Interview with Marci Wease 1) You’re one of only a handful of runners that have completed the first two 100 milers at our event, which is a tremendous accomplishment. When reviewing your loop splits, you’re very even-keeled with no precipitous drops in time. How important is it for you to not push the pace early on? THE most important thing to me while running is to enjoy it! I have learned to run by feel and not by time. I listen to my body and not to the beep of a GPS watch. My first ever ultra and I mean FIRST was the IT100 in 2013. For those who dont know that event was epic in numerous ways but the one that sticks in my mind was all of the lovely water features that were accompanied by sub-freezing temps...the thing is I didnt really notice after the first lap! I was in tune and focused. I dont always run that way but I do TRY each time I run to feel good while doing it. Im not a fast runner but I pride myself in being solid and consistent. I think that is as important as speed because if you get there first but dont enjoy the ride what was the point of running in the first place! 2) For those that were in attendance, they might remember you dressed as the flying nun for a loop. What was the story behind that? As previously stated...I like to enjoy running and I want those around me to experience a bit of that enjoyment! My dear friend Toni Bohannon and I decided while out on a training run one day that we would dress up in costumes and run a lap carrying candy and just having fun and making sure those around us did as well. Somehow, someone at some race or event called me the flying nun (no idea how that got started) so...I asked around at work and found a nun costume (hey I work with a bunch of forensic science nerds, so of course someone had one!). Toni wore the Skittles (cause those that know her know she bleeds Skittles) and we carried our bags of candy and passed out happy pills (Skittles) to everyone we saw! There were kiddos on the sidelines waiting for dads and moms, fire department volunteers, ambulance drivers, aid station volunteers and of course other runners that received the gift of sugar from a silly nun and a giant bag of Skittles running side by side just goofing off having a grand ole time! The looks we got and the comments made it all worth the near heat stroke I endured from wearing that silly thing! It was great fun and we will just have to see what we can come up with this year! 3) Tell us about your training regimen. Do you put a lot of emphasis on longer runs? My longest training run is never over 30 miles. I focus on back to back runs on the weekend and then every third week I do a back to back to back run...so for example Ill do a 15 miler Friday, 20 miler Saturday, and then a 25 mile run on Sunday. I also trained my brain to run a loop course...Being that the IT was my first ultra, I was kind of bummed it was a loop and not a point to point. I am NOT a repeat loop runner and used a three mile loop in Morgan-Monroe state forest in southern Indiana to train my brain...I once ran it 10 times to get 30 miles. I will say that after running the IT loop course in 2013 I loved it! I think the distance is perfect per loop and the logistics of aid stations and coordinating volunteers, etc., makes perfect sense. Through the week I run two days, usually Tuesday and Thursday, never running more than six miles each day. Honestly though, I dont stick religiously to a training regimen...again I feel it is more important to train by feel...some of my long weekend runs I felt more like hiking...so that is what I did...hiked for that amount of miles or for a predetermined period of time. Or if I felt like cycling...I cycled. I also do 90% of my training on trails. I find the most enjoyment in the woods and feel the most alive when I can run smelling the pine needles, moss, and overall humus of the forest...concrete and black top, not to mention the god forsaken TREADMILL, just dont do it for me! Plus by running trails you get the added benefit of a full body, mind, and spirit workout...and nothing helps prepare you more for a distance run, honing in the full body and fine tuning all of the senses you forgot you even had! 4) You have a great attitude, which I believe serves you well in the latter stages of a race. How much time do you spend on mental preparation before a big event like a 100 miler? I dont know who said it first but there is so much truth to the statement, running an ultra is 90% mental, the other 10% is all in your head but they were so right. I try to show on the outside that I truly AM having fun on the inside. One of the best ways to do that is to smile, yes even if it is fake! Sometimes I falter and fail miserably at that but when Im having a difficult time running I try to focus on smiling. It adds to one’s face value and certainly positively effects those that see it. I would never have gotten through the 2013 event without laughing and smiling about it. I drove my crew around the Friday night before the race and pointed out the waist deep water and the tops of the course markers that you could barely see sticking out of the white caps! My first loop around that year I crossed the finish tent almost laughing...WHY???? Because I only had to run it two more times...THEN...THEN I got to drag three separate pacers (i.e. my unsuspecting crew) through it and I could NOT wait! Ha! I also spend some time visualizing my finish...what Im wearing, what the climate is like, who is there waiting in the wings for me to finish...I know it might sound silly but I finish each training run pretending in my head that it is the finish of that 100 miler! I imagine my family there, my friends, that big finish clock and the cattle shoot to the finish arch...the more you prepare yourself to finish and not to quit the greater your chance you WILL finish. 