Sunday, July 20, 2014

Hot

I think the thing that gets me every year is the heat...and the humidity. I was supposed to hit 25km today...instead I only managed 23km. Not terrible, but after this last weeks failure of workouts I'm starting to listen to the voices in my head. The ones that are saying i cant do this...that I'm nuts for even wanting to. The ones that are begging me to quit and enjoy summer for a change.

I just can't seem to let the dream go though. Working out 7 days a week is tough though. All i want to do it have a day or two where I'm not killing myself with workouts. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so, but it would seem that in order to get to a 50 miler you have to work out 7 days a week.

Add to that my extra runs for run club and running BOP with many of the clinics and I'm starting to feel that I'm losing my speed. I know logically it doesn't make sense...i know that if I just had rest days like I used to, I could totally slam out everything I used to. The problem is that by the end of the week I want to cry I'm so tired.

This is what I've worked for though...and it never fails...by the time monday rolls around I'm ready to start over again.

I feel crazy.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Sometimes things don't go as planned

Well, i'll start by saying that Calgary was perhaps the hardest experience of my life. I won't bore you with all the nitty gritty details, but i did not make the ultra cut off for Calgary...i missed it by about 20 minutes. It was quite possibly the most devastating experience of my life.

I'll save you the horrid story of how i finished, but once i got out of the med tent i ended up running 8 more km in the parking lot to hit 50 km. I have never been so embarrassed and humbled as i was after that run. I did however learn a lot.

The Manitoba Marathon was nothing short of a clusterfuck for me. Pardon the language, but that's the only word that describes my experience with it. All that matters is that i finished it...and in the last mile I passed 3 runners that were trying to make it back before the course cut off as well.

So now I'm a maniac. Woo. Hoo. Excited? Maybe...not really..sort of. It seems like the group is full of conflict...I don't wanna play there much...but i have the gear...or i will very shortly. 2 marathons and a 50km in 37 days...never again. One race at  a time girlie, it's too exhausting otherwise.

I have new goals now.

I've set my sights on a 50 mile/12 hour endurance trail race in the fall. Yup. 50 km wasn't enough...I have an 80 km bug that's itching away at me...so I've been training...hard...and I'm tired...a lot.

Here's the deal though...a year ago I was struggling with the idea that I'd even be able to break the 3 hour mark on my 1/2 mary. My current PB is 2:34...and that was achieved with relative ease. Life is good, tiring but good.

I'm struggling with the fact that so many of my run club are also all up into the Ultra thing...i'll admit...part of me is irked...this was totally MY thing...childish i know, but it drives me nuts when they just randomly pick one of my 'holy grail' races that i want to build towards and just go do it...or think they'll do it...well lets just say the petulant child comes out.

The real deal is this: I'm training my ass off...literally. My goals are slow and steady and i have a lot of hard work in front of me, but I will do this. I can do this. I will be amazing. So I'm saying it here...50 miler in October. Followed by a 50 km in May at Spruce woods, which will be a warm up for a 50 miler in June...in St. Regis Montana...the Rail Trail.

I'm almost giddy with excitement. I'm going to be amazing!!! Now i just have to not tell anyone that I run with what my plans are...otherwise I'll have company...and the Rail Spike is MINE. See how silly I am? This must have something to do with the fact that next week I turn 40...my irrational side just seems to be popping out everywhere.

40.

I sense that my 40's are going to be filled with all things fabulous. I may not have everything  I assumed I would, but then again I'll have achieved things i never thought possible.