100 mile week

Well it's happened, a hundred mile week.  Always wanted to do it, but it seemed way out of reach and possibly not necessary.  I can definitely say I see the benefits of "high" mileage training, old school style and don't want it to end.  I've really enjoyed the training, miles on my feet, new surroundings, chats with friends and the benefits of hills, speed, and LSD.  I've learned so much during this training schedule and really can't wait to coach other people, share with friends, tweak it for future events, and get back to another race.

This week my goal was not only to finish 100 miles strong, but to attain more elevation gain than the race.  Peaks is 10 laps, of ten miles with 2400ft of elevation each lap.  That's 24,000 for the whole race, but 12,000 up and 12,000 down.

 

Monday - The cold persists... rest.

Tuesday - Robinson Woods, 7.  Real nice and easy run getting the kinks out from last week. Still coughing but getting better.

Stroudwater, 7.  Night run on legs that felt hard. It almost felt like I was running on roads. Maybe due to the super dry conditions and hard ground, or maybe picking my feet up higher than usual so as not to trip. The entire trail was illuminated by spider eyes that glistened in the light of my headlamp a deep blue and green. I probably saw over a hundred of the little critters along the trail, enough that I was dodging them.

On the drive home I had a crazy coughing fit that almost took me off the road and at the same time picked ticks off of me by the dozens, tossing them out the window as I felt more crawling up my legs...not fun.

Wednesday - Blackstrap Preserve, 9.  A little rough start and a pace that felt much slower than it ended up being. Didn't have a whole lot of snap to the legs but overall a fun workout with great, clear views of the Whites.


Thursday - Winnick Woods, 7.2.  Felt surprisingly good today, finally. The cold is definitely on it's way out and I felt "in control" for the first time in a few weeks during the run. That is to say I wasn't constantly pushing to stay moving, I was running slow because I wanted to, not because I had no other choice.

Fore River, 7.2.  Another nice and slow run. My legs are starting to feel the inclines a bit from this week. Time to take 'er easy...

Friday - Blackstrap Preserver, 9.2.  Good run definitely slower than usual on the hills but saving my legs for the weekend.  The cold is gone!!  Hell yeah!!

Saturday -  Mt. Agamenticus, 31.2.  Zak joined me for a run at Mt. Agamenticus, and I joined him for a few extra miles, changing the weekend up a bit to run a 50k as opposed to the 26 I had on tap.  The day started out humid, with overcast skies and turned to a gorgeous day with sun, a few clouds and a cool breeze. 

We started out attempting the Big A 50k course but quickly got off course and basically just cruised around the whole day.  With a little bushwhacking, some slogging on the hills and a few stops at the truck to refuel and hydrate it was truly a great day.  We were both running "light" with only a handheld and a bar or gel and made quick transitions at the truck. 

For the final few miles we were definitely tuckered, dehydrated, and feeling the miles.  This semi-forced bonk was a great time to test out our endurance, and while I pushed it up a few hills, Zak most assuredly pushed it down a few hills, leaving me cringing with every foot-fall.

It was an absolutely fabulous, and hard day on technical terrain, both old and new to us and there is just too much to put in words.

Sunday - Pineland, 23.5.  Helped out a bit today with Ian's Pineland Trail Tour.  He had set up an event to help out 20 or so people who are running one of the many races during the Pineland event and asked Blaine and I to give him a hand.  The three of us ran with our respective groups in the cool, windy temps for a bit over 11 miles.

With a few changes of liquid and food I headed out for a steady 12 miles or so.  It was difficult to get moving again, and a bit challenging to keep the motivation up.  The legs were feeling a few of the miles for sure and as much as I tried there were very few pick-ups on the run except for the final few miles at Oak Hill. 

Time:  18:18:52
Distance:  101.3
Elevation:  13,552