Ultra Training Update and Summer Training Tips
With special guest Chris, we discuss my training 6 weeks out from race day and our plan for a successful race weekend. Tips on hydration, heat, sweat rate, and other difficulties summer training and racing – and how your bathroom scale can be a handy training tool. Thanks for your support as I continue on this journey! July 19-20th will be here before we know it. Happy running!
National Running Day!
Today is National Running Day! I encourage everyone to go outside and run. You don’t have to run far or fast – a few blocks is better than nothing. Bring a friend, spouse, or the kids! it’s a day to celebrate fitness, fresh air, and taking a little time away from our computers and favorite television shows and to enjoy the long summer days! Happy running!
Ultra Update
The weeks and months leading up to a big race are sometimes the most exciting months you can experience. It’s like waiting for potential college acceptance letters to arrive in the mail, or the anticipation of a birthday party or Christmas for a child. However, unlike those exciting events, the weeks leading up to a goal race include lots of training, hard work, and focus. There is no sitting back and waiting for the big day. Instead, you are actively pursuing your goals.
Two years ago, when I was training for the Back on My Feet 20 in 24, fear of the unknown drove me to train. Having never attempted a 24-hour race before, the unknown can light a fire of fear under one’s ass. You expect race day to hurt, to be hard, and to be something you are hopefully prepared for – thanks to your training. This time around, I know my weaknesses in this kind of race. Perhaps I should be even more scared this time around because now I know how badly I can fall apart, but I am strangely confident in what needs to be done between now and July 19th. I know I need to put in a lot of work, and instead of fearing the pain and fatigue, I welcome it. I welcome the challenge of staying focused and of playing with hydration and fueling. Instead of being driven by fear, and I am driven by redemption.
Two years ago I was training like a reckless runner. Slamming my legs on the track once per week, powering through tempo runs once per week, clocking 50-mile weekends, and peaking at 80+ mile weeks. My body was stressed too hard too frequently. Aches and pains became an issue, especially in my left ankle. I would ice it or rest it for a day, and then take it for a spin on the track. For my body, it was simply too much. This time around, I am not on the track and am not running many tempo runs. My fastest miles have been on par with my slowest at the Philly Marathon. I have realized and learned from my own experiences that if I want my mileage to comfortably hit 80-100 mile weeks, I simply cannot be running any of those miles hard. The lesson here is that if we learn from our mistakes, those mistakes are worth making.
While I still have eight weeks before the big day to make progress, there’s obviously the chance that between now and then some aches and pains could creep back in. However, as of the day this blog goes up, I feel pretty darn good. No ankle pain, no heel pain, and the IT band that sometimes acts up seems to loosen and relax a few miles into my runs. It has taken me a long time, but I am finally looking at the challenge of an Ultra like an Ultra runner – not a mid-distance or marathon runner. I am hoping that mental shift and change in training is what will make the difference.
I encourage you to try new race distances and new challenges, but to also realize that every distance and challenge presents its own unique problems, requirements, and adaptions in your physical and mental training. This can be exciting, fun and fresh. It also requires some caution, trial and error.
Running California
On a run in Novato, CA.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about being a runner is the opportunity to see places on my feet when I travel. I have always found it interesting to be able to see new places on my feet, often experiencing places I wouldn’t if it weren’t for my running shoes.
I was recently in California for 10 days, and my legs and running shoes took me all over the Golden State. San Diego Mission Bay, Downtown San Diego, Venice beach, LA, Oakland, Golden Gate Park and Novato – sunrise, mid-day heat, and sunset. Beach-front, trails, cities, and suburbs – my legs took me all over. Just under 80 miles of running during my California trip, and never a dull moment.
The trails in Golden Gate Park and the path along the Pacific in Santa Monica/Venice Beach was probably my favorite – though its hard to choose. The trails in Golden Gate Park offer a nice soft surface, breathtaking views with every few steps, and the challenge of steep inclines and declines – though they never lasted too long. If I thought I had any real business as a trail runner, San Francisco would be at the top of my list for places to live and train. In Santa Monica and Venice, the smell of the Pacific, the sunshine kissing my shoulder blades, and the wind in my face on a mostly flat beach run brought back memories, as I trained for my first Ultra along that same beach a few years ago. In some way, it felt like home.
On a run at the San Diego Marina.
Perhaps the most meaningful runs were the ones I had some company during. In San Diego Mission Bay, I ran with my cousin and her boyfriend, and they took me around beautiful paths along the water. Chatting while we ran, the miles clicked by on their last pre-marathon long run. In LA, I took my sister on a run where I ran almost daily (when not beach running), and the smell of flowers flooded our runs with such amazing smells. For some reason my sense of smell seems to be heightened when I run, especially on the west coast.
If you are traveling in the near future and interested in running while away, do some research on where to best run. Figure out safety, water and fueling, routes and mileage, and go have fun. I brought a camera with me on some of my runs. Make sure you pack your running gear. Even if you usually run with music, I suggest you leave your music at home. Go experience a new place with all of your senses. Also, unfamiliar routes may mean navigating traffic and crowds, which isn’t safe when you can’t hear.
I should note that while in Oakland, I mapped a route and headed out from my hotel for a potential 10-15 miler. It became obvious within the first mile that the neighborhood was not nice. In fact, I was very much on edge the entire run. I’m sure not knowing my surroundings contributed to feeling uneasy, but it was also simply not a nice place. I cut the run short at 5 miles, and clocked an additional 5 miles later that day in Novato, CA. Safety should always be your first priority when out for a run – especially if you are alone and in a new place.
California is an amazing place to run. The varying options for where to train was extremely refreshing. While I love Central Park, and enjoy the Westside Highway, clocking those same routes day after day can make a high-mileage runner feel a little uninspired. I absolutely want to go back and run more in California. I am also very much intrigued to get out of my comfort zone and out of NYC to run. There are parks and trails outside of Manhattan, and I am excited to go on a few adventures and get in my Ultra training miles all over the NYC-area. I suppose the lesson I learned while out west was this: running is and can be what we make of it. It can make a trip to a new place and experience you never expected. You get to see things not on your tourist list, or where your friends or family would necessarily take you. And that is very cool.
