First Week Down...and a whole lot more to go

Okay, so my first official week of training for my first 50 mile Trail Run is officially in the books. Basically, it broke down like this:



Monday: Cross Train

Tuesday: 2miles easy

Wednesday: 2miles tempo

Thursday: 2miles easy

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 12 miles at 8:30 pace (overall 1:41:31)

Sunday: 6 miles at 8:30 pace (oops... overall 44:49 = 7:28 pace)



I also did my spinning class Wednesday and Thursday, and did weight training Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. But, that was only b/c I had to take all of Friday off. My weight training consists mainly of body weight exercises and dumbbell training.

I am not going to lie... Saturday hurt. I felt extremely worn out. The more tired I got, the more I had to concentrate on my running form. By that, I mean actually haveing to think about footstrike and leaning forward. Before the run, I loaded up on water, ate a banana, and took off with my phone, ID, Debit Card, and 16 oz of water and 16 oz of Gatorade in 4-8oz bottles on my Helium Fuel Belt. If anyone is interested in a running belt for fuel and hydration, I highly recommend this company. Google them, but I would also suggest purchasing an additional MED or LARGE storage pocket to fit most cell phones and more than just your house key and one or two energy gels. But I digress...I took my lone energy gel at the 5 mile mark. The banana didn't work all that well for me and I felt pretty hungry the first half of the run. I will go back to my ritual of a PB&J before next week's long run.



I am also training for a couple of Olympic and Intermediate distance triathlons. So, during the week, I spin, then switch shoes and go for a two miler. As the weeks progress, I am going to start cycling first on Sunday mornings for 30-60 minutes, then go for my shorter weekend run immediately following. By that time, the beaches should have a lot more runners and cyclists.



My overall goal is to complete the 50 miler in a respectable time without killing myself. My secondary goal is to complete a Half Ironman in September/October.



Next week I will start up with my swimming program. I am limited b/c the lap swim hours are later in the afternoon. But, in a couple of months, the outdoor pool will open and I can lap swim during lunch, which is ideal for me. I have found that swimming increases my overal running condition. There is something to be said for crosstraining.

Week #1 is in the books... Time to get geared up for week #2!