Training Log Archive: syd

Out and back on the trail. I have somehow adapted to 11 hr days at work, although there’s not much time (or motivation) for anything other than a short run in the evening.

Neither of us really felt like exercising, but we needed steps and running sounded marginally better than walking. Meandered around Boyce Mayview Park. We’d only been there once before so it was nice to do some exploring. Very steep hills. I did have fun once we got out the door.

C • steps 3

To the end of the trail and back. Very humid. My timing was great - it started pouring just as I was walking in the door. Body is recovering nicely from the ultra. Need a bit longer mentally - maybe next weekend I’ll go for a trail run. No need to rush though, I might as well take the time to recover while there’s nothing on the schedule.

Drove over to the Pan Handle trail to ride our road bikes. It was very gray the whole time, but it never rained. There was a decent headwind on the way out. I thought we were moving slowly because my legs were tired, but once we turned around we were flying. Fun ride. Nice to see that I haven’t lost that much bike fitness over the last couple of years.

Easy spin after it stopped raining.

Pleasant evening for a run.

Spin on the Montour. It started raining a few minutes after we got going, but it didn’t last long. Cleared the trail out pretty nicely. Legs felt good!

Trot on the trail. Not a lot of energy, but I blame the long day at work.

Easy trot. Felt pretty good. I did walk back down the hill - quads aren't quite ready for downhill running.

Easy spin on the trail. Drove over to the Boston trailhead to mix it up. It was raining when we started, but it didn't last long and turned into a nice morning.

Biked with Kevin as he ran and went for a longer walk. Legs are starting to feel better, but still quite sore.

Better tracks.

Successful traverse of the Laurel Highlands Trail!

I signed up to run the Laurel Highlands Ultra at the end of last year. It’s a 70.5 mile point-to-point race that traverses the length of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. The trail is located within 1.5h of our house and it seemed like a great local option for my first attempt at an ultramarathon. The timing worked well too because my motive behind running an ultra was to be in awesome shape for the world rogaine championships in August. Then COVID happened and everything was cancelled… I had already put in a lot of training time so decided to use the fitness and just run the Laurel Highlands Trail solo.

START to CP1 (11.6 mi): Kevin (the most awesome crew person!) dropped me off at Ohiopyle State Park on Sunday morning, and at 5:30 a.m. I headed out. It was a cloudy morning so I used a handheld flashlight for the first few miles to avoid tripping on rocks. The first 8 miles have the most elevation gain of the entire race so I started out easy and hiked most of the hills. They didn’t seem as bad as I remembered from our training run earlier this year. I made good time and got to the first CP right on schedule.

CP1 to CP2 (19.3 mi) and CP2 to CP3 (28 mi): These sections went by quickly. The first felt mostly downhill with just one steep climb at the end and the next was pretty flat. Navigating through Seven Springs was a little confusing, but there were lots of signs and I made it through. I was super hungry when I got to CP3 so I ate a bunch of food and changed my socks.

CP3 to CP4 (32.3 mi): Apparently, I ate too much food, too quickly because my stomach was not super happy as I set out again. It never really recovered for the rest of the day, which is odd because I do not usually have stomach issues. I was able to continue eating, but I don’t think I was eating enough. I was still moving really well though and even a little ahead of schedule. Saw a number of people backpacking, hiking, and trail running.

CP4 to CP5 (39.1 mi): There were some longer climbs in this section and it was quite rocky so my pace slowed a little. I was pretty excited to pass the half way mark! I also crossed the turnpike on a cool footbridge. I was about 10 minutes ahead of schedule when I arrived at CP5 and still feeling good. Changed my shoes and ate some watermelon.

CP5 to CP6 (46.4 mi): This was another section that felt mostly downhill. Once I hit 44 miles I knew I could finish. Only a marathon to go! For some reason that seemed like a very achievable distance. I started running a little more and made good time through this section. At the aid station I picked up my head lamp – I could have just barely made it without, but I didn’t want to have to worry about light.

CP6 to CP7 (57.1 mi): My quads really started to hurt once I hit the 50 mile mark. I was still running though, and in really good spirits. In hindsight, I should have saved a little more energy. I made it to CP7 just as it was getting dark. I was 15 minutes ahead of schedule and optimistic that I would be done in under 19 hours.

CP7 to FINISH (70.5 mi): I held up so well through the first 60 miles, but then I hit a wall. My body decided that it was done running. I couldn’t manage more than a shuffle and that wasn’t really any faster than walking. I’ve never before reached a point where I couldn’t just block out the pain in my legs. I think it was as much mental as it was physical. Kevin had planned to meet me again at 62 miles, but the dirt road was blocked by a locked gate so instead the last section ended up being the longest. It was also full dark soon after I left CP7. It actually didn’t bother me at all to be hiking solo through the wilderness at night – I thought it might without a map to distract my mind. It was a little chilly though and rained lightly for a while. I just wasn’t having fun anymore. I wonder if it would have been different in a race, knowing that others are out there and adding the excitement of an official finish. I also think I didn’t eat enough through the day and it finally caught up with me. I continued to move onward. I could still walk quickly, but without mixing in running it felt like I was moving so slow. Met up with Kevin at mile 65 and that helped quite a bit. It was frustrating to not be able to run the final downhill miles to the finish, but I didn’t run an ultra because it would be easy. Finished in 19h 38m, which was a little slower than I was hoping, but as the primary goal was to finish it was definitely a success :)

A few more random thoughts. The trail is pretty rocky. It alternates between enough rocks that you need to slow down and sections of smooth, beautiful trail. I figured my feet would bother me, but they held up super well! They only really started to hurt after 17ish hours. It seems that over time my body is adapting to spending stupidly long amounts of time on my feet so that’s pretty cool (the first 8 hr rogaine we did my feet were killing me by the end!). Each mile is marked by a small cement post. You wouldn’t believe the number of stumps along this trail that looks like mile markers… Last, but definitely not least, Kevin was an amazing crew. I’m so lucky to have a husband that encourages all of my crazy adventures!

I learned a lot about ultrarunning, both training and ‘racing’. My legs are still sore and I am already pretty sure I will run another one. Someday my ultrarunning fitness and a 24h rogaine will coincide, and it will be awesome.

C • Congrats! 8

Easy shake out.

Feeling good. Legs were sluggish to start, but came around. Probably from the recent lack of running or excess of biking.

Easy trot.

Went early to avoid the heat. This is a really nice ride - I just wish it wasn’t entirely downhill on the way out. Hit 2000 miles on my mountain bike!

Getting steps and testing out the L hamstring. I pulled (?) something at Hillman, but it feels fine after taking it easy for a week.

First time in at least a year that I’ve ridden my road bike outside. We went to a stretch of paved trail a short drive away and it was really nice. Fun ride.

Out and back on the Montour. Nice ride. Quite humid.

Hot and humid.