Getting Started as an Ultrarunner

Last fall I was looking at some pictures and came to the glaring conclusion that I was quite fat. Not the "Hey kids, look at the blimp" kind of fat, but way too big nonetheless. I started walking quite a bit and watching what I ate. The weight started to come off, but not nearly as fast as I wanted. In October 2009 I went in for a physical and was a mess. I was 6'3", 274 pounds and had very high blood pressure. My doctor wanted me to start taking stronger blood pressure medication (I was already on Atenenol). I was also having a lot of trouble sleeping because of sleep apnea. I decided I needed to get a little more serious with the weight loss.

By January 1, 2010 I was down to 267. A little progress, but still not where I needed to be. A Planet Fitness opened in my town with $10 month memberships. I signed up and started running on the treadmill. Actually, I started run walking. I could barely run two minutes at a time. I'd run until winded, walk to catch my breath and start running again. My stamina started building pretty quickly though. As the weather got nicer I started venturing onto the roads. That was so much better than the treadmill. Then a friend invited me to run in the woods. Being on the trails was so much nicer than the roads.

At the urging of the good people on the Runner's World Beginner's Forum I signed up for a 5k race in May. The thought was, if I had a goal to aim for I would stick with my training. Race day came and I had a very enjoyable experience. I wasn't particularly fast but I ran the whole way and finished mid pack under 30 minutes. This led to a few more 5k races, then some 10k races. My times have improved, but I will never be very fast. I have been enjoying running and have made some good friends in the running community.

My training has been very simple to this point. One day a week I run long, an hour and a half to two hours (occassionally three or four hours). One day a week I do some form of speed work, mostly Fartleks or hills. These workouts are about 45 minutes, but pretty intense. Two to three days a week I run for an hour at a pretty comfortable pace. All together I've been running 4-5 days a week for 6 months now.

At this point I am realizing that by far my favorite run is the long one. It gives me time to clear my head and think. As the months have moved along my long run has gotten longer and longer. Going 10-12 miles isn't much of an accomplishment for me. I hit 15 miles fairly frequently and have gone as much as 18 miles without walking. Again, not fast, but I'm not the guy that had trouble running on the treadmill for two minutes straight.

I've found that I enjoy running in races, but most of them are just too short. I go to a 10k and I'm done in under an hour. A 5k is over in 25 minutes or so. Even when I'm happy with my performance I'm a little disappointed. I kind of want my races to be an all day event.

To make a long story short, enjoying my long runs, loving the trails and my desire to take part in longer events has made me start to really think about participating in ultras. Now it's time to start increasing my mileage and learning about what it takes to compete. I'm excited to see how far I can push myself.