Summary

Are we really runners if we don't talk about either barf or poo? Join me as I apply my ultimate nerd hack to the wonderfully weird world of ultra-marathon fueling. As I train for my very first 50K, I share my sticky history with sports nutrition.

What starts as casual trial and error quickly spirals into full nerd mode, complete with a meticulously organized spreadsheet ranking gels by flavor, texture, and how likely they are to make my stomach file a formal complaint. Spoiler: the winners were not what I expected, and some fan favorites did not make the cut.

Along the way, I share hard-earned lessons about why “I’ll figure it out later” is not a valid fueling strategy when you’re hours into a run. With a few cautionary tales and plenty of laughs, this episode is a friendly nudge to fellow newbies to experiment, plan ahead, and find the fuel that actually works for them. Because when it comes to ultras, your legs may carry you forward, but your nutrition decides whether you finish smiling…or swearing.

Chapters

1. 00:16 - Embarking on a New Challenge
2. 02:10 - Exploring Sports Nutrition
3. 03:13 - Finding the Right Fuel: My Experience with Energy Gels
4. 05:12 - Hydration Strategies for Racing
5. 07:46 - Getting Into the Thick of Ultra Training

How I Procrastinate

1. Sleep with Rock Stars, the Gen X Sleep Podcast
2. Country Fried Rock, Podcast Archives from 2009-2020
3. Music Playlists
4. Support This Podcast
5. Dive Bar Music Club, the Low Key, High Taste Happy Hour for Music Nerds

Recommended If You Like

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Automated Transcript

Speaker A

00:00:02.640 - 00:07:53.190

Hey, y', all, this is Mama Runs an Ultra.

I'm a runner on the downhill side of my 50s who decided that I would run my first 50ish K. Now, I've run a whole bunch of half marathons over the last several years, but I've never run more than 16 miles. And as I dive into training, I spend a lot of time asking myself, what the hell am I thinking?

So, a few episodes ago, I was telling y' all about my first half marathon, the one that I don't even remember running other than I burst into tears at the finish line and I had the police escort court because I was...

Summary

In this episode of Momma Runs an Ultra, I'm tackling the wild world of ultra marathon training while also trying to keep my sanity intact. You know, just a jaunty jog through my 50s, right? Between holiday illness smacking my entire family (because why not?) and trying to breathe through my neighbors' smoke out, it's been a season.

We also dive into the mysteries of pacing my upcoming half marathon. As I gear up for my first ultra marathon, I’d love to hear your best sleep tips. Basically, send me all the good advice so I can stop googling "how to stay asleep like a normal person" at 2 a.m.

Links

1. Sleep with Rock Stars
2. WTH does this episode's title reference?

Recommended If You Like

ultra marathon training, half marathon pacing strategy, asthma management for runners, recovery tips for endurance athletes, sleep challenges for runners, training for ultra marathons, benefits of sleep for athletes, overcoming sleep issues, running at 50, endurance athlete health, managing asthma while running, social media for runners, nutrition for endurance training, mental health in running, preparing for long races, tips for staying asleep, running and respiratory health, coaching for endurance athletes, benefits of meditation for sleep, living in the country as a runner

Automated Transcript

Speaker A

00:00:01.040 - 00:07:02.730

If I go to jail, I can't train for my ultra, right? Well, hey y', all, thanks for getting back here on Momma Runs an Ultra.

I'm a runner on the downhill side of my 50s who decided to sign up for my first ultra marathon. And this podcast is all about me figuring out what the hell am I thinking. The last time I chatted with y', all, I was losing my voice.

Or I had already lost my voice. It actually got worse from there. And then I started to feel bad.

It was weird because for the first couple of days it was just my voice wasn't working and I felt a hundred percent fine. But it got to the point where I finally had to go to the doctor, which honestly pissed me off. My family got super sick right before the holidays.

And even though we are fully vaccine and do our best to stay as healthy as possible, one of them got Covid, which turned into pneumonia. And real pneumonia is pretty darn scary. Well, I've had asthma my entire life and it's pretty well managed with some daily medication.

But as I've mentioned, I live out in the country.

One of those neighborhoods built like 60 years ago that was like speculative at the time and they were hoping that civilization would build up that direction. Well, they were wrong. There's nothing out here. But living out in the county means that there is not a lot of rules and regulations.

Which sounds great until you have things like my fucking neighbors across the street who burn every leaf that falls from the sky. And I'm really not kidding. I actually videoed my neighbor out one time catching leaves as they came off of her tree.

And I'm not making this up, but what really ticks me off about them and it's both the neighbors across the street right next door to each other, they wet down their leaves and then burn them. So it's just smoke everywhere and absolutely sets off my asthma.

So what happened was they burned for five days in a row of wet leaves and wet boxes and it set off my asthma to such an extent that I ended up with bronchitis...

Summary

In this episode of Momma Runs an Ultra, I open up about the unexpected challenge of losing my voice while training for an ultra, a reminder of how unpredictable life and training can be. Despite feeling physically fine, this setback sparks a deeper reflection on the vulnerability to illness and the privilege of good health. I also dive into the complexities of balancing personal goals, friendships, and aging, with the importance of staying active and resilient. I invite listeners, especially those navigating similar life transitions, to share their thoughts as we explore these meaningful themes together.

Chapters

1. 00:05 - Losing My Voice
2. 00:49 - Managing Health in Ultra Training
3. 01:52 - The Impact of Smoking on Childhood Health
4. 03:14 - Embracing Health and Mortality in Running
5. 04:26 - Navigating Adult Friendships and Health Privilege

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ultra marathon training, running after 50, health and running, losing your voice, hydration for runners, nutrition for endurance athletes, training plan for ultra marathon, running podcast, adult friendships and fitness, privilege of health, preparing for an ultra, overcoming training setbacks, mental health and running, benefits of running, challenges of aging and fitness, maintaining fitness over 50, staying active later in life, running community, personal growth through running, experiences of older runners

Transcript

00:00:02.320 - 00:05:22.900

So after I went to make my cup of coffee, I went to go talk to the dog. And that's when I realized I had lost my voice. What the heck? Hey, y'. All. Welcome to Momma Runs an Ultra.

I'm a runner on the downhill side of my 50s who decided to run my first 50ish K. And this podcast is where I totally overshare about the process while I train leading up to it this summer. So I almost didn't record this episode. Cause as you can hear, I've lost my voice. I have no idea what happened. I feel totally fine.

I didn't even know I'd lost my voice till I was making coffee this morning and I turned to talk to the dog, as you do when you work from home. And I was like, what is coming out of my mouth? So this will either be your favorite episode I ever do or the one you want to skip. Totally cool.

But it reminded me that there are so many factors about training for an Ultra over which I have no control. And one of them is, is getting sick. Now, I don't think I'm sick right now. I feel totally fine. No headache, no sore throat, no fever.

Like, everything feels totally normal. But sometimes we do get sick. And that is definitely something that can cause a wrench in a training plan.

So for me, I'm not a person who's going to go run if I'm actually sick. And today is one of those kind of head scratchers.

Like, I don't feel sick, but clearly my body is telling me that something is wrong because I can't talk. So I think what I'm going to do is just make sure I'm really good about my hydration and nutrition today and see how I feel in the afternoon.

I'm not really an afternoon runner. I prefer to just sort of run about 7 o' clock in the morning. When you work from home and you have a flexible schedule, it's something you can do.

Not everybody has that privilege. But I'm not a person who's been sick a whole lot as an adult.

I was one of those really, really sickly kids, like constantly strep throat, ear infection, some sort of problem. And in retrospect,...