I run for...the hills.

I aptly named today's blog post after the hills. Hill has a totally new meaning to me after my first 50K attempt. This blog post is coming to you 8 days after one of the most brutal races I've ever ran in my life, the Table Rock Ultra 50K. So here's my full race report with all the nitty gritty details.

My husband and I got to Morganton, NC on Friday afternoon and headed straight to the packet pickup. I have to admit that I was immediately intimidated as we drove into town and could see Table Rock from the road. It was massive. I could not believe that I would be at the summit of that mountain in less than 24 hours. After packet pickup there was no time to waste. I settled into my pre-race routine - meditation, a bottle of Nuun, and carb loading. I went to bed totally at peace and ready to embark on the uncharted territory of my first ultra.

Yikes!

Race day began as per usual. I was surprisingly well rested. The cough and cold I had been nursing the whole week prior to the race had seemingly disappeared. I drank my coffee and ate my oatmeal. Then, I just kept doing the visualizations that I had been practicing in the weeks prior.

Driving out to Steele Creek Park for the start of the race, I was definitely nervous. It was dark and I didn't have a head lamp so I was really hoping the sun would be up soon. I checked in with the race directors and then made my last pit stop to the restroom. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized the long line I saw was for the men's restroom. So I was in and out and had only a few minutes before we began. I packed everything I needed into my handheld water bottle or my flip belt. Then, got some love and encouragement from my husband before heading to the start line.

Me and my amazing husband

I stayed at the back of the pack, making sure I had someone to follow so I didn't get lost. The sun was starting to rise and I no longer had a fear of it being too dark. The race began slow and steady. It was flat at first and we started out racing across a huge pasture. It was like this for maybe the first 2 miles and then we hit the first section of single track trail.

Oh. Em. Gee. Nothing could have prepared me for this. This was not even the hardest part of the race but I knew if this was what was yet to come then I was in for a world of hurt. By the end of this short single track section, my legs were already burning and I had to stop to walk multiple times because there was just no "running" to some of those trail sections.

As predicted the next couple miles were nice rolling hills that were much more my caliber. I was actually able to make up quite a bit of ground on this section and passed a handful of people. One group of young men I caught up to had an injured friend that had twisted his ankle in the first couple of miles. They stuck with him and helped him as much as they could but I found out later he had to drop at the first aid station.

When the first aid station approached, I had no idea how I was doing on time. I felt like I was going at a snail's pace and sure enough I was right. I think it took me a little over an hour to make it 4.2 miles. My next aid station wasn't until 10.2 and the cut-off time was 11am. At the rate I was going I wasn't sure if I'd make it. I just knew those next 6 miles were going to be a true test for me and the thought had already crossed my mind that I might need to drop to the 30K. I had no idea what was in store for me next.

Those next 6 miles were mostly single track trail. Steep inclines, multiple creek crossings, lots of rocks and boulders and tree limbs. I could not only feel my legs burning but now my lungs. That cough and cold I had been nursing all week caught up with me. Every push to run a little faster threw me into a coughing fit. And if it wasn't the coughing, it was my legs screaming for a rest. But I pressed on. I knew every step forward was progress. I tried not to think about the time but it was hard. I was starting to get passed by all the 30K people who had started 30 minutes after me. One lady stopped to walk with me a bit. She asked how I was doing when I clearly wasn't doing well. I told her "I think I bit off more than I can chew". She said, "No! This is just a hike in the woods. We've got all day." This put a huge smile on my face and definitely renewed my confidence. Yes, this was going to be hard but yes, I am going to be able to do this.

Slowly but surely I made it up those steep climbs. They were absolutely brutal. There is no other word for it. However, I was relishing in the atmosphere. The views were spectacular. I'm not sure when I actually made the decision to drop to the 30K but as I got closer to the 10.2 mile turnaround, I knew I had made the right decision. I barely made the cut-off time for the 10.2 aid station at 10:30am. 3 1/2 hours after I had started the race. I can walk 10.2 miles faster than that! At the aid station, I filled my water bottle and got some carbs in me. Then, I asked if I could drop to the 30K. The man radioed down to the race director and he made the changes from there. The 30K was a true out and back course. Now all I had to do was run back the way I came.

