Headed to Hennepin Week 8
Welcome to the first week of the 50 mile specific training phase! Thankfully Week 8 was a recovery week, so not a bad start to the real heart of the training plan. When I first started working with my coach she asked about any vacations or time off that I had planned and was able to incorporate that into my training schedule. This week happened to be my annual camping trip and rather than try to cram long runs into the week, she scheduled me for recovery.
I started the week with a sports massage that I was a few weeks late on and it was wonderful. I don't realize how much I need this body work until I don't have it and I notice a big difference in how my inflammation is managed. There is only so much that can be accomplished with foam rolling and the stick!
Speedwork this week was a ladder fartlek, which is one of my favorite workouts to do. I find the ladder concept really fun, and while it is a challenge to complete, the time flies by literally. The ladder was 1,2,3,4,3,2,1 minutes at mile race pace, with 1 minute recovery after the 1 and 2 minute fartleks and 2 minutes recovery after the 3 and 4 minute fartlek. I was definitely beat by the cool down, but I really liked this particular workout.
By Thursday I was tired after running each day, so my long run was more challenging than it normally would be after a day of rest. The humidity was starting to get to me, especially after being in the desert last weekend, and I found it really exhausting. The high point of the run was stopping to let 3 deer, one of them a fawn, cross the path. It was a really neat moment and it made up for how poorly the run was going.
For some reason I was feeling insecure regarding where I am at with my training. For a 50 miler, I feel as if I haven't really been "training" yet. With the Chicago marathon just one day later than the Hennepin, I feel like I am behind where a marathoner would be. This was just my own feelings of insecurity as I reviewed my training from last year and I seem to be about where I was then. Sure, a 50 is just under 2 Chicago marathons (yikes!), but similar to my training now, the majority of the work and the long runs were in August and September, and I am probably exactly where I should be. I communicated this to my coach so she knew I was feeling some nerves and I wanted to be honest, but in reality I am playing the self comparison game which never works to my advantage.
Camping was a nice mental and physical break as usual. I always view this trip as the midpoint of training, where things get serious when I come back. I have had some solid weeks up until this point, but nothing that has been overly taxing. I know the back to back long runs are coming up, as well as the most difficult weeks of the plan, so I am glad for some rest and recovery, but I am also ready for what's to come.
Monday: 30-45 min easy run, Sports Massage!
Tuesday: Fartlek ladder workout
Wednesday: 30-45 min easy run, XT
Thursday: 75-90 min long run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Total: 20.11 miles
I started the week with a sports massage that I was a few weeks late on and it was wonderful. I don't realize how much I need this body work until I don't have it and I notice a big difference in how my inflammation is managed. There is only so much that can be accomplished with foam rolling and the stick!
 |
| Death Valley |
Speedwork this week was a ladder fartlek, which is one of my favorite workouts to do. I find the ladder concept really fun, and while it is a challenge to complete, the time flies by literally. The ladder was 1,2,3,4,3,2,1 minutes at mile race pace, with 1 minute recovery after the 1 and 2 minute fartleks and 2 minutes recovery after the 3 and 4 minute fartlek. I was definitely beat by the cool down, but I really liked this particular workout.
By Thursday I was tired after running each day, so my long run was more challenging than it normally would be after a day of rest. The humidity was starting to get to me, especially after being in the desert last weekend, and I found it really exhausting. The high point of the run was stopping to let 3 deer, one of them a fawn, cross the path. It was a really neat moment and it made up for how poorly the run was going.
 |
| Death Valley |
For some reason I was feeling insecure regarding where I am at with my training. For a 50 miler, I feel as if I haven't really been "training" yet. With the Chicago marathon just one day later than the Hennepin, I feel like I am behind where a marathoner would be. This was just my own feelings of insecurity as I reviewed my training from last year and I seem to be about where I was then. Sure, a 50 is just under 2 Chicago marathons (yikes!), but similar to my training now, the majority of the work and the long runs were in August and September, and I am probably exactly where I should be. I communicated this to my coach so she knew I was feeling some nerves and I wanted to be honest, but in reality I am playing the self comparison game which never works to my advantage.
Camping was a nice mental and physical break as usual. I always view this trip as the midpoint of training, where things get serious when I come back. I have had some solid weeks up until this point, but nothing that has been overly taxing. I know the back to back long runs are coming up, as well as the most difficult weeks of the plan, so I am glad for some rest and recovery, but I am also ready for what's to come.
Monday: 30-45 min easy run, Sports Massage!
Tuesday: Fartlek ladder workout
Wednesday: 30-45 min easy run, XT
Thursday: 75-90 min long run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Total: 20.11 miles
Smart move! I opted to take things easy the week I was in Portland. What's the fun in going on vacation if you spend the whole time running?!
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