Leadville Training Week 14 – The week that wasn’t

This week was supposed to be a week where I recover from the 30 miler and taper for the 50. It turned out to be an injury week. My last run was Tuesday morning, a nice 4 miler before work. Later in the afternoon I attempted a mountain bike ride on the trails in Manchester, FOMBA. What a great trail system except that I crashed a few times and had issues clipping out, and injured my left knee.

There was a lot icing and ibuprofen, and perhaps a bit of despair this week. I foam rolled more than I ever have in my life; maybe twice a day. I started swimming on Friday, and on Saturday ended up joining a lane of master swimmers at the Y. That was fun. It seemed by the end of day Saturday it was about 70% healed. I did every type of activity I could except running. On Sunday afternoon I even went on a bike ride on the QR. After 9 months of no biking and swimming, it felt great to be in the aero bars and swim in the pool.

Secret Squirrel MTN Freetown, MA

Sunday was the highlight of the week. I supported Alex at his mountain bike race. I’ve learned how to be an excellent sherpa from Than so it was fun to figure out where he would come out of the woods for a photo op and to cheer him on to Top 10 results. Woo Hoo. After all the races I’ve done and knowing how important it is to hear someone cheering for me, it is truly so fun to do it for people I care about. The mountain biking crowd is so different from Ironman and Ultra running. The race venue was at a park in southeastern Massachusetts, a place I’ve never been and it was great to get out of dodge.

Goal 2 2019 50 Mile
Do it for the sticker!
By the numbers ……

Monday – May 20 – 6 days until race day. 50 Miles. This is my B race. Race 3 of 5 of the dream year. I’m ready. I’m focused. Mark is pacing me and we are celebrating his birthday. Yeah May, Yeah 50 Miles. Yeah to doing things you’ve never done before and crushing it!

Week 14 Recap, Leadville Training

Tapering is tough when you have a long term goal that is 12 weeks away, and want to be fit and ready for your B race. Tapering last week worked well for me this week; and I need to remember this.

My weekday runs were great; some trail, some road. I had a great race on Saturday (mountainous, trail) and recovery run of 7.5 miles on Sunday (flat, road). Sunday was a great ending to the training cycle in preparation for the my first 50 Miler in 2 weeks.

Here’s how the week played out:

I am particularly psyched about the elevation gain/vert 7,850.

Everything is going so well and I just don’t want to screw it up. So this means foam rolling, stretching, walking and just going with the flow. This week’s mantra – Just roll with it. I’m going to be better about figuring out that fine line of planning and going with the flow (see photo at the top). I have so much I want to accomplish. There is so much I want to do and see and feel. Life is good and I’m so happy – Imagine That.


Peak Blood Ultra 30 Mile Race Report

I found my people today!

What a great day.

The Peak Blood Ultra 30 Mile course was tough: two big climbs, so much mud, branches everywhere,  and it was 30 miles.

I went out knowing that I would walk most of uphills and that turned out to be a good strategy. The first climb seemed to last forever and when I finally got to the top it was like my legs forgot how to run. I’m so glad I tapered this week and started this race on fresh legs instead of using it as a training run. While the course was hard I never had the ache-all-over feeling I had at the TARC 50K a few weeks ago.

The best part of the race was the aid station people. They were so wonderful and kind and helpful.

The best part of the day was meeting two runners, Janine and Bob.

I started talking to Jeannine in the parking lot and she was clearly nervous. She told me how she randomly signs up for races and didn’t know how she would fare today. Sounds familiar; it’s me since 2007. Her new nickname is #1 since she finished First Female. Pretty good results considering she said she is primarily a road runner.

Bob and I started talking after the first climb. He had an M Dot on his calf but Ironman talk came later – he is running the Leadville 100 and the Leadville marathon this year. He raced the 100 last year but DNF’d before dark now he has a coach and going to the camp. I had so many questions about his race, nutrition, gear. We talked about Leadville and triathlon for most of the race. It’s so much more fun to run with someone to take your mind off the pain.

