Headed to Hennepin Week 15
I received the remainder of my training plan from my coach this week and it was crazy how close I am to race day! It didn't seem real until I realized how few weeks are left. Thankfully the Evergreen Lakes 50k was my longest training run and each week decreases in mileage and time more and more from here on out. As a friend reminded me, the work is already done and the focus right now is on rest and recovery from the 50k, and putting in the time on my feet until race day.
I felt very sore and stiff on Monday and thankfully my coach did not give me any speedwork this week. I started off the week with easy runs on Tuesday and Thursday, which felt challenging despite the low mileage, but I was pleasantly surprised that I felt better than I did. I remember taking about a week off after the GRT 50k and while I could have used one more day of rest, I was able to run easy without any pain. I spent a lot of time focusing on eating and drinking a lot of anti-inflammatory foods like berries, tart cherries, turmeric, and ginger. I finally was able to get into my massage therapist on Thursday, and felt like a new woman. I also skipped my usual strength and core work on Tuesday and did some Jasyoga instead as I was concerned some of the strength work would only increase the soreness I had. I also started the week still very dehydrated from the race which made me feel very weak and tired, but this improved as time went on.
I was a little nervous for the long run, seeing as I wasn't sure if I would be ready to run several hours again so soon but I surprised myself by going out and completing 18 miles on Saturday. I definitely overestimated my ability and should have stopped at 15 as my legs were lead and I had aches and pains resurfacing from the race. But it did prove to me that I can do it - that my endurance has improved and I can go out and run a 50k one week and turn around and run 18 miles a week later. Sunday I felt horrible though - very fatigued and had a nasty headache. I ran on the lower end of my assigned time and while I was hoping to go a bit further, I'm glad I listened to my body and stopped when I did.
Sunday I went to the same Breaking Through the Wall marathon event I went to last year where I met Scott Jurek. Even though I am not running the Chicago Marathon, I was really looking forward to hearing Deena Kastor speak after reading her book, and listening to Steph Bruce who has always been a favorite of mine. I was not disappointed and very inspired. Deena is such an amazing person and everything she said really resonated with me. She actually got choked up at one point when talking about finishing a hard race, and it shows the passion and love for the sport. I appreciated she made time to talk to me about positive mental talk and I know I will use a lot of what she mentioned in my upcoming 50 mile race.
I will get some speedwork again next week, but otherwise it is pretty much all easy running and less mileage, which makes me ready to shift into a rest and recovery mode for the remainder of the plan. It is always hard sometimes to enter the Peak phase and wonder if I did enough, if I could have done more. I have to resist the urge to run more and put in more miles, but I know I have done the work and what was asked of me during training. While there are moments where I had expected more, I have fully trusted my coach and I do remind myself of the many weeks where I had a really hard time adapting or when back to back long runs took everything out of me. I think the time just passed by very quickly and I wasn't ready to be at this point having not had a super successful 22 mile or 50k long run. While I blame the heat, I also know that the heat may very well be a factor and I can't use those as excuses. I have to hope that my mental strength and determination will be enough to carry me through when the time comes and I do not physically feel my best.
My coach and I are also working these next few weeks to fine tune my race day nutrition and hydration plan so that I can hopefully avoid the nausea and severe dehydration I experienced. I am glad I still have a few long runs left where I can test a few new fuel sources to see if something seems to work better. I also ordered a larger bladder for my hydration vest so I can carry more water or Nuun with me. I know there will be ample aid stations during the race, but in the event I am drinking more frequently, it will be a nice reassurance to have.
I felt very sore and stiff on Monday and thankfully my coach did not give me any speedwork this week. I started off the week with easy runs on Tuesday and Thursday, which felt challenging despite the low mileage, but I was pleasantly surprised that I felt better than I did. I remember taking about a week off after the GRT 50k and while I could have used one more day of rest, I was able to run easy without any pain. I spent a lot of time focusing on eating and drinking a lot of anti-inflammatory foods like berries, tart cherries, turmeric, and ginger. I finally was able to get into my massage therapist on Thursday, and felt like a new woman. I also skipped my usual strength and core work on Tuesday and did some Jasyoga instead as I was concerned some of the strength work would only increase the soreness I had. I also started the week still very dehydrated from the race which made me feel very weak and tired, but this improved as time went on.
I was a little nervous for the long run, seeing as I wasn't sure if I would be ready to run several hours again so soon but I surprised myself by going out and completing 18 miles on Saturday. I definitely overestimated my ability and should have stopped at 15 as my legs were lead and I had aches and pains resurfacing from the race. But it did prove to me that I can do it - that my endurance has improved and I can go out and run a 50k one week and turn around and run 18 miles a week later. Sunday I felt horrible though - very fatigued and had a nasty headache. I ran on the lower end of my assigned time and while I was hoping to go a bit further, I'm glad I listened to my body and stopped when I did.
Sunday I went to the same Breaking Through the Wall marathon event I went to last year where I met Scott Jurek. Even though I am not running the Chicago Marathon, I was really looking forward to hearing Deena Kastor speak after reading her book, and listening to Steph Bruce who has always been a favorite of mine. I was not disappointed and very inspired. Deena is such an amazing person and everything she said really resonated with me. She actually got choked up at one point when talking about finishing a hard race, and it shows the passion and love for the sport. I appreciated she made time to talk to me about positive mental talk and I know I will use a lot of what she mentioned in my upcoming 50 mile race.
I will get some speedwork again next week, but otherwise it is pretty much all easy running and less mileage, which makes me ready to shift into a rest and recovery mode for the remainder of the plan. It is always hard sometimes to enter the Peak phase and wonder if I did enough, if I could have done more. I have to resist the urge to run more and put in more miles, but I know I have done the work and what was asked of me during training. While there are moments where I had expected more, I have fully trusted my coach and I do remind myself of the many weeks where I had a really hard time adapting or when back to back long runs took everything out of me. I think the time just passed by very quickly and I wasn't ready to be at this point having not had a super successful 22 mile or 50k long run. While I blame the heat, I also know that the heat may very well be a factor and I can't use those as excuses. I have to hope that my mental strength and determination will be enough to carry me through when the time comes and I do not physically feel my best.
My coach and I are also working these next few weeks to fine tune my race day nutrition and hydration plan so that I can hopefully avoid the nausea and severe dehydration I experienced. I am glad I still have a few long runs left where I can test a few new fuel sources to see if something seems to work better. I also ordered a larger bladder for my hydration vest so I can carry more water or Nuun with me. I know there will be ample aid stations during the race, but in the event I am drinking more frequently, it will be a nice reassurance to have.
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 40-60 min easy
Wednesday: XT
Thursday: 45-60 min easy
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 14-18 miles long run
Sunday: 40-60 min easy
Total: 29.77 miles
Thursday: 45-60 min easy
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 14-18 miles long run
Sunday: 40-60 min easy
Total: 29.77 miles
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