birthdays and ultramarathons

we started eating birthday cake last night - don't judge.

It has arrived.

July.

The month of my nativity and the start of 50k training!

I'm turning 32 this month and I couldn't be more excited. I'm in the best shape of my life, posting faster times, and generally pleased with where I am in my life. I'm looking forward to another year of great running and experiencing everything God has in store for me.

As you know, I am scheduled to run my first 50k on Sept, 28th. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I'm definitely nervous but also excited about this new challenge. I love the start of training, for any race, and this time is no exception. I officially start tomorrow but I thought I would share my schedule for the week. I'm hoping to make it a priority to do weekly updates; to let you know how I'm doing and for you to share any wisdom and advice you might have.

The training schedule I'm using was given to me by an experienced ultramarathoner friend. I decided to use it because it focuses on mileage, no speed work on a track. I'm not a huge fan of track workouts and with two young kids its hard to find the time. I would rather go out for a quick few miles then run around a track. Also, this race is a trail race so I have NO finish time in mind. I just want to finish - plain and simple. I expect my times through the checkpoints to be slower then they normally would and I'm thinking about not even bringing my watch.

So here's the schedule for the week of July 1st. After coming off a 36 mile week, this week seems like a piece of cake. I have to remind myself that in a few weeks I'll be wishing for a week like this.

Wk of      M     T     W    Th     F     S    Su      Total
Jul 1 0 2 2 2 0     8     6   20


Are you training for a fall race? Is it a distance you haven't tackled before? Tell me all about it!