REDFAM<\/p>\n
<knock knock> HELLLOOO?\u00a0 Anyone here?<\/p>\n
Yeah, so clearly I\u2019ve gotten lax on the ol\u2019 blogging front.\u00a0 Can\u2019t even blame it on the cancer, as thankfully I\u2019ve been cancer-free for over a year.\u00a0 Rather, I\u2019ve suffered a lack of motivation on the running front, which has lasted far longer than I anticipated.<\/p>\n
THE GOOD<\/p>\n
Eager to have a goal race to look forward to after having to bail out of the IMTUF 100, Waldo 100K and White River 50, I signed up for the Umstead 100, held in Raleigh, NC at the end of March.\u00a0 I heard great things about the race, and since it was very close to my sister in Chapel Hill, I figured I\u2019d kill two birds with one stone.<\/p>\n
With the lumpectomy and radiation therapy, my mileage was pretty low July-September, but I figured I\u2019d amp it up come October.\u00a0 I did increase it somewhat, but my motivation was still at an all-time low.\u00a0 Ditto for November, and December, and\u2026 well let\u2019s just say by the time I toed the line at the end of March I was just hoping to finish within the 30-hour cutoff.\u00a0 The result?\u00a0 I PRd by over an hour, finishing in 25:54.\u00a0 WHUT?\u00a0 Buoyed by this I entered the Lumberjack 100 two weeks later.\u00a0 It was rough, but I squeaked in under cutoff.\u00a0 This was the confidence boost I needed for my next big adventure: the Bigfoot 200.<\/p>\n
THE BAD<\/p>\n
I knew I\u2019d have to step things up considerably for Bigfoot, a 200-mile jaunt around Mt. St. Helens, but my performance at Umstead left me cocky.\u00a0 \u201cI just have to maintain a fast hike,\u201d I told myself.\u00a0 While I got out on several long runs around Mt. Rainier, my weekly mileage averaged only 35-45 miles in May, June and July.\u00a0 When I toed the line at that race start I was scared shitless \u2014 for good reason.\u00a0 Within the first few miles it was clear this would be FAR harder than I anticipated, as I gingerly made my way through a mile-long boulder field.\u00a0 I actually thought I\u2019d get cut at the first aid station at mile 12!\u00a0 Fortunately I made it with time to spare, but I was fighting cutoffs for the rest of the way.\u00a0 (I was joined by the sweepers starting at mile 75).\u00a0 I eventually made it to mile 110, where I had hoped to pick up a friend to pace me, as well as get some much-needed sleep.\u00a0 However, the volunteers said that the cutoff at the next aid station \u2014 19 miles away \u2014 was in 8 hours.\u00a0 Normally this wouldn\u2019t faze me, but the section had the steepest and longest climb of the race.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t think I\u2019d make it without sleep or a pacer.\u00a0 Defeated, I chose to DNF.<\/p>\n
THE UGLY<\/p>\n
After licking my DNF wounds and having my pity party, I set my sights on the Rio del Lago 100 in November.\u00a0 My darling and two of my friends were also running it, and I was looking forward to the party.\u00a0 However, it wasn\u2019t enough to get my butt out the door to train; my average weekly mileage was a dismal 25 miles in September and October.\u00a0 Once again I hoped my endurance base would get me to the finish line, but it wasn\u2019t meant to be.\u00a0 Between taking a couple of hard falls and having to huff it to make a few cutoffs, my body and spirit were broken.\u00a0 I actually was grateful to not make the mile 84 cutoff, as it meant I could stop running (although by then I could only muster up a fast hobble).<\/p>\n
In the three weeks after RDL I only ran once a week.\u00a0 I felt my joy for running had disappeared; I was far happier with my other hobby: sewing.\u00a0 However, since that doesn\u2019t do much to keep my weight at bay, I knew I\u2019d have to come up with a plan to kickstart my running.<\/p>\n
Enter REDFAM \u2014 Run Every Day for a Month.<\/p>\n
Mind you, I\u2019m not the streaker type; I scratch my head at those who have maintained years-long and even decades-long streaks, running through sickness and injury.\u00a0 But hey \u2014 it\u2019s only for a month; easy peasy, right?<\/p>\n
I had no specific weekly mileage goals, rather, I had to run at least two miles a day.\u00a0 I also gave myself the option of running just 1 mile twice during the month.\u00a0 Almost half of my runs for the month ended up being in the 2- to 3-mile range, with another third in the 3- to 4-mile range.\u00a0 But I was having fun!\u00a0 There were several times I wanted to bail, especially when it was dark and rainy, but I knew I\u2019d only have to be out there for less than half an hour.\u00a0 In most cases I literally ran my errands, as my bank, post office and grocery store are within a couple of miles round trip.\u00a0 I used up my first 1-miler on Dec. 12, a particularly nasty day of wind and rain.\u00a0 But I also ran a marathon, along with a couple of 6- to 7-mile runs.<\/p>\n
My second 1-miler came on the 22nd.\u00a0 I felt guilty, but I decided I\u2019d up my minimum daily run to three miles from then on.\u00a0 I almost broke my streak on Christmas Day; Santa had given me a terrible hangover, so I thought I\u2019d give myself a present by allowing myself to rest.\u00a0 Fortunately my darling convinced me a run would be just the thing to kick my hangover, and he was right.\u00a0 I finished the month out with 120 miles, thrilled I had reached my daily goal.<\/p>\n
So, would I do it again?\u00a0 As part of a training plan, no; I need my rest days.\u00a0 But given December tends to be a month where I have the running \u201cfuckits,\u201d I think I\u2019ll make it an annual tradition.\u00a0 I was able to get in my exercise and still enjoy the holiday festivities.\u00a0 It got me out of my rut and even helped me get a bit faster.\u00a0 I wish I could say it kept the holiday weight gain to a minimum, but there was some major over-indulgence.\u00a0 Perhaps my next challenge should be NoBoFAM. (No booze for a month).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
REDFAM <knock knock> HELLLOOO?\u00a0 Anyone here? Yeah, so clearly I\u2019ve gotten lax on the ol\u2019 blogging front.\u00a0 Can\u2019t even blame it on the cancer, as thankfully I\u2019ve been cancer-free for over a year.\u00a0 Rather, I\u2019ve suffered a lack of motivation on the running front, which has lasted far longer than I anticipated. THE GOOD Eager […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":672,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671\/revisions\/672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}