Shagnasty
There’s people that have done it 20 years in a row, as for cheating… I dunno. I did think that I was maybe being passed by some people late in the race that looked rather suspiciously fresh. On the other hand, some people have handlers that bring them changes of clothes. In any case, it really doesn’t effect me. It’s not like I was in danger of winning the race and having the trophy stolen by a cheater.
Thanks. It is kind of amazing to me. I wasn’t kidding about the G.E.P.I and the N.U.R. The very long runs where I strive against my final limits really do change the way I view myself and the universe, and, I feel, give me insight into reality. As time passes, I still remember what I thought, but I don’t really understand it and know these truths as I do during and for a time after a long stare into the abyss.
For example, the N.U.R. fundamental truth (Naked Underlying Reality) is that suffering and pleasure are sides of the same coin. I’ve had a vacation being pampered in a luxury spa, with fine meals and people attending to me in the most pleasant and luxurious ways, and found that it pales quickly. On the other hand, to stumble half dead into an aid station after 38 miles, eat a stale cookie and sip some warm gatorade can be a pleasure approaching unspeakable ecstasy. We are a very pampered people far from the constant suffering of subsistence to which we evolved and very unacquainted with the limits of our endurance. To do this reminds and encounter those limits really creates an appreciation for the luxuries. Anyway, the N.U.R. is that pain and pleasure are relative, which sounds like common sense, but takes on a different meaning and emphasis, at least for me, after running 50 miles at a clip.
The G.E.P.I., or Great Epiphany of Physical Incarnation is that “I,” whatever “I” is, is actually a seperate thing from my body, and the former controls the latter. Once things hurt as bad as possibly can… they don’t get any worse. The epiphany is that through the effort and the pain I learn that my body is nothing more than a pressurized bag of meat and shit. When I understand that, I can make it do whatever I want it to do. Without the mind driving the body in this adversarial relationship, I kind of forget that. When I do understand it, I feel that I am capable of anything. Not things like flying over a building or dodging bullets, but capable of commanding myself to do anything and having my body obey, like a faithful soldier. I say things like that, and people back away, but I think it’s really true. A lot of people are simply slaves to their bodies. They eat whatever their body tells them tastes good, and do or don’t do things based on what their body tells them is ok. They’re not really calling the shots because they’ve never really mastered their own sensations. Hence, they aren’t really in control of themselves, nor are they calling the shots. To understand, you have to get into a fight with your body and win, assert dominance. It’s a lot like training a dog or a horse. You have a mind, but a part of your mind belongs to your body and its instincts. It can rule you… or you can rule it. To me, it seems that if you can rule it there never was a more faithful dog.
::Sheesh:: Look at what I just wrote. I’m kind of embarassed.
Iano and Gridnak:
My training was pretty simple. You need mileage per week, and you need to taper prior to the race.
My usual running maintenance schedule is a run of 5 miles Tuesday through Saturday, 10 miles on Sunday and take Monday off.
To train for the JFK I would keep the weekday schedule and alternate weekends. One weekend I would try to run ten miles Saturday and Sunday. The next weekend I’d take Saturday off and run 15 on Sunday. I’d start that in July, and by Setpember build up to 15 on Saturday, 15 on Sunday one weekend and Saturday off and 20 on Sunday the next weekend. When September rolled around I managed to sneak in two 30 mile runs taking multiple days off before and after.
I tapered back to a maximum run of 5 miles 3 weeks before the Marine Corps Marathon, and 5 miles the week before the Marine Corps Marathon. I ran the Marathon on October 28th and didn’t run more than 10 miles at a time before the JFK.
A large part of the preparation was mental. A marathon you run hard and when your body is done the race is basically over. On the fifty miler I find that I really have to strategize about eating and drinking and thinking about energy management, and just building up the mental endurance to make it through, because at the halfway point it feels like you’ve just finished running a marathon (which you have,) but you’re only halfway done.
dahfisheroo and Rigamarole
I was on the Appalachian trail, and it’s very rocky and you really have to watch your footing. Anyway, I found myself behind this girl who was short and blonde and kind of looked like Heather Locklear (from the TJ Hooker days) and she was wearing these really tight black stretch pants with red zig-zag lightning bolt type things on them, and I kind of took my eyes off the rocks, tripped on one, and fell off a cliff. The funny thing is that the exact same thing happened to the guy in front of me first. After he fell I found myself in next line to get distracted. For all I know several other guys suffered the same fate after me.
GingerOfTheNorth
Thanks. If you’re doing 5ks now, you’ve probably got the bug. Just don’t wear tight stretch pants on trail runs, ok?
Paul in Saudi
My brother (Bill in Frederick) does it every year for over twenty I suppose. This year his knees gave out at 37 miles. Weaverton Cliffs, right?
The really big rest stop is Taylor’s Landing at about mile 38.5. Crap. Sorry about his knees. That’s got to be a huge disapointment.
