What is the "Honor Flight Fifty?"

First of all, thank you very much for stopping by! I'm training for and running the Fall 50 (yes, that's 50 miles) this year as a fundraising effort for the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. I'm going to train all summer to run 50 miles on October 22nd to help raise money for an absolutely crucial mission.
The Honor Flight's Mission is to fly WWII veterans and terminally ill veterans from other wars to see their memorials in Washington, DC. They also work closely with schools throughout Wisconsin to ensure that the heroic stories of our veterans are built into the curriculum so that future generations will fully appreciate the sacrifices made on their behalf.
Time is of the Essence! As the last of the Greatest Generation approach their final curtain call, we are witnesses to a tremendous loss as we embrace a precious opportunity! They will die - 900 heroes - men and women who defined dignity, pass from us each and every day. 900 heroes, every day. They take their stories and history and enormous bravery with them. But many are still among us, and while there is no earthly way we can approach a gift that reflects our depth of gratitude, we can thank them anyway.
By supporting the Honor Flight Fifty, you'll help the Honor Flight Fly! 100% of donations will go to the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.
- Nic Giebler

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

What A Day! Fall 50 Report

Saturday was the best race I've ever had. It was amazing.

I finished in 6:46, 5th overall, 3rd in the open division (I got beat by two old guys...40 years of age or older). Here is my Garmin Data.

I started out an what felt like a very easy pace, and turned out to be right around 7:45 miles. Everything felt great, and I stuck with my goal of taking a gel every 20 minutes for the first several hours. I stopped once to pee, once to tie my shoe again after having my foot fall asleep, and then hiked all the early uphills, using the walking time to get in water and calories. I wish there was more to tell about the run, but in all honesty, I just felt great and kept plugging away. I had hoped to be at mile 30 in 4 hours, and I reached that point in 3:52. So I was ahead of schedule but still didn't feel overtaxed or anything. It just felt great!

By about mile 30 the gels weren't happening any more. I kept telling myself that although I didn't WANT to have any gel, I NEEDED it...but this just resulted in a gag reflex. So, I switched to flat Coke and Chicken & Stars soup. That mixture felt great and I sipped on it the rest of the way.

The last 10 miles were tough. I took a 1 minute walk break every mile marker and fell off pace a bit, but I still was able to stick with it and get a decent pace going in between the walking breaks. Turning the corner, finishing 5th overall in 6:46 was the best moment I've had running yet. By far.

This experience really helped me to "reset" my thoughts on abilities. I mean, I ran and felt decent for well over 35 miles. I averaged 8:07 miles for 50 miles. I was "in the moment" of running for almost 7 hours and was able to never really fall apart.

All this does is really make me want to test my limits even more...but I've got to do it SMART. I need to continue to pick out specific events and focus on them. I can't run every event I want to. And with baby #2 arriving in January, time will be even more compressed. Still, I can fall back on the memories from this run...thinking about how miserable I felt in 2008 when I finished in 7:59...and I can't help but smile at how well it went.

Final Thoughts:

I raised over $4,500 for the Honor Flight. Wow. THANK YOU.
I averaged 48 miles per week for the course of the last 3 months. Take out the last 3 weeks of tapering, and that's well over 50. I'm very happy with how well I stuck with it.
There were a total of 9 people in Door County to see me finish. I can't thank those friends and family members enough.
Today, I can do a squat and it doesn't hurt.
Next run is most likely Ice Age 50k again, where I hope to break 4 hours.
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3 comments:

  1. Carolina JohnOctober 27, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    That's wonderful Nic, just wonderful. Congratulations man. Now can you please try to go sub-3 marathon again? I'd say you're primed for it.

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  2. SteveQOctober 27, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    Great job, Nic. Sounds like a fast course, at least according to the guy who won it.

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  3. nwgdcOctober 27, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    Thanks, guys! CJ, after running on those roads and enjoying it that much, I've definitely started making plans to finally get that sub-3 under my belt. SQ, the course is fast. There are some big hills in the first half, but the second half is flat and fast. Then again, I'm not sure there is a course out there that Zach Bitter wouldn't make look fast. He may run JFK this year yet, so that will be an interesting comparison. I had the chance to meet John Storkamp on the course too, but we were both in rough shape and only a head nod was accomplished. I'll have to meet him officially (aka non-Facebook) at Afton or Superior one of these years.

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