Training

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 10

Less than 2 weeks to the race. There’s not much else I can do to help myself, but a lot I can do to mess up. Pressure’s on.

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 3 mi, trails (Bagley) + 3.9 mi, road
Wednesday: 5 mi, treadmill (6×800 @ 11:19 pace)
Thursday: rest
Friday: 4 mi, road
Saturday: 6.6 mi, trails (First 3.3 miles of race course)
Sunday: 8.4 mi, trails (Magney Snively lot to Ely’s Peak and back)
Total: 31.1 mi

This was the last difficult week I’ve got planned before the race. I think my knees and hips will thank me.

I had to get creative with my workouts in order to fit in mileage this week. I had a lot of stuff due for school and needed to meet with my group. I ran before and after class on Tuesday to make the magic happen. Wednesday I got home late but still wanted to fit in a workout, so I tortured myself on the treadmill with some longer repeats. It kind of sucked.

I decided to ditch a longer run over the weekend in favor of two grueling back to back workouts, just like last weekend. Saturday went well, but I’ve now banned myself from the race course. It’s starting to irritate me. I need to look on it with fresh eyes on race day, not think “here we go again” with a groan.

Sunday was a gorgeous day, and I wanted to get up the North Shore to see some fall colors, but I didn’t have time to fit in the drive on top of a run. I decided to run from the Magney Snively parking lot to Ely’s Peak and back, which I thought would be easier than it was. Nope. 1154 ft of elevation gain, an ascent that felt never-ending to start the run, a descent that was steep enough to slow me to a crawl near the halfway point, which I then had to ascend, and it may have nearly killed me. My legs were beat to hell by the end of the run.

From here on out, I’m easing off on the difficulty of my runs. I’ll probably still do some trails, but nothing too challenging. I want my legs fresh for race day, but of course I want them to remember how to run.

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 9

Another great training week. It’s all or nothing for me this training cycle, I guess.

Monday 4.3 mi, road
Tuesday 7.1 mi, road
Wednesday rest
Thursday 3.4 mi, treadmill (8×400 at 10:31 pace)
Friday 5.3 mi, road
Saturday 7.6 mi, paved trail (Gitchigami Trail starting at Gooseberry Falls)
Sunday 8 mi, trail (Superior Hiking Trail, Castle Danger to Nestor Grade)
Total 35.5 mi

I didn’t do much on the trails, I guess. Only one true trail run, and… ugh. It deserves its own post. I haven’t done a trail review in awhile so I’ll do one.

I really wanted to do a 10 mile run this weekend, but I needed to meet with my senior design project team both days. I think doing the back to backs was a good compromise. I only saved a couple miles, but at the pace I was going on Sunday, two miles extra would have added an extra 40+ minutes. It was a rough, muddy, buggy run.

I only have three weeks to go before the race, so I’m going to be stepping back the mileage a bit. I do wonder sometimes how I’ll ever start running the mileage needed to run marathons and ultras, because this felt like a pretty significant commitment of time, and most of these runs were on roads rather than trails. A somewhat depressing thought.

Making Do

I have been hoping to have great weeks of training for the final four leading up to my race. It’s possible, of course, as long as I stay healthy and use my time wisely.

Tuesday the weather caught up with me a bit. I didn’t start running til after 6PM, and I ran 6 miles in just shorts and a tank top. My arms and hands were cold by the end of the run, and it took a bit before I got full range of motion back in my hands.

Wednesday I had planned a hill workout and it rained all day, plus I had a crap day at work, so I decided to swap my Thursday rest day for Wednesday. Fine, fine. I like having Thursday as a rest day because I usually have an early day that’s both physically and mentally taxing, but I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal.

It rained/misted Thursday, too. Most of the day. Which, for me, started at 7:30 (normal for a full-time working person, but I’m a student, so that’s weird) and ended at… also 7:30. Well, I got home at 7:25. I was tired, hungry but also not feeling well thanks to eating a well done burger for lunch, and not pleased that I wasn’t going to be able to get a run in. I do have space in the week for two rest days, if I want to take them, but I am cutting back my long run while still hoping to hit around 36 miles for the week, so two rest days would mean another longish run in the mix.

Instead I hopped on the treadmill and did 8×400 at 10:31 pace, with 0.1 mi slow jog recovery between. Improvisation! I genuinely dislike running on the treadmill, especially when it’s not 50 below zero, but I didn’t want to run around after dark in the fog, and I would have had to skip the speed workout for the week, so it was treadmill or nothing. Many times, I’d have chosen nothing… and then chosen nothing again for days or weeks at a time following. Sometimes it’s perfectly fine to choose to do nothing. I did on Wednesday and I feel no guilt about it. However, I am going to pat myself on the back for the very minimal achievement of finding a way to work out despite being tired, cranky, mildly nauseated, and mentally taxed. It’s not something I’ve always been able to do.

