10 weeks and counting …

(G) There is an understanding in ultrarunning that I picked up a while ago. I am not sure who said it so apologies for not giving credit although in essence it’s a Bible verse. I am just guessing that it wasn’t originally intended to speak to long distances.

This concept, no matter the race, distance, or training run, never stops proving itself to be true.

If you wait long enough it will pass.

Obviously, closely resembling: This too shall pass”

This concept is born out of the idea of whatever you are feeling on the trail it will pass. If you’re feeling great, enjoy it because it will pass. If you are feeling awful, hang in there because it will pass. If your foot hurts, be patient because soon your hip will hurt and you’ll forget all about your foot. See? It will pass.

I reminded myself of this thought MANY times this week. I have been really trying my best to not just put in the miles but for them to be quality miles. On Tuesday, I focused on speed. This is routinely something that plagues me because while I could use many adjectives to describe my running, speed is never one of them!

If you wait long enough it will pass. Sure enough Wednesday arrives.

Then on to hill work. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago I am taking a new-fangled approach to hill work after reading a training article. This has prompted me to stop reading and doing anything new-fangled. Honestly, it’s painful enough to try to run but then run uphill or walk up a steep hill. I do both and I loathe them in different ways but equal intensity.

If you wait long enough it will pass. Then Thursday is here!

And then there’s my effort to run longer between intervals. I have long embraced the interval method by running for a certain time/distance then walking for a set time/distance. But in my one weekly run I keep working on extending the run longer but keeping the walking interval the same.

If you wait long enough it will pass. Then Saturday arrived with a big blast of snow and low temperatures, which landed me on the treadmill for 22 miles.

If you wait long enough it will pass.  Hmmm, Saturday took a long time to pass.

And then Sunday… you get the idea.

(L)  I could probably sum up my torture report in one sentence, but I am wordy so I will give you the nitty gritty.  Last week was beautiful and I ran/walked outside. Then I had to attend the State Ski Championships for two days. I skied, but did not run. Then… it snowed.  We have about 8 inches and if I was hard core I would go run on some snow packed trails, but I didn’t.  Instead my oldest came home for the weekend and we helped the middle one get ready for another state event this weekend.

I am not going to lie, sometimes being a mom of 3 really comes before anything else.  I would like it if I could fit it all in, but sometimes I can’t and sometimes I choose not to.  That is the honest truth. Our life with kids right now is crazy. The calendar is full and I get overwhelmed with the amount of things that need to be done.

So…I am just going to keep on keeping on and maybe this next week will be more productive on the running side.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,

Lowi & G

The Torture Report began in January 2014 as a weekly update of our journey to completing a 50-mile race. Since then it’s continued on to become a chronicle of how we try mightily to find fitness, health and sometimes the finish line. We aren’t always successful but we keep showing up and telling you all about it on Tuesdays.