I RAN MY FIRST ULTRAMARATHON!! - Grayson Highlands State Park 50k race day vlog

[@rvatxn]

I love the trail running community so much, way more chill than road running.

[@jadecordial]

from what i have experienced, i totally agree!

[@rvatxn]

@@jadecordial do you live in VA? I'm in Richmond - I have a 50 miler on my bucket list. I did the Seashore 50k a few years back. That was a great first ultra since its flat :) I dunno if I could handle the mountains of SWVA.

[@jadecordial]

@@rvatxn i live in WV! i live at 700 feet above sea level and the race was at 4000-5000 feet. I honestly don’t think the elevation really affected me as far as i felt. As for the mountains, I luckily have a bit of elevation but most of my training runs were pretty flat. There’s this one mountain near me though. It’s 2.5 miles up and it’s sooo steep and rocky at some points and i basically have to hike the whole thing. I think that really helped me because none of the climbs felt as hard as that “run” i did a few times during training. Tara Dower lives at sea level currently and absolutely crushes mountain races out west so if you’re looking for inspiration she might be worth looking into! I also want to run a 50 miler in a year or two😃

[@rvatxn]

@@jadecordial thanks for the insight. I will check Tara out! My last marathon was in 2019 so I'm back to rebuilding a base but this time around I want to focus on shorter road races and trails for longer distances. Best of luck with your upcoming races!

[@jadecordial]

@@rvatxn thanks! you too!

[@James-qy7pz]

Congratulations! All of this is so relatable. Stomach issues, imposter syndrome, having to 'go off trail', not being able to sleep, hurting so bad...hope you had fun! Now for a 50 miler.

[@jadecordial]

Thank you, i’m glad you enjoyed 😊 haha i definitely see a 50miler in my future but I’m going to do some more 50k races in the meantime!

[@Smashycrashy]

Crushed it! Great job! So much of ultras is just positive thinking (not giving into to negativity and pain, believing you can do it), problem solving and not looking too far ahead. You were doing all that excellently! Oh and managing trail poops and your stomach. Those are super common issues. People carry ginger chews and rolaids to calm stomachs, I find that to never eat/drink too much at one time has helped. Trail poops can be eating too many calories at once, just eating something your stomach doesn’t want (ginger chews are helpful in that situation), or things like too much caffeine ingestion. Also just the act of running can cause it. It never “gets better” if you have to go, I just deal with it ASAP when trail conditions permit. Enjoyed your journey, thanks for sharing. Hope you keep it up if you enjoyed the challenge.

[@jadecordial]

Thank you for this! I feel like sometimes it can go away, but today was not one of those days😅but it made me get over the anxiety of going in the woods and also going during a race so there’s a plus. I will most definitely be adding some finger chews/ rolaids to my pack for next time

[@sophiagray3191]

Loved watching this, just signed up for my first 50k 😊 never even done a half marathon but I'm slowly working my way up

[@jadecordial]

Wow! Very ambitious, I love it. Remember to enjoy the process and make sure to strength train! I wish I would have more haha

[@robertredmon8951]

I'm very proud of you. Great job.

[@jadecordial]

I really appreciate that! Thank you :)

[@ItsLocked754]

I ran this race too! Thank you so much for all of this footage so I can look back on what it all looked / felt like (I am not good at handling a camera while running LOL). Congrats and amazing work! It was a beautiful but KILLER race!

[@jadecordial]

Oh cool! It really was an awesome race! I was lucky to have my mom take so much footage for me

[@angeles7895]

So inspirational!! Thank you for sharing. I just ran my first half marathon a few weeks ago and I hope to be on your level one day 🫶🏼

[@jadecordial]

That’s awesome! Keep running and you can totally do it. It’s all about loving the process :)

[@Snaerffer]

Super happy for you. Love your video style as well …. Now on to a 100 miler. 🤣

[@jadecordial]

Haha thank you!! I’ll need some more years under my feet before I even think about 100 😅

[@metrazol]

First, awesome job. Second, we have the same water bottles. Third, pretty sure that was a friend of mine at that 21 mile aid station. Small world!

[@jadecordial]

Thank you! Yeah those water bottles are awesome, idk what i’d do without them

[@Penn001]

I ran the 50miler that day and funny enough i think thats me and my buddy up ahead at 11:02 ! Great vid!

