Forget 2020, let’s start training

Are you ready to start training again? I know I am.

After a year without races, I am crossing my fingers that the three races that I signed up for in 2021 will go ahead as planned.

I have two races left over from 2020 – Lost Soul Ultra 100K in September and Powderface Trail Marathon in July. As well I have the Blackfoot Ultra 100K at the end of May.

Needless to say – I have a lot of kilometres to cover to be ready for my races.

In December, I began tracking my mileage and running more consistently. I even created an Excel spreadsheet with my training plan to keep me honest. My plan calls for five days of running and two non-running days. I have been consistent and I haven’t missed a planned training day yet.

However …. I had been feeling really drained and lethargic on my runs, and even on my short walks to the grocery store. Turns out I let my iron levels get too low. A trip to the blood donor clinic quickly confirmed this. It explained so much. I haven’t been low on iron for many years but I guess stress and a pandemic will mess up anyone’s game. All good now. I am on the road to recovery.

My three weekday runs were uneventful. Lately I have been just running around the Bow River and in my neighbourhood. I want to reduce my driving as much as possible during the week especially when I know I will be clocking the kilometres on the weekend.

On Wednesday I ran on my treadmill because there was wind warning in effect for Calgary. As luck would have it, the wind died down after I suffered through an hour on the treadmill.

Weekend training

Saturday

One of my winter goals is to run more at West Bragg or along Hwy 66. Someone mentioned a 20k loop starting from Allen Bill in answer to a question on a Facebook group. It looked like an easy enough route to follow so I ran the loop on Saturday.

I stopped and started at every intersection to ensure I was going the right way. I missed one of the first trails and finished around 17K so I did a little backtracking to make up the distance. It wasn’t a big deal but I saw my mistake when I checked the map. The trails were in pretty good shape for the most part. Some sections were completely gutted by horses so that was fun. Provided the weather is good next Saturday, I will run this loop again and add a few more kilometres.

Sunday

I headed out to Station Flats to explore a little. My goal was to run at least 15K. I got my period that morning so I knew it would be rough. I wanted to give up a few times because I was cramping badly but I kept moving. About an hour into it I felt much better.

I started on the Sulphur Springs trail. I had never run on this one (outside of a race, I think) so I was curious to see where the trail went. There wasn’t much signage compared to the previous day so I was just running on instinct. After crossing Moose Mountain Road, I wasn’t sure where the trail ended up so I ran up the road a bit before I turned back.

I didn’t mind this trail especially when I turned around – all the downhill.

I feel good about my training so far. I have been averaging roughly 68 kilometres/week. Next week I will up my longish runs on the weekends.

Are you training for any races? What is number one race? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.