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 final week of training!

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 6 mile run

This run was another regression run. My intention was to slow down 30 seconds each mile. I mostly succeeded, except for mile 5 when I wasn’t paying attention.

I really enjoyed this run because it was such a pretty day outside. There was a hint of spring in the air with temperatures in the low 50’s and lots of sunshine.

After this run, I got my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Wednesday – Rest

I was feeling pretty crummy after my second dose of the vaccine, so I spent the day resting and napping.

Thursday – 4 mile run

About mid-morning, it felt like a switch just flipped and all of a sudden I went from feeling crummy to feeling totally back to normal after the vaccine. So that was kind of cool.

After work I went for a 4 mile progression run, where I sped up about 30 seconds each mile. It was supposed to be 6 miles, but my legs felt kind of heavy and tired so I just kept it at 4.

Friday – Cross training

Gentle yoga/stretching routine

Saturday – 10 mile run

I met up with Kim for an out and back on the New River Trail. The weather was very reminiscent of Crooked Road 24 Hour – 30’s and raining with a wintery mix at times. Yuck!

I felt a little tired and sore on this run, and kind of continued to feel that way throughout the day.

Sunday – 5 mile run

This was the final run on my training plan and it was supposed to be a 10 mile run. But after giving it some thought, I decided to cut it in half. I’ve had a rotation of several things that have been bothering me a little and I was feeling tired. Since our 50K is this Saturday, the shorter run felt best.

Total miles: 25 miles

So that’s it on my four weeks of training for a 50K. My race day will be this Saturday, March 6. I’ll spend this week doing a short taper towards race day with some light cross training and a few short runs.