Fool's GOLD - 2012 Croom Fool's Run 50k

Learning is something I like to do. I don’t necessarily like learning in conventional ways (e.g. college), but I really like learning from experience and the experiences of others.

Something I learned from Ean Action Jackson is how NOT to properly prepare for a race and still be successful. Against most every principle in endurance sports and preparation this paid off for me during the April 7^th, 2012 Croom Fools Run 50k.

Here’s a list of the 10 steps I took to defy all odds:

1.       Sign up for full-time college courses in addition to your 50hr+ per week job and 25%+ job travel schedule. This will ensure you can’t properly train.

2.       DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THE RACE. I didn’t.

3.       Taper EXTRA-long,  like 18 MONTHS long (avg approx. 25 miles/week for 18 months)

4.       Drink too much beer on a perpetual basis. Seriously – I drink way TOO many beers per week on average.

5.       Don’t shave. I don’t know why, but it was part of the recipe. Scruffy face=great race!

6.       Have a few beers the night before the race, THEN call the RD and see if he’ll let you in. You think he’ll say no because the website says it’s been sold out for months but he may surprise you!

7.       Dress in inappropriate apparel. OK, ok – this is subjective. I took this page from Action Jackson as well: wear a funky shirt. So, I wore a HOT pink golf shirt made of technical fabric. STYLISH!

8.       Expect nothing but a crappy race for yourself and just go out there to “have fun”. After all, I really didn’t train properly and my best on a 50k thus far (when actually trained) isn’t all that impressive.

9.       Go out too fast, but just a little.

10.   Be eternally grateful to the RD for allowing you to enter on 8hrs notice, reserving a shirt and coffee mug for you, and putting on a well supported and tremendously fun race. I most certainly am! You just can't beat their awesome finisher coffee mugs!

I’m not sure what happened, but I managed a 4:11:50 with a 2:03:30ish 16-mile split and a 2:08:20ish 15.1-mile second loop. An 18ish minute PR for 50k and a 30ish minute course PB. Go figure.

I was hovering in the 6/7 spot most of the race, but was consistent on the second lap and made a few moves to finish 4^th overall. I managed the hydration/nutrition PERFECTLY. Completely liquid calories with CARBO PRO and hit the electrolytes with S-Caps from SUCCEED! at a rate of about 1-2 per hour. This may be my best managed race ever, right up there with 2010 STORMY 100.

Perhaps I should switch to hard liquor over the beer and take on a second job so I can’t train AT ALL for my next race. By nailing a fail-proof strategy like that I figure I can break 4 hours on my next 50k attempt.

Thanks for the tips, Jackson – you’re a tremendous wealth of knowledge and one hell of a teacher. I couldn’t have done it without you!