October Mileage

October
Run distance:      150.6 miles
Run time:      28 hours, 25 minutes, 32 seconds


Sticker in my office: Running is a Love/Hate relationship.

My monthly mileage is up from 104 miles in September and 80 miles in August. The biggest change in this ultra training (when compared to marathon training) has been the back-to-back long runs, which will continue all through November. In marathon training, I never run the day after a long training run, so this has been a completely new experience for me. At first, I dreaded the second day, because running on tired legs 1.) isn't fun and 2.) seems counter intuitive: it is during rest/recovery that your body rebuilds and becomes stronger. But, the ultra training plan states that they're necessary, and so it began.

At the start of this month, I was worried that doing this would be too much. When I ran 16 miles on Oct. 8th before the Long Beach 1/2 marathon on Oct. 9th, I was worried that my annoying, lingering, hip-flexor injury would get worse. I remember being at mile 4 in the race thinking  'if I weren't in an official race, I would stop. Right now.' Fast forward to two weeks later, and I'm running 20 miles of hard trails with Delia through beautiful El Moro Canyon on Saturday, and right back out there on Sunday for 10 more. Surprisingly, I wasn't injured after this. Sore, yes - the steep inclines and drastic downhills were new for me...but injured, no. My annoying hip flexor pain has even almost disappeared. My body seems to be adapting and responding well to the higher demands I'm placing on it, supporting the idea that the more you do, the more you realize you can do! This upcoming weekend is a bit of a taper because I have the Santa Barbara marathon on November 12th. And the day after the marathon? Back out there for 10 miles!