Winter Training

AHHH winter training!  it was the best of times it was the worst of times.  Winter can still be lots of fun and full of adventure but after a late march snow storm a couple Fridays ago completely messed up my Saturday running plans, I just am over it.  It's time to move on to spring now.  It wasn't until these past couple of weeks or so that I realized how hard I had been working all winter.  Temps in the 70s, trails clear of snow and ice and I got to run in the daylight.  I was flying around my usual routes without much effort. (late addition: it's currently blizzard conditions outside as I am ready to post this!)

running in the dark

It's funny how winter kind of sneaks in so that you don't truly realize how much more challenging your usual runs have become.  As I mentioned previously now that I'm back to full time work, I have my set weekday running schedule.  I get up between 4-4:30 depending on what my workout is and am out the door between 5-5:30 which it was summer when I started this routine so it was either already light or getting light when I went out.  It was a subtle change as more and more of my run was in the dark until I was going out in the pitch black and returning in the pitch black.  And honestly in the beginning it was fun to break my headlamp out again.  There's also just a little extra feeling of accomplishment when you run in the dark.  Then slowly temps began getting colder but again it was gradual so I didn't notice per se the significantly increased effort to run 10 minute pace in 15 degrees vs what it was at 40 or 50. 

Even the snow and ice kind of creeped in on me as after a while you kind of just get used to those conditions and don't really think about how it is making your runs harder.  I do enjoy tackling the elements and I did have fun out there for the most part but once again when things cleared up, I realized how much harder and much more energy those runs were than in dry conditions.  I realized how I am never completely relaxed when there's any snow or ice around.  I have spikes and I wear them but I've still slipped and fallen.  So not only is running in the elements more physically taxing but it can be very mentally draining as well, constantly being on full alert. 

sometimes it's freakin freezing!!!

That said, winter training can bring tons of fun adventure and help build confidence for the better conditions to come.  Romping through fresh snow, while difficult and tiring is certainly beautiful and fulfilling.  This winter I had the opportunity to complete the Boulder Skyline Traverse.  Once again old man winter threw a wrench into things as the weekend I planned to do it with my running group we got a storm and super cold temps so it had to be canceled.  Most people were doing races the following weekend so it wasn't rescheduled.  Rocky and I ended up doing it ourselves which was a completely awesome experience.  For those who are unfamiliar the traverse is completing all 5 Boulder Peaks, the mileage varies depending on starting point, ending point etc.  Rocky and I ended up with 21.5 miles and close to 7000 feet.  I felt solid through it all.  The best part about it was that lower trails were mud pits and the trails to the peaks were covered in ice and snow.   While I definitely had to be cautious and slower, I still felt really good about my performance and overall pace.  The traverse is a very similar terrain and elevation to CCC so if I could maintain well under cutoff pace in these conditions in the middle of a training cycle, it helps build my confidence that I can do it under better conditions at the race.

luckily I have friends that want to go out in the winter conditions

The other benefit of winters in Colorado is that there are lots of fun outdoor activities that can be used as cross training.  Obviously there are tons of fun ones in other seasons however I tend to have way less time for things other than running and kids sports in the warmer seasons.  Winter however we have always had extra time but not as many things to fill it.  Being fully situated in Colorado now, we went full into skiing this year.  We all have our own equipment and season passes.  If you buy in the spring, it's really a great deal.  We went at least one day of almost every weekend from November to end of March.  I really think all the skiing made me stronger for running.  I worked my muscles in different ways and I can feel it carrying over.  And it's an awesome way for the family to spend time together.  We do a number of runs together before splitting up for the boys to do more challenging ones.  However by the end of the season Una was doing black diamons which meant I had to do black diamonds which was a big challenge since I have never done black diamonds previously. 

And with all that, I have my first race of 2019 this weekend.  I'm super excited first of all just to get out there and see what kind of fitness I have from all this winter work.  And I'm road tripping with my best Colorado friend Meaghan and we are staying in a house with a bunch of our Ultra Dirt Diva friends.  I feel like this is the real start of 2019 for me, LET'S DO IT!!!!!

