First Training Week

And so it begins, four months in my somewhat long-ish life that I should by all rights be scared of, but I'm not, not in the least. I'm excited and truly happy to be training for a 50K - 31 miles on trail, my first ultra marathon. I've never been more certain about anything.

I come to this place with very little experience and hardly any history. My total bib count is five: a 5K, a road half, a trail half, a road full, and a trail 15K. I've been running for less than two years and my lifetime mileage is hovering at just under 2000. I'm funky and quirky and I swear a lot, but even so, I'm approaching my 50th birthday very soon. But despite all this, all these odds outside of my favor, I'm ready.

My coach, Yassine, thinks so, too, apparently, because the first two weeks of my training plan, what he's calling "maintenance," started right in, no bones about it. My running partner, who will be running the 50K with me, came along for the ride on most of theses runs (she's so easy that way!).

Monday 11/19
Rest/No Exercise (I love when training plans start here!)

Tuesday 11/20
Easy, flat trails
Miles: 5:17
Pace: 10:23

BRF and I were a little shocked at just how easy we took this one. We had a lot to gossip about and we just pooped along. It was one of the first non-hot mornings, though.

Wednesday, 11/21
Pre-Race day; rest/yoga
Did lots of core work, then did hips and hammies in yoga. My yoga practice is becoming just as important as my training. I can't imagine one without the other.

Thursday 11/22
15K Trail Race
Miles: 9.27
Time: 1:43
Pace: 11:35
Happy Thanksgiving! BRF and I headed out to Topanga State Park nice and early on a beautiful morning to run the XTERRA Topanga Turkey Trot 15K. What a fantastic course this is, a big climb up first thing, then gorgeous, rolling single track headed down a canyon, and looping back up and down a sunny fire road. The descent to the finish was fun and I felt awesome flying down. There was an old guy right ahead of us in the conga line who refused to let us pass for a long time; that was weird. He held up a lot of folks! No matter, I was happy with my race and my time and I felt strong all the way.

Friday, 11/23
Easy recovery
Miles: 4:00
Pace: 9:37
An excellent yoga class in the morning did not prepare me for how cranky I was on this run. It was hot, 85 degrees, and I had put it off, like a dummy, until the hottest part of the afternoon. Even just 4 miles felt like a chore.

Saturday, 11/24
Hilly trails
Miles: 7:00
Pace: 11:25
Focus: Power hiking

I am extremely lucky to live at the base of the San Gabriel mountain range in the Angeles National Forest. I have a zillion trail heads within blocks of my front door, and on this day, BRF and I tackled a whole bunch of great climbs. It is tricky for me to let go of pace, but seeing double digits on my Garmin is getting easier, especially if I am in the middle of a lot of elevation. Trying for efficiency with my power hike was a good way to hone into something beyond pace.

Sunday, 11/25
Trails
Miles: 10:23
Pace: 9:57
Focus: Steady effort on ups & downs; push the effort miles 7-9
This was totally fun; started at my house and arranged for Jaime to pick us up a couple cities away, which we navigated by trail somewhat randomly--and in doing so, ran into some friends--always a treat. It was a gorgeous, happy day.

So, all in all, 36 miles for my first week of ultra training. Feels swell. Later, I'll talk about my nutrition plan both on and off trail--it's pretty specific and it's feeling really, really right.