April 17, 2011

L-Five Trail Run Report (9 Miles)

It's been a while since I've written one of my L-Five reports, so I decided it was time.

Before I get into the details, I wanted to share a picture of a neat moment during my run last night. I wasn't able to get out in the morning, so I went for my run around dinner time. As I was finishing, the sun was going down. I crossed over a little creek. Just as I crossed I looked to my left and I could see the base of a small group of trees illuminated by the orange glow of the setting sun.

The picture doesn't do it justice. The glow lasted for about a half minute, and then it was gone. Very cool.


Anyway, on to the report.

Length: 08.71 miles in 1 hour 43 minutes (11:49 pace)

Typically I only report my weekly long run in my L-Five reports, but this week this WAS my long run! I basically ran from the MADD shelter on the Northshore trail to Far Gate and back. I didn't get started until late afternoon, so it was a little warmer than I am used to, but I enjoyed the heat. I prefer running in warm than in cold.

Limbs: Almost 100%

A few weeks back I turned over on my ankle during one of my runs. Fortunately I didn't break anything, it was just a sprain. However, it took much longer than I expected to recover. So I dialed back my mileage over the last couple of weeks in order to let it heal.

I only ran 4 miles the first week and quickly learned that I wasn't ready to get back to it. I ran 20 miles last week and 24 miles this week. I run tonight felt good. So I think I will resume my training next week.

Lungs: Excellent


No issues. My lungs are feeling great. I am actually considering changing this to an L-4 report because I don't have much more to say about that!

Laughs: Excellent

I was a little frustrated over the last few weeks because I couldn't run like I wanted to. And the forced break from my training kinda messed up my training plans. But I also realize that injury is part of the process and I need to accept the recovery time. I just need to be more careful when running to avoid another injury.

Other than that I am having a BALL out there on the trail. I can't wait to get out and run and love every minute of it. I think I am in an excellent place mentally to continue my training and complete my first ultramarathon.

Learning: Patience, patience, patience


I am still struggling with patience. I realize it takes time to build up the base and endurance I need to run ultras.  And I realize I'm not getting any younger. I think my ankle injury was the result of pushing too hard, pushing beyond my current capabilities. And because of that, I sidelined myself for a few weeks.

So I am going to focus on patience. I am going to focus on just putting the miles in and not worrying about speed or pushing my numbers. I am going to just stick with my training plan and work through it one day at a time. As Yiannis Kouros is credited with saying, "Without patience, you will never conquer endurance."

Next Week:

The following outlines my training plan for next week:
  • Monday: Rest
  • Tuesday: 5 miles
  • Wednesday: 8 miles
  • Thursday: 5 miles
  • Friday: Rest
  • Saturday: 5 miles
  • Sunday: 24 miles (not sure I will have it in me for this one due to the training I lost over the last three weeks)
Bring it on!

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