How do I know if I'm ready?

I’ve been training specifically for this 24 hour run for the last six months. Week after week and month after month I’ve torn the muscles down so they will rebuild stronger. Much of the last two month I’ve felt physically drained of energy due to the hours of exercise every day. The legs have never felt completely recovered and as a result I’ve never really known what kind of shape I’m in. After each long test run I’ve asked the question, “How much better would I have run if I weren’t so tired?” How do I know if the training is working? How do I know if I am going to be ready on April 22nd? I guess I just have to believe in the training. I don’t write up a specific training plan but I do keep a log of what I’ve done. The training log is what tells me if I’ve put in the work that is necessary and gives me the confidence that it will all come together. Everyday I look in the mirror and ask myself, have I done enough? Have I trained correctly? Will I be ready? Several weeks ago I began to taper down the miles and the legs have slowly begun to feel better. My pace has become quicker and the miles seemed to fly by with ease. With two weeks to go rest days became more important than the run days. The legs have now had time to recover and the rewards of months of hard work are beginning to show. Today was a bittersweet day. Today I did my last workout before the 24-hour run. From the first steps I knew it was going to be a good run. The asphalt felt soft under my feet and the long quick stride felt effortless. My breathing was shallow and my heart rate was low. As I made the turn for home I continued to increase the pace only to find I still had another gear left. Feeling good and knowing this would be my final run I continued to pushed the pace faster and faster each of the remaining miles home. Having a run like the one I had today was the perfect way to finish off my training. Lance Armstrong has described it as “no chain” meaning he sometimes feels like there is no chain on his bike and he can spin the pedals as fast as he wants without tiring. That’s how I felt today. “No chain.” So there it is. The work is done. There is nothing more I can do to prepare other than rest. I’ve put everything I have into the training for this run and after today I have to believe… I’m ready! Ready to Go the Distance! ~ Greg Bomhoff

Franklin gives back

Part of my inspiration for Go the Distance was from a friend of mine named Jason Harper who back in 2008, ran 100 miles to raise money for Oak Ridge Elementary in Sacramento. Oak Ridge Elementary is among the most impoverished schools in the Sacramento Valley and back in 08 only about 12% of the students had health care. Through Jason’s efforts now over 85% of the kids have some sort of health care.

Jason and his team of volunteers did not stop there. They continue to promote health and fitness as well as nutrition and have programs in place to see this happen.

From their website:

Be Change After-school Fitness and Nutrition
Many inner-city children are sedentary and do not have access to healthy food options. With 100% of Oak Ridge Elementary children on district's free lunch program, Equal Start's Be Change After-school Programming provides a running club to help kids get moving. Be Change partners with Fleet Feet of Sacramento, The Running Zone, and the California International Marathon to give kids goals that are achievable. More than fifty kids are enrolled and are committed to getting active. Nutritionally, Equal Start's Be Change in conjunction with the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services gives every child a bag of groceries on Friday to augment and counter the effects of hunger through the weekend.
GOAL: Mobilize kids into quality after-school programming to stimulate a healthy/nutritional awareness using running as goal setting activity.
LINK: http://bechange.cc

Go the Distance and Franklin school have initiated a plan to give back to those with greater needs than our own and will organize a Food Drive for the kids of Oak Ridge Elementary. On Thursday April 15th, I will visit each classroom at Franklin and challenge each class to raise 125 non-perishable food items to coincide with the 125 miles I have challenged myself to run in 24 hours. On April 22nd, at the Go the Distance event, Jason, his team and some of the kids from Oak Ridge Elementary will come to our school to accept our contribution and be a part of our event.

There is an important message here that I want to pass along to our kids at Franklin School. I began Go the Distance because I saw a need. I believe that teaching and encouraging kids about health and fitness at an early age is important to their future and I want to make sure the funding is available for it to continue. However, I also understand that there are those who have much greater needs than we do at Franklin School. In this case those kids are just 30 miles down the road. I hope for this food drive to be a great benefit for the kids of Oak Ridge Elementary but I also believe the kids of Franklin will get a lot out of it as well.

Please help me encourage the kids and Franklin families to take part in this noble effort.

