February Non-Training

After deciding to abandon my spring racing plans, I took a few weeks to regroup. I ran fast and slow when I felt like it and resisted the temptation to make a hasty decision and sign up for something else. Letting my mood dictate my running helped me make an honest assessment of where I was at and what my body was ready to tackle. Next weekend is my first real race of 2016 and I'm surprised that I'm feeling good about it. It was not that long ago that I was considering a long-term break from racing.

The first thing I did was reduce my running volume, specifically the long runs. When it comes to my allergies and asthma, less time spent running means less time with all that lovely mold outside. With that decreased workload came an increase in energy and I was able to push harder on the days that I wanted to run faster.  Each week included a little bit of everything: hills, trails, roads, progression runs, speed training, long runs on the road and trail. The following is what my training has been like the last few weeks.

February 1-7
Running miles: 50
Kitties: 54
plus a hike, a bike ride, four dates with my yoga mat, and an afternoon of jumping around and giving way too many high fives.

Highlights from the week:

THE SUNSHINE RETURNED! OH MY GOODNESS!

Sunny spot yoga is amazing. Thank you Zoey for sharing your precious sunshine with me.

Every year, there's a week or two in late January or early February when the clouds part and the sun reappears. Nobody knows why it happens, but it always manages to pull me from that intense January funk.

Fleener Creek Hike 
Instead of a complete rest day, Matt sneaked out before his afternoon shift and spent the morning hiking, doing cartwheels in the sand, and enjoying the beautiful day.

Top of the trail, overlooking the ocean.

Rock hopping.

Cartwheels are harder than they used to be. Old age must be setting in.

Progression Run: 6 progression, 1 cool down
This faster run was unexpected, as most of my progression workouts usually are. I start at my comfortable moderate pace, then once I realize I'm speeding as I warm up, I go with it for the last couple of miles. I love this kind of workout because it teaches me patience in pacing and is pretty low stress on my body since only one or two miles travel into a more difficult range. The surprise factor is fun too.

Half Marathon Pace: 6 miles, 5 @ 7:26/mi.
When I began thinking about what I wanted to do instead of the 50 Miler, I had the Rogue River Half in the back of my mind. I really enjoyed the race last year and didn't want to miss out this year, no matter what shape I was in. To help figure out where I was at, I began with a four mile run somewhere between half and marathon pace. After the first one went well, I decided to keep it closer to half pace. This was my second such workout and I was happy to note that it didn't feel like death. Somehow I almost ran negative splits. Sweet.

Long Run: 15 miles
Another sunny day. I must have forgotten how to run in the sunshine, because wow, 65F and sunny drained me a little bit at a time until I had nothing left. Rachel and I decided it was because Matt, our water boy, wasn't along to feed us at regular intervals. He went on a long run with the boys and when he returned home, he found us sunning on the driveway, begging for water.

Pretty Princesses request your assistance, s'il vous plait.

Trinidad to Clam Beach Run
Fueled on some double espresso mocha caramel thingy, Rachel and I spent the day on the beach being as obnoxious as possible at about 6 miles into the 8.5 mile race. My favorite thing was watching for the moment runners' faces lit up as the read our sign. I'm pretty sure this is more fun than actually racing.

In the process, a bunch of random strangers took my photo. This one managed to get back to me through a friend. He said he wanted to personally thank “Queen of HighFiveLand” for taking 8 seconds/mi. off of his overall pace. LOL. Made my day.

Mike D. photo credit.

Marlene A. photo credit.

February 7-13
Running miles: 50.5
Kitties: 59
plus a bunch of beach hikes, and two yoga sessions.

Highlights from the week:

Ft. Bragg Getaway
Matt's Sunday, Monday, Tuesday weekend happened to be sunny so we decided to head south along the coast instead of inland. In the past, I've managed to talk Matt out of trips to the Mendocino Coast because even when I'm driving and only going 20mph, it's still curvy enough to make me want to toss my cookies. In a moment of weakness, I said yes this time. Even I couldn't resist with a forecast of sunshine and 70 degrees on the coast. I was still nauseated the next morning so we did a few short hikes with a nap sandwiched in between.

Romantic sunset. Feel free to gag, it was almost too saccharine for me too.

Over the next few days, we did a bunch of hiking and exploring, concluding our trip with one perfect trail run (in a tank top and shorts!!!!) on the bluffs above the ocean. The day was so perfect that when I look at the photos, I still can't believe this was real life.

Umm...my town needs a trail system like this.

Who knew Ft. Bragg ever got sunny?!

Can you spot the tiny Karen in the photo?

My Valentine.

Run 6.5 miles, 1:16, 1,170 ft. gain: Wednesday Forest Beatdown
More climbing, more miles, and somehow this didn’t hurt quite as much as some of the previous Wednesday runs with the boys. The guys still smoke me as they fearlessly bomb the downhills, but I find I’m able to keep up with them on the climbs. Maybe I’m getting stronger after all.

Favorite quote: “Guys, don’t look now, but Karen is power hiking up this hill just as fast as we’re running it.” - Jeff.

Pączki/Ponczki Day
Along with several of Matt's coworkers, one of whom shares a similar Polish background to myself, we pulled a group together for an all-day baking session. It was so comforting to finally hear someone pronounce this little donut's name the way I've always known it (sounds like this).

Perfect.

A view of the whole process moving clockwise.

This Polish coworker is from the same very tightly-knit part of central Wisconsin as my family. We haven’t done enough digging yet to confirm, but at the very least, we know our families know each other, and there’s a good possibility we’re actually related. Super small world.

Run 7 miles, 6 @ 7:26/mi.
Speedwork with Rachel. Last year, she was faster than me, but now I’ve caught up. Right now, we’re almost perfectly matched. It’s comforting to have a buddy who’s feeling the pace just as much as I am, who is just as excited for the end to come, and who takes turns pushing the pace with me.
This pace certainly wasn’t easy, but it felt manageable. Right now the line between comfort and agony rests at about 7:24/mi and both of us could feel when the pace dipped into the low 7:20s.

Ran another Garmin PR today and this one didn't make me giggle like the 55 minute 10K it congratulated me on last week. My official 10K PR is 47:13. Even with the difference between a Garmin and a certified course, had I run a race today, I would have had a PR. That’s pretty darn awesome.

Notes: Can I just say I'm surprised that the last two weeks have come together as well as they have? Maybe it's the recent dry weather, or maybe it's the playful freedom that comes without planning to not have a plan, but it's working. I'm enjoying the variety of alternating road and long trail runs, throwing in some harder workouts, and am excited to see how it will turn out on race day.