Running Long and Surviving

Hello and Sawadee krup!

I have been 'running long' ever since I started running cross country in high school; back then it was an unbelievably long 9 mile run to start off the season and break our legs into shape, and over the years 'long' has grown from 20 plus miles for a marathon to now 30 plus miles for my second ultra: a 60K trail run coming up in ten days. I love running long. I love the excitement and adventure of preparing for a 3-5 hour workout that provides a physical high, a mental vacation, and almost a spiritual experience. I love the sense of accomplishment that comes from writing the distance and time in my training log and look forward to the ache of achievement in my legs that tells me I pushed my limits.

Of course I really don't like hobbling about the next day after a long run due to severe DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), not only because of the discomfort but because one of the tenants of ultra marathon training is back-to-back days of long runs, which is extremely difficult to do if you can't walk the next day. So over the years I have learned what to do to recover strong and feel fresh after running for hours. Mostly it is about fueling correctly. If you take in the correct type and amount of calories before, during, and after your long run you will run stronger, recover faster, and feel better the next day. Eat enough before you start, use plenty of liquid, Clif Bars and Clif Shot energy gels during the run, and take in your recovery carbs (high in fructose or other high glycemic carbs) followed by an amino acid supplement (I strongly recommend TwinLabs Amino Fuel) to help the damaged muscles recover within 20-30 minutes of finishing your long run.

One of the things I love about running long is creating my own adventure. Enjoying a long run that is not only difficult, but has incredible terrain and scenery, along with a well-stocked supply of aid stations has always been one of my passions. For 13 years in a row my business partner and best friend Mark Shaw and I would compete in the Death Ride, a monstrous 128 to 151 mile bike ride in the Tahoe Alps, and then the next morning get up early and run on single track trails around Fallen Leaf Lake for four hours. In 2011 I did the first Run Around Koh Samui, a 52K run on the 'Ring Road' around the the third largest island in Thailand. We had a mobile aid station during the run with my friend Justin Hall riding his motorbike/sidecar and my wife Worawan riding in the sidecar and carrying our fuel - or running into a 7-Eleven to buy more fuel when needed. I was not so successful last year with my attempt to run the Old Elephant Trail from Mae Hong Son to Wat Chan, an 85K run that had some climbs with elevations as steep as 28% and had me in the jeep calling it quits with two 'kao pad gai' at about 32K.

View over Mae Hong Son

Trails in the Land Between the Lakes 60K

Western Kentucky Runners Club aid station

One of the premier ultra trail runs in Asia, the North Face 100, took place earlier this month near Khao Yai National Park, the first National Park in Thailand. The race is produced by the same folks that have done a great job putting on the Laguna Phuket Triathlon for almost 20 years, Go Adventure Asia. I have visited Khao Yai National Park and found it very beautiful. My ultra I have been training for takes place far away from Thailand in western Kentucky, in another beautiful National Park called Land Between the Lakes. The 60K trail does three loops through the wilderness that surrounds both Kentucky and Barkley lakes. The Western Kentucky Runners Club have been putting on the race now for ten years and in my second running I am looking to break seven hours. I will fuel well, have the right clothing on with vaseline applied in all the right spots, and I will stay positive during the long arduous miles by calculating, planning, thinking, and most of all enjoying all the sensations of running long. I love running long, and will use any excuse I can to get one in. If you cannot join me for a long run in Kentucky this March, how about joining me for a long run in Lumpini Park in April?

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