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Old Lady Achievements
May. 17th, 2025 12:37 pmIn one more month it will be 24 weeks until December 1, more or less.
If that seems like a convoluted statement, I understand, but there's also some method to the madness here. You see, I'm thinking about doing something stupid this fall. I'm considering doing a 40 mile run.
This year we don't have any major races. We weren't able to sign up for Wine & Dine, and Fox's work means we can't do any other out of town races if we wanted to because they're pushing some major changes through and need all hands on deck. So my calendar is open. Normally I would be starting to train with a specific race in mind, usually building up marathon distance, but with no formal racing going on I felt it was time I started training to do something fun/stupid I'd been thinking about.
In 2026 I'm going to turn fifty, and I've had this idea for a while now that I want to complete a fifty mile run when I am fifty. I've done some 50k runs (which is 31-ish miles) and I'm sure that with the proper buildup of distance I can hit forty. That will let me know I can manage fifty the next year. I've found an ultra coach - a woman who lives in the southeast and understands the unique challenges and opportunities of running here (humidity is the southerner's version of altitude training). I've got a 24-week training plan to get me through, and I'd be making my attempt on the first Saturday in December.
I have some very weird ideas about what "fun" is.
At this point my chief concern is WHERE I'm going to do this. I can head into Duval and run around Jacksonville, where there are sidewalks and such, and plenty of support in the form of convenience stores and fast food. I don't know where I could get across the St Johns River on foot, though. The Shands Bridge is being rebuilt, and it will have a pedestrian and bicycle lane down the center, protected from the car lanes, but that's not going to be done until maybe 2028. I know Fox has biked across bridges in Jax, but a bicycle at least has a chance of keeping up with traffic and legally can belong in a car lane. So I may need to just circle around on this side of the river, maybe heading to 17 and coming back towards Fleming Island. I know most of this means diddly-squat to anyone reading, I'm just thinking things through.
My temptation is to sign up for the Daytona 100 ultra in 2026 and put myself in the 50 mile category. I've long wanted to do this race, and I can start working up to a 100-mile distance, but the 50 miler would give me a taste of a road ultra run at night, and Fox could crew for me. I think he could handle crewing for the 100 as well, though I thought I saw the race director recommending two crew members for each runner.
Anyway! That's my big plan. I've got one more month that I can use for base building, though I lost a couple of weeks to being sick. But since I'm not a total beginner the distance should come back to me pretty easily. It does mean I'll have some Saturdays where "long run" really and truly means LONG run.
If that seems like a convoluted statement, I understand, but there's also some method to the madness here. You see, I'm thinking about doing something stupid this fall. I'm considering doing a 40 mile run.
This year we don't have any major races. We weren't able to sign up for Wine & Dine, and Fox's work means we can't do any other out of town races if we wanted to because they're pushing some major changes through and need all hands on deck. So my calendar is open. Normally I would be starting to train with a specific race in mind, usually building up marathon distance, but with no formal racing going on I felt it was time I started training to do something fun/stupid I'd been thinking about.
In 2026 I'm going to turn fifty, and I've had this idea for a while now that I want to complete a fifty mile run when I am fifty. I've done some 50k runs (which is 31-ish miles) and I'm sure that with the proper buildup of distance I can hit forty. That will let me know I can manage fifty the next year. I've found an ultra coach - a woman who lives in the southeast and understands the unique challenges and opportunities of running here (humidity is the southerner's version of altitude training). I've got a 24-week training plan to get me through, and I'd be making my attempt on the first Saturday in December.
I have some very weird ideas about what "fun" is.
At this point my chief concern is WHERE I'm going to do this. I can head into Duval and run around Jacksonville, where there are sidewalks and such, and plenty of support in the form of convenience stores and fast food. I don't know where I could get across the St Johns River on foot, though. The Shands Bridge is being rebuilt, and it will have a pedestrian and bicycle lane down the center, protected from the car lanes, but that's not going to be done until maybe 2028. I know Fox has biked across bridges in Jax, but a bicycle at least has a chance of keeping up with traffic and legally can belong in a car lane. So I may need to just circle around on this side of the river, maybe heading to 17 and coming back towards Fleming Island. I know most of this means diddly-squat to anyone reading, I'm just thinking things through.
My temptation is to sign up for the Daytona 100 ultra in 2026 and put myself in the 50 mile category. I've long wanted to do this race, and I can start working up to a 100-mile distance, but the 50 miler would give me a taste of a road ultra run at night, and Fox could crew for me. I think he could handle crewing for the 100 as well, though I thought I saw the race director recommending two crew members for each runner.
Anyway! That's my big plan. I've got one more month that I can use for base building, though I lost a couple of weeks to being sick. But since I'm not a total beginner the distance should come back to me pretty easily. It does mean I'll have some Saturdays where "long run" really and truly means LONG run.
