Ultramarathon Daily News, Thurs, Apr 23

Max King: How to optimize your training time for trail racing.

Want to be a brand ambassador? Here are some ways how (but please don’t flood my feed with hashtags!)

Sage’s report from Boston.

Video from The North Face Washington DC 50 miler this past weekend.

Intro piece to Rich Riopel’s 159 miles at Torino earlier this month. He’s only been running for five years!

Wyatt ponders if his ultramarathon honeymoon is over. I can definitely relate.

And here’s a video of a Superman clad 10 year old tearing it up on the trails.

This week in science: Exercise is not the key to the obesity fight.

…but apparently neither is yogurt.

The female master’s winner at Boston got busted for EPO.

Based on his recent running, it sounds like Anton’s chances of competitive racing this summer are slipping away. Pretty funny book review too.

Haha: Scientists debut robot that run half marathon and smugly brag about it.

Recording an interview with Ben Gibbard today about his recent Leona Divide barf-fest and being a rock star runner. Stay tuned!

18 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News, Thurs, Apr 23"

Andy says:

April 23, 2015 at 5:56 am

Neither or not either you mean. Sorry for being the grammar police LOL.Reference

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1. eric schranz says:
  
  April 23, 2015 at 5:59 am
  
  Oops. Thanks. I’m a grammar nazi too.
  
  Reply
Chris says:

April 23, 2015 at 6:22 am

This really hits home for me too. Anyone else feel guilty for not having the “fire” as much as you used to? I struggle with that every single week…Reference

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1. walter says:
  
  April 23, 2015 at 8:20 am
  
  Yes. That post hit home for me too. He really nailed it. The grind and toll it takes on the family has taken some of the fire out of it.
  
  I feel that it is unfair to the family to be away as much as I am. Throw in work and it is a completely selfish endeavor. Try to rationalize it all you want but there is no such thing as a good work/family/ultra balance. When it was new the family could rally around it. It’s not new anymore and it is selfish. That is just a fact.
  
  I feel that I need to rally around my family. Working on finding a balance it tough because during training you have to push away all excuses and it becomes a mantra and part of your core. Toning it down or backing out seems like quitting but that comes from a perspective where ultra is number one priority.
  
  The past 6 months I’ve dropped my miles down from 40-60 to 25-35 a week. It is not as satisfying and it still feels like it takes priority over family. Maybe it’s time for a new challenge. Maybe it’s time to redefine myself as a runner. Maybe it’s time to support my family the way they have supported me for the past 4-5 years.
  
  Reply
  1. Gerell says:
    
    April 23, 2015 at 8:51 am
    
    I can’t agree more. Those of us that have “normal” jobs, family.. can’t simply take 6-10 hours per weekend to go have fun on the trail. It takes a toll mentally. I would love to be out on the trails more, but also love to be there for my kids at their events. It’s their time now.
    
    Ultrarunning’s popularity is rising and with that brining in ALOT of younger runners with, no “normal” jobs, no kids, etc….They have the time to devote to their running, as well they should, and enjoy the fruits to that labor of love.. The rest of us, however, begin to WISH we could do that still, and thus feel a little drained or detached.
    
    Reply
    1. Meghan says:
      
      April 23, 2015 at 5:19 pm
      
      It goes the other way too… I have no kids or husband or full time job … I can train pretty much as much as I want, whenever I want and I am INSANELY jealous of the life you guys have…. I want a husband, children etc. to BALANCE my life.
      
      Reply
      1. C says:
        
        April 24, 2015 at 10:31 am
        
        good point…
      2. Gerell says:
        
        April 24, 2015 at 10:32 am
        
        I agree…good point Meghan.
2. Mike Hinterberg says:
  
  April 24, 2015 at 2:01 pm
  
  Great thoughts and well-said, and great responses.
  For most of us, our first ultras were about challenging our perceived limits, and becoming a better person. Mostly, that works, and it’s incredible! But it’s a means, not an ends. Notwithstanding a select few whose talents match passion more than anything else, for the rest of us, it is imperative to keep things in perspective. Yes, we’ll amaze ourselves (and friends) with our first finish; then we’ll get better at it over the next few years as we adapt and train harder. Oh, it is such a well-defined treat in which we generally get rewarded very much in correlation for our inputted effort! But there are many opportunities for cyclical, positive feedback, such as small and non-competitive races, arbitrary series and ‘slams’ and FKTs and ‘doubles’ and non-competitive n-hour events around local parks and 200-mile races and streaks and blog-hits and token sock-‘sponsorships’ and discounted shoe ‘ambassadorships’ and what-have-you, for anyone to niche themselves into convincing relevance. (It reminds me of fine-grained triathlon age groups and age-grading).
  
  But it’s important to step back and realize the many-fold path to happiness and meaning in life. Yes, ultrarunning can be an antidote to the ‘default’ consumerism and complacency, but when it becomes the primary obsession, great things like family and diverse friends and travel and volunteerism and real, meaningful work are often sacrificed.
  
  What is most fulfilling to you when nobody else is watching?
  
  So, a resounding “no,” I do not regret having less of a passion (or time) than I did before, and I am not at all jealous of the “Peter Pan”-syndrome amongst the newer, younger generation, being too focused on other enjoyable choices and circumstances to wish anything else. It’s a great life phase, and in balanced fashion (which I also haven’t always succeeded at), it’s a great *part* of who you are. But for most people, it really shouldn’t define you.
  Life is much more varied and interesting for that to be so.
  
  Kudos to Wyatt and the above comments for being more frank about this.
  
  Reply
Emir says:

April 23, 2015 at 7:22 am

I have nothing but respect and admiration for Tony and he lives his life to the fullest. However, he will need to make a decision soon on what he wants to do as far as his racing career. I mean his shin hurts one day, feels better the next day and he is out for 5-6 hours climbing mountains, just to be back in pain after that.Reference

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1. Ryan says:
  
  April 23, 2015 at 1:06 pm
  
  Like most things in life, usually everyone sees the writing on wall before we ourselves do.
  
  Reply
2. Meghan says:
  
  April 23, 2015 at 5:20 pm
  
  Has he ever taken like a 3 month break? just to fully recover?
  
  Reply
Doug says:

April 23, 2015 at 7:33 am

“You cannot outrun a bad diet.”

But… but… but…Reference

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Raul says:

April 23, 2015 at 8:14 am

I wondered what happened to Ben G. at Leona. Looking forward to it!

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Gary says:

April 23, 2015 at 8:55 am

DAMMIT!Reference

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Ron says:

April 23, 2015 at 10:55 am

Wait until your kids are grown and gone and you really start to second guess how you spent your time when they were little. That’s when it really hits hard.

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Sarah Lavender Smith says:

April 23, 2015 at 11:45 am

Wyatt, thanks for your honesty in your post. You’re not alone. But I also am optimistic that these things go in cycles, and your burnout or your desire to pull back from the sport may be temporary. Also, keep in mind that life has many chapters and it may be easier to devote more time to running when your kids get older. BTW I have an article coming out in this month’s Trail Runner devoted to the topic of managing & balancing running with your relationships. There are strategies you can employ to get your significant other more on board with your training, and to reduce your feelings of conflict or guilt around it. good luck!Reference

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Stewart says:

April 23, 2015 at 3:54 pm

There is a right and wrong way to be a brand ambassador. Sage does it right, for instance, and others are so in your face that it’s embarrassing (unfolllow usually ensues).Reference

Reply

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