How I Ran 50km During the Pandemic
Like most people I found I suddenly had a lot of free time on my hands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being a bank employee meant that I was an essential worker, which also ensured my continued employment. And while I thankfully still had a job I only was going into work twice a week for only a few hours at a time. This now begged the question: what will I do with all this downtime?
I didn’t want to get lazy, laying on the couch all day watching T.V. and eating junk, so instead I took this new situation as an opportunity. I was already a pretty active runner at this point, clocking in at about 50–60 miles per week. And after having been a few months out of completing my first marathon in October, I already felt I was becoming a more confidant runner. Now I saw a chance to truly hone in on the craft.
Early bird gets the worm.
Almost everyday I wake up extra early before work to get my run in. I’ve found that pre-dawn is my preferred time of the day to run as the world is much more peaceful and you can’t beat those sunrise views. Even with my minimal worktime I still wanted to continue this practice as I found that doing so puts me in a good headspace and has me feeling energized and ready to take on the day. Now that I didn’t have to worry about squeezing my run in before a certain time for most days of the week I could really go for it and log in those extra miles.
Learning to properly fuel my body.
I attribute a big part of being able to successfully tackle more miles to doing a complete overhaul on my eating habits. My diet in the past left a lot to be desired. Like most red-blooded Americans I indulged in the likes of McDonald’s and Taco Bell a bit more often than I should have, especially after a late night out. Scaling back on the fast food proved to be easier than I thought as I felt way less sluggish as I often would after inhaling two or three Crunch wrap Supremes.
In addition to cutting back on the fast food I took up preparing more nutritious and wholesome meals for myself . Often I would find that I never had the time to make a proper breakfast or lunch before work which usually led to skipping breakfast altogether and having to buy lunch on my break. Now I made sure I was properly fueling my body with good food and I quickly saw the benefits by having the energy to take on those extra miles. Not only was cooking better meals improving my running, I found I enjoyed the process. There’s just something therapeutic in chopping up some fruits and veggies. For instance making omelets using plenty of leafy greens and bell peppers or mushrooms soon became my post run morning staple.
Full disclosure, I still eat sweets and things that are considered less than good for you. The difference is that I have them in moderation rather than in excess. While most of the week I’m pretty good at adhering to clean eating habits, on Sundays I like to indulge.
Cutting back on the booze.
In pre-pandemic life my friends and I often indulged in drinking quite a few Miller Light drafts while out at the bars on the weekends. While I sometimes would muster up the courage to get that run in the next day I often found I was simply too indisposed to lace up those shoes and instead opted to sleep in. Bars and restaurants soon became closed and I found my alcohol intake had decreased tenfold. Not that I swore it off altogether, I still enjoyed the occasional white claw or glass of red wine.
Taking excess drinking out of the equation not only benefited my running but I found my anxiety dramatically improved. There had been many a Sunday where I awoke to not only an aggressive hangover, but intense waves of anxiety which would leave me in a pretty bad headspace for awhile. Now I felt more alert and fresh, looking forward to getting out there to get those miles in.
Learning to listen to your body.
As for the actual volume of my weekly mileage, I typically start off the week with a 6–10 mile run and then increase the mileage every two days or so. This then culminates in a long run on Sundays which will often involve at least a 20 miler. I never really subscribed to any specific training regiment, instead learning to listen to my body. This involves knowing which days I know I can push myself a little harder and which ones to take it a bit easier. A more natural progression seemed to work best for me, trying not to push too much too soon. Learning to have patience in my progression and pushing myself just a bit more proved to be successful in my ability to up the ante.
Of course as important it is to put the work in, it’s just as important to know when to take an off day. Injuries seem to be almost always inevitable when it comes to running. And while taking a day off may be synonymous to being lazy, it’s never a good idea to push yourself to the point of injury. Conditioning your body to take on more miles is a process so it is imperative to allow time to recover.
Impromptu ultra marathon.
In 2020 I had planned on running two marathons, one taking place in N.J. where I live, and another where the race finished at Niagara Falls in Canada. I decided to run the N.J. Marathon for a non-profit organization I used to intern for which works towards relocating food waste and helps people organize food drives across the country. Unfortunately due to COVID, the race was pushed back from April to November, and eventually was cancelled for the year altogether. While I was bummed about the turn of events I still did manage to raise a little bit of money for the organization.
The night before the day of the race was supposed to take place my family and I were celebrating my younger brother’s birthday. While we were eating our ordered out pizza, I got to thinking that maybe I would get out there and just run the marathon distance anyway. I set my alarm for 3:00 A.M. and was out the door running by 4:00 A.M. With a whole personal pizza, two spiked seltzers, and some birthday cake in my belly from the night before, I was feeling particularly good this Sunday morning. And after a few miles in, I started entertaining the idea of perhaps running a bit further then the marathon distance. After a bit more time I felt confidant in doing 50 km which comes out to be about 31 miles, which I quickly googled on my phone.
I didn’t really have a mapped out route planned I just sort of combined a few different routes I would usually take. I worked it out so that I would loop past my house if I needed to grab some water and I ended up running two 13ish mile loops and about one 6ish mile loop. I felt calm and confident in myself that I could do this as I had put in a lot of work in the month and a half prior to this day. According to the Nike Running Club App I finished at 31.73 miles with a time of 4:14:47.
Getting out there and having fun.
While I can attribute healthy eating habits and cutting back on my alcohol intake to improving my running, I also learned to look at running as more than a means to stay fit. Living in such a fast paced world we can all get so caught up in our lives that we overlook the little things. And one thing this pandemic has taught me is to slow down and appreciate what the world has to offer. On my morning runs I almost always stop to watch the sunrise, snap some pics of deer, and just really take a moment to appreciate the opportunity being out here running.
After reading a copy of Christopher McDougall’s, Born to Run, while I started training for my first marathon, I became inspired to one day partake in races that go above and beyond that distance. Of course I thought those days were far off in the future but here I was six months after completing my first marathon running 50 km. And while this was run on flat N.J. roads in cool Springtime temperatures, I thought that perhaps I could soon be ready to officially race in an ultramarathon.
Since I’ve now run at least 50km on my own, I think a good starting point to officially race in an ultra would be a 50 miler. While I anticipate this to be a great challenge I believe I can make it to that finish line. Obviously the pandemic is still very much ongoing so there is still uncertainty of races happening this year. But there does seem to be a light at the end of this very long dark tunnel, so I do feel hopeful for the future. After having reached this milestone in my running, I look forward to continue pushing my boundaries.
