Pine to Palm Training (August)

I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to get more confident being uncertain. I don’t want to shrink back just because something isn’t easy. I want to push back, and make more room in the area between I can’t and I can.

Kristin Armstrong

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

Ernest Hemingway

Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s fine. It’s not their journey to make sense of. It’s yours.

Zero Dean

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When (not IF) you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when (not IF) you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When (not IF) you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God. . . since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.

Isaiah 43: 1-4 (The Message)

August: 325 miles. 56,867′ of climbing and downhill.

• week 1: 102.5 miles. 13,870′
• week 2: 54.33 miles. 12,572′
• week 3: 93 miles. 17,874′
• week 4: 51.59 miles. 8,300′
• week 5: 24.25 miles. 4,281′

Training Notes:

• This month was mostly trail. My goal this month was to hit two BIG mileage weeks. I hit 102.5 and 93! VERY happy. I do deviate from my plan, from time to time. The 102 mile week was more tiring than my 93 mile week. My 93 mile week had more climbing by approximately 4,000′ than the 102 mile week. My 93 mile week was my highest climbing week at 17,874′.
• My original training plan called for 934 miles in 17 weeks
• I deviated a bit on the plan and ended with 1091 miles in 17 weeks
• Weeks 10-15 in my original plan were scheduled as: 64, 70, 54, 70, 49 & 70 in miles.
• I changed weeks 10-15 to: 71, 82, 65, 102, 54 & 93 in miles.
• I’ll follow the same taper as the original plan.
• Going into this race healthy at the line!!

 

New this month: I finished with my trainer early in the month. I spent the last 3 1/2 weeks of August, focusing only on running. Still doing the 3 P’s (pull ups, push ups, planks). I really miss the gym. I love lifting weights!

Looking ahead: Pine 2 Palm, N E X T week!

Dear Oregon, 

You did not disappoint in April. Looking forward to seeing you again! Good bye, temporarily, to humidity. Hello to tall trees, BIG climbs, BIG vistas, Sunrise, Sunset, Sunrise. 

Longingly. . . 

Loving now:

• Lululemon, Speed Track Short, 6″ inseam. LOVE, LOVE them. In fact, I wore them every running day for 5 days. (washed them between runs) Usually, I am hesitant to buy tight shorts with an inseam shorter than 9″. These are awesome. Two great side pockets, a tiny pocket within the side pocket for your key or key fob. They are on sale right now in store for $44.00.
• Dry max socks!! These are thick and comfy. I bought the max cushioned pair, $25.00.

 

Imagine that day, where you can finally say, “I did it!” When you can say, “I never gave up, I never quit!” Imagine that day when you win that gold medal, or cross the finish line. Where these moments of pain turn into memories for that goal you wanted to obtain. It might take long to reach that moment, but as soon as you get there you’ll thank yourself for the rest of your life.

 

 

Strong.Beautiful.Deserving.In.

 

An effective mantra should focus on what you want to feel, not on what you’re trying to overcome…

It should also be short, positive, instructive, and full of action words.

-Ashley Jones, “The Power of a Great Running Mantra”

I just finished my last long run before my race. It is time to taper. It is time to work on visualization. It is time to practice mantras. It is time to be grateful for how many miles I have ran, and to look ahead with joy and anticipation for the miles yet to come!

You can search the Internet for running mantas. There are many. I was running last week and thinking ahead to my race. I was thinking back to the process of my training. You can choose a mantra from the list of those you read. But. . . sometimes. . . your mantra finds you.

I am strong

I am beautiful

I am deserving

I am in (the finisher’s shoot)

I shortened it to, Strong. Beautiful. Deserving. In. Here is why each word is significant to me.

Strong. Muscles, endurance. sweat. focus. consistent. Hard work. Athletic. Competitive. Tenacious. Capable.

Beautiful. To me there is something beautiful about a woman giving all she has. . . her heart, being vulnerable to the outcome, not being afraid to believe it’s possible. Sweat. tears. hard work. no guarantees. Athlete.

Deserving. Worthy. valuable. allow yourself to reach for it. Letting go of what you think you need. No fear of being happy, really happy. Letting go. Pressing in.

In. Done. finished. it’s over. It will stop. Letting go. Accomplishment. Completion.

In all these things, I am the daughter of the king. That is enough. 

I am a daughter of a King

who is not moved by the world.

For my God is with me

And goes before me.

I do not fear because I am his.

 

 

 

P2P training: My 102 Mile Week

“Many people stop short of their destiny. They settle for someone else’s story. . they never sing the song God wrote for their voices. They never cross the finish line with heavenward-stretched arms and declare, ‘I was made to do this!’ ”

-Max Lucado, “Glory Days”

Focus on today. God meets daily needs daily. Not weekly or annually. He will give you what you need when it is needed.

-Max Lucado, Fearless

My husband started a new job and had to leave at 7:15 every morning. My kids were not in school yet and I will not leave them alone, while I run on the trail.  I had 74 miles on my schedule. I was overwhelmed. 

I called Teresa on Sunday night. . . 

