Mopin around

First of all, thanks to the Santa Clarita Runners for allowing me (well maybe not actually allowing, but it was in a public domain) to poach their Fifty Mile Ultra training schedule.  I've always had what I thought was a sound, if old school, marathon training schedule I could rely on to get me across the finish line in reasonably good shape.  High mileage ( at least 60 per week) with one 20 miler each week for 3 months leading up to race day.  That was it.  Worked well enough through the years.  Even now, in the "super masters" (or wherever I fit) age group it has served me well.

Then I get this crazy notion of running an ultra, and quite honestly I didn't have a clue how to train.  When all else fails, go to Google, right?  That's how I stumbled upon the Santa Clarita Runners web site.

So I printed the training schedule and backed it up 18 weeks before The Highlands Sky 40, and now I'm all set.  Simple enough, right?  Well, in the immortal words of Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend."  These early weeks are really easy weeks (I know, I know, the best is yet to come); like every Monday and Friday off and a couple of 4 mile days and a six mile day stuck in between.  The weekends have back to back long runs, but the total weekly mileage in the early weeks is less than 40 and it's drivin me nuts. 

I'm just "mopin around", feeling like I'm losing my base, gettin fat, becoming a couch potatoe.  Oh the irony of it all! 

I guess I realize the long back to backs on the weekend are really the key to preparing for an ultra.  In a month, I'll probably be longing for these shorter weeks. 

                       Always remember, "Pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever."
                                                                     Lance Armstrong