This past week I’ve had the flu and I’ve basically been neglecting life in general. That includes completely missing peak week number two so far. However, in honor of my peak training, here’s a list of five things I neglect when training for a goal race:

1. Personal maintenance – yes, I still shower daily and after each workout. But things like painting my toenails, plucking my eyebrows, and shaving my legs often fall by the wayside.
2. Chores – cleaning the house, doing the dishes, going to the grocery store are not as high on my list of priorities.
3. Social interactions – evenings hanging out with friends and time spent with Barry are more limited. But I think Barry does like my training some – it gets me out of his hair for a bit and gives him time to himself 🙂 I’m also a lot worse about commenting on other blogs and replying to comments on my blog. I do still read others blog posts, but it is often on my phone and it’s hard to comment from my phone.
   
4. Sleep – training takes up a lot of time and when I do make time in my day for other things, my bedtime is often the first thing that gets pushed to the back burner.
5. Things that support running – this one seems counterintuitive, but when life gets busy and I have a demanding training schedule, things like cross training, stretching, and nutrition are often the first to go. On a busy Saturday, for example, I can be really bad about going from my long run straight to other activities and I won’t stop to eat for hours afterward. Not exactly the best set up for recovery.

What do you neglect during training?

I’m linking up today with Debbie for her Wednesday Word link up!

Each week Deb provides a word prompt to spur us on, and this week’s word is shenanigans. At first I honestly had no idea what to write about. I’ve got plenty of stories of times when I’ve been up to no good with various antics, especially in college. But I think I’m better off if I don’t grace the Internet with those. Instead, in honor of April 1 being right around the corner, I decided to share six harmless (okay mostly harmless) April Fools pranks.

1. Fun with bubbles – Unscrew the shower head and use a cheese grater to put flakes of soap in the shower head. Then screw the shower head back in. There’s no better way to turn a shower into a stand up bubble bath!
2. Surprise spray – Place a rubber band around the sprayer at the kitchen sink. When someone goes to cut the faucet on, they will get soaked by the sprayer instead. (I got my dad with this one when I was a kid. He had to change his work shirt and I got in trouble)
3. Thou shalt not pass – Take Saran wrap and tape it across a doorway, just at face and chest height. Make sure there are no wrinkles so it is invisible. When someone opens the door to walk through, they’ll walk right into it, and then they’ll stand there with a hilariously confused look on their face trying to figure out what happened.
4. Fairy dust – If it is raining on April Fools, fill someone’s umbrella either with confetti or glitter. When they go to open it, it will look like Tinker Bell is preparing them for a flight to Neverland.
5. Heads up – Fill a box to the brim with ping pong balls and put it in a cabinet. Make sure the box is balanced just right, so that it will fall out when the next person opens the cabinet. I think this one would be funny in an office break room.
6. Stuck money – Glue a quarter to the sidewalk in a park. Sit on a nearby bench to watch the unsuspecting victims try and pick it up.

I am in no way condoning any of these pranks, nor do I take any responsibility for any actions you may choose to take. My PSA to you on April first: Be on your toes! No one is safe 🙂

Are you a prankster on April 1?
What’s the best/worst prank you’ve pulled or had pulled on you?

My training plan has a two week long peak and I am currently right in the middle of it. I’m linking up today with MissSippiPiddlin’ and HoHo Runs for their Weekly Wrap link up.

Here is a recap of last week’s training for The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K, which is only twenty-five days away (!!).

Monday – Easy 3 miler in the evening. I was able to do this run outside and squeaked it in just before sunset.

Tuesday – Easy 5 miler after work. This one had to be done on the treadmill because the sun had already set when I started my run. Thanks to the beginning of Daylight Savings, however, I am expecting to be able to do most of my runs outside from now on!

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – 7 mile hill workout on the treadmill. I did ten quarter mile repeats for a total of 1,640 feet in elevation gain. Four of my repeats were power hiking on 15% incline.

Friday – Rest

Saturday – 14 mile long trail run. This was supposed to be a 24 mile run, my longest run of the training cycle. I envisioned myself finishing tired and triumphant, but it was just not my day and unfortunately I had to cut the run 10 miles short.

Barry joined me for the run because I wanted to explore the full 7.2 miles of a trail I like to run at Pandapas Pond in the Jefferson National Forest. The original plan was that he would run the first 14 with me and then I would do two other shorter loops to total 24. I was having one of those girl problem days, where all you feel like doing is curling up on the couch with a heating pad and some chick flick movie on TV. And I was emotional, of course, so there were tears by mile 6 of my run. I was also not a very nice person to be around.

During the second half of the run I paused at each of the creek crossings (about three total) and soaked my feet and calves. The water was chilly and it felt really refreshing.

We toughed it out for 14 miles, with about 1400 feet in elevation gain total, and it was definitely not how I expected the day to go. My body and legs felt tired, but I think I could have pushed through the fatigue. However, I think I really defeated myself mentally. It just was not productive to be out there anymore.

