Another Wednesday means another Wednesday Word linkup with Debbie! Each week Debbie gives us all a word prompt to write about. This week’s word is brave and it’s perfect timing with my first ultramarathon happening this Saturday. Naturally, that’s what I’m going to talk about because I can’t really think about anything else.

Here are some of the mantras I have come up with for myself on race day. I am actually planning to write these down and carry them in my pack to refer to as needed…

You dreamt it, now do it.

Don’t give up what you want most for what you want right now.

That voice in your head that says you can’t do this is a liar.

One step closer.

I am lucky, I get to experience this.

When you feel like giving up, remember why you started.

Be brave.

Sometimes I feel kind of silly thinking about these. When I’m sitting here well rested and comfortable, it’s hard to imagine needing these mantras. But I know that the mind is a powerful thing and I’ve definitely defeated myself mentally in the past. When the going gets tough I hope that these phrases will help me stay strong and keep going.

How do you stay strong when the going gets tough?
Bravery: something you’re born with or something that can be learned?

P.S. This week marks one year of the Wednesday Word link up. I’ve had fun linking up each week and seeing other’s take on the word prompt. Thank you, Debbie, for hosting and congratulations on a fun and successful link up!

It’s race week, y’all!!! How is it here already!? It feels like it was both a long time coming and got here in the blink of an eye. This is real, though, and on Saturday I’m going to step into the unknown world of ultrarunning for the first time. Ack! I’m simultaneously excited, nervous, anxious, and terrified. But most of all I’m thrilled.

Here is a recap of my last full week of training before race day. This recap is part of the Weekly Wrap link up, hosted by HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’.

Monday – Rest.

Tuesday – Cross training: 30 Day Shred Level 1 DVD workout.

Wednesday – 4 mile trail run at the state park. I forgot to bring my inhaler, which was not good, but it was a really nice evening to be out for a run on the trails. There are some early season campers staying in the park already, so I got to smell campfires while I ran. If the below picture was scratch and sniff you could smell it, too.

My legs felt great and I took the run nice and easy but my lungs were not feeling great still. I think if I had remembered my inhaler I would have felt much better. On the way home I drove with the windows down and listened to a Garth Brooks live album. All in all, a pretty good evening.

Thursday – Cross training: core work, planks, and push ups.

Friday – Rest. I spent the morning giving our dogs baths. Then I got to meet up with Debbie for an early lunch as she drove through my area on her way home.

Saturday –  10 mile trail run at Pandapas Pond. I took this run super easy and focused on staying in my aerobic heart rate zone, since that’s the plan for Saturday. For the most part this run felt good. I remembered to use my inhaler before starting my run and I never needed it during the run.

For some reason both of my knees felt kind of creaky and a bit sore during this run. I have no idea why, as they felt fine after the run and have not hurt at all during training. Hopefully it was just one of those weird pains/twinges you feel during your taper when you’re cutting your mileage back.

During my run I was running around the actual pond and I got hissed at by a goose. It stood its ground as I ran by, and I’m guessing it had eggs or babies nearby to protect. It made me laugh, though. However, I was not laughing about the four snakes I encountered throughout this run. They don’t freak me out, but I also don’t really care to have any interactions with them. I nearly stepped on this guy, who was sunning himself on the trail, because he blended right in!

This run seemed to fly by and 10 miles felt short. I hope that’s a good omen for race day. I’m pretty sure in the past my long run the weekend before the race has never felt great. But I finished the run feeling like I could keep going and honestly it felt like I hadn’t even really run 10 miles.

Fun side story: I hung out with a group of friends the rest of the day Saturday and through the night to celebrate my best friend’s birthday. Everyone in the group fell asleep by 3 AM, but I was still up so I started flipping through TV channels. I happened upon live coverage of this year’s Paris Marathon. How about that!?

Sunday – 4 mile run with Kim in the afternoon. I was feeling pretty sleepy after all of the birthday shenanigans the night before (and less than four hours of sleep). This run still felt really good, though. The miles flew by and as always the company and conversation were great.

Total Miles: 18 miles
March Total: 89.89 miles (my lowest month of the year…. stupid flu!)

So that’s it! All of the work is truly in the books now. I’ve got a couple of really short runs this week and then we’ll be headed up to race central – aka dad’s house. Things are about to get real.

Who else is racing this weekend or raced this past weekend?
Have you ever watched live coverage of a marathon on TV? I like watching Boston and I can’t wait for the summer Olympics!
What is your favorite spring/summer-related smell? I love the smell of campfires.

Happy April Fool’s Day (and watch out for those pranksters)!

I normally do my weekly recaps on Mondays, but moved this one to Friday since my race recap was more interesting than this will be. 🙂 Last week was about recovering and getting back into the swing of things after having the flu the week prior. It’s been a bit rough going. My legs feel great, and for the most part my body does too, but oh my lungs. It’s just going to take some more time for them to get back to normal. In the meantime I’ve been using my inhaler again, and that’s helping some at least.

Monday 3/21- Rest.

Tuesday 3/22- Cross training – just some light strength stuff including push ups, planks, and lunges.

Wednesday 3/23- 3 mile run by the river. It was nice, but it was very hot and I swallowed my first bug of the year. Yuck. My run was primarily on a paved trail, but I did find some dirt to play in along the way.

During this run I felt like I was trying to breathe underwater (doesn’t make sense, but it’s the best way I can explain it). At the same time my mouth and throat felt super dry.

Thursday 3/24-  Cross training – push ups, planks, core stuff.

Friday 3/25- 3 mile run with Kim. We met up in the morning for a nice jaunt (she had both of her kiddos with her). The weather was great – low 50’s and cloudy. I was still having some issues with the whole breathing thing, but my legs felt good.

I also wore my new trail shoes for this run to test them out. After my recent shoe debacle I continued to scour the internet, particularly eBay, in case a pair of my beloved Stinson ATR’s (which have been replaced by a new model) popped up. As luck would have it, a pair showed up on eBay in my size. The previous owner wore them one just one run and they’re as close to brand new as you can get. They felt great and I’m so glad I’ll be able to wear them for the 50K!

Saturday 3/26- Montvale 10 Mile trail race. I had a great day out on the trails, although my lungs are definitely still recovering from the flu.

On the plus side the rest of me felt pretty good the whole way and I hope to be fully recovered before my first ultra in two weeks.

I also went on and wore my new shoes for this race. Although they are new, they’re not a new model for me, and everything felt fine with them. I’m so glad I was able to find another pair of the Stinson ATR’s to wear for my 50K!

Sunday 3/27- 3 mile hike with Barry over on the local mountain bike trails. I hadn’t been on these trails for awhile because I don’t like to use them by myself. So it was nice to be out there and it was a good day for a hike. My legs weren’t too sore from the race, either.

The view from the overlook isn’t too shabby, either. 😉

Total Miles: 19 miles (including the hike, which I’m counting)

Anyone else swallow any bugs yet this year??
What was the last lucky thing that happened to you?