As I reflect upon my previous week of training, it reminds me of how fortunate I am to be able to run. Running brings me so much joy, and as I glance down at my training logbook—fully equipped with inspirational phrases—one phrase in particular seems written especially for me. It reads "Doubt kills more DREAMS than failure ever will." Whoa! It's like they read my mind; now that I'm training for my first 50k race, this phrase speaks to me LOUD and CLEAR!
I'm working on my mindset, so my mindset doesn't work me. My first 50k is approaching too fast—I'm in the 8-week countdown and I feel like I've been sucked into a time warp—is this what they mean by missing time? I'm working on my mindset and...like my legs, my mindset requires copious amounts of training and fine tuning for optimum performance. That's why long runs are such an integral part of my training; they build my physical and mental strength. My mind is where I learn to believe in myself, or give in to self-doubt, and believe me, I can doubt with the best of 'em!
I tend to get ahead of myself and wish I was at some future point in my journey, instead of enjoying where I am. At times I wish I was already a seasoned ultrarunner like—insert professional ultrarunner's name here—that way I'd have innate confidence and athletic prowess! Right? Well, just remember, everyone starts somewhere, so I'm trying to stay focused and in the moment. Of course, every tight spot or niggle sends me into a full-blown whirlwind of…Will I be race ready by March? Will I get injured? Is this too much for my body, even if I've run two marathons? Yep, I'm downright terrified at the thought getting injured at this point in my training. As my hubby can certainly attest, I have a deep desire to finish this race, so I must collect myself and embrace where I'm at in my journey. Everyone gets pre-race jitters, right? Yeesh!
Purpose of the week—build endurance and overall time on my feet. Here's a snapshot of my week:
Monday- 7.5-mile hill run on a dirt trail. I did this run on a loop that's just over two miles. It inclines for nearly the first mile, evens out, then descends. A stranger asked me how many loops I was running and sounded impressed with my answer! Ego boost, ugh! I ran the last mile too fast for comfort.
Tuesday- Ab day. I took an active rest day and did Caroline Girvan's EPIC Ab day video. I'll need a strong core to support me for this race!
Wednesday- Long run day—20.5 miles. I learned a lot about my body and mind during this run. "Just slow down," is my main takeaway from this workout. The point of this run was to teach my body to run longer distances with added overall time on my feet. If I had kept the pace slower during miles 12-16, I would have recovered much faster this week.
Thursday- Mobility day. I saw the chiropractor. Yay! He says no short leg this time. Stretching is paying off. I also did yoga and foam rolling. I gotta keep it up!
Friday- 7-mile bike ride. I also did abs and upper body workouts from the FitOn app.
Saturday- 3-mile recovery run on the treadmill and leg day with Caroline Girvan on YouTube, (EPIC series).
Sunday-11-mile spin bike workout while watching Studio Sweat on Demand. Since I ran my long run too fast, I skipped a run and chose to cross-train instead. Again, keep watching that pace...mental note!
Total miles biked/run= 49.
Sharing a run with someone I love is so rewarding. Overall, this build week went pretty well. I logged a long run with my amazing hubby...if you're reading this, I'm so proud of you! He's training for the half marathon in March, and Wednesday he ended up going 15.6 miles! I planned to run 20 miles and got an extra half mile in—I overshot that last loop. The hubby tested during miles 12-16, then we met up to finish our run together. I'm so glad he was there to hold my hand and help me finish. Boy was I tired!
I'm working on getting my fueling down to a science. I crash too fast from gels, so I prefer real food on long runs. Every 4-5 miles I stop at the car, eat foods like fruit, or a snack bar and replenish my electrolytes, (and sunscreen) then off I go. My fueling strategy must have paid off during this week's long run, because between miles 12-16 I had loads of energy! (Probably due to the Shalane Flanagan Breakfast Cookies we made)! I figured, what the heck...I'll run as fast as I can because I feel incredible! Turns out my fastest loop was between miles 12-16, (even with the mountain bike hills). Though it was much too fast, because miles 16-20.5 turned into a slog, then into a very long walk. Yes sir, I was toast! When your training plan calls for a slow, easy effort, just do what it says and stick to running at a conversational pace! Well, hard lessons are learned during training...am I right?
Don't pay for it like I did. Come to think of it, I'm pretty certain I made a solemn promise to myself that I'd do no speed work on my long runs during my 50k training—so my musculoskeletal system could adapt to the increase in miles. I sure paid for that speedwork because my recovery took a couple days longer this week, and I had to adjust my plan.
Always...and I mean always...practice self care! You are a well oiled running machine and need to treat yourself like one. Foam rolling and yoga are quickly becoming my best friends. I'm afraid to let any nagging issues linger at this point, so I now work them out daily.
Remember that each workout serves a purpose. Today's purpose is recovery. I'll foam roll, stretch, and get some easy miles in on the treadmill. Since I alternate build weeks with cutback weeks, this week, I'll cut back my long run. Last week I pushed my pace too hard and paid for it, so this week I'll slow down and I'll continue working on my mobility and strength training. It's time to get my mindset ready for a new week!
Happy running and have a safe, fun week. Let me know what you want to train for next. What tips can you share about your training? What fueling and recovery strategies work for you? Thanks for reading.
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