Since completing the Curnow Marathon back in July, I've been kept busy in a number of ways and have yet to run another race. And actually, have not been running as consistently as I would like. But getting two kids ready and dropped off at college as well as following another kid's lacrosse team progress will do that to you!
Now that Labor Day weekend has come and gone and we are beginning to see some signs of the beautiful fall weather that Minnesota is known for, I am more determined than ever to continue on my running program and keep my fitness levels high. One of my more recent revelations is that I am about 250 miles away from running 1000 miles for the calendar year. While this may be easily achieved by more seasoned runners, I have not come within 500 miles of this milestone in my life! So goal #1 for the remainder of the year is to run consistently and smash through that barrier.
Next on my list is to find a few local races to run during the fall months. With that in mind, I just signed up for my first 50k trail race on October 24th. It's called Surf the Murph and is held in Murphy-Hanrehan Park in Savage, MN. I have come up with a fairly compact training plan since the race is just over 5 weeks away. Thankfully it should be more of a ramping back up effort than building from scratch.
Other races I am considering in the coming months:
Frozen Otter (64 or 32 miles) - January 2016
Trail Mix 50k - April 2016
Superior Spring Trail 50k - May 2016
Grandma's Marathon - June 2016
Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon - July 2016
Superior Fall Trail 50m - August 2016
This list is a bit aggressive and I may not be able to run them all. Time will tell. The only one of the above races I have run is the Curnow Marathon. I would like to take another shot at it and see if I can improve my time.
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Friday, September 18, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Training Update
This will be a fairly lengthy post as it has been awhile since my last one. So what's been going on? A lot!
My training has continued to progress pretty well. I have been able to be consistent with my mileage (thanks to Stu and his regular mileage challenges!) and have also been able to bump up my longest runs to just over 20 miles. Since my last post I have run several long runs in the mid to upper teens and my most recent one was just over 20 miles. I also have been able to recover well from these longer runs. Currently, I am averaging somewhere between 40-45 miles per week.
As far as weight loss, I have continued making progress on that front too. As of about 2 weeks ago, I eclipsed the 25 pounds lost mark. I've been hovering just under 30 pounds lost most recently. I need to stay on top of it as I'd really like to hit my goal weight of 200 pounds. Only 17-18 more to go!
I recently added to my growing equipment collection by adding both a hydration pack, another pair of shoes and good socks.
First off, I purchased a Nathan hydration pack with a 70 oz bladder.
I ran over twenty miles with it and loved it. The pack wasn't too warm, didn't bounce or chafe and has enough extra room for sunscreen, gels, and a few first aid items.
At about the same time, I found a great deal on a pair of Hoka shoes. I picked the Hoka Mafate Speeds and really liked the way they felt. For the uninitiated, Hoka shoes go the opposite direction of the minimalist "toe" shoes that were all the rage a few years back. These things have serious cushion, which my feet really appreciate!
I ran 8 miles in them the next day just to try them out and ended up with bloody blisters on both heels! The Hokas come up a little higher on my ankle and heel than normal running shoes and combined with bad socks, left me with some pretty gnarly blisters. I haven't let that stop me and was able to continue training in my regular shoes while the blisters healed somewhat. In the interim, I made my way to REI and picked up two pairs of socks - one pair of SmartWool's PhD running socks and one pair of WrightSock's Coolmesh II socks. The WrightSock's are dual-layer and have a "no blister" guarantee. I ran with the SmartWool socks and the Hoka's this week and while I felt slight irritation on my heels, the blisters did not worsen and no new ones formed. I really like these SmartWool socks! You might be thinking, "how can you wear wool socks???". Well, these aren't your grandma's wool socks. These are ultra-thin, merino wool that help your feet to breath and keep you blister free as well.
I am now just over a month away from the Curnow trail marathon (July 11, 2015) and am beginning to plan for the remaining weeks of training and tapering. This should be fun! #KeepRunning
My training has continued to progress pretty well. I have been able to be consistent with my mileage (thanks to Stu and his regular mileage challenges!) and have also been able to bump up my longest runs to just over 20 miles. Since my last post I have run several long runs in the mid to upper teens and my most recent one was just over 20 miles. I also have been able to recover well from these longer runs. Currently, I am averaging somewhere between 40-45 miles per week.
As far as weight loss, I have continued making progress on that front too. As of about 2 weeks ago, I eclipsed the 25 pounds lost mark. I've been hovering just under 30 pounds lost most recently. I need to stay on top of it as I'd really like to hit my goal weight of 200 pounds. Only 17-18 more to go!
I recently added to my growing equipment collection by adding both a hydration pack, another pair of shoes and good socks.
First off, I purchased a Nathan hydration pack with a 70 oz bladder.
I ran over twenty miles with it and loved it. The pack wasn't too warm, didn't bounce or chafe and has enough extra room for sunscreen, gels, and a few first aid items.
At about the same time, I found a great deal on a pair of Hoka shoes. I picked the Hoka Mafate Speeds and really liked the way they felt. For the uninitiated, Hoka shoes go the opposite direction of the minimalist "toe" shoes that were all the rage a few years back. These things have serious cushion, which my feet really appreciate!
I ran 8 miles in them the next day just to try them out and ended up with bloody blisters on both heels! The Hokas come up a little higher on my ankle and heel than normal running shoes and combined with bad socks, left me with some pretty gnarly blisters. I haven't let that stop me and was able to continue training in my regular shoes while the blisters healed somewhat. In the interim, I made my way to REI and picked up two pairs of socks - one pair of SmartWool's PhD running socks and one pair of WrightSock's Coolmesh II socks. The WrightSock's are dual-layer and have a "no blister" guarantee. I ran with the SmartWool socks and the Hoka's this week and while I felt slight irritation on my heels, the blisters did not worsen and no new ones formed. I really like these SmartWool socks! You might be thinking, "how can you wear wool socks???". Well, these aren't your grandma's wool socks. These are ultra-thin, merino wool that help your feet to breath and keep you blister free as well.
I am now just over a month away from the Curnow trail marathon (July 11, 2015) and am beginning to plan for the remaining weeks of training and tapering. This should be fun! #KeepRunning
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