I was definitely re-energized at that 10.2 turnaround. Giving myself a new goal to finish the 30K, not risking a DNF with the 50K, made me feel much better about myself. For awhile, I was running and running fast. I passed several people again on the way down the mountain. I had expected to really feel the downhill after running uphill for so long but I was feeling great. I made it down to my first creek crossing and knew there was going to be an uphill again. I saw the tape that was there to mark the course but there was fork in the trail and I couldn't figure out which way to go. I choose left and I was wrong. I went out of my way for about 100 yards before I realized I was ducking out of the way of tree limbs way too much. I turned around and headed back and sure enough, I had missed the second strand of tape off to the right.

I got back on the right trail and continued on. The trail started to get to me again. The sections of trail with the huge rocks and boulders were not runnable at all and some of those steep uphill climbs with rocks and tree limbs littering the pathway were treacherous to go down. I ended up falling pretty hard down one of them and caught the whole thing on camera.

After the last aid station, with 4 miles left to go, my heart was already filled with regret and disappointment. I faced the reality that I was going way too slow. The best I could do was to just keep moving forward. I soaked in the beautiful scenery as much as I could. In the last 2 miles, one of the 50K guys stopped next to me to ask me how I was doing. I was honest. Haha. Nevertheless, we gave each other some encouragement and he bounded up to the finish line. I continued to take my time until making the turn toward the finish and then finished strong.

This was the last two miles. Beautiful!

All that being said, I'm extremely proud of what I accomplished. It really was the hardest run of my life. I was devastatingly unprepared for this ultra but I'm hoping that my experience has brought me that much closer to being prepared for my next one. I won't give up on this dream to be an ultrarunner.

How am I doing now? I've recovered for the most part. Physically, I stopped being sore about 4 days later. Mentally, I still battle those inner demons that tell me I've failed or that I could have done better. I really wanted to go out this past weekend and knock out 31.5 miles just to prove that I could do it but I know my body needed to rest. I felt the urge to run Wednesday-Saturday but I didn't get around to it until tonight. I'm glad I waited. Even after waiting 8 days, my legs still aren't the same. I got in 6.2 miles tonight and it helped mostly to clear the fog in my head and refocus my energy on my next goal.

Every year after my marathons, I sign up for a 5K to keep myself motivated. This year is the UMCH Trick or Trot 5K on October 22nd. I have now switched gears from ultra training to 5K training which means lots of speed workouts. 2 years ago I was able to meet my goal of finishing under 30 minutes. This year I hope to the do the same but getting a PR would be icing on the cake.

After the 5K, you better believe that I'll start training for the next 50K. I've scouted out a couple of race possibilities at the beginning of next year. I will be coming into this next attempt with more determination than ever before. Stay tuned...

Happy running!
Amanda

I run for...mental toughness.

Race day is 6 days away and pre-race anxiety is definitely setting in. I can't really run a whole lot since I'm tapering for my race and since running is what usually helps with my anxiety, I've had to focus more on my mental toughness training.

Of course, there is quite a bit of mental toughness training that goes on throughout the training months but I've come to realize that in the last week, mental toughness training is of utmost importance. The primary reason being what I've already mentioned; it helps ease pre-race anxiety.

For me, mental toughness training the last week before the race started last night with my Ultra Prep Plan. I laid out my step by step plan for all 7 days leading up to the race. I will keep track of things like fitness, visualization/meditations, stretching, nutrition, hydration, sleep, supplies, etc. Just writing everything out on paper helped me sort through the mental barrage of anxiety-provoking thoughts I've been experiencing lately.

