Weekly Total: 53.1 Miles and 15,449 feet of Vert
Reflection: This week was the start of my last build phase so I went back to my normal volume with the goal of hitting 15k of vert by the end of the week. I aimed to get at least 2k feet of vert per day minus my road work out. I felt pretty good all week minus having tired legs some days but nothing crazy. I also went back to the gym and I’m so glad I did. Even though the sore muscles were harder to deal with I felt like I ran stronger despite them. I definitely lifted too heavy at first even though I was trying to take it easy. It is crazy how much muscle it feels like I lost over the course of 3 weeks.
Lots of hiking time this week since I was just trying to get some vert! I am aiming for 20k next week. It feels like this last build phase isn’t as big as I was thinking it would be mileage wise but I do think it is sufficient and I just need to trust my training. The race is really sneaking up on me and I need to start thinking about the details I have been avoiding. Last year I was injured and a nervous wreck at this point. It feels like a totally different ballgame this year. I feel so much more confident in myself and knowing what to expect come race day. I am trying not to think about the race too much where last year I just obsessed over the details. It feels like my goal between now and race day is to hang on through the peak and not get injured. I do feel less fit than I did last year going into this but I’m still hitting PRs on many routes and have PRed in my races along the way so the numbers definitely say otherwise. More importantly I am healthy and I intend to keep it that way. Once again the motto of these next few weeks is to TRUST the process!
Monday
EZ Run with 5x 20 Second Hills: Foothills to the top of Sypes with Twiggy- 7.4 miles and 2,444ft
Notes: I wanted to do a good long run with Twig since she is getting spayed tomorrow and we won’t be able to run together for at least a week if not more. It was such a fun day. I even did the hill repeats with her out on the quiet part of the foothills and it was actually really nice. She did a good job listening and following me when I was turning around. It was like a mini reverse hill workout.
Tuesday
4 Sets of 4 x 1 minute FAST and 1 minute recovery jog, 2 minutes between sets: 7.93 miles
Notes: With Megan. The best person to do speed workouts with! My splits were faster than the last time I did this workout. I could not keep up with Megan at all during the last set. I had sore legs from the gym yesterday but felt SO good running fast minus the fact it is just really hard.
Wednesday
2 hours EZ: Alt M and M lap- 5.14 miles and 2,651 feet of Vert
Notes: My adductors were SO sore today it felt like I was hobbling downhill and running in slow motion. I ended up cutting the run a bit short for the sake of trying not to get injured via a fall because my legs were SO wrecked. The uphills felt really good despite the dramatic
DOMs (delayed onset muscle soreness). I’m glad I finally did an Alt M lap to incorporate some longer climbing. It feels like all of my climbs have been maxing out around 800-1000 feet since I just do so many M laps. I hope to do more Alt M than M coming up here. The vert is starting to feel like it doesn’t exist which is good. Meaning I don’t notice it as much! “Vert isn’t real unless realized”. Last year at some point in the middle of Scout I did not care if the trail was going up or down the vert just didn’t feel real. Yay!
Thursday
1 hour EZ: Two M laps plus some – 4.3 miles and 2,014 feet of Vert
Notes: With Mira. Great company. My adductors felt better so I could go a lot faster downhill today. I wanted to hit 2k vert and was happy I did!
Friday
4 Hour Long Run: Blacktail/ Homestake Loop – 19.1 miles and 3,612 feet
Notes: I did this run with Savannah, Corrine, Ryder, and Mellisa who joined for about half. I really focused on fueling to the point it felt like I was forcing it. In general I have not been as adamant about practicing nutrition this year and now it is grind time to do so before Scout in less than 30 days! I felt really good but I did struggle to keep up with everyone on the uphill because they were actually runnable uphills. Pretty much all my vert has been so steep I have been hiking more than running this week. I felt really good after I got out of the car after the long drive home! I think the fueling paid off. I ended up averaging 70 grams of carbs per hour. I tried skratch high carb for the first time and it worked well.
Saturday
3 Hour Long Run: Baldy Peak with Run Club – 9.14 Miles and 4,304 feet
Notes: I felt pretty good on the way up but pretty wrecked on the way down. It was fun to do this with a bunch of other people including my friends Ben and Sam who were on their 9th Baldy lap in 9 days. If I was ever feeling bad I thought they must be feeling much worse lol.
Sunday
Rest
Notes: I violated the rest day and did a bike ride up Hyalite with some friends. I guess I can officially write on this blog now that I am moving away from Bozeman and to Missoula at the end of the month! I definitely have been soaking in the last week here. My quads were super tired on this.
Des Hikes Thru 