As I write this post, I am a mere five working days from taper, with only two key workouts left. It’s true. I can’t believe I’m this close to the taper (and race day) – but then again, it’s been such a long, hot road that I believe every bit of it. And then some. The idea that I’m going to get up on Saturday morning and have nothing more more » Read more
Clove’s Badwater Training Log – 6.26.2015
It is strange, a bit, to post training logs in arrears. Since I am feeling the present (rainy, again) day, I will start by speaking of today. I am exhausted. Just completely worn out. Still not overtraining, which is almost disappointing, because then I’d get to back off before the taper. But I’ve come this far, and with only 12 working days before the taper starts, I can finally see more » Read more
Clove’s Badwater Training Log – 6.19.2015
There were six weeks to go at the start of this one; my heaviest four-week build followed by a severe taper. Coming off of my rest week did nothing good for me, but I wasn’t surprised. Much like DOMS, I often find that it’s your workout from two days prior that affects your performance on a long run; in a similar fashion, I usually struggle the week immediately after a more » Read more
Clove’s Training Log – 6.12.2015
Badwater. Where even the rest weeks are brutal. Admittedly, I spent less total time training; at the same time, when you realize you spent three hours training on a single day of a “rest” week, you get a little overwhelmed. The temperatures finally got into the high 80’s as well, adding a special challenge. Read on to learn how Clove’s been “resting” lately. Saturday, June 6: The North Face Whistler more » Read more
Clove’s Badwater Training Log: 6.5.2015
Back to the nitty-gritty of the training posts, so Salty figured we should put this on the front page and catch everyone up on my shenanigans. And yes when I say nitty-gritty, I mean it: things are most definitely getting gritty. This was week three of a heavy push, but I knew I just had to make it through this third week to get to my step-back week. Continuing to more » Read more
Clove’s Badwater Training Log: The Catch Up Post!
I’m here! I’m here! I’ve already referenced a few times in my training posts what a time-consuming undertaking this is, and while it’s so exciting, it’s also exhausting. Keeping work-life-training (and laundry!) balance in check, in addition to work travel, really caught up to me in May. I’m going to keep the catch up post brief so you know that I got the work done, and return to giving more more » Read more
Clove’s Badwater Training Log: 4.11.2015 – 4.17.2015
This entry shall otherwise be titled “My Twisted Spine.” My twisted spine put a dent in things this week. Some people would say, “Star. It was the very low mileage first week of a 15-week training plan, coming off of the training that got you to a PR 100-miler.” Those people would be correct, but I would remind them that I am a super Type-A perfectionist, and that even though more » Read more
Clove’s Recovery/Badwater Prep Training Log: 4.4.2015 – 4.10.2015
This week was still a no-running/recovery week from Umstead, but it involved more active recovery and less sheer gluttony and laziness. The biggest news is that I began my sauna sessions; I’ll be going on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and working my way up to a full hour between 180 and 200 degrees. I also started my uphill walking workouts in preparation for Badwater’s longest and steepest hills, combining a relatively more » Read more
Clove’s Training and Fertility Treatment Log: Weeks 3 & 4, Cycle Four
We’re a little under two weeks from a big sea change here; I’ll either be miraculously pregnant, or I’ll be training for Burning River. The biggest change this week has been the shift in my mindset; I feel as if I’ve turned the corner from hoping and praying and moved on to envisioning a day at Burning River. In many ways, I feel as if I’m just waiting out these more » Read more
Clove’s Training and Fertility Treatment Log: Week 2, Cycle Three
This week was still a mixed bag in Clove-land. I had some really fantastic experiences that I’m fired up about, but I also had some difficult stuff going on that really caused some emotional turmoil. The treatment cycle has kind of gotten buried beneath all of that, but perhaps that’s a mixed blessing too.I was due to pace the 5:00 group at the Eugene Marathon, and it ended up fitting into more » Read more
Clove’s Training and Fertility Treatment Log: Week 1, Cycle Three
I can’t bring myself to any build-up or false expressions of hope right now. Cycle Two was unsuccessful and we are not pregnant. In light of the events I witnessed in Boston this week, this is the least of my concerns. I would love to tell our readers, and perhaps even myself, that I am still disappointed, but in the more than three years we have been trying to conceive, I more » Read more
Clove’s Training and Fertility Treatment Log: Week 4, Cycle Two
This particular week started icky, got way better, and then went back down the tubes with a wicked bout of PMS on Friday. And when I say wicked, I mean wicked. It was the kind of PMS where you know you’re being a (rhymes with witch), but no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to stop yourself. And the carbs – oh, the carbs. When I wasn’t thinking more » Read more
Clove’s Training and Fertility Treatment Log: Week 3, Cycle Two
I realize that my week 3 log and report is coming directly on the heels of week two, but there was a lot going on in week two – and immediately thereafter, when I should have been doing my report. So this week was a bit less eventful – eventually. It got off to a rough, then rougher start before fading into a more even keel by week’s end. Running more » Read more
Clove’s Training and Fertility Treatment Log: Week 2, Cycle Two
Sheer and utter frustration. That would sum up this one. Saturday, March 23: 19 easy road miles. I actually meant to run with my neighborhood group, but was having misgivings since the follicles were growing so slowly. Kind of felt like I should just be lying on the couch growing follicles. But then my friend Scott said he was only doing part of the hard run, so that sounded like more » Read more
Clove’s Training and Fertility Treatment Log: Week 1, Cycle Two
This week was a mixed bag. Amazing running in the Death Valley desert, but disappointment at last week’s events and the way cycle two is going. Just like we promised ourselves that we would treat the first month as a “practice round” so we didn’t get too disappointed, we are now reminding ourselves of how incredibly unlikely it is that we’ll get pregnant two months in a row. This is more » Read more