Grindin’ it out.

It’s been a wild couple weeks and not to start this out by talking about the weather and all… but like, it got HOT here in Atlanta. Like HOT, hot. And humid. There have been several instances where I can SEE the humidity in the air. It’s kind of crazy and at this point, I don’t think my clothes will be anything less than dripping wet at the end of every run until October. We’re full on into summer. I guess it’s time to embrace it. Bleh. 

Despite the heat, I think I’ve had a couple good weeks of training. Last week, I got in just shy of 60 miles, my standard mileage before doing anything big. I’m not usually a big mileage kind of person, until this week. I got a whopping almost 82 miles in! It was one of my biggest weeks in life outside of a 100 mile race week. And to be honest, I feel pretty darn good! I was so happy not to be super sore and hobbling around after such an increase in miles. Any other time I’ve had to grind out a long week, I’d be way more sore! However, I happily took my rest day today and super enjoyed my beer walk with Walter on Sunday afternoon. But I definitely COULD have run if I needed to… :)

I think the big difference that has made me be able to handle an increase in mileage is that I’m using a coach for the first time ever. And he makes me do these recovery runs [insert big eye roll]. The first time I went on one of these “runs” and tried to stay in the correct RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion), I was like whhatttt is this? Whoooo runs this slow… ON PURPOSE?? I felt so dumb getting passed by every runner on the street and it took a lot of energy not to chase them down, but I stayed with the plan. I mean why have a coach if you don’t give it a try, right? I ran slow recovery runs and did all the things. Turns out it’s kind of nice to have a zero stress, lovely easy run on the docket for the day, and it turns out they actually help you recover. Who’d of thought?? 

“And then BAMM! All of 0.5 miles into this 22 mile day, I was felt my right foot catch a root and suddenly I was flying through the air…”

Anyway, another cool thing I’ve discovered about having a coach is the other people he coaches. I’ve been thrown into a whole community of people who are serious about running and training for something big! I had the opportunity to meet some of the other Atlanta based athletes last weekend, and we went for a run at Kennesaw Mountain. I was super excited because, thanks to Covid, I haven’t really been able to run with people in a long time and Kennesaw was closed for a while. It was so nice to back on some ‘home’ trails and put some miles in. 

I met Ben, Chad, and one of their buddies at the Visitor’s Center, and we started off on some - new to me trails - which is crazy because I’ve run hundreds and hundreds of miles at Kennesaw. So, to experience new trails was super cool. We started at a nice pace, easing into the run, everyone chatting, getting to know each other. It was a lovely morning. And then BAMM. All of 0.5 miles into this 22 mile day, I was felt my right foot catch a root and suddenly I was flying through the air. I HATE THIS MOMENT. The moment when you realize you’re falling, but you don’t know how bad it’s going to be yet. I flew for what felt like a decade, like super woman style. Then I hit the ground. Then I slid. I kept sliding. I remember looking at the ground as it flew by and thinking, “hmm, I wonder when I’m going to stop sliding?” 

I finally came to a stop, and I just laid there for a moment, just kind of internally assessing the damage. Like, ok what hurts? How bad is it? Geeze, how did I just do this? 

I got up, realized I was mostly fine except a couple scrapes on my knees and elbows (and ego) but I felt to keep going. So we did, carrying on and chatting, enjoying the day. We finished 16 miles together, and ending back at the visitor’s center. I really enjoyed having company to start the day, but then I had to finish the remaining 6 miles on my own. I said goodbye and headed back UP the mountain, where I proceeded to slightly die on the way up. I think maybe I didn’t eat or drink enough in the miles preceding, but those last 6 were a struggle! I paused at the top to regroup before heading back down. 

All in all, I got it done, and it was a good training day. Just glad it wasn’t race day!

As I mentioned, this week. was a big week. I was supposed to do 85 miles and I ended up finishing right around 82. 

“I ran from Amicalola to the top of Springer, and then on to Three Forks and back. What a lovely run! If you’ve never done that route, you definitely should!”

I had my first ‘back to back’ long run weekend with my coach. Which meant a very regular, full week of running, followed by two long runs, 25 on Saturday and another 20 on Sunday. 

Saturday also called for a ton of vert along with my miles, so I made my way up to an easy go-to spot; Amicalola Falls. I ran from Amicalola to the top of Springer, and then on to Three Forks and back. What a lovely run! If you’ve never done that route, you definitely should! It also connects to the BMT in multiple spots after Springer, so there are options for everyone’s ‘choose your own adventure’ scenario. Three Forks is lovely. Lots of water (which I filtered, thank you Sawyer Mini). And lots of blooming mountain laurels, which were gorgeous! 

I finished Saturday feeling good. But also knowing I had another long day to follow. 

Sunday. Ugh. Sunday was a beast. We slept in a bit, and got started running a little later than planned. I didn’t start until About 9:30 am, at which time it was roughly 100,000,000 degrees and 98% humidity. Death. It felt like death. 

The first 7-8 miles rolled by pretty easily and without concern. Then miles 9-10 came and I suddenly felt like I was running in an oven. I slowed way down and felt super terrible. I even stopped by the house for an unexpected water refill and snack. Once you feel like cooked meat - it’s hard to get past that visual :). Anyway, I pushed on to mile 15 where I made a pit stop at the house again. This time I stopped and sat on the porch swing for 15 min or so. I ate basically an entire pack of vegan jerky, aka seasoned, dried tofu. Eventually I started to feel better, so I decided to head back out for my last 6 miles. I knew it would feel so good to get it done. Also, all trail races should install porch swings, who do I need to talk to to make that happen?

Well that first mile after leaving the porch felt pretty good, and was one of my fastest miles of the day. AND THEN. The heat killed me. I died. I had nothing left. My legs actually felt ok, but my body was cashed. I took more walk breaks than I’ve taken in all my years on the road combined, but still felt weak and light headed. 

By that time I wasn’t far from home, so I decided to call it a day at mile 18 (instead of 20). And BOY OH BOY how glorious it was to lay in that porch swing, catching my breath, regaining my sanity, all while my sweat collected in a disgusting puddle beneath me. I was disgusting, and so very done and exhausted, but I felt good. I was so happy I was able to grind it out and complete some solid training miles over the last two weeks, and especially the last 82 mile week. I didn’t quite nail the full distance I was assigned (2 miles short), but I felt like I fought for it at the very least. And that gives me some tiny bit of hope that I’ll be able to fight for the bigger goal of the FKT when it comes time.