My Ultra Prep Plan & Race Day Plan

I woke up this morning with the same jitters as the previous day. Today I focused on following my plan. I had a healthy breakfast and drank plenty of water. This morning I spent 15 minutes stretching and going through a series of strengthening yoga poses. Mental training today consisted of watching ultra marathon movies. The first was Running on the Sun, a movie about the Badwater 135. Truly inspiring. Runners start in Death Valley basin and run to Mt. Whitney, a total of 135 miles. The next movie I watched was Unbreakable: Western States 100.  Again, absolutely incredible footage of 4 elite ultra runners vying to break the Western States 100 record. After watching my movies, I was ready to run. I had an easy 90 minute run scheduled for today. It's really the last "long" run before race day. I managed to get in about 7.5 miles with a combination of walking/running. For the first 2 miles or so, I simply could not shake the butterflies in my stomach! I kept thinking about race day and what it will be like, going through a mini-rehearsal of the race itself. All good mental toughness training. Now that I've completed it, my nerves are settled (for now!) and I'm ready to check the next thing off my prep plan.

From today's 7.5 mile run

Tonight I do the last little bit of shopping that I need to do to get all of my supplies for race day. For the most part, I just have to pick up my food - what I'm eating for my pre-race dinner and the morning of the race. During my race, I will be taking in mostly gels and candy and some "safe" foods offered at the aid stations. I should already have everything else I need. If not, I have another small shopping trip worked into my daily plan for Wednesday this week.

Tonight I also plan to find a guided visualization/meditation specifically for athletic performance or else create my own guided meditation to listen to the rest of this week. This is somewhat new for me. Usually I just create a written summary of the way I want the race to go and review it the night before and the morning of the race. Being that this year's race is a little more intense, I felt like visualization/meditation every day would be more helpful.

Before I get my full 8 hours of sleep tonight (hopefully this goes as planned), I will spend another 15 minutes stretching. Then tomorrow I just follow my prep plan again with all the same important elements - fitness, visualization/meditations, stretching, nutrition, hydration, sleep, supplies, etc.

This will also be my last blog post until race day. I hope to give my full race report either Saturday night or Sunday. After my race, my husband and I plan on spending a couple days in the Charlotte, NC area where my main priority is going to be eating pizza and drinking beer. Haha. So if you don't hear from me, you can always take a peek at the race results at www.tablerockultras.com. Then, it's back to the real world next Tuesday and time to think of a whole new set of goals for the rest of the year and for next!

Happy running!
Amanda

I run for...the distance.

As I started to write the title of this blog post, I couldn't help but start singing the Cake song...."He's going the distance. He's going for speed...."

Anyway, today's blog post is about distance because I've come to realize that ultra marathon training really has changed my path on this running journey. I made a list last night of all my 20+ mile runs prior to this year. I needed some inspiration going into my scheduled 26 mile run today. Here they are:

Sept 8, 2012 - 20.7 mile training run
Oct 21, 2012 - 26.2 Rock n Roll St. Louis Marathon
Nov 9, 2013 - 26.2 Rock n Roll Savannah Marathon
Sept 28, 2014 - 20 mile training run
Oct 12, 2014 - 26.2 Chicago Marathon #1
Sept 15, 2015 - 20 mile training run
Oct 11, 2015 - 26.2 Chicago Marathon #2

The first thing that stood out to me is that I never had a 20+ mile run before Savannah!! No wonder that race was so terrible for me. That was the marathon where I ended up passing out at mile 20. I was definitely under-trained. The next is that I really only had one 20+ mile run before my other 3 races and the longest distance was 20.7 miles. Most people will tell you that running longer than 20 miles before a marathon is not really necessary but wow, this was definitely eye opening for me.

Now for this year. I'm gonna talk a lot of numbers here for a minute because I can't believe how far I've come.

Total mileage - Since November 5, 2011 I have logged 2,918 miles. I fully expect to break through 3,000 miles by the end of this month. That's roughly 600-700 miles average each year. And this year's not over yet...

