I'm retired from racing. Really.

March 18, 2024

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Location:

Greenville,SC,

Member Since:

Feb 24, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I also maintain a blogspot running blog. Check it out. 

5k- 16:01, 1/2 marathon- 1:11:37, marathon- 2:34:16, 50k- 3:58, 100 mile- 15:19

Former World Record holder in 100 x 5k relay 

Ultra history:

8-100 mile, 1-100k, 9-50 mile, 2-40 mile, 14-50k-ish

12 wins, 5 CR's, plus four 2nd, five 3rd, 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 9th, 16th, 20th, 28th, 38th, and 62nd place, with 1 DNF 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Goals 

Enjoy running, stay fit (and maybe lose a few pounds). Play ultimate frisbee.

4 year coach of Langston Middle School- love it

Long-Term Running Goals:

Unretire at some point

Run a sub-6 hr 50 miler

Win a 100 mile ultramarathon

Personal:

I have five cute kids. And I have some rockin short green racing shorts- I wear them mainly because it embarrasses my wife so much. I like ultimate frisbee, trail running, reading, and cheering for the Denver Broncos!   And I have the absolute best wife in the world.  And I used to run for the now-disbanded national Team Pearl Izumi- Ultra!

Favorite Blogs:

Click to donate
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Miles:This week: 4.00 Month: 33.50 Year: 132.50
Fastwitch Lifetime Miles: 82.50
Trail N1 Lifetime Miles: 86.50
Road N1 Lifetime Miles: 31.00
Trail M2 Lime/black Lifetime Miles: 297.00
Road M3 Grey And Yellow Lifetime Miles: 324.00
Road N2 Purple 2 Lifetime Miles: 222.50
Road N2 4 Grey Lifetime Miles: 49.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
0.000.000.000.005.005.00

Lunch- abs and bike.  Still resting legs.

Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Little Bad Legs on Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 20:56:45 from 68.186.0.46

There is a 50k in Ashland next month put on by Hal Koerner. Lots of speedy guys show up (Max King, Eric Skaggs, etc). Any tips for someone (me) considering a race in the mountains that's 5 miles longer than I've ever raced before?

From Jon on Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 21:27:40 from 74.177.123.81

Yeah- have fun and start easy.

It depends on your goals. If you want to maximize your chance of a good time and enjoyable race, start easier than you think. You should hit mile 10 thinking you are going too slow. By mile 20 you'll feel like you're going fast enough. And by 30 you'll wish you had started slower. In all seriousness, just don't go too fast the first 10 miles, or you'll lose 30 min at the end.

Also, nutrition- aim for 200-300 calories an hour, 20 oz water/hr, and might want to look into a couple S-caps.

Other than that, good luck and have fun!

From Jon on Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 21:29:12 from 74.177.123.81

If I wasn't clear, I suggest carrying water. 1 bottle is more than enough.

Or, just go out with Max and company and see what happens! You never know. But you'll likely end up death marching the last hour if you do.

From Little Bad Legs on Fri, Jun 15, 2012 at 11:00:15 from 107.60.207.243

Great advice. Thanks. I guess I wasn't clear; regardless of who shows up ie Max, I wouldn't 'race.' I'm more interested in the experience and accomplishment than the time/place. For my first ultra anyway... ;-)

I know you personally shoot for certain finishing times in your races because, well, your good and set course records and all that. But for me and my first one, should I even wear a watch and bother to know pace? If so, what would you recommend. On roads, my everyday pace for all my runs, regardless of distance, is 7:00/mile. How do you think that translates to the hills?

I'm all for starting easy so its not a horribly miserable experience the last 5-10 miles.

From Jon on Fri, Jun 15, 2012 at 17:12:07 from 74.177.123.81

I was fortunate that I won my first few ultras, mainly cause the opening pace was easy by the lead group.

It's your call on the watch- I like knowing how far I've gone so I can gauge how much longer I have. But you're an experienced runner- pace wise, my advice is just run at the pace you think you can sustain for 4 hours or so. Go by effort- 7 min pace effort or so (no mattter what trail pace is). It really should feel fairly easy the first third of the race. If you hit the last third, you can always pick the pace up a lot if you feel great.

From Jon on Fri, Jun 15, 2012 at 17:13:27 from 74.177.123.81

In other words, go by perceived effort, not actual pace. And make sure to eat/drink regularly right from mile 1.

From Little Bad Legs on Fri, Jun 15, 2012 at 21:21:25 from 107.60.91.43

Thanks again. That makes a lot of sense.

Next question; you mention 200-300 calories an hour. Normally I take just 2 Gu's per marathon. Obviously, I'll need more as I'll be running for 4 hours or so, but with each Gu being only 100 calories, what else would you suggest eating? Probably a lame question, but humor me. Haha.

Lastly, would you have a a 2nd pair of shoes to switch into at some point? Or is that something to not worry about with a 50k; only for the longer ones?

Thanks again for the tips.

From Jon on Sat, Jun 16, 2012 at 05:57:49 from 74.177.123.81

In a 50k (or even a 100 miler), I do almost exclusively gu's, clif bloks, etc. They will have a wide variety of foods at the aid stations, though, so feel free to peruse and choose. I always like fruit and soda, too. If you want to eat real food, I suggest putting a sandwich baggie in your shorts pocket, which you can load in an aid station and then eat as you run.

I wouldn't worry about shoes for a 50k. Even a 50 miler, I usually don't change shoes. You should be fine.

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