Aesthete Runner

ONE WEEK!! In some ways I feel like this point in training would never come, but in other ways it has flown by. Right now I am feeling good in my first week of taper, and mentally I am excited and ready for race day.

That's right...ONE day until my first 50k. I woke up this morning after sleeping in on a day off, and it seemed unreal that at this time tomorrow, I will be running my first ultramarathon.

As 2016 is coming to an end, I am participating in a linkup with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC to look back on some of my running highlights for the year. Click on the button to read her blog and join the linkup!

I really enjoyed the Olympics more this year than any previous summer Olympics and I think it is due to the many inspiring stories that occurred over the two week games. While there are so many, here are my favorites within the Track & Field sport. Sarah Attar: Running for Saudi Arabia in the women's marathon, Sarah Attar is a runner for Oiselle that I have followed since 2012 when she ran in London. Besides her beautiful photography that I follow on Instagram, she is best known as the first female runner that Saudi Arabia has sent to the Olympics. She was especially inspirational to me this year as she finished in second to last place yet she was still satisfied with her accomplishment and achieved a personal best. Despite knowing she would not receive a medal for her country, she took in the experience and enjoyed the race, often providing words of support to other runners who were struggling in the heat. She may not have won a medal, but she definitely embodies a heart ...

This was my highest mileage week so far and it really brought the cumulative fatigue! Here was my plan for the week: Monday: 5 miles easy Tuesday: Strength - 4 X 1.5 miles with 800m recovery Wednesday: Rest Thursday: 9  8 miles tempo Friday: 5 miles easy Saturday: 8 miles easy Sunday: 10 miles long This felt like the first week in so long where I was able to get every workout in, hence being the highest mileage week so far. The only adjustment I made this week was running an 8 mile tempo instead of 9, and that was due to missing the tempo run the previous week. With strength workouts increasing at the same time as the tempos, this made for an exhausting week of running. Thankfully the hot temperatures that started the week ended up with a cool weekend that made the long run feel easier than the past several. Tempo: It always felt like the weather wanted to throw the hottest temps at me on Thursdays and I was nervous moving up to 9 miles because I had not ...

When I pull out my Hansons book (which is always near by), it is amazing and a bit scary to be on page 2 of the two page plan already! Week 11 was exhausting and really showcases the cumulative fatigue effect the plan is known for. Here is what week 11 looked like for me: Monday: 5 miles easy Tuesday: Strength - 6 X 1 mile, 400 recovery Wednesday: Rest Thursday: 8 miles Tempo  Cross training Friday: 5 miles easy Saturday: 8 miles easy Sunday: 16 miles long Still not a perfect week in terms of completing all of the runs, but pretty darn close. I am not happy I had to miss the tempo run as Tuesdays and Thursdays are really the core of the plan, but the temps were in the high 90's with 90% humidity and I know that it would have done more damage than good to try and force myself to complete the run. Strength: Week 11 is when the strength runs start, and these are runs that are completed at 10 seconds faster than your race pace. Strength workouts are still difficult...