Training Log Archive: ultra_amy

Hiked with Brian up Sugarloaf and back. Legs feel relatively ok (i.e. no soreness or stiffness!). The only issue is the hamstring, which is tender to the touch but doesn't really bother me walking.

Event: Mountain Masochist Trail Run
 

Mountain Masochist 50 miler...oh boy. The course is measured in 'Horton miles', so I don't know the exact distance but it's likely several miles over 50. It's point to point with the finish line being 2000 feet higher than the start line, but there is about 10,000 total climb in the race. Luckily, I've been working my climbing for the past month.

My pesky hamstring started barking at mile 2, and the pain was so intense that I thought I would have to drop (and that I would puke on the course). It felt like I had torn my hamstring. If I wasn't in the lead at that point, I would have walked back to the start - but I didn't want to seem like the idiot that shoots out of the gate and then drops insanely early in a race...so I just kept moving forward figuring that I wouldn't last the entire race.

Turns out that I can withstand a ton of pain, cause while it hurt I knew I wasn't doing any damage, so I just tried to ignore it and keep moving forward. Other than the hamstring, the rest of the race felt relatively easy - the miles ticked off effortlessly, I felt so strong on the uphills, and I enjoyed the full distance. I kept the lead for almost the entire day (one chick passed me at mile 22, flying like I was standing still...I passed her back on the huge climb from mile 25-29). It was one of those 'wind at your back' days where things don't seem to go wrong...it's been a while since I've had one of these, so I'm glad to have stuck with it and enjoyed an incredible day.

C • Masochist race 2

Travel day - Brian and I drove down to Virginia...so except for a bit of walking to shake out the legs along the way, it was a 'do nothing' day. Hope the hamstring is better by tomorrow...but we'll see.

Took today off - woke up and the hammie wasn't feeling 100%...best to take the morning off and roll when I get home today.

Easy run w/ Sara at Ridge Road trails and thru Eaglebrook. We saw the first flurries of the season while we were running, so I was pleased! :) Great relaxing run.

Easy trail run thru Earl's Trails w/ Ashley and Brad. Felt good and relaxed, but my hamstring started to act up in the last little portion of the run. I religiously rolled it out for the rest of the night, and it feels better, but we'll see if sleep also helps.

Ran Holyoke loop with Abby - we ran first 2 miles easy, then did 2 min on/2 min off for the next 3 miles at about tempo pace. Did cool down in the last 3 miles of the run, altho we both felt we were moving better after the intervals opened up our strides.

Did circuits/lifting at the gym. I tried to take it easy, but could immediately feel a few of the exercises I did with Steph. Hopefully this doesn't affect me in a few days - this was incredibly stupid!!!

Spun on the bike quickly, enough to warm up and stretch. Realized while I had several easy days, I hadn't had a day off in a while...so that might be smart to do!