Mileage by month - I started training for my ultra in June. In June I logged 80 miles. In July, I logged 97. In August, I'm already at 102 and I plan on finishing around 115.

And here's a list of all the 20+ mile runs I've done this year:

July 16, 2016 - 20 mile training run
July 30, 2016 - 22 mile training run
Aug 15, 2016 - 24 mile training run
Aug 27, 2016 - 26 mile training run

Just like that, I sign up for an ultra and suddenly I'm logging more miles than I ever imagined. I've run 4 separate 20+ mile runs before race day, as compared to the 7 that I've ran in the last 4 years.

I think it's still too early to officially say where I will go from here. I'm taking this ultra running journey moment by moment and loving every bit of it. However, I highly anticipate that after race day I will have caught the ultra running "bug" and start scouting out my next 50K or possibly even my first 50 miler and 100 miles is not entirely out of the question either. Exciting stuff!

On to today's run...26 miles! It was really weird getting ready for my run last night thinking that I was basically going to be running a marathon today. The formality of my usual pre-marathon routine was dismissed by just a normal night of carb loading and watching tv with my husband. There were no pre-marathon jitters. Nothing to finalize or to schedule or to map out. I was going to get up at 4 am like normal and just go run a marathon. Ha!

Beautiful morning!

Hitting the road at 4:57am

The morning routine was pretty much the same as well. I got on the road just shy of 5am. I can definitely tell we are getting closer to FALL RUNNING!!! (Hallelujah!) I spent the first 5 miles almost completely in the dark before the sun started coming up. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that there was an abundance of cloud cover. This made for a nice and cool morning and I didn't really start feeling the heat until around the halfway mark. At 16 miles I needed some additional water so my wonderfully supportive husband and son came to refill my water bottles. I also got a nice, cold Popsicle. Just what I needed to put a little pep in my step.

This Popsicle might be the best Popsicle I've ever had!

The rest of the miles went by without too much excitement. The heat did end up getting to me on a couple of occasions so I stopped to lay down in the shade and get my heart rate back to normal while I refueled on some Gatorade chews. I think the best part of today's run was around mile 24-25. There was a woman walking about 4 young children around the block. As I was coming up behind them, they moved out of the way and this little girl, probably not even 3 years old, had the biggest smile on her face and started waving and clapping for me. Just the motivation I needed to finish my last mile. Thanks little girl!

So this week was the peak of my training. As of tomorrow I start tapering for race day. Weekly mileage will probably still be around 20-30 miles but now I just have to trust the training. Definitely easier said than done! But in a month it will all be worth and I will be reveling in the aftermath of having run my first ultra. Can't wait!

Happy running!
Amanda

I run for...progress.

I totally flaked on writing my blog post last week like I said I would. So today...here are some thoughts from last week's long run and this week's 24 mile run.

My Running Manifesto

I've gotten into the habit of listening to podcasts on my longs runs. It makes me feel like the time goes by faster. I used to only listen to running related podcasts but I've ventured out of my comfort zone and have discovered there is a lot of great content out there. Some of my running podcast faves - Another Mother Runner, Ultrarunner Podcast.com, and Runner Academy with Matt Johnson. And my newly discovered non-running faves include Revisionist History and Happier.

So last week listening to Happier with Gretchen Rubin sparked an idea; creating a running manifesto. The benefit of having a manifesto, as Rubin said, would be to have clear and concise goals that are easy to remember. During the podcast the host, Gretchen Rubin, encouraged listeners to create their own manifesto about life, love, work, hobbies, etc. That's where I got the idea to create my running manifesto. So without further ado, here is my running manifesto.

1. Run with your heart.
2. Beware of dogs.
3. Be light on your feet.
4. Most importantly, have fun!

Short and sweet. If I were to sum up all of my running advice, it would be this. I found myself thinking of this a lot in the past week during my runs. It becomes sort of like a mantra in that way. I'm very glad that I did this and I think it will stick with me for a long time.