I am still here ....

:-)

I have not been a good blogger since I moved to Colorado but I'm not sad about it.  It's not that our lives have been busier in Colorado than our life in PA, it's just different and more fulfilling.  We spend a ton more time outside all year round, yes even in winter.  Winter weekends in PA often consisted of us hanging out indoors all day and a lot of treadmill runs for me.  Of course we have our cold and snowy days here however it doesn't last long and 9 times out of 10 it's beautifully sunny out.  This past weekend was sunny and in the 60s, amazing weather for a 5.5 hour long run and perfect for the kids to be outside all day with their friends.  We have also taken to the ski life most weekends which started in November and will likely go until April.  

 

 

Normally, when I have some downtime, I would camp out on the sofa in front of the TV and that's when I would blog.  Now I find I don't have as much winter weekend downtime due to skiing, running etc but if I do, I often opt to go sit out on the deck and look at the mountains, the sky and watch all the people out for walks, runs and rides, yes even in winter.

I did actually start to write a blog about Javelina Jundred but I never finished it and now it seems like a lost cause.  It wasn't a great race for me, but I finished, which was the main point.  It was ungodly hot and I got attacked by a cactus but I finished.  So basically that was it.

The infamous cactus attack...Tim Tollefson is my hero!

Emir paced me through the night

finished with my babies at my side <3

Initially after that race, I felt kind of lost in that I felt like I had no clue what I wanted from running anymore.  Normally even though there are tons of crappy feeling moments in ultras, afterwards I feel awesome that I did it and accomplished something.  I just didn't feel very good during the race or after.  I also did not feel great on most of my runs in 2018 so that did not help my motivations or desires to keep at it.  Coach Caleb encouraged me to take some time to just think about things and not rush into any decisions about what my next goals would be (he knew I wouldn't choose not to run anymore, hahaha)  So I did.  And of course like all of us runners, I used my extra time recovering to scroll Instagram and then got jealous of all the amazing running pictures and all the awesome racing accomplishments.  Next thing I knew, I was emailing coach all of the lotteries I wanted to enter and asking him for input into what I can do better for 2019.  (side note: caleb has been coaching me for 5 years now and here's my original post on that topic 5 years ago :-o)

I've been slowly letting rocky run more and more with me.  Now he comes on almost every run including weekend long runs

Earlier in the year before Jahorina and Javelina, we had both acknowledged and agreed that 2018 was a transition year and while a very happy, awesome transition for me and the family, it doesn't matter any transition will bring extra stress, more time to get life things in order in a new place and have a big affect on training and the body in general.  Then add to that adjusting to running at altitude and having a completely unpredictable work schedule that included tons of weekend days.  It was not a good recipe for a successful running year.  And add to THAT, when things started to come together with feeling more comfortable running here and taking a full time job with a set schedule and no weekend work, my dad was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer....when I look back, it's a wonder I was able to make it through those two races.  Between his diagnosis in April, his passing in late August and then running Javelina in October in his memory, all I did was worry, stress, cry and eat like shit. 

I don't know what I would have done without this guy, my friends and family...2018 was tough

So when coach and I were in our convos about 2019, nutrition was at the forefront.  I knew I was so far off the eating healthy wagon, I couldn't even see it anymore.  Sometimes when I go down these rabbit holes, I think "does what I eat really matter? I still can get out and do all my runs even when I'm eating crap and drinking beers"  Coach gave me some guidelines for making better choices, some ideas for recipes etc that he uses (he has kids the same age, which helps a lot!) and some other resources that he uses to guide his own nutritional choices.  At first I was kind of blah and not too thrilled about it.  I'm an eater and just want to eat what I want.  But I also wanted to run better again and get back into shape.  No I hadn't stopped running and working out but I felt out of shape which I attributed to bad eating.  So it was enough to encourage me to embark on a new way of eating. 

