But this fifty miler seems radically more difficult and the training requirements way more deficient. Even though I will be wrapping things up by running a marathon for three consecutive Saturdays and another ten miles the next day, that is such a far cry from fifty miles at a single shot. Add to the mix the abbreviated schedule (the actual program was twenty weeks but I only had fifteen) and doubt creeps in.
To be fair, the program I selected clearly stated that this was a “minimum requirement” to last fifty miles. Since I’m not worried about time, perhaps this is okay, although the race only affords twelve hours to complete. That translates to a 14:24 pace per mile to avoid disqualification, but let’s apply a bit of chainsaw math.
I should be able to comfortably knock off the first half in 4-1/2 hours, which is the only part of the equation I can estimate with any confidence – everything after that will be a brave new world since 26 miles is the longest training run. Achieving that pace tacks over a minute to my marathon results and I’m exceeding that for my plus-twenty milers now. The fly in the ointment, however, is that I’m pretty tired after polishing off those runs, calling into question prospects for the back half.
Still, that front pace buys me time and I could still slog out the next 25 miles at an 18 minute pace to beat the (12-hour) clock. When prevented from running after the wrist surgery I took some ‘walks’, and a brisk walking pace timed out at 15:30 per mile. So on paper it’s doable…but I suspect the road might prove somewhat more challenging. We’ll keep training and assess prospects in a few weeks, but for now the goal will simply be to stagger across the finish line within twelve hours.
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