Anamal

Heyo! I'm back from my vacation climbing mountains in Colorado and I'm ready to crack down on my running, dropping some pounds as my race approaches, and generally getting into my best shape. My first 50k was somewhat derailed by sickness which resulted in a very slow finish time (but I did finish!) and being very under-trained going into the race. This time around I want to see if I can run under 7hrs (1.5hrs faster than my first 50k). I want to spend the next four months really challenging and pushing myself both physically and professionally as I move closer to my 2nd ultra marathon. I want to finish 2015 in a much different place than I started it. With that, the goals! I'm going to be rolling these out until the end of the year, but they'll be broken down into: 1) Base Building (weeks 1-4), 2) Specific Race Prep (weeks 5-17), and 3) Post race recovery and maintenance (week 18-end of year). Then each phase will be broken down into diet, training, and life. But for now we'll just start with the first one. THE BASE BUILDING PHASE DIET: - Intermittent Fasting - Complete two 20-24hr fasts each week - Eat a veggie at every meal (potatoes, corn, beans, do not count) TRAINING: - Strength train 2x a week - Run 25 miles per week (soccer practice counts for what is recorded on watch, typically 3.5-4miles as does time spent on the stair master 1hr = 2 miles). LIFE: - Do one thing for my career every day (can be as simple as doing a tutorial or attending my night class, but I want to get in the habit of actively working towards my career with the intent of moving from my current department in the next 9 months). Alright! Let's get this party started.

Hi thanks for stopping by! Admittedly I've been pretty absent this challenge. We must have been writing this at the same time because as soon as I posted my race report, your comment showed up I would say that my lack of training became pretty apparent after mile 23 when I left the 4-pack aid station for the last time. After that point it was really a grind and my legs were screaming, so I imagine had I been better trained I would have felt better through at least mile 25 maybe. But I think keeping an up beat mental attitude was the majority of the battle. But for November I'd really like to see if I can shave an hour or more off my time even though it will be a slightly harder course. I typically run 4-5 days a week with a long hike and a rest day in there too. Although before this 50k I was really worried about being too slow uphill so I ran 3x a week with 2x on the stair master after doing weight training. But honestly this who training cycle felt so jumbled I can't really remember how often I was running. That's so exciting that you've already done a half! That's a great distance! Are you training for ultras now? I really love Hal's book too. But I feel like I need to build my base even just to get to the first week of his 50k plan! As far as advice and perspective goes I guess I'd say it really is about the mental aspect, and just committing before you start that you're going to finish no matter what. Of course I'm no expert now that I've run one ultra, but even when I was really tired and running really hurt, as long as I kept my mental game in a positive space I could keep going. I think an ideal spot to reach would be one where you are confident in your training, but going into the race knowing that anything can happen, and that you're just going to embrace the ride and take what the race gives you and not give up no matter what. The pain of quitting really is worse than that of gutting it out to the finish line.

