This past week was my fifth week of training for the North Face 50K on April 9. My mileage is starting to ramp up a bit and this ultra training thing is starting to seem more real. I finished this week feeling strong and confident, with one third of the training behind me. I know it’s going to get much, much tougher in the weeks to come. But I have to say, I’m really enjoying this process so far!

Monday – Rest.

Tuesday – 3 mile easy run on the treadmill, followed by some strength training. I decided to do some ‘real life’ strength training and shoveled the foot of snow off of our front walk.

Wednesday – 4 mile hill workout on the treadmill. My run included six quarter mile hill repeats with a total of 464 feet in elevation gain.

Thursday – Rest.

Friday – Cross training: Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred level 3 DVD workout

Saturday – 16 mile long run around Blacksburg. I had to do this run all on paved trails, since the dirt trails I normally run are still covered with deep snow. A couple of my friends were down visiting for the weekend. My one friend, Jackie, and I try and get together for a run when she’s in town. When she initially asked me about what my plans were for the weekend, I told her I had a 16 miler on Saturday. I asked if she wanted to join me for part of the run, but she enthusiastically said she would try and run the whole thing. She’s never run more than 6 miles. We ran a route that would allow her to drop around 10 miles if she wanted to. But lo and behold she toughed it out and ran the whole way with me. I was very impressed!

It was a gorgeous day for a long run. The temperature was in the upper 20’s at the start and it warmed up to the 40’s by the finish. We started out on a trail I used to run on in college all of the time – the Huckleberry trail. We also explored a new trail that connects to it. I was happy to find all of these trails had been cleared of snow.

On our way back, we decided to run around the Virginia Tech campus for a bit. We made our way over to the football stadium, and found that the entrance to the tunnel was unlocked! This is the tunnel that the football players run through when they come onto the field.

It was fun to go out onto the field in the snow and look at the empty stadium.

At this point we were at mile 10 and decided to start making our way across town towards to the house where a bunch of our college friends live (and where my friends who were visiting were staying for the weekend). We ran by their house a little past mile 14.5, and they came out to cheer us on as we ran by. Then, after a mile and a half out and back that felt very long, we finally hit 16 miles!

Our cars were actually about two miles away, back at the beginning of the trail where we started our run. So we had to get a ride back over there to get them. First, though, I oversaw Jackie’s very first ice bath which she actually completed by sitting in the front yard and burying her legs in the snow.

Sunday – 4 mile run with Kim in the afternoon. I was worried that my legs would be sore, after running my 16 miler all on pavement the day before. Surprisingly, I wasn’t sore at all. I just felt a bit tired.

It was a gorgeous day out, and Kim and I both got to wear shorts. We thought it looked funny to be running in shorts in the snow, so we snapped a picture at the halfway point.

Much of the run was in the snow, since the trail is still covered in a couple inches of snow in most places. That made for a fun run, though. I also started breaking in new shoes. Same model as my old ones, but these are purple – my favorite color!

Total Miles: 27 miles
January total: 102 miles

This weekly workout recap is part of the Weekly Wrap link up, hosted by HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’.

How was your weather this weekend?
Who else is in training for something? How is it going so far?

I wanted to share three books I read recently. I guess I should also mention by dirty I mean books about trail running, which involves dirt. You’re probably rolling your eyes, but I suck at titles and that was the best I could come up with. So anyway, here are three books related to trail and ultrarunning that I enjoyed and found really useful. (Oh and I should mention I bought these books myself and no one is paying me for a review or anything… just sharing my opinion)

1. Hal Koerner’s Field Guide to Ultrarunning by Hal Koerner and Scott Jurek

This ones not really meant to be read cover to cover, although you can. This one is the only one of the three that’s very much like reading a textbook on trail and ultrarunning. Hal Koerner, one of the most experienced and recognized athletes in the sport of ultrarunning, has a wealth of information to share. Hal covers running gear, nutrition, technique, mental strategies and more. This book has been a great tool that I continually refer back to as I prepare for my first ultra.

2. The Extra Mile by Pam Reed

This one is not a handbook, although there is definitely information to be gleaned as you read through. The book is very inspirational and motivational, and I found it amazing to read about Pam Reed’s story. I couldn’t necessarily relate directly to everything she writes about (such as battling an eating disorder, divorce, and raising kids), but I found it riveting all the same. She also talks a lot about her experiences at the Badwater Ultramarathon (if you don’t know what that is, check out the movie Running on the Sun). She was the overall winner at that race, for both men and women, two different times. And that’s just one of her many accolades – from holding the American women’s record for both the 24 and 48 hour run to running 300 miles at one time. Although it’s not the smoothest, most well-written book to read, it really picks up during the second half when she delves deeply into her running over the years. It was truly fascinating to get a glimpse inside the mind of such an accomplished endurance athlete.

