Last real week of training. Gulp.

Monday: 5.5 mi, trail (Bagley)
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 6.6 mi, road
Thursday: 4.2 mi, road
Friday: 8.5 mi, road
Saturday: 10 mi, road
Sunday: 4 mi, trail (Hartley)
Total: 38.8 mi

I survived the week! It was rough. I was in a really low mood (as I wrote last week), and really didn’t enjoy any of my runs last week. Even the gorgeous weather on Saturday didn’t help my mood, since I knew cold weather was coming. It was really nice to run in just a t-shirt and shorts on Friday and Saturday, though.

I treated myself to a couple of trail runs. I’ve not been running a whole lot of trails, partially due to trail conditions, and partially due to a desire to get my freaking runs over with. This is sort of stupid because I am running a trail race, but I have done enough running on trails throughout this training cycle that I feel like I’ll be able to stay on my feet.

I’m also not really “tapering” the way a traditional training plan would dictate. I don’t know if this is a smart idea or not, I won’t find out until after the race, I guess, but I chose not to for several reasons. I had some low mileage weeks (weeks 9 and 7) recently, so I felt like those cutback weeks were a good substitute for a taper. I haven’t had super high mileage overall, although I have run 2, 50 mile weeks. I will have to run the numbers on my average mileage to see if it’s higher than I think. I don’t feel run down, and I don’t have any major injuries. Mentally I’m having a bit of a tough time lately, but a few days off can solve that. I’m also running a 24 hour race 6 weeks after CM50K, so I want to build off this training cycle for that race.

This week was tough mentally, but I did manage to get my butt out the door, even if it was almost 7 PM before I started, even if I had to wait out a rainstorm, even if I felt kind of crummy. That’s one of the things that has stood out for me this training cycle: I have taken very few unscheduled rest days just because I didn’t feel like running. (I have taken a lot of unscheduled rest days for hockey, though! A much better reason.) I am going to pat myself on the back for that. Guilt is a powerful motivator, it appears!

This upcoming week, I’m going to take things as they come. If it’s nice enough, I’ll run. If it’s raining or snowing or sleeting, I won’t run. I’m focused on the logistical preparations I need to do, on resting (sleeping well, I hope) and relaxing (yoga every day!), and on giving myself a mental break from running.