You guys! There’s officially thirty-two days until race day! Is it time to freak out yet? I may already be freaking out, but really I just need to know when it becomes socially acceptable to show it on the outside.

This week was a cut back week. The next two weeks on my schedule will be my peak for training. Instead of a ‘peak week’, I decided to do a 14 day-long peak. Fun stuff! Time for the final push before race day. Here’s a breakdown of last week’s training:

Monday – 3 mile easy run on the treadmill after work.

Tuesday – Cross training: 30 Day Shred level 3 Jillian Michaels workout

Wednesday –  Rest.

Thursday – 6 mile hill workout with Sven (the treadmill). I did 10 quarter mile repeats for a total of 1,239 feet in elevation gain. Two of my repeats were done while power hiking on 15% incline.

Friday – Cross training: 30 Day Shred level 3 Jillian Michaels workout

Saturday – 10 mile long trail run. This run was a million times better than last week’s run. It was so nice to finally just be able to relax and enjoy a nice long run on trails. The weather was perfect for a trail run, too: low 40’s and partly cloudy.

I ran with a new Garmin (because my old one bit the dust after 4 wonderful years) and in addition to the usual stuff, this one also tracks heart rate. It uses a sensor on the back of the watch to monitor your pulse in your wrist, so no heart rate strap is needed which is pretty cool. I used a heart rate calculator to determine that my aerobic zone should be 136 to 146 beats per minute. My watch shows the different HR zones and it also had my aerobic in the same range. I haven’t ever tracked my HR while training, but I know that the aerobic zone is pretty much where you want to be for both a long run and a long endurance race. I plan to pay more attention to it during my final weeks of training and on race day.

One funny thing about being able to monitor my heart rate. I had two different loose dog encounters during my run. Neither were bad experiences, as both times the dogs were well-behaved, relaxed, and friendly. But before my brain could even register how their body language looked, my heart rate spiked right up to 200 bpm the second they came in sight.

I also had my first ankle roll on trails this training cycle. At least I made it to week 10 before having one, that’s pretty good. This time it was about 3.5 miles in and my right ankle. It was one of those big rolls where your ankle bone actually bumps the ground. Luckily, it only hurt for about a quarter mile and then I was alright. No swelling or bruising. Oh and I spotted another Christmas ornament in a tree – unrelated to when I rolled my ankle 🙂

Sunday – 5 mile easy run with Kim in the afternoon. It was another beautiful day outside, and there were lots of other people out walking and biking on the trail. Dare I say we may be moving on from winter *knock on wood*

Towards the end of our run, we could hear the train approaching town. We tried to “race” him, but of course you can’t outrun a train and he beat us by about a quarter mile to the train depot. Always fun to give it a go, though.

Total Miles: 24 miles
February Total: 121.41 miles

This week was definitely a lot better than my past couple of weeks have been. I focused on making sure I’m eating enough calories each day and drinking enough, and I think it’s made a big difference. This weekly training recap is part of the Weekly Wrap link up, hosted by HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’. Be sure to check out their blogs and see who else is linking up!

Have you ever used heart rate monitoring as an aspect of your training?

P.S. I also wanted to recognize yesterday, as it was the first anniversary of the day we very suddenly lost my sister-in-law Sara, just shy of her 28th birthday. I cannot believe it has already been a year. It often feels like it just happened, while other times it still feels like it can’t be real. It’s something I will never fully understand and it’s not something you move on from. But you do have to find a way to keep moving. Sara wouldn’t want it any other way.

They said that this winter would be colder and snowier than usual. The ‘they’ I’m referring to is not the meteorologists, who are often wrong. ‘They’ refers to the groups of old men I often see that hang out and talk in country stores. And they are usually right.

We had some pretty cold weather in October and November. Around that time, I predicted (with some insight from said groups of old men) that it would probably stay warmer through December and most of January. After that we would get the colder temperatures and snow storms starting in February through April or so.

I was fairly close, although our first big snow actually came towards the end of January. We have had lots of fluctuations with unseasonably warm days that snap back to freezing temperatures the next week so fast you get whiplash. Case in point: we got a couple inches of snow last night but are expecting high’s in the upper 60’s and low 70’s next week. Can we just move on to the next season already?

