Each fall , like the good triathlete I am, I come up with a race plan for the following season. I almost never falter from this plan. Last fall the plan was to do several sprint and Oly tris. Work on speed. But when I was recovering from my hysterectomy a friend posted about this trail run called Wapack and back. It is a 21/ 43 / 50 trail race in early May. I thought…this would be a great goal and motivation to move after my surgery. So I signed up. It went really well and I loved the race and the training! I love to hike and had stopped doing it during tri season because I was so regimented about my training. I loved that Sea to Summit required hiking. And with trail races it’s also a fantastic way to train. Going forward I want to keep hiking as part of training, especially early season.
Almost immediately after Wapack I wanted another trail race! The fates lead me to TARC Fall Classic 50k. I knew Id' have to train in the summer, but hoped the trails would keep me a little cool. I gave myself the month of May to do short runs, hike, ride, swim, and strength train. The ramped things up in June. I was feeling awesome for most of the month. I was gaining some speed on my runs and rides. I was feeling strong!
Then the first week in July happened. I ramped up mileage a lot the last week in June to hit my 100 mile goal for the month. I had two races planned the second weekend in July; Savage OCR and MA State Oly Tri. I ran a lot those first two weeks in July. My joints and muscles starting aching in ways they never had . This wasn't just muscle soreness. I believe I over trained a bit and things just exploded. After the two races I ramped down significantly. I was still able to get in my long runs, but did cut them back a bit. I went down to two additional short runs a week and added in more riding and swimming. I added more mobility work. And I got a trigger point massage. I changed shoes. I now run in HOKA speed goats. They are a game changer for trail running. I have much better traction and have been tripping and falling less. HA!
That seemed to work. I felt fluid and my runs were pain free again. I did the TARC Summer Classic 10 miler and attempted another loop. It was a 100+ heat index day so I cut out 3-4 miles. I was dizzy and felt nausea, unable to keep food down. I made the decision to skip one of the smaller loops and head back to the finish line. I still got 17+ miles in that day. I made the right decision.
I had planned to do a 26 miler prior to the Fall Classic, but because I ramped everything down my longest run was a 24 miler. That was the weekend following the Summer Classic. I did the 24 as a split run: 17 from home on mixed terrain and a run-hike on the Wapack Trail from Watatic. I felt awesome on this run. It was arguably my best long run this year. I actually felt like I could keep going when I reached my car!
Fast forward the week before the race. I went out and did a 2.5 mile trail run. I felt really good until I stepped awkwardly and felt a zing up my right leg. It resulted in calf/peroneal / hamstring discomfort with every R foot step. I worked hard the next few days to stretch out, foam roll, and decrease this pain before the race. By the time Saturday came I felt pretty good.
RACE DAY: The race started at 6 am so we had to be there for like 5:15 to check in and organize. I was actually feeling pretty good race morning. Able to get food and coffee into me super early in the morning. Jenn and I started together but she quickly took off. I felt GREAT for the first 11 miles. Stopped at my bag after the first loop, changed ear buds, grabbed more fuel and water and took off. Amy Rino from WWMS was there and helped me fill water. Chatted with me. It was good to see her and it gave me a little boost. The next couple miles were OK. I connected with a few women that I chatted and ran with for 2 or 3 miles. At some point I tripped. I didn't fall but I landed really hard and it shook me up a little. After that I felt kind of off. But I kept moving forward. At some point I started feeling awful and considered dropping out at mile 21. I went back and forth on this about 10 times. Y'all know I'm too damn stubborn to do this so I did not. Besides, I was there to do a 50K not 21 miles. I told TOO many people my plan, I didn't want to admit defeat just because it was HARD. At the half way point I started run walk intervals of 6:3 plus walking the hills and running some descents. By the time I got to the end of loop 2 I was feeling a tad better. And Amy was there. It was just what I needed. I changed shirts and ear buds; grabbed more nutrition; talked with her briefly then took off. I continued with my run:walk intervals and that seemed to help. I felt MUCH better on loop 3. My legs were screaming but my head was in a good place. I was looking around more. Having more fun. I saw a young deer AND an owl in like an 8 min span! I was able to run a little more in flatter spots and on safe descents. The last bit was around a field. I ran that last half mile, with the exception of a small hill. Everything hurt. I crossed this finish line. 50 k done. It was my first but it will not be my last. I came in dead last of all 50k finishers but I do not care. I am damn proud of myself. I've not run longer than 13 miles since 2018. I certainly gained overall endurance last year, but Sea 2 Summit doesn't have the high run mileage, therefore I didn't gain much last season. It was maybe a big leap this year, but I'm glad I did it.
I've now done three TARC races and can't say enough good things about them. The runners, volunteers, and race directors are AWESOME! Everyone is super kind and chill. I plan to volunteer at the Winter Classic in December.
Trail running and long distance trail running is a much different animal than road racing. It's much more fun and playful. You get to play in the woods for hours and hours. And it's easy to incorporate dog runs/hikes and hikes with others who may not otherwise train with you. I now have to figure out how to do both long distance trail races AND triathlon. It can be done. But it'll be tricky.
I continue to have something going on with the right side of my body. I suspect it's some muscular imbalances causing tightness in piriformis. Which, in turn, is causing radicular symptoms. I am not sure tho so I am setting up an PT evaluation with a friend of mine. It's time to get to the root of this issue.
I've build up a ton of run endurance this year. The plan is to do Ironman Maryland followed by a 50 miler roughly a month later. Now for operation get faster!