5) The ultra runners from Southern Indiana seem like a tight knit group, agree or disagree? Tell us one thing about your local group that we didn’t know. I TOTALLY agree that we are a family! I have never felt more a part of any group of people in my life! My local group or just Indiana Trail Runners in general work each year for several hours to just give back to the forests and trails that have given us so much. We feel it is important to do our part to care and maintain the trails we are blessed with. Ive never met a group of people more willing and happy to give of themselves! I love that I am a part of it! What a great group of people! 6) Name something you think you need to improve upon to become a better ultra runner. I am constantly conscious of form and although I know mine lacks desperately what it needs to be perfect, I DO know that it has improved over the years. But there is always room for improvement. Both of the 100s I have completed have been at the IT100 course and both of those I ran wearing Vibram Five Fingers, which help a great deal in forcing you to run correctly. I felt great both years after finishing and did not have a single blister either time or any joint pain. I know, however, as I tire my form begins to fall apart. It is when this begins to happen that my back, core, knees, and other body systems start to suffer...and until I straighten up and try and fix that failing form I continue to hurt. If I can perfect the form I have when I begin, I think I will be better and stronger as the miles rack up. Face it, once your knees and core begin to go, the entire event starts to fall apart...its hard to recover if you arent aware that form is failing. Once it fails the effects snowball...I know I will always need to work on this area but I feel it is worth the effort to improve because the overall benefit is a better, less pained race. 7) What is the first thing you look for at an aid station? What’s your go-to food of choice? I love peanut butter filled pretzels and always grab a handful before I head out. I have never had flavor fatigue and it has all the right ratios of salt, carbs, and protein to keep you going until the next aid station. I also love BOOST supplement shakes and mini Heath bars (thank you Mark Ahonen for getting me hooked on those!) for the same reasons...those go down easy, I dont get tired of it and it has all the stuff I need. Im not a big GU or shots person as I prefer real food to keep me going. 8) As of now, you plan on running the 50 miler at the Indiana Trail 100 in April. For those that may not be aware, can you share why you made that decision? Oh make no mistake about it I plan to sign up for the 100 miler, but chances are I will drop to the 50, as this baby in my belly is making training a bit challenging!!!! But my theory is GO BIG OR GO HOME! My husband Aaron and I are expecting our first baby the first week of February, so time will tell. So far, I have been able to maintain my normal running schedule and although I certainly have slowed, I feel great and accomplished after each run. Who knows, I might even see if I can run a distance of the race with my little peanut in a stroller:) Although Im guessing strollers arent allowed and pacers most likely should at the very least be able to walk! 9) It’s difficult to know what the future holds for any of us but do you have plans for other ultras next year and beyond? I set out doing the IT100 in its first year, 2013, with my plan being then that I would run it each year I was physically able. That goal hasnt changed. I love the course, the volunteers, the randomness of the weather and truly just the overall knowledge that the race/event was my FIRST and I dont think any other will ever top the experiences Ive had there. The next couple of years are certainly going to be limited by having a little one around, but I would love to run a grand slam one year...even if that grand slam is one I design for myself and not relying on lotteries and chance entries. I dont need medals and ribbons to tell of my accomplishments...I just love running and love that after each run Im changed, Im different, Im not the same person I was when I went into that run. I would love to run the Knobstone trail in Indiana and to also complete the entire Tecumseh Trail just as a personal goal from a person born and raised in the great state of INDIANA! I also am currently debating the rut 50K mountain run in Montana for 2015. After volunteering at the Owen Putnam 50/50 this year I think I wont be able to pass that one up next year either...so many races, so little time...of course I would never turn down the chance to run Western States, although I realize a flatlander like myself would spend most of it walking and taking in the views! 10) What wisdom can you impart to someone running their first 50 or 100 miler that you wish you had been given? DONT let yourself be affected by the negative comments of others who are more experienced than you...as I have previously stated the IT100 2013 was my first ultra. Everyone told me I needed to run a 50k or 50m first and that I was going to regret the 100 mile distance as my choice, because I wasnt going to make it. I started that race doubting myself just a bit, thanks to those people. It was those very people that I passed on the third loop that year. They were defeated and beaten down by the conditions because they had all those past and vast experiences to compare to. Me, well, I had no expectations at all and no real goal other than to finish. There was absolutely no pressure on me except for that which I put on myself. I was calm and having a great time despite my frozen layers of skin! Focus on the goal, whatever that is for you, and forget all the other naysayers out there telling you cant do it. Use the things you think you cant do or are told you cant do as fuel for your fire...burn it and let it carry you to the finish! Also never be afraid to help someone struggling out there...you never know when that person might be YOUR only lifeline...nothing feels as good as someone suffering your same pain offering a word of encouragement. A good job offered to a fellow runner struggling beside you makes you family and family sticks together!
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 23:15:07 +0000