16 Day Training Block

This past Saturday, I finished a 16 day training block where I ran the final River Jam 10k on a Thursday night, followed it with the Mountainaire Rumble 12 hour night race two days later, 7 days later the Table Rock Ultra 50k, and 7 days passed it, the Wild Vine Trail ½ marathon. In total, across 16 days, I raced more than 100 miles.

I thought my July to August 14 day training block had been difficult. However, this upped it by another level. Going 50 miles at night on a technical trail was all new to me. Add on a week later, tons and tons of climbing at the Table Rock Ultra pushed my quads more than ever.  

By the time that I toed the line for Wild Vine my legs were already feeling weary, and I hadn’t even ran the first mile.

I hope my grand plan pays off and when I start my taper for these upcoming races, my legs will have the some bounce return to them. That’s really the hard part of training. Convincing myself that all of the hard work will pay off and my legs will bounce back to give me a good race. There are no guarantees in life or running. All any of us can do is follow our plans, and hope the running gods smile down on us race day

Kickin’ up trail dust

The Cool Down Runner