The Road to 100 Miles: (not) Trusting the Process
Hitting the peak
This is the third article in my 100-mile race series, you can find the first article here and the second article here.
Just finished the peak week of training. Now it’s time to taper.
I’m super happy and beyond grateful that everything has gone well and I’ve been able to stay away from injuries.
At one point, I started doubting the training plan I’d made. I felt like it wasn’t enough. And I’m a big fan of this quote:
Cry in training, laugh in battle
I rather suffer a few more days in training, if that makes the race itself less painful. I do know that no matter how much I would train, it will be painful.
The thing is, I actually have no clue how much I should run. Up to this point, it has been kind of easy.
For all previous races, doing somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of the distance has been enough to make me feel confident about the race. So for my first marathon, my longest run was 33km. For the 86km race, my longest run was 50km.
Now, I can’t really do that. I have to look at it on a weekly level.
Adjustments
At the beginning of the prep, the plan was three weeks of progress followed by one easier week. The last weeks have been one week of progress followed by one easier week.
The adjustment I made on the go for the last weeks was running more on the progress weeks and a little bit shorter on the easier weeks.
For the last three progress weeks, the changes were:
99km -> 112km
104km -> 132km
114km -> 164km
On a weekly basis, this is what the peak week looked like:
Mon: Rest -> stretching & core
Tue: 13km -> 20km
Wed: 13km -> 25km
Thu: 13km -> 16km
Fri: Rest -> 13km
Sat: 60km -> 68km
Sun: 19km -> 19km
Total ascent 4420 meters.
Distance is not everything. I learned that last year when training for the 86km race. Running 50km in the center of the capital is a lot different than running 50km in the mountains. So this year I’ve been focusing on getting in more vertical meters.
Looking at my peak week data, I’m happy I adjusted the plan. While I’m sure the initial plan would have gotten me through the race, I’m sure this will make it slightly less painful. The distance and ascent are pretty much the same as the race will be.
While I feel like I’m fit enough, and know that my mind will get me through the race, I would lie if I said I’m not nervous. Doing the same amount in 20–30 hours as I did in 6 days, that’s crazy. That’s why it’s a good goal, and will make the feeling of crossing the finish line so much better.