Race Report Time! Note: This report will have exactly zero pictures because I just never bothered to pull my phone out. Most runs I'll snap a few pics, but this time around I was just focusing on moving forward. I'll start with the week before and the lead up going into the race. Basically, I was a mess. I knew I was pretty significantly under trained. Due to a prolonged (like six week) illness during the middle of my training cycle and then crashing my car and being exhausted from having to bike everywhere I only managed one 16 mile run, and one 15 mile run within the three months leading into the race, both of which were on relatively flat ground, and one was even on a paved bike path. In some ways this was really freeing because I had no goal but to finish, and purely for vanity my secondary goal was not to finish last. So the weeks leading up was all about controlling what I could. I was very strict about what I was eating, keeping it healthy and lower on the calorie side so as to not put on unneeded weight. Starting two weeks out I made sure I drank at least three liters of water daily, and cut out all dairy and most grains. One week out I cut out all alcohol and most sugars, and then three days out I began upping my carb intake, focusing on good sleep, and trying to spend a little time foam rolling each day. Two days out I made sure I got a ton of sleep (knowing I wouldn't sleep much at all the night before), and applied rock tape to my achiles tendons as they're a trouble area for me and I didn't want to take any risks. The day before the race I ate my largest meal at lunch (chicken and white rice), I left work a little early, had a small dinner of more white rice and two eggs, and then tried to wind down. I watched a documentary on beavers. Yes, beavers, that's not a typo I figured it would be distracting but not wind me up like more exciting TV would. I also foam rolled a bit and painted my nails. I'm not sure where this tradition started but I'll often paint my nails before a big race, it's a little confidence boost and a bright bold color makes me feel like a bad ass. I chose my favorite color of sea foam green! I also made sure I set alarms (yes plural) before I went to bed. Three on my phone, plus one ol' fashioned wall clock version just in case. I was terrified I'd wake up at like 6am and realize I'd missed the start. I'm also really glad I stocked up on sleep because I probably slept all of two hours that night. I tossed and turned all night, I must have checked the time every thirty minutes, and for most of the night I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. But my 4am alarm came soon enough and I was up and out the door by 4:30am. I was lucky enough to have found a race that was an hour from my home. On the road I ate my breakfast of a banana and 2-3 tbs of peanut butter, with my cup of coffee. I wasn't that hungry which means I knew my carb loading had worked. The other great thing about eating my last big meal around 1pm the day before was that I was confident in my pre-race morning poops. Yes that's gross, but if you've ever played a team sport, or done an early morning race, you know about morning poops and how important they are. Moving on. I pulled into the parking lot around 6am, right on time. Checked in, got dressed, went to the bathroom again, and started to head to the starting line. I even saw Sally McRae! I'm a total fan girl of her's and had to introduce myself. It's strange I'm so not one to care about most celebrities and given that I work in film/advertising I've actually met quite a few very famous people. But give me an ultra runner and I'm in total fan girl mode. She was very gracious and we chatted a bit, she was very encouraging and I learned that she was there cheering on a few friends (some other ultra runners I follow on social media - I know, I also feel like a stalker some times.) Anyway, I took this as a good omen for the race. There were less than 100 entrants in the 50k so the starting line was pretty subdued. I took my place at the back of the pack, the race director said a few words that I couldn't here from where I was standing, and we were off! I had a game plan and I was going to stick with it. I told myself I'd run the flats and downhills, walk the big hills and just try and have fun. I printed out the mileage for each aid station so I'd have some idea of where I was, but I opted not to use my gps watch for anything other than time. I didn't want to stress about my heart rate or pace. I just wanted to stick to the plan, keep calm, and have fun. The first mile was mellow as we wound into the canyon, but shortly after that we began the first major climb of the day. I slowed into sort of a power hike and focused on my breathing and keeping my heart rate down. My heart was in danger of exploding from my chest, mainly due to race day adrenaline not due to effort. Regardless I knew I needed to calm down or I'd blow up and have a really rough time finishing. Within the first 30 minutes I was dead last. Seriously last. Actually, two guys who started late passed me and then I was really really last. This was fine by me and I resolved to run my own race and not attempt to catch others. I decided that if I was going to be the slowest runner I sure as F@&K was going to be the most cheerful. Within an hour I was past the first aid station and the 25k leaders started to pass me (they started on the other end of the course and would run to our start/finish line). I waved and smiled and said good morning to every, single, runner. All of them. It was great, the people were cheerful and this kept me fully entertained until at least the 9 mile aid station. The 9 mile aid station was also the 13, 18, and 23 mile aid station as we passed it twice on each loop (one loop run clockwise the other counter clockwise). And volunteering at that aid station was a woman who I'd met the two weeks before while volunteering at Leona Divide 50/50! She was so nice and encouraging, and Sally McRae was there again too but she was busy with the runners she was crewing. Still, it was nice to see a familiar face. I vowed to move quickly through most of the aid stations because I knew they could be a major time suck and I didn't want to be going any slower than I already was. My main fear wasn't finishing, it was that I'd be pulled from the course for going too slow. So I was in and out of there and as I started out of mile 9 I had the treat of seeing the male leads passing me on the way back to the finish. More people to wave at, and this time I could ogle their amazing speed and skill. So I did my loop, came into aid 13 (we'll just call this 4-pack aid station) and I was headed out to the turn around. It was getting a little warmer by this point and the sun was breaking through. I spent the 2nd massive climb (which was followed by an equally massive descent) to the turn around praying the sun would go away. For those of you who have not run in SoCal, you're not aware of the complete lack of trees in many places. This is a desert after all and a big bright sun can turn those open slopes into baking sheets very quickly. Luckily by the time I was heading out of the turn around aid station (mile 15.7) the clouds were rolling back in and even misting a little. The time from 15.7 back to the 4-pack aid station at 18 went by really quickly. Mainly because I finally caught up with some people two women whom I never got the names of and their friend George who I ran with for a few miles! One girl I remembered because I overheard her say at the starting line that she'd likely finish last... of course she then dropped me within the first mile and disappeared with the main pack. But somehow we all ended up together coming into 18. I had just refilled all my food and water at the turn around so I came in and out of 18 pretty quick and left them behind. This is the first time I allowed myself to think that I might actually finish this thing! I was already 18 miles in, two miles past my furthest training run in moths and I was feeling