Momentum Monday(ish) – Post Laurel Highlands Ultra
22 hours of pacing and crewing, 4 hours of sleep, 6 hours of white water rafting, 8 hours of driving, 6 hours of sleep, jumping back into the work week. That has been my life since Saturday morning at 5:30 AM and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Kim, Nikki and I at the pre-race dinner.
I am back from the Laurel Highlands Ultra with a few more bug bites, a couple more blisters and a LOT more memories. I will do a full recap for you on Friday with an outline of what it looks like to be a pacer of an ultra-marathon rather than a racer. It was an interesting experience to be on the other side and launch yourself into the success of another runner rather than yourself.
It was actually even more emotional for me to do this, especially as the race wore on and I saw Kim becoming more and more fatigued.
For now, let’s talk training. After a weekend like this, I am very aware of the strain my body just underwent, even though I wasn’t racing myself. My watch shows I logged 60 KM and I need to respect that this week. Thankfully, this race landed right before an easy training week so I am using this weekend’s upcoming race as a tempo training session instead of doing it mid-week. I am also making sure to eat a little cleaner this week and sleep a bit more. Ultra food aid stations tend to look like this:
When you are carrying food for your runner, it often is an eat what you can situation and I absolutely did! I crushed PB & J sandwiches, peanut M&M’s and peanut butter filled pretzels (yes, I am addicted to peanut butter…) but now I am kind of just wanting to have a vegetable or two.
In terms of training, last week was a huge improvement over the past while. My soleus is slowly releasing and I have another appointment with my physiotherapist today to makes sure that it is doing what it is supposed to. The pain continues to subside which is hugely exciting.
MONDAY: Gym post-massage. CARDIO 30 min (stairmaster, rowing machine and elliptical mix), STRENGTH 30 min (kettle bell swings, pistol squats, TRX biceps/triceps, lunge and twist with kettlebell)
TUESDAY: 13 KM interval workout with 1.2 KM repeats
1 HR soccer game
WEDNESDAY: 6 KM easy run.
1 HR at the driving range
THURSDAY: 12 KM run with 8 KM tempo effort
FRIDAY: 15 minute strength workout before heading out to the race! (negative pull ups, deadlifts, rows, skaters)
SATURDAY/SUNDAY: 60 KM of trail running/trekking
Have you ever paced a runner?
What is your favourite recipe with veggies in it? I need some help here, folks.
