50 Mile Training

I'm in the thick of my training for the Nashville Ultra 50 Mile and so far, so good.  I completed my first post-baby 18 miler last Saturday and it went well, although I might have done a fair amount of whining for the first 11 miles.  I just could not get my head in to the run.  Overall I felt fine though, and I wasn't overly tired the rest of the day.  I was a little creaky Sunday morning but not too bad, so I did an easy 3 miler to keep things loose.

What I know about my training is that I'll be ready for the marathon October 5.  It probably won't be speedy because I haven't worked on pace at all, but I will be able to complete it just fine. What I don't know about my training is if it is enough for a 50 Mile.  I've only done one 50 mile race and it was on trails (the one I'm training for now is on the road).  I can look back and see how I trained for the first one, but I'm pretty sure I didn't often exceed 50 miles per week.  Part of me thinks the key is consistent mileage each week with some longer runs back-to-back, reaching 50-60 mile totals as I can.  I'm trying to balance that with not getting injured and a little weight training.  Enough?  I'm really not sure. 

I'm also balancing my training with being a good mom to Eloise.  I don't want to run myself into the ground and feel too tired to play and sing and read and do all the things we do each day.  I don't want to get too tired and become impatient with her if she gets fussy.  I find myself holding back in my training sometimes because of this. I've tried to very gradually increase my mileage so my body is always ready for it, and I've also tried to stay well fed so I'm not grouchy or running out of energy before its time to lounge on the couch (when Eloise goes to bed each evening, that is where I go!).

This weekend I'm going to dial down the long run just a tad, so I'm going to try to increase my daily mileage a little.  I'm aiming for a longer run of 13-15 miles Saturday, so I may try for some 8-10 milers this week.  If I need to improve an area of my training, I think my weekly runs could use a few more miles.  On Mondays and Wednesdays I usually get in a light double because those evenings I run with my UAH students.  I take walk breaks with them, but it is still time on my feet and energy spent running so I'm counting it in with my training (although I'm not shortening my morning runs with those runs in mind). 

I also plan to do a little reading online - see what else is out there on this whole 50 mile training thing.  I discuss it with Jason, and while he doesn't care for that kind of race himself, he knows a good bit about training, he knows me, and he knows my goal.

Speaking of goal, that is another big question mark.  I'd like to finish around 8:45 (10:30 pace average), but that may be too ambitious for where I am and where I can be by November.  It looks ambitious based on the results of last year's 50 mile finishes, but I have no idea who these other runners are, how they trained, or what they wanted from their 50 mile race, so around 10 hours may be a better goal for me.

So onward I run!  Maybe a little blindly or maybe I'm right on track.  If you have any thoughts, please share!  One thing I really enjoy along with all this running is talking about it!  I like hearing other runner's thoughts on the subject, what they are doing, their training theories and experiences, etc.  For a complete look at how I'm training, visit my Daily Mile profile.