I kept telling myself “it doesn’t always get worse” but unfortunately on this day it did. I know that during ultras you often go through many highs and lows. It is important to push through those lows because it almost always does get better. But I pushed through on Saturday for 2 hours and it didn’t get better. Enough was enough for the day.

Sunday – My original plan was to run 24 miles Saturday and 5 miles Sunday. Instead, I ended up running 12 solo miles to make up for Saturday a bit. I was feeling a bit better than on Saturday (I took some medicine before my run this time). I did wake up with a cough, but it didn’t get worse until later in the day.

I broke this run up into three shorter out and back runs of 6 miles, 5 miles, and 1 mile. That’s just how it needed to be and it worked for me. I felt pretty fatigued the first mile or two, but then I felt a bit better during the rest of the run. It was raining the whole time, which actually felt pretty refreshing.

I was glad to get this run in. As the day went on my cough got a lot worse and I started to feel very fatigued and achey all over. It looks like I’ve come down with a cold or something. By Sunday night I basically felt like I had been hit by a truck. It’s like my body got hit with a triple whammy: soreness from back to back long runs, girl stuff, and this chest cold I’ve come down with. I’ve got another peak week ahead of me, though, so it all needs to clear out soon.

Total Miles: 41 miles

You know that point in training where you feel like you were crazy to sign up for the race and that you probably can’t do it? Well, I’m there. I think everyone hits that point, regardless of whether training has been going well or going poorly. Somehow, I need to pull myself up by my bootstraps, get my head on right, and refocus on the weeks of training to come.

Who else is excited about the beginning of Daylight Savings? I know morning runners are typically not fans, but us evening runners live for the extra daylight!
How do you weather the highs and lows during a long run or workout?

Once again I find myself in a shoe dilemma with a big race on the horizon. Remember that one that happened literally the day before Marine Corps? That one was kind of a fluke, and totally unrelated to my current problem.

My current problem is one that we have all faced: You fall in love with a particular model of shoe, the manufacturer comes out with a new model and the new one just does not work for you. Most of us runners have a tendency to stockpile shoes when we find one we love. But I failed to do that this time and now my ‘older’ model isn’t available in my size anymore. I tried the new version of my beloved Stinson ATR’s and it just does not work for me. Now I find myself with 28 days until race day and in a scramble to find a new pair of trail shoes, since my current pair are pretty much worn out.

Have you ever watched that TV show House Hunters International? I always think it’s so neat how a lot of houses outside of the USA have names. If our house was on House Hunters International, its name would have to be House of Hoka. I’ve got Hokas out the wazoo right now, as I try and find a new model that will conquer my first ultramarathon with me. Thank goodness for companies with trial periods and 90 day returns.

I’ve got things narrowed down to the pair in the middle (Challenger ATR 2) and the pair on the right (Mafate 2). The ones on the far left are the aforementioned new Stinsons ATR’s that don’t work. As for the other two, I’m having a hard time deciding. I’m glad this process isn’t going on in a running store, because I’d probably be driving the sales guy nuts with my indecisiveness.

There are different things I really like about each model, and not a whole lot I dislike about either. I think I may end up doing longer runs in both over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully there will be a clear winner between the two before race day!

What shoe debacles have you faced in the past?
What do you do when an updated model doesn’t work for you?

P.S. Hoka is currently my shoe of choice – sadly they don’t pay me or give me free stuff.

Another Wednesday means another Wednesday Word link up, hosted by my friend Debbie. Each week Debbie provides us with a word prompt to write about. I really enjoy the different topics that people write about, all from one individual word. Be sure to click on the button below to join in and see who else is linking up!

Today’s word is gracious. Gracious traditionally means being polite, kind, and giving. I’m going to keep things fairly short and sweet today with a little PSA.

Be thankful and polite to those that support you – running can be an incredibly selfish sport. We take time away from our families and friends to train for weeks and weeks. Then, when race day arrives, the entire weekend is often all about us. Those that support us eat when and where we want and put up with our pre-race crazies. Then they get up at some ungodly hour on a weekend morning just to stand in one spot, possibly for hours, to see us for maybe 30 seconds. They make signs to make us laugh, take our picture, and are often our biggest cheerleaders. When the race is done they suffer through play-by-plays of the days events and again eat where and when we want without complaint. We all appreciate our supporters, but it is important to make sure they know it.

Some races are smaller or more remote and don’t really have spectators. But all races have volunteers and races wouldn’t happen without them. Always be polite to the volunteers. Thank them for being there and for their time – they choose to be out there. I don’t care how bad your day is going, there is never any reason to be rude or disrespectful to a volunteer, or anyone, at a race. Never forget to be kind and gracious no matter what.

Oh and when you see the small, outstretched hand of a child along a race course give them a high five. You just may be planting a seed that will grow into a lifelong love of running. 🙂

What does being gracious mean to you?
Who are your biggest supporters?
Have you ever volunteered at a race or other event?

P.S. In the spirit of graciousness, I am also very grateful that we finally spring forward this weekend!!