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 a recap of my third week of training:

Monday – 6 mile run

It was another gray, cold, and rainy day so I opted to run this one on the treadmill. It’s been awhile since I “gave in” and ran indoors, but I enjoyed spending my run watching my latest tv show obsession: Homeland.

Tuesday – Rest

I was ready for a rest day, coming off of three days in a row of running. I’m pretty sure it had been several weeks since I strung three days of running together back to back.

Wednesday – Runner’s choice miles

This run was free choice on the miles, and I planned to run somewhere between 3 to 5 miles first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, the park where I like to run still had their gates locked even though it was after their posted opening time. So that stunk. I drove to a different park and only had time for 1 mile at that point, but I was treated to a spectacular sunrise.

It was only 18 degrees, but I dressed appropriately and wasn’t cold! After work, I headed back out for another 3 miles on the trails. Nothing spectacular to report. The miles got done. So here’s another sunrise photo from the morning.

Thursday – Cross Training

More yoga for runners. I need to do more of this stuff when I start my Yeti and Eastern Divide training. Stretching is good for you and it makes you feel good – did you know that?

Friday – 3 mile walk

During week 1, I did two 3 mile speed walks with the focus of improving my ultramarathon walk. The goal throughout was to improve my time each time. My first 3 mile walk averaged 15:40/mile and the second one averaged 15:19/mile. I wasn’t sure if I could beat that time, but I managed to knock another minute off of my pace and finished this walk with an average pace of 14:08/mile!

We had another ice storm on Wednesday night and none of it had melted from the trees, yet. I’m so over winter at this point, but all of the ice in the trees looked really cool. It even looked like glitter when the sun hit it.

Saturday – 7 mile run

I met up with Kim on the New River Trail to join her for the last 7 of her 18 miler. It was clear and sunny, which I really appreciated. But still very cold with temperatures in the low 20’s and a windchill in the teens.

But I managed to dress appropriately for the weather conditions, and that makes all the difference on a run. The sunlight made all of the trees glitter and it sounds kind of hinky, but we were really in awe running down the trail. I wish I had been able to really capture it in a photo. Kim said it was like trying to take pictures of a full moon – it’s never close to how it really looks in person.

Sunday – 3 hour long run

This run was time-based instead of having a set distance. I headed back to the New River Trail to start this run mid-morning. It was in the low 30’s at the start of my run and there was still plenty of ice on the rocks and trees along the trail.

It was such a gorgeous day to be outside! It was sunny and warmed up to the low 40’s by the end of my run. The trail got increasingly sloppy throughout, but it was manageable. My shoes and lower legs were a mess by the end!

I ended up getting 15 miles done in 3 hours and 3 minutes. I hadn’t gone that far since early December and I was happy to find that I felt really good on this run. I hit a low around mile 12 or so but pulled out of it by the final mile.

Total miles: 35 miles