Training for an ultra will lead you to do some funny things… well, at least they have for me. Here are some things that may seem strange, but I have accomplished on my last 4 months of training for my upcoming 50-mile race.
- Run hill repeats for 5 miles during the week on my lunch hour.
- PR a 31 mile race (50k), then run 20 miles the next day (read here).
- PR a Marathon as a training run (read here).
And now for my next adventure:
- Running a Half-Marathon as a taper run – six days before my 50-mile race.
That’s right. This Sunday I’ll be running the Inaugural Rock n Roll Half Marathon in San Francisco.
Before you start screaming through the interwebs, here me out:
13.1 miles of a 50 mile race is roughly 26%.
That would be the equivalent to running less than 7 miles before a marathon. Doesn’t seem so bad now, huh?
I’m extremely familiar with the course.
I’ve run this EXACT course 4 times as part of the US Half series and I’m fully aware of what is required. It’s hilly, but it is not something that will trash my legs requiring significant recovery time.
I’m planning on running conservatively.
My fastest time on this course is 1:50 — I’m planning on running it around 2:20 (11 min. miles). That is a comfortable pace for me and will give me plenty of time to use THIS:
Images from GoPro.com
Sorry, I won’t be on a bike, but I will be running with a GoPro attached to me. This is part of the reason I wanted to do the race. It would be a great opportunity to capture what it feels like to run across the Golden Gate Bridge in a race atmosphere. I’ll be testing out the settings this week and determining how it will look, but when all is said and done, I hope to have captured the entire race day feel.
Rock ‘n’ Roll’s debut in San Francisco.
An amazing course!
It starts in the marina and includes and out-and-back across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Hills.
It’s San Francisco, what would you expect? But don’t get too nervous, they are hills that are manageable. There are some steep climbs, but they are not very long. Don’t believe me? That 1:50 I mentioned earlier was a PR at the time, so YES, you can run this course fast. And in bunny ears.
Course and Elevation Chart >> Click to Enlarge <<
Music and Cheer Stations.
It’s a Rock ‘n’ Roll event, so of course there will be music, but due to the out-and-back across the Golden Gate, it limits where the bands can be located. I don’t think cars would appreciate a stage set up in the middle of the bridge. There will be a couple band stages set up and 7-8 cheer stations to keep the energy high and keep your legs moving.
Expo and Headliner Concert.
The expo will be set up at Moscone downtown Friday and Saturday. I’ll be going on Friday — let me know if you are as well. As for the headliner, it will be The Mowglis, known for their quintessential California sound and for their single San Francisco — which was used as a highlight reel for the Giants 2012 Championship season.
One thing I forgot to mention about why I’m excited about this? I won’t go through TAPER MADNESS. I have been training to run this 50 miler for three months and will be attempting to qualify for Western States 100 (must finish 50m in under 11 hours). This “fun” race will help keep my mind off the fact that I’m two weeks away from finding out if everything I’ve been doing has been right. Scary thought.
There you have it. That’s my RnRSF preview.
Wanna run RnR San Diego, San Jose, or LA?
Use: PAVEMENTRUNNER10 for $10 off — register here!
What do you think? Am I crazy?
Are you excited about the GoPro?
I am participating in RnRSF as part of my California Rock ‘n’ Blogger partnership with Competitor Group. I received a complimentary entry into the race and they are not willing to run the miles for me, so I have to run them on my own. All opinions are my own and you cannot have them.
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That sounds crazy at first to run a half as a taper but when it is explained like that…totally normal! Love the GoPro…can’t wait to see it!
I think it makes total sense! 13.1 is nothing with all your training. Plus if you really are going for nice and easy it’s perfect. Can’t wait to see the footage. Running across the Golden Gate is pretty cool although I really think you need to reconsider the bikes. :)
TOTALLY NORMAL—for.you.
:-)
Crazy! I’m excited to hear about the gopro though! I’ve been thinking about getting one to record my races for later training videos
you’re crazy awesome. i’d love to run san diego but unfortunately that’s not in the cards for me right now. boo. so run for me!
I’m so excited for you I almost decided on that race but decided to go with Vegas instead when Brooks offered me a rock ‘n roll entry. I so want to go Pro camera and can’t wait to see your footage…. I hope it includes finish line dancing
I think you know your body best! You wouldn’t do what you know isn’t good for it :)
Exciting no doubt!
I am in awe!
I’m definitely in awe of how marathoners/ultrarunners use races that are big goals for me as “training/taper” runs. It is somethign that still makes me go “what!?”
