The time has finally come to prove whether or not I am a true descendant of the Tarahuamara. The Born to Run 50K is tomorrow!
When I first decided to run the race I was super scared and pumped about it. I intended to get fully prepared and do a whole training plan and blah blah blah. Then, I got a ton of travel opportunities aaaaand I remembered that I never stick to a training plan so that all fell by the wayside.
Moral of the story: I am not fully prepared for this.
It will be my first:
-
distance more than 26.2 miles
- trail race
-
camping experience in years
I made a race day strategy based on some ultra running advice I heard a while back that stuck with me…
“If you think you’re going too slow, slow down.”
So – this is the plan…
1. Go SLOW. SLOW. SLOWER. Okay good.
2. Eat per usual marathon strategy and eat more ‘real’ food if I can. <- Since I never did this distance before I don’t really know how I’m going to feel.
3. Walk the ridiculous hills.
and finally
4. Don’t try to be a hero.
Sure, I didn’t stick to a training plan for the ultra but I did make sure to fuel up like I was a bear about to go into hibernation today…
Watermelon. Of course.
Rice…
Krispies eaten as cereal and treats. Hey, it is rice.
I’m a very salty sweat-er so I always eat a lot of salty foods leading up to a race. This is what works for me, do you.
Then, I packed up and headed out…
What food does one pack for an ultra trail race?
Beer, chocolate milk and watermelon, obviously.
My patas and THE 5 freeway 
Pit stop for food. I packed a big salad and stole a bite of the Cool Ranch Dorito taco. It didn’t change my life, but I’m not their target audience. <- please note this comment for future use.
I had to print out the waiver to take with me and it’s scary! It seriously says, “If I get hurt, lost or die it’s my own damn fault.”
See? I’m scared.
If I die I want to leave Run Eat Repeat to a LOUD red headed Mexican in love with watermelon and manatees.
Readers can vote if there is more than one. Thank you for honoring my request.
Question: What are you doing this weekend?
*I’m not going to have the best reception/wifi tomorrow so I’m going to take the day off. If I can, I’ll say hola via twitter but maybe not.
that waiver scares me. heading over to read your next post all about the race 🙂
Wow!!! So proud of you!!! Can’t wait to hear all about it!!! I ran my first half Marathon yesterday… 2:02:23, 3min slower than expected but hey, its a start 😉
Suerte!!
What an awesome event. Have fun, be safe, and run like Los Tarahumaras!!
I bought a bicycle this weekend so I can ride bikes with my kids outside. They were so excited and we had the best time!
It is amazing that you are doing that run. I read born to run and only dreamed of someday doing that ultra. I hope you take a ton of photos and let us know what its like because it is almost unreal.
And it is totally like cabella blanco to write that on the waiver. haha.
Good luck!!! Can’t wait to hear about it!
Best of luck today! You’re going to be awesome!
Good luck and enjoy the run!! 😀
I’m at the beach for Hangout Music Fest this weekend and loving every minute of it!
When I was on the cross country team in high school we would take a camping/trail running trip that involved running up a mountain, through water, zip lining, and all sorts of crazy stuff. It was called the LTR (long treacherous run, hah!) and I thought that seemed fitting for your race so good luck on your LTR! Can’t wait to read your recap!
GO MONICA! Sending you lots of prayers for endurance and survival! 🙂
Good luck & have fun!! Hopefully you don’t see any snakes, ew! Haha
good luck! i hope you have an awesome running/camping experience this weekend!
the ultra marathon waiver kinda reminds me of the one i had to sign before i went skydiving. i had to acknowledge that i might get hurt, killed, or even inappropriately touched by the instructor i was tandem skydiving with. luckily none of the above happened 🙂
This sounds like so much fun!! Hope you have a great time!
Good luck!
I can’t wait to hear all about the race! Good luck and have fun!
Good luck, Monica! And never fear, if anything should happen, we readers will make sure RER falls in to the best of hands 😉 But you’re going to be fine and kick the bajeesus out of this race!
Have a great race, Monica! I hope this weekend is fab!
Good luck – I hope it is an awesome experience!!
And, I hope you share all of your tips and what worked (or didn’t) soon – I’m going to steal them for my 50 miler coming up!!!
Well I hope nothing happens! 😉
You’re going to do great! Have fun and enjoy it 🙂
Good luck and have fun! You’ll be awesome 🙂
Have fun this weekend! That waiver is a little scary. I’m running my first full marathon on Sunday. I don’t think my experience will be nearly as rustic as yours is this weekend! Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Good Luck and take your time..remember you have all day to run it! 🙂 I love volunteering for endurance races because the runners are all so laid back..because they have forever to run! So take your time and enjoy 🙂
Wow, this race sounds fantastic! You are going to do great. Watermelon is the super race food, right? 🙂 Cant wait to hear about how awesome you did. Totally agree with you about the not being a hero thing, just enjoy. After all you are passing all of us just sitting on the couch reading blogs. This weekend we are to much to mention ~ whew just getting tired of thinking all that needs to be done.
Have fun and a great race! That waiver is hilarious !
What an adventure! As you said, don’t try to be a hero and just enjoy!
I’m having some of my dearest closest friends over for dinner and cocktails. Oh, and I’m getting a new fridge! Wild!
Hey 42km to 50km isn’t a huge jump vs 42km to 84km. You’ll be fine, trust yourself
Wow you choose a pretty epic race for your first trail and first ultra. You are going to have a blast. The people are what make these events, they are the best!!
Slow, yes go slow. Nothing wrong with power hiking. Just remember relentless forward motion. Soak up the entire experience. So jealous!!!
Good luck chica! I would say you are prepared. I mean remember the sick PR you just ran at OC? You will do great! Do you have to camp out at the start line or something? Watch out for lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! Hope to see you at another race soon 🙂
I will do almost anything for a Clausen! I have a half marathon this weekend. Good luck on your Ultra! You are unstoppable!
Oh have a wonderful adventure! 50K sounds crazy – but then again so did 13.1 and 26.2! Can’t wait to read about your experience. 🙂
I’m a little jealous/disgusted about the fact that you run twice as much as I do and your feet are as pleasant as feel can be to look at.
Have a great time. We expect ask the details later.
Good luck, sounds like a lot of fun. Can’t wait to see your race recap. Oh and by the way, don’t get lost, hurt or die!
Good luck!! That is soooo awesome. I loved that book. I finished it a few months ago and it really makes me want to run an ultra one day! I just need to learn to run slower so that I can run longer. Makes sense.