Welcome back or welcome to my weekly dispatch about how I am getting ready to run for 6 days “straight” in March 2024 at lululemon’s FURTHER. This is my second week of training and I felt very solid all week. The best part of this week was feeling like, after a year of intense struggles, the lessons that were available to learn are solidifying for me and I feel like I have a lot more clarity and calm now. Nothing went to plan this year and I now feel like I can parse the lessons that I was unable to absorb previously. That feels good. I do not want to carry the weight of this year into this training block or allow it to influence how I train and race. Ultimately, what start and finish lines I did or did not make it to this year don’t have inherent meaning about anything. Because I missed a bunch of races and didn’t get to showcase the fitness I had built, doesn’t mean I’m not a good runner. It means I am a good runner who faced my fair share of obstacles this year. I finished 5 ultras including getting my Golden Ticket back to WS as well as winning Silver Rush 50 and 2 marathons in decently speedy times. That sounds solidly good enough, especially when I consider the context of the hardships I was going through. Also, it is a great practice to remember that there is a lot of danger in ascribing means to the goodness of one’s life based on such arbitrary things such as successful races. If one can only be ok when running is going well, then a deeper look must be taken. I appreciate that this year has helped me clarify some things mentally and work through some unresolved things so that I can continue to grow and learn. Learning and failing don’t always feel good, but I would prefer continuing to grow throughout my life than stagnation. If I arrived at a place without challenge, I would very much find it boring. I like to work and I like to learn. And if one of the major lessons from this year is that the universe will keep giving you the same lesson over and over again until you learn it, than I am wholeheartedly trying to ensure I have learned it.
That is the place that I have been in this week while training. I have gotten in over 110 miles, did 4 strength sessions and completed my first triple day! Yesterday, I ran 10 miles in the morning (very early on the treadmill), then headed out again at 10am for 4 more miles, then about 1pm for 6.5 more miles with my friend Anna Mae. I also got in an additional 3 miles of walking with Beans. It was very fascinating to have my body respond so well to the stimulus and I never felt overly tired or sore. I would have a fleeting moment of “I don’t want to do this” right before heading out again, but as soon as I started running I felt great. There was only one day this week that I didn’t double. I am pleased with my body handling the increased mileage and feel like I am on track to continue with a gradual increase of mileage. I celebrated reaching my yearly mileage goal of 4,000 miles this morning, so looking forward to seeing how close I can get to the next arbitrary number. I think 4,500 is out of reach at this point.
Welcome to 4:40am. I am not allowed to sleep in.
This week someone asked me how I stayed motivated to get out and run when I don’t feel good. The first answer is: if I waited to feel good, I would never run. I do not enjoy the luxury of good health and more often than not, I am working with some sort of lack or compromise. According to the Bearable app which I use to track my autoimmune symptoms, the best I ever feel is just ok (3 out of 5). The second answer is that I consider: “while not running solve my problem?”. Most of the time, a bit of “ugh I don’t want to go” or “I don’t feel like it” melts away after a few miles. This is also a good question when facing burnout/overtraining or injury because not running will help solve your problem!! The third answer is: there are plenty of things in life we do when we don’t feel like it. I know plenty of people who say routinely “I don’t want to go to work”. I probably said that every morning during our early bakery days when the alarm went off at 2:30AM. But I did it anyways, because it was worth it and moved me towards my goals. My running is not overly precious to me. What I mean by that is that I have not mentally assigned too may things that have to line up in order to do it. I need my shoes and that’s about it. Whether I have a watch or a phone or the perfect route or the perfect outfit is immaterial. I think ultimately I do not generally struggle with motivation to get out for my runs because I so very rely on motivation as a catalyst to run.
Ok, I think that is enough rambling from me for now. If you haven’t yet checked out my daily vlogs on YouTube, head on over and have a look. Also, please let me know in the comments or via email what questions you have about getting ready for this unique event!