Additional information will be coming home with the kids on Thursday the 15th.

For additional information or if you would like to help with this food drive contact:

Amy Osborne – taosborne@att.net
Kasey Smith – smith.kasey@gmail.com

Get light, get loose and get fast!

I can’t believe it is here already. I’m referring to taper time. With only one month to go before the 24-hour run I need to start backing down off the huge miles I have been putting in and rest the legs. For the last five months my training has consisted of pounding out as many miles and as many hours as my body would allow me to go. The last couple months have been rough. In February I ran more miles than I have ever done in one month in my life. nearly 400 miles! My average distance per run was 17 miles. The first half of March was not what I had planned. I’ve been battling a foot injury and instead of spending 3 hours a day running like I had planned, I’m spending 1 hour running and 2 hours on the bike so I can heal the foot. The long runs are still in the 30-60 mile range. Everyday my alarm goes off at 4 am and with the first steps of the day my legs remind me what I have been putting them through for the last 5 months. I’m tired, I feel beat up and I’m looking forward to the taper. It’s time to start feeling good again. Time to get light, get loose and get fast.

Get light: Believe it or not. I can’t get down to my race weight when I’m running 100 miles a week. I just can’t stop eating. Especially after my weekend long run my body craves food for days. And it is not craving vegetables! It wants calories. Now that the real long runs and high mileage are behind me I will drop those last 5 pounds before run day. Believe me, carrying around 5 fewer pounds for 24 hours makes a big difference. Dieting may be the hardest part of the taper for me. I have the willpower to run for 24-hours but the cookie jar will break me every time. Seriously though, my diet will become very important in the last few weeks and the only things going in will be healthy foods and plenty of water.

Get loose: I stretch for a good half hour almost every day and I spend lots of time in the hot tub, but because of the constant training every day I typically wake up sore and stiff. My legs, my core, my feet and ankles, my hips have all been working overtime and as a result they are always just a little tight. That’s about to change. With the reduced mileage I will spend more time stretching and massaging the legs and do more cross training to improve mobility and flexibility.

Get fast: For 5 month I’ve been pounding out the miles for hour after hour. The focus on my training has all been about mileage. To go along with the get light and get loose, now I will also get fast. The workouts will be much shorter and much more intense. In the next 3 weeks I’ll work on the cardio and getting really fit.

When the sun comes up on the morning of April 22nd I’ll be 100% recovered from the 6 months of heavy training and the body will feel fresh. I will be lean and I’ll be fit. I feel really good about my training. It hasn’t always gone the way that I wrote it up but that’s to be expected. I’ve pushed to the breaking point and listened when my body said it needed a rest. Nothing left to do but Go the Distance.

Dinner Auction Time!

Auction Time:

The Franklin Dinner Auction is coming up on March 20th and this event will kick off our fundraising for Go the Distance. Go the Distance will have a few things going on at the Auction that I think are pretty exciting.

Believe it or not the Dinner Auction is where this whole thing started for me. I really didn’t plan for this 24 hour run to be what it has become. I originally proposed it as a Dinner Auction item. My idea was to have a sign up sheet at a table where people could pledge $.25, $.50, $1.00, whatever per mile and then I’d go out to the track a month later and see how far I could go. The basic premise of the event is the same but the size, scope and need for the funds has grown considerably. Gina Anixter deserves the credit for taking my simple idea and turning it into a real event and hopefully a big fundraiser. She stepped in on day one and basically said if you’re going to run for 24 hours we’re going to do this right! From there the team assembled and has been working hard ever since. (See the blog post on the Go the Distance team below.)

So for the Silent Auction we will still stick with the original plan to have a table and a pledge sheet out where you may make a flat rate donation or you can make a pledge per mile and make me work for the money. Any donations of $150 and up or $1.50 per mile and up and we will put your name on the website sponsor page as an event supporter! Or maybe put your kids name up there. Who wouldn’t want that? All money raised here will go towards supporting health and fitness programs at Franklin School. So drink up and I’ll be seeing you there with my pledge sheet!

Go the Distance will also be donating three live Auction items.

