UTMB reflections

UTMB was my 23rd ultra marathon and despite it going much shorter than expected (DNF due to not making the time cutoff at the 50k mark), it was a fairytale race.  I knew people called it a dream race but as I headed over to France to the start line, I was ready to call it my retirement from ultras race.  I burnout from training almost 8 weeks prior and while I was mentally prepared to go through the hell of a hundred miler, I really wanted to take a break from racing.  In early June I performed poorly in the Eagleman 70.3 half ironman.  At that point I had a choice of whether to defer my Ironman Lake Placid or attempt to train both for a hard 100 miler - UTMB and my first Ironman.  A bit beaten from the race, I accepted the challenge and knowing I was behind on training, I poured 2.5 to 3 hours a day into training.  I often sacrificed sleep and trained alone to fit everything into the day.  I ran the Vegan Power 50k on June 22nd in a strong PR in the 50k distance, I even beat some of my slower marathon times on the road.  However, just two weeks later on July 4th my IT band flared up on mile 40 of a what was supposed to be a 50 mile bike ride (that got reduced to 45).  Two days later was the Finger Lakes 50 where I intended to do the 50 mile distance as my longest run for UTMB.  I had to drop to the 50k and walked the last few miles due to IT band pain.

I recognized I was over training and backed up training the next few weeks.  I ended up DNFing Lake Placid Ironman, my quads being shot from the Whiteface Sky race the week before, my legs struggled on the bike portion of the race and I didn’t make the cutoff after the first loop.  It was tough, mostly because of how much the costs to do an Ironman but other than that, it was a relief.  The finish line of the Ironman was an amazing atmosphere but after some reflection, I really don’t like to spend that much time on the bike (I enjoy 30 to 50 miles bike rides with friends on scenic trips with plenty of breaks but training 50 miles is just not fun for me) and I am not going to further pursue that route of athletic endurance.  The time between Lake Placid and UTMB was pretty short, just a month.  I was happy to get back to hiking with friends and spend time outdoors in the mountains as part of training but I didn’t mentally feel inspired to do a hundred miles.

However, all that changed when I got to Chamonix and saw how beautiful the alps were.  Over the next few days the running community would help in reminding me of why I started running in the first place.  To explore and go on adventures!  It’s really as simple as that.  For most of my running history I didn’t really care about times and PRs or about being “smart” about training and I was able to do some crazy things.  In my quest to become a better runner, I have poured over training books and listened to all things running related podcasts.  However, I may have ignored the adventure aspect of running that fueled my love of the sport in the first place.  I started doing races more for their timing in my calendar than actually wanting to explore the place.  So despite my “A goal” of the year being what one could call an utter failure, I left France excited for my return to UTMB.  It may take a few years to get back on the start line due to the lottery but that’s okay, there’s plenty of adventures and places to explore on the way back to that infamous starting line.  I’m far from retiring from ultras!