I am going to try this 50k thing again. My life is better when I’m on a training plan. I know what to eat and when. I know the length and days of my runs. I just feel Organized.
Over the past couple of years, successfully training for a race has been difficult for me. I start a plan, get to about 17 miles, and the wheels fall of the bus of my life. Someone gets sick. We have an event. The house is a mess. My motivation drops. Something comes up the weekend of the race that prohibits me from even signing up for it. Well, kids. I’m trying again. I really, really want this. I want it even though I have promised myself (twice) that I won’t do an early spring race because running long in the winter is hard for me. My hands and feet don’t do well in the cold. I make excuses. I sweat too much. And for the second time, I’m ignoring the rule I made for myself and pulling out the training plan.
The plan I chose is from Ultrarunningmom. It is an 18-week plan for a 50k. When I decided it was time to get serious and pulled it out, I realized that I only have 15 weeks until the race. Did I mention that I haven’t been running regularly…or more than 3 miles at a time? No? Yeah…there’s that. No matter! A little modification, and we’ll power through. For this first official week, I had two 2-milers, three 4-milers, and two rest days for a total of 16 miles.
There’s also another little tid-bit of info that I should throw in her. I went for a run on Christmas Eve with my dog, Todd. It was beautiful. Fifty degrees. I vowed on that day that I would run at least a mile everyday and start eliminating my excuses. I ran the next day. And the next day. I’ve run everyday since. But…back to the training plan!
In this section, I plan to update everyone on how the training is going. I’ll break down the runs and let you all see how real-life training looks for a mom of very active teen girls. Here’s what happened this week.
- Monday-1 mile with Todd
- Tuesday-3 miles (New Year’s Eve)
- Wednesday-2.75 miles with Todd
- Thursday-2 miles
- Friday-2 miles with Todd
- Saturday-4.3 miles with Todd (his longest run so far)
- Sunday-4.03 miles plus 1.25 mile walk with Todd
- Total miles = 20.33
Running with Todd is hard. He pulls on the leash. This causes me to run faster than I want to and also pulls on my back, neck, and shoulders. I can’t really have a relaxing run because I have to stay so focused on him. He poops. I have to pick it up in a little bag and stuff it in my pocket. It smells. The benefit of running with Todd is that when I run without him, my form is improved, and I run faster. I’m leaning forward more and running more on my mid-foot. Pros and cons. On our walk today, we practiced listening to Mom and sitting. He still has a ways to go.
That’s it for Week 1, kids! Week 2 involves a “long run” of 6 miles. Looking forward to getting that mileage back up!
See you on the Edge!
Julia