“Final lap” – Friday morning the kids of Franklin School, parents and media will assemble at the track’s edge as the 24-hour clock ticks down. With just minutes on the clock two children will get to join me on what will be the “Final lap” and the three of us will cross the finish line to the cheers of 500 people and live morning news coverage. (disclaimer: morning news coverage has been confirmed but no guarantee.) I had to throw the disclaimer in there just in case Gavin Maloof’s cat gets stuck in a tree and the entire Sacramento media has to be on scene to cover it.


“VIP Tent” – The VIP Tent will sit trackside and will include 10 Franklin 5k race entries and event t-shirts as well as dinner for 20 people. Plus, front row seating for the start and finish of the 5k race and of course front row seating to watch the drama unfold as I slowly run in circles. I’m not sure how to make that part sound exciting. Great item for a few families to go in on together.


“First Pitch” – One child will get to live out the dream of a lifetime and throw out the first pitch in a professional baseball game. On May 23rd, the Sacramento River Cats will recognize Go the Distance for our efforts to promote the health and fitness of children. Your Franklin student (Sorry Dads this one’s not for you.) will join me on the mound as Go the Distance is honored, then as I hand over the game ball in front of a packed house, your child will throw out the first pitch to start the game. “Play Ball!” I’m sure they will get to keep the ball as a souvenir but I haven’t confirmed that yet. Really, why wouldn’t they?


Pretty good stuff huh? All the proceeds from the sale of these live auction items will go towards the auction proceeds and the PTC General fund. I hope to see everyone at the Auction. I hear they have done a fantastic job again this year and it’s a fun event for the parents and a great event for the school.

What drives you?

Recently I was asked to be a guest speaker for a group of people doing a weight loss challenge. I happily agreed to do it but I was a little unsure what it was that they were looking for from me. They offered some suggested topics for my 30 minute presentation like how exercise has enhanced my life, what makes me get up and move and general fitness tips like injury prevention when exercising. I admitted that this was all a little new to me but I’d put something together for the group. First off, I don’t claim to be an expert in health and fitness. I have no formal training in the subject but I have spent plenty of time trying to get fit and I know what works for me. With that in mind I decided I would focus my talk on “what makes me get up and move.” I never really thought about why I do what I do and I thought this might be an opportunity to look a little deeper into myself and see what makes me tick.


A little background on me is probably in order. I played sports and was a competitive kid. I feel like even as a kid I pushed myself harder than the others did. Soccer and water skiing were my primary sports through high school and early college. When I transferred to Sac State I began competing at a regional and national water skiing tournaments. After graduation I decided to postpone the real world and chased a dream. I began skiing full-time and was able to make my living as a professional skier until I was 30 years old. For me it was rewarding. Every day was spent exercising and trying to get better at my sport. 100% of my income was based on my performance and that provided clarity. There was the satisfaction of doing well and there was the disappointment of failure. The measure of success and failure was very clear. Eventually I retired from skiing, got a wife, a real job, two kids and a back surgery and just like that life became about as different as it could be. As the infant years passed and the haze finally lifted I began to miss the feeling of competition. The summer of 2005 I was in Squaw Valley and heard about a group of 400 endurance runners who had just left the floor of Squaw, ran over the mountain and would run the 100 miles to Auburn by the following day. The race was called the Western States 100. I was blown away! Later that day I hiked the 3.5 miles to the top of the 9000 ft. mountain just to see what that was like. I stood there imagining what another 97 miles of rough terrain would be like. I wondered if I had what it would take to make it to Auburn. I could only imagine what they went through. So the next week I began training. Each weekend I would go a little further and a little further. Within a few months I very slowly completed a 30 mile run and by November I completed a 50 mile race with a good enough time to qualify me to enter the lottery to get into Western States. I was lucky enough to be chosen in the lottery and I spent the next 6 months training as hard as my body would allow me. The last weekend in June of 2006 I completed the Western States 100 in 23 ½ hours, earning the coveted silver buckle award for a sub 24-hour finish. The sense of accomplishment was unlike anything I’d felt before in athletics. I went into this totally committed to accomplishing a goal and I did it. I was done. I hung up my running shoes. Mission accomplished. At least that’s what I thought! I’d still go out for a run now and then but for the rest of 2006 and all of 2007 I didn’t train or race again. But there was always something pulling me back to that day between Squaw Valley and Auburn. I began to feel like I was wasting away that wonderful fitness I had worked so hard to achieve. By the end of 2007 I began to realize that I missed that nervous feeling I had that early morning as I stood at the starting line in Squaw Valley with 100 rugged miles stretched out ahead of me. Even more I missed that feeling less than 24 hours later as I crossed the finish line in Auburn. I also missed every agonizing mile in between. In 2008 I began training and racing again.


