Life of an Age-Grouper

The second and last Base Training Period comes to an end this weekend. I plan to celebrate the fitness I have been able to accumulate over the past two months at the Indian Island 15k Trail Race on Sunday. This last block of training went very well.  I followed the game plan almost perfectly and I can't wait to reap the rewards at the end of December.  My body has responded quite nicely to the gradual escalation of volume this month.  There has been positive changes across the board starting with an increase in my aerobic endurance. Improvements in my mechanical efficiency have also been noted.  I had anticipated that I would be challenged mentally as the longer runs have grown longer however, It has been easy to stay checked in and to be in the moment. There has been an obvious change in my physical appearance. Over the first month I dropped about 5.5 pounds. This month I have lost 2 more  for a total  of 7.5 pounds.  Nutritionally, I have done m...

Goals for the first month of Finding My Ultra: 1. Consistency: CHECK 2. Frequency: CHECK 3. Average Mileage per week between 20-30: CHECK 4. Form>Pace: CHECK 5. Homework: CHECK Consistency and frequency were my two top priorities for the first month of base training. Both of these were achieved. I was able to run for the entire month of October without any hiccups.  I started off running five days a week and then at the midway point increased the frequency to six days a week. The pattern for each week was essentially the same; Monday through Friday I ran before work, Saturday I would be finished by sunrise and Sundays I pedaled my bike.  Im headed into November full of confidence, curiosity and a sense of adventure. October and November are being treated as base building. I achieved my goal of averaging 20-30 miles per week (I averaged closer to 25-30 miles/week).  My runs alternated between "hard" and "easy".  This alternating pattern was a ...