Week 6 "Critical Mass"

Last week may have been a pivotal point in my current training. I significantly increased both speed and total mileage for the week.  Most importantly, I did so without injury or over fatigue.  I think I have reached a point where the training is going to keep improving very rapidly.  I hope this is the case because I have only about 5 weeks to more than double what I am doing now before I feel like I am ready. Then there will be a few weeks to do sort of a taper to rest my legs and avoid injury. 

It is definitely dangerous to increase too much too quickly.  Some say you should increase your total mileage only about 10 percent each week.  I have found that, in training for ultras this is just about never realistic.  You may have to run through some minor injuries and suffer a bit, but you HAVE to increase the mileage!

Last week I went from running about 29 total milrd the week before to 41 miles. That is about a 40 percent increase.  My long runs have stayed under 20 miles (that's what I will be increasing next). In four or five weeks I will try to be up over 80 miles for the week and then I will run between a 40-50 mile long run. If I can make it to that point without injury, I feel like I will be ready to suffer through the 100 miler a few weeks later.

My main concern has been my left leg which I shattered a couple years ago.  I now have two plates and sixteen screws holding it together.  I have been worried about over stressing it, but the funny thing is my right leg has been more subject to soreness in my last few runs.  Perhaps I am over compensating.  Hopefully I will have a good report next week.  Until then, Praise the Lord for all He has done!

(Week 4) Week By Week, Day By Day

So, New Year's Eve I had a good, 16-mile hike/jog, but then comes the New Year...you know, when you're supposed to start fresh and meet all your goals?

-January 1: "Workout cancelled"
-January 2: "Workout cancelled"

...not good.

By the way, I have found myself re-adjusting my training plan every week--I think, for the better.  So here is what I am thinking, instead of starting the year fresh, my focus all year should be starting each week fresh...perhaps even each day.  Every day we mess up our goals and our efforts to do better.  Perhaps this is why the apostle Paul says in the Bible, "I die daily."  So, here I go.  Another week.  Another day.

The secret is, TRY! Keep saying, "I'll do better next time," and TRY.  We all love to point out that "Nobody is perfect," but we forget that Jesus said, "Be ye perfect." Maybe we aren't, but we need to try.  That is my plan for the New Year...no, that is my plan for this next week...and tomorrow morning!

Monday:  Am) 16-mile hike/jog
Tuesday:  Workout cancelled
Wednesday:  Workout cancelled
Thursday:  Am) 1-hr stationary bike + 6-mile jog/hike (1/2)
Friday:  Pm) 1-hr stationary bike
Saturday:  Am) 1-hr on stationary bike
Sunday:    Off

(Week 3) "Acclimating To The Cold"

The holidays got me a bit, both in my diet and in a couple missed workouts, but I still managed to get in some good, medium "hike/jog"s.  Part of the challenge of training this time of year has been adjusting to the cold weather.  Some of my early morning workouts have been in the the single digits or slightly higher.  I am remembering the basics of layering (after a couple times of freezing off your nose...or other body parts, you start to wise up a bit).

Layering for me in temperatures lower than about 35 degrees is something like this (if I ran the whole time it might be a little different, but since I have been walking at least half of the time, I have to dress slightly warmer):

head:  I wear a hat. If I can't pull the hat over my ears, I wear a scarf or make sure my jacket has a hood.
upper body: t-shirt, sweatshirt, fleece jacket (if windy, I will skip the sweatshirt but wear a windbreaker over the fleece.
hands: I have fingerless gloves that can be made into mittens if needed, but if it is in the upper 20's 
or higher, I usually pull my sleeves over my hands.
legs:     Legs stay pretty warm as long as you are moving, but if it is in the 20's and I feel like it, I will
wear fleece pajamas  under my sweat pants.
feet:     I don't usually have problems with my feet, but occasionally I will wear wool socks.

An interesting thing I have always found is after a few two-hour sessions of early morning jogging in the cold, your body begins to acclimate, and before long you find your self indoors asking "Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"  There is plenty more winter left, so I'm glad to be getting used to it...or at least I think I am.  Week 3 training went as follows:

Monday:            8-mile hike/jog (1/4)
Tuesday:           workout cancelled
Wednesday:      8-mile hike/jog (1/4)
Thursday:          workout cancelled
Friday:              1 hour stationary bike
Saturday:           8-mile hike/jog (1/4)
Sunday:             off

(Week 2) "More Of The Same"

Week two was very much a repeat of week one.  I found that biking got a little easier, and I was able to hike a bit faster without much effort.  Thankfully, everything seems strong and I am ready to add some jogging.  But I will wait another week before adding more distance.  I did terrible on my diet as the holidays are coming near and there is plenty of junk to choose from, but that is not my main focus now.  After Christmas I will focus more on that, but for now I just want to get some early miles in on my legs and establish a pattern of making myself get out no matter the time or the weather.


Monday           am: 2 hour speed hike on the Prairie Spirit trail
Tuesday           am: 2 hour bike ride on the Prairie Spirit trail/pm: stretches and ab workout
Wednesday      pm: light weights, legs
Thursday          am: 2 hour speed hike on the Prairie Spirit trail (near blizzard conditions)
Friday              pm: 1 hour stationary bike/stretch and abs
Saturday          workout cancelled
Sunday             off

(Week 1) "Learning to Ride a Bike"

Last week seemed so light for ultramarathon training, especially considering how soon race day will be creeping up on me.  I remember the first 100-miler I trained for, I made myself get out there and start jogging 20-milers right away, having never ran farther than a half-marathon. This time, however, is going to have to be completely different than any training I have ever done in order to keep my left leg and ankle strong but not overworked (If it is injured during training, I'm done). So cross-training is in order to supplement only two long jog/hike workouts and one short, faster jog each week.

Right now I'm not even jogging really. I'm trying to ease into it, so I have to keep myself from running too much too soon...which is actually pretty hard at this point as I am really excited to be training again and am already noticing increased energy levels.  But I keep remembering previous ultamarathons; there were some people who walked the whole thing and beat some of the runners who had to take longer rest breaks.  Even if I never train for the running part, I could possibly finish 100 miles in 25 hours.

But this training is going to be unique for me in that it will include a lot of cycling which I have never been fond of, and in many ways I am currently "learning to ride a bike."  I know very little about how to sit on the bike, how to adjust the bike, how to shift gears...I am just concerned with pumping my legs to get them into proper shape.

So here is a quick summary of last week (week 1): 



Monday:      2 hr. speed hike (about 15 min/mile pace)
Tuesday:     (am) light weight, high reps/whole body
                    (pm) light weight, high reps/legs and abs
Wednesday:  10 mile bike ride
Thursday:    2 hr. speed hike (about 15 min/mile pace)
Friday:         2 hr. stationary bike
Saturday:     (cancelled--didn't get up early enough and was too
                    busy working on Christmas program rest of day)
Sunday:        (off)