Superior Sex

Lured you in with the title didn't I? Bahahaha, get your head out of the gutter. I'm referring to why women are often the superior sex when it comes to ultramarathons. Continuing today's trend of articles/blogs for thought, here's an interesting piece on how extreme endurance running often favors female runners. Physically women aren't equipped to compete with men in shorter, faster distances; hence why elite men and women runners race in different fields. However, ultramarathons require more than just a strong heart and set of lungs. Physical size, joint health, and mental concentration are equally important, and it's these qualities that allow women, such as Diana Finkel and Pam Reed, to tromp their male competitors.

The author also touches on the psychological differences between men and women that can give female runners an edge:

"...I firmly believe that good women endurance athletes are also psychologically better than. Men tend to think 'harder, faster, stronger;' women tend to think with more determination and tenacity. Especially the kind of woman who tackles ultra endurance events."

Not naming names, but sound familiar, anyone?

Comrades Training Schedule

Both Monica and I are training for marathons in October (I'm doing Chicago, she's doing the Marine Corps.) So up until we finish those (hopefully with sub-4h20 finishing times for a better Comrades qualification), we'll be doing our own separate training.

However, once that's done, we're going to have the long slog to ramp up from 26 miles to 56 miles. If you're interested in what that sort of a training schedule looks like (or if you want to follow along!) our training calendar is now available here:
Comrades Training Schedule

Easy as one, two, three?

Runner's World recently posted an interesting and helpful guide to running your first ultramarathon. Calling on the expertise of several ultra veterns, the RW article offers some great tips on planning, training, nutrition, race day, and recovery. Although Greg and I may be violating one or two of their tips (picking a race close to home is for WIMPS!), by and large it sounds like we're on track. This spring and summer we'll both be working on steadily building up our training to a fall marathon, peppering our calendars with several half-marathons and shorter races. While neither of us are entirely injury free currently, we've played it pretty smart by cutting back mileage, crosstraining, and stretching like crazy. So hopefully we won't end up like this Comrades runner...

The plethora of how-to ultra guides and advice columns are definitely great, don't get me wrong, but it still doesn't diminish the fact that running an ultra is downright intimidating. A quick peek at the training plans posted on the Comrades' website offers a glimpse of what fall and next spring holds. 60K long runs on the weekend, three or more four hour runs a week - no big deal, right? Ha. I hear my social life dying a slow, painful death. I think the massive time commitment demanded by ultra training will be the most difficult aspect of the process for me, you know besides running 56 miles straight. As the old adage goes, New York City never sleeps and there's always a million new restaurants to try, neighborhoods to explore, free open bars to find, or cooking classes to take. I'll have to put some of my other adventures on the back burner in the latter half of the year with my fingers crossed that the Comrades experience will be everything I've built it up to be.

In the meanwhile, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow I'll be running my face off!