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate winter. I like snow when we get a lot of it and I don’t have to go anywhere, or when there’s a little of it and I can go run in it. However, I do not like snow when it impacts my plans or my training. And I definitely do not like bitter cold temperatures with freezing wind chills. All of that moaning and groaning, and it doesn’t even get that cold here, relatively speaking. But y’all, I am ready for spring.

The official first day of spring is only 15 days away. Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring, although I think he had some help with that. Irregardless, I say we just start spring tomorrow. What say you?

How has your winter season been so far?
What is your favorite season?

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for another Wedneday Word link up, hosted by Debbie! This week our word is serendipitous.

One definition of serendipitous is “come upon or found by accident; fortuitous” and another is “of, relating to, or suggesting serendipity.” I love when dictionaries define adjectives that way. It’s kind of a cop out. 🙂 So what do they say, then, about serendipity? It can be “an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident” or “good fortune; luck,” So today, I’m going to tell you a story that encompasses all of those definitions. It’s a time last June when I got very, very lucky.

Back in June I had the privilege of joining Debbie on a team with members of her local Moms Run This Town for the Ragnar Trail Relay Appalachians in West Virginia. It would have been a pretty crazy weekend on its own, but we also added to it some strong storms, pouring rain, and a whole lot of mud. The multiple torrential downpours leading up to, and throughout the weekend, made for some pretty rough trail conditions. Add to that the sheer number of people running three sets of trails, and it was a downright mess.

Our MRTT team had buddied up with another team, so each of us had a partner to run with. My running buddy was Tammie, and we headed out together on our first leg that Friday afternoon. It was a 6.7 mile run that would take us around two hours to complete due to trail conditions. Early on we were running along and going through an area with a lot of boulders and a lot of shin-deep mud.

About a quarter mile past the boulder area, I realized my camera was no longer in my pack. Crap! I had been keeping it in the water bottle pouch, which had a broken bungee cord, so the camera sat loose in it. Up to this point it had never been a problem. But here I was, less than two miles into my first run of the weekend, and my camera was gone! I freaked out, and told Tammie I was going to back track a little on the trail and see if I could find it. She was so nice, and was totally okay with this. I could not believe I’d let this happen.

As I made my way back up the trail, other runners were coming by. Many of them asked if I was alright and when I said I’d lost my camera they wished me well on finding it (and probably secretly thought it was a lost cause). I got back to a spot where we had jumped off of a large boulder into a deep mud puddle, just as another runner landed in the puddle and then continued on down the trail. On a hunch, I reached down into the puddle and lo and behold there was my camera!! To this day I cannot believe I was able to find it.

I should probably also mention that my camera is shock and water proof. But this was definitely the most it had been tested. On top of surviving being left in that mud puddle, I can’t believe it somehow did not get stepped on and crushed by the other runners. That was definitely one serendipitous day, for sure.

When was a time you have experienced serendipity?

P.S. My camera now resides in a zippered pocket while I run 🙂

Here is a recap of last week’s training for my first ultramarathon this April. This recap is part of the Weekly Wrap link up, which is hosted by MissSippiPiddlin’ and HoHo Runs.

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 5 mile easy run. Barry joined me for this evening run and we hit up the trails at a nearby park. It was a nice evening, although it did get dark during our final mile. I’m glad I had him with me as we ran through the woods sans headlamps!

It was a muddy day out there and some of the grassy sections were so soft it was like running on snow or soft sand. My legs felt like they were still recovering a bit from Saturday’s long run.

Wednesday – Cross training: 10 minutes of abs, then 8 minutes alternating between planks and push-ups.

Thursday – 4 mile easy run on the treadmill. I had a long day at work, it was dark when I got home and I was feeling tired. But I hopped on the treadmill and all of that melted away. This was just an easy run, but it was one of those days you live for where running feels effortless. Exactly how the first 8.5 miles of last weeks combo 20 miler/10 mile race went. If only the whole thing had been that way.

Friday – 5 mile trail run in the evening. I did a different type of hill workout during this run. Instead of doing some sort of repeats, I focused on running strong up the hills and then used the flats and downhills as recovery. It was good, but I think I like repeats better. 🙂

Saturday – 8 mile run with Kim in the morning. It was a nice, crisp morning with temperatures around 32 degrees and little to no wind. Great morning for a run! I was feeling pretty rough for the first 4 miles, and I was glad to be running with Kim. I could focus on our conversation and forget about how tired I felt. After the first half of the run, I finally perked up some.

