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
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!
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Happy running!
Amanda
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