Ultramarathon Training Progress

So I don't think I've really shared much of my progress on my ultramarathon training since I started 10 weeks ago. There are definitely some things that have stood out as being different from the usual marathon training. The first thing is that I am running A LOT more. In the beginning looking at my training schedule, it didn't seem like all that many more miles but it is averaging between 10-15 miles a week more than marathon training. And now that my long runs are over 20 miles, it's more like 20-30 more miles a week. That's pretty significant.

When I first got started, I really thought my nutrition plan would need to change a lot to accommodate the longer miles but that really hasn't been the case. For the most part, I've stuck to my usual gels and sport beans. The only change I've made is during the last miles of my runs when I switch to candy (Starburst minis, Red Vines). The change seems to help my stomach stay full and not get all "sloshy" from too many gels.

Another change in my training has been running form. To be a more efficient runner and therefore, have more energy in the tank for the last remaining miles, I've become relatively good at gliding. At least that's what I call it. It's this process in which you're moving forward but really moving your limbs as little as possible, just letting the natural flow of forward motion move your arms and legs. I don't know if this makes sense at all but thinking about it like this while I run helps me a lot, especially in the uphills and downhills.

So here's where things get exciting...my progress. I have been training for marathons the last 4 years with the goal of really just finishing the race. I have fun at races and I take it easy and I'm not really "racing". Which is a big reason why I have yet to PR for my marathon. My first marathon is still the best at 5:46. During my ultramarathon training, I now have three 20+ mile runs under my belt: 20 miles, 22 miles, and 24 miles. 20 miles was on 7/16 and I averaged 13:50 min/mile. 22 miles was 2 weeks ago on 7/30 and it was kind of a disaster. After almost passing out from heat exhaustion, I had to take a break and go out and run the last 5 miles later. I averaged 14:36 min/mile on that run but I finished! Now today, I ran 24 miles. It was still hot and it was also rainy for the majority of it but I felt great. I averaged 12:59 min/mile. Based on that, if I were running a marathon this year, I would likely PR.  A 12:59 min/mile puts me at finishing a marathon around 5:40. Using this pace in terms of the Table Rock Ultra, it puts me at finishing around 6:43. If I plug that finishing time into race results from 2015 (2016 had to be cut short due to flooding), then I would finish in the top 20 overall and top 4 in the women's division. HOLY MOLY!

I am not so naive to think that I won't go a little slower than 12:59 min/mile on race day. Obviously it is a tough course and I've never ran it before so this will slow me down. However, to think that it's in the realm of possibility that I might get top 20 or top 10, that's super exciting and will definitely push me to go harder on race day and even actually "race" this time.

Last thought about ultramarthon training. Originally I was pretty nervous about not having any trail experience and I really wanted to go out and find some trails to get at least SOME trail experience. But it's week 10 and I have yet to run any trails. The reason for that being that my running routes are pretty awesome and very similar to trails I would imagine. I get a lot of hills on my runs and a lot of uneven terrain. In addition, I've been running hill repeats and these have been very successful in making the hills during my runs not seem so brutal.

Today's 24 mile run

Yes, today's run was a huge confidence booster after my 22 mile disaster of a run two weeks ago. Haha. I can't say that I was very confident going into it though. I went to a bachelorette party yesterday that involved a party bus and the wine trail. I still managed to be smart about my eating and drinking and I went to bed early. I just didn't know how much I would be feeling it this morning. So my alarm goes off at the usual 4am for run preparation. I was not ready at 4am. I hit the snooze and planned to wake at 5am. Well 5am rolls around and we are under a flash flood warning and it's pouring outside. Nope, not getting up at 5am either. So I just let myself sleep and got in 9 hours, waking up at 7am. Still raining outside but my hour by hour forecast tells me it will stop by 9am. I do all my run preparation and then start getting antsy. I don't want to wait until 9am. So I head out around 8am and it's still raining but I really don't care. Right off the bat I could tell it was going to be a good run. My only concern was my calves cramping up on me again like they did 2 weeks ago. Around mile 14-15 I started to get low on water and I could feel the slightest twinge of a cramp in my right calf. So I messaged my ammmmmazing husband and he brought me water to refill my two water bottles plus a Nuun tablet for replenishing my electrolytes. After that I had a surge of energy and the twinge in my right calf went away. I finished strong. In the last 4 miles I increased my pace to 12:15 min/mile. And honestly, I finished with energy still left in the tank. I think I definitely could have ran a marathon today if I tried but I'm a believer in sticking to my training to a T.