What I learned is that I don’t love running. It’s not about the running. I love the feeling of being fit and I love to have a goal to chase after, something to obsess over. So what motivates me to get up and run long before the sun comes up every morning? What motivates me to spend half a day on the weekend putting in 35 miles? The answer is fear! Fear of failure, fear of being unprepared. When you commit to lining up for a race with nothing but 100 miles of rough trail between you and the finish it is a little scary. You know before you even take that first step that you are in for a rough day, guaranteed. If you don’t get out of bed and run in the morning or if you don’t put in those miles on the weekend you will pay the price on race day. The distance is not forgiving.


So now we know what motivates me to get out the door and exercise but what drives me to push myself so far? Why do I want to run for 24-hours? I want to do it because it is hard. Many of us go through life without really challenging ourselves, without setting lofty goals. Some may find their lofty goal in their work or in other areas of their life. For me the purest challenges are physical challenges and the greater the challenge the greater the reward. What I love about Ultra distance running is that success or failure is not open to opinion. You either complete the distance within the allotted time or you don’t.


Does any of this apply to the weight loss challenge group I’ll be speaking to? Sure it does. There are many similarities between the weight loss challengers and my Go the Distance run.

First, you have to set a goal and announce it. The greater the goal the harder you have to work and the greater the reward when it is accomplished.

Second, you have to be motivated to meet that goal. You have to want it and that fear of failure is what will push you to chase after your goal every day.

Third, there are no quick results. No single day will make a big difference. Success will be a result of months or years of consistency.

Fourth, accountability. In my case that has never been as well defined as it is with the Go the Distance challenge I have set for myself. I recently mentioned to someone if they are ever having a hard time keeping to their exercise program, try telling an entire community that you are going to run for 24 hours for their children. You won’t miss a workout. What that means is I have no choice. I have made a commitment to an entire community to see this thing through to the end and I won’t let anyone down. I will be held accountable when I step on the track the morning of April 22nd. For the weight loss challengers that happens when they step on the scale. That’s the great thing about a weight loss challenge, they can’t hide and they know they will be held accountable and I commend them for having the courage to make the commitment.

So what drives you? What gets you out of bed every morning?

Meet the Go the Distance Team

In a couple of my previous posts I made mention of the Go the Distance Team that has been assembled and is responsible for putting this event together and I thought it would be a good idea to introduce some of the key members.

There are really two teams at work right now. First, there is my personal team, my handlers. They are responsible for caring for me during the event and making sure I have what I need to continue for 24 hours. Second, there is the team of Franklin parents who are putting in many hours to ensure this event will meet the goals we are reaching for.

My Handlers:

Ron Bomhoff – If there is one person you would want in your corner taking care of you as you push yourself to the limit why not choose the person that has been taking care of you from day one. My Dad has crewed for me on many of my races and is not only knowledgeable of the trials of ultrarunning but he also has a very good sense of my condition during the runs. He will ultimately be the one responsible for monitoring my weight, electrolyte levels, hydration, calorie composition and overall health during the event. Decisions will be made here.

Kevin & Stacy Guerrero – (Sister and Brother-in-law) Stacy and Kevin have crewed for me at some of my longer races and know what to expect on April 22nd-23rd. Stacy was there for possibly my most difficult race and has seen the physical and emotional highs and lows a runner goes through in a long run. Kevin is an EMT and is known for his attention to detail. He will likely also be tracking my health by watching my electrolyte intake, weight, hydration, calories and split times. All this information will be charted and routine medical checks including blood pressure will be performed throughout the day and night just as a precaution.

