Higher mileage, happier runner

Here is another weekly ultra training recap, as told in as few words as possible:

Monday – birthday run, group run, still sick, slower pace, 6.1 miles

Tuesday – sickness completely gone, 4 miles with my 4-legged running buddy

Wednesday – no watch, warmth, felt great, 6 miles

Thursday – 12 mile bike ride to the group run, SparklySoul, 7:35 mile, great weather, good company, gossiping, Angela, average 7:52 pace, 7 miles, socializing

Friday – 3 mile walk, long run part 1, Angela, more gossip, warm weather, average 8:18 pace, 10 miles, foam rolling

Saturday – early morning, chilly morning, long run part 2, getting lost, talking, good company, hills, slow trail pace, 10 miles, hunger

Sunday – 1st mountain bike ride in 10 years, need improvement, easy run home, 3.5 miles

Week in review:  awesome, higher mileage, happier runner, great company, loving running, 46.6 miles

 

We all fight our own battles

No matter how strong we may seem,
no matter how smart we may act,
no matter how much or how little money lies in our wallet,
no matter how healthy our bodies may look,
we all fight our own battles.
Physical, mental, emotional battles plague us all.
We can take care of ourselves extensively, but our bodies are not invincible.
We can go to school, read daily, or engage in mind games but our minds are an entangled mess of obstacles, barriers, and forgotten memories.
We can interact with others or chose to think alone, but our emotions will forever linger in our hearts.
We can have a good paying job with copious job stability but the stressors may outweigh the financial rewards.
No matter our age we all fight our own battles.
Youth battles and aged battles.
Inside battles and outside battles.
Battles alone and battles with others.
Battles between our hearts and our minds.
Battles with time.
Battles with recurring events.
Battles you only want to face once.
We all have them.
We all fight against them.
Learn from them but don’t let them change who you are.
Be greater than your battles.

Ultra Training Update

This week has been my highest weekly mileage of my ultra training thus far.  The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL which made me happier, more motivated, and more energetic.  The week ended with day light savings which I am extremely excited about because now it will be lighter out later in the day.  This instantly makes me happier.  We survived winter!  As for training, I had a great week of running, biking, and spending time outside with my dogs.  Here we go:

Monday:  Today I ran 5 easy miles with Gwin (my dog).  No watch, just running.

Tuesday:  Tuesdays are usually my rest days but because I took a rest day on Sunday due to a schedule conflict, I opted to take an easy day of mileage instead of resting again.  I ran 4 miles with one of my best friends at an average of 8:37 pace.  I then walked the dogs to the post office which was 0.75 miles total.  It was a beautiful day outside so I wanted to stay outside as long as possible before going to work.

Wednesday:  I ran early this day because my internship and work schedule overlapped and left me with no time in between to get home and run a reasonable distance.  So I ran 6.2 miles in the early morning with my dad.  It was warm and I was content.  I also walked 3 miles in the afternoon and discovered new trails and a scenic lake!

Thursday:  This was the group run night at my dad’s running/biking store.  I decided to ride my bike to the group run – it’s 12 miles away from my house.  It was a very windy day but I was happy to have my mom biking alongside me.  The group run was 6.2 miles.  I was the only female in the group and all the guys are faster than me so it turned into a tempo run for me.  We averaged 7:51 pace (8:10, 7:41, 7:44, 7:40, 7:54, 8:00).  The last two miles were slower because I can’t run at 7:40 pace and have a conversation with someone simultaneously.  Overall, it was a great run with great company!  Running with fast people will only make me faster!  Also, this night felt like summer and I loved it!  I had to run to the nearby elementary school after the run to meet my dad who was teaching children the importance of bike helmets so I tacked on a mile cool-down at the end of the night.  Today’s bike total: 12 miles.  Today’s running total: 7.2 miles.

Friday:  Today I ran 7 miles with Angela.  Our pace varied throughout our run because we got slightly lost on the trails.  My legs felt dead by the end of the run which I blame on the biking and tempo run from the day before.  It was a good run nonetheless and the weather was PERFECT!

Saturday:  This morning I biked 19 miles during our group ride that leaves from my dad’s running/bike store.  Although we probably averaged 14-15mph pace, I enjoyed the bike ride and it was nice to spend a morning outside cross-training.  Immediately after finishing the bike ride, I went for a quick three miles.  My legs felt like they wanted to continue spinning in circles as if I were on a bike but they needed to run!  I didn’t look at my watch during the run so I was completely shocked at the end of my run when my Garmin Forerunner 10 told me that I averaged 8:18 pace.  And the funniest part of this whole situation is that it also turned into an unintentional three mile progression run (8:28, 8:17, 8:06).  Considering how crappy I felt during the entire run, I was utterly appalled at how quick my splits were – especially since I physically felt like I was running at 10-minute pace.  It was yet another great day of training!

Sunday:  Sundays are my favorite because it’s long run day!  Angela and I followed my dad and our trail-running friend through the ups and downs of Brandywine. We were at Brandywine one month ago and it was only 8 degrees out.  Today, it was a cool 53 degrees which made it perfect for two hours out on the trails. Because my dad and our friend are training for the Hyner View Challenge that is in a month and a half they wanted to run as many hills as possible today.  Angela and I basically just had to suffer through the torture; however, the hills will make us stronger runners too!  We ran 11.5 miles with 1500 feet of elevation – this is significant elevation for a run in Delaware!  It was a great morning out on the trails and it was an awesome ending to this week.

This week was jam-packed with running, cross-training, and pure enjoyment of the great outdoors! There’s one more week of winter and then I’m hoping the earth will bless us with a warm and perfect spring!