I've been able to get myself on the consistent routine of early morning runs and actually loving it

After a little over 3 months of my nutrition overhaul, I have to admit, it's actually really amazing.  I feel awesome, seriously.  I haven't lost any weight which at first was bringing me down.  I mean I haven't been snacking at all on crap, I went back to no weekday boose, I've significantly increased my fruit and veggie intake and pretty much cut out all processed foods and yet nada.  But I've gotten over that now since I'm seeing other results.  As I said, I feel great.  I have much more energy despite getting up at 4AM to run 3-4 days a week (I actually look forward to it, can you believe that?!) and my mood is just in general much better.  I can feel a huge difference and see an improved performance in my runs especially the tough workouts and long runs.  I'm also seeing a difference in my body shape.  I may not have lost any pounds, but my clothes are fitting better and I can see a changes in the mirror.  And if I think about it rationally, it makes sense as I know since moving here I'm doing tons more hills (and mountains) even on my short neighborhood runs which have led to even bigger quads and stronger other muscles, which we all know about muscle weight. 

climbing mountains for views like this has built bigger, stronger muscles

Now I've got my nutrition dialed in, physically feeling good and mentally 100% back into it but I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do with all that.  As most ultra runners do, I spent hours browsing ultra signup but just didn't get that, YES!!!! feeling.  In the meantime, I signed up for the Western States lottery because that race gave me that in the clouds feeling and I finally had a qualifier but I knew there was basically 0% chance with one ticket.   My Colorado BRF Meaghan was in the lottery as well and when we both didn't get in, we somehow in our mimosa drinking state of mind came to the conclusion we should run Rio Del Lago 100 in California together since it's a qualifier.  This actually made me super excited as it's a race that's been on my radar for a couple years and doing this with a friend makes me REALLY excited.  But I was not satisfied yet.  Did you really think I was only going to do one race in 2019?  Especially since its not until NOVEMBER!  Wow, you really don't know me at all. 

Meaghan and I.  she's a big part of my re-love for running.  Most weeks we get at least one run together.  love this girl! <3

Next, I signed up for both the Leadville and CCC lotteries.  Doing any race at UTMB has been a dream for years but I had no actual realistic plans for getting the points.  Without even realizing it, things fell into place in 2018.  I really really wanted to get that 100K finish at Jahorina since Emir and I DNF'd a couple years ago and I felt training in Colorado would have me better prepared.  I also really wanted a 100 mile finish in 2018 but I felt I needed something more flat after Jahorina hence Javelina.  Turns out finishing those gave me 9 points, 1 more point than what was needed for CCC the 101K at UTMB!  Points are good for two years so I was hoping that entering the lottery this year and next year would give me a pretty good shot since next year they would give me twice the weight on my entry.  Then there's Leadville.  I have this burning desire to get a Leadville finish however I'm not totally convinced I'm 100% ready but I was in the lottery last year so I feel I need to keep entering until I get in, whether that is true or not, I have no idea.  Bottom line was I wanted another big event on my schedule so I put my name in and hoped for the best. 

ultra dirt divas!!!  one of several running groups I've hung out with since moving

I thought for sure if I got into either of those races, it would be Leadville so I was already coming up with plans for that scenario.  Alas, yet again I did not get into Leadville however....I freaking got into CCC!!  They announce on a Thursday morning at 10am local time so I woke up that morning at 4 for my run to find an email saying I had been accepted.  I was so pumped but couldn't tell anyone but Rocky because it was so early.  So it seems I didn't really have to do much decision making, the lottery gods decided for me and I'm super happy with their choice.  I used to feel I needed a bunch of races on the schedule however things have changed the last year or two.   There's no doubt in my mind that living in Colorado is a big reason.  Many times I choose races to see other places and run different trails especially since I literally ran the same 3 places all the time in PA mostly due to time constraints and convenience.  Certainly I could have ran many other places but it would have required a significant amount of travel time.  My options right out my doorstep here in Boulder are endless really and that's just if I stay in Boulder.  I can go a thousand other places within 20-30 minute drive.  I just get so much more fulfillment from my weekend long runs here that I don't have that serious urge I used to get to go other places.  I will do a spring 50K and a July 50 miler but as training runs for my two main events for the year.  And with that I feel 2019 is set.