A: I feel nervous, excited and scared for a variety of reasons. While my training has been going great, the next 5 weeks are still tough and I haven't done any serious heat training yet! With a three week taper, that only leaves about 39 days of real training! Excuse me, while I freak out.
Q: What has your training been like?
A: Over the past 4 months, I've run a ton of miles (Jan: 253, Feb: 274, Mar: 249, Apr: 253). That puts me at 1030 miles over 4 months. To put that in perspective, I ran about 1000 miles in 2013. Since December, I've run 14 long trail runs over 20 miles (20-25mi.: 4, 26.2mi: 4, 30mi: 4, 36mi: 1, 50mi: 1).
Q: That is a lot of miles! Have you been doing any cross training or injury prevention activities?
A: I'm glad you asked. I've been using a ton of kinesio tape, mostly on the bottom of my feet to keep the Plantar Fasciitis in check. I've also been foam rolling whenever I have some spare time in the evenings to take care of any soreness/tightness in my muscles. I've gotten an orthopedic massage almost every month to keep things in order/check. I'm working on my core strength and some light weight training for the arms about 2-3 times a week. I'm also hiking more on the treadmill - about twice a week to improve my hiking abilities (usually 2 miles at a 15% grade).
Q: Besides a lot of miles, have you been doing any speed work?
A: Unless it's a taper/recovery week, Ann (my coach) has me doing one tempo run per week, and recently added some hill repeats on the treadmill (since she knows how hard it is for me to get to hills on the weekdays).
Q: Sounds like your training has been nearly perfect! Has anything gone wrong? Any pain?
A: Things have not been perfect. I struggled a little in the last 10 miles of the American River 50 Mile race. I've had a few "niggling pains" that have come and thankfully gone. I had a few runs where I felt tired and burnt out. I still don't know this will all work out. Overall, things have gone amazingly well. It is a bit shocking to think how far I've come and what little time is left till my big race!
Q: How is your coach, Ann Trason, working out? Any stories about your coaching experience with her you'd like to share?
A: Ann Trason may be a ultra running legend, but she has become so much more to me. She has become my coach, mentor and friend. She is kind and caring. She is the kind of person that you'd trust babysitting your kids or fur-babies. And she is an excellent, knowledgeable and responsive, coach! I am very lucky and blessed to have her coach and mentor me in this journey of a lifetime. Regardless of how Western States turns out, I have already won - an amazing journey with a great coach and friend.
So awesome!! Your training has been going fabulously thus far; you have amazed me with your strength and running skill. So excited for you. =)
ReplyDeleteAwesome. Keep it going!
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