Sunday – 14 mile trail run at the state park. This was a tough one for me, as many of my long runs have been lately. My legs don’t necessarily feel tired, but it’s more like a full body, lack of energy-type fatigue. I know a big problem lies in my nutrition, and on Saturday I definitely did not set myself up for success for this long run. I had breakfast around 11:30 AM after Kim and I ran, and then did not eat again until dinner at 9 PM because Barry and I were busy doing errands all day. I also barely drank any water all day.

I decided to try a slightly different approach to this run, one I expect to use during my race in April. I walked nearly all of the hills right from the start of this run, and then ran on the flats, small hills, and downhills. I had hoped this would have me finishing the run feeling tired, but not completely wasted. Unfortunately, it was just another tough day out there so I don’t know that it made a huge difference. It was a gorgeous day, though, with temperatures in the low 60’s.

During this run I also got to run on two trails I hadn’t been on in a long time. They have been closed the past two months or so for trail maintenance, and it was nice to get to incorporate them into my run. The park isn’t very big, so for a 14 mile run I basically ran every trail twice and one of the trails four times. On one particular trail, it was like running through a disaster area. Between the recent trail maintenance and the high winds we had earlier in the week, there were downed trees, branches, and sticks everywhere.

I saw a guy riding a unicycle on the trails while I was running, which was pretty neat. That’s actually something I know how to do, although I’ve never ridden one on trails before. If it came down to a bicycle or a unicycle, though, I would sooner try the unicycle on trails than a bike.

After I hit mile 11 I was back and my car and I strongly considered ending the run there. But I told myself to suck it up and finish the final three miles, and then I got it done. Tough day out there, but hopefully things are going to get better.

Total Miles: 36 miles

I am definitely having a major issue with nutrition right now. I’ve got a fairly good handle on fueling while running, but I realized over the weekend that I am not eating nearly enough during the day to support my training. On average, I’m consuming about 1,600 to 2,000 calories daily, and the upper limit of that range is very generous. I think this and inconsistent sleep are both big reasons why the past couple weeks of training have been so rocky for me. This week, I’m going to work on making sure I’m eating regularly (I’m really bad about this on work days) and including more healthy snacks to hopefully help boost my energy. Nutrition is such a puzzle to me, but I hope that this will help.

What ‘hidden’ talents do you have? I can ride a unicycle, juggle, and wiggle my ears. I also sound just like Adele when I belt it in my car while driving by myself 😉
Since today is Feb. 29, do you know anyone with a leap year birthday? I had one friend growing up who had that lucky Feb. 29 birthday
Tell me your favorite mantra for when the going gets tough.

Wow, it’s been awhile since I wrote one of these. The last time I pinned on a bib to run a race was October 2015, so I was excited about running the Blacksburg Classic 10 Miler this past Saturday. The race has a hometown feel for me, even though I don’t live in Blacksburg, because I went to school at Virginia Tech. This year was my third year running the Classic and it ended up being my slowest and toughest Classic race yet. But a big part of that was due to me turning it into a 20 mile long run.

I came up with a game plan on how to get in the extra 10 miles in conjunction with the race. My initial plan was to run 5 or 6 miles before the race and then another 4 to 6 afterwards. But the night before the race I decided to try and get 8 to 10 miles before the race. I arrived in Blacksburg about two hours before the race start. One benefit to arriving two hours before a small race is that you get primo parking 🙂 I hit the restrooms really quick and then headed out to get some miles in.I ran what felt like an easy pace as I made my way over to the Virginia Tech campus. It was a gorgeous day (upper 50’s, party cloudy), and being on campus gave me an extra pep in my step. I ended up running about a minute per mile faster than any of my runs this entire training cycle. This definitely came back to bite me later. But at the time I was feeling awesome.

I arrived back at race headquarters about 20 minutes before the race start. This was maybe a bit too much time, but the restrooms are kind of limited at this race and I wanted to make sure I had time for one more break before the race. I then headed back to my car and put on a dry shirt and refilled my bottles. At this point there was about 10 minutes until the race start. I started to jog around a bit, but I kept running into people I knew that I wanted to talk to. So I ended up just standing around talking to friends 🙂 Not smart, but enjoyable.

