Running a Fine Line -

Until now I have never trained for a race where I had to make it to the starting line. I have always prepared for the big races with the intention of lining up in top physical condition or not at all. Sometimes that meant training through those nagging injuries and hoping they would get better before race day. When preparing to run for 24-hours you are constantly running a fine line between maximum training and overuse injuries. It is just the nature of the beast. There will be aches and pains, legs muscles will be sore and those first steps of the day will always be a little slow. Knowing the difference between normal soreness and early signs of an overuse injury is the key.

For the first time in my life I’m training for an event where it is imperative that I get to the starting line and it has me thinking. Although I have every intention of being in the best shape of my life on April 22nd it is even more important for me to stay healthy and injury free over the next 3 months. I can't back out of this event if training doesn’t go my way. My training had been slow and steady from October thru December and my legs always felt good even on the longer weeks. As of January 1st , I flipped the switch and the serious training began (see blog post below). Over the last two weeks I have run nearly 200 miles. Four of those days I did runs of over 25 miles. All those miles were under an 8 minute mile pace and about half were under a 7 minute mile. The speed and distance has jumped considerably and the legs have taken notice.

I am still running that fine line but I need to reconsider the balance point in my training philosophy. I am paying more attention to those little aches and pains than I had in the past. At the moment everything feels as it should and I have no intention of slowing down. There is a dull aching in my legs, I’m asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow and I’m running farther and faster week after week. These are all indicators that the training is working. With that in mind I’ll press on but cautiously. I will not hesitate to take a few days off at the first sign of injury. Being in the best shape of my life will mean nothing if I can’t Go the Distance due to injury. Run smart!

“In order to finish first, you must first finish!”

Time to flip the switch

It is the beginning of January and I have been training specifically for this event for a little over 2 months now. All the training I have done up to this point has just been preparation for what I’m about to put my body through over the next 110 days.

My first blog post (below)was a summary of how I plan to prepare for this run. I have kept to the plan and ran consistently each week. My weekly mileage started out at 45 miles per week and gradually increased to 90 miles last week. The runs have been easy and I’ve had very little soreness or fatigue as a result of the slow steady miles. That’s about to change! Starting this week I’ll flip the switch and begin training at a new intensity. The short runs will be at a much faster pace and the long runs will have me out there for 4-7 hours. If all goes as planned, the intensity and distance will continue to increase week after week until I reach a peak about a month before Go the Distance. The weekly milage in the three weeks leading up to the peak will be well over 100 miles with a weekly long run in the 35-50 mile range. Better keep the hot tub warm!

As I’m writing this description about my training, I noticed the similarities between how I’m preparing for this run and how the Go the Distance team is preparing to make this event something special.

Me: I’ve begun slowly building the miles in the initial months to lay the foundation for the heavy work I’m about to do. I have studied the event and analyzed split times. I have worked on my pace plan and fueling plan with regard to my calorie composition, fluid intake and electrolyte intake.

Team: The first couple of months have been about organizing and putting together a good plan and a good team to get it done. The website and social networks are in place, the press releases are prepared and we are ready to release this thing to the public.

Me: It is time for the running to increase in intensity and distance until March 22nd.

Team: With the groundwork in place, the Go the Distance team is ready to begin the real work. They will introduce this event to media and begin working with Corporate Sponsors and Local Businesses to build the event into something special.

Me: After March 22nd my mileage will decrease and I’ll focus on recovering and being fresh and ready for the event. I will also use this time to fine tune my pace charts and go over all the details with my handlers that will take care of me during the run.

Team: In the last 30 days the team will also be fine tuning the varied elements of the event. If we are successful in bringing interest to the event there will be many details that will need to come together on the day of the run.

Me & Team: It will be the culmination of 6 months of planning and preparation that will make the event a success. There are no shortcuts! At 8:50 on Friday the 23rd of April we will all be satisfied that we gave our best and hope that we have made a difference to the children of Franklin school and the community as a whole. Then we will rest.

