Some of you have been asking about my upcoming race- I’ve been training for the Forgotten Florida 50 mile race, and I can say that I feel completely ready to run it on February 3rd! Unfortunately, that’s not when the race is. That was the original date of the race, but a couple months ago we were informed that it was changed to February 17th.
At that time, my long runs were going great. I felt invincible! I didn’t tweak my schedule at all to accommodate the change- I just figured it would give me time for one more long run.
Well… I no longer feel invincible. After my long run on Sunday, something was telling me that I’m done training. That “something” could be my achy right hip and low back, or my two heels that hurt when I get out of bed every morning. Whatever it is, I don’t think I have another big, long run in me before this race.
That’s fine- I’ve done numerous runs over 20 miles, and back-to-back long runs totaling 36 miles. I don’t need another long run- but the problem is, if Sunday was my last long run then I’ll have a four week taper before the race. That’s… a long taper. I’m thinking I’ll do another semi-long run? That’s probably what will happen- but I haven’t decided yet.
In some ways, life is mirroring training (or is it the other way around???). I feel burned out and tired. January is always a hard month for me. I normally get sad when Christmas is over, but this year the festivities didn’t end with Christmas. My daughter went to Rome, we had New Year’s (when I did my back-to-back long runs, which was such a fun adventure) and then we went to Tampa.
It was nonstop fun, until we returned from Tampa and my son went back to school the next day. It felt like the official end to all the holiday and post-holiday fun, and it’s always so hard to say goodbye to him. It was like Christmas was ending all over again, and I’ve been feeling “blah” ever since.
I know- we all have hardships! I’ve been through worse Januarys. When I lived up north, I could hardly get out of bed in the winter (which is, once again, why I now live in Florida.) It just takes time. I’ll feel better soon (I always do) and I do have a race to start planning for! (Did you notice in the top picture, the town where the race starts is “Christmas, Florida? It’s the perfect race for me!)
Thanks for listening to me whine. How is your January going???
37 Responses
I’m sorry it’s been a slump after Christmas. I reckon with the training, one or two rest weeks, a 20, then taper? Best of luck keeping well and upbeat. I like January usually because it features my birthday, however this year I had to cancel my birthday because we had a problem with our burglar alarm. We’ve rescheduled the trip out but it’s not the same!
What, you had to cancel your birthday??? That’s all wrong! I’m glad you can reschedule it, but I know- a belated birthday celebration is not the same (but it’s better than nothing!)
Just checking in on blogs I’ve commented on in delayed fashion and yes, we had almost no sleep and had to spend the day getting a man to take the batteries out of the burglar alarm! All sorted now and had a nice takeaway that night and then our museum trip 2 weeks after! Thank you for being so outraged on my behalf!! And hope prep is going well for this weekend.
You would probably be fine for 17 February even if you didn’t do another long run.
However, it might mess with your head during the race… that little voice that suddenly pops up when you’re in mile 41 and feel totally exhausted and it says in an accusing undertone: you should have done that last long run!
So I would probably squeeze another in (I know, it’s hard!!) just so that you will feel better on race day.
And yay! January is nearly over!
Yeah, you’re right… I could just do shorter runs from now on and still finish the race. But psychologically it would probably be better to do another long run. Sigh!
I know exactly how you feel! That is the taper tantrum…burnout, things aching etc. It is normal! You should probably do another long run, but the whole point of the taper is that it should be shorter than your last one, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Maybe just do an 18 or 20 or whatever mile run, so it is still a “long run” but it is not the longest one you have done. On the flip side, if you have a couple of shorter weeks, I don’t really think it will affect the race that much. That is crazy that they changed the race date! Do you know I actually looked into doing it but the 3rd was not the best time for me so I didn’t sign up? However, I would have had to get a flight and stuff!! How can they just change it at the last minute like that?
REALLY? You looked into doing this race? I’m so bummed it didn’t work out! ESPECIALLY since the 3rd ended up not being the actual date. It wasn’t the race director’s fault- it’s coming from the natural areas we’ll be running through- there was some problem even though he had already gotten permission- I didn’t understand the whole thing. Luckily I was still free to do it on the 17th! (of course they offered a full refund if anyone couldn’t switch the date.)
