Treadmill Torture and 31 Miler

First of all, when I find out which one of you has been slipping a bottle of Benadryl in my food every day for the last week, I am going to give you a goose egg big enough to have a Social Security number.

Monday, April 9th 2012: 5 miles @ 10:19 minutes per mile. Uneventful pre-work run.

Tuesday, April 10th 2012: 5 miles. I thought I’d get some course-specific training and try something new. So I put on a sweatshirt and wool cap, went upstairs where it’s hot, set the treadmill to it’s steepest incline, then power-walked as fast as I could for 45 minutes.

Let me tell you something: in Hell, everyone is wearing a sweatshirt and wool cap, and they’re walking on a treadmill set to its steepest incline. I have no doubt.

After about 10 minutes I wanted to bash my head with a hammer. I thought “This is ridiculous. It would be so much easier to just go outside and run a few quick miles.” I decided I’d stick with it though because it was uncomfortable. And I need to do more training outside my comfort zone because that’s where growth happens. I will be walking plenty of miles on steep uphills during the Zion 100 in one month (gulp) so I think this actually was good training. I ran another mile afterward with Mel, Jackson, and Ace.

Wednesday, April 11th 2012: 31 miles @ 13:18 minutes per mile. I ran on Gould’s Rim and the spider web of dirt roads surrounding it. I plugged along for mile after mile happy as a clam listening to my ESPN radio station and admiring the scenery.


After I had been running for a few hours Mel came out to join me for five miles. She still gets frustrated because her pace is so much slower on trails. I reminded her that with the elevation changes and rocky terrain, pace is naturally going to be noticeably slower. It’s all good. Nothing to worry about. The thing we DID have to worry about was her nose springing a leak and dripping blood.


There was cloud cover all day which kept the temperature perfect – highs in the 60s. When I was running with Mel, the clouds were all sorts of funky. They were rolling across the sky like waves on the ocean. It was really beautiful. I got this picture which may be my favorite in quite a while:


I was constantly stopping to take pictures, then would run to catch up with her. But the lighting was so perfect that I couldn't help it.


In the afternoon it got reeeeeally, reeeeeally windy. There was a High Wind Advisory and I was getting blown all over. But in my neck of the woods, if you wait until a day without a wind advisory before you run…..you will never run.


I felt good the entire time. I was seriously amazed what a huge difference temperature can make. Last week running in the 80s wore me out, but cooler temps almost felt like I was cheating. I finished 31 miles feeling like I could have kept running. Probably 40 miles. Heck, probably 50. But 100? 100 miles!?!?!? I really have a hard time wrapping my head around that number.

Thursday, April 12th 2012: Rest

Friday, April 13th 2012: 9 miles @ 11:43 minutes per mile. Early morning run. My muscles were stiff and my legs felt like cold Laffy Taffy.

Saturday, April 14th 2012: 14 miles @ 12:36 minutes per mile. I woke up to rain and knew the morning run would be miserable. I came up with about 284 excuses to go back to bed. I ended up putting on my big boy pants and drove to a trail that was a little more sandy and I hoped would be better in the rain.

Unfortunately by the time I got to the trail it wasn't raining. It was snowing and windy. I pretty much didn't want to get out of my car. The first few miles were indeed miserable. Although once I got into the swing of things I felt pretty good. Actually, really good. The trail was only like an ice skating rink a few times. I was thankful I packed a warmer jacket and the lifesaver: my little girl's scarf. Real men wear little girl scarfs.


It was so incredibly beautiful watching the snow drift down and cover the trees around me. I was really thankful I decided to get out of my warm bed.


I did six more miles on the dreadmill after the kids went to bed so that I could get to 70 miles for the week.

This was a hard running week for me. And it wasn't because of the running......my body feels good. It was just a crazy week juggling me working a lot, Mel working a few days, a dentist appointment, kid's piano practice, dance, baseball, etc. I try to do most of my running while they are asleep, so squeezing 70 miles in between the busyness was a challenge. I fantasize about sleep. I'm angry at whoever is putting Benadryl in my water bottles.

I'm happy with how the week went. Only one more building week and then it will be time to taper. Saaweeeet! And you know what's great about training for an endurance event? You get to eat whatever you want! Mountain Dew? Extra large. Pumpkin pie? Don't mind if I do. Hostess? Already had some, but I'll have some more. Snickers? I'll take two. I think I could get used to this.