Training Block 1

I had a lot of slow miles on my last long run of my first training block for the year to think about what I've learned from this block. What went right and what I still need to work on.

1. 6 weeks is a long training block both physically and mentally! On one hand a mini cutback week probably would have been good, but on the other the last long run and these last couple runs really have been mentally akin to the last miles of a 100 miler. Getting through the tough miles is what's going to get me through the tough miles in a race. If all my training miles are easy than I won't know what to do when a race gets hard. So 6 weeks is probably a good length of time to push it.


2. I need to work on my nutrition while I'm not running. Dan cringed when I told him I had ramen after a long run last week. And he's right! If I fuel with crap during the day I'm still not running my best. The thing is I really do eat well most of the time...but I need to make that most of the time a little bit more. I also need to increase my calories during the day. This is a struggle for me because I then tend to feel stuffed for my afternoon runs. Something I'll have to work on. I also need to increase my protein intake. Its not terrible, but I can feel this late in a training block that upping my protein will help my muscle recovery.

At one point that was a frosty

3. Sleep. I can't get away with 5 hours of sleep a night with these big training blocks. I'm not sure where I'll find the extra hours in the day but I need to get closer to 6-7 hrs/night.


4. Not every run is going to be great, but you're still getting stronger. Bad runs are just as much a fluke as good runs so you can't pin everything on them. After an amazing run this past Monday...one of those runs where you feel more like you're flying than running...my long run was a struggle. I know I didn't all of a sudden lose everything I had on Monday...but in the middle of the run when all you want to do is stop and eat an ice cream cone because its a bazillion degrees and you're moving at the speed of sludge...you have to remind yourself that you're at the end of a training block, its the end of the week so you're exhausted all around and you will have another run like Monday again! And hopefully that falls on race day!


I'm looking forward to a cutback week, vacation, exploring new trails, relaxing...ha maybe even a little sleep! Then another 5 week block before North Fork! Excited to see if all this training pays off! Its been awhile since I've really raced and I'm itching to get back at it!


Training Block 1:
Miles: 393.1
Vert: 89,611
Hours: 84

J told me my hair had on ouie...I had to agree it certainly looked that way