This post is a round up of my training for the Quad Rock 50 Miler (held in CO in May), my preparation for the Austin Marathon (in two weeks!), and life A.W. (after Whole30).   Let’s dig in…

I announced in a recent post that I am signed up for the Quad Rock 50 Miler.  This race is, as the name suggests, a 50 mile race.  Not only that, but the course has 11,500 feet of gain and includes some very technical terrain.  So, I’m going to really train for this one rather than trying to wing it a la Dirty 30.  The wonderful folks at Gnar Runners graciously provide us all with a suggested training plan for the 50 mile and 25 mile races .  I worked with the 50 miler plan as my starting point, tweaking for days/weeks when I know I am traveling or have other races, and otherwise adjusting as I think appropriate for me.  (Also, they provided 18-week training plans that I didn’t start until week 15, so I just disregarded the first three weeks).  I picked up the plan LAST week, but that happened to be a scheduled rest week.  See suggested vs. actual workouts listed below.

I really like having designated rest weeks, so I don’t need to feel guilty about taking some time off or traveling or whatever else prevents me from massive amounts of running each week.  This plan includes several  rest weeks sprinkled throughout — woo hoo!

Anyway, this past week was not a rest week.  It was a work week!  Here is what was suggested and what I actually did:

I was thinking about going for a run/hike after cross-country skiing today to get a really strong back-to-back day, but I was cold and sweaty and it was 20 degrees outside, so I headed straight home instead.  Either way, I feel like this was a good work week for me to kick off my training.

In other news, I’m running the Austin Marathon in two weeks.  This will be state 21 and marathon 26.  I haven’t been running roads, haven’t done any research on this race, and haven’t been doing any marathon-specific training.  So, should be good!  😉  Luckily, I have done some relatively epic adventures in the mountains that I think will adequately prepare me for 26.2 miles on the roads, and I’ve been hitting up Orangetheory the past few weeks to get back to working on speed.   My husband and I are really excited to FINALLY check out Austin, and, as always, I will report back about the city and the race after the event!

Final update for today relates to Whole30.  As my regular readers know, I embarked on vegetarian Whole30 on January 1 and completed the program on January 31.   My results, which I was very happy with, are discussed in that latter post.   As January ended, I had a good bit of anxiety about ending Whole30.  I’d lost some weight and was feeling good — how would I return to “normal” life without giving up that progress?  Would I immediately enter into a death spiral of sugar treats?  Although I do plan to return to Renaissance Periodization soon, as discussed in my recent post, I decided to start by just keeping with Whole30 until something non-compliant crossed my path and felt “worth it.”  So on February 1, I had my first two bites of added sugar in 31 days.  What was it?!!  Ah the suspense!  Well, I can’t actually tell you what it was.  It was a new product my company is working on, and I CAN tell you that it was sweet and delicious but I only had a few tiny bites so that I had a better understanding of the product.   I felt a little panicky afterward, like I had “broken the seal” and stepped into the unknown.  To make matters worse, my boss had given me a few Reese’s Cups to celebrate the end of my diet; they were hidden in my desk drawer but softly calling my name.  But the anxiety was probably good for me — I decided that I would not let those two bites dictate the rest of my day.  I left the Reese’s Cups where they were and ate Whole30-compliant the rest of the day.   After work, I cooked up some spaghetti squash and green beans for future meals, and I had my Greek yogurt, berries, and almond butter for dinner.  The pint of Ben and Jerry’s that has been in my freezer for over a month stayed put.

Since then, I’ve had a few other non-compliant foods.  For example, I had some air-popped popcorn on Friday night.  I had the following before and/or during backcountry skiing: an Evol burrito that contained flour in the tortilla and cheese; an Uncrustable  (my fave convenience food!) that contained flour, sugar, and peanut butter; some Babybel cheese that contains dairy; a few nuts that had a maple glaze.  And after backcountry skiing: a Diet Coke with artificial sweetener (meh), naan bread with flour and butter, dahl makhani with lentils and cream and butter, paneer masala with dairy, and a little rice.  (It is worth noting, however, that I really reined it in with this Indian feast.  Although we spent $90+ for two people because I wanted to order ALL THE THINGS, I had a super tiny serving of each dish and didn’t feel gross/stuffed at all after finishing.  We took home a lot of leftovers, which I plan to mix with tofu.).  Then, before bed after backcountry skiing: casein protein and a little peanut butter, just like the old RP days.  And while cross-country skiing today: another Uncrustable for fuel.  I feel good about this list — not guilty about anything and still feeling like I’m under control.  It’s pretty consistent with the guidelines I wrote out at the end of my Whole30, in fact.

What big race plans do you have for 2018?  A new ultra distance?  Your first marathon?  A BQ attempt?  Anyone headed to Austin?!?  If you’ve tried Whole30, were you nervous about ending, or did you revel in it, like my husband did?