Insanity or Inspriation?

This week Perki interviewed Sophorn Smiley and Pete White. Both have committed to participating in the Pinhoti 100 in November. Sophorn is in her 3^rd year with Phillyfit; Pete his 10^th.

Perki: How, what and/or who started you on the road to training for distance?

Sophorn: I dabbled in cross country in junior high school but didn’t take it too seriously. It was during our first year of marriage that my husband, Jim wanted to run Broad Street. I ran with him and really liked it. It became a competition of sorts between us. We ran our first marathon in 2009.
Pete: After grad school I started gaining weight. Running was the easiest form of exercise, just grab some running clothes and go. But I always knew I wanted to do a marathon since I was a young kid. My parents had a friend who ran them before they were popular. We would go to the races, and I’d happily volunteer and run the first or the last mile for fun, it was very inspirational. In 1999, I finally managed to run my first marathon.

Perki: What is your motivation?

P: Exploring uncertainty inspires me, that boundary between knowing and not knowing. It’s just like a roller coaster, frightening and exhilarating at the same time. Some of the best memories of my life have been from moments like that.
S: For me, it’s doing the thing I don’t think I can do and trying new challenges. I’ve always been passionate about fitness in general but it wasn’t until I found distance running that I was able to see how far I can push my limits.

Perki: What has been your hardest lesson to date?

S: Learning to walk in my training; slowing down
P: Focusing on results instead of the process. It’s easy to get caught up in the business of running – the equipment, the training – and forgetting why I do it, which is for fun.
S: I agree. I tend to lose my focus and have to pull back from the competitive aspects of running.

Perki: Tell us about a EUREKA! Moment.

S: Volunteering at 20 in 24 in 2009. I hadn’t even run a marathon yet. When I saw the look on the faces of those runners, the energy that they had. I knew I wanted to do that. And in terms of the 100 miler, it was watching and pacing Pete through the Philadelphia Endurance 100 run.
P: Realizing that ultras are easier than marathons. Ultras are a collaborative event between you and the distance. There has to be a lot of give and take with it, so you need to be more laid back. It demands a competely different approach than trying to defeat the marathon distance.
S: There is a camaraderie with ultra-runners. They are not out to prove themselves to you.

Perki: Ok, let’s talk about the Pinhoti 100. Why 100 miles?

S: Because of Pete (laughs)
P: Don’t say that (rolls his eyes). Once I realized I could do marathons, then I tried to run them as fast as I could. The ultra was a new kind of challenge, to see how far I could go. 100s are in some ways the gold standard for ultra-runners. But it really goes back to the uncertainty thing: I want to see what I’m capable of. (Laughs) I hope this is it! I do not want to want to have to go farther.
S: 100 is adventurous and a bigger challenge.. It’s not on the roads. There is much more varied terrain with a 100 mile race
P: Fabled ultrarunner Scott Jurek talks about the transcendental nature of ultrarunning–sort of a Zen experience, where one discovers a new part of themselves that exists beyond typically perceived limits. That’s addicting.

Perki: Pete, what’s the difference between this 100 and the 100 you did in April 2011 around the Art Museum Loop.

P: This race adds in significant elevation and terrain challenges, it is 80% single-track mountain trails. Last year I did all my long runs on flat terrain like Forbidden Drive. Now, every step is a different challenge, especially at night. Plus, it will be very hard to match the incredible support and spirit that PhillyFit so graciously provided at the Philly 100.
S: Yes. Even though I power walked most of the hills in the JFK 50 I am practicing running them now. I want to get stronger legs.

Perki: In a race of this length, Pacers are a good idea. Who will be your pacers?

S: My husband, Jim, my sister Pia and other family members likely.
P: My wife, Lori’s, family live in Georgia. Many of them are runners. I know they will come out in force. Although Jeff Ledbetter said something about coming down and John Carre too!

[Click here to see photos of Phillyfit members (including Jeff, John and Sophorn) pacing Pete in his 100 miles in April 2011]

Perki: Where do you train for something like this?