great! Well, mentally great, physically I was just ok. Another out and back and as I was coming back into 4-pack aid station I could see the two women and George behind me. I got to the aid station, had them dump some water on me and ate some fruit. These people were so nice and even if they never knew it played a huge part in how great I felt out there that day. I had a brief conversation with a super peppy aid station worker that went something like this. Aid Worker: How are you feeling? Me: Mentally great, physically things are starting to fall apart a little. AW: You're doing fine, is this your first ultra? Me: Yeah AW: Awesome! Have you done a marathon before? Me: No, not technically. I just want to finish this. AW: You will. Do you know what DFL is? Me: Uhhh yeah, isn't it "Dead F--king Last" AW: Yep, there are a few people behind you, don't be DFL. And with that I was out of there. I'm a pretty inherently competitive person, but usually just with myself. But from then on out I had one goal: Do NOT be DFL. I knew there was a massive climb ahead of me to another aid station that would put me at 6.5 miles to the finish. I walked almost the entire thing, it took close to an hour, but I was pushing hard the whole time. Somewhere in here I managed to pass another woman. I would not DFL! I also knew I probably wasn't drinking enough water so I made a point to try and empty my 2 liter bladder before the end of the race. I hadn't gone pee since the start line so I knew that wasn't good, I also kept eating gels, although at this point food wasn't all that appealing so I was mostly trying to swallow them without tasting them much. It seemed to take forever but I was finally at the next aid station, 6.5 miles from the finish. I was really warm and they had one last glorious cup of ice. Oh my god was I happy to see that small, sad little cup of ice! I took that and a cup of ginger-ale and got out of there. Side note: I don't really like or drink soda since I gave it up almost three years ago, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that half flat ginger-ale and coke are some of the greatest things at an aid station. My goal before the next aid station was to cool down my body. I rubbed ice on my arms, behind my knees, and even put some in my bra. It was glorious! I dumped the rest under my hat and let it melt into my hair. Incredible! That's also when I had the misfortune of trying to adjust my bra strap and suddenly I was in agony. Turns out that the combo of my sports bra and hydration vest had been slowly but surely chaffing off the skin on my back. I had two quarter-sized spots that had been rubbed raw on either side of my spine, and rubbing my grubby salt-covered hands in them really didn't help matters. However, I knew I was less than three miles from the last aid station, and from there I had a mile of flat, a mile decent, and a mile of flat again, back out of the canyon. I was so close! I was still running scared, I knew the group of three was just behind me and I din't want a DFL. Judging by the looks some of the mountain bikers were giving me, I must have looked kinda crazy. My legs were on fire, I was exhausted,but I still was trying to hobble-run along. I'd been out there for hours. And I desperately wanted to make it to the 3mile aid station before eight hours had elapsed. I was still afraid they would pull me off the course and I wouldn't be allowed to finish despite having come this far. The miles between 6.5 and 3 miles out took seemingly forever, I walked more than I run, and I actually started to see more people! They had gone out to 3 mile aid and were heading towards the finish, but I hadn't seen people in so long it felt nice to wave/grimace encouragement to other runners again. I came in and out of 3 mile aid quickly, grabbed a cup of warm, flat coke that I didn't really want and drank it down anyway. I had three mile to the finish line. I could do this. My legs were on fire, but mentally I was fine. I wanted it to be over, but I didn't want to quit. I can say that for sure, I never wanted to quit. It was on my way back from 3 mile aid that I saw the two women and George! I was immediately terrified, how did they get so close, could they make up half a mile by the finish. I couldn't let them pass me! I didn't know how much that desire to not get a DFL finish had motivated me, but suddenly I was running scared all over again. My legs felt like they were going to combust. I can honestly say that I've never experienced so much pain outside of a major acute injury. I speed hobbled down the last descent, knowing my legs would hate me later but that I wanted to be done ASAP and since my legs were going to hate me anyway then I just said "fuck it" lets go. I hit the end of the decent just as a group of backpackers were heading up the other way. I'm sure I was a sorry sight, all grimaces and stiff leg hobbling, but I was on the flats again and with less than a mile to the finish. In that last mile I ran what I could, walked what I had to, and audibly whimpered the entire way. Everything was agony but I was so close. I began to get emotional, I wanted this finish so bad. I knew my boyfriend would be there and that as soon as I crossed the tape I could call myself an ultra marathoner. Coming through the last turns of the canyon people kept telling me I was almost there. I ran the hardest I had all day (although it probably looked like a geriatric person) and then I passed another person! But finally I could smell the finish line food and hear the voices in the parking lot. I rounded a corner and ran across the starting line bridge, only this time it was the finish line. The clock said 8 hours and then some, but I didn't really care, my goal was simply to finish no matter was the time was. And as a bonus I wasn't DFL!!! My boyfriend was there, I got my medal and then basically immediately started crying on his shoulder. Hahaha I'm pretty sure that wasn't the reaction he was expecting, but then again running is an emotional sport and this was such a big goal of mine for so long, I couldn't really help it. The tears didn't last very long and soon we were back at the car, sitting on the glorious glorious ground, oh god never has sitting felt so great! I really felt quite amazing despite the fact that aside from the timing chip people, the woman who handed me my metal, and maybe 2 other volunteers nobody aside from my bf and I even knew that I crossed the finish of my first ultra. But that's fine I didn't do it for the fanfare, or to impress others, I did it for me and to see what I could do. And I learned that I can be an ultramarathoner, and that frankly, I'm capable of a lot lot more. --------------------- I also learned quite a few things: 1) Injinji socks are the BEST! Seriously, 8+ hours on my feet and no blisters! 2) Coconut water in your drop bag is freaking bomb! So good. 3) I packed way too much food, and lots of the foods I eat while hiking I do not want any part of while running this hard (namely: granola bars and almond butter). 4) I can rely more on the aid stations for food. Even though many of the chips/cookies/sandwiches are off limits due to gluten, there are plenty of fruits and other candies to eat so I won't have to carry as much stuff that I won't eat. 5) Printing out aid station mileage for reference instead of worrying about my GPS watch was a great idea. 6) As long as you're in a mentally good place you can force your body through almost anything. In the days after I'm continuing to learn more things. I'm really sore but recovering pretty quickly and I'll probably be running again in a few days. I rewarding myself with a new pair of road shoes and looking forward to training for my 2nd ultra in the fall. I'm definitely not a one and done kinda gal. The people at this race were amazing, the trails were a blast, and even though it was one of the hardest things I've ever done I had such an amazing (dare I say it), fun experience! This makes me want to train harder, be a better runner and meet more people in this amazing community.