“How am I going to get my miles in this week? I am overwhelmed.”

. . . she showed me how it could be done. It helps to talk to someone when moments of your training seem impossible. To talk to someone when your training is at “critical mass”. 🙂 She showed me 10, 5, 6, 4, 25 & 25. After we talked, I decided to go a bit farther. My schedule had  me 10, 5, 6, 4, & 50, in miles.  I did not have the time to run a 50.  So I’d run 2, 25’s, instead. 

I decided this would be a GREAT race simulation week. I would run 2x a day if I needed to in order to get in my miles. I would run before Byron left for work and after. I would wake up extra early to start. I would be tired. I would come home and eat. I would go out again after I ate. Here is how my week turned out!!

• Monday: 12.2 miles. 3.6 miles.
• Tuesday: Hiked 2 miles on the treadmill at 18%. Ran 6 miles. Hiked 2.25 miles on the treadmill at 15%. Ran 4 miles.
• Wednesday: Ran 10.2 miles. Ran 12 miles.
• Thursday: Hiked 3 miles on the treadmill at 18%. Ran 5.5 miles. Ran 12.75 miles.
• Friday: Ran 7.3 miles. Ran 3.75 miles
• Saturday: Ran 12.68 miles. Ran 4.75 miles

102 miles

Takeaways:

1. It’s a lot of running
2. Eat enough to fuel this endeavor and be diligent about recovery!
3. The body is able. The mind needs to know it’s able.
4. Focus on the day, hour, moment you’re in.
5. It CAN be done, in the midst of what life looks like as a mom of 3.
6. Two-a-days
7. Nutrition and rest the week after is just as important if not MORE important than the 100-mile week itself. Just because volume is down the week after, DO NOT cut back calories. It takes a lot to rebuild and restore.

 

Pine to Palm Training (July)

Ascend it. Stare long and longingly at the Bonfire, The Holy One, the Highest One, the Only One. As you do, all your fears, save the fear of Christ himself, will melt like ice cubes on a summer sidewalk. You will agree with David: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

When Christ is great our fears are not. A package-able, portable Jesus might fit well in a purse or on a shelf, but he does nothing to our fears.

-Max Lucado, Fearless

When I look back at my training plan and the notes that I have kept to date, it never seems like too much or too hard or not enough or too easy. Looking forward always seems hard in the moment. It is the unknown. Sure, I have it planned. What am I afraid of?

July: 315 miles. 60,971′ of climbing and downhill.

• week 1: 31 miles. 5575′
• week 2: 66.2 miles. 11,709′
• week 3: 71.4 miles. 15,795′
• week 4: 82 miles. 16, 937′
• week 5: 65 miles. 10,955′

5/6 days on the trail this month. In addition, I spent 2-3 days after my run on the treadmill at 18% for about 2 miles at a time.

New this month: Back with my trainer, after a month of working on core, outside of the gym. I love the stuff he is giving me to do. The best part, to me, is that I do not have to keep track. I do not know the weights that he is putting on the bar. I do not know what I did last week compared to next, etc. It makes it easy to get in there and just work hard, without having to keep up with all those details. I go twice a week,  and it is keeping me fit to run hard. Sure, there are tears, but that’s okay.

fav exercises: renegade rows, squats

least fav: anything with those TRX bands

Looking ahead: Oh August. You seem so busy already. I want to solidify this place I’m at in my training, but I do not see enough time in my week (s). I think this month will fly by. I need this for August. . .

Focus on today. God meets daily needs daily. Not weekly or annually. He will give you what you need when it is needed.

-Max Lucado, Fearless

Loving now: 

Square Bar in chocolate coated almond spice and in cocoa cherry. They have the consistency of a peppermint patty. The are GF, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Organic and Vegan. About 210 calories a square. Check them out.

GU (new formula) Chocolate smoothie recovery drink mix. 180 calories. 20% protein. It has a great flavor, and it is not gritty. Chocolate milk is def easy to find and cheaper than this. My go to for my runners is def chocolate milk. It is interesting to look at a side by side comparison of low fat chocolate milk and GU Choc smoothie recovery. Both are almost identical in calories, sodium, carbs, sugars, whey, leucine. Milk has 30% calcium. GU Choc smoothie has 6% calcium. The GU is convenient because you mix it with water and shake in a water bottle. Choc milk is convenient because it is everywhere. I can make a case for both.

Luna Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk bars. They are GF. They have 180 calories, 5 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein. They are easy chew and eat. They have the consistency of a soft rice crispy bar. They are not too sweet. I can eat more than one on a training run and not grow tired of the taste.

Compression shorts in this hot, humid weather. Def does not feel as gross. They do not drip.

Changing clothes after mile 20 of a L O N G training run. It helps me to hit restart and finish the miles I have may have left.

Imagine that day, where you can finally say, “I did it!” When you can say, “I never gave up, I never quit!” Imagine that day when you win that gold medal, or cross the finish line. Where these moments of pain turn into memories for that goal you wanted to obtain. It might take long to reach that moment, but as soon as you get there you’ll thank yourself for the rest of your life.