Tag: running blog

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Training for Ultra Week 1

My Tunnel Hill shirt came in this week. Mandatory photo above. 

The week didn’t really pan out exactly like the plan but I’m happy about the results as I write this on Saturday afternoon. 

Monday –  Weights
Tuesday – Run 4
Wednesday – Walk 3 miles
Thursday – Weights

Then on Friday I ran 4 miles instead of yesterday’s planned 5 miles, due to work and other appointments. 

Friday’s run finally felt good and I didn’t walk as much as in prior  weeks; and I just felt good and somewhat strong.  I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to feel good running. 

When I ran on Tuesday I decided to run in my compression socks to see if it helps my ankle pain. I usually only use them for recovery. On Friday I didn’t run with compression socks, but I think that is a key component for future runs.

Saturday was an 8 mile run and I felt mainly good. My pace for the long runs is getting faster. I feel stronger already.

Past Long Run Paces

4/4 8.00 mi, 1:49:52, 13:44 /mi
3/29 7.00 mi, 1:30:03, 12:52 /mi
3/22 6.56 mi, 1:31:00, 13:52 /mi

It’s amazing what happens when you just keep showing up.

I’m happy to be on this journey to 100 miles and excited to see how everything plays out the next seven months.  I’ve always been someone that needs something to look forward to, and I haven’t had something for a while. This feels really good.

Running Song of the Week: I Can Do Hard Things

Best lyrics:

It’s a lot to look at, all that I got. It’s a lot to see who I am and am not. But I can laugh and I can love and I can dream. I can win or I can lose, it’s all the same. I still dance, and I’ll sing in the pain, And I can do hard things

The Song of the Week feature of my training reports is to show that I’m building my race day playlist. 

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Why I Signed Up for 100 Miles (Again)

This year, for my birthday, which is over seven months away, I signed up for something.

My final attempt at a 100-mile run at 55 years old. I will toe the line when I turn 56.

Thirty hours. One flat trail. Just me, my mind, and the question I’ve apparently decided I’m not done answering yet: Can I finish a 100 mile race and get the buckle? 

The truth is, I’m not the same runner I was the last time I took on this distance. I’m a little older.  A little slower. A wee bit heavier. And, a little more aware of what 100 miles actually demands physically, mentally, emotionally. 

And still… I signed up anyway.

Not because I think it will be easy. Not because I’m chasing some perfect finish time. But because there’s something unfinished here. Something that keeps tapping me on the shoulder, quietly but persistently, saying: You’re not done yet.

So here we are.

This time feels different, though.

I’m going to write a weekly training update, similar to what I did while training for the Leadville 100, which I didn’t finish. 

I’m committing to showing up every week, sharing the highs, the lows, the small wins, and the messy middle. Not just for anyone reading, but for myself. 

I want this to be fun, too.

Somewhere along the way, in the grind of miles and expectations, it’s easy to forget that choosing to run 100 miles is a little unhinged.

AND, also kind of magical. It’s a privilege to test your limits like this and to have a healthy body and mind to try. 

So this is me, choosing both: the challenge and the joy.

If nothing else, this will be a record of showing up and being consistent. 

On my birthday, I’ll step onto that flat trail with 30 hours ahead of me and a version of myself that’s been built, one week at a time, right here.

Let’s see what happens.

—Week 0 begins now.