I finished! And it was so amazing and so incredibly painful too. Full race report to come later, but I just wanted to share with you all plus I didn't come in last! Although there may have been only four people who finished after me.

Thanks guys This weekend was a big long hike on Saturday, followed by a lot of relaxing on Sunday. It was the perfect weekend with the boy, far away from everything and everybody. I'm not really sure you're supposed to go on a strenuous climb the week before a massive race, but since everything else about this race prep has been wonky then why not, eh? The peak was called Olancha, and it rises almost 12,000ft above sea level. The climb starts at 8,000ft and the first 7.5 miles are pretty moderate with only a few steep sections. However the elevation and thinner air definitely makes its presence felt early on. The real struggle comes in the last mile where you gain 1,400 ft to the summit. Here this ceases to resemble hiking and becomes class 2 boulder hopping followed by class 3 scrabbling hand over hand up some massive granite slabs. This was easily one of the most challenging hikes I have ever done and I felt really proud of myself for completing it. Last year I never would have been confident enough to try this. I'm also grateful for my boyfriend and his ability to challenge me. Olancha from a distance, it's the far left and tallest peak in this picture. At the base of the final climb. Nearing the summit on one of the more shallow sections where I get safe pulling my phone out. And finally beginning the decent down. Hopefully this gives some sense of the steep slopes. The final push to the summit took and hour each way. When the terrain is that rough it's almost impossible to save time going downhill. When we rejoined the main trail (PCT) we actually only suck with it for a mile or so before we needed to Bush whack through the forest to reach a jeep road that would bring us back to camp. In total we hiked for 11 hours and got back to camp well after dark. More Sierra mountains to the north. Now I just have to stay calm, eat well and try not to do anything crazy this week. Race day is in 6 days.

Well, this was the last big training weekend before I begin my taper. It went much better than almost any of my training has gone in the last two months and for that I'm quite glad. I was up in Sespe Wilderness, just a few hours north of LA. it's one of my favorite places. I got up at 4am Saturday and was oh the road by 4:40. I wanted to try and stimulate race day situations and getting up early. Besides after being up at 2am last weekend for volunteering and the weekend before for Ragnar, 4am didn't seem so bad. Saturday I got a total of 15 miles in, using my car as an aid station. I had enough did not to have to swing back by the car, but after seeing a mountain lion on the trail I decided to turn around and run a sort of loop. I maintained 15 min miles pretty comfortably, which seems so slow for me, but it's about the best I can do right now. Saw some bear prints on Saturday too. It's ok, I didn't get eaten. I slept in my car Saturday night and got up Sunday to get in another 9 miles. I felt stiff the first few miles but eventually warmed up and even got some miles in at 13 min pace without feeling like I was pushing too hard. So that's encouraging. Plus the sun was out. Now it's time to taper, I'll be backpacking with the boy next weekend and it will be race time before I know it. Can't say I'm feeling very confident, but at least I'll show up on trace day and give it a go.

Hey-o! I guess I haven't really been posting here all that much. I'm not sure why but I've basically lost interest in this challenge. It's more of a "same ol' same ol' plug along" challenge than one where I'm actually working towards anything new kinda challenge. I've been keeping up on the tasks I've set for myself, blogging on my private blog, as well as working on my career. Training for the 50k is feeling pretty fruitless at this point. It seems like in training for this race everything that could go wrong did go wrong, I'm not really any better of a runner than I was about two months ago and if anything I fatigue more quickly. I was recently rejected as a blood donor for having my iron levels be too low, so I'm going to get a CBC (complete blood count) done to see if there is any underlying issues that might be sabotaging my training. Furthermore, I've decided to push back my 2nd 50k attempt one month to the Ray Miller race on November 2nd. This will give me more time to rest after my race next month, as well as a better chance to build base milage. This weekend I'll have one more long run before I start my taper. I was so exhausted last week that I made it about three miles instead of the 15-18 I was supposed to do, even climbing up the slightest hill has my calves screaming. Writing it all down like that seems very Negative Nancy. It's really not. The 50k on May 9th will be a challenge, but I know that going in. My only real plan is to walk the uphills, run the downhills, and run as much of the flats as possible. I know I can complete 23.5 miles in a day, and this is only a little further than that. So long as I can finish in under 8 hours they won't close the course on me. I'll see y'all on the next challenge perhaps.

