The Trail Jogger

June 28, 2011

Dry

I am out for a morning run on the Northshore trail. It's really dry out
here. Low water levels.

June 27, 2011

I wrote last week about my frustration with my weight loss. Thank you to those who posted the comments and encouraging words. I needed to hear that.

After hitting the big reset button I was able to get refocused and made some good progress. I lost just over a pound and I am very happy about that.

But I can't sit back and enjoy the victory. I must continue to remain focused and continue to do that I know works... track my consumption and stop when I reach my limit. That's the hard part--having the discipline to track it and to stay within my limits.

Focus. Perseverance. I can do this.

An Easy Recovery Week

I didn't get a lot of mileage in this last week due to some personal commitments. But I am OK with that. After completing my highest mileage week last week, I think it was good to give my body a rest.

I ran an eight miler on the treadmill on Wednesday and a six miler today on the trail. I pushed it hard on the treadmill and that felt really good. I took it rather easy on the trail today and that felt good also!

I have one more big week this week and then I taper for my birthday ultramarathon. However, I am starting to rethink whether or not I am going to run my first ultra on my birthday. Part of me wants to wait until the Rockledge Rumble. I know I can go the distance now, but I sorta want to wait until the official event for my first. Will think about it more this week and then decide by end of the week.

Otherwise, I feel great! My ankle seems to have recovered. My legs feel strong. I am full of energy. It's all good!

June 20, 2011

Week 48: Need Some Weight Loss Accountability

OK, so I haven't don't a very good job of keeping track of my eating or my weight over the last few weeks. Well, if I am being honest, I really haven't done a very good job of it for the last five MONTHS! If I look back over my history, my lowest weight so far was at the end of Week 28 (32.9 lbs lost). But I haven't made any further progress since then. In fact, I've lost ground.

Why?

I've posted the same answer in the past... because I stopped tracking and paying attention to my consumption. I know it works. I lost almost 33 lbs by tracking and paying attention to my consumption? So why did I stop? Why don't I continue? I don't really have an answer.

My First Trail Marathon

Yesterday I completed my first fat ass (self supported) trail marathon. It wasn't an "official" race, just me out there for a long run... 26.2 miles long! I loved every minute of it! It's been a while since I've written an L-Five Trail Run Report, so I will use my run yesterday as a long overdue update.

Length: 26.2 miles

I am in Week 15 of my 50K ultramarathon training schedule. This week was two firsts for me... the first week I've run over 50 miles, and the first time I've done a 26 mile trail run. And I'm digging it! I find it a little hard to believe that less than a year ago I couldn't run a half mile without throwing up on the side of the trail (literally!). I am continuously amazed at the resilience of the human body. If you push it a little bit and then let it recover, it gets stronger, so you can push it a little further, repeat, repeat, repeat. Very cool.

Feeling Ready

Photo: Ben Swinnerton

Tomorrow I run my first trail marathon, and I am feeling ready. I've mapped out a loop on the Northshore trail that is just shy of 9 miles (will run it three times). The loop passes the water fountains twice in one direction and twice in the other. On my last 24 mile long run I did not hydrate properly--it was nasty! So I purposely selected this route so I am never more than a couple of miles from water. The challenge will be disciplining myself to keep drinking!

A Nice Morning Run

I'm out for a run on the Northshore trail. This will be my highest mileage week (54 miles total) in my training plan since I started my Three In Three Challenge, with a 26 mile run scheduled for Saturday. Ankle is still so so. Hope it holds up.