Week in Review : Spring and Building Mileage

As I put in week after week of work, I become more satisfied with my decision to take 6 months off of racing and just train. The consistency of 6 months of mileage should help get me really strong for my summer marathon and than early fall marathons and November 50 miler I have planned.

It is strange not to have a race on the calendar for so long, I have not traditionally have taken this much time to build fitness. I usually go from 12 weeks of training to marathon and than repeat usually only having 5 to 10 weeks of training between. I wanted to take a different approach this training cycle. After this past 12 weeks, I will move onto another 12 weeks of marathon training where I will work on building mileage higher and long runs longer.

Going this route really takes patience. I am a girl of adventure and always looking forward to my next exciting adventure. So taking the time just to work without the imminent goal race on the horizon is stretching me a bit and makes me a bit antsy.There is not much exciting or glamorous to tell about just putting in mile after mile, day in and day out. But it is also so freeing just to enjoy the process and not be getting wrapped up in thinking "Am I fit yet" or "Am I there yet". Just enjoying each run without needing to be wrapped up in how my fitness is progressing is so so so nice. It makes my soul peaceful. 

For the most part, I am loving and finding lots of peace in the miles. Looking to build the miles even more in April and May before backing off in June. The extended day light of spring will set me up will with getting in the seconds runs of the day. 

Here is how this past week looked - 

Monday 7 easy 

Tuesday AM - 12 with 4 x 1.5 mile repeats @ 6;18 to 6:25 pace with 90 sec rest PM - 3.2 Recovery miles

Wednesday 10 miles easy

Thursday 11.50 miles easy

Friday AM - 10 miles with 5 @7:16 pace PM 3.5 Recovery miles

Saturday 7 miles easy

Sunday 8 miles easy 

Miles - 73 miles 

Doing the work every day and loving it...

I was just reflecting on my choice to take 6 months to just run with no races and no goals. Just training...

My goal and what was in my heart to do was to spend 6 months not getting distracted from race goals but just to put in consistent week after consistent week of higher mileage and quality training.

Looking back on my last 11 weeks I am pretty proud that I have keep on track with my goals and plans. I have put in 11 weeks of consistent running with a couple days off sprinkled here and there averaging 67.7 miles a week. I am pretty pleased!

Especially given that I am listening to the voice of my own guidance and knowing that is the way to where I want to be. I am so pleased that I shut out the voices of other peoples opinion and thoughts and listen to my own knowing.

It is feels like when you get lost and you shut out the noise of everything and intuitively know which way to go even though the GPS says one thing or your driving partner says one thing but you know which to go and it feels good to make that turn.

That is how this path feels to me!

I know it is the path I am suppose to be on. I am happy!

I am truly just enjoying where I am even with a few bumps in the road in the last couple of weeks I feel I am over those bumps and on my way to even higher mileage.

Over the past few weeks, I have learned some things that can only help me as I continue to move forward. One of thing I learned is that I have been running on extremely low blood sugar (blood glucose) levels and I need continuously work on getting in more carbohydrates daily if I want to be able to maintain high mileage. This is my key area of improvement that I will be focusing in the coming months and of course enjoying this time of "sowing".

For one day, it be harvest time for all the sowing I am doing now :-)

Small Steps

Okay I keep promising myself I will get back to writing daily as it really helped me stay focused on my goals and work through things that have been going on in my head and training.

So today even if it is a little post I am honoring a promise I made to myself to continue to document my journey and get back using my blog as a sounding board.

For the past 9 weeks, I have been diligently logging my miles mixed in with some super solid work outs. My mileage is not as high as I hoped but given the Topsy turvey February with sick kids, snow/weather days and a Itband/Knee that cropped after a hilly run. I will take it and celebrate it!! 9 weeks running consistently with no break and just building mileage and workouts on top of each other.

I am pleased that I have manage to run consistently over the last 9 weeks averaging 65 miles per week. If I had my way that number would have been more in the 70s but I think the universe has a way of saying I know better so I am going to trust that where I am at right now is good.

Generally, I have felt really healthy thyroid wise. In the last week or so, I have had a hyper surge so my last 2 workouts why they were super efforts were a bit slower but mostly it is not affecting me other my body temp running high. When some feels my forehead or face they say I feel like I have a fever and I have been very warm in general.

In January after some blood work I had done, I found out my blood glucose levels were super low which is called reactive hypoglycemia. It is really is my own fault for not taking in enough carbohydrates to support my training. This is something I have been diligently working these past few weeks. I hoping the my increase efforts to get in more carbs will not only help me train better but eventually race better. Racing on low blood glucose levels really sucks!

I know that one day my patience and persistence it will pay off and it will all be worth it.

I was listening to an Interview with Pitbull and he said something that has stuck with every since I heard it. It is a Cuba saying.

Small Steps. Long Vision

I have remember that every day!

Here was my small steps from last week.

Monday 7.5 easy
Tuesday 10 total - 3 x 1 mile @6;55, 4x400 @ 6:27, @ 4 x 1 minute @ 6;00 flat
Wednesday 8.5 easy
Thursday OFF - Kids home Snow Day
Friday 16 miles - 2 x 6 miles @ 7:16 & 7:14
Saturday 7.5 miles AM 3 miles PM
Sunday 10.5 miles

Total - 63