Still Can't Beat It!

And by that title, I'm referring to this fantastic fall weather! The leaves are mostly off the trees but it's still relatively mild and that sun just keeps on shining! No complaints--I'll take this fall as long as it wants to stick around. It's been an uneventful week for me and I'm happy about that too!

Wrapping Up My Training Cycle

One week to go until the Leadville Silver 15 miler! I wrapped up my training cycle this week, very pleased with how it all went. You might ask when I officially started training. And I would answer that's a good question. While Earth Day wasn't my goal race, I did put in the work for that one too. It could count for training. Realistically, it wasn't until May that I really began to focus on my mileage, building on the work I did for Earth Day. Even more so, I put emphasis on getting lots of elevation. 

So here are the stats for the past 8 weeks:

Total miles: 208 miles

Total elevation: 7285 ft

I am so grateful to have access to those Wisco trails. When I totaled up my vert, the Illinois trails didn't even make a dent. The total elevation at Leadville is 1676 ft. With all my climbing, I am definitely ready for that! What I'm not ready for is the altitude, which at its peak on the course is 10,896 ft. Chicago sits at 597 ft. There's really no way for me to prepare for that. 

I wonder if I can bring portable oxygen in my hydration vest? 

What I have done: I've been 'doping' aka taking iron supplements for the past 3 months with the hopes of getting my hemoglobin higher, which would increase my blood's oxygen-carrying capacity. My son brags that his hemoglobin is 17, so he's hoping for success with that. I've also been taking creatine, along with my usual supplements, hoping to build a little more muscle mass to help me run strong. Research on running at altitude lead me to plan to arrive the day before the race, to allow as little time as possible to let the altitude affect me. 

With no goals but to finish and have fun, I am looking forward to running on some different trails and spending quality time with my boy. What else could a runner ask for?

Iconic Runfessions

After all these years of blogging and runfessing, you'd think I'd run out of things to runfess. Shouldn't I have my act together by now? Well, what can I say? Thank you to Marcia for opening the runfessional every month and letting us clear our soles and souls.  I always say it's painless, save for the embarrassment of sharing things that I probably shouldn't. But isn't that what runfessing is all about? Am I the only one? Probably not. You know you have things to share too...

Let's get to it!

Recap: Camp Run Happy

In addition to my excitement of being part of the Brooks Run Happy Team this year, I was invited to attend Camp Run Happy in Park City, Utah! This was the first year a live camp would take place and the team was ready for it. Over 100 team members from the US and Canada were in attendance. As you can imagine, it was an incredible experience. I wanted to share some, ok a lot of photos, as well as some of the highlights of this very short trip but very fun trip.

Dear February,

Dear February,

As you know, I really don't mind winter, as long as there's snow on the ground and a few sunny days. I also don't mind a snow-free path, even if it is cold out. But every year, you mess things up. You throw in a warm day and melt the snow, only to freeze it and turn everything to ice. It would be great if you could make up your mind. 

Anything but ice. 

Sincerely,

Wendy

Dirty Runfessions

Get your mind out of the gutter. What did you think this post was about? All month I've been training on the trails. It's been muddy, sloppy, yes, dirty. Very dirty. So much so that I have to hose off my shoes every time I run.

The runs might be solo, the venues virtual, but the runfessions still pile up. It's pretty amazing that I can't get through a month without needing to runfess my running sins. Thank goodness Marcia opens the runfessional every month. I get to cleanse my soles and start the new month fresh.

Don't judge me for any of this. Let he who is without transgression cast the first shoe...

These Shoes are Made for Running

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

These shoes are made for running
And that's just what they'll do
One of these days these shoes are gonna
Run all over you...
Apologies to Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood

I continue to put miles on my new trail shoes. Between running on the trails and the snowpacked path, my Brooks Cascadia 14 XTs were my main go-to for my runs this week. Since I've gotten so many questions about them, I'm going to post a full review in a couple of weeks. My early verdict: so far, so good.

There was also an indoor race on Sunday, but I wore my Brooks Adrenaline 20s. The race was run entirely around the Chicago Auto Show and in an interesting twist, we ran for one hour, trying to accummulate as many miles as possible. I'll share a full recap on Tuesday, but if you want to know how it went, be sure to check out my instagram!

Sunday's cold, windy run