Sunday, April 21, 2013

Training for a 100 Mile Race - 5 weeks to go recap

The Wapack Trail
Another pic of Wapack Trail - MMT isn't the only place with rocks!!

After a month of putting in 90+ mile weeks, I still had enough energy to run my biggest single training week of my life. 


Monday - 6 miles on trails (50:04 - 8:22 pace).  Beautiful day marred by tragedy at Boston.  Shoes - La Sportiva Helios

Tuesday - AM: 15 miles on trails (2:04:42 - 8:19 pace).  Ran the trails hard. Attacked the hills but legs felt smoked at the top of each one.  Shoes - La Sportiva Helios
PM: 5.6 miles (49:38 - 8:52 pace) from house to Memorial Field.  Ran very easy pace and met 25 or so local runners to do a mile for Boston.  Shoes - Skechers Go Run 2

Wednesday - 10 miles of trails (1:25:04 - 8:31 pace).  First run of the year at the powerlines.  Super muddy, rocky and wet.  Shoes - Montrail Fluid Flex

Thursday - 15.5 miles of roads and trails (2:04:49 - 8:04 pace).  Ran the hilliest roads I can find in my area.  Incorporated the steep powerlines trail section then did 2 one mile hill intervals (up and down).  2400 ft elevation gain.  Legs were dead first couple miles then loosened up.  Shoes - Hoka Bondi Speed

Friday - 10 miles of trails (1:25:03 - 8:31 pace).  Ran very easy and felt great.  Busted out one of my all time favorite shoes and remembered how much I love how they feel.  Shoes - New Balance MT110

Saturday - 21.1 miles (4:55:41 -14:01 pace) Did the entire Wapack Trail with Adam, Ryan and Kristina.  Excellent training for Massanutten.  Nothing but rocks, mud and water.  Lots of steep climbs with almost 5000 ft elevation gain/loss.  Felt pretty good considering how many miles I have already this week. Shoes - La Sportiva Helios

Sunday - 30 miles (5:04:32 - 10:10 pace). Ran the Bow Snowmobile Trails.  Met Ron for the first half and ran a very conservative pace as he is still recovering from Boston.  The easy pace must have been just what I needed because the last 15 miles felt excellent at around a 8:30 pace.  Shoes - La Sportiva Helios

Summary - 113.2 miles in 18 hours 36 minutes

I was dreading this week but in the end it actually turned out pretty good.  Nothing hurts and I'm optimistic about getting one more big week in before I start the three week taper.  This week also marks 3 weeks since I have had any flour/wheat, sugar (except fruit) or alcohol.   For running fuel I have been using only dates and nuts.  Most of the time I just pack some Larabars (peanut butter cookie flavor) I'm surprised at how well it has been working. 

I spent a lot of time in the La Sportiva Helios as I'm leaning towards them as my shoe of choice for the big race.  They have performed very well and I should have a review up on www.runblogger.com sometime soon.
La Sportiva Helios

4 comments:

Steve Pero said...

Good luck at MMT, always one of my favorites...

John said...

Nate,

Do you have a shoe selection recommendation for me? I am currently running in MT110's (my second pair) which I absolutely love. But I can't really run more than 3 hours in the them. I need a shoe (low drop) with more cushion for longer training runs as I train for my first 50k. What would you recommend for someone who loves the MT110's but needs more support? I was looking at the Pearl Izumi N1's as well as the Helios and the FluidFlex? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Nathan Sanel said...

Hi John,
I've been running in both the Helios and the FluidFlex's. Both have considerably more cushioning than the 110's. I want to try the N1's too, but haven't had a chance yet. My review for the Fluid Flex's should be up on www.runblogger.com in the next few days, and the Helio review shortly after that. If you can, try them on and see which fits you better. The FF is more flexible and more minimal, but has incredible cushioning and a great ride.
Nate

John said...

Hi Nate,

Thanks for the advice. I tried on both shoes and ended up choosing the Montrail's. Very light, fast, and more cushion than I've ever run in. I also ordered the N1's which I'm excited to check out as well. Hopefully these two will serve me for now as I ramp up my mileage. I look forward to reading more of your reviews and posts.

Cheers!
John