Alright, we're a few days in and things are going well so far. This week is a little light on the training because I'm still recovering from the relay last week. To be honest, I'm a little frustrated at myself. I definitely pushed too hard during the race and as a result I'm more tired than I want to be. I generally feel fine during the day to day stuff, but during a workout I notice my legs fatiguing quickly. Friday will be a rest day to prep for my long run Saturday, and Sunday will also be a rest day since I'm meeting with a host of potential roommates that day and need to fit in meal prep as well. Hopefully by Monday I'll be set to put in a solid training week. I have to start a taper for my 50k on Tuesday the 28th to give myself 10 full days before the race. I've never done a "B Race" before and I think it's fair to say I ran too hard and as a result my A race next month might suffer. However, given how massively undertrained I am anyway, I'm not sure it will make any difference. My only goal is to finish, with my reach goal being to finish before they start tearing down the course around me. So far I'm doing really well on the Career goal, each day I've either worked on my portfolio, started making mood boards that help me define my style as an art director (the position I'm aiming for), and meeting with people. On Tuesday I had a great conversation with a creative that I really respect and she gave me some really fantastic ideas for projects that I can pursue that will help me create a solid portfolio or "book" for when I look to make the jump into the creative department sometime late this year or early next year. Food has been good, and I've been tracking as well. Now the next thing I need to do will be to step on the scale again, take measurements, and take pictures so that I can do a comparison after this challenge is over. I've also already completed my two strength sessions for the week (although they were a little haphazard) and I've written a new program that is more tailored to a runner. This means upper body will be mostly body weight specific work, and lower body will be a combo of weighted and non-weighted work. Also, a decent core workout is part of each training day since it's vital to have a really strong core as a runner. Lastly I've mapped out my mileage progression in order to begin training with Hal Koerners program in the summer. This program starts at nearly 50 miles each week! I'm currently running around 25-30 which is in large part due to being sick the last month. I know this is kinda putting the cart before the horse, but here is how things need to progress in order to be in a solid place for an October 10th race (which may or may be swapped into an early Nov solo effort of the backbone trail). This is mostly so I can keep it straight in my head. Miles Per Week April 12-19 - 25 miles April 20-26 - 28 miles April 27-May 3 - TAPER 15 miles May 4-10 - TAPER 7 Miles May 11-17 - POST RACE - 0-5 miles May 18-24 - 25 miles May 25-31 - 28 miles June 1-7 - 32 miles June 8-14 - 35 miles June 15-21 - 40 miles It's not exactly a perfect plan, and I might omit a run here or there in the first few weeks of the training program, but it should get me somewhere close to where I need to be, assuming I schedule that race. Start 16 week Training Program June 20, 2015 RACE DAY - Oct 10, 2015

Yes journaling! That's something I also struggle with and am going to be working on this challenge as well. As the cheesy sign in my gym says "things that get measured, get improved" and writing everything down really does keep you accountable. Good luck on this challenge and in your race.

There is a brief race report on my current challenge if you care for a read.

Starting off this challenge with a quick race report. But first we'll go over what I did today: - Gym 30mins of strength training, followed by 20 on the stair master. I kept it short because I'm still relatively fatigued from this weekend. - Work Goals: Sent an e-mail to a high-up creative in my agency asking for a follow up conversation in relation to a discussion we had last week (whew, talk about 20 seconds of courage, I am not good at asking for things!) - Food has been good so far, although my tacking app is crashing so I'm not exactly sure where calories are for today, and after work I'll hit the grocery and do a quick meal prep tonight. - And totally journaling here today so check on all bases! Now onto the more fun stuff: Ragnar Relay - 2015 SoCal Edition This race was registered for on a bit of a whim when another NF-er posted looking for team mates. I figured it would be a good opportunity to practice running at weird hours, while tired, and get in a nice long run in the processes. Over the course of the weekend I ran 23.5miles over three legs (9.5, 5.4, 8.6). Due to a bought of Bronchitis starting in mid-February I went into this race royally under trained, but since my goal was just to finish and use this as prep for my A race next month I think this was to my benefit because it kept me running slow and as a result I'm not terribly tired even just one day later. For those unfamiliar Ragnar consists of 12 member teams in 2 vans who leapfrog each other running 1 leg at a time from the start to the finish some 187 miles later. It means that one member of your team is always running and between moving the van and running three legs of your own you will get very very little sleep. Actually no sleep. Let me reiterate that. You. Will. NOT. Sleep. As you may gather from the numbers above, with that many runners/vans/drivers/schedules the whole race prep is an enormous logistical nightmare and we wouldn't have made it to the start line without our amazing captain. If you're thinking of doing this race you better be 1) Really freaking organized or 2) Be able to get somebody who is really freaking organized to be your captain. However, the thing that the numbers above don't illustrate is that Ragnar is really open to runners of different skill levels, while I ran 23.5 miles over three legs, the girl after me ran closer to 12 miles over three legs. So don't fear if you're not a marathoner, I really believe any running with some moderate training can complete this event and have a blast. And we certainly had people of all skill levels on our team. Now to my knowledge there are two ways to form teams for a Ragnar. Option 1: Get a bunch of your buddies together and go for it! OR Option 2: Get up at 2am drive to a strangers house, get in a van, then drive another hour and meet even more strangers in a van and then go for it. We chose option 2 and it was amazing! ** Quick disclaimer this could turn out to be totally Not-amazing, but I really lucked out and had the pleasure of meeting a bunch of amazing new people! This brings me to the final and probably best part about a Ragnar, which is that it's a great opportunity to meet your fellow runners and recognize that we are one amazing tribe! Running can feel so solitary at times, but events like this, perhaps to a greater degree than other races I've participated in really shine a light on the quality of people who make up the running community. The people I interacted with were kind, funny, and welcoming. Heck, I even saw a wedding proposal right there on the finish line! At the end of two very sleepless days it felt amazing to part of this big silly runners tribe of ours. And right after that it felt even more amazing to shower and go to bed.

