Ultramarathon training week in review: Week 9

This week was a normal week. No doubling up, no tacking on any extra miles. The Johnnycake Jog was on Sunday, so that still afforded me 2 days off for the weekend. Good thing, too - because we went whitewater rafting this weekend. Great timing! Now it's back to my regular Monday through Saturday schedule. The week was a rainy one, but that's just fine by me! I got a chance to get 2 trail runs in this week, which is a rare treat! My son was spending a few days with my parents, and I took a vacation day on Friday. Thursday night I ran on some trails while the hubby worked, and I ran on the trails Friday morning as well. The Friday morning long run was an interesting yet fun run. While driving to the trails I saw some of the darkest storm clouds that I have ever seen. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot the sky opened up. That's just fine by me! The trails got so dark that I could've used a headlamp. The thunderstorm was so loud and the sound of the thunder just echoed through the woods. There was no wind though.

No new donors for this week, so don't forget to donate to UNICEF for my 50k!

Here's this week's breakdown:

Sunday: 5 mile race
Monday: 13 miles, a.m. treadmill/weights/100 situps...2 miles outside at lunch
Tuesday: 5 miles, a.m. treadmill/weights/100 situps...2 miles outside at lunch
Wednesday: 10 miles, a.m. treadmill/weights/100 situps...2 miles outside at lunch
Thursday: 6 miles, trail p.m./weights/100 situps...2 miles outside at lunch
Friday: 10 miles, trail a.m./weights/100 situps

Johnnycake Jog Race Report and Ultra Marathon training week in review: WEEK 8

I have mixed feelings in regards to this race. On one hand, I should be happy that I got a new PR for my 5 mile time. On the other hand, I am frustrated on not placing at all! Last year I ran the jog in 37 minutes 22 seconds and got 2nd place in my age group. This year, I completely trumped that time and ran the jog in 34 minutes 26 seconds! While pleased with my time I am rather disheartened that I did not place. To do so much better, work so much harder and....... sigh. My son however gave me a few words of wisdom after seeing my gloomy look. He scolded me using my own words! "Now mom, you know how you always tell me it doesn't matter what place you came in as long as you did your best and accomplish the goal you have set for yourself." Awwwww shucks. So, I stopped pouting. Nothing like a kid to whip you into shape. Thanks kiddo. On the flip side I am glad that there's no more tacking extra miles onto my running days just to get an extra rest day. I ended this week with 2 bruised toes and blisters on all toes except my big toes and pinkies. Along with that came the not so funny fact that for some reason I kept stubbing my little piggies on anything and everything Friday. Ouch!

Monday's training didn't start as I had planned. I got pretty frustrated actually. At mile 6 1/2 my power went out while running. Nothing like a treadmill shutting off mid run! Fumbling my way trough the dark at 3-something in the morning was not my plan! As every minute went by I kept waiting with my shoes on. I crawled back into bed with my tennies on waiting for the power to come back on! It didn't. I was grumbling for a bit while getting ready for work. I do not like to run at night. The reason why I get up at 2 a.m. is because I do not want to take away from family time - and now I had to run my leftover miles when I got home. Before I left for work I wised up though. Thinking that here I am, complaining because I can't run - but wait. It's not rainy or windy out. The weather is perfect. Maybe just maybe the reason that the power was out is because, god forbid - someone hit a pole. And here I was complaining that I had to run ONE DAY when I got home from work. Yeah that put things into perspective - so I stopped whining. One more frustrating thing about this week: My treadmill (my 9 month old treadmill) keeps shutting off. First it was doing it at 10 mph. So I took it down to 9. Then after one day - shut off at 9. Thursday - shut off at 8 1/2 mph. Those of you who know me know that this is a replacement treadmill - I got this one after my treadmill with a lifetime warranty collapsed while I was running on it. Previous treadmills have suffered various fates - some caught on fire, some I have put crushing holes in. Now troubles with this brand. Pretty soon the company is going to blacklist me. I am holding back in calling them again, but I won't wait too long. On a happier note, I have one more donor for UNICEF! Jill Earle of Ohio. Thanks so much, and don't forget to donate everyone!

Here is this week's breakdown:

Sunday: Sunrise Run, 5 miles
Monday: 6.5 miles/treadmill, 100 sit ups, weights a.m.; 2 miles at lunch; 6.5 miles treadmill, evening
Tuesday: 15 miles/treadmill, 100 sit ups, weights a.m.; 2 miles at lunch
Wednesday: 13 miles/treadmill, 100 sit ups, weights a.m.; 2 miles at lunch
Thursday: 15 miles/treadmill, 100 sit ups, weights a.m.; 2 miles at lunch
Friday: off
Saturday: off

Sunrise run race report and Ultra Marathon training week in review: WEEK 7

PHEW! This week was a busy one! I wanted to give myself 2 rest days (Friday and Saturday) before the Sunrise run 5 mile race that was held today. That meant tacking on some extra miles to my days so I could get all my Ultra training miles in. My plan worked! I got a new PR, shaved about 2 minutes off my 5 mile time, and took second place overall for females for today's race! When I crossed the finish line, the clock said 34:30. I couldn't believe it! The first place girl came in at somwhere around 33:30 or 33:40. I was running slightly behind the girl who took third up until mile 4. The race people changed the course this year due to construction, and it was much flatter than in previous years. I received a $20 gift certificate to Dick's Sporting Goods! That will not go to waste! I felt pretty good after this race, which tells me maybe I could've picked it up a bit. The asthma was bothering me for some reason at the start, but at around mile 2.5 I got comfortable. Problem though - my knee is feeling funny. So I'm going to put ice on it today and see what happens. It makes me nervous though. We'll see - hopefully it will be ok. Now to get some fishing in :-)

