Category Archives: Ultramarathon Training

HAT RUN 50K – Recap Part 1 (The Day Before The Race)

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I don’t even know where to begin, but I guess I’ll start with my pre-race day prep. All week I was doing what I could to make sure that I was hydrated by drinking coconut water, which I don’t particularly care for, Gatorade, and of course, water. I was also trying to eat whole nutritious foods to carb up. According to Jeremy Hoefs of Livestrong.com, “Marathon runners follow a carb-loading approach to nutrition during race week and the day before the marathon. This temporary diet change calls for an increased carb intake that results in your body filling the muscle glycogen stores that supply energy as you run.” Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – The Final Countdown – 5 Days Until Race Day

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It’s official. These past few days I settled in to the taper blues losing my motivation and excitement for the race. We had a nice 1 hour and 45 minute run on the course on Saturday and it was tough. No, really…it was HARD! My Achilles were very tight and the hills might as well have been mountains. Parts of the course were very slippery and the mud, well you know how I feel about mud. How am I going to run 50K like this???  I don’t feel prepared. I know that I am, but I just don’t feel it. Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – Week 16 Recap (Illegal to Run in the Street)

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I can’t believe that the race is in two weeks. And in two weeks, I’m going to have the pleasure of saying that I’m officially an ultrarunner. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! We’re in taper and this weekend long runs were 2 hours of trail yesterday and 10 miles on the road today. Each run was pretty uneventful for me, but it didn’t make me appreciate them any less. I enjoyed the company and had a pretty decent time. There is one thing that I found out this weekend that blew my mind…it is illegal to run in the street in Maryland if there is a sidewalk available. Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – Week 15 Recap (Kicking Goose Turds Because Running Sucks)

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Have you ever had a run that made you want to quit the sport of running forever? That was yesterday and a little bit today. We desperately needed to get a good long continuous long run and went out for 22 miles on the road of the BWI Trail. I was excited to run someplace new, but I had no idea that by mile 10 I was ready to give up the sport of running forever. Mile 10 felt like mile 20 for me. My hips and knees hurt and I ached all over. My legs were so tired that when I went to use the port-a-potty I ended up peeing on the back of my leg and shoe because I couldn’t get the right hovering position, and ya’ll know you don’t sit in one of those things. I knew this was going to be one of those runs where I will have to dig deep to keep going. I had to make my mind push my body to get through it….had to find my inner bitch. Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – Week 14, part 2 (Boy I love being a runner!)

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Another great run in the books! Because of yesterday’s snafu, today the target was 10 – 12 miles. Since a few of us decided to take it to Loch Raven where there were hills…oh the hills…we ended up with 10 glorious easy miles!  Those who know Loch Raven will appreciate that we ran up the “Dam” hill twice. Despite a few little areas that still had patches of ice, the road was pretty much clear. The sun came out, we had brunch and of course the obligatory Bloody Mary. Boy do I love being a runner and the friends I’ve made since I became a runner. I even love saying the word run. Run, runner, running! Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – Week 14 – (Well, that didn’t go as planned.)

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Today’s goal of 4.5 hours (approx 20 – 22 miles) did not happen. And it’s not that we didn’t try…we tried really hard! After an hour of schlepping through ice and thick crusty snow at a pace of a 26 minute mile, we decided to take it to the road. It was way to dangerous and it wasn’t worth yet. Yes, yours truly took a spill on the icy path (and I wasn’t the only one), but I only ended up with a little bit of an ice burn or is it ice rash? Whatever it’s called it wasn’t bad but definitely annoying. Continue reading →

Whooho! I Have a Sponsor and a Giveaway!

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Guess what?! I was offered personal training as a sponsorship from Tony Osondu of Osondu Fit Club to help prepare me for the HAT 50K Trail Run. With the race only a month a way, I’m so grateful for the additional help. I’ve trained with Tony before and know that he’ll definitely make me stronger for the race and since I started incorporating more cross-training during this season, I have noticed that I’m stronger and that the trails are getting easier. Do you see me jumping up and down?! Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – Week 13 (The Brunch Run)

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I switched up my long and short run this weekend to accommodate weather that we didn’t get. Yesterday I ran a glorious 7 miles out on the road with Bern. The hills weren’t as bad as they used to be and we kept a steady easy pace of about 10:50. It was great to catch up with her and felt good to get out of the house and stretch my legs.  Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – Week 12 (Sure, Let’s Add Ice Skating While We Run!)

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I’m happy to say that I did NOT fall today! Yay me! I had a couple of slips and close calls considering most of the trails were a sheet of ice, but that was it. We set out to do 2.5 hours and I think we came up a little short, but that’s okay. Next week’s run is going to be a doozy, so I’ll take all the easy runs I can get. Easy. Yep, I said it! I can’t believe that trail running is getting easier. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a challenge, but I’m still keeping up with the group and I’m running all the hills that weren’t a sheet of ice and I’m still feeling strong. Again, I’ll take what I can get. I know next week this will most likely not be the case. Continue reading →

HAT 50K Training – Week 11 (Basking in the Glory of a Great Run!)

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As a runner, you know to appreciate any good run you can take during training season. It seems like a long time since I had a great long run, but yesterday – it was GLORIOUS! I don’t know what I did different to make yesterday’s run better than any other run I’ve had since I started ultramarathon training, but who cares! Continue reading →