Month 3 of Triple Crown Training

Well the past month of training has been one of the most challenging ones; certainly physically, but mainly mentally. The following are some of the highlights:

1.I have increased my weekly elevation gain to approximately 10K feet per week along with increasing weekly mileage.

While it is not easy getting in 10K ft. of gain every week in Austin, the Hill of Life on the Greenbelt trail has certainly helped me out! I feel as though my body has responded positively to the increase in mileage and elevation gain. I also used the treadmill twice to get some power hiking in. It was a nice break to get out of the heat, but I do admittedly enjoy being outside more and having more of a sensory experience.

2. I did a couple of back-to-back tempo runs while doing Hill of Life (HOL) repeats (½ mile long hill w/ 300 feet of gain on extremely technical trail).

I mentioned in my June blog that I was doing some tempo runs on the Greenbelt trail and started to do them on Hill of Life. The back-to-back tempos on the HOL was certainly more of a challenge for me. I wanted to run the second tempo just as fast and hard as I did the day before. I wanted to completely disregard that I was doing it in the dark this time, it was more humid, and I was not running on fresh legs. I admittedly worry about setting myself up for disappointment or settling for less when I focus on or even take such factors into consideration. It took me about half of the workout to get rid of my demons and focus on self compassion.This workout was a reminder for me to accept that I am doing my best and that is enough.

3. I have done more Hill of Life repeats this month than in the entire time I have lived here in Austin!

When I first told my coach, Jason, about the Hill of Life, he was quite excited and strongly encouraged me to get out there as much as I could! I informed him that I hope I do not regret telling him about it, as I have a love/hate relationship with HOL. Over the last two months, I have learned to think more positively about the HOL and focus on the strength it is giving me to run uphills.

4. I paced a friend for 52 miles at Bighorn100 in extreme muddy conditions.

My Bighorn 100 pacing experience was an incredible training run for me and a unique experience for my friend, Sean. It was his first hundo and he was a trooper for the entire race.   I was out there for a little over 21 hours with him. We managed to maintain positive attitudes and stay strong, but it was certainly challenging. While I did not bonk, I realized that I could have done much better with consuming more calories and water. I also did not have many electrolytes, so things to focus on next month!  I was quite concerned about keeping up with Sean’s nutrition, making sure we got everything at each aid station, trying to stay upright in the mud, taking care of our feet, and staying focused.

This past month, I have also done more mental training with hanging up the elevation profiles and course descriptions all over my apartment walls, monitor, etc. Yes, I ran Bigfoot 200 last year and am familiar with the course, but I like going into a race with confidence about what to expect. Refreshing myself about the gain and description for each section encourages me to envision what it was like running those sections, what I struggled with, and what I did well. In addition to this, I have created lists of all the things I can improve upon in each of my race reports. I decided to compile all of them into one large list, print it off, and hang it up in my apartment. I am reminded on a daily basis of what I need to be working on!  

I have been doing more body work this past month. I am getting back into my pull-up and push-up routine. I still need to do some more leg work and plan to do so with bands. I feel as though I have gotten off track with rolling out and stretching. I will be doing much more of this during the month of July. I also plan on walking around and doing some runs with my weighted vest. I recall not doing much of this last year before Bigfoot and thinking about how heavy my hydration vest felt!

I am satisfied with how much more organized I am this year with getting my gear and food together for longer runs. I have everything divided up into Ziplock bags. I have a much better idea now of what I will need and how to better pack my drop bags. I can recall how long it took me to organize my bags last year, and I feel confident that I will be more efficient this year.

Well I have one more month of training before my first race! I am excited and eager to see what my training will look like after I start these races. I am hopeful that my body will recover quickly and I can still get some runs in between the 200’s.