Earth Day 50k Training Update
What a week! I started my new job, became a morning runner, and ran one of my longest training runs in a while. Needless to say, I am exhausted! I am still working on balancing a new job, training for my first ultra, and everything else in life, but I know that each week will get easier.
Before I jump into my training for the past week, I wanted to share my February overall stats. I ran 96.66 miles, which is less than January but not too bad considering the rest and recovery I took after the F^3 Lake Half Marathon.
Here is what my week looked like:
Sunday: 5 easy miles, Jasyoga - Preventative medicine for your lower legs/feet
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 miles, 30 minutes of core work
Wednesday: Speed: 5 min warmup, 3 rounds of 2 min on/1 min off/4 min on/2 min off, 5 min cooldown
Thursday: 2 miles, 20 min of pilates
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 18 miles long, Jasyoga - Quick Post-LR Rest
Before I share my observations, I wanted to speak to the ultra plan/s that I am following for my first ultra. Knowing that I am also starting a new job and routine, I am currently following two plans. The first is "Running Your First Ultra" by Krissy Moehl. This book is great and the instruction for each of the plans is well detailed. I am also integrating parts of Competitor's 50k training plan as well. The reason for this is that I may need an additional rest day, and I also like the time based component of the Competitor plan. The two plans align very well in terms of progressive long runs, but switching to time based runs during the week is better for me since I am a slower runner and it is easier to run by time vs mileage before work.
Ultra training is much different than marathon training. A 50k is more than "just" 6 miles further than a marathon. A lot of the training is focused on strengthening the core, as well as hill workouts. The most obvious difference is that the long runs extend much further than my typical marathon training with Hansons in the past. I haven't done a long run further than 16 miles in almost 2 years, and it felt strange yet exhilarating.
Highlights/observations of the week:
Before I jump into my training for the past week, I wanted to share my February overall stats. I ran 96.66 miles, which is less than January but not too bad considering the rest and recovery I took after the F^3 Lake Half Marathon.
Here is what my week looked like:
Sunday: 5 easy miles, Jasyoga - Preventative medicine for your lower legs/feet
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 miles, 30 minutes of core work
Wednesday: Speed: 5 min warmup, 3 rounds of 2 min on/1 min off/4 min on/2 min off, 5 min cooldown
Thursday: 2 miles, 20 min of pilates
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 18 miles long, Jasyoga - Quick Post-LR Rest
Before I share my observations, I wanted to speak to the ultra plan/s that I am following for my first ultra. Knowing that I am also starting a new job and routine, I am currently following two plans. The first is "Running Your First Ultra" by Krissy Moehl. This book is great and the instruction for each of the plans is well detailed. I am also integrating parts of Competitor's 50k training plan as well. The reason for this is that I may need an additional rest day, and I also like the time based component of the Competitor plan. The two plans align very well in terms of progressive long runs, but switching to time based runs during the week is better for me since I am a slower runner and it is easier to run by time vs mileage before work.
Ultra training is much different than marathon training. A 50k is more than "just" 6 miles further than a marathon. A lot of the training is focused on strengthening the core, as well as hill workouts. The most obvious difference is that the long runs extend much further than my typical marathon training with Hansons in the past. I haven't done a long run further than 16 miles in almost 2 years, and it felt strange yet exhilarating.
Highlights/observations of the week:
- Running in the dark takes away a lot of the "fun" component to running. While it is not as bad as I expected, I do not enjoy it. I like to see my surroundings and enjoy nature. This is hard to do when it is pitch black out. I also have a hard time pacing in the dark.
- The Jasyoga 26.2 video collection that was released this week is amazing. I really enjoyed many of the videos that are focused more on long run and high mileage recovery.
- It has been difficult to switch from the Hansons Marathon Method training mode to something new. But I keep telling myself that this is an ultra, not a marathon.
- After sitting in an office all week, hitting the trails on Saturday for the long run made it so much more enjoyable and I appreciated it more than in the past.
- I tried my new Ultimate Direction Jenny Jurek hydration vest and loved it. This also helped me fine tune my hydration more and I was able to complete my long run without any nausea or dizziness. I alternated between nuun in one bladder and water in the second bladder. I incorporated "real" food in addition to gels to put something in my stomach that was not full of sugar and overly sweet. I felt this made a huge difference in how I felt during the run.
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| Long run with a new hydration vest! |
Overall, this week was rough. My entire life suddenly changed in the blink of an eye. It was easy to get discouraged and frustrated, but it is not like me to give up or throw in the towel. After listening to a podcast regarding the "Ultra mindset", I truly believe that challenges like this are what make you successful in running and life. If I gave up the second I was tired or sore in a marathon, I would never finish. The challenges I now face trying to balance training for an ultra and a new job will only help me succeed during the actual ultra race. I will know what I have been through and invested myself in, and it will help me through the difficult moments of the race.
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