I'm now an Ultra Marathoner

Well my first ultra went really well. Kenny and I ran most of it together. I doubted myself just before the halfway point. Can I really finish this? The legs were starting to ache a little and there was still a little under 20 miles to go. I started taking a rolaid about every hour and i had one ibuprofen about mile 20. By mile 22 or so it was hammer down. I was eating a moderate amount at each aid station, every 4 miles or so. I did really well until about mile 30 where I knew I was going to finish but I started to fatigue. My last my mile as my fastest at just under a 10 min/mile pace. I finished just under 6 1/2 hours (12 min/mile). Looking back I don't think I ate quite enough at each aid station especially toward the end. You just want it to be over and you don't want to stop. It is harder to restart than keep going. When I finished I really didn't feel much different than when I run 20+ miles. I rested well ahead of the race.

Yes I've already signed up for another ultra, Terrapin Mtn (March 28). Holiday Lake was fairly flat. The Terrapin Mountain race course rises (and falls) 7000 feet over 31 miles. I'm guessing it will be tougher but I'll just go a little slower. Training has been going well. 120+ miles in the last 3 weeks. This week will start the taper and ends with a 5k in Lewisburg. I've had a lot of time to think running all these miles. I am curious, once 50Ks become like 5Ks what do you do? I don't see myself as one of these people who are going to climb Mt Everest or something crazy like that. I'm just not sure where all this is leading. I want to focus my efforts on my kids now that they are old enough to do bigger stuff with Dad but most of the time they don't share my interest so I have to be careful. Here's hoping one day I run a marathon with one of my daughters....