29: The Best Plans of Mice and Men…

Training in May has not gone according to plan.  I drove back from southern Utah on May 1st.  It was my 19th day on the road.  While gone, I managed to trail run 46 miles, backpack 40 and spent one afternoon slickrock mountain biking, but I also drove/rode 3,000 miles.  The numbers are not outstanding, I expect that many people ambulate through more miles while traveling, but I could feel them wearing on me as the trip progressed.

There was simply no way to find the rhythm of workouts and rest that I maintain at home.  We were in motion.  I ran when the opportunity presented itself.  I rested when the lights went off at night. 

Last year, May was a big month: 165 miles including my first ever 50+ mile week.  I was planning to run about 175 miles and to add at least one more 50+ mile week this year.  Early in the month, I cut back on my miles to regain my rhythm.  It slowly helped.  Part of the problem was that I continued to bike, swim, and weightlift even as I was trying to push out more running miles.  Thus far that has not been a successful strategy and for now, at least, I have cut back on these other pursuits to try and get my running miles where I want them. 

Just as I was starting to feel like the miles were coming smoothly again and I was ready for The Baldy Blitz, my first race of the season, I came down with a nasty stomach bug last Wednesday, 5/15/2024.  After four down days I was back up feeling my way forward, but I missed the Blitz.  It’s a fun blast up to the top of Mt Baldy and back down, and the weather was perfect for it.  I was aiming for a personal record this year.  Now, I’ll have to wait for the Old Gabe 30K, in mid-June, to see how my conditioning compares to last season.  Bummer.

Through a mix of running and backpacking, I managed my first 40-mile week in late April, and this week, ending in 5/25/2024, I completed 51.5 running miles, my first 50+ miler for the year.  As I build up my distances, I am relearning zone training lessons from last year; most of my miles have to be slow.  To consistently run 8-12 miles/day, 5 or 6 days a week I have to slog through most of it, with a few short bursts of speed to stimulate high aerobic and anerobic conditioning.

I limped past the 500-mile mark on a slog in early May, and I am on the verge of 600 miles underfoot as I type.  I crested 100,000 feet of uphill vertical today. Yahoo!  The vertical has been coming more slowly as of late as frequent snow storms have limited how often I can get out on trails.  The roads I run, while hilly, do not match the vertical offered on mountain trails.

I am headed to Yellowstone tomorrow morning for an overnight backpacking trip with a Meetup group.  The forecast promises a cold snowy start to the trip, and then just cold.  Have to throw a down jacket, warm hat and gloves into my pack.  It’s still early for backpacking around here. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to the trip, and to getting to know some other local backpackers. 

Including backpacking miles, I’ll be pushing as close to 650 miles as I can get before the month is out.  I’ll let you know how it goes.