[@jadecordial]

Oh congrats! I was amazed by the people running the 50 miler, Hopefully one day I can handle that much

[@olesyavasilchuk7507]

Awesome job!! Thanks for sharing!! So inspiring! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@jadecordial]

thank you, i’m glad to hear :)

[@ausernameofsorts]

Thanks for sharing your experience!! You're a badass! I'm running my first 25k trail race in July and hope to do a 50k someday☺️

[@jadecordial]

Aww thanks! That’s awesome! I kind of wish I did a few more shorter trail races first to get used to higher mileage training but then again idk if I would have trained as structured as I did without having a crazy goal lol. The jump in distance is more hard on the legs for me personally so if you can do a 25k you’ll be well on your way to 50k! Enjoy the journey 😊

[@dylandonley470]

Congrats! I live in Virginia and really want to do this race next year.

[@jadecordial]

Hey! It was a pretty cool race. Sign ups are open as of a few weeks ago. It usually sells out. But when I signed up in September there were 8 spots left. So you might have more time if you don’t want to pull the trigger quite yet!

[@chickwholuvsmusic]

Amazing! I hope to run a 50k one day! I only signed up for a half marathon I just started to run earlier this year and I love it so much!

[@jadecordial]

Heck yeah! You can totally do it, enjoy the process😊

[@tylerdolchan7382]

Always impressed by you!

[@jadecordial]

thank you for encouraging me

[@sammy_lu552]

Hi, I am new here :) Congratulations!!! I admire you for finishing that race! The stomach problems could be caused by the oranges on an empty stomach. It happened to me before :(

[@jadecordial]

thank you so much! hmm that could be the problem, it was the first thing other than tailwind that i had. I guess i'll have to experiment! Thanks for the advice :)

[@sophie3588]

I just found you and spent hours watching all your videos! New subscriber! :)

[@jadecordial]

wow that’s so sweet🥹 I’m glad you’re here!

[@sophie3588]

@@jadecordial I LOVE your goose bag you made! I want to buy one like that. 💜 Yes! Loving all your videos 🥰 You’re amazing!

[@jadecordial]

⁠​⁠@@sophie3588if you dm me on instagram (in my bio) we can possibly work something out with the goose bag! thank you for following along and supporting. It really means a lot :)

[@sophie3588]

@@jadecordial I don't have an instagram 😓

[@jadecordial]

@@sophie3588hmm do you have any other social media? Or my email is in my bio, you could email me!

[@zerofugz1621]

Hello Again and Congrsts!!🎉🎉🎉🎉 Thanks for sharing your journey to your first ultra race. You did amazing. I was having all kinds of knee pain, leg pain and thought it was just all part of me getting older however I switch from my Hoka Speed Goat 5s to an Adidas trail shoe and I no longer get any knee pain and my legs feel nice and strong when I finish. So you might want to at trying out different shoes. No shoe is perfect. Each will have an issue, however once it affects your knees or makes your legs feel tired then it's automatic fail. Hopefully you can find a shoe that will have the perfect mix for you. once again Congrats! 💪🔥💪

[@jadecordial]

thank you! I may have to try different shoes! I think I also may just need to do more strength work and increase my cadence

[@7BillionReasons]

Love this!! Please keep up the running content 😊

[@jadecordial]

i plan to! thank you for commenting. It means a lot 😊

[@ricodelavega4511]

Congrats. The epson bath was spot on, something I do for at least 20 minutes after similar runs (tho closer to trail marathon and 35k distance). I've never come across someone who actually admitted to eating at Taco Bell for dinner. Most folks admit to going "for a snack", but then again I live out west where solid mexican food is common. Hats with metal button on top arent for running, race companies know that.

[@jadecordial]

Thanks! I like Taco Bell on the rare occasion haha but a Mexican restaurant is always better. I’m not sure what you mean about the metal button, I just don’t like the way the hat is shaped! I prefer more baseball and now idk what to do with it unfortunately cause I just think it looks so goofy on my head 😂

[@LisaGuiry]

Great video. I really enjoyed it 😊

[@jadecordial]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@allkindz6792]

What helped me, if you have a gym in your area that has Stair Climber machines? Focus on training on that. It makes a huge difference. Do like 30 mins on one day and other day an hour and if gets easy increase the time. First time Ultra runners tend to forget about incline workouts and they only focus on running. Gotta do Stair Climbers.

[@jadecordial]

That's great advice, I have a home gym (very grateful) but no stairclimber. I really do want to join the YMCA so I can swim and do stairstepper! I feel like it would really help

[@JenniferWilliams-mi6nv]

What was your max weekly mileage and longest run and average pace per runs. How many feet elevation was this race. Very great job!!! Doing my first in a couple of weeks Lord willing.

