Ultra Prep, Part 2: Which Way (and How Fast) Do I Go, George?

I often tell the athletes I work with that performing well in a competitive race is much more than just "running fast." Often the "fastest" athlete is not victorious, while the smartest runner is. While I am not treating this Sunday's run as a "race" (i have no illusions of grandeur), I am hoping to participate intelligently in completing 32.5 miles in six hours.

As you can see from the map to the right, the run will be taking place over a "P" shaped course that is about 5k (3.25 miles) in distance.

Given my single prior experiences of running a loop course over 20+ miles, this course is not too bad, though most of the challenges are likely to be psychological (try running in circles over and over and over and over and over again!), but unlike the marathon (26 laps of one mile loop--UGH!) I attempted two years ago in February, this "bad boy" is not looking too bad... I'll just need to stay loosely focused.

As far as pace is concerned, if my goal is 32.5 miles then (hello!), I'll need to complete 10 laps in the allotted time, or ten successive 5ks. To cover that mileage in six hours, I will need to maintain a pace of 7:12 minutes /kilometer, or :36:00 for each of the ten loops (5k distance).

While I know this pace3 is definitely not as "easy" as I'm making it "sound" here, I'm planning on having my body keep it together long enough to finish with a (in all likelihood "delusion-induced") smile on my face...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!