Where to go from here

So here's what the next 6 weeks look like for me. In two week's I'll do my longest run at 26 miles and then start to taper. I'm still in search of a 10 mile or 1/2 marathon race to do in week 13. It just so happens that this falls on Labor Day weekend and I've been looking but there's nothing close to where I live so far. That means I will have to simulate the race or else travel somewhere to get the race in. I'll keep ya updated!

11	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	70 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	16 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
12	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  10 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	26 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
13	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	70 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	Race: 10 mile or ½ marathon	1 hour Medium Effort Run
14	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  8 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	30 min Easy Run	Race: 10K
15	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  5 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	Race: 5K	90 min Run
16	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run	1 hour Easy run	OFF	OFF	30 min Easy Run	50K Race!

Happy running!
Amanda

I run for...positivity.

Tonight was a bad run. I have no shame in admitting that. Running is analogous to life in this way. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes you are going to have a bad day...or a bad run. Just remember that the person crossing the finishing line in first place probably had a bad run at some point in their training. I think it's important to experience the good along with the bad. Take, for instance, tonight's run.

Let me set up the bad for you...

1. I had no motivation to run.
2. I was tired from my hill workout from yesterday.
3. I was stressed about money issues.
4. My husband has an injury and goes to the doctor tomorrow. I'm stressed about that.
5. I'm on call this weekend. Already stressed about that.
6. It was HOT outside...90 degrees, felt like 95 degrees, runners feel it more like 100 degrees.
7. My only pair of running shorts were dirty.
8. Couldn't find a shirt that "fit right" so I had to wear a baggy cotton (read HOT) shirt.
9. My new UnderArmour hat that I just bought was too big.
10. I had massive heartburn, despite downing about 4 Tums, due to having Flaming Hot Cheetos for lunch.
11. I had Flaming Hot Cheetos for lunch.
12. Lunch was 6 hours prior to my run and I had "nothing" to eat.

Once I started running....

1. I didn't like the way my shirt felt.
2. My shoes were too loose.
3. The velcro on my arm band was rubbing my skin.
4. My ear phones kept getting twisted around my arm.
5. It was F-ing HOT!
6. My hair was soaked after about mile 1.
7. Freshly cut grass was making it hard to breathe.
8. I ran into about a million! (exaggeration) Pokemon Go players that had no consideration for me as runner trying to run by them on the sidewalk.
9. My water turned lukewarm about halfway through.
10. My lemon-lime Sport Beans made my heartburn about 3x worse.
11. Now take items 1-10 and play on repeat for 5 miles.

Now, somewhere in the last mile, this all started to fade away. Running has a way of doing this for me. The negativity is left on the pavement and replaced with positivity.  Was my run bad? Hard? Hot? Yes, all of the above. But I still have yet to regret a run, no matter how bad.

So here I am now soaking up the positive vibes....
1. Fan turned on me full blast.
2. Huge bottle of ice water.
3. Shot of pickle juice to replenish sodium and get rid of my heartburn.
4. Knowing that I ran 5 miles despite wanting to skip it all together.
5. Feeling stronger.
6. Looking forward to nice, cool Autumn runs.
7. Still on track in my training for my first 50K and prepping for my first 20 miler this weekend.
8. Less stress about all of the things that I was stressed about.
9. Jamming to good tunes on Spotify.
10. About to make an ammmmmmazing dinner, topped off with an ice cold beer.
11. Tomorrow is Friday!!!

