Hey everybody,
It's been a bit since I posted, and I'm sorry about that. As you might expect from the title, I've been busy with training for Run Your Can Off (RYCO). The good news is that for the most part, with the exception of one or two missed runs, I have been successful in getting my miles in. The past two weeks in particular were both 50 mile weeks, and the short runs... have been the short runs.
What I'm a little concerned about are my last two long runs. Run #1 happened a little over two weeks ago. It was a 22-mile long run and it quickly turned into a disaster. The first nine or ten miles went by all right, but by the two hour mark, it was clear to me that I was in trouble. I hadn't done a great job with pre-run nutrition, I hadn't gotten quite enough sleep, and to top it off I was running in shorts and a t-shirt... in 50-degree weather with occasional rain showers. That combination off bad decisions and bad luck just destroyed my time to the point where I was starting to reconsider my goals for RYCO.
Luckily, I had another long run, a week later, a little over a marathon (26.2 miles) in length. I know it might be unconventional to run that distance as a training run, but (A) I've been running A LOT and (B) I take training for a 50k (31 miles) super-seriously and feel that running a marathon-length beforehand can help. Unlike the previous long run, my pre-race nutrition was a little better and critically, I dressed for the weather. (Still skimped on sleep). I actually finished the marathon-length long-run faster than the 22-miler, which is encouraging. It didn't break my marathon record from Vermont City Marathon, but it was better and felt like a much better run.
So, is there a moral to this rant? Besides the normal dress for the weather and don't be an idiot with nutrition and sleep, probably not. It's just I am still nervous about this whole thing and needed to vent a little. I've never run six hours before and my longest run to date is a little more than a marathon. If things go according to plan, I'll be breaking through both those barriers. That being said, after the 2nd long run, I believe that my goal of 50k+ in 6 hours is reachable. (50k is 31 miles for those of you that don't speak metric). It's probably gonna be HARD, but I'm going for it. And in the face of the unknown, in the face of a huge challenge, that feels like all I can do.
I'm gonna be tapering until the race, so you might see some more postings. Until next time, I gotta run.
