Here I will document my unconventional training to prepare for a 50K in four weeks time. Sometimes, you just gotta mix it up! For background, I’m coming off of a solid training block last fall and a solo 50K trail run in December. I had a lot of consistency through January and ended the month with a Yeti 24 Hour Ultra Challenge.

Here is the week 1 breakdown of my training:

Monday – 3 mile walk

This was a speed walk to work on my ultramarathon walking pace. I managed to average 15:40 pace, which was faster than I expected. My ankles and lower back were sore after this walk. Clearly I was using muscles I don’t normally use when running.

Tuesday – Rest

Wednesday – 3 mile run

This was a progression run with each mile getting faster than the last. We have had a lot of snow and ice lately, so I was relegated to the paved trails.

Thursday – Cross Training

Three minute mountain legs routine (lunges and step-ups)

Friday – 5 mile run

This run was a positive split run of sorts, with each mile getting 45 seconds to 1 minute slower. I took that to mean start out fast and back off, and that’s exactly what I did.

My hamstrings were sore from Thursday’s mountain legs workout, so I made sure to stretch well after this run.

Saturday – 3 mile walk

The goal was to beat Monday’s time and I did! I improved my walking pace to 15:19 average.

Sunday – Cross Training

Today’s cross training was a yoga routine and I definitely needed it.

So far this training is very different from anything that I’ve done and I’m nursing a few sore spots – most notably my Achilles tendon. But it’s fun to do something different before I dive back into a traditional training plan in March. I’ll check in next week with how week two went!