The Unexpected Vertical Week

Here I go with another run post. This is all I’ve been thinking about lately 🤷🏽‍♀️

With the plan I had cooked up in my head for GDR, last week was supposed to be a low mileage, recovery week. Technically the mileage was lower than the previous, but boy did I hit it hard on the climbing! And yeah, that was a blast! Running in snow has been a constant lately, and I am using muscles that have been dormant 😂

I ran at Brandywine creek during the week, and did a solid treadmill workout that felt strong. The highlight really was Saturday’s adventure at Tammany. I went into it with no plan or expectations. I’ve had a hamstring / glute issue on one side that tends to get aggravated sometimes. Decided to take it one loop at a time. Felt really strong on loop one, which I expected. During that loop I decided to use the day to experiment with race day nutrition. I had enough gels, water, electrolytes and food with me in the car. Between each loop, I made sure to hydrate a ton, eat, take salt tabs, pee, change buff or jacket if need be. Basically setting myself up to tackle the next one without any “I wish I had” thoughts. Loop 2 felt good. Loop 3, 4, and 5 felt good too! Helene convinced me to do another loop and I did. Basically finished strong, with enough left in the tank to go on if I had to. 20 miles with more than 7K + feet of climbing for the run, and a whopping 14K for the recovery week 😂

So basically food allowed me to be in the moment. Nourished my brain, and kept me happy! Now I just need make sure I apply this on race day 🤪

Happy trails !

Some pictures from this weeks run adventures.

At Tammany lookout with Helen
Testing out the Brandywine trail near Harmony Hills
Slush fest on my week day run