P: We have some difficult and technical trails right in our own backyard here. Mt Misery here at Valley Forge is a steep, rocky climb. Many of the Wissahickon trails are very technical. Tyler Arboretum and Ridley Creek State Park are very hilly. These trails are rockier and steeper, I suspect (hope), than what we will see in Alabama.
S: Yes all of those and I like to go to parts of the Appalachian Trail too.

Perki: So why Pinoti? Why this 100?

P: It’s a 100 of, I would say, “moderate” difficulty, not flat but not with the insane climbs at elevation of many of the western races. Pinhoti has about 3 miles of elevation gain. Because it’s mostly single-track, it gets increasingly difficult as your legs get tired and at night.
S: It’s point to point. The fact that it was more trail than road was very appealing to me.
P: Yes it’s one of the few that is point to point rather than a loop. The built in support of my family is a plus. Bur really, what can possibly go wrong running all night by yourself on remote mountain trails in rural Alabama?

Perki: What will be your longest mileage weekend?

P: You know you can’t just go to Amazon and buy 100 Milers for Dummies. I did a lot of research and basically made up a schedule for us. Our longest weekend plans about 8 trail hours one day, followed by 4 hours the next day.

Perki: What else would you like our readers to know about this adventure.
S: It’s a huge time commitment. I thought I was only going to do another 50 this year. The time to train for 100 miles was a concern. The training has become my whole life. Jim, my husband, was concerned but he’s been supportive.
P: Oh yes! I am very blessed to have an extremely supportive family. Lori and the kids have been amazing in allowing me to do this.

S: Eating, nutrition is so different. I have to practice eating solid food on the run. And after the long runs I don’t want to eat. I don’t feel like it but I have to. I have to force myself.
P: Yes. After the 100 in April 2011 I crashed. I didn’t eat enough after because I didn’t feel like it. That was a mistake. Now I eat constantly.
S: Healthy stuff but basically every hour I’m eating.

Perki: Thanks. Anything else

P: We are planning to support a charity with our efforts, so stay tuned.
S: Last year there were only 5 female finishers.
P. Yes there are a lot of ”DNFs”—did not finish. You get 30 hours to finish. (Quietly) This is the first race where I truly don’t know if I can finish.
S: (a small look of horror) If he says that….

Perki: Final questions. What is your favorite sound in training?

P: There is a creek in Tyler Arboretum along a trail that is a phenomenal sound.
S: My footfalls on the trail

Perki: What is your least favorite sound in training?

P: I’ve recently been using the Run Keeper app on my phone. I was out practicing night running and the app starting talking – it tells you your pace and distance and things like that. I thought there were other people on the trail. Totally freaked me out: “Where are there? Where did they come from? Luckily, I figured out how to turn the sound off after that.
S: I don’t carry my phone. For me, the sound I hate is the water sloshing in my stomache when I drink too much.

Perki: What is your favorite workout?

P: A run on a new trail.
S: Cross training. I love the boot camp classes I’ve been taking with Core Fitness at the art museum. If I wasn’t a distance runner I’d do that all the time. With running it’s mostly just your legs. The boot camp gets your entire body engaged.

Perki: What is your least favorite workout?

P: On the Valley Creek side of Mt Misery, there is a trail that basically goes straight up. I call it the “Trail of a Thousand Tears”.
S: Tempo. Where you run fast for miles at a time. I don’t like it.

Perki: If you could spend a day with any athlete present or past, who would it be? Why?

S: Michael Jordan. I used to play basketball
(this remark caused Perki to do a double take)
S: I think he is a phenomenal athlete.
P: Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, who was a good collegiate runner. He has influenced the sport perhaps as much as anyone.

Perki: When it comes to your training or racing what would you love to hear someone say to or about you?
P: If someone said “I could do that too”
S: I was just going to say that too. When my family saw that I did a marathon and then a 50 miler they said “I can do that too” It felt good to hear that.