In the Pursuit of 24: Week 25 : Insane Running

In the Pursuit of 24: Week 25

Part of training for long-distance running and a key element is to find and have a clear why? A clear reason. From now on, every training run and event will serve as a great opportunity to test many elements of tackling the distance of the ultramarathon. Understanding the reason you signed up for this challenge, the purpose, and what it is that carries you through the miles will be key when tackling the darkest hours of the training and, most importantly, the event.

This is part of a series of posts regarding how we prepare, plan, and train to complete the 100 miles Ultramarathon Umstead 100: In the Pursuit of 24. For all the ultrarunning series, here is In the Pursuit of 24, last week’s post, and for additional ideas, follow the link. Training for a 100 .

Here is where overthinking could start messing with your brain, and your willingness to push forward at key moments could be affected. You might have some decent reason, or maybe you were not considering all the implications of signing up for an ultramarathon. Even if that was the case, that does not mean you are doomed to a bad performance. Sometimes, you might pick or find the reason(s) and the why along the way during training.

Assessment:

It is time to reflect not only when you were in front of the computer or on your phone signing up for that Ultra. But also, the weeks before, your running career, the visualization you were doing when considering running and signing up for the event.

All the thinking you have been doing during the past couple of weeks of initial training. The doubts might be creeping in. Or on the other hand, the sounding foundation of realizing you got this, you feel ready for what is coming and getting a clear view of how you are going to tackle every situation. Every reflection, review, learning, and opportunity really allows you to solidify your reasoning and purpose.

Planning:

Time to reflect on the following questions,

What do I want to accomplish here? What are my personal reasons?

Who am I doing this for? For me? For someone else?

How did I get here? What do I have to prove?

What will it mean if I complete this challenge? What will keep me going?

Write it all down, or reflect well on the answers. These short but key responses must be handy when digging deep to keep moving and pushing forward.

How is the plan going:

This week was a decent week. I am still struggling with left knee issues, but it is ok for the easy miles. The total workweek mileage was decent; here are some highlights,

Monday: Rest easy day, some stretches

Tuesday: Easy 10 miles; the knee is still giving me problems.

Wednesday: Cisco 5k with a 1-mile warm-up and 1-mile cool-down. Followed by InsaneRunning group run in the afternoon.

Thursday: Easy 4 miles

Friday: Some stretching and rolling, all good.

Saturday: Easy 7 miles with Venu this morning during some rain. After mile 4, my knee finally calmed down.

Sunday: Warm up mile, then Bull City Race Fest Half at an easy pace

This week’s actual numbers: