Weekly Wrap #8
You may be just as confused as me when you read “ultra (?)
training”. What is up with the question mark? Well, that has been on my mind
for the last week. Initially, I was excited simply to decide to run a six hour endurance race. Stepping out of my comfort zone and pushing the unknown limits
of my body/mind is mysterious, desirable, and exciting. Nothing is more satisfying
than reaching a point that you’ve never achieved before. I’ve always been a competitive
person, and something I enjoy about running is that it’s more of a competition
between me, myself, and I. Don’t get me wrong, I sure love pushing and trying
to snag a place in my age group, but I’d rather beat my previous goal than
focus on beating someone else.
With that in mind, I have been reading and watching videos on ultra running. Technically, anything further than a marathon (26.2 miles) can be considered an ultra. After looking at some standard ultra race distances, I came across the 50k (31ish miles). Originally, my goal was to run 11 (2.6 mile loop) laps, which equals 28.6 miles. I’ve never ran more than a half marathon, so that seemed like a pretty good thing to reach. But if you know me, I like to push the limits just a little bit more. By simply running ONE more loop, that would put me at 31.2 miles which is just over a 50k! Why not, right? Running the loop 13 times would be 3,172 ft elevation gain and I’d only have to do two laps per hour! Piece of cake! 😋
Something else that was new and exciting from this week was the premier of the Featured Runner series on the blog! Every runner has a unique story. The idea behind writing the Featured Runner posts is to shine the spotlight on bada** women who can inspire you in a variety of ways, while getting a taste of their training plans, advice, and race day superstitions! You may decide to go on your first run, sign up for a local race, join a running club, or push yourself to new distances. The ladies featured will range from beginners to half marathoners to trail ultra runners. Our first Featured Runner was Augusta Gail from Los Angeles, and you can read her post here. As usual, I'm linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!
With that in mind, I have been reading and watching videos on ultra running. Technically, anything further than a marathon (26.2 miles) can be considered an ultra. After looking at some standard ultra race distances, I came across the 50k (31ish miles). Originally, my goal was to run 11 (2.6 mile loop) laps, which equals 28.6 miles. I’ve never ran more than a half marathon, so that seemed like a pretty good thing to reach. But if you know me, I like to push the limits just a little bit more. By simply running ONE more loop, that would put me at 31.2 miles which is just over a 50k! Why not, right? Running the loop 13 times would be 3,172 ft elevation gain and I’d only have to do two laps per hour! Piece of cake! 😋
SUNDAY: Rest
MONDAY: RAN 4.52
miles @9:26 pace w/ stroller
TUESDAY: RAN 6.01
miles @8:19 pace w/ stroller
WEDNESDAY: Rest
THURSDAY: RAN 6.09
miles @8:58 pace w/stroller + walk 1 mile
FRIDAY: RAN 3.09
miles @9:25 pace w/ stroller + walk 1 mile
SATURDAY: RAN 11.53
miles @9:12 pace
Total weekly miles: 33.24
The Bob stroller is slowly morphing into my hand. We've been using it since April 2016, but the mileage we've been sharing together lately has increased dramatically. Four of my five runs this week were pushing Eisley in the stroller, totaling 19.71 miles with 1,959ft elevation gain! That may not sound like much, but it sure is a challenge pushing a tiny human. This is the first week in...oh I don't know, at least six months, that we didn't go to the YMCA! The time of running alone is nice and all, but it's on a treadmill. I may start going just for my long "easy" run each week because they definitely have not felt easy with Eisley. Even though our pace is fairly slow, the effort my legs put out is more than I'd like for an "easy" day.The early Saturday morning long run was another success, ending up with 11.53 miles at a 9:12min/mi pace. My original plan was to run 12 miles, but something...altered that. I decided to double out and back again for the beginning section of my route to help with the increased distance. Around mile 5 my tummy started feeling funky but I tried to not think about it. A little bit further, I realized that funk was the urge to go, which has never happened to me during a run! Thank goodness I altered my route, because I was literally running past our street and was able to make a quick pit stop in our house before jumping back outside.
Monday was especially nice since we actually "traveled" for our run. We had to drive into town for an errand, and then headed into Fairhaven to kill to birds with one stone. The Chuckanut Foot Race is a little over a month away and since I'm one of the Race Directors, I probably should be familiar with the start area. I ran the race last year, but since I did early registration online, I never actually went into the park where the day of race registration area was. We parked at Marine Park, popped up the stroller, and enjoyed the beach. After throwing some rocks into the bay, we ran through Fairhaven to Boulevard Park so we could sit under the boardwalk and toss a few more rocks. Here's a short video from our little beach bum adventure.
Something else that was new and exciting from this week was the premier of the Featured Runner series on the blog! Every runner has a unique story. The idea behind writing the Featured Runner posts is to shine the spotlight on bada** women who can inspire you in a variety of ways, while getting a taste of their training plans, advice, and race day superstitions! You may decide to go on your first run, sign up for a local race, join a running club, or push yourself to new distances. The ladies featured will range from beginners to half marathoners to trail ultra runners. Our first Featured Runner was Augusta Gail from Los Angeles, and you can read her post here. As usual, I'm linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!
Nice. That's so much elevation, but you'll totally make it happen, especially because you're training with Eisley. You'll feel so free and prepared during your ultra race!
ReplyDeleteRandom question: Why do you think you had "to go" this time?
Signed,
Person who had "to go" during almost all of their long runs.
Hmmm I think it may be related to the food I ate before the run! That day I had a matcha green tea protein bar which contained 70mg caffeine. I've been experimenting with different fuel before/during each run because I have no idea what works for my body.
DeleteHoly elevation gain!! I think it's awesome that you can tackle that level of elevation with the stroller!
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome that you are training for an ultra. I'm just in awe of of ultra runners!
Thanks! This week has definitely felt like more of a challenge pushing her around in the heat we've had lately.
DeletePushing a stroller is no joke but I think it's great condition for racing without one. I've never run further that a half, but I can see the enticement of running just a "bit" further to hit the 50K mark. Of course, that's easier to say now than do later.
ReplyDeleteSo true! It's very intimidating to think of running for that amount of time/distance.
DeleteI did not get into running until after my kids were too big for the stroller...and I probably wouldn't have lasted very long if I had that extra weight to push up those hills LOL You mentioned ultra running, and I say GO FOR IT! I did a 6-hour (overnight) event in 2015, then the 12-hour (also overnight) last summer. Both were from the same event, just different years (and time frames, obviously). Both were amazing challenges....both had a 1-mile loop that we just kept running over & over again, and there was a huge food station. The thing I learned is that it's all about going slow and not rushing through it...conserving the speed/energy will keep you going. I"m excited to hear how it goes for you!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Way to go on doing overnight endurance races! The mental game of running through the night must be a whole different challenge. I'm looking forward to the food station for this event, it sounds like they put on quite the spread. I'm excited to see how it goes too, ha!
DeleteHoly cow! That is a huge elevation gain. That would definitely push my limits. You are very creative with your GoPro. I enjoyed your video. It looks like a beautiful place for a run. It looks like Eisley enjoys being pushed in the stroller too. Thanks for linking with us!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting the link up! We used to live within walking distance to those beaches before we moved in October, so it was nice to go visit and run on our old stomping grounds. She definitely loves to cruise around and tell me when we're coming up to a "big hill".
Delete