Where did weeks 4 and 5 go? It is day 1 of week 6 and I can't believe it. I'm sure it will start to drag at some point, with so many weeks left to go, but right now training is flying.
Week 4 was a down week. Not in mileage, but in feeling and in quality of the runs. My hip issue has really been cramping my style. By the third run of the week words like "wow this sucked" were appearing in my log. The highlight of the week, because there was one, wasn't a run. I got a massage from the wonderful Ben at the Endurance Collective in Durham. OH, BLESS. My hip has been so jacked up, having him hammer at it for an hour was great. Hurt like hell and still needs work, but I left with less pain and more range of motion than I'd had in the last month. I've got exercises and such to keep after it and I'm already looking forward to the next session. If you are local to him, I highly recommend having him work on you.
Week 4 summary:
Miles scheduled: 28
Miles ran: 28
Time on my feet: 5:26:21
working on the "concrete" that is my SI area
Week 5 was a trip. I knew that my Tuesday night run, the first of the week, was going to be the highlight of the week as I was still in it. I had six miles with 3x30 second strides every mile, a workout I've seen already this cycle. It makes me a little twitchy, as strides in the past have made my shins really angry. What really made this run interesting (scary, crazy, and fun) was doing it in the dark in the woods. Yeah...the local trail running group hosted a Moonshine and S'mores run at Umstead in honor of the impending Supermoon (yes, the other moonshine). I know I am the caboose when I run with this group so I showed up 30 minute early to get my run started so that I'd finish in time for the s'mores (the real motivation). There was still some light when I started but by the turn around at mile 3 it was DARK. I am not comfortable running alone at night, much less in the woods, so this was a huge leap for me. I wore my vest, a blinking light, an armband light, and my headlamp. It was a bit unnerving, the wind was howling a bit and I couldn't tell who was making what sounds. I did feel stronger with each mile, with each set of strides. With two miles to go two large dark shadows darted across the path 100 feet in front of me and that kicked me into a higher gear. Sure, it was probably deer, but I wasn't sticking around to find out. I tried to balance controlling my fear with controlling my paces. No sense in blowing up two miles from the car, alone in the woods. The splits were faster than they would have been in different circumstances but those miles also felt strong AF and I was pumped to have such a good workout. Getting my first night trail run in felt awesome too, as I'm sure it won't be my last.
Week 5 summary:
Miles scheduled: 29
Miles ran: 29 (EEK!!!)
Time on my feet: 5:44:01
When you take fear out of the picture, what else is holding you back? I find myself thinking about fear and comfort zones a lot these days. I was afraid to register for this 50k. Afraid to make it public. Afraid to tackle training. Afraid of my workouts. But in the face of that fear, I took a deep breath and chose me over it. Me. So far, so good.