Monday: Coach told me to take an off day, since I'll be running significant mileage over the next three weeks without a day off. I, of course, ran a mile (actually, 1.05 miles) because I love my stupid running streak.
Tuesday: 8.20 miles, nice and easy.
Wednesday: 9.05 miles. Big hill workout...two miles down to Forest Park from the office, then 5x 1/2 mile Skinker hills (arguably the most famous running hill in St. Louis). My "ups" averaged around 3:04, while my "downs" averaged around 2:52. With two miles back to the office, I had a fast 9 plus miles on a beautiful evening!
Thursday: 8.12 miles. It was in the 70's at 7:15 p.m. Spring is on its way!
Friday: 12.12 miles, including 9 at what I respectfully call my "ultra tempo" pace. I ran miles 3-11 in the following splits: 7:09, 7:16, 7:05, 6:51 (now we're talking), 6:54, 7:14 (big uphill), 7:08 (legs still feeling the aftereffects), 6:52, and 6:50. I was quite pleased with this workout.
Saturday: 24.58 miles on the Green Rock Trail. It was a perfect running day--temps started in the 50s and finished up in the low 60s for me. My only complaint was that I encountered a mountain biker along a no biking portion of the trail, and he had ripped up the wet portions of a nearly perfect trail. I bumped into some running buddies who were recovering from ultra races last weekend, and I even met a fellow Western States 2011 competitor, Ben Creehan, on this run. Ben is a lot faster than me, so I'm not sure how much running we can plan to do together. I do know we have a lot of the same races on our schedule leading up to WS100, so another familiar face is a good thing. Also, it was weird to see this guy at the trailhead. I have no idea what he was doing there, or how he got there, but he was still there when I left.
Sunday: I started my day off by volunteering at the Quivering Quads Trail Half Marathon in Cuivre River State Park. I manned an aid station at Mile 8 1/2 for a good six hours or so, with a little traffic control duty thrown in for good measure. Yes, the half marathon has a six plus hour cutoff, partially due to its wave start. I need 8 volunteer hours to compete in the WS100, and this was my chance to give back. I've never worked as a volunteer before, and I must say that it was a rewarding way to spend a Sunday! Here's our aid station ready for the first runners.
After my duties were complete, I ran a couple loops on the Lone Spring Trail for 14.15 miles. I was underhydrated, and my legs were tired from the previous two days' workouts and six hours on my feet, but I got it done. Lone Spring is named after a ground spring that originates in the middle of the trail. I wondered why the race map showed only one creek crossing when it appeared the stream wrapped off the page where the path should have crossed it again. Well, that's because the creek came out of the ground.
Total Mileage Week Eleven: 77.27 miles, my second highest mileage level ever...and this one felt much easier than that 82 miles I ran a few weeks ago.
Chad, I'm curious what you're eating during training. What do you eat before (and during) these long runs? How many calories are you eating per day during this training? This is really so impressive and motivating! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteEmily, great questions! As you might imagine, it's a complicated test of my stomach and will...and I'm still learning how to do it best for me. I don't count calories enough, that's for sure! I'll start putting together a post about food intake, both in training and for the race itself.
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