This challenge is all about getting strong, going long, and being as ready as I can be for the upcoming spring and summer adventures. I never want my body to hold me back from something I want to do (or for that matter, being self conscious about my body). I aim to be always be battle ready. It's also time for me to start thinking about my future and career and how I want to advance that. In the next few months I have the following events scheduled or at least are on my optional calendar. REI Mountaineering Course - Glacier Specific - May 3 50k Trail Race - Whoos in El Morro - May 11 Memorial Day Hiking Road Trip - LA to Oregon - May 22-25 Colorado Peak Bagging Extravaganza - 10 14-ers in 7 days - July 4-12 In addition to those I'm looking at doing an end to end of the Backbone trail in Malibu this fall, 67+ miles over two days. Goal 1: Get Strong to Go Long - Weight Training twice a week - Follow by 45-60mins on stair master machine to build uphill strength. Goal 2: MILES FOR DAYS - Continue training for 50k - begin ramping up weekly milage so that I can follow Hal Koerners training plan for another 50k in October. Goal 3: Eat like an Athlete - I know how to eat healthy, everybody does, now I need to consistently execute - Long run/hiking days I will be allowed more processed foods to be eaten as quick trail carbs Goal 4: Level Up IRL - Spend time each weekday working to level up my career. This could be anything from doing online tutorials, updating my website, or reaching out for mentorship within my current work place. The larger goal here is to be able to move from my current job in the next year. BONUS QUEST: Journal here or on my private blog 5x a week in order to keep accountable.

Wow thanks for the support guys!! To be honest I kinda threw the towel in on this challenge. I'm still training and several things have aligned so that I'm much less stressed now. All I can do at this point is my best. Ragnar is next weekend and my 50k a month after that, so I'll keep on keeping on and see where that gets me. I'm going to take a breather this weekend with a trip to the mountains and I'll get back on the challenge train in time for the next one... or maybe the one after that.

I'm just going to go ahead and call last week a total failure. Nutrition, training, life, everything got sidelined by massive amounts of stress and general insanity and everything that wasn't necissary went to pot. But it's a new week and I'm ready for a respawn. In addition to life stress I think what derailed me last week was the realization that my races are so close, and due to illness I'm just not ready at all. Ragnar is just two weeks away, and my first ultra marathon a month after that. This resulted in "why even bother" few days. I'll still show up at the start line for both events, but running even 8miles now takes nearly 2 hours and it just feels like I'm starting all over again in my run training. It's a little overwhelming and I get really sad thinking how excited I was for these events and now I just know it's going to be a slow slog. I know that trying to increase training too rapidly will just end up in injury, and I'm already dealing with a few little nags here and there. All I can do now is try and get a few long efforts in during the week and maybe some longer mid-week runs to try and boost mileage. This challenge has prooven to be a total flop and I'm really bummed out by it.

Wednesday - I'm still so freaking tired and it feels like my muscles really aren't recovering at all! Last night I slept probably close to 10hrs and still don't feel great today. But I knew that if I had any hope of getting all my workouts in this week I needed to get in a run in today so I went for a very short recovery run. Frankly it was more like a recovery walk but I'm so tired I'm counting it. It was also very apparent that I really needed a rest day today. It seems hard to believe that adding on a little extra bike riding (about 50 miles a week) has been so exhausting, it's also quite discouraging for both my fitness levels and my level of preparedness going into my April and May races. I'm just about a month out from Ragnar and I'm really starting to freak out about it! Diet has still be pretty spot on this week. Packing lunches and breakfasts for the week was such a time and energy saver. And one of the real benefits of riding my bike home is that swinging by the grocery store becomes a massive hassle and as a result I'm not buying food I don't need or spending extra money. Also, took my 1 month measurements today. I was up 1lb (which is within standard deviation for me) from last time I weighed, but down 3.75 inches over all from when I took measurements last month. Didn't take progress pics because I couldn't find the swimsuit I'm using. I really hate doing these measurements but its the only way to track progress and without them I tend to assume that I'm failing so I'm glad I put my big girl pants on today and got it done.

Guys I feel really bad, but I just don't have the mental capacity to keep up with every body elses challenges right now! I want next week to be better and hopefully work won't be as insane, but for the time being I'm just going to update my thread and I'll get back to reading all your amazing success stories this weekend/next week. Sorry! Monday - Food was awesome 2/3 meals. Dinner the boy made chicken alfredo with salad and even remembered to buy me gluten free pasta! Not an ideal meal for sure, but I'm not going to turn that down. Besides I'm aiming for consistantly good, not infrequently perfect. For training I rode my bike to work and to the boys house after - total 17 miles and did a 40 min Barre session in the morning which felt way harder than it normally does. Tuesday - Woke up feeling like I'd fallen down a flight of stairs, sore all over and tired. Riding to and from work (another 17miles since I'm coming from the boys place). But I had the foresignt to pack 2 lunches and a breakfast on Monday so I had a healthy breakfast and lunch waiting for me when I arrived at work. Hoping I'll feel better as the day goes on and I can get a quick recovery run tonight and/or a barre session in before bed. In general energy is just low, but I'm telling myself that's my body adapting to the added stress I've been placing on it and I'll start feeling better soon. My mantra for this challenge will be "stay positive"

I usually have all my gear together, but by the time I put in stuff to workout and shower at the gym (no towel service where I go) work clothes, lunch, and if I'm heading over to the bf's after work, clothes and everything for the next day it seems like a lot of stuff. But it's managable so long as I don't have to run errands after work. Food as a reward is such a struggle for me. But really the whole reward system is something I've never really figured out in terms of getting something that feels like a reward vs something that feels like a bad reward like food which is just enforcing negative binge eating habits. But then again, I've always known food is my work place. The biking will definitely make me stronger! I feel like right now I'm in the place that happens with all new workout programs, where you're feeling tired but haven't started seeing benefits yet.