Harder ‘n Hell Half Training: Week 8

Week 8? Yikes.

Monday 4.5 mi, trails (Bagley)
Tuesday 5.6 mi, road
Wednesday 6.3 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk, 50 mins at tempo)
Thursday rest
Friday 5.5 mi, road
Saturday rest
Sunday 13.5 mi, trail (SHT, Harder ‘n Hell Half course)
Total: 35.6

I’d call that a good bounceback week. I ended up with two rest days; the second was semi-planned, as I could have done a short run, but there was no need. After all those days off, I didn’t need to ramp up the mileage too much. My dad came up to visit on Saturday and we did some creative engineering to fix my car window, and then we went to see A Walk in the Woods, which I read over the summer. We enjoyed the movie even though it departs greatly from the book.

Wednesday was a rough day. I was not feeling speedy, but I pushed it longer than the prescribed workout (40 mins) because… well, because I could get another 10k done for my Strava monthly challenge. That’s really stupid but it’s true. Ugh, Strava. Too competitive. I didn’t feel that fantastic and my lower back was a little crampy during the run, which I pushed through because I need to figure out how to push through things. Unfortunately, once I slowed down after the tempo portion of the run was over, my gut felt horrible and crampy and I ended up having to walk my entire cooldown to avoid anything gross from occurring.

I was using Wednesday as a test to see if I was going to run a race this upcoming weekend. I haven’t raced since the Park Point 5 Miler, which wasn’t the best, so I thought maybe another 5K before my half marathon might be fun. Since my speed session didn’t go so well and I wasn’t hitting the paces I wanted to hit to even have a prayer of a decent race, I decided not to sign up. Why risk my real race with some race I’m not in any kind of shape for? I was only going to run it if I felt like I could beat my PR, and I don’t think I can.

Sunday I ran the Harder ‘n Hell course from start to finish (or thereabouts). It was rough, but I think I’ve gotten some things figured out. It took me 4:23 to finish, so that gives me a benchmark. I didn’t stop on the Stairway to Hell, so that was also good! I ate two Snickers bars, which seemed to work well. They’re easier to open and eat than Clif bars and not as messy as the other granola bars I eat, and I didn’t feel sick when I ate them. I did feel pretty thirsty, and I was rationing my water at the end, but I will be able to refill at an aid station along the way. I just need to start eating earlier in the race, because I was dragging in the middle of the run once again. I also plan on only running short, flat, easy runs the week of the race, so my legs won’t be as beat up. Granted, the course is murder on them, but at least they’ll go in feeling ok. I was “flying” (relatively speaking) once I was on the pedestrian bridge crossing the freeway, so that was nice. Especially since I’d just gone on a nearly mile-long descent that tested the shocks on my knees to their limits.

I know I can complete the race. And maybe I won’t even come in last. I looked up previous race results and 4:23 would not have been last place in the last 3 years. So that’s good! Of course, this year could be the year everyone is super speedy, BUT, still. To know that even if I did come in last, I wouldn’t be unexpectedly slow, is a confidence booster.

Four weeks to go. Only the next two really matter, since it takes awhile for training to actually take effect, and the final week I won’t be doing much anyway. I just need to stay healthy and able, and get to the starting line in one piece.

Harder ‘n Hell Half Training: Week 7

Another wasted week.

Monday: unplanned rest day
Tuesday: unplanned rest day
Wednesday: unplanned rest day
Thursday: unplanned rest day
Friday: unplanned rest day
Saturday: Superior 100 Volunteering (no miles logged but I did move around a lot!)
Sunday: 12.5, trails (SHT)
Total: 12.5

Ugh. Not a good week, but I was sick at the beginning and then later in the week I couldn’t seem to get enough sleep, so I chose to rest longer in order to completely recover. Friday was spent working, then traveling, and I wasn’t able to get in a run like I’d planned.

Sunday I was all inspired by the runners from Superior 100 and probably overdid it. After 9 days off from running, I ended up running almost the entire half marathon course, and when I say running, I really mean hiking. Slow, slow hiking that took 4 hours and 20 minutes. However, at least now I know that I can handle this race even if it goes to hell. I can just walk it in and still make it under 5 hours, I assume.

This upcoming week I need to start getting my race day nutrition under control. I have been eating granola bars during long runs and that is such a pain in the butt. I need to try some gels, I’m just worried that my stomach will reject them. I don’t know why, as I’ve never tried them. I might need to carry a little something with me just to fill my stomach with actual substance, but maybe not.

