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.

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.

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.

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.

This is it, the final week! Race day is almost here and overall, I am feeling ready. Between checking the weather forecast hourly (alternating between rain and heat) and checking items off my to-do and packing lists, the time has flown by. 

A wonderful recovery week! Thankfully Week 11 was a mileage cut-back week, and while I still had hard effort runs, it felt good to have a reprieve from higher mileage and a long weekend run.

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.

We are now at less than 24 hours until the marathon! How quickly this week passed. My training this week was very light, with a focus on mobility, rest, and nutrition. Overall this taper was much needed after some hard weeks of training, and it is one of the first where I can say that I truly enjoyed all the extra rest.

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.

I did it! I ran my first 50k on Saturday. It has taken a few days for me to reflect on the race. I experienced so many intense feelings within one race that it was very difficult for me to even understand or identify how I feel about that day. I listened to a podcast a few months ago that talked about failure. How we often are afraid to do things where failure is a real possibility. Often times in training, we select plans or goals that are challenging enough that we feel pushed, but where we can finish feeling satisfied that we accomplished what we set out to do. We rarely select races or goals where we could fail, and as a result, we never learn to be better. Failure is not bad. Failure is not the end of the world. When we do fail, we learn how to be better. We learn that it is ok to fail, but then we pick ourselves up and try again. I knew signing up for a 50k raised the real risk of actual failure. I felt this more than any other race I had signed up for. Contrary to my fear of...

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.

On Saturday I completed the F^3 Lake Half Marathon and have finally thawed out! In all seriousness, I really enjoyed the race and while cold, the weather was tolerable. For those wanting the quick story, I did not PR but had one of my most consistently paced races to date. Read on for the full details of race day.

Two days until the F^3 Lake Half Marathon. My packet has been picked up, I ran my last shake-out run, and have updated my wardrobe choices several times as the weather has changed. Yes, it will definitely be fucking freezing frozen, as the name of the race indicates (F^3...get it?).

The F^3 Lake Half Marathon is just 6 days away. While the weather for Saturday is going to be drastically different from the 58 degrees I enjoyed this past week, I am feeling ready. This taper hasn't "tapered" as much as others right before a race, but I am looking forward to a lighter few days leading up to Saturday.

I cannot believe that after almost 20 weeks of training, the marathon is over. The post-marathon blues have set in and I feel a little sad that this major goal has come and gone after thinking and dreaming about it for so many months. There are never enough words to really summarize what it is like to run a marathon. It is one of those things like child birth that you can really only understand after you have done it, but I am going to try my best to put my experience into words that I can share.

The final week! I will write about the actual race another time, but I will say that overall it was a great experience. I did not achieve the time that I wanted or trained for, but I am proud of the 6 minute PR I accomplished.

TWO DAYS!! Or as the clock reminds me, less than 44 hours! It's happening!

Tomorrow I am running the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 race which is a 10 mile trail race around a local forest preserve. This will be my third year running and I am looking forward to it. 2015 Xtreme 10 My pre-race routine 1.  Check the weather! Most runners constantly check the race day forecast weeks in advance of a race, but it is important to know what you will be facing. This will help you prepare mentally for what you might experience, and you can begin planning your race day outfit. 2. Plan your outfit and lay out your race clothes. This avoids scrambling around in the early hours of the morning before the race searching for what you want to wear. The weather will dictate what you will wear, so plan accordingly. Hot races usually require few layers, sweat absorbent material, and a hat or visor to shield your face. Cold races may mean wearing several layers that you can shed as your body gets warmer during the race. In the event of rain, plan for waterproof layers an...