going to have to wait for a solo weekend run.
2023: 11.48 miles vs 2024: 18.18 miles (20.15 miles on my watch)
Amara in Training 