GRT 50k Training Week 11

A wonderful recovery week! Thankfully Week 11 was a mileage cut-back week, and while I still had hard effort runs, it felt good to have a reprieve from higher mileage and a long weekend run.

Here is what Week 11 looked like for me:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 45-65 min easy run
Wednesday: 70-90 min Hill workout, Sports Massage
Thursday: XT
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 25k trail race
Sunday: Rest, Jasyoga - Recovery Boost for Runners
Total: 27.63 miles
* McMillian 3hab, Strength, Core programs 2-3 times per week

Having a recovery week that coincided with a race was an unplanned lucky coincidence. While I had always intended the race to be used as a supported training run, I also did not want to go into it with dead legs. I moved around my Hill workout so that it fell on Wednesday so I could have two non-running days before the race. This was a really smart move as the Hill workout was a hard effort.

All of my Hill workouts thus far have been shorter efforts, but this one consisted of running for about 2.5 miles, then doing 8 x 65 second uphills at 5k race pace, and then having to run the 2.5 miles home. Overall the run went really well, but I was tired after finishing my last repeat and I really had to focus on pushing through the exhaustion to make it home. My hamstrings were on fire after the hills, so I was lucky I had scheduled my monthly sports massage right afterwards and I walked out of the therapist's office feeling like a new person. 

Saturday was the Paleozoic Trail Race series - Devonian Spring. I ran the 25k distance and had a fantastic time. I definitely didn't have dead legs and ran it faster than a training run, but I felt so great. I practiced my fueling and hydration strategies that I plan to use for my 50k, and I was in a perfect positive mental state. I enjoyed being out on the course with a few of my Oiselle IL teammates, as well as the amazing trail running community who are always so supportive. I found myself running many of the hills rather than walking, and came to find out that there was more elevation than the Fall series I ran back in November. This was positive in that my hill work has been paying off and I can handle the hills more than I could last fall. I had a strong finish, despite the uphill battle for the last half mile, but I think I was more proud of the fact that I did not have a single negative thought in my mind. Even during one of my slowest miles where I found myself walking uphill on the mountain bike track which was very technical, I remained positive and knew that I would have many other miles to run strong. I was right, and I finished this 25k course 3 minutes faster than the fall course. Time really wasn't a goal for me, but it is nice to see some improvements, and know that I have such a strong performance in me. This gives me a lot of confidence to continue my training.

25k Finisher!

Runner Highs:

• Confidence: This week I found my confidence. Between the difficult hill run and my race, I finally feel like the hard work I am doing is paying off. Anything can happen on race day, but this week helped cement that I am doing enough, and I am doing what is right for me and my training.
• Mental State: I really pushed the positive self talk during the race, and made a point to smile and talk to each runner I saw out on the race course. I refused to panic when I had a slow mile, or when I almost wiped out a few times. During one near miss I recalled how I let a fall during my 50k last year completely devastate me and put me in a dark place. I told myself I would not go to the place again. I also refused to do the death march to the finish line. I wanted to finish and feel good about what I experienced that day, and I absolutely did.

Challenges:

• Prehab: I definitely should have done prehab before the race since I felt a little stiff and sore, but I was rushing around to get ready and didn't make the time. I need to make a point to do this, especially before the 50k. 
• Pacing: While I think I did a decent job with pacing for the race, I definitely started out too fast and also had a few other runner high moments on the race course where I ran too fast. This is all fine and good for a 25k, but not in 50k. I need to continue to work on slowing it down, especially early on. 

The extra recovery day this week was wonderful, but with only 7 weeks until race day, it is time to get back to work. I have back to back long runs again this coming week, with three long runs coming up in Week 13. Rest and recovery are going to be key, as well as making a point to eat and hydrate properly.

This uphill finish seemed much worse from my perspective