WEEK 2 Wrap Up: 1) Training: 1 Long Run (value 2pts)) - Fail - 0pts 2 Hills Session (value 2pts/ea) - Check - 4pts 2 Recovery Runs - Check - 4pts 8/10 2) Strength and Cross Training: 1 Bike Commute - Check and then some! - 2pts 3 Barre3 Workouts - check - 6pts 8/8 3) Nutrition: Tracking food as accurately as possible (3pts) 1pt Staying under calorie goal (3pts) * 1pt Staying under carb goal (3pts) * 1pt Total weekly Potential Points: 3/9 WEEKLY TOTAL POINTS: 19/27 70% = C! I'm doing better but still not as well as I would like to be. The added stress of not having a car resulted in a few days of really spot on eating, one day of a total meal failure, one cheat meal on the day I crashed my car, and on Sunday I didn't bother to track food I ate while hiking although I didn't eat that much so I'm certain I didn't go over that day. I really like this points system so far. It allows me to see what I'm actually succeeding/failing at and it keeps my on track weekly instead of viewing the challenge as a whole. I'm dissapointed in myself for not getting a long run in, but this week left me feeling really run down and I just didn't feel like I could handle it. And our hike on Sunday, although very steep wasn't enough for me to qualify it as a long run and I basically still felt kinda sick all day long. For this week in an effort to do better nutritionally I've already packed a weeks worth of lunches and planned out a weeks worth of breakfasts so the majority of my food is taken care of through Friday. I'll have to buy some dinners but as it turns out buying a weeks worth of food is kind of a challenge on a bike. Besides I'm eating at the bf's tonight so I'll only need to buy 4 dinner meals after work on Tuesday. Today I'm feeling worn out from our hike Sunday so I just did a 40min Barre workout and rode my bike to work and that in and of itself felt plenty challenging.

Hey all!! I've been so busy so I haven't been posting here! And even worse I haven't been keeping up on everybody elses challenges. Next week I'll do better but at least I can keep reporting this week. On top of everything I've jumpped on two work side projects so most of my time these days is consumed by either sleeping, workingout, or being at work.... occasionally I find time to eat, but mostly I do that at my desk. Workouts: Thursday: 30 Mins Barre3 (crosstrain 2/3) 2 mile recovery run (2/2 recovery runs done!) Rode to work and then the bf gave me a ride home (thank god! I was dying) Friday: 30 Mins Barre3 - Crosstraining officially completed for the week! Rest day for running - Planned Saturday - Hiking/2nd hill workout of the week Planned Sunday - Long trail run (probably will need to ride my bike to the trails) Life: I'm still not sure if my car is totaled or not. It's in the shop and they are in the process of generating the estimate so I'll be without a car for at least the next week no matter what. Guess that means more bike riding for me! Fortunately I believe I've crossed the threashold of tired and sore bum so todays ride in felt more enjoyable and less tiring. Plus, biking is a great way to boost fitness without the worry of a running over-use injury. I'm also still dealing with bronchitis but I do believe it's getting better and I'm down from taking meds 4x a day to 2x a day and sleeping much better with fewer coughing fits waking me up. I still sometimes get really exhausted during the later half of the day, but with everything going on I'm not sure I can blame that soley on bronchitis. Nutrition: This one is still a sticking point for me. Tueday I didn't track during but went back and loged it later and found I went over carbs and cals (not shocking). Wednesday was good, and Thursday I went over cals and carbs but did track everything at the time. I've also decided to up my carb intake to 150g/day from 130. This is where I'm constantly having issues and now that I'm working out or bike communting 7 days a week, sometimes with 2-3 workouts or commutes a day I think I can absorb the extra carbs without retaining water. I've also upped my cal allowance by 200/day just in case. I probably won't always use them but at least I'll have the option. I need to work on not chanelling stress into food or viewing food as a reward any more. So that will be another goal for next week. And this is just a favorite: The commute is about 6-7 miles each way, and just over 10 if I ride to my bf's house, which depite being further away is on a much nicer bike path. I've done a run commute in the past to my bf's but I ran home one day and back the next, I've never tried both ways in one day but mostly because the biggest obstacle would be remembering to bring clothes with me the day before on my bike.

Rode into work - Check! Did core and upper body at the gym (counting this as a Barre3 workout) - Check! Did hill repeats - Check! Yesterday I had some off plan foods but I'm neither tracking them or counting them against my week. Sometimes life happens and sometimes you just need some cookies, whiskey, and enchiladas with your bf. I'm also proud of myself for throwing away the other 1/2 package of cookies this morning without a second thought and picking up some healthy foods to get me through the work day. My biggest issue right now is that my ass is killing me! Not like DOMS, like I haven't ridden my bike enough recently before this week and even with padded shorts it's not very pleasant. It normally takes a few rides to readjust to my seat but it's been rough riding 3 days in a row. I might run commute into work tomorrow to give my poor booty a break tomorrow. Not sure how feasible that is though. Bronchitis is slowly (ever so slowly) but surely improving. Thanks guys. It just feels like so much that it's hilarous. It makes me glad that I'm a relatively mellow person. And that I'm resolving now not to let this stress me out more than it needs to.

