Who Signs Up To Run 50 K Trail Races? And Sled Workout
By admin
Not only that, who signs up for a race that is described as:
Well… you’re looking at her. I’ve signed up the for Quest For The Crest 50K
Never in my life did I think I would ever sign up for an ultra race.
Much less one that includes over 11,000 feet elevation net gain (luckily there is also 11,000 feet of net loss). If you had told me that I would be running an event like this one day, I would have laughed in your face and called you a liar.
But here I am, signed up and planning out training.
My friends think I’m crazy. I think you have to be to do something of this caliber, yes?
Oh and what’s more… Dan’s doing it with me (well, I guess you gathered that from the text).
I guess that like Boston, hell has frozen over.
{Image Source: Boston Globe}
The man that has been against marathons since my very first race is doing this with me. But I guess he’s sticking with his rules, this isn’t a marathon after all.
It’s an ULTRA-marathon. 30 miles friends, 30 freaking miles.
In the mountains of North Carolina. Along the highest mountains of the Appalachian chain.
Why are we doing this?
Like I said, we’re insane.
But that’s not the real reason. We love a challenge and like you know, we’ve set out to make this the year of adventure. Originally, it was suppose to be the year of obstacle races, but with a new found passion in hiking and climbing, that has changed.
I found this throw back picture to what was possibly our first hike together in the Poconos. So young!
Our goals have changed. I know it sounds weird considering that it’s just February, but I’ve changed.
That’s the great thing about being a human, we continue to evolve and change all the time. I can’t describe it, but I truly feel different. In a good way.
I’m still not ready to announce our BIG goals yet but this race will serve for training.
Training?
I told you, we have BIG goals! We need to help build up endurance, learn to follow a training program, and get an of what it’s like to go for hours and hours on our feet when our bodies just want to say “f-this!”.
Yes, this race is a training event. Crazy right?
Let’s just say our “BIG GOAL” is something I am quickly becoming obsessed with and I want need to pull it off. I don’t have a tattoo, but if we accomplish this goal, I will be getting one to celebrate and yes, I already have it designed (in my head).
I need all the help I can get and if that means running 30 miles for this race, then so be it.
Time For Focus
For the first time in a long time, I am taking this very serious.
I kicked off training this weekend with back to back runs. I’m not perfect at following a training plan but I am going to for this. A race of this caliber doesn’t go with Nike’s motto, you can’t “just do it” which is what I’ve been doing for most of my races lately.
I’m ready for structure. I’m ready for a focused plan. To help, I’m recruiting the help of an actual running coach, Amanda. Amanda has been a long time friend and I trust her knowledge and guidance.
There is no one else I want to get me from where I am right now to 30 mountainous miles.
But I am not meeting with her until tomorrow, so I decided to kick training off on my own with the helping of Runner’s World until then…
Week 1 Training
I’m not sure I will do a weekly training posts (do you want them?) but I will kick off the announcement with what I’ve done so far. Plus a pretty killer workout!
On Saturday morning, I woke up and knocked out 10 miles. All were under 9 minute mile paces and felt great.
Once I got home, I headed to the gym for a quick 30 minute steelbell workout with Dan (have you ever used a steel bell?). I didn’t push myself hard, but the workout served as a post run stretch.
Then on Sunday, the two of us hit up our favorite historical site, Caw Caw for a 3.2 mile trail run.
No crazy pace, Dan and I took in the scenes, soaked up the 70-degree temperatures and searched the banks for gators. <— Those babies are huge!
And guess what, even after back to back runs, I felt really good.
Yesterday (Monday), I took the day off from running and instead focused on strength. I did the “Weekly Workout Challenge” that Bonnie and I do each week. This week was a killer sled based workout! Whoo baby!
If you want to join in with us this week, here’s what we did! Feel free to modify any of the moves to make it work for you. And if you don’t have a sled, I would recommend 50 step-ups instead. I would love for our weekly workouts to grow, so snap a picture and share it with the hashtag, #T&BWorkoutChallenge (and feel free to tag me!).
Keep Pushing Workout
Click on workout for bigger graphic
Finisher:
25 Ft Sled Push
25 Ft Lunge Walks
25 Ft Squat Jumps
25 Ft Traveling Burpees