I get it! It’s the lowest point of the calendar year and you’re 3.5 weeks out from FIFTY FREAKING MILES. In many ways the next few weeks will be the “hard” part of the race. Sure you’ve had harder Januarys, but it’s OK to take a minute and say “hey, this is the January that sucks right now”.
I’m sending all of the internet hugs. This too shall pass.
Thank you!!!!! You’re right- this too shall pass.
I’m sorry January has been so blah for you! It’s definitely a tough time of year. This is my third week back at work after two weeks off and I’m still struggling to readjust. Hopefully once the sunrises start getting earlier again it’ll be easier to want to start the day!
As far as your race, you’ve already done most of the work! I know some people who had to completely stop running for a month before an ultra due to injury and they were still able to finish their race. I think it’s better to go in a little undertrained than overtrained and risk getting hurt. You could probably do one more longish run in there but if you mostly keep it to shorter runs, you should be fine!
Thanks Ashley! The consensus seems to be that it would be better to do one more long run- but I’ll keep it to 20 miles or so. I agree- a little undertrained is always better than overtrained. And yes- even living in Florida I could use a little more sunlight in the mornings!
I am glad you are listening to your body and figuring out what to do with those 4 weeks that’s best for you (I wonder if they changed the date because of the trials)? And whine away! This time of year is HARD. Sending you all the <3
No, it definitely wasn’t because of the trials, although it is a coincidence it’s on the same day! Looking on the bright side, I’ll be able to watch those now.
I’m so glad that January is almost over. I don’t get the post-Christmas blues but I do kind of loathe the month as it often features our coldest weather of the season and that has definitely been the case this year. We had that awful stretch of terribly cold weather. Now it’s in the 30s which feels SO NICE although today it is incredibly icy from some fog that froze or something?
It is too bad that the race got pushed out as the 3rd sounds like it would have been ideal in terms of your energy levels/etc!
Yes, I think January is hard for everyone. Your weather makes things so, so difficult. I have to keep reminding myself how much worse it could be!
I was hoping that the nice long visit with your son would mean you wouldn’t experience a post-Christmas slump at all… but of course it makes complete sense that the slump was just delayed. BOO, though. I’m so sorry. Low moods, even when we KNOW they are temporary, are so unpleasant. Hopefully it will be long gone by the time January ends?! This time of year is hard, in a lot of ways, so I’m glad you have this race to look forward to.
Yes, it just postponed the slump. I don’t think there’s any way for me (or anyone) to sail through January with no issues. It’s definitely good I have my race, because I have to start planning for it now- that should keep me occupied and cheer me up.
You have been training so hard that I know this race is going to go amazingly well!
January is tough, no matter how you shake it. I have had some bad news and now have to travel during January. I dislike traveling in the best of times, so this is making me feel even worse feelings towards this time of year. BUT! The only way to really love spring and all it brings is to get through the doldrums of winter, I guess.
Oh no- I don’t know what the bad news is, but I’m sorry to hear it, and sorry you have to travel. I hope it’s not too far (like, car vs. plane.) And you’re right- we wouldn’t appreciate the good times without the hard ones. Hope everything is okay.
It is normal to feel blah this time of the year. You have put in the tough training and will be totally fine with a longer taper. The extra time may even help your hip feel better. Your body is ready but you may have to tweak your mind into believing that too. If that doesn’t work-you have all of us to remind you that you are totally ready for this
Thank you Deborah!!! It definitely helps to get other people’s (people you trust) perspective. I think that whatever I do will be fine, but leaning towards rest rather than pushing too hard is definitely the way to go.
oh man – and our cloudy skies are probably not helping!! thinking of you. I’ve had “off” months before and often a turn of the calendar page really does help! I also vote for one more longish run, maybe 16-18 2 weeks out from the race?
I think that’s what I’ll do. My normal runs are pretty short, so getting in a longish run will help me. Yes, these cloudy skies aren’t helping!!!
