It’s been a year. Running, vacation, work, moving. It feels like I never really got into a rhythm. Just as I got into a set schedule it was immediately blasted apart with change. Now, well into October, I have a race that last year I felt extremely prepared for, The Fall 50. The Fall 50 is a 50 mile run from Gills Rock in Door County to Sturgeon Bay. A 50 mile road race that mixes the beautiful of Door County in fall with the pounding of asphalt on your body.
This year is different. Between taking three weeks off for vacation and nearly a month off for moving into a new home, the race this year is taking a mental toll. That mental toll is a tough one to swallow. On one hand I really need to complete this race but on the other hand I don’t want to set expectations too high. The thing is, that this 50 mile run is really just a training run for a greater adventure next year. That greater adventure is going to be the toughest thing I most likely ever do. A trail run that includes around 37,000 feet of elevation change. Not only that but it’s in April meaning I need to train mostly in the frigid cold of the Wisconsin winter. AND! On top of that, I need to also prepare for Ironman Wisconsin 2019. While I technically have plenty of time given the base of endurance I’ll have after the early April race, I still need to start swimming and biking to up that endurance as it’s been a few years since I trained for an Ironman.
This past year I tried to stay away from posting mileage or training plans because I was sick of others comparing themselves to myself. People would always comment on how “they just ran 5 or 10 miles” instead of being proud of their own accomplishments. The thing is, I need to be held accountable this year. There is something to be said about posting your workouts for others. Posting what the week ahead will look like and what you’ve accomplished that week are important to staying on track. It’s easy to talk about this with your family but in the end they aren’t the best for me to stay on track. They are OK if I miss a workout and listen to my excuses without causing an uproar.
So this year I plan to go back on that change. I plan on posting about my mileage which I’m hopeful will change the breadth of accountability for myself. So please bear with me. Be thankful for what you can do, the miles you can run, or the times you get on a single mile. Below I’ve posted my training schedule. This is tentative based on my current outlook at my schedule. I do have a pending obligation that might move this around. I may need to make Wednesday (or some other day) a rest day and move around peak training. I’ll always keep this posted because this is my “Training Plan” and there is no other like it.
Looking at the training schedule also makes my nervous. I race October 20 which is basically the weekend before I need to start training for the 100 mile race. If the race goes well, the first week or two after the race will include a recovery week. If the race goes poorly, I could very well get right into training. Only the 20th of October will tell that story. Cheers to a great 2019 race schedule and let me know what you plan on running.
