March Training Update
A quick update on how things are going with training. Wow… March went by so fast, it’s now the middle of April and the big day is getting ever closer. Every morning, for at least the last 4 weeks , when I wake up the first thought that usually runs through my mind is how many months and weeks are left until August 10, race day! I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that my mind is so focused on the race. I have to keep reminding myself…. just breathe. I had a couple of weeks in March that I found hard to fit training in. There are so many things that I want to be doing and often running is pushed aside to make room for spending a weekend in the mountains. I want to be out rock climbing, biking, mountaineering and long distance running…but the weekends are not long enough nor do I have enough energy for all of these activities all the time. Really needing to centre my attention on getting my long distance runs in at least 3 weekends a month and saving one weekend for heading out into the mountains. Rock climbing and biking can happen during the week after work so I don’t have to worry too much about those. To add to my frustration I am still having difficulty getting up early to run before work. I need to be doubling up some days, even if it’s running 5km in the morning and another 5-10km in the evening. There is a big gap between the athlete I want to be and the athlete that I am right now. So my longest training run to date has been a 27km trail run with some decent elevation gain/loss. I even had enough energy afterwards to go for a little downhill MTB session with my other half. Feeling pretty strong lately (but have some niggling issues with my right hip and shoulder that I am trying to solve) and want to make sure I am able to maintain this momentum. My diet definitely is playing the largest role (and getting at least 7-8 hrs of sleep every night) in how I feel. I have been putting a lot of focus on eating more natural organic foods and really ramping up the veg & fruit intake. I have also been making sure to get a lot of very dense nutrient rich calories every day, with things like almonds, avocado, salmon, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds etc. In our house we also decided to cut down on dairy so we are only using Almond/Coconut Milk now...
Runners High
For years I didn’t think this actually existed. It was a way for the avid runners to trick the beginners into thinking there is some special reward for the punishment of pounding out miles. I always thought it was some secret club I could never belong to. I mean I have been running for a while now. I wouldn’t call it training for a marathon style, but I have always been an active person and enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing I was doing something good for my body. But it wasn’t until I really decided to start running, the 5 days a week kind of running, that I finally realized what this all elusive runners high was all about. Now I know what you’re thinking, ” good god do I really have to run that often to feel good about running?'” The answer of course is no! I think I must have experienced it before but paid no attention to what my body was telling me because I was always thinking, I could have went faster or I should have went farther. My own mind was getting in the way of really reaping the chemical rewards of running. It wasn’t until I actually came to terms with what my body was achieving and what it’s limits were(based on how hard I actually decided to train) that I was able to see past what I didn’t accomplish and really accept what I had. Now that I have realized this connection I feel this “high” so much more often than I ever thought possible. Whether it’s 3 miles or 26.2 miles, to me it’s about pushing yourself at that moment. Give everything you can at each run and accept the limits your body puts on you. Some days are gonna hurt and some days are going to be glorious. Some days you’ll feel like you can run forever and some days a mile is going to feel like the most difficult thing you have ever done. But that is the beauty of running to me. I love the...
January Training Update
Ok so I thought it was time for an update as it’s been about a month since I registered for the Squamish 50 50km trail race. I am still feeling very excited about the race which is a good sign. But I am not going to pretend that I have been super motivated all the time. Despite feeling excited about the race, I also know what’s involved to get my body to a level that running that kind of distance won’t be absolute torture, and some days it’s down right tough to convince myself to get out there. Lately my goal has been trying to run more, you know just trying to get the ol’ running legs back. My brilliant idea has been to get up earlier during the week and try to get a run in before breakfast. Hmm let’s count how many times this has happened over the last few weeks….zero! It could be the dark mornings, but really I think it is just my mind playing games with me, and it’s really a game I don’t have time for. So new goal: DON”T GIVE IN ! Now that I have that rant over with, let’s get right down to it. The last few runs I have been on have felt great. Mind you, they have only been 4-5 mile runs, but I am running them at a good pace. Last week I ran a 4 miler at a 7min 47sec/per mile pace, which is good for me. It’s nice to know that all the extra hiking/climbing, snowshoeing, biking etc. that I have been doing over the last while is keeping my fitness level up. So cross training is definitely going to play a huge part in my training this year. The last 2 marathons that I trained for (training on my own after doing my own research) ended up being just about running. While I know getting miles on your legs has its merits and I think you should train long distance to race long distance, I really want to add more cross training into my plan this time. I am hoping to get stronger and faster by supplementing my running with biking (mostly hills of course), skiing, back-country snowshoeing etc. I am still going to be running long distances during the training but on non-running days I am going to mix it up and just enjoy being active. And hey what’s stopping me from biking to a trail, going for a run and then biking home. That’s the plan anyway and we all know plans can change! So as the weeks go by I will be tweaking my...
Ultrarunner?
Oh my goodness, what did I just do? Ok so I just signed up for the Arc’teryx Squamish 50 50km race August 10,2013. So far my amateur running career (if I can be so bold as to call it any kind of career) consists of a 10 mile and a 13 mile in 2009 and then a full marathon in 2011 and 2012. Just looking at the list on this page makes me realize I don’t really take baby steps when it comes to things like this. It’s all or nothing I guess. I convinced myself to jump to an ultrarun with the rationale that it’s really only 8km more than a marathon, even if it’s all on technical trail; plus we do a lot of long tiring mountaineering trips most weekends, which is a good base, right? I rather enjoy the suffering involved in these types of sports and from my limited experience have found that, along with a lot of training, there is a huge mental aspect involved. Just being able to talk yourself through discomfort and pain and still being able to carry on is a huge part of it, right? Well this is what I will keep telling myself for now. I have 8 months to get ready for the biggest race of my life. What do I expect from myself? What kind of time goal should I expect? What kind of training plan will I use? These are all questions that I am sure I am going to be agonizing over for the next month or so before the real training starts. Until then, I will enjoy the “just registered for my first ultrarun” high I am feeling and deal with the knots in my stomach that I feel are slowly forming tomorrow morning! If you want to follow my progress and updates then bookmark this: http://pebbleshoo.com/tag/Squamish50/ Video of myself and a few other runners by...