Here is this week's breakdown:

Sunday: 7 mile trail run
Monday: 15 miles on the treadmill (a.m.) along with weights and 100 sit ups/ no run at lunch, forgot my socks!
Tuesday: 13 miles on the treadmill (a.m.) along with weights and 100 sit ups/ 2miles at lunch
Wednesday: 12 miles on the treadmill (a.m.) along with weights and 100 sit ups/ 2miles at lunch
Thursday: 16 miles on the treadmill (a.m.) along with weights and 100 sit ups/ 2miles at lunch
Friday: off
Saturday: off

Donate forget I'm running the Ultra for UNICEF! Donate today - See my link at the side of this page! This week we had our first donors - the Leaphart family of Ohio. BIG ups to them and BIG thanks!!!

Running the YUTC ultra marathon for UNICEF! Please donate!

After thinking for a long time about this one, I have finally decided. I am going to run my first Ultra Marathon for UNICEF. It was a tough choice - one that came down to UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders. But in the end, my decision is UNICEF. Maybe Doctors Without Borders could be my cause for the Boston Marathon :)

You can find donation information, even donate online here:

http://inside.unicefusa.org/goto/laurierunsforunicef

Please donate what you can! Here are some suggestions to get you started:

#1. Donate a fixed amount for every mile/kilometer I will run for the Ultra Marathon. A 50k ultra marathon is a little over 31 miles. Try donating $1 for every mile!

#2. GO BIG! Donate a fixed amount for every mile I run during training and the Ultra combined!

#3. Make a one time donation, amount of your choice.

*SPREAD THE WORD! NOTIFY YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS! Send them a link to my blog or donation page!

In all emergencies, UNICEF focuses first on the survival of the children - which means providing health care, water and sanitation, and adequate nutrition.UNICEF is also there to bring immediate protection to children who have been abandoned or separated from their families, enrolled in army or rebel groups, or otherwise exploited and abused. And UNICEF works to get children back to school as soon as possible, to help them recover from the psychological distress associated with emergencies. It doesn’t take much to save a child’s life: $5 can provide one emergency health kit, $87 can provide a family water kit for ten households, and $188 can provide a “School-in-a-Box” kit. Please donate now!

Ultra Marathon training week in review: Week 6

This week was a pretty good running week. My energy was up, the running was fast. It rained pretty much all week, but that didn't stop my 2 milers done outside during my lunch. In fact, it made them all the more fun! One particular day (Tuesday maybe?) it was just a complete downpour. It may have seemed crazy to some, but going out in that rain was one of the best things ever! And I can happily say I was not the only crazy person out there. As I ran I spotted another runner on the other side of the street. As we passed each other, we both had some pretty goofy grins on our face and let out a little chuckle.

This weekend's trail run was a bit adventurous. I had to start before the sun came up, due to the fact that we were going out of town later in the day. My 16 mile trail run started by 5:15. It took me 2 hours and 45 minutes. I was trying to run very very carefully until the sun came up. I had a flashlight, but it didn't do me a whole lot of good. Despite all the darkness, I can happily say I did not plow through any horse dung during my run! At around 6:30 I ran back to my car to grab a quick drink of water and put my useless flashlight away. Another runner pulled up. "And I thought I was here early!" He yelled to me. After a brief conversation he told me he was training for a 50k as well, one in P.A. that is going to be held in September. After wishing each other well, we split up and continued on with our runs.

The trails at the park I was running at are very hilly. At the top of one particularly grueling hill, a mountain biker was resting. We greeted each other, and I continued on. The whole time I was wondering - so when is this guy going to pass me? I thought for sure that at any minute he would come screaming by, scaring the crap out of me! But, I got to the trailhead at the other side of the park and he had still not passed me. Turning around at the trailhead, I pushed on. Eventually the other runner and I crossed paths again. We wound up running together talking about what else? RUNNING! This runner (Joel) had a lot of knowledge and I am glad I had this opportunity. He has run 125 marathons and ultra marathons. He was in his 60's and did his first 50 miler at age 45. It seems like we talked about everything in the short amount of time we ran together. Hills, speed, family, pedicures, paper towels being better than tp for runners (no joke!). Yeah, Saturday was a good trail run. I won't get many more trail runs in this month (if any). July is hell month in terms of activities. Fun ones, but a killer on training. I am so glad that this run was a great one.

Here's the breakdown for the week:

Monday: 9 miles/treadmill 100 situps 1 round with the weights(a.m.) 2.2 miles/outside (lunch)
Tuesday: 10 miles/treadmill 100 situps 1 round with the weights(a.m.) 2.2 miles/outside (lunch)
Wednesday: 9 miles/treadmill 100 situps 1 round with the weights(a.m.) 2.2 miles/outside (lunch)
Thursday: 11 miles/treadmill 100 situps 1 round with the weights(a.m.) 2.2 miles/outside (lunch)
Friday: 10 miles/treadmill 100 situps 1 round with the weights(a.m.)
Saturday: 16 mile long run on trails