Sheri Bomhoff – Like Stacy, Sheri has also been at enough races to understand what is needed and when. Sheri is multi-tasking and also will be in charge of some of the events scheduled to take place Thursday evening at the track. It is no coincidence that my handles are all family. Who else is going to stay up all night long and remain totally focused on making sure I have everything I need. Anybody?

The Event Management:

Gina Anixter – (Event Planner) – Gina is responsible for everything beyond this event being a guy running in circles for 24-hours to raise money for the school. (which is what it was when I first pitched the idea) Gina, an accomplished runner/triathlete herself, immediately came on board as the PTC liaison and began to get the wheels turning to make this a very special school event. She has been and will be involved in every aspect of the planning, fundraising and logistics of the event.

Kari jo Clark – (Public Relations / Marketing) Kari jo is putting the word out that there is an exciting event happening at Franklin School and has already distributed the first press release to all major media in the Sacramento area. In addition she has targeted local Loomis and Granite Bay community media and social groups to bring in interest from the entire community. When you see the news trucks at our school or the article in the paper you’ll know who is behind it.

Racine Shaw- (Treasurer) Racine is the PTC Treasurer and is working hard to figure out some of the details in setting up the online donation and registration issues and in accounting and reporting. This is one of those behind the scenes jobs that typically doesn’t get the credit it deserves given the amount of work that goes into it so thank you Racine! I had no idea how hard it was to collect money!

Michelle Guardino – (logistics Coordinator) Michelle will have her hands full on the day and the evening and the next day of the event. Her job as the Logistics Coordinator will be to take all the great events we have planned for the 2 days and figure out how, when and where to make them happen. I think we found the right person for the job! I’ve promised her it will be fun!

Andy Clark – (Emcee / Medic) – Andy has offered his talents both as the voice of the event and as a medic. I’m looking forward to hearing his skilz with the microphone but hope not to need his expertise as a medic. It will be nice to have him there as we do intend to have a trained medic on site for the full 24 hours. We’ll have to give him a cool DJ name too. Any suggestions?

Clint Nelson – (Corporate Sponsorship) Clint is also an experienced runner and triathlete and is working to attract athletic sponsorship and to partner with athletic promoters to support our event.

Lori Jorgensen, Connie Mancasola – (Assemblies and student involvement) We currently have two or three assemblies planned for Walk Toward Health Week. Lori and Connie will bring in individuals that will educate, motivate and entertain the kids about health and fitness. We are hoping to have assemblies at both the beginning and end of the event and involve the kids as much as possible.

Erika Small – Erika has become very involved in the planning of the event and is also doing some soliciting for Corporate Sponsorship and special guests. I understand she has some other tricks up her sleeve but I don’t know what those are yet. Surprise me!

Kristin Arietta – (Dinner auction) As you may know, Kristin has taken on the major task of putting on the Dinner Auction on March 20th. Somehow she has also found the time to be at our planning meetings and provided her valuable input. We intend to promote and raise money for this event at the Auction. Kristin is working with us on how that will be done and has come up with some great ideas. (I’m not crazy about that idea of wearing the running shorts to the Auction though!)

Ann Baker – (guidance and consultant) – Ann is our PTC President and has also been kind enough to be a part of this event and offer her wealth of knowledge and experience. This being my first fundraiser, having her direction has been invaluable.

Steve Stahlberg – (Sponsorship Consultant) Steve has provided his valuable insight to soliciting corporate sponsorship and helped mold our approach to fundraising. He is pretty well connected too!

There are many others who probably deserve to be on this list for their input. I have a long list of Franklin parents and friends who have offered their assistance. That kind of support is not only appreciated, it is also necessary. We will need many volunteers on the day or days of the event to pull the whole thing off and to tell you the truth that’s one thing I’m not worried about right now. Based on the feedback I’ve received from this community I have no doubt that we will have more than enough people coming forward to help make this happen.

I wanted to put this together to thank the people who have stepped up to put this event together. It has been a constantly evolving process where new ideas are implemented and new connections are made that shape the event. I’d welcome anyone who has an idea, a business sponsorship connection or who just wants to help to contact me at greg@gothedistancerun.com.

Gotta Run,

Greg

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!