Whooops! Totally missed my August recap. Been so busy these past few weeks, it slipped between the cracks.
Total Road KMs : 13 kms
Total Trail KMs : ~172.5 kms
KMs raced during August : 94kms
Total KMs this month : 185.5 kms
Total KM’s this year : 1762 kms
Hours running : 28 ish
Cross-training hours (Spinning, Grinds, Strength training) : Hmm…2 hours of Grinding is all I’ve got…
# of Grinds/BCMC’s : 2
How’s my month been?
Very similar to July, August was a crap shoot. 3 races, and a lot of recovery was basically the theme of the month. I didn’t hit my goal of 200 kms per month every month in 2013 this month, but I did race close to 100 kms, and that has to count for something. Anyways, let’s break it down.
You know that July was a tough month for me…well August was better, but it wasn’t a 180 from July. I was still dealing with the after affects of that rotten ankle of mine, and I took longer to recover from KneeKnacker than I ever imagined I would take. I think that the race was way harder on me than I originally thought. It’s hard on the system to run both sick and injured…
Anyways, I had some fun in August for sure, I took Amy on a sight seeing run and did some “modeling” for 5Peaks swag, I finally had a chance to run Hanes Valley, and while it was a total mis-adventure, it was a blast! I got up on the Squamish Chief on a gorgeous day, which I was able to share with friends who’d never climbed it before!
And then it was time for my next big race, the Arc’Teryx Squamish50, where I was running the 50K. You can find my full recap here, but the short clif notes are that it was an almost perfectly executed 50K, up until about the 44km mark. The wheels fell off the bus, I hated my life, I cried in Rob Shaer’s arms, and yet, I still managed to somehow pick up the pieces and run the last few kms to the finish line. I finished in tears again, and I still don’t know exactly what made me so emotional. I was disappointed in myself at first, and frustrated with how I dealt with the race, but looking back a month later, I think I did a pretty good job of dealing with things. Obviously, I want to stop the wheels from falling off the bus, but when I couldn’t stop them, at least I went and fixed the bus so that it could finish fairly strong. That’s all I can really ask for.
And, I finished the SQ50 in 7:19:46, about 12 mins faster than KneeKnacker, on an equally brutal although slightly longer course. That has to be a win!!
After Squamish, I ran the Fat Dog 120mile relay with a team of family members, and it was such a blast! I had leg 9, Skyline trail, and my recap can be found here. I also had the whole team write about their own legs, and then compiled a fun post (which is one of my fave posts from this summer).
Just a week later, I was up in Whistler, running my favorite of the 5Peaks races, up on top of Blackcomb Mtn. While I struggled during this race (I wonder why…??), I still had so much fun, it is one of my fave races after all! You can read my race recap here.
Grinds were again lacking this month. I only got up there twice, and both again were really slow, BUT, I did have the pleasure of pacing my gf Candice, to her first ever sub 50 Grind! And, I am at 15 Grinds for 2013 at the end of August, it’s not terrible….
The best part of August? Starting the 5Peaks Ladies of the Trails officially! For those unaware, 5Peaks loved my idea of taking my girlfriends for ladies only runs to expose them to trail running, so much so, that they decided to sponsor these runs. So, we’ve opened the runs up to the public, all women welcome, we just ask that everyone is able to run for an hour comfortably on roads before coming out. We’ve had a fantastic response so far, and it’s so rewarding to be able to show my friends and family (yes Momma is back trail running!) what it is about the trails that I love so much. And meeting randoms from Twitter, races, or super duper randoms friends of friends of friends, is SO cool! The trail community is a wonderful family, that is always growing and expanding. We’re meeting every Tuesday until the end of September, and then probably just 1-2 times a month over the winter.
I gained a bit of weight. Ultra running does NOT mean you can eat and eat and eat! Especially if you’re eating cupcakes, pies, and PNE fair food…
I got to do some really fun non-running things this month, a friend’s wedding, Sunday Funday picking local blueberries, PNE with my gram.
So, overall? August can be summed up in 1 word; BUSY. Phewf. And to be honest, September hasn’t been any slower, it’s probably been even busier, hence the late posting of this!
Let’s check out what I laid out for my August goals :
- Squamish50 – I’d like to have a better physical race than KneeKnacker, and the same level of mental race. I think this would equate to around a 7:00 finish. 7:19:46 - Stronger physical race for sure, and although my mental game cracked for a couple km, it was overall pretty strong. I’ll take it!!
- Fat Dog – I’m running the relay, and I’m not going to lie that I’m a bit worried with how my body felt a week after Knacker, but I’m hoping to put in a good leg for my team. I hated this leg while I ran it, and thought I did terrible, but I had a really strong race, and even beat the times of the solo 20 milers running the same leg. 5:01 or 5:02.
- 5Peaks Whistler – same approx time as last year, not sure I can do any better with tired legs this time around. I beat last year’s time! Barely!! But, I still put in a PR for this course.
- Haynes Valley – never been there, and I’d like to get out there – it’s on the calendar for this weekend, so let’s hope it works out!! YEP!
- Another 200kms would be nice, but I’m not banking on it. 185.5…close, but not quite.
- More Grinds would be nice, along with some faster grinds, but I’m not counting on it for August either. Let’s go with 4 Grinds, and 1 sub 45 at least. HAH! Not even close. 2 moderate Grinds only.
OK, it’s not REALLY fair to set September goals when it’s already halfway through…but just for the sake of keeping myself on track.
- I’ve started another Dietbet, and I’d like to be at 162 by the end of September. As of today, Sept 17, I’m at 165.4.
- I took the first week of September off of running while in California, so I know my mileage is going to be super low for September, I’m not even at 50kms today…I figure I’ll be between 110 & 150 for the month. I’d like to get up close to 150 to keep my overall mileage up…
- The only races I’m doing in September are the 5Peaks Buntzen Lake Enduro, which I haven’t run the Enduro course in a number of years, so I have no clue on a timing goal (I’ll look it up pre-race). I’d like to feel good all race long. The other race is the Surrey International Music Marathon, where I’m running the half marathon. It’s a great race, but unfortunately, I’m not excited at the prospect of road running. Hopefully I’ll get pumped for it soon.
I just want to get my body back to feeling good. I’ve got an orthotics appt today, and I’m going to try and fit in a couple sauna sessions, and some spinning. And maybe a couple track workouts to get the legs moving? We’ll see.
I know it’s half over, but anything you’re super excited for in September? I’m hosting a big birthday party for my wonderful husband, and going to see the War Horse musical, those are 2 things I’m really looking forward to! Oh, and I went to Cali for a week! Yes, yes, I’ll be posting recaps of our trip soon!
xoxo
-S