[@jadecordial]

My max weekly mileage was 34 although that was such an outlier unfortunately. I really wanted more 30 mile weeks but I had mostly avg 25 mile weeks. Pace is usually like 10:30-11:30 on roads and about a minute or 2 slower on trail. I did a lot of road running because I don't have extreme access to trails but I tried to do my weekend long run on the trails which means i was out there for 2.5- 3 hours on quite a few of them. The race had 4,500 ft of gain! My longest run was only 18 miles but it took 5 hours and mimicked the average elevation gain of my 50k. I felt like I moved and fueled well during that and didn't have any major feet/ body issues (except major soreness lol). I felt really confident I could do that 50k after that run even though it was 12 miles longer. The day of the 50k I was so excited to finish and that really carried me through. All the hard work in training was done. Good luck! I hope this helps. I remember looking everywhere I could for people that had trained as "little" as i did, trying to use that information to make me feel like my training was valid and enough. But as long as you actually have the dedication and the want to have a very long fun day in the woods, you'll be just fine!

[@Midlifesports]

Similar first 50k to me. Destroyed me! Saturday will be my 3rd and then I’ve got a 50 miler in October into my first 100k in Feb next year. I think I’ll stick to 50k after that. What was the elevation of that race. Good job on the video from Sydney Australia

[@jadecordial]

Wow that’s awesome! This race had around 4500 ft of elevation gain. Good luck on your races :)

[@pegasus2516]

Great job!!!

[@jadecordial]

thank you!

[@JoannaNoelle-se3sq]

I signed up for my first trail race, next weekend and it is just 5k lol can’t imagine 50k but I gotta start somewhere 😊

[@jadecordial]

heck yeah! that’s so exciting, trail running is the best. Good luck and have fun!

[@deec6535]

I would love to run that race. I lived in SW VA for three years and never made it up to GHSP.

[@jadecordial]

It was really beautiful even with the fog! I'd love to go up there again sometime and see what it looks like on a clear day. I think the signups are open for next year and they have a 25k and another short distance as well I believe!

[@geromemanicia3809]

well, you did great, see you at the 50 mile start line 🤣

[@jadecordial]

hahaha thank you! A 50 miler is definitely on my radar. The trails are addicting 😂

[@AndriesOutdoor]

I have a question about aid stations. Do you choose when to go agian, or is there a time limit for being there i have no idea how it works in other countries

[@jadecordial]

You can run straight through the aid station if you don’t need anything. But most people stick around for a minute or two to change shoes, eat, or do whatever they need until they start running again. You can stay as long as you are within the cutoff time. So for this race they were pretty generous. I think it was you had to leave the 7.5 mile aid station before the 2.5 hour mark.

[@LisaGuiry]

Alot of them would have a cut off time to leave am aid station or you can't continue. It be best to check on the website or ask when you get there.

[@nicktatum3008]

Would you recommend this race? I have several Half Marathons and one 35 miler.

[@jadecordial]

Yeah! It was cool! Super well marked, great energy, fantastic aid stations food. I’m sure you’d do well having a 35 miler under your belt as well!

[@marshallbassford5430]

Night before every big race I always eat Taco Bell. It’s so great. Raw dirty fuel 😂

[@jadecordial]

Hahaha I usually have pizza! Taco bell really hits the spot sometimes 😂

[@imritebehindu]

You're so cute, and what an achievement, well done

[@jadecordial]

Aww thank you for your kind words!

[@imritebehindu]

@@jadecordial I posted that just before your poop issue 😂😂😂

[@jadecordial]

@@imritebehindu 😂

[@littlerunner4505]

Congrats! Looks like that course has a lot of climbing! Stomach issues are a thing - I'm glad you finally went into the bushes - the longer you hold it in, the longer it takes for your body to normalize after you've avoided just using nature like a bear 😂 The RD saying it was "super" dangerous but then "no biggie, sending you out anyway" 🙄 Not impressed with him - either it's safe or it isn't. It's not about making it sound scary if it is safe, and not about sending people out in unsafe conditions. When I looked up who it is, no surprise it is the dude from Run Bum. He has a history of questionable behavior, like retroactively DQ'ing people from his race he doesn't like for some perceived slight. It is tought that he lost his "gold ticket race status" (GDR) because of this and other actions. Anyway, IDK, not my favorite RD.

[@jadecordial]

Thanks! It did have some decent elevation. And haha i should have totally went way earlier And you know, i thought i had read some questionable things about the RD but then I couldn’t remember. I’ll have to keep an eye out for him if I decide to do any of the other races