I decided to keep a training log, something I never do. I wanted to keep track of how many hours I spent training for this and how many miles I ran a week and how much I cross trained. I realize this is hardly a new concept, but for me it was new. It all started when someone gave me a goofy calendar. I decided to make that calendar into something and so it began, my training log.
Training for a flattish 100M has been interesting. I've put in more miles that usual, but probably not much more time. It takes a lot longer to get in 25 miles on the trails than it does to get in 25 on the road. But then the road beats me up and I feel as if I've run a hell of a lot longer. I did more cross training than usual, ran plenty of 50k's, on the trail and on the road. I'm also planning my wedding, so fun things mixed in that take time as well. Let's see how it goes, Umstead is just a few weeks away.
The nice thing about going into Umstead is that pretty much, I hit my training goals. To name a few, we ran around the lake twice, and ran 50 miles at Lake Youngs. The 50 miles went ok, we ran 3 loops with our friend John and he left us to run the last 2 laps dependent on our iPODS. When we were running with him, he said, 'when you finish 5 loops, you'll be at about 47 miles, why don't you just run 50'. I had of course thought of this but decided to stick it in my back pocket and pull is out as we rounded into the last turn of the last loop. But it was now out of the bag. It was a goal we had to attain. As John left us, he said, 'while you guys are still running, I'll be taking a nap on my couch after my wife makes some soup for me and I pig out.' Thanks....thanks a lot. Well, as we rounded the last corner of the last loop, I looked at my watch and it read 47+ miles. Owen and I looked at each other, gave the nod and we kept running. Within 2 minutes is was so dark that we could hardly see and our lights were in the car. However I could see that the battery was getting low and I did not want the evidence of 50 miles to diminish before I could get a photo and send it to John. So we rushed to the car, tried to find out lights but could only find a small pen light. So basically we ran up and down this little road until we hit the 50 mile mark. And literally, it was up and down. We would run up, turn around, run down, turn around run up, repeat.....it felt like hill repeats after the long day but on fresh legs it probably feels like a bump in the road. I kept trying to run fast so the battery didn't die, it literally was a race against time. I heard the last beep signifying 50 miles and BAM, we were done. Ran to the car to grab my phone, took a photo and phew....The evidence is all here!
The 2 runs around the lake were actually kind of fun, an adventure. We have biked around the lake countless time and so it was interesting to run it. The hills are felt much more on the feet than on the bike, that is for sure.
We started out going through the bike tunnel
Following the bike trail
2 comments:
Way to juggle fun and training! Congrats on the log. I, on the other hand, for the first time ever kind of not putting things into my book (though I do have it). Every other week I frantically try to remember what day was what, and scribble something, not nearly as obsessive as I used to:) I think this whole injury shook me off and realigned some things. I hope you have a great time at Umstead, I have fond memories of my first 100, and that the weather cooperates. Also, good luck planning a wedding! WHat's the date?
I have always wanted to do that run around Lake Washington. Good luck at Umstead! I will be following along if the website gives live updates.
Post a Comment