Almost an Ultra

 Almost An Ultra 

So, as we pick this back up , we start Saturday Morning. I woke up to it raining. Just NOT what I had wanted. At all. Today was 20 miles. with 16 of those at race pace. So, I loafed. and I loafed. and I finally ate. And I didn't want to do this. I kept looking at the radar which said nothing but rain. I posted in our team page. My coach said Get out there. SIUBC. But I had a sinus infection. Dang. Looked like my fate was sealed. I was sentenced to life on the treadmill. So, I turned on the race, made my bag to set next to my spot, and then geared up and started. The first 8-10 miles were good. Then about mile 14 I started to get winded. By 15, I was battling dizziness and Nauseous. One of my friends said call a spade a spade and stop. I couldn't do that. I wanted this reward so bad. So, I almost puked, i got some more human food (chicken), snarfed that down, and went back to it. Finally, right before the 5 hour mark, it happened. 20.00 miles appeared. I have NEVER been more thrilled. I made it 20 miles on a treadmill. Just a couple months ago, I despised it. Now I had pulled the ultimate mental and endurance test off. 20 on it. Unbelievable. I spent the rest of the day recovering by eating, and sleeping because I knew what layed in wait for me on  Sunday. 

Sunday, 10 miles. I had talked to coach a bit earlier in the morning, and she was like treat this as a z2 recovery run. Nascar had delayed their race till that morning. So the first 25 laps I spent getting ready. Then at the break , I headed out with my headphones on . I was listening to the race and also playing some pokemon go on my phone. The combination of these 2 things made for a glorious run. I was tight going out but about 4 or so miles in , I got loose. Towards the end of 10 my phone had died and I had been wandering around making the last few min up. The local high school right next to my house has a track. I had always said I would never do track work. Until now. I wandered down, found a open spot in the gate, and went in. From there, I ran 1 lap , a quarter mile of track work, then headed out and back up the hill to home. Once I got home, I was done. 10 miles. I was in such good spirits, I even managed a smile at the end of it. 

I had done it. The 2 days that scared me the most had been conquered. But it wasn't over yet. As I was asking coach for my granted EARLY TAPER, she , in her unique way, made me quote some movie lines. It was about the funniest thing ever. I was laughing trying to compose the email. LOL! 

So , all in all , what a weekend. As I sit here on Monday, I can feel it. I am sore . I am tired. But I have never felt more accomplished in my life. I came 1 mile short of a 50K over the weekend. For those outside the running world. Anything beyond 26.2 miles is then referred to as a Ultra run. So, really, I came one mile away from finishing my first ultra this weekend. Pretty bad-ass!

So, this week, I head into taper. Volume comes down slowly to freshen up the legs. But make no bones about it, I am still being pushed , just not as hard now. Its all getting ready for the big races in 2 weeks from Sunday. 20 days as of today. 

So, in the end , it was a chore this weekend, but boy I survived. 

LIMITLESS! 

John