Keepin It Real, One Mile at a Time: 8. Not your normal training week.

Week 8

Monday: 4 miles, TM

Tuesday: 6.5 miles, hills

Wednesday: 3 miles, TM

Thursday: strength/circuits

Ragnar!

Friday: 6.6 miles.

Saturday: 2.2, 2, 4, 7 miles

Sunday: rest

Total miles: 35ish?

This was not a normal week for, because it was finally Ragnar weekend! As you can see, I didn't actually have one long run on Saturday but ran 4 times for a total of 22 miles in less than 24 hours.

Pretty cool.

Pretty crazy.

My first run was pretty fast for me, and the first mile being downhill definitely helped but I had a couple of rough middle miles that slowed my pace slightly but I was overall pretty happy with the run.

My second leg was supposed to be just 2.2 miles in the pitch black dark but we were all a little nervous about running alone in an unfamiliar place in the dark of night, so A and I doubled up our short legs (2.2 and 2) and ran together, which was so nice. The second two miles were basically all up hill but it helped that we couldn't quite see the magnitude of the incline in the dark. I also spotted what I thought was a deer statue in someone's yard. It was an actual deer, guys.

After the night run, my last scheduled run was to happen early morning on Saturday but during C's last run, it was pretty dark and spooky so we ran 4 of her 9 miles together and I felt pretty solid! My legs were still working well at this point.

Cue foreshadowing <here>

After our second legs, it was time for team 1 to tackle their last runs. We figured we had a small chunk of time in which to rest and regroup at the next exchange but, did I mention that team 1 was super ridiculously fast? Yup.

So. Not even two hours went by before we had to pry our eyelids open from our gym floor slumber, and get ready to run once again. At this point, my legs had had enough time to realize what I'd done to them the previous day, and so I woke up feeling quite tired and heavy. We barely had time to scarf down whatever we could find in the car and then we were off once again.

We cheered N and J through their last tough legs and then it was my turn for 7 more miles. The minute I took my first step I knew it would be a rough run. I had planned to listen to a podcast on my phone but I had some technical difficulties which resulted in my running the first couple of miles to the sound of my labored breathing. I finally was able to meet up with the team, and yelled at to John to grab my little shuffle from the car.

I would like to briefly mention that this year J and I barely argued, and had one tense moment when maybe I hadn't listened to him and failed to load a tracking app that ended up being pretty useful. But we worked through it, and I no one spewed venom. It was almost like we're grown ups or something. #adulting

Anyways.

After the music/shuffle debaucle and a re-set from my teammates..... it was still a struggle. My legs were stumps attached to bricks. My mile splits swung wildly, from 9:20-10:30. I was passed by a few obviously speedy ladies (seriously where did they even come from) but at this point I did not care. I even cheered them on; especially the friendly and badass ultra runner who left me in the dust.

Despite the struggle, I perked up at the One Mile To Go sign; and was able to pick it up enough to sprint downhill to the end. That mile was my best, obvs.

At the finish of my leg, I was greeted by my awesome teammates, with water and hugs. JL, who had finished her leg before mine, gave me a huge hug while polishing off her well deserved hot dog and chips. I will now have Ragnar nostalgia when I smell a hot dog burp.

It's now Thursday post Ragnar, and I'm still feeling the affects of basically not sleeping for 24 hours. It's been an eternally long week, and my runs have suffered, and I've even skipped my hill workout. My total mileage for this week so far is 8 (WOMP) but I'm trying not to fret. I've got 14 scheduled tomorrow with Mac, so I'll focus on getting as much rest and good fuel that I can.

I know this mini recap doesn't do Ragnar any justice, but trust me, if you ever have an opportunity to do this, say yes. Do it.

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Watching Not Watching the safety video