30K Training Update

Right now I am 3 long runs and a taper week away from my big 30K trail run on October 13th.  So what has my training looked like over the last month?  I created a "training plan" of sorts for myself and this is how it went- I sure hope what I am doing is enough!

Aug 12th-19th: 6 mile run, 8 mile run, 9 mile run (trails) = 23 miles
Aug 20th-26th: 6 mile run, 4 mile run (on sand), 10 mile run = 20 miles
Aug 27th-Sept 2nd: 10 mile run (treadmill), 5 mile run, 12 mile run (trails) = 27 miles
Sept 3rd-9th:  5 mile run, 8 mile run, 14 mile run (trails) = 27 miles
Sept 10th-16th: 5 mile run, 6 mile run (tomorrow), 14 mile run (plan for Friday- trails) = 25 miles

This is where I parked last week- main trail head for all 3 trails

I am absolutely in love with running on trails, especially the trail system at Point Defiance.  It is so nice to have miles and miles of beautiful nature where you can still feel safe, have access to restrooms and your car if necessary and an added bonus for me is that it is literally only 2 miles from my house.  How have I taken 2 1/2 years to discover this amazing place to run when it is in my backyard?? 

I went on one of my usual routes the other day down to Wright Park and found that I was rather irritated waiting at stoplights and dodging cars/bikes/strollers/dogs.  Plus one reason I enjoy running is to be alone with my thoughts and just have some inner quiet time.  Between my kids, my husband and my job I am usually talking ALL DAY LONG and it is nice to just have quiet surrounding me for a change.  In fact I rarely take music with me on my runs anymore.  Crazy I know, but I am actually quite content with my own brain to entertain myself! 

They make it look so simple...and check out those elevation charts!

So last Friday I ran 14 miles down at Point Defiance, all of it on the trails.  Once again I had a grand plan: do the triangle trail twice, the circle once, and the square once- that added up nicely to about 14 miles and it would allow me to loop past my car every 4 or so miles so I didn't have to carry my fuel or water with me.  I headed out on the triangle trail and after a while I realized I had taken a wrong turn and was unsure which way to go.  Eventually I hopped onto the circle trail and followed it back out to my car but by then I was almost to 5 miles and I was thirsty and annoyed.  Why do I get lost on that trail every time?  I should have been back to my car at 3.5 miles!  I finally have the other 2 trails memorized and I know my way around pretty well- or so I thought! 

Ready for the trails!

Change of plans, I didn't want to risk getting lost again when it was so hot out and I was determined to keep my hands free and not carry water.  So I went around the outer square trail twice, then finished with a mile or so down the circle trail and back to make 14 miles.  I don't think I fueled properly during this run- it was warmer than I realized and even though I was shaded from the sun the air was still very hot and there wasn't much of a breeze.  I ate 3 shot blocks after 5 miles and drank about 4 ounces of water.  Then around mile 9 I was really hungry- like my belly was actually growling- so I sat in my car for a few minutes and ate a kid's cliff bar (honey oat), ate one shot block and drank some orange nuun.  I was hoping that would all sit ok as I started running again, and to my surprise it was just fine. 

Don't look down!!

I probably should have carried water for those last 5 miles, plus brought those last 2 pieces of shot block but I was intending to stop by the car one last time.  However, when I got close to my car I thought I might lose my desire to finish the 14 miles if I stopped for a minute so I just headed down the trail to finish the last 1.5 miles.  I finished around 1:30 in the afternoon and I was hot, thirsty and completely worn out.  I ate a protein bar, downed my nuun and headed home to get cleaned up.  It took me 2 hours and 33 minutes to run 14 miles of trails- not bad, and my pace is slowly improving out there.  The last time I ran a half marathon was in June.  And the last time I ran farther than that was almost a year ago!

My feet were SO dirty! 

That night I ended up with an awful headache that would not go away and I fell fast asleep on the couch at 8:30pm.  I would say that my run was a success but my fueling/recovery were not!  So I am going to repeat the 14 mile run this week and make it my goal to fuel better and recover better- and I have recruited a running buddy to meet up with me for part of the run.  However- part of me wants to aim for 16 miles instead of 14.  That part of me that doesn't like to fail and wants to always be prepared thinks I should run farther than I did last week. 

I have until Friday to figure it out.  What do you think I should do?  Run 14 again or aim for 16 instead? 

Anyone out there training for something amazing?  How is it going? 

Who is running You Go Girl this weekend?  I am a little sad to miss it this year but the timing just didn't work out for me.  Good luck to those of you running- Alyssa, Mel, Meredith- and others I am probably forgetting!