Coming through the first aid station at the Skyline 50K, I was all smiles because Morgan (who took these photos) and Kyle were there.

Three weekends, three trail races — a marathon, 30K and then 50K. I’ve never entered so many events with such high cumulative mileage in such a short time.

First it was the hilly Headlands “Marathon” (more like 27+ miles due to a long course and me veering off course; finished 2nd female in 4:35. See last week’s post). Then two weeks ago, it was the Sequoia 30K (1st female, 5th overall in 2:54). And finally, yesterday’s Skyline 50K (2nd female, 19th overall in 4:46).

I used to enter races with careful consideration and focus my training on them. Now, I’m doing the opposite and exploring the benefits of racing to train; that is, of having fast-paced but not very goal-oriented long runs (the races) part of a longer training plan. (more…)