Well.... Fuck. Week 2 is off to an interesting start and I'm working so, SO hard to be positive about everything. Yesterday I rode my bike to and from work, so check on that goal. Today I ran and picked up my car from the auto shop so I got one of my "recovery" runs in - check 1 of 2. On a positive note, having bronchitis really forces me to run at a set heart rate and effort because if I start to run faster and breathe through my mouth I start coughing. So hills tomorrow will have to be short and sweet. I also think a 1-2 mile warm up/cool down will help. Then... today on my way to work I crashed my car. Yay me, I suck at being an adult! It's totally my fault, luckily nobody was hurt, and the woman who I ran into has minimal damage to her car. Fun fact, Mercedies are bult like brick houses because the front of my car was totally crushed in, air bag (passanger side) was deployed and I was barely able to drive the car very slowly home. Another fun fact, it's best to crash your car very close to your own apartment. So as a result I rode my bike first to drop off my rent check and then to work again! 60mins total. Yay more cross training. I'm trying to view this as a positive as well because frankly I don't have the money to buy a new car right now, or really take on any kind of car payment (student loans are a bitch) But another lucky thing is that Daylight Saving Time is this weekend so I'll have more daylight when riding home at night. I'm really nervous that my car is totaled, it was an '03 Civic so KBB value is only like $4.5k and the damage is pretty bad so I fear that insurance will screw me and I'll end up getting $3k back because they won't want to pay to fix it. But right now all I can do it wait. I filed the claim this morning so I'm still waiting for that to be processed and then I'll know where I stand. If it costs much more than my deductable to fix this then I'm really going to be screwed financially. Good thing my job pays OT because that might be my only option. But again, no point in stressing over that since everything might work out in my favor. I know this isn't really NF related but I had to write it out somewhere. I haven't told my parents nor my bf yet and I'm terrified to until I know more. There I go again... being a stellar adult. I'm 26 I swear. My parents will eventually find out because the car was registered under them in CO instead of here in Cali so I could save money (PS this is super illegal but fuck CA and their rediculous fees). My bf probably won't care but I'll feel like an ass, especially since I just shelled out $700 to get a bunch of repairs done. But on a positive note if you have any contact information for Alanis Morissette I totally have a great addition to her "Ironic" song. **face palm** Actually the only people who know are my boss and some co-workers since obviously I had to let them know why I would be really late today. Anyway, I'm gonna give my self a pass on going home to do Barre and instead go eat left over enchiladas with my bf, probably get drunk and try and stay calm and look at things in a positive light. Deep breaths. But on another positive note, I get to ride along the beach tomorrow to go run and hit the gym near work. So glad I didn't cancel my gym membership so I can shower tomorrow! TL;DR - Bronchitis, on my period, crashed car. Sometimes you just have to laugh.

Wow you're busy and apparently have willpower of a super hero! Well done. Sorry to hear about the knee though.

Wow I love your project! I <3 <3 Doctor Who! And congrats on the miles too. NYC is a great city for a long walk.

Welp, looking at last week I really think I need to reevaluate my goals and cut some out for now. According to the doctor bronchitis can last any where from a few weeks to a month or more. And given that working hard and breathing hard is my biggest challenge right now I'm going to slash some goals and save them for a later challenge. Right now I need to prioritize getting well, and getting myself to survive the two big races I have coming up in just a few months. So here are my new goals. You'll notice I'm cutting out the community goal entirely, and cutting out speed training entirely in favor of more hill workouts. I'm keeping nutrition the same and adding a weekly bike commute to cross training. 1) Training: I will accomplish three key runs every week: 1 Long Run (value 2pts)) 2 Hills Session (value 2pts/ea) The rest of the runs will be slow recovery/base building runs (1 additional point for each of these runs, anything above 2 is bonus points) Total weekly Potential Points:8 2) Strength and Cross Training: For this challenge I'm going to try something new when it comes to strength training, and that is Barre workouts! I'm a fan of hitting the weights, but with increased mileage and time commited to running I found it hard to get to the gym and to ballance barbell work at an intensity that didn't leave me sore on following runs. I can do Barre workouts at home by following the videos on Barre3. I figure it's worth a 6 week try. Barre of at least 20mins 3 days per week (2pts per session, any above 3 workouts = bonus points!) 1 Weekly bike commute to work (2 points) Total weekly Potential Points: 8 3) Nutrition: I need to be honest with myself, food is still my biggest obstacle when working to get healthy. I still don't have the skill set to accurately guestimate food, and since I'm trying to cut fat before my races being off by a few hundred calories really won't do it. Points will be awarded for the following: Tracking food as accurately as possible (3pts) Staying under calorie goal (3pts) * Staying under carb goal (3pts) * * More calories and carbs will be allowed on long run days to account for fuel consumed by training. Total weekly Potential Points: 9 WEEKLY TOTAL POTENTIAL POINTS: 25

Week 1 Wrap Up: Food: 1) Training: I did 1 slow recovery run and one hills session, I ended up being too sick to manage a long run or even a long hike and speed was just out of the question. Points: 3/8 2) Strength and Cross Training: I did exactly 1 workout this week. Points: 2/6 3) Nutrition: Tracking food as accurately as possible (3pts): Staying under calorie goal (3pts) * Staying under carb goal (3pts) * I did really well with all of these up until Friday night when the bf cooked dinner and I was just too zonked out after to try and track it despite the fact that the meal was very healthy and 100% paleo. Then this whole weekend my apetite was off and my throat was sore so I ended up eating ice cream and oat meal and not getting much protein at all. Points: 5/9 4) Community: Did I do anything for this? Nope, nope, nope. One day I was too ill, and the other day I had a doctors appointment during a group run and couldn't make it. Points 0/7 WEEK 1 TOTAL: 10/30 or 33% aka F.