I heard about axe throwing when an endurance athlete I follow on Instagram was doing it with her party guest after a race weekend. I thought… weird. But when Tom said, Hey, we should throw axes, I said, sure. Last week was an urban rock climbing adventure, this week urban axe throwing at RELAX. The real questions : Will all this help me train for 100?
Tom
I searched on Google and found some good articles.
While I woke up a little sore, I don’t think it’s going to help me finish a 100 mile race but it was fun and l laughed a lot. So – Win!
I’ve discovered over the last few weeks that I’m a wee bit addicted to weight training. A few days I choose getting my weights in instead of running. This is not great; but that is what happened. These are my favorites.
I still can’t do an unassisted pull up, but I’m getting there.
Step ups with weights – sweaty, take your breath away workout.
And my all time favorite – dead lift with a hex bar. Boy do I feel strong after 3 reps with this babe.
I keep adding a little more weight every other week. By the end of my hour I’m sweating bullets and feel pumped up. Fun!
Okay, so I’m in a training rut. This week was high volume and I failed miserably.
The Good: I continued to weight train and ran low mile days. I dropped off my new Cervelo Tri bike to get put together. I hiked with Winnie. Work was good all week.
The Bad: Not being able to wake up at 5am every morning and get shit done. Low energy at night. Not doing the training on Wednesday and Thursday. Low motivation. Running all miles on a treadmill.
On Friday night I decided to find out if rock climbing is good cross training for ultra running. I have been lifting weights and doing pull ups for three months so I thought I would be strong. It was hard but fun!
I went to Vertical Dreams in Manchester for my first ever indoor rock climbing. It was so fun! I learned how to tie a rope and belay. Then started climbing with Tom.
Two days later, my forearms are a bit sore. Three months of weight training and pull ups helped, a little.
I think indoor rock climbing could make me stronger, and I could incorporate it into a regular plan, maybe. LOL
This week was a recovery week and after my dark day on Saturday, yes that is a thing, I’m full steam ahead to Ironman, 100 Miles and Ragged Mountain Stage Race.
I swam today. After running 10 indoor miles I swam. I’m so ready for Ironman Training.
What’s my Goal? Improve, Finish. Revel. All of these things.
Life is hard, fun, brutal, sad, laughable, challenging. I want things to be easy and they never are. I’m up for the challenge. I want it all. I am Wonder Woman.
There are 10 weeks left of this training plan and then I run Umstead 100. This means that this week is a recovery week with 36 total miles. Last week was a disappointing training week; I didn’t do everything I was supposed to do.
I found my Leadville Training log from last year and compared where I am today.
Last year: Planned was 65 miles. Actual was 23.6 miles. This year: Planned was 65 miles. Actual was 40.5 miles.
This year I’m doing much better but I really need to do the miles the training plan states.
Other things different this year: weights and core are making me more tired and grumpy every day. I also recorded hiking miles as total miles last year which I’m not doing this year.
Since I write these posts mainly for myself, because just writing and posting to the world is cathartic, I know what I need to do to be successful at a 100 mile race. I know I need to do the work every day. But here’s the thing: I don’t really enjoy race day all that much. I love the process. I love the daily goal attainment. I love the planning. I love the travel to places I’ve never been. I love the people I meet along the way. These are the things I love about being an endurance athlete.
The races and adventures I sign up for keep me motivated to have an amazing life, every day. While today is a super low, unmotivated, feeling sorry for myself kind of day, I know that a few words I read or listen to will turn it around in a heartbeat. I look at my new tri bike still in pieces in the other room and I know as soon as it’s put together, and we have a warm day, I am going to be so happy to be riding it. I look at my race calendar of seemingly impossible races, all too close together, and I still know that I can do it all. I was told last week that I’m absurdly confident. Yep. That’s me.
Here’s my next four weeks. Just writing this post and reading it often will make me do it all. I’ll report back at the end of it.
This week I am planning to run 65 miles. I didn’t run Tuesday and Thursday so I’m a bit behind. However, today, I will run 12. Saturday 28. Sunday 15. It’s not ideal but it’s what happened.
As the miles start to add up I know that I have to work harder on the mental aspect of training. I also know that I need to do more cross training. I know that biking helped me feel strong finishing the Leadville Marathon last year and not biking prior to the Leadville 100 was a factor in the DNF. I will not make that mistake again.
I’m adding two cycling sessions and at least one swim each week; starting next week.
Everything is falling into place for increasing training volume and being injury free. I’m spending three days a week in the weight room, doing core work, foam rolling and massage. I just need to stay consistent, do the work and recover.
