Week 2: What Have I Done?
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
(Please read the Week 1 post if you’re wondering what this post is all about.)
I intended to post a weekly training recap on Sunday or Monday of each week, and already I’m behind. Blame it on the transition back to home and moving back into our house. Routines get put on hold when dozens of boxes await unpacking, furniture needs moving, Internet and phone don’t function and the house doesn’t feel at all like a home (yet). Here, belatedly, is the journal of the previous week.
I headed out reluctantly and felt fairly lousy for the first few miles of each run. It probably had something to do with the adjustment to high-altitude running in Mammoth Lakes, where we spent the week, but mostly I think I felt intimidated by the goal to which I committed myself. What have I done — what am I doing? The reality of putting in higher-mileage weeks to train for a 50-miler felt daunting. It’s not just the mileage, which I’m confident I can do (I’m pretty certain I can pace myself to get across the finish line); it’s the commitment to giving it my best shot and trying to fulfill whatever potential I have in these legs and lungs. Relax and shut up and run, I’d answer myself.
View of Twin Lakes from a run above Mammoth. Ahh, the Eastern Sierra -- I love it!
Mostly it was a week to practice patience; that is, to go slower and longer, and to recalibrate my sense of time and distance so that I’m not impatient after 45 minutes. I discovered podcasts of stories and interviews from Endurance Planet that helped stretch out the time on my feet. It was nice to hear Anita Ortiz, last year’s Western States winner, recount the coaching advice, “If you’re struggling, slow down.” As I sucked thin air on the slopes above Mammoth, I let myself slow down or hike.
Last week:
Mileage: 46
Number of days and time running: 6 days (though one was only 2 mi); 7 hrs, 35 min
Longest run: 18 miles; 3 hrs, 10 min. Super slow first hour heading up Mammoth Mountain, with many walking breaks. Ran the trail up to the ski area from town twice, faster the second time.
Speed workout? Not really; adjusting to the high altitude in Mammoth was hard enough. But did 6 hill repeats on a 200m hill and some miles at what felt like a tempo pace.
Cross training? Yes, went to the local gym and did core and arms conditioning and lots of balance work on a squishy balance ball. My arms were so sore the next day since I haven’t used gym equipment like that in so long.
What I did to help prevent injury: Balance work and heel raises to strengthen ankles/achilles and improve flexibility. Got back on the foam roller for the first time in a long time to roll out the knots. Iced my right patella after it felt tweaky. And perhaps most importantly, tried to break my habit of going straight back to the computer after walking through the door from a run; took time to cool down and stretch properly.
Tags: dick collins firetrails 50, Oakland, Running, trail running, Ultrarunning