Almost

I am almost healed from this back and stomach thing that has been making me uncomfortable for the last 10 days. I am trying to taper off this week and run some sort of 10k this weekend. Of course this week is a high heat poor air quality week, and Saturday looks like its going to be hot. My goal is to run at pace, nothing faster for as long as I am able. If the heat takes me down so be it. I guess next year I might reconsider racing in the summer. I get nothing out of running in the heat. I guess we get to test the old grit factory this week.

Just Go For it!

At this point in the summer I have been training for almost 8 months without a break. 8 months is a really long time. I feel pretty good overall, but am suffering from a back and stomach pull that has not really stopped me from training, but is a pure sign of my body needing a good hard rest. 7 days from now I will be starting that rest. I am not sure how long I am going to rest for, but I am positive that I will not be running more than 15 miles a week for a good two weeks. I am not sure if not running at all would be a good thing for me. I tend to seize up when I am not running, and I really do not want to lose any of my flexibility come the 15th of July when the marathon training begins. My desire to become a better mountain biker is most likely to be the death of me, but mountain biking with keep me fit while I rest my runner bones. I have decided to race on Saturday no matter what my condition is leading up to the race. I am going to give it my all on Saturday and hope that all my training has paid off. If my injuries get in the way of my performance, they will act as a reminder of the importance of stretching, warming up and cooling down. I have almost ironed out my marathon training plan, and am excited to get things rolling in a couple of weeks. The key to growth is in the recovery. I have to remember this.

Broken down palace

My body hates me. Not true, but it is in need of a good rest. I have developed a back and rib issue that is making me feel a little nuts. I am not sleeping well because of the nagging pain and I am getting a little fed up with thinking about it. I have 11 more days before I take a planned rest, and boy do I need it. I am going to try to stretch out my back today and see if that is whats causing my stomach muscles to cramp up. I am sure this is from all the biking I have been doing. I should know better, but I don't.

Stay on Target

Yesterday I went on the easiest run of my life. I jogged 10 miles at such an easy pace I barely broke a sweat. I am having such a hard time recovering from my track workout at the beginning of the week that I am going to take a full 2 days off after my run tonight. I have developed a rib and back injury (it bugs me, but doesnt stop me from training) from riding my bike. This happens every year, I know better. I forget that being in great running shape does not translate over to the bike. I am sort of hobbling and hanging in there right now. With my final race of the summer just 2 weeks away I need to take 2 days off, rest up for my final week of hard training, knock it out of the park, taper a little bit, race and be done with it. This mountain bike obsession is tough to handle. Next week Wednesday I do my last difficult workout of 3x2miles@race pace with 5 minutes in between. This will predict if I will be ready to roll on race day or not. We will see. I need to lose this rib thing first. 9 more miles for the week, 2 days off and then the beast returns. Here is to holding things together with spit and duct tape. Egad.

Duality

I love my mountain bike. I feel that biking is the closest thing an adult can do to feel like a kid again. Maybe dancing falls into that same category too who knows. When the mountain bike comes out of garage each year a nagging battle begins inside my head between the runner and the biker. The biker likes it hard, fast and without limits. The runner gradually builds endurance, speed, and slowly arrives at his/her peak. I am in the middle of moving towards my peak, but I need to remind myself to be careful here. I get such an emotional charge out of being on my bike that I wind up damaging myself making it more difficult to run. With an entire year dedicated to training for different racing distances it leaves little time for the aggressive biker to come out and play. My mantra this week is 'stay on target, stay on target.' I think next year I might try to mix up my training and racing to include a 50 -100 mile mountain bike race or xterra type off road tri into the mix. I feel it calling me. I can still build my base all winter race in the early spring, ride hard all summer and train for a fall race without burning out or breaking a limb... right?

Officially Summer

I am having the best week. Yeah, I bonked out on a run on Wednesday, but I learned a good lesson. I ran a great track workout on Monday night, had a nice easy trail laced run, a nice 10 mile run, and I have been doing some easy biking everyday with my kiddos. I need to make sure the next 3 weeks are filled with nutrients, rest and easy days. I am excited to hit those big key runs coming up with all my might. I am in the groove and loving it right now.

Me Bonk You Long Time

Last night I experienced the most intense Bonk of my life. Definition of Bonk: The feeling of weakness caused in a drop in blood sugar during extended physical activity. Also know as 'the sags', 'the knock' and 'hit the wall, hitting the wall'. I have been having issues with managing my nutrition and 9 miles into my 13 mile run I ran head first into a wall. This normally does not happen on a run of this length but I was not prepared to go on a medium distance run on a reduced calorie diet. I made the mistake of thinking that my 10k training cycle required far less carbohydrates than my previous 25k training cycle did. I guess I was wrong. Normally I would be feeling crushed by a failed run and having to walk the last 3 miles, but in reality I feel pretty good about what happened. The writing is on the wall so to speak, and every opportunity I have to learn a major lesson I need to listen carefully. In 6 weeks when marathon training begins and the medium distance runs become a little longer and the 3 hour long distance runs begin I am going to address this issue like a scientist. If I am going to successfully run 26 miles, I am going to have to learn how to train my body to efficiently use energy and also how to properly eat on the run. Now for the good part.. I ran the first 10k a little bit slower than MP, and felt so strong in the hills that I ran a negative split for the last 3 miles of that section. The track sessions and the higher threshold training have been working. All this track work is going to make me a better long distance runner. Here is to learning how to eat. Here is the first part of the run followed by the bonk.. This is what a bonk looks like This is what the other 6.2 looked like

I'm Back

Last night I ran my first workout in weeks where I felt like I was back to 100%. 2 miles @ 6:07 pace followed by 3x1 mile @ 5:55 - 6:06 pace. My workout called for 4x1mile but I got a late start and was running out of daylight by the forth repeat. After last week, I am happy to be able to finish a workout without feeling exhausted and defeated. I am inching closer to getting my stride back. I can feel my stride becoming comfortable, more natural and effortless. I have been feeling clunky for the last year or so. I think the weekly track workout really helps sort out issues with my body mechanics. I am also getting closer to running the prediction times that point towards my goal pace. I have almost 4 weeks left of the 10k training cycle and hope to hit a post 35 pr at the Reeds Lake Run at the end of the month. If this happens I will be thrilled, If not, I have to realize that I can only improve so much in a season and to take it all in stride.

Feeling Flat

I don't know what it is but I have been feeling flat all week. I am finding it really difficult to recover from Monday's 5k and have missed quite a bit of training this week. We did have a virus go through our family, one that I thought I avoided. My legs are mushy, and I need to get back to work soon. I have decided to make the Reeds Lake 10k at the end of the month my final 10k for the season. My reason being that I am going to get into the pool, and onto my mountain bike for two weeks before I start marathon training in the middle of July. I need a real rest before I start running all those miles again. My body has been cooperating with me for the last 16 months and now I think I need to give it back a little love. One month to go. I did go and do a modified track workout on Saturday a 2400 1000 800 400 CD ladder just to get in some turn over. I felt pretty good but it was hot and I really did not want to push myself. Back to business as usual starting on Monday. For sure.