And that in a nutshell is a big reason why I run. I am a better person because I run. It does for me what nothing else in my life ever has. That is why I am so passionate about sharing my running journey with others. Because I know what it has done in my life and I know what it can do for others. Running changes lives.

I run for...badassery.

So as some of you may know I miscalculated my training weeks for the ultra. I'm actually ahead of schedule. Yippee! So last week was my "first" week of training and then this week I just repeated last week's workouts. The long run scheduled for today was a 10 miler, which I just ran on Sunday. I woke up this morning feeling sick. I had a nasty cough and a sinus headache. I had lots of energy though and kept telling myself, "This is ultra running." Meaning...I just have to suck it up and go. That's what ultra runners do. I find that this has been my new mantra lately. Today I also planned on a 4:30am wake-up due to the high temps and humidity forecast for today. Instead I woke up at 5:45am. Initially I started thinking that maybe I should do this run tomorrow, give myself another chance to wake up early and get a day's rest in. Nope! I wouldn't allow it. I told myself, "This is ultra running." and by 6:30am I was out the door. By the first mile I was already drenched in sweat and regretting my decision to go. But...you guessed it, I told myself, "This is ultra running." and I kept going.

This new mantra reminds me that I'm basically training to be a badass. Here are some of the badass ultra runners that I follow and look up to...

Jenn Shelton and Anton Krupika on mile 97 of the Western 100.

Scott Jurek - Vegan ultra runner who ran 2,189 miles on the Appalachian Trail in 46 days, 8 hours, 7 minutes. That's almost 50 miles a day!

Dean Karnazes - ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days

Like I said...badass.Today when I reached mile 4, I intended to turn around and run back another 4, leaving me 2 miles short of 10. Then that mantra hit me again. This is ultra running. I didn't care if I was sick. I didn't care if I was hot. These little moments are what it will take for me to push through 50K. When I'm pounding out another 5-8 miles on the treadmill and dreading every minute of it, I will think, "This is ultra running." When it's Friday night and I want to have fun, relax, have a drink, I will go to bed at 9pm thinking to myself, "This is ultra running."

I don't know if I'm a badass yet. The last 4 years of marathon training have made me feel "comfortable". I know I can run 26.2 and I'm confident in that whether I undertrain or overtrain (or train just right). Ultra marathon training is unfamiliar territory for me. My mindset has completely changed and I think that's a good thing. I could skip a workout during marathon training knowing that in the long run it didn't make much of a difference. I could make allowances for the heat, humidity, rain, the dreaded treadmill run and opt to do it another day. But my "This is ultra running." mindset eliminates all excuses. I run no matter what.

Week 2 of 50K training starts tomorrow. I headed for a 12 mile run next weekend. Not too worried about my workouts leading up to July but July brings vacation and my first 20 miler. I just keep telling myself, "This is ultra running." and I know I will crush any challenges that are headed my way. Badassery at its finest. :)

Happy running,
Amanda

I run for...ultras.

Welcome back! After a brief hiatus, I have decided to continue to write my blog. I’ve been running marathons for the last four years now and documenting that process for the last 2 two. I was ready to give up on the blog but a new journey awaits! This year is the year that I run my first ultra marathon. I’m excited to share this experience with you and to chronicle this adventure for myself. I’m on the verge of training (only 6 days!) so I thought I would start with laying out my training plan for you all. I will also share the changes I’m making in order to go from marathon to ultra marathon training and I will share all my hopes and fears! This is going to be one hell of a ride but I really am so excited for this new adventure. 

First thing's first…the training plan. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is that my first long run starts at 10 miles, whereas marathon training usually starts around 4 or 5 miles. I’m also going to be running A LOT more during the week. 

