Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Backing It Up

In all my research for ultra running training I have read that one of the most valuable workouts that can be done is the 'Back to Back' (B2B).This means that you do a long run one day and go out and do another one the next day. If I wanted to play with the big boys I needed to step it up.

This weekend I did my first B2B. I had no idea what to expect but I did know that I had done plenty of long runs on tired legs in the past. I was just more use to having done a long hard bike ride the day before. They say that the purpose of the second long run is to learn to run on tired legs and to keep on going when you aren't feeling it. Sounds fun doesn't it?



Amazing Views
 

For some reason I was looking forward to my first B2B weekend. Not because I was excited about feeling how tired my legs were. No, I was looking forward to it because I like spending time with that girl. The girl who digs in and doesn't quit. The girl who sets her mind to something and executes it. The girl who gets crazy songs stuck in her head that make her smile. I like to peel away the layers and spend time with the girl at the core of it all. Sure, sometimes she can get whiney and needy but most of the time she just proves to me that she loves to be outside testing her limits.

The first weekend of B2B went well. The second run my legs were tired and going up hills my calves informed me that they had done a boatload of work the day before. I managed to eek it out and finished what I set out to do. It was fun, in that no fun fun way that we all seek.

Tana was about this impressed by my feat
 


For some reason no matter how far I run Tana still expects me to take her for an afternoon walk. She is never impressed by my athletic prowess, quite the contrary. Luck for me, she was up for a walk at the beach that afternoon. She thought we were there for her to do some swimming, we were really there for me to soak my legs in the therapeutic pacific.
 

I can see the reason the back to back is considered the bread and butter workout. I felt like I had been backed up over by a semi truck Sunday night.

Bracing myself for the initial cold shock
 
"The greater the obstacle the more glory in overcoming it"

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