I AM excited to see the video. I love SFO and I would love to come run a race there in the future!
Good luck! I love San Francisco but I trekked those hills as a kid and I think that left bad memories.
I’m just speechless. Wow! Can’t wait to hear the recaps!
haha, yes. Totally normal for you. Didn’t even flinch when reading this. I will say that I am super excited for the GoPro footage. Can’t wait to see it!
awesome!! I’m already looking forward to the video of crossing the bridge!
That sounds like it would be a fun course! good luck!!
Makes perfect sense to me! I’m just glad it’s you and not me. LOL Good luck and have fun with your new gadget!
I imagine since it is crossing the bridge they are starting the race early. The last time I ran the SF Marathon it started at 5 (!!!).
I do know that area, because it seems to run along a part of the marathon course and mostly along the bay, right. So, I’ll believe you when you say it’s not too hilly.
I don’t think it’s crazy at all. It’s a perfect fit. Of course, I’m running a half marathon as a training run for a half marathon, so I might not be the best judge. :-)
Well, I think you are a little crazy, 50 miles……but I do not think you are crazy for running 13, 6 days prior. Good luck, sounds like an awesome race, can’t wait to see some of that video!!!
GO PRO is awesome! i don’t care how slow you go as long as we can see the fun! ;-)
GAH – I need to come to San Fran next year and run this ….
Not crazy at all…just the life of a runner. You know your body and what it can handle. Knowing the course is a plus. I think you will do great! And I can’t wait to see your GoPro footage!!!!
That is crazy but I like crazy. Have fun!
HM as a taper? i die. Love it!
Can’t wait for Sunday! I won’t be running it nearly as fast (using it as a fun run. Tender shins caused training to be less than ideal) and can’t wait to see the video you capture on the GoPro. Great way to relive a great race! If I get the day off I’ll be going Friday, but if not I’ll be going Saturday when it opens/before work
Fun!!! I didn’t even realize RnR was having a race in San Fran–I would love to run/race/live the rest of my life there some day. So beautiful. Have a great race!!
I give you a lot of credit, running all of these races… I run/elliptical marathons in 2 days, not 2 hours – LOL!
Totally normal :) Can’t wait to see what you capture with the GoPro!
I’m running RnR on Sunday too! I ran this course with the US Half in November, hoping to improve my time. Can’t wait to see the GoPro footage, this is such a great course!
Sounds normal to me. Well, my normal. I saw a picture recently that said: I don’t go crazy, I AM crazy. I just go normal from time to time. Amen to that! Have fun on both races!!
Nice article. I’m running with a GoPro too. Just got it today with a headstrap!
Thanks for the breakdown! My husband and I are flying in from NYC to run the half and are super excited. It’s good to know that a PR is possible on this course! The elevation profile looked tough!
My husband ran with a Contour GPS attached to his cap! :)
Can’t wait to see videos of your half!
I do wanna run the Rock n Roll but I’m all the way across the country!!!
Someday I WILL!!!!!
I ran the US Half Marathon a couple of years ago and it went across the bridge and it was so freaking cool! What blew me away was how high up you truly are! Best of luck on this race and those hills. Very cool about the camera! Happy Running! :)
My hubby and I are running this and plan an 11 pace. We’ll look for you!
Sounds fun. Wonder if I’ll be the only guy with a GoPro attached to his head.
I’m running RnR SF too! I’ll probably be behind you. I figure a 2:30. It will be my first SF race and I am expecting mountains out of those hills. haha. I’m looking forward to running across the bridge. And I am also going to be wearing purple bunny ears. Looking forward to seeing the GOPro footage.
I might do San Jose again, have to see how it fits in my marathon training schedule (will train for my first. CIM!). Used to live in SD and absolutely loved it. Would be fun to run through it :)
Awesome. Maybe I’ll see you on race day. Keep an eye out for the guy with a GoPro on his head. LOL.
Cool. Maybe I’ll see you out there on the course.
I am gonna try to wear my GoPro too but all I have is the “chesty” harness (not the head gear). I already tried a video during a training run and that didn’t seem to work out well (it was too jumpy when I viewed it back and my arms kept getting in the video) and I haven’t seen the results of a 2nd test using the individual images taken every x number of seconds. Will have to check that before I decide for sure if I’m wearing it on Sunday or not.
Maybe you should wear the chest strap backwards. I’m thinking about doing that with it snapping every 5 secs.
Often thought about racing with a GoPro but wondered how “jerky” the video would be. Thought it would be cool to record Boston or one of the other majors. Video over the bridge in a race could be “epic!”