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Dear Jatlanders,
I usually refrain from giving my expert opinion on topics beyond my scope of expertise. This topic here, I can confidently say I can give an expert opinion.
In recent years(6 years) I have graduated from running 5K to 166K (3.1 miles - 100 miles) from flat road stuff to trails(flat) and now to steep mountains with cumulative elevation gains (Sorry for using complicated technical terms) it implies how much feet/meters climbed over a distance you go horizontally! (make sense?)
Now for all those who think that you are gonna wreck your knees and ankles if you go extreme, I am sorry people, you guys are very wrong!
I used to think same and proved myself wrong by doing it myself.
It all started back in 2010 when I thought of doing 5K or max 10K enough to stay healthy, then I signed up for a half marathon....jumped on trails....started hiking/jogging hills. It was around that time when fellow runners suggested taking it easy on downhills to avoid knee/ankle injuries or permanent damage to cartilage! To me it was not convincing, cz I come from a science background(kinda)! So, I geeked out on impact of running steep hills and positive/negative results leading to impressive and surprising results. Now I had to check myself if it was real.
I up-ed my distance gradually from 20 miles/week to 45 miles/week averaging 300-500 feet of climbing and descend per mile! It was a slow process.
Ran 25K and 30K races on trails, felt great. Thought I could run farther. Did more research and found out that there is this thing called Ultra-Marathons....any distance beyond 26.2 miles. In fact there is a community of crazies who run 100 miles from circling around a track to climbing huge mountains all over the world. And in no time I was one of them.
Fast-forward....Signed up for my first 50 mile race in Santa Barbara, California in Nov 2013 (I was 34 years old)...its not recommended to try that kinda thing for the first time at that age.
I trained hard for the race, learnt about calories and electrolyte intake during long distance event and how to manage all that. Started my race in dark with headlamps, felt great for first half of the race, but my wheels fell off at mile 22, my knees started to hurt a lot, I could barely walk downhills without hiking poles, but I finished by enduring all the pain, bcz I don't give up! Ironically it was not my knees that was problem, it was my IT band that runs from hips to inserting on knees laterally. If you don't train enough or don't relax your IT band, it tends to give up at some point and hurts a lot, leading to excruciating pain around outer knee.
Anyway, after a week of pain and agony I felt great and got hooked to ultra running, signed up for a 100K in bay area in May 2014, finished that race feeling better, my IT band was still hurting near the end, but not as bad as my first race! Moving forward, I started to log more miles every week....now it was ridiculous level of running, where I could manage about 80-90/miles a week for 3-4 weeks back to back, and that with lot of climbing on rocky and technical hills/mountains. But I felt great, bcz I was taking it slow, would jog/hike uphills, run downhills fast or at a comfortable pace not to get injured. Occasionally I would twist my ankle, minor twists were no problem, mediocre twists were warnings to take it easy and would heal faster then usual....now you guys might be wondering how is that possible! Well to answer that question, our body is very smart and it reflects to how we work on it, to simplify the above statement, our body works like cast iron (Kinda) more you hit it, stronger it gets over time. Till date I can run 100 miles a week ranging from 25000 to 33000 feet of climbing, trust me its a lot of climbing and I don't go crazy fast, but I stay committed and keep moving forward, cz you don't train like your race pace, training is slower than race pace to avoid over-training and injuries. I feel great and can confidently say that I am in best shape of my life.
What I eat and put in my mouth is another story....but to brief it, I am borderline vegan (occasional milk in my coffee and left over cheese) everything I eat is plant based.
Till date, I have successfully finished two 100 mile races(both in 2015).
#1 HURT100(Hawaiian Ultra Running Team > HURT) Its considered as one the top 5 or top 10 ultra marathons in the whole world, look it up if you don't believe me.
#2 Angeles Crest Endurance Run 100 (AC100) another tough race in South California in mountains overlooking East Los Angeles.
There is no finisher prize, but a feeling of accomplishment and trust me on this, I go through a whole life time of emotions(of joy, happiness, sorrow, pain, agony, feeling that I am gonna fail) when I attempt these races. In the end I feel humbled and so close to ground, it's priceless.
BTW there are these cool Belt Buckles we get after a successful finish in US
I am all set to run another 100 miles race in Spain this year in early July with about 31,000 feet of elevation gain, in rough rocky and technical mountains.
I must say, this sport is all about mind over matter, some would say its 80% mind and 20% physical (give and take) I throw in push-ups and chin-ups here and there everyday to maintain my core strength and general health!
What I am trying to convey here is that, do what ever you want to do to maintain your health and well being, that works for you! Sitting on the couch, in front of your computer is not gonna take you anywhere, you are like billion others who are talking and not even trying. Get out and do it yourself. It all starts with 5K on your feet or bike or water or whatever you are gonna do! Just remember whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!
DISCLAIMER: The above mentioned thoughts are all my personal opinions based on personal experience, please don't blame me if you attempt something stupid like me and get hurt(insert Wink)
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Originally Posted by vijay
