Running has turned into my addiction or maybe obsession, I’m not sure. This may not be a symptom of type 1diabetes, but it is certainly a side effect. So one week after the Tiberias marathon I’m training again. I don’t mean just running, I mean training for another race.
It didn’t come as a surprise since I knew ahead of time that I was going to run another serious race before the summer heat made any real races unthinkable. I don’t know why, but I always find myself thinking about the next race half way into training, only this time I didn’t decide which race to run until after I’d finished the marathon.
The two races I’d been considering were the Tel Aviv Marathon which is taking place on April 4th and a local off road race – The PRO:SPORT Ultra – scheduled to take place March 4th.
The PRO:SPORT Ultra is “a cross country adventure race; expect mud, water crossings, and maybe even rain.” According to the web site it “will require runners to scale hills with amazing views, make their way through a number of rivers and streams in addition to other natural challenges”.
The PRO:SPORT Ultra includes a 15k, 30k, 50k and 100k race, and I have been debating the 50K (31.25 mile).
I decided to let the Tiberias marathon make my decision for me. I thought, if I run a sub 4 marathon I’ll go for the 50K, if not I’ll try again in Tel Aviv in April. So now, after completing Tiberias in under 4 hours, I find myself ready to train for my first Ultra Marathon.
The truth is, I don’t feel comfortable calling it an ultra marathon. When I hear the term I usually think of 50 – 100 mile races, but my friend (who will be my running partner during the race) keeps telling me that if it is longer than a marathon it’s an ultra marathon. Maybe it should be considered a mini or a baby ultra marathon.
Philosophy aside, I have eight weeks to train for the race. The first two weeks will be a sort of reverse taper (I’m on the second week of this now), allowing my body to fully recover from the marathon. Then I’ll train hard for 4 weeks and then taper off again. I’m not entirely sure on how best to train for this race but since it’s not much longer than a marathon I imagine that the training doesn’t need to be all that different. I do need to get used to carrying a back pack with water in it and I need to do some hill training. The good news about the back pack is that I won’t have to worry about how to fit my glucometer in and I’ll be able to bring a small camera (I plan on taking some pictures and don’t care if it takes me a little longer to complete the race). The bad news is that it will add 4-5 pounds.
So here I go again. But this time it’s a little more of an adventure.
I don’t know why but this Simon Cat cartoon is posted up on the PRO:SPORT Ultra home page but I enjoyed it and Adam can’t get enough of it. Hope you do too:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKvNqe8cKU4&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]
