That's more or less what we've been doing of late. We decided our training for Zane Grey did us well (despite any appearances to the contrary...i.e. the slow finish time) and have opted to continue on with it, and play around and tweak it here and there. We don't have anything on the immediate horizon as far as racing goes, but Geof does have Wasatch 100 come early September. I, however, have no races scheduled for the rest of the year...but that won't last very long :) I wanted to wait until we knew where we were moving before I made any racing plans. Now that that's squared away, I really want to race...like now.
What to do, what to do? Well, until I figure that out, I'll just keep on training like I've got something coming up :) Besides, racing is merely a vehicle for training. I really love the training part. Hopefully we'll happen upon some dandy looking race in our travels this summer and can drop in on it. We'll see!
Meantime, the training. It's very complicated and filled with numbers and formulas and big words that sound like they're made up, and lots and lots of weird runnery stuff and crazy sounding nutrition plans.
Not.
Here it is: Run 10 miles. Often.
There you have it! We did maybe four actual long runs (20+ miles and one 31 mile run) leading up to Zane Grey this year, and the rest of the time it was 3-4 runs of at least 10 miles, and 1-2 runs of 3-4 miles. The key? Pushing the pace. These were more often than not pretty fast runs. Even the long runs were fast by my standards. The 3-4 mile runs were our version of speed work and usually left me gasping for air. The 10 mile runs started out very mildly paced back in February, and we've now dropped about a minute per mile off our former typical pace, and always end with a negative split in the second half.
Generally, I'm running based on feel. I try not to glance at the ol' watch too much, but it happens. Curiosity and what not :) But here and there I'll purposefully push it, or Geof will drag me along. So it feels good to see such massive improvement on my part without really aiming for it. It just happens. You run a lot, and eventually you adapt and get better and better. Put in the work, reap the rewards. One of the many things I love about running!
Last week, we decided to run 10 milers every day. My legs wanted a break bad by Wednesday, but we kept on keeping on and closed out the week with six 10 mile runs, taking Sunday off to rest and start again this week. It was fun, and a little bit tough for some reason. I felt the absolute best on Saturday, with 50 miles already in the tank. Each run got a little better throughout the week, thus driving home the fact that I'm made for this stuff :) But all this road running is making me ache.
I love the 10 mile distance. We haven't really been craving long runs lately, so this is a great way to still get in the miles and it allows for quicker recovery (as opposed to long runs). A 60 mile week is solid for me as I haven't hit that mileage much in the past, but I am embarking on a new chapter and it includes higher mileage. Time to remind my legs who's boss! I aim to make 60 mpw the new 40-50 mpw :)
Hey, remember that time I ran my first 100 mile race on less than 30 mpw? Yea, that was silly, and I can't believe I did that. It works for some (like you, Brian!) but boy is it more fun to run more nowadays, and very rewarding. My how I've grown.
Today, I am pooped! I think the moving stress/anxiety/awesomeness is wreaking a bit of havoc on my running/general mental state so this week has been a little hard on the bod, but I have faith it'll bounce back just fine. Just this morning I was lamenting my aching legs and body, to which Geof said to speed it up and everything will feel better (I think his exact words were,"we're going too slow and not running far enough." True story.)...my head was trying to take the reigns. So, I did just that, I sped it up, and I found my groove.
Paige got her groove back. At least for this morning :)
I sorta wish I were running Kettle Moraine 100 now, but not really. I'd want to crush it and I'm not feeling totally crushy right now. So, we'll settle for watching other people crush it out there next Saturday instead :)
Paige, out.
The madness, excitement, adventure and musings of a runner who can't get enough of it
Race Schedule
2018 Races…TBD!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Choosing Our Own Adventure
All has been quiet on the bloggy front, but have no fear...we still have a very Serious Case of the Runs here, packing away the miles each day, and I hope to finally get around to writing about that soon :) But, we've also been doing some other packing of late because...
We're moving!
If you haven't already picked up on this little tidbit, Geof and I are not-so-closet desert rats :) We love the desert, and we love the mountains, and we lovelovelove being surrounded by like-minded folks who find nothing unusual about spending most of ones free time in the mountains/running/communing with nature. We hmmm'd and hawww'd for a good long while, weighing all the options, dreaming up all sorts of places we think we'd quite enjoy (talk about a long list!), and we've finally picked our new backdrop:
Salt Lake City, Utah!
C'mon, we're also a little bit city folk at heart, so we wanted to make sure we'd still have some of the access and convenience of a city, but with the ability to hop into the mountains at the drop of a hat. Not to mention being within five hours in any direction of some of the most beautiful places in the entire country. And, can we say world class trail running? Hello Wasatch Mountains, you are my new friends! :) (Heck, I may even learn to really enjoy downhill skiing and not be such a scaredy-cat. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.) And, we've got such a great network of wonderfully amazing friends already in the area, so what's not to love?
May 31st we are leaving the Chicago skyline in our rearview mirror for good. That's gonna be weird...and totally thrilling, exciting, terrifying and motherloving awesome. I'm pretty sure I'll cry. It happens This has been my home for sooooooo long. But, it's time.
That's not all.
June and July will be spent taking in every last bit of some of the magnificient west's greatest treasures. We'll be modern day vagabonds, but not quite as drifty...and with much better hygiene :) We do have some places to be at certain points, including crewing/pacing for Gretchen at Hardrock in July, so we do have a very blurry plan.
But otherwise, we'll be residents of the road; choosing our own adventure along the way. We do have a soft spot for americana, small towns off the beaten path, coffee shops with funky names and mismatched furniture, book stores, folks who still wear overalls, folks who call themselves 'folks', brick streets, towns with names that make you giggle, red rock formations and trails that go for hours. Where will the road take us? We shall see!
And, it gets better...
I'm going back to school! I've just missed those textbooks and A & P flashcards too much ;) Nothing too exciting yet, just catching up on some prerequsites before applying into a program for 2013. This was really the main boot-kick to the pants. We knew school was a big priority...but we also knew relocating west was another big priority. So, why not do both at the same time? That's just how we Dunmores roll.
It was hard giving notice at work...I have three completely awesome attorneys that I've been working for for the last five years (no, they don't read this blog as far as I know so I'm being honest, for the record :)), so it's hard leaving a truly wonderful professional environment...one which I would have easily retired from many many years from now. But, we cannot ignore the call of the mountains. It is loud, persistent, and quite lovely! It could be a flop, but I sincerely doubt it. We just aren't 'flop' people :) We are make it happen people. There have been just a couple naysayers (expected), but otherwise peeps have been enormously supportive and encouraging. And for that, I say thank you!
Think on how often in life you have an opportunity like this. I bet it's not often. So when we saw it approaching we decided to take the leap (a huge long-jump-over-our-universe-landing-in-unknown-territory kind of leap...over burning coals, spikey things, naysayers and steaming piles of lima beans). It's intense. And downright cool.
This is a wildly awesome adventure we are about to embark on, and I'm tickled pink to have the greatest sidekick in the universe to share the ride with! And, of course, the greatest readers ever known to man to share our adventures with right here :)
So that's the skinny.
And now back to our regularly scheduled running excitement.
Paige, out.
(Bet you weren't expecting this one, lol!)
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