This months lifestye experiment is a physical challenge.
I'm going to run 5 miles in June!
I ran a little over 5 miles yesterday so I'm done. See ya lata!
.......(silence).......
I'm going to run 5 vertical miles in June!
I love to climb! It's hard, It burns, It is an incredible workout.
On my 5 mile trail run I climbed 1720 feet. Roughly 1/3 of a mile. Since I run solo most of the time literally every one of my runs is either an out and back course or a loop. I'm starting and ending at the same elevation every time. Which means my uphill = my downhill. Yesterdays run was 3440 feet of vertical change.
I am training for 2 marathons this year. I'll be running the Mid Mountain Marathon (trail race) again this year and helping my father in law celebrate his 30th running of the St. George Marathon (road race).
It's been a few years since I have run more than 7-8 miles on pavement so I need to get used to the more solid and less forgiving surface. Except for a handful of miles legendarily brutal Veyo Climb the St. George course is all downhill. Murder on the legs!
I came really close to tapping out of the Mid Mountain race last year. After 16 miles there is a climb for 5 miles. From bottom to top their is 500 feet of elevation gain but with the sawtooth up and down of the trail the actual climb is 1600 feet. I enjoyed myself through the pain and it was honestly one of the most spiritual experiences of my life.
I want to enjoy my races to the fullest this year. I want to minimize the pain and recovery time. I want to be kinder to my body. So I'm going to run hills.
2.5 miles up + 2.5 miles down
I'm basing this off the average vertical change of my trail and road runs this spring. I had originally planned on 4 vertical miles but that didn't seem to be pushing myself like I wanted to.
I stick mostly to the roads for my weekday shorter runs and our town is pretty flat so I am relying more on my longer weekend trail runs to meed this challenge.
My training schedule has me running 109 miles so doing the math I need an average of 242 feet of vertical change per mile.
In order to strengthen my core and make my runs easier I am going to be doing body weight exercises on my non run days and swimming when I can fit it in.
We all have different mountains to climb in life. Many are physical like the one I'm challenging myself to this month. But let's not forget the inner struggles we all face each day. The obstacles that stand between us and our dreams are their to make us stronger. They are their to help us to appreciate more what it is we are fighting for.
Enjoy the CLIMB.
Don't forget, I'm continuing my April challenge to be a Ruthless Life Editor.
