This is part of a series of posts regarding how the InaseRunning group prepares, plans, and trains to complete the 100 miles Ultramarathon Umstead 100: Journey to a 100. For all the ultrarunning series, here is Journey to 100, last week’s post, and additional ideas; follow the link. Training for a 100.

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Time flies when you are having fun. Let me rephrase that,

“Time flies when you are having running fun.”

We have totaled about over 630 miles so far during the 1st two training blocks of training, and for this final block of 10 more training weeks, now we just need to complete less than 560 miles in preparation for the event. Easy right?

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before jumping into the Assessment and Planning sections, I want to apologize to Laurie, as she noted that in one of the posts on Facebook that I missed one of the group pictures from the Saturday long run where the InsaneRunning group was blessed to meet with Laure and three additional awesome women who have collectively volunteered for over 30 years or more and have all helped many Umstead 100 runners with their training with advice, runs and pacing many loops at the actual event. That day they were with Jennifer, who will be at the event, training that day as part of the group when they were on their way to complete their 14-mile loop training run.

Assessment:

Think about the time, schedule, and miles that you have invested and covered so far. High mileage and longer runs are coming up fast on the horizon, and you want to be ready for each one of them. It is time once again to take some time to think about what has been bugging you the most so far.

• Is it any equipment like a belt, hydration vest, fuel bottles, carry belts
• Is it the food? Getting tired of the same already? Already have your A, B, and D list?
• For clothing, what items are the ones that fit perfectly? Not causing any irritation or discomfort.
• When you are running in a group, what is annoying you? What is getting you down or your energy drained? Any particular topics?
• When you are running by yourself, what do you think about that energizes you to keep moving forward? Do you listen to music, podcast, and audiobooks or have a conversation on the