"Wet it go! Wet it go!"

I had a great run today. Really, really great, with legs feeling young and good.

Recently I signed up for my first ultramarathon. And since have been wrangling with how in the heck to train for one.

I've asked lots of folks for advice -- experienced 50- and 100-mile runners. (Gulp. I can't even fathom...) My friend who ran Boston. An online friend who runs ultras quite a bit in the mountains. And, of course, Google.

The plans you find on Google are all over the place. Some have you running a boatload of miles, including 26-milers, as in plural. 26-milers are also marathons, which historically have kicked my ass to hell and back.

Some have hill work. All require Sunday runs after your long run on Saturday to get used to running on fatigued legs. (For fatigued, trashed legs, see every marathon report I've ever written. Ugh.) Some folks recommended to just follow a marathon schedule and add in a Sunday run.

It was kind of daunting. And intimidateing.

But, perserverance pays off. Talk to enough folks and study options enough, and you come up with something.

It also helps to "WET IT GO!" as my little 3-year-old girl LOVES to belt out in the car, like a million other little girls who are still engrossed with Frozen and the "Let it go" song that every girl seems to know.

She did so today as we were driving back from a really fun playdate in the Chicago 'burbs with good friends.

I don't normally take inspiration for running from Disney movies. OK, I never do. But recently, as I was compared training schedules and notes from friends on how to train, I was just like, what am I doing?

Just chill. Follow a basic schedule marathon-like training schedule, get a run in on Sundays, rest if I need to and just chill. I've been at 25-30 mile weeks for a few weeks, which gives me a good base (I think) to start my official training next week. I'm feeling good. Why am I worrying? It's just running. Let it go, as my girl would say!

One of the pieces of advice I got was to do long runs, if at all possible, on unpaved surfaces. Which is tough when you live in the city of Chicago.

So I headed to the burbs today to a forest preserve, having mapped out about an 8-mile swath of trail. I even had a long-time running buddy who joined me, which helps so much. She was a good sport.

Parts of the trail were pretty much mud and grass, parts were that nice urbanized crush gravel that is so smooth to run on.

It was GREAT. 10 miles and my legs felt fresh when I was done. I was tired from not bringing water (d'oh). And I forgot bug spray. (d'oh). Obviously I'm a city dweller spoiled by lakefront paths that have water fountains every few miles.

But the advice about not running on concrete was so great. Running on 26.2 miles of concrete in past marathons has just pounded me down and made me (and my legs and hips) feel awful.

Today, I could have kept going for miles.

I still have so much to figure out. Trail shoes. Hydration. Nutrition that doesn't make me nauseous, an issue in past long runs and marathon races. But I will.

Even if I don't do everything "perfectly", I feel like it's going to be OK.