Category: Ultrarunning

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Endurance Training Update – It’s Springtime in New England

It is 5:30am and it light outside. I love spring. I’m so excited to take the dogs on the trail and go for a run this morning; even after a few hard days of training I’m excited to run!

The last two days were amazing and hard – it’s back to endurance training. I guess I need to call it that because I’m simultaneously training for Ironman and a 50 Miler. I’ve never successfully done this so it’s going to be interesting. 

Swim: I still can’t get a “convenient” lane at the pool. I sign up, I’m waitlisted. When a session opens it’s usually 45 minutes before and I miss the email. Or I sign up and get a lane and I have a meeting or something that prevents me from getting there. Then I deregister. Come On! 

Bike: The weather is perfect for  biking now. I biked on Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s hard not being in bike shape. As I rode I thought about how much I truly love biking. I love it more than any other sport. I refuse to bike indoors during the cold months because I truly believe it will make me hate biking. Like all the years before, I suck at biking for the first week or so then get stronger and stronger. This spring I will be equally tri-biking and mountain biking. We will see if it makes a difference. 

Run: I didn’t run much these last two days because the bike kicked my arse. My legs were. fatigued and my back sore. I ran after the first  bike ride because I really needed to run. But alas, three miles doesn’t really cut it. It’s okay: I’m back on track and will run this morning. 

Weights/Core: Back to the gym for Week 2. I really like the circuit workout I do. All of a sudden I look up and an hour has gone by. I love sweating and just feeling strong. And wearing a mask while working out isn’t that big of a deal. 

Everything is Good. Hard. Fun. Difficult. Complicated. This outdoor life is good. The training life is good.

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Training Update, 50 Miler and Ironman

Training has been lackluster these last two weeks. My last blog post about training was so hopeful and promising, Clean Slate. However, since that post everything got a bit crazy. I’m now two weeks behind and have lost quite a bit of fitness. 

Nevertheless, I will persist. 

This week is looking up:

And, I got into a swim lane for tonight. Things are looking up.

My race schedule up until June, as it stands right now looks like this:

Also on a positive note: out of the blue, my friend Vickie from the Leadville training group texted me. She is running the Vermont 100 this year (if it happens) and her training isn’t going as planned either. She gave me hope. We have been in this place before and have still accomplished our goals. 

I think we just know that regardless, we are lifers. Lifers in the sense that if we don’t finish a 100 miler, or 50 miler, we will next year. But we are going to try our damndest to fit everything into our lives. We do it because it just makes sense to us. We cannot not do it. So thanks for the text Vickie. 

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Training Update January 2020

Train, walk dogs, work, eat, sleep, repeat. This is my life.

Ultra running training is getting real. And I’m getting really tired. 

My stats for January:

This year, or at least these winter months, my big training days are Monday and Tuesday since these are my days off now. 

The last two weeks my long runs have been around 15 miles and they are tough. I remember two years ago at this time I was doing an occasional 30 mile run. I can’t imagine getting back there but I’m working towards it. 

I really like having a training plan on Training Peaks and it synchs to my watch. When I start my run it knows what to do. Last week, the plan called for a Fartlek Workout. So 12-15 times I ran 1 minute at a slightly harder pace. My watch would beep every minute with “Fun Faster” and then the next minute “rest”. It was fun. 

Other Training Peaks workouts are a count down by miles or time. It makes each run interesting which is what I need to keep going. 

Last Week’s Summary:

From Training Peaks

Next up: add biking and more swimming. This should be interesting.

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Running in the dark, time crunched

This morning I ran in the cold (zero degrees was the real feel) and it was dark (6 a.m.).

I don’t remember the last time I did this. Granted, my memory isn’t great but I think I would remember bragging somewhere online that I ran when it was very cold. Oh wait, I remember running in the cold and snow when I lived in Granby, Colo and was training for my first Ironman. But I don’t think I ever ran in both the cold and dark. I know I read every article about training for Ironman and ultrarunning. I know that so many articles talked about the time-crunched endurance athlete; the ones who wore up at 4 a.m., took care of the kids and still made it to their CEO job. I always seemed to figure out training during daylight all these years of endurance training.

“I think it is habit and my affection for the activity, rather than the sheer force of will, that sustains my running on a regular basis.” Sabrina Little

Today, this morning, was different. I layered up, wore a headlamp, a balaclava, and reflective gear and just got the training plan done. I sucked it up.

This makes all the difference. Tomorrow I plan to do the same.

There will hopefully be a lot of snow to add to the challenge.

This is my new challenge: to actually do every workout that is prescribed in my McMillian 50 Mile Training plan that I just bought and synched to Training Peaks. Buying this training plan is helping me reach my goal of finishing another 50 miler in 16 weeks, and later a 100 miler. I need to run in the cold and dark as training to finish a 100 miler. The next few days will test that will power and mental training.

There are 15 days left in the year. I’m planning to make them amazing and inspiring. We are all excited to end 2020. I’m motivated to make the best of it, make the best of every circumstance and end the year on a positive note. I have so much I want to do and accomplish.

2021 is going to be amazing. I’m sure of it.

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Goals, Joy and Training

Now that I have finished my 4,000 in a year now it’s time to 

  1. Finish my grid (this will take years)
  2. Start training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene
  3. Finish a 100 mile trail run
  4. Ski – a lot

I’ve been following the 100 mile training plan so far. My watch tells me my training status is Productive – so that makes me happy.

Swimming has been difficult since the lanes at the Y fill up by 5:05 a.m. Biking is difficult because it’s cold however mountain biking is still possible. 

I mountain biked at Bear Brook this past weekend and since I was hiking every weekend my biking legs were a little ….. Under trained, let’s say. Sonja and Jay are so fun to bike with.

I’m considering a fat bike but haven’t looked into if I actually can find one. That could be fun.

However, I’m pretty psyched to ski. Gunstock is making snow this week and we are hopeful for a December 4 opening day. This is going to be so fun. 

These are the skis I’m considering. Aren’t they pretty and their name: Joy. 

https://www.head.com/en_US/sports/ski/joy

Everyone should have Joy in their life.