At the finish I teased the race director about the three mile loop at mile 22. The trail wasn’t even a trail; it was bushwhacking. Bob noted that it was very Barkley-ish. My legs are so cut up from the briars. Why would they put that so close to the end? WHY WHY WHY? The race organizers were so fun and engaging to every racer. Such a fun day. Plus, I was completely surprised to be told I was second female and got a plaque.

It was a good day on an interesting, unique course in the mountains of Vermont so close to where I used to live in Killington. Driving to Vermont is always such a pleasure since it seems like such a different world as soon as you cross the Connecticut River. And it brings back such great memories of living in Vermont, oh so long ago. I drove by the river on Route 100 and remembered it was where my friends and our dogs would play during the hot summer.

I will do  this race again. They change the course every year so running it once doesn’t matter. Despite cursing out loud about the mud and loose branches, I loved the course and the event. Highly recommend. It was an unknown adventure I signed up for since they don’t post the course prior to the race, and that is exactly what I got. Plus, I met some new training partners.

Week 16 Recap, Leadville 100 Training

It is the biggest mileage week: 56 miles ran. 62.7 when I include hiking. This may be why I felt like ca-ca today on my trail run. I’m waiting for Garmin to synch to Strava to get total vertical for the week.

This week I ran a 10 mile mid-week run. For the 100 mile training plan there are a few long-ish mid-week runs. This week I opted for a fast-ish road run but in the future it’s all trails, baby!

Saturday I drove up to New Gloucester to pre-run the Pineland Trail Running Festival’s course. The plan was to run a full loop – around 15 miles. However, the groups got split up and we lost the way. Plus, I was talking to some runners before the group run started and forgot to put gel/food in my hydration vest. I realized the error when I was suddenly starving at mile 6.

Along with lack of food and 100% humidity and the endless hills – I was, again, feeling like ca-ca. I decided to cut the group run short and headed back to the car for a grand total of 7 miles and 800 feet of elevation gain. My legs were sore. I drove in my car longer than I ran.

Here’s how the week played out:

I had to move a bunch of runs around due to running the Pineland course and then not getting all the miles in that I needed. I didn’t get two days off which is probably why my legs are wrecked but also getting a massage the day before a long run isn’t advised. But, again, I had to work everything in without ideal scheduling.

Next week is the Peak Ultra in Vermont. I’m starting my taper Monday and trying to keep keep the legs fresh before this mountain trail run on Saturday. And just 20 days until the 50 miler.

Mid Week Training Update, Shoe Review, Breakfast, Finisher Glass

Thursday, May 2. It’s been a good few days, training-wise. I’m eating well, completing my miles, doing weights and core.

Saucony Koa ST Trail-Running Shoes

I like the Saucony Koa. I ordered them a few weeks ago because I wanted a trail shoe that wasn’t zero-drop. I love my Lone Peaks but I also need to mix it up a bit. For the first time I read a bunch of reviews before buying online at REI. These had pretty decent reviews for the terrain I’m running on. I will need to run in them a few more times for a full report and grade – but I like them so far. I like how grippy they are. I’m not crazy about the lacing system. About seven years ago I had Salomon trail running shoes with this lacing system and I could never get them tight enough so I’ve never gone back to that brand.

The Pineland finisher glass.

I want this glass. At the end of the day on May 26 I hope it is in my possession. This is race #3 of the five-race series for 2019 to be my dream year.

Breakfast

I’ve never been much of a bacon fan. I bought it for the first time in a decade this week. I’ve added two slices every morning and it really fills be up and I’m not starving by 11 a.m.

So this is my update heading into the weekend, and doing the mileage I was supposed to do last weekend. The only problem mileage-wise is Saturday because I’m going up to New Gloucester to preview/run the Pineland course. I’m also getting a massage from my favorite masseuse who fixes all my muscle and tendon issues.

Today’s Run. Not super fast but on the hilly, rocky, wet trails.