Week	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
1	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	45 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	Long Run: 10 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
2	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  3 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	12 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
3	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	50 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	14 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
4	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  5 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	16 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
5	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	55 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	18 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
6	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  7 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	20 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
7	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	60 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	16 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
8	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  8 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	22 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
9	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	65 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	16 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
10	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  9 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	24 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
11	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	70 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	16 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
12	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  10 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	26 miles	1 hour Medium Effort Run
13	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	70 min Hilly run	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	Race: 10 mile or ½ marathon	1 hour Medium Effort Run
14	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  8 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	30 min Easy Run	Race: 10K
15	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core	Hill Repeats:  5 x 600m	1:15-1:30 Easy run PLUS Core	Off or Easy Swim or Jog	Race: 5K	90 min Run
16	Off or Easy Swim or Ride	45-60 min Easy run	1 hour Easy run	OFF	OFF	30 min Easy Run	50K Race!

To some, this training plan may seem daunting but I look at it and I get so excited. I’m more motivated than ever to start pushing my limits even farther. As you can see, there are some common themes. Mondays and Fridays are meant to be off days or easy effort cross training days. These are built into the training plan to guard against injury. I won’t try to push myself to run every day. Recovery is going to be super important when your mileage starts to increase. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays are mostly the same workout every week. On Tuesdays and Thursday I will add an additional core workout. Core training is also important in ultra running. This helps your balance and stability which will be be needed on the trails. Speaking of trails, these are explicitly stated on the training plan, but I will hopefully be running at least half of my runs on the trails. I’ve gotta get trail experience!! Wednesdays will help with this as well. Wednesdays are my hill days, either hilly runs or hill repeats. These double as speed workouts as well. Finally, Saturdays are my long run days. As you can see I will hit my first 20 miler on week 6! 

Pre-training: Leading up to training I’ve been following a similar schedule. I’ve been doing long runs on Saturday. My most recent one was 8 miles so I will be primed and ready for the 10 miler during week 1. I’ve also been doing increasingly longer workout on Tuesday and Thursday with a core workout added to it. Sundays have been around 45 minutes at medium effort. 

Diet: Something new that I’m trying this year is carb-cycling. On days that I don’t run (Mondays and Fridays) I am doing low carb. Easy runs or medium distance runs are my moderate carb days. Long runs are high carb days. Right now the macros are fixed to meet my current needs but they will obviously have to be adjusted as a progress through training and start running a lot more miles. I’m doing this in an effort to actually lose weight this year! Most years losing weight becomes difficult during training because of the amount of calories needed to fuel me during my runs. We’ll see how this goes.

My nutrition plan for my long runs will also have to be adjusted some. During ultra marathons you are encouraged to EAT differently/more than marathons. For instance, the aid stations during the ultra will have: bananas, potato chips, pretzels, animal cookies, M&Ms, gummi bears, Goldfish, trail mix, PB&J. Hydration options also differ: water, Gatorade, assorted soft drinks and coffee. So to prep for this change, I will try to incorporate some of these options into my long runs to see what works/doesn’t work for me. I’ve also heard boiled, salted potatoes are a good option. 

Running and training for the ultra will also require some new gear. I’m looking into buy some new shoes – ones that are made for trail running specifically. I also need a pack to carry more supplies and more water. This will come with some more time and research. 

Now on to the actual race. I have already signed up for the Table Rock Ultra 50K. It will start and finish at Steele Creek Park in North Carolina. 

The race course

One of the views during the race

View from the Table Rock Summit

One of the waterfalls on the course

So obviously I have some fears about running my first ultra. I feel confident in being able to run the distance. After all, I have 4 years of running 26.2 under my belt. The 50K amounts to a little over 31 miles so I don’t feel like it’s going to be much different than 26.2. However, the 50K also requires some difficult trail running with an elevation gain of 6,500’. I’m looking forward to the challenge and I’m hopeful that I will do well. I’m not a fast runner at all but I’ve always been confident about my ability to keep going.