I also kinda hate January and have just not “settled into a groove.” I hope I’m making progress to feeling back on track, but the cold/dark and generally dreary days of winter are bringing me down emotionally and physically. Still SO much good stuff happening, but a bit of existential sighing on my end for how long and tedious January has felt.
All that to say I GET THIS (I think you and I both really crash emotionally after Christmas; I don’t so much see January as a fresh start as the post-Christmas doldrums).
Hoping you stay healthy and kudos to you for all those long runs you’ve fit in.
I am legit SO EXCITED FOR YOUR RACE <3
Thank you Elisabeth! I think this blah-ness is making it hard for me to be really excited about anything- but I’ll probably snap out of it soon. At least I hope so! I definitely feel your winter pain- it’s so, so hard when January is cold and gray. My situation is easy by comparison.
I am sorry you are having a difficult time. I struggle with holidays for different reasons and understand the difficult emotions. I think you are more than ready for your 50 Mile race! I know quite a few people that have completed this distance that, let’s just say, didn’t train that well. It sounds like you have trained really well and your body is just asking you to slow down before the big event! I believe you will still be ready and this may even help you do better. I cannot wait to hear how it goes! I ran 50 miles… once… but did it as a 24 hour challenge. Every 4 hours I ran 8.3 miles. I ended up really enjoying it. I picked a different trail or area for each run. By my last run my feet were killing me and I was exhausted, lol.
Ooh, that sounds like a fun challenge! Yes, I’ve also heard of people who were severely undertrained but still completed the distance (or farther, actually.) Everything should be fine- I just have to make sure I don’t hurt myself between now and the race!
how annoying that they change the date of the race! I would be hesitating the same whether to do another long run or “enjoy” the long taper. I have no clue what I’d do, fortunately my coach can guide me in this case. Either way you’ll do great I think as this is not your first long distance race.
empty nest sounds hard. I can’t imagine not seeing my girls for extended period of time but I know it’s coming sooner than I want. Better enjoy them now while I can.
Yes, luckily my nest isn’t totally empty because I still have my daughter at home- but only for three more years, and like you said, that time goes fast.
For my training, I guess this is why people have coaches! It would be nice to have someone else tell me what to do (I suspect a coach would have tweaked my schedule earlier, when we found out about the date change.)
That is a tricky decision! That’s so annoying to have the date change! I mean, people obviously plan their training carefully based on the race date…. I am sure though that it will work out! You’re ready and you’ll do great. And I hope those little aches go away…. Rest up and refuel and recover well in between your runs and you’ll be good as new! 🙂 I cannot WAIT to read your race report eventually! That distance is mind blowing to me.
Thank you Kae! I also have a lot of confidence that things will go well… I’m not 100% confident of course, but who is. The race report should be a good one!
You ae going to do great… They said it’s better to be undertrained than over trained.
My Florida friend just did a 100 miler. (in less than 24 hours).
My December was the worst (lost cat, sprained ankle, sick hubby) so January although awful cloudy rainy snowy and cold has been an improvement.
What race did your friend run??? Was it here in Florida? That’s an incredible achievement.
Yes, your December was really bad. I’m sad about your cat! But at least things are looking up now.
I’m a bit behind on my blog reading – but I hope your body is bounced back a bit since you posted this! Those long runs can really beat you up and you’ve been training hard. I didn’t realize the race was coming up so soon. I know you will do great!
Oh man, two weeks delay in a race throws off everybody’s training… not ideal at all. I understand the frustration and that your body thinks “I am done right now”.
January is always a weird month for me… I have a hard time transitioning into a new year, but good thing we’re almost in February, I guess?
Oh gosh, the race being moved is such a bummer! I’m glad you’ve worked out a plan for you, but what a disappointment. That really messes with everyone’s training schedules!
I’m sorry you’re in the January doldrums. It’s a hard month and it’s been so dreary in Florida that we don’t even get to enjoy the sunshine. I hope things start looking up for you!
That stinks about your training and the race date and the convergence of blah-ness with your son’s departure and the-end-of-the-fun. 🙁 I hope that the shift to February (more light! closer to spring!) is helping? <3