Yesterday was the day after my first ultramarathon, and I kind of felt like I got hit by a bus. Seriously, even my arms were hurting, which is pretty amazing given that I ran on my legs. I guess that’s to be expected. I did run nearly 32 miles. There were certainly moments that made finishing feel impossible, but I pushed through those and finished the race 25 minutes faster than my goal time. Honestly, towards the end I was only running because I wanted it to be done sooner. But the great thing about trails is that today, I am actually not sore. Like at all. The pounding on the legs is much less and the recovery is so much faster than a road race.
Oh and I got these sweet medals!
I’m gonna be honest here, ultramarathons are hard… like crazy impossibly hard. I had rough patches that lasted miles, cramps that never seemed to end, and pain just about everywhere. This race made Colfax seem like a nice stroll through Denver. There is something crazy about seeing the marathon mark go by on your watch and know that you still have six miles to go. But it’s over and now I can officially say that I am an ultramarathon runner. I did it.
Once the race pictures are posted I will write a full recap of the race, but for now, I am basking in the glory of finishing such a big goal. I did some active recovery yesterday and went for a long walk with Frank around our neighborhood. Fall has fully set in, so we had some beautiful trees to gaze at.
My goal walking into GOATZ was to finish the race, but not beat up my legs too bad, and I really feel like I achieved that. Today I am going to do an easy run and some yoga. I am less than a month out from Route 66, so I’m working on a quick recovery.
She Runs the Wasatch 
Congratulations! Trails really don’t beat up legs in the same way the road does.
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Thanks! I was very pleasantly surprised when I woke up this morning!
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Congratulations Kerry!!! How awesome that you can now call yourself an ultramarathoner!! If that made Colfax seem like a walk in the park, I’m sure you will blaze through Route 66. So what’s the verdict: all that extra pain, cramping and difficulty you went through to complete an ultramarathon…..totally worth it??? Can’t wait for the next one??
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Thanks! This was a hard race. I do want to sign up for another 50K, but I was considering a 50-miler before the race. I don’t know if I am anymore. It was so hard. I think I still need to wrap my head around how much slower you go in a trail race. I am, however, very happy with how good I feel today. I think it took me a week after Colfax to feel this good. Unfortunately, I am likely moving in a few months, so I can’t really pick out any races yet. 🙂
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CONGRATS!!!! So exciting! One step closer to WS!
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Thanks! I was nearly crying during the last mile of the race out of happiness. So glad that i made this step forward!
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You are running today!!!!??? You are crazy!!!!!!! You are crazy like an ultramarathoner crazy! 😉 Can’t wait to hear your recap. I only ever ran one 50k and it was FREEZING. There was snow on the ground and it took me like 6.5 hours! Bask, Bask, Bask in the glory.
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Yep!! I went for my run and it wasn’t too bad. The first mile felt a little creaky, but the other three were fine. I have Route 66 coming up in less than 4 weeks, so I just gotta hold on for a little longer and then I can take a real break. I’m just hoping that I don’t get hurt. I know I’m playing with fire here a little.
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Super congrats!!! How awesome!!!
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Thanks!! It was pretty fun!
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So awesome! Congratulations Kerry, you are an ultra marathoner!
I can’t believe you are already heading out for a run. If I ever run an ultra I’m taking the rest of the month off, lol.
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Thanks!! I’ll be taking some time off after I run Route 66.
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Glad to hear it because you definitely deserve it!
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Hey Kerry,
Congratulations this is just the beginning!
Adam
P.S.: A warning UltraSignup is like a drug, going on can have you doing things like signing up for longer distances and more races very soon. 😆😆😆 Lol. Use with caution!!!!
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Haha!! I’ve already been trolling UltraSignuo for the next one. Maybe it’ll be a 50-miler.
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GIRL WOW. Congratulations on running your ultra so soon after you made up your mind to do it. It’s funny because you can’t explain how tough a marathon is to those who haven’t run one, and I think it must be the same for ultras. Like, I can tell 32 miles would be SO HARD but it’s hard to imagine HOW much harder than 26.2 it would be. Then I think of how hard the last three miles of a marathon are and I’m like “OMG an ultra would be SO HARD” haha. Congrats again!!!
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Thanks! It was very hard. I’m not sure that it was all that much harder than a marathon. It was just really different. I definitely started to get a little bonky around mile 24, so I had that to deal with for like 8 miles. Haha! If you can run a marathon, you can definitely do a 50K. You just have to be ok with going a lot slower and taking breaks.
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How did I miss this. So jealous, but congrats on this amazing accomplishment. This got me so pumped up for my 50k in the coming weeks. Can’t wait to see the recap.
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When is your 50K? It was really fun! I think you’ll enjoy it a lot. You just have to go slow and take lots of rests. Good luck! I hope it goes really well!
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Congratulations! Just came across your blog. I think we have some things in common 🙂
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Congratulations I know the feeling, give it a day or two and you will be thinking of your next challange. 100km maybe 100 mile good work be proud
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Great effort – there’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after completing an ultra!
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Well done! – i also discovered that a massage (or at least a good amount of stretching) right after the race prevents that morning after hobble, which is not a great look, although you can bask in the glory of explaining that the reason why you are walking as if you just turned 105 is because you ran 50 kilometres the day before!
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