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,...
Another month has come to an end, and this time it ended with the most monthly miles of 2017! The funny part about it is that I'm not really "training" for any race or event in particular. Yes, there are races scheduled each month through the summer and into the fall, but they are either shorter distances or I'm planning on running with the stroller. This weekend I have another 5k race coming up and am sort of unsure how I feel about it or what to expect. It has literally been over two years since I've ran a 5k by myself (not with the stroller) and at that time I had just started taking running "seriously". The goals in my head of what I would like to run, and what I might realistically run, are fairly different. We will see soon enough! SUNDAY: Rest MONDAY: RAN 10.03 miles @8:59 pace/walked 1.58 miles with stroller TUESDAY: Walked 1 mile with stroller/got a wellness massage J WEDNESDAY: RAN 9.01 miles @9:21 pace with stroller T...
This past week was full of smoke, and thankfully this week is starting to clear up (a little bit). Between the numerous wildfires north of us in Canada, to the two wildfires south of us, thick smoke has filled the skies. Luckily the ones south of us have been over 50% contained, but there are so many in Canada, I am unsure of their current standings. It is easy to mistake it as Pacific Northwest fog, but don't be fooled. The mountains have been difficult to see and I've heard people down in Seattle have had days where the mountains can't even be seen at all! Our air quality has been rated poor and the weather has given us hot days with no rain in sight. People with heart disease or breathing problems have been advised to stay indoors whenever possible, which left me heading out for a run as a test to see if my lungs would freak out or if it'd be somewhat normal. Thankfully the air hasn't affected or bothered me at all, so I am happy about that! Week 13 ...