Saturday, January 2, 2010

Uncharted Territory

I decided I needed a kick in the arse to get me moving. The Death Race is a big scary goal, but it is far enough away that my heart isn't in my throat thinking about it yet. I needed something that would scare me enough to get my butt out the door and running in the minus WTF temperatures and deep snow.

Enter the Frozen Ass 50. A 50km run from Calgary to Chestermere. Dead flat and on a bike trail (unplowed, but paved). The terrain makes it doable, but 50km is still a lot further than I have run in a while...like over a year!

So I Googled "Training for a 50km in 6 weeks". Nothing.
"6 weeks to a 50km run". Nada.
"50km training program" Great! Got a few programs there. But they are 21 weeks in duration. Dang!

Ok, I am in uncharted territory. So I did what I do best and made it up. I applied what I know about my body, training and what I have read about in the ultra training programs I've seen and I created my own.

I guess I'll find out how smart I am in 6 weeks ;)

So far this week I have done:
Monday: 11km
Wednesday: 16km
Thursday: 20km
Friday: 13km
Today was a rest day.

Tomorrow is 16km and Monday 25km. I am doing my longest runs on Mondays and will be doing 16km the day before each long run. The theory is similar to doing a long bike before a long run- to get used to running on tired legs.

I am building up to 100km/week with my longest training run at 40km. I have 2 rest days scheduled in every week, but will continue to spin as I am teaching a class 2x/week and have the Saturday spin we host in the pain cave. I am building mileage that can carry me past this race and into the training for the Blackfoot Ultra 80km (May 29) and of course the Death Race July 31.

I am running SLOW. 6 min per KM which is a very comfortable pace and will hopefully help me stay healthy through the mileage. So far so good, although the conditions have been tough! It has been cold and we have had tonnes of snow so my ankles/shins/calves are really working overtime. I keep telling myself it will just make me stronger, and all the extra weight of layers is like resistance training :)


 

I received the BEST news today! My good friend Celine is going to run the 50km with me!! I am so happy to have someone to run the race with- we have completed many miles together and I have really missed having a running partner since we moved from Calgary.


It isn't easy to find a compatible running/ training partner and the only person I seem to be able to coax into running with me on a regular basis is a bit lacking in the conversation department :) But he is always enthusiastic, and never complains about the speed, distance, or the weather!


5 comments:

cherelli said...

Wow, what fantastic races you have yourself entered in - you go girl! Very impressed. I looked up that Canadian Death Race and nearly fell over looking at it. But wow, what an event to aim for....

Kelly B. said...

Harley's the coolest! Nice runs! So i looked up that death race...and lo and behold there is a KID'S race!! Its 5km and there is an under 9 division...hmmmm...parents accompany the little ones for a chunk...got me thinking...Matthew would LOVE something like that!!!

Lisa Ulrich said...

How exciting! You are going to become an ultra-woman! The Death Race is a great goal for you - I did leg 4 back in 2004 and it was sooo much fun and such a great atmosphere (I won't talk about how challenging it was but I was not trained properly at all for it!). You are very brave to take on the whole race and I am sure you will be successful!

Charlie Browne said...

Now that is exciting!! What a way to shake things up! I am curious as to how your shortened training plan works out...sounds like you have a very good handle on what you need to do!!

Julie said...

I just want to give you a hug and a hot buttered biscuit looking at that COLD photo of you. Hahahahahahaha!!

By the way -- I love the colour of your blog this month. :) :) :)

ULTRA AMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:) :) :) :) :)