How to train for a 24-hour run

So how do you prepare your body and mind to run around 1/4 mile track for 24 hours? I don't know... Truth is, I've never actually done it. What I do know is that you have to run...a lot! In order to run a lot you have to be motivated. It is soooo much easier to stay in that warm bed at 5am on those cold Winter mornings than it is to roll your butt out and get it done. I can honestly say that I have not been this motivated to run in years. I am really excited about this run and plan to be in the best shape of my life come April and plan to put up some big miles on the track at Franklin School. I've run in some big races but there is something different about running to benefit others that has given me some added motivation. It is bigger than just me and it matters. There is no magic training guide for an event like this but based on my previous training and racing experience I have come up with a plan that I think will give me the training I’ll need to do well. The training for this 24-hour run has already begun a full 6 months before the event. The running I’ll do will be very specific to this event. There are no hills on the track so unfortunately hill training will be minimal. I really like trail running in the mountains but that's not going to help me much here so you'll be seeing me logging miles on the roads around Loomis and Granite Bay. Heat should not be an issue so no heat training either. I'm okay with that. Basically, I plan to log a lot of miles at a slow pace on flat ground. Beginning late October my weekly mileage began at an easy (and boring) pace of 45 miles per week and will slowly increase week after week until January 1 when I will be at about 90 (easy) miles per week. I know what you’re thinking…90 “easy” miles? There can’t be too much that’s easy about running 90 miles in a week right?. What I mean by that is the miles will be at a slow pace and will consist of many short runs as oppose to fewer long ones. This "base phase" of the training as it is called is the most difficult for me because it is so far out from race day and the intensity of the running is so low that it is easy to lose focus. The important part of this period is that it is all at low intensity and spread out throughout the week. The months of easy miles are not necessarily about the fitness but more about getting in the miles and strengthening of the muscles, ligaments and connective tissue, toughening the feet and every other moving part that is about to be tested to the breaking point. The past few month will have been all about getting the body ready for the heavy work I'm about to ask it to do come January. On January 1st I will change gears not just in training but also mentally. It’s time to get serious. Beginning in January the mileage will not immediately increase but the way I get in the mileage will change. The focus will be on the long runs. Every week between January 1st and March 22nd I will do a long run of over 25 miles (life permitting). Many of these long runs will be in the 35-50 mile range. These runs are tough but not as tough as when I walk in the door after running for half a day and the kids say, “come on Dad lets go play”. The efforts will become harder and longer as run day gets closer. As a result there will have to be more rest days. This is all about adaptation. I will stress the body and then let it recover and adapt. It is amazing what happens when you continue to force your body to do increased mileage and effort week after week, it responds! By mid March the training will reach its peak. The weekly mileage will be well over 100 miles per week and my life will be consumed with finding enough time to run and finding enough food to eat. I will wake up sore and tired every day in February and March but for some reason it feels like it’s a good sore and tired. The kind of sore and tired that lets me know I’ll be ready. March 22nd comes as a relief. One month out from race day things change, it's time to let the body recover from the training so I can go into the big day feeling fresh. At this time the focus will change from big mileage to speed. This is also time to change the diet from anything I can get my hands on to only what I need. In some ways this time will come as a relief that the touture is over but this is also when I have to become more disciplined with my diet and sleep. The running is much shorter but also much faster. The legs have been abused so badly over the last few months and now is the time for them to start feeling fresh, feeling strong. Something they would not have felt in several months.
In the final week before the event the running will have all but stopped and the only running I'll do would be to shake out the legs and stay loose. The diet becomes the main focus and only essential fluid and food goes in, no junk or filler. This is also the time where I loose those last few pounds that I'd rather not carry around the track for 24 hours if I don’t have to. It is just temporary as I have found those pounds go right back on after the event.
I think I'll post regular updates on my training. It will be interesting to see if my training matches my plan. Stay tuned!