Decided to join the ranks of r/ultramarathon on the last day of summer
How the hell do you guys do this stuff, damn I went somewhat delirious at the end, of course I only had 2 liters of water, so maybe I should get a bit more next time and get some salt...
A week ago, I (27M) decided to try running an ultramarathon. The initial distance I had in mind was 50k (if I understand correctly, this is the minimum distance needed for it to be called an ultra). Then, the day before, I changed my mind and decided to go for 60k instead—but as you can see, it didn't go as planned.
I planned to get up at 6 AM and be on the road by 6:30, but I overslept and woke up at 6:30. After drinking three glasses of water, taking a dump, and putting on my gear, I was finally on the road by 7:20. I should also mention that I originally planned to run it on Friday, but I failed miserably at the "waking up" part.
It was warmer than anticipated—I made a rookie mistake when checking the weather app. The temperature was 61 °F (16 °C) instead of 52 °F (11 °C) because I accidentally looked at the forecast for a different day. As a result, it was warmer than I had hoped, reaching up to 77 °F (25 °C) during the run (keep in mind, this temperature is measured in the shade, and it was much hotter in the sun).
So, the run started, and somehow I yanked the water bag out of my running backpack, didn’t zip it properly, and didn’t put it in the correct compartment (first time running with one). That’s why you can see the first drop in the activity diagram.
The first 10k was alright, but I kept thinking that I should have trained with the running backpack and water bag for at least a week before the run. I could feel those 2 liters with every step—not just the weight, but it also sounded like I was carrying a washing machine spinning clothes the whole time.
I didn’t notice the kilometers between 10k and 23k (6.2–14.3 miles) that much, and having water with me felt like cheating—but in a good way, as the sun was gradually starting to cook. I still felt the weight of the backpack, but I was getting used to it. I didn’t drink much water, just 4 or 5 sips (a sip was all the cool water that came out of the tube; when it started feeling warm, I would stop) until I reached the end of this chapter.
Kilometers 23k through 30k (14.3–18.6 miles) went quite well. I was already acclimatized to the backpack, and when I reached the end of this segment, it was the longest distance I had run in more than two and a half years, so I was happy about that (I had only run a marathon once before and a few runs in the 30k range). I took a few more sips of water (2 or 3; I’m not sure, but I didn’t need it that much). Oh, and of course, I started feeling general pain in my legs and had a few uncomfortable kilometers with pain in my right hip (while running on tiled surfaces, at least I think that was the reason).
The real challenge began after I passed the 30k mark (18.6 miles). Each kilometer that followed, up to the marathon distance, felt like an eternity. I experienced general pain all over my body, which intensified with every passing kilometer. My heart rate shot up from 150 bpm to 170 bpm despite maintaining the same pace, and slowing down didn’t help. I started sipping water much more frequently, which seemed to bring my heart rate down to the low 160s, but it would quickly jump back to the low 170s. There might be a correlation, but it could also be related to running uphills versus downhills. The last few kilometers were on a bad gravel road, which I didn’t remember from the route. It felt like running through snow, and a lot of energy was wasted.
After reaching the marathon mark (42.2k or 26.2 miles), I took a leak and thought it would be a good idea to walk for a bit to let my heart rate go down. I walked for a few hundred meters, then ran for about three kilometers (1.9 miles), walked a bit more, and decided to check the map to ensure I was on the right route. To my surprise, I was on a completely wrong road, which would make my route to the 60k mark (37.3 miles) more than double what it should have been. At that point, around kilometer 46 or 47 (28.6–29.2 miles), I mentally broke down. I knew I wasn’t going to complete the 75k (46.6 miles) because I could barely run 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) without feeling daggers in my pelvis, and I was starting to feel disoriented. Running on a road with frequent traffic didn’t help either. Overwhelmed, I decided to quit. I called a family member to pick me up at a location where I would have reached the 50k mark (31.1 miles) and walked there (I tried running a few more times, but it was futile as I was already done). By kilometer 50 (31.1 miles), my two liters of water had run out, and I was too far from home for anyone to reach me by that point. I continued walking and running until I reached kilometer 51 (31.7 miles). Along the way, I saw a few apple trees and ate around five apples while waiting. Finally, I was shamefully "rescued" by my mom. Thank you, Mom.
I was thinking of doing this "minimal requirement" ultra and then doing a 100k run after a few weeks, now I need to recalibrate my dumb ass. Respect to all of you crazy people.
Edit:
By theoneguywithhair request, I'm adding a screenshot of my mileage for the past year:
