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Back to Back Runs – the story about a bust

Monday was supposed to be 28 miles.

Tuesday was supposed to be 18 miles. 

Actual: 19 and 11. UGH. 

None of these colors are good

Monday started at -3 degrees at 6am. I knew my only option was the treadmill to start. My gym closes at 10 so I was able to run on the treadmill for just under 2 hours then came home and ran outside. The air was brutal cold at 5 degrees. I just needed to finish a long slow. I had an appointment at 1:00. I almost never make a plan on a long run day, but I couldn’t avoid it. I told myself I would run until 12:30 and finish the remaining 7 miles after the appointment. After the run I didn’t have enough recovery food and rush to the meeting. Poor planning. I didn’t eat right or hydrate right. The meeting went longer than anticipated and I didn’t have enough in me to finish the remaining miles. I was done for the day. 

Monday. I woke up knowing I just needed to do the miles. Just do 18 miles no matter what. I needed to run outside and I knew it was going to warm up so I waited until 11 to start when it would be 20 degrees. I got caught up with work stuff and cleaning and suddenly 11 turned into Noon. I knew the first part of the run would be trails with a goal of 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I had the perfect route in mind. When I hit the trail it was like running in sand because the snow got too soft. I kept going, thinking of the route, and how good it was going to be to run in the snowy woods. The trial got harder and harder. I was fatigued from yesterday, which was the point of this run, but everything was coming unglued. My brain said go home, my legs said get off the trails. I got off the trail and did a hilly road loop back to my house to regroup. On the way, I just wanted to be done. I was miserable. And, I gave into my brain and stopped. 

This is all terrible. I want a do-over. I want to be better. I want to do everything I say I’m going to do. Today I want a chance to start over. 

Lessons Learned:

  • Plan food in advance: food for before, during and after the run.
  • Don’t make any plans on back-to-back run days.
  • Make a new playlist to stay motivated.
  • Regardless of weather, just run outside, damn it.
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Training Update – It’s Cold

It was a good week.

The weather was cold, snowy and windy. But I did every training session:

All Green

All Green! Total Miles: 54

Next week is even harder. 61 miles. Monday and Tuesday back to back long runs and the weather looks terrible. 

The weather this week in Concord.

Despite this I feel positive: I’m healthy, not injured and I feel good. 

5 weeks to Antelope Canyon 50 Mile.

12 week to White Lake Ultra.

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Training Update – It’s Going to be a Big Week

This week is big miles. 

It’s starting out pretty decent:

Total miles this week: 54. 

Monday’s run was half trail and half pavement. It was pure joy running on packed snow in the woods and not seeing a soul. 

Somehow I managed to run 21 miles on Monday and wake up to run 15 miles today. This morning I wanted to go back to bed about an hour before needing to leave for the run. So I napped until just minutes before heading out the door. It seemed to work. I started out feeling pretty good. It was a mental training run the entire time.

I feel pretty good right now, on my sofa with my feet up. I’m looking forward to not running tomorrow. Plus it is going to be COLD tomorrow and there is a storm coming in a few days. I dread the treadmill so I’m hoping to get miles in when it warms up.

One thing that kept me running both days was remembering a motivational sign I saw at my gym. 

Rest don’t quit. Good advice.

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Leadville Training Update

I’m signed up for the Leadville series: marathon, 50M and 100M, and training is going pretty well: 

Red=Bad
Yellow = Not Bad/Not Good
Green=Good

Not 100% green but I will take it for a win.

It’s been cold and I had a few sessions on the treadmill. I just dread the treadmill. Coach says watch a movie or listen to a book. I’m not sure those options are possible but I do have to learn to make the best of it. Similar to the 24 hour race in April when I have to run 3 mile loops for 24 hours, mental prep is on the ticket this week, and probably for the next 6 weeks. I’m not looking forward to the treadmill or 3 mile loops. But then again, who actually looks forward to running 100 miles. Ha. 

I haven’t been hiking in the mountains yet this winter and I’m hopeful that I figure out a 4,000 footer next week. This week is a training rest week. The plan is to get every mile in and stay relaxed. Next week miles will go up and I’m excited. I can’t see the schedule yet on Training Peaks and that might be a good thing. 

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2022 Goals & Dreams

I had this image in my journal at the beginning of the year and for the most part I followed these principles.

Experiencing Joy. So much this year brought me joy: travel, adventure, triathlon, friends, work, dogs, hiking, running, skiing, biking.

I really like this quote for this coming year. It was shared by a Facebook friend:

I thought waking up at 5:30 was a win but most days I still don’t get everything done. When I wake up at 4:30 I get everything done.

I’ve never been someone who can follow a routine but I do like a schedule. I know that the by planning the night before what my day will be, with time constraints, worked. I’m going to do that again.  

This year I am going to continue to dream big, train hard and demand more of myself despite all the noise in the world.

2022 is going to be awesome, hard, fun, difficult.

I’m excited for the next eight months of Leadville training and racing. I’m excited to have a coach who will get me to the finish line. I’m excited about moving to the mountains.  I’m excited for all the unknown joy and happiness that will come this year.

Happy New Year, friends.