Aesthete Runner

One week ago I was sitting on my couch watching the Chicago marathon feeling sore but on cloud 9. It is hard to believe after so many weeks of hard training, my first 50 mile race has come and gone. Running 50 miles is pretty life changing, and it is strange to think that while I was doing something major, the rest of the world just kept on turning.

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.

Oh Week 11. Where do I begin. I knew this week would be tough, with long back to back runs, but I never expected it to be as hard as it was. I struggled a lot, both physically and mentally and feel a bit raw in the aftermath.

I am in still in the "Introductory" phase of training for the Hennepin Hundred- my first 50 mile race, and Week 6 was a bit of a recovery week after the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 race last week. My coach advised me to run easy and gave me some options for additional recovery if needed. Recovery was difficult this week, and it was one of the few races that I have really struggled to come back from.

Week 5 of training for the Hennepin Hundred also coincided with the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 race I run yearly. I haven't missed the race in 5 years, and while each July I always worry about my fitness level, I keep coming back. Not only did I have a solid week of training, but I also had a great race.

On Saturday I ran the Glacier Ridge Trail 50k in Slippery Rock, PA. This was my 2nd 50k to date, and it was by far the most challenging race I've ever run. It also happened to be one of the most fun and awesome experiences and it is a race I will definitely never forget.

For some reason week 10 has a weight to it. Now we are in the double digits of weeks of training, and it is more of a count down now to race day. Coming off a high mileage week I was glad for a little drop in mileage as well as a reprieve from the back to back long runs for a week.

I made it to the halfway point of training! 18 weeks is a long time to train, and I think it is important to celebrate the mini milestones, especially the half way point. There is still a lot of work to do, and may more miles to put in, but it is exciting to be half way to race day and a celebration of my training.

Week 8 - the last week of the Pre-50k phase and a mileage cut-back week. While I probably didn't take advantage of the cut-back as much as I should have, I enjoyed only having one long run.

I recently was catching up on old episodes of the Trail Runner Nation podcast  and listened to the episode called "Grit: That Space Between Giving Up and Going All In". Not only was I fascinated by the topic, but I really related to much of the dialogue on the podcast.

After a nice cut back week, I was excited to start the next training block. The first 4 weeks of the Glacier Ridge Trail 50k training plan were the "Endurance" phase. With week 5, I began the next 4 weeks of the "Pre-50k" block which is designed to help give me the fitness needed for the more difficult workouts ahead. The Pre-50k phase has a lot of hill workouts, and the ever popular, back-to-back long runs!

Happy 2018! A new year with exciting things ahead. I've been enjoying some "down" time from blogging and lowering my running mileage, but I am excited to start training for my 50k next week.

Yesterday I ran the Paleozoic Cambrian Fall Trail 25k, which was my first race post-Chicago marathon and the longest I have run since the race. Initially I was considering the 50k when I was signing up, and while I would definitely consider the 50k in the future, I'm glad I went "easy" on myself and stuck to the 25k.

A few days have passed since the marathon and I finally am able to put words to my experience. And what an experience it was! I finally ran a marathon and wasn't instantly filled with regrets and wishes of what could have been. Did I meet all my goals? Nope. Am I upset about it? Nope. Read on for my full recap.

Yesterday I ran the Naperville Trails half marathon in Wheaton, IL. It was a great day for a race...and a PR! Almost a year and a half since my last PR, I finally set a new personal best for the half marathon.

I can't believe the marathon is a month away! A few weeks ago it felt like there was still a lot of time to train, but suddenly I look at my training schedule and see that it is almost time to taper. Fall is my favorite time of year, and now that the weather has started to cool off and all things pumpkin have popped up, I am ready to run in my favorite season.

The good news is that I couldn't have picked a better week to have a built-in extra week of training. The bad news is that this week was spent feeling ill with almost no energy for running. I guess it was a good week to learn about how rest and recovery is important. Too often we want to push ourselves to stick to a plan no matter what and from my experience, that always backfires. While I'm not happy I had to spend this week in misery, I'm glad I've learned a thing or two over the years and just accepted that rest is what I needed more than anything.

Today's special post is in honor of Global Running Day. While it may seem like just about every day is a running day for me, there is something to be said about a day to celebrate the sport together.

It's hard to believe that three weeks has passed since my first 50k. In some ways it feels like a lifetime ago, and other days my body reminds me that it wasn't. This past week marked the third and final week of scheduled rest, and I am feeling very ready to jump into maintenance mode. I did very little running and while that feels strange, I tried to enjoy it because I know what's a few months ahead.

I can't believe that it has been 8 days since my 50k! I have recovered pretty quickly considering and feel almost back to my normal self. After 6 days of rest and a wonderful sports massage, I am feeling the itch to get running again. Before I start another training cycle, I really want to reflect on the race in a similar fashion to the Chicago Marathon . I learned a lot from this race, and while there are certainly some hard lessons learned, I also experienced some wonderful moments too.