Headed to Hennepin Week 16
This is it, the final week! It is hard to believe after 16 weeks I will be running my first 50 mile race in 6 days. I alternate between feelings of excitement and terror, which is completely normal, but I have been an emotional wreck. As much as I love the taper, I have felt horrible the past two weeks.
My coach was concerned with lingering fatigue, so I decided to focus on running on the lowest end of my workout ranges each day this week in hopes that it would give me extra rest. Tuesday was our Oiselle IL Volee group run, and I felt the fatigue appear at the end of my 5 miles. I thought Thursday's fartlek would be a good run as I usually enjoy the structured speedwork, but it went horribly. I met the paces I needed to for the 3 repeats, but it was my general lack of energy and focus during the workout that was concerning. My legs felt like lead and it should not have been so difficult to meet those paces for 3 - 5 min repeats. I came home from that run frustrated over how it went and even more concerned about my fatigue level.
The weather on Saturday was perfect for running, but I held myself back a bit from running the full 90 minutes, and I am glad that I showed restraint and used my brain instead of listening to my heart. My heart was also heavy as I learned of a family member who had passed away the night before, much too soon. I was reflecting on that a lot during my run and it was not the race day visualization that I thought it would be, but it also helped me appreciate the fact that I am here now, doing the thing that I love, and I have no regrets.
Sunday was our Oiselle IL Volee marathon bRUNch, and as I was running low mileage, I was able to run along the lakefront path instead of the marathon course as others were doing. I really enjoyed the change in scenery, as well as the companionship as a lot of us were expressing our anxiety and nerves for our various upcoming races. While a lot of us are running different races/distances, it really struck me that we share the same fears and that is what connects us. It doesn't matter if I am running 50 miles vs the 26. that others are running this weekend, we have the same doubts, anxiety, nerves that we have to work through.
This week I plan to focus on getting extra rest each night, as well as fueling myself well with an extra focus on hydration. I already have a few checklists going for drop bags and nutrition for the race, but until I know what the weather will be for sure, I will not finalize anything until Thursday and Friday morning. I also need to sit down with my husband who will be crewing for me to make sure he knows what I need from him, especially since this race will require more of him than any other race I've run yet. I am hoping that I can keep my stress level low, despite having family come into town for the funeral, and with a lot going on at work. I am trying to focus on the things I can control, and deal with things unplanned as they come up the best that I can. My runs this week are very limited and I plan to run as conservatively as possible and take care of every niggle that I feel even if it is likely in my head.
You can expect a final post from me later in the week as I approach race day!
My coach was concerned with lingering fatigue, so I decided to focus on running on the lowest end of my workout ranges each day this week in hopes that it would give me extra rest. Tuesday was our Oiselle IL Volee group run, and I felt the fatigue appear at the end of my 5 miles. I thought Thursday's fartlek would be a good run as I usually enjoy the structured speedwork, but it went horribly. I met the paces I needed to for the 3 repeats, but it was my general lack of energy and focus during the workout that was concerning. My legs felt like lead and it should not have been so difficult to meet those paces for 3 - 5 min repeats. I came home from that run frustrated over how it went and even more concerned about my fatigue level.
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| unexpected fallen tree during my group run! |
The weather on Saturday was perfect for running, but I held myself back a bit from running the full 90 minutes, and I am glad that I showed restraint and used my brain instead of listening to my heart. My heart was also heavy as I learned of a family member who had passed away the night before, much too soon. I was reflecting on that a lot during my run and it was not the race day visualization that I thought it would be, but it also helped me appreciate the fact that I am here now, doing the thing that I love, and I have no regrets.
Sunday was our Oiselle IL Volee marathon bRUNch, and as I was running low mileage, I was able to run along the lakefront path instead of the marathon course as others were doing. I really enjoyed the change in scenery, as well as the companionship as a lot of us were expressing our anxiety and nerves for our various upcoming races. While a lot of us are running different races/distances, it really struck me that we share the same fears and that is what connects us. It doesn't matter if I am running 50 miles vs the 26. that others are running this weekend, we have the same doubts, anxiety, nerves that we have to work through.
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| Marathon bRUNch |
You can expect a final post from me later in the week as I approach race day!
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 50-70 min easy
Wednesday: XT
Thursday: Fartlek workout
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 75-90 min easy
Sunday: 40-50 min easy
Total: 20.61 miles
Thursday: Fartlek workout
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 75-90 min easy
Sunday: 40-50 min easy
Total: 20.61 miles
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