Clustered Training and Gorgeous Weather

Welcome to October!

This week was the last week of September, and my second week of training for my triple thread of  upcoming runs.

My training mash up of clustered runs and long runs is working out okay.  I'm more sore than usual, but I am choosing to believe that means it's working.  If it were easy, I'd be wondering why I haven't stepped it up before.

Last week I tried a few new or unusual (for me) things.  I ran four days in a row. My normal routine always includes a day off between runs, just because I'm slow at recovery and have a tendency toward chronic issues if I overdo it.  I'm the Queen of Overdoing, so my moderation policy has been one I've deliberately ingrained.  It's fun throwing that out the window and embracing my Overdone nature once again!

In addition to clustering my runs, I also got up before the sunrise and ran with a few of the ladies who will be on my Ragnar Napa Team.  My policy of "No Run Before the Sun" has got to go for this race.  It looks like I'll be running 5-6 miles smack dab in the middle of the night, so I'm working on mentally loosening my grip on sleep and finding the fun in running in the dark (please, Lord, if you are reading this, PLEASE don't have it be pouring rain that night).

I ordered some Strawberry Skratch electrolytes to keep my hydration in order.  One of the side effects of the chemo meds I take is that I have heat waves.  They're like hot flashes, but it's more like a wave of water, so I am finding that my electrolyte balance goes wacky faster than it used to.  The Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Drink is a mix that is easy on my stomach, doesn't have artificial colors or emulsifiers, and it tastes good.  My absolute favorite is their pineapple flavor in the original formulation, but I'm stepping outside of my box and going with strawberry right now (it's part of their new Sport line and has more electrolyte action).

My Strava data shows that my Brooks Ghost shoes have over 400 miles on them.  I need to hop onto Running Warehouse and get those swapped out with a new pair.  I don't dare change my shoe model now, so I'm hoping Brooks hasn't done any massive re-boots on their Ghost line.

I've got next week all set with 3 cluster runs that mirror my Ragnar legs, plus a long run next weekend.  I'll include a blog next week about the ongoing recovery methods I use to keep this body moving forward!

Stats to watch:
21.65 miles for the week
334.6 miles in 2018 so far
12 days To Granite Head
32 days to Napa Ragnar
61 days to CIM (California International Marathon 1/2 relay)

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