Barry met up with me in the start area as we waited to get going. He had to work earlier in the morning and wasn’t sure if he would make it on time, so I was really glad he did. He also let me know he would be running the race with me, which was another nice surprise! The race ended up starting about 5 to 10 minutes late, so I had nearly 30 minutes between my first 8.3 miles and the race. Not ideal, but finally we were off and running!

Early on I was feeling fatigued. I tried to forget the fact that I had run 8 miles beforehand and just pretend I was running the race like normal. I felt okay on flats and downhills, but as soon as we hit any kind of incline I was feeling really gassed. I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling so awful. On the whole, I hadn’t even run more than 10 miles yet for the day. So why was I so tired?

The first four miles of the race looped through neighborhood roads with a short stint on the Huckleberry trail. By mile 4 we were back on the Huckleberry trail, where we would be for pretty much the rest of the race. I was taking a lot of short, frequent walk breaks, but Barry stuck right with me. As we approached mile 5 of the race (13 miles total for the day) I got pretty cranky and was not a nice person to be around. I was feeling pretty frustrated with myself. Running through this mud between miles 5 and 6 was fun, though!

After the muddy section, we got into the hills on the course. From miles 5.5 through 9 we covered a lot of rolling hills. At this point I was walking up all of the hills. Just past mile 6 of the race (14 total) my quads started doing that rippling pre-cramp thing and by mile 16 my right quad was going into full on cramps. I had to stop several times to try and stretch it. When it would cramp I tried to walk through it, but anyone who has had cramps during a run knows you can’t walk it off. And that stinks.Physically I was tired, and the cramps didn’t help, but I think a big part of my struggles on Saturday were mental. I just could not stop thinking about the fact that even after finishing the race I still wouldn’t be done. I need to work on just staying present in the current mile. Also, when I start getting tired I need embrace the fatigue and accept it as part of the process, instead of letting it defeat me.

Barry and I continued to our work way through the final two miles of the race. A little after mile 9, as we came up the final long hill, a bunch of volunteers were cheering us on and saying less than a mile to go. Barry shouted to them that I was running a 20 mile long run, and they whooped and cheered even louder. That was fun. Finally, I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:13:06, which is more than 30 minutes slower than my past 10 mile times. But I usually don’t have 8 miles on my legs beforehand. My right quad kept seizing up, so I popped into the school gym in search of something salty. All I could find was a pretzel stick, so I took that with me and headed back out to finish my final 1.7 miles.I finished my run solo, and those final miles felt long. During mile 19 the muscle on the front of my left shin joined the cramping party, along with both of my quads. I do have some mile 19 humor for you, though. As I was running on the sidewalk on my way back to race headquarters, a bus drove by. The gust of wind caused my shorts to flap and for the final mile all I could think was the phrase “whatever blows your dress up, darlin’.” It’s a phrase I’ve heard before, probably most recently while watching Sweet Home Alabama. Welcome to the randomness that is my brain after 4 hours of running 🙂

Also, because I already struggle with basic math which only gets worse with running, I ended up hitting 20 miles before actually making it back to the school. Some might have stopped, but I chose to keep running and ended the day with 20.11 miles. Done. This was a tough one, and I must say I’m looking forward to getting back on the trails for my long runs 🙂

That was basically a novel, so we’ll call this the epilogue:

I can’t help but wonder what kind of day I would have had if I hadn’t been running 20 miles. If I had just been doing the 10 Miler, I would have finished in under 1:50 and would have had a lot more fun during the actual race. But that wasn’t the point on Saturday. The point was to run 20 miles, which I did, and incorporate the Classic since it had been rescheduled from the weekend before. As far as why it was such a rough day for me and why I had muscle cramps I don’t know. I think I was taking in enough fuel (roughly 200 calories per hour) and electrolytes (Tailwind), but clearly something was off. I think running this whole run on concrete and pavement probably affected me. Although I don’t want to give myself an easy out based on the running surface. It can’t have that much effect, can it?

Lastly, I don’t regret running the race. But I do wonder how my day would have gone had I just been running a ‘normal’ 20 miler. It would have gotten tough at some point, but surely it would have been better than Saturday’s broken up run. I’ll never know for sure, but I’ve got plenty of long runs ahead of me to work out my nutrition and mental game strategy.

What funny/random stuff has gone through your heard during a long run or workout?
What are your mental toughness tricks?