Hi everyone! Welcome back. I hope you've had a productive week.
I certainly have. Though, if this week had a theme it would be about learning to embrace the suck. Yeah! Well, not every run is rainbows and unicorns—or a PR, right? Or is it! There's always a takeaway. There's always something we can learn and here's what I learned this week.
There's growth that comes from pushing yourself past your comfort zone.
There's a real temptation to keep all runs easy in order to avoid suffering. Let's face it, suffering is unpleasant, and we are instinctively hardwired to avoid suffering just to survive. Truth is, sometimes suffering is necessary. Granted not every run should be done at a hard effort in order to avoid injury, but when we push ourselves outside our comfort zone, our bodies and minds grow. Believe me, your hard work will pay off!
I posed a question to a Facebook group about the anxiety I’m feeling over my first 50k, and their answers really helped me get through my runs this week. I learned that bad runs can be good too because they will help me prepare for anything come race day. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, so the training runs are not only for your body, but also your mind. It also seems my nervous anticipation is only natural…the 50k is new to me and therefore out of my comfort zone. Yep, they sure are wise!
I feel like I've done pretty well this week, all windy things considered. Here's my weekly training:
Sunday- 3 easy miles around the local park and FitOn app for upper body.
Monday- 8-mile run at my favorite trail and a Caroline Girvan EPIC video, leg day.
Tuesday- Rest day.
Wednesday- 6 mile spin bike ride, using Studio Sweat on Demand. Added a second upper body workout the the FitOn app.
Thursday- 5 mile hill/speed interval run on the mountain trail. I was planning to cut out all speedwork until after the ultra, but it felt right. I went to bed super early—around 7:45pm. I felt under the weather, but I seem to have kicked it with extra rest and vitamins. Now lets just hope that crud stays gone!
Friday- Rest day.
Saturday- 20.3-mile long run. According to my phone winds were very heavy, around 22mph with gusts up to 44mph. I wanted to quit at mile 9 because the wind was pushing me off balance at times, but I didn't want to schedule another long run day, so I decided to keep going.
Total weekly mileage ran/biked= 42.3
Question of the day: Does running in high winds count as resistance training?
I thought about giving up at virtually every mile during this week’s long run—because the wind was the heaviest I’ve run in—EVER! According to my trusty phone, the winds ranged from 22 miles per hour with gusts up to 44 miles per hour. At one point I was blown around so hard, that I didn’t think I’d be able to walk a straight line, let alone run one. A couple of times I had to turn my back just to avoid sand being blown up in my face. (Mental note, bring eyedrops to the 50k). I really wanted to call it quits by mile 9, but I knew quitting would mean that I’d have to schedule another long run this week. Once I felt it was safe to keep going, I did! The goal…20 miles…I clocked 20.3!
Having a mantra or a great playlist can really help you break mental barriers.
I struggled mentally during my long run, so between miles 15-20 I switched from my Audiobook about TE Lawrence (which I enjoyed), over to some pumping, upbeat jams—classical composers remixed with a dubstep style beat. Sometimes I get caught up in the music and run too hard, but during this run it was the final push I needed.
Funny thing is, once I finished my long run, I almost immediately forgot how difficult it was. I was so proud of myself. Two thoughts kept me going when I wanted to give up. First, I didn’t want to tell my husband that I gave up! Second, Whether I succeed or fail at my first 50k attempt, I know I tried. I hope to succeed come race day, but if I DNF (do not finish), at least it won’t be because I quit. Hey, if I trained my best, then I tried my best. That goes for you too!
What are your upcoming race plans? What's the most challenging training run you've had?
I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading and have a great week of training.
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