I did not snag tickets to see Hayley Williams, but ample full concerts on YouTube have helped me train on the treadmill during the height of allergy season. What is ultra training if not learning to embrace monotony?
I am ready to throw out all training plans. After 15 years of intermittently training as seriously as a person with a full-time job and chronic illness could to run a fast 5k, I had a breakthrough. No speedwork. Slow, plodding runs. Only 3-4 runs a week. About six hours of driving around in the car the day before. Slept on an approximately 40-year-old pull-out couch. 30 second PR.
This isn’t to tell you to fire your coach. It’s to say be free on the run. Let yourself feel what your body can do. Like many road runners, I spent/d too much time stressing about outcomes when I have a goal race on the calendar.
For posterity, here’s a race recap of the Saint Luke’s 5k:
- The first quarter mile was downhill. I saw my watch hoovering around a 5:30 pace and thought oh no. I told my family all morning that I was going to take as a tempo run, probably finishing in about 25 minutes. The first mile arrived at a 6:30 pace. I figured I still had time to chill.
- Mile two, I still pushed, but scaled it back to about a 7 minute mile pace. There were some rolling hills, and remember, I was going chill. I was having fun! I threw my arms up and yelled whoooo every time I saw spectators during those first two miles.
- The roads were pretty empty though. Despite scaling my pace back, I was confidently passing other runners. More importantly, my legs still felt amazing. I decided to give the last mile what I had left.
- I could see two girls (literally high-schoolers) about a 10th of a mile ahead. I grinded the last mile to pass one just before a steep uphill to the J. Birney Crum Stadium, and caught pace with the other. My partner screamed to keep pushing.
- So I did! I love an epic track finish, and ran the last quarter mile in under a 6 minute pace. Rounding the final corner, I could see the clock had just shifted over 20 minutes. WHAT THE FUCK! I had pushed as hard as I could to catch the other runner, but after that last mile grind to catch her, she did pull ahead a few seconds for the win. Oh well! I could be her mom! I came through at 20:30. A thrill! I still felt good! Almost my entire family was there! I ended up in the Morning Call!
Since then, I’ve ramped up weekend long runs, stacking two runs together for 25-30 mile weekends. I had a panic moment about my foot/ankle – I took a breather, added back banded ankle strengthening, and felt good again after a few days of opting for biking instead of running.
These big weekends are because I put together my own training for Laurel Highlands. It’s a mix of big back-to-back trail days on the weekend, getting uncomfortable, then backing off significantly for my body to recuperate. I will know if it worked in June.
With how questionable my body’s response to allergy season is, I decided to personalize a Coros 100k training plan. I need to focus on arriving at the start with no injuries. I know I’m strong enough to complete the 70 miles if I show up without an injury.
Here’s a few other things I’ve been focusing on (and again, I will report back if it was successful):
- Hiking with polls. I need to be ready to use different muscles from running.
- Tailwind and Nuun in my water bottles for nutrition. Mid-June could be very hot, I need to figure out now a decent electrolyte to carb ratio. I don’t put both in the same bottle – my vest has two bottle pockets up front, so I alternate.
- More core stability than I’ve done in awhile. I work in at least 5 minutes most days because as my body tires, staying upright will be harder and harder.
I am not afraid of discomfort. However, years of chronic illness have showed me over and over that I can’t grind it out for months. I don’t have those reserves. My idea is that with years of running in my body, I can run and cross train to a strong ultra-finish.
So as always, stay sweaty and glittery. None of us are free until all of us are free.
Books I’m thinking about / recently read:
- Bluff by Danez Smith
- Loner Forensics by Thea Brown
- Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
#poetsthatsweat 