Monday, March 28, 2011

McNaughton Park 50 and 100 Mile Runs

Only 12 days until the McNaughton Park (actually it's now called "Potawatomi Trail") 50 and 100 mile races in Pekin, IL.  I've done this race many times and also volunteered at the Heaven's Gate aid station.  It's a great event.  This year, I signed up for the "short" 50 mile race.  Seemed like a good thing to do a few months ago.  Even if I wasn't fully prepared, it was "only" 50 miles.  Who can't run 50 miles on trails?  Well, me for one!  I am woefully under-prepared.  I skipped the Land Between the Lakes Marathon a couple of weeks ago, I skipped the Lake Mingo Fat Ass (28 miler) in February and I haven't done a long run since the Riddle Run at the end of January.  My calf injury seems fully healed and I am now running well...if the distance is 12 miles or less.  I now have one more weekend to get in a longish run...but I need to fully recover too.  Can I run 20 miles this weekend and still be ready 7 days later for 50 miles?  Maybe I should just run a couple of 10 milers instead of one long run.  Or maybe I should skip the race altogether.  Or DNF after 20-30 miles.  Lots of options, but none is ideal.  As I was contemplating my next 2 weeks of running, I came across this David Goggins video of his 150 mile run at McNaughton Park a couple of years ago.  I was at the Pekin race the same year this video was taken--struggling through 100 slow miles while David raced 150 miles. The video was a good reminder of what runners can do if we put our minds to the task and really focus.



If David can do 150 miles, I can do 50 miles.  It may not be pretty, but I can finish.  Of course, I'll bet Mr. Goggins actually trained for his 150 miles.  Wish I could say the same.  If nothing else, I hope to see lots of old friends on that McNaughton Park trail come the weekend of April 9-10.

6 comments:

jeff said...

run 2-10 milers this sat, 1 in am at Clinton and 1 in pm in mahomet both under 132hr, then sunday am do 10 miles at mahomet...this would be alot of endurance with plenty of rest...all miles at 12min pace or slower per hr..then M & T -0 miles, W-easy 3 in am and 3 easy in pm, Th-easy 3 in am then rest until Sat race...I assume your goal is 10 hours (12m pace)..since you ran 12 miles this past Sat in 1h 43m(8:35 pace), 12m pace should be super easy...I bet you do this, your me just fine

Chris Ⓥ said...

OK "coach" I'll do 3 runs this weekend--all 10 milers. I may do 10 miles this Thursday too. Here's my schedule until race day:

TUES: 4 miles
WED: 3 miles
THUR: 10 miles
FRI: off
SAT: 10mi am, 10mi pm
SUN: 10mi
MON: off
TUES: 3 easy
WED: 3 easy
THURS: 5 easy
FRI: off
SAT: 50 mile race

jeff said...

as long as your're letting me play "coach" the 5 mile easy should be in the morning, maybe switch the 5 to wed, then 3 thursday am, so you get a full 48 hours rest before Sat.

this thurs 10M is fine, as long as its super easy

me and gregg are starting up in the morning 6am at the 47/bike path

ed said...

With 34 hrs to finish, you can really concentrate on having fun! I hear the trails are in good condition, but I wouldn't count on it race day. If there was a course I would try minimalist shoes on, this would be it, but not this year (foot surgery). See you there.

Hey Jeff, how do I comment on your blog? Been unable to do so since I discovered it a couple weeks ago.

Judy Tolliver said...

You forgot the option of working Heaven's Gate again. That's what I'm doing. Would love to have you with us!

Chris Ⓥ said...

Ed,
I'd like to run 30 miles on this course in October (McNotAgain) in my VFFs, but not the 50 miler in April. It'll be a good training run and I'll try out my NB Minimus trail shoes--they are minimal, but more substantial then the VFFs.

Judy,
I'll still see you all at HG aid station 2 times per loop. That's 10 times for the full 50 miler! Ain't that enough?