I am disappointed in this training cycle, but at the same time, I have such low expectations for my performance in this race that I am not devastated. I know I can finish the race upright, even after not running for a week, so I guess I’m ready? I still have 5 weeks of training (I know only about 3 more weeks will actually have a real effect on my race, but still, 5 weeks), so there’s time for a bit of improvement, if all goes well.

My First Ultra

I have my first ultra this weekend!

…Meaning that I’m volunteering at an ultra this weekend. My friend Emily and I are volunteering at the Superior Fall Trail Races, starting at 3 AM on Saturday. Yes, 3 AM, loading 50 milers on the bus, then working the finish line in whatever capacity we are needed. We are driving up on Friday night and staying in a communal townhome graciously provided by the race director for volunteers.

I would like to run a 100 mile race someday. Right now that seems like an impossibility, since I haven’t run in almost a week. (I am feeling better but am not sleeping well, so I have prioritized additional rest over pushing too hard.) But someday it won’t be. I won’t be winning the Western States Endurance Run or anything like that, but I would still like the experience. More than once, preferably. Before I start training for a 50k or trail marathon, I want to see what ultrarunning is really all about. I assume volunteering is probably a pretty good way to figure that out. For a novice, plodding runner like me, it’s better than showing up underprepared to a race I end up DNFing. Which I guess I could probably end up doing anyway.

The 100 mile race starts Friday at 8 AM at Gooseberry Falls, the 50 mile race starts Saturday at 5:30 AM at the Finland Rec Center, and the Moose Mountain Marathon starts Saturday at 8 AM at the Cramer Road Trailhead. All races are on the Superior Hiking Trail and finish in Lutsen at Caribou Highlands Lodge. It’s not mountainous like many of the popular races are, but it’s pretty relentless, from what I hear. I definitely want to try this race series someday. We’ll see if I feel that way after getting vomited on at the finish line or something.

I look forward to learning a lot, taking some notes, having some fun, and giving a “race report” next week. And I hope I’ll be able to get in a long run (double digits) on Sunday, if I’m not a zombie.

Speaking of the Superior Hiking Trail, this man is planning to set an unsupported Fastest Known Time on the SHT, starting today! He’ll start at the tip of the Arrowhead and head south, and plans on doing the trail in under 6 days. Other FKT attempts can be seen here. Good luck, Steven!

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 6

A great start to the week derailed by a summer cold.

Monday: 4.1 (road)
Tuesday: 5.2 (40 min @ tempo, Lakewalk)
Wednesday: planned rest day
Thursday: 5.7 (Trails, Hartley)
Friday: planned rest day
Saturday: unplanned rest day
Sunday: unplanned rest day
Total: 15

I have been firing on all cylinders of late, and so I’m extremely frustrated to have gotten sick. I caught the cold from my husband, so I am not too worried about catching it due to overtraining/stress/whatever. My confidence is shot, though. I sneezed a couple times Thursday night as I was going to bed, and woke up with a full-blown cold on Friday. There went my planned 9-mile “fake race,” and my plans to shuffle my schedule around to accommodate the upcoming weekend by running a long trail run either Monday or today before school. I haven’t even done strength training or yoga. I suppose I could have, but I think all that would have done was set me back on returning to health.

My biggest concern isn’t regaining my strength. I’ve been lethargic the whole weekend and I’ve slept poorly, but I know the strength is still there. It’s my aerobic fitness. I have enough trouble on some of the bigger ascents on my runs, and I really wanted to get to a place where I could get up the 130 or so steps at the beginning of the race course without stopping or needing to recover once at the top. I need my lungs to recover quickly, and I need this cold to not have done any lasting damage to them. I know that sounds dramatic, but I’m not particularly aerobically fit to begin with, so I don’t have a large margin for error.

I dreamed about the race on Sunday night. Obviously this was a result of my drop in confidence. In my dream, I was completely unprepared for the race. I forgot almost everything I needed, except for a water bottle, and I was carrying around a flannel shirt with me. I showed up at the starting line needing to pee, and missed the start looking for a bathroom, which I didn’t find. The course wasn’t at all what I expected, and it went through buildings and out trapdoors and stuff. It was all very strange. I was running pretty fast in my dream, so at least that part was good. I woke up before the race ended, so I can’t tell if I ended up bonking or otherwise paying for my lack of preparation and speedy pace.

I am really hoping I feel well enough by the time I’m done with school today to go for at least a short run. Nothing short of getting back on the trails will ease my mind.