3. Trailhead: The Dird on All Things Trail Running by Lisa Jhung

Like the Hal Koerner book, this book is also a great guidebook on trail running that’s not really meant to be read cover to cover. I really love this book because it’s got so much great information in it on trail running. In addition to all of the valuable advice, there’s also a lot of humor and some great illustrations which make for an entertaining read. Exhibit A:

I love that this book is written by a woman, too. I feel like most guidebooks and books on running/training are primarily written by men. I can’t really explain why, but reading this book totally different from reading a running book written by a man. While all three of these books were great, this one was definitely my favorite.

I have two other running books I plan to read in the near future that I’ve heard are good: Running with the Buffaloes and Running and Stuff. Both are more for entertainment than education.

In non-running related reading news (wow that’s a mouthful), I’ve finally caved and begun reading the Song of Ice and Fire books – better known as Game of Thrones. I’m almost 200 pages in (which is only 1/4 of the book, good grief!) and I am totally hooked!

Have you read any of these books?
Have you read any good books lately?
What are you currently reading?

This Wednesday I am linking up with the Wednesday Word link up, hosted by Debbie. Each week Debbie provides us with a word prompt to write about. It’s a fun link up to join in on, because it really gets me thinking! I also end up writing about stuff that I probably wouldn’t otherwise write about, which is neat. Click on the button below to see who else is linking up and to join in!

This week’s word: optimism.

I am a naturally optimistic person. I tend to see the good in people and I’m quick to find a positive in almost any situation. It’s just the way I’m wired. A lot of times, I think that being able to have a positive outlook means you can accomplish more. Often, you are your own worst enemy. When you can embrace your suffering and continue to plow through, sure in the fact that things are going to get better, that’s when you find success.

When you’re able to change your views to glass half full, you are often able to see the bigger picture. Instead of looking for happiness from outside factors, you can find it within yourself. I think this also translates into using a more positive tone inside your head. You don’t beat yourself up or use negativity when you fail to reach a goal. When an optimistic person falls short of a goal, he says “I need to work harder next time” or “I need to take a different approach” rather than “I have failed.”

The reality is there are always ups and downs in life. Being optimistic doesn’t mean you’re expecting sunshine and rainbows all of the time. Instead, you weather the downs to fully enjoy the ups.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

I’m recapping my past week of 50K training as part of the Weekly Wrap link up. The link up is hosted by MissSippiPiddlin’ and HoHo Runs.

This past week of training was a cut back week for me. I only ran three times, and all three were on the treadmill due to the boatload of snow we got over the weekend.

Monday – Rest.

Tuesday – 3 mile easy run in the morning before work with Sven. I also did some strength training (10 minutes of abs and some squats, lunges, push ups, and planks) after work in the evening.

Wednesday – Rest. Normally I do a hill workout on Wednesdays but I had the worst headache all day, probably due to the change in weather.

Thursday – Cross training: 30 Day Shred level 1 DVD workout in the evening.

Friday – 6 mile hill workout with Sven as the snow came down heavy outside. I did eight hill repeats for nearly 650 feet in elevation gain total. I’m always worried about being able to get a quality workout in on the treadmill, but my legs were sore the next morning so I know this was a good one.

I also carried in this whole pile of wood by myself after my run to feed our woodstove throughout the weekend. I didn’t put it down in my running log as cross training, but I think it probably should have counted as some. 🙂

Saturday – Strength training: just 10 minutes of abs. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the nearly two feet of snow we got. It was super windy all day, too, which led to snow drifts from 4 to 8 feet deep. I considered taking a nap in the afternoon, but decided Hank and Scout had that pretty well covered.

Sunday – 8 mile long run with Sven in the morning. In the afternoon Barry and I dug my work vehicle out. Since we had so much snow, Barry went over to the farm and got a tractor to plow the driveway. We would have been shoveling until Tuesday if we had tried to do it by hand!

Total Miles: 17 miles

Who else got hit by this winter storm?

It was recently brought to my attention that I have a lot of tendencies that are similar to that of an 80 year old. The more I thought about it the more I realized I have a lot of 80 year old characteristics.

1. I still send birthday cards in the mail (often with a $1 bill in them – although that’s more of a family joke)
2. I like to go to bed early
3. I don’t like to go out after dark
4. I need at least one bathroom break during a movie
5. My favorite games include Gin Rummy, canasta, and Rummikub
   
6. If I go out to dinner, I prefer to go early in the evening before it gets crowded
7. I still pay most of my bills by check
8. My dad has accused me of having an “old lady” purse (to which I replied your mom has an old lady purse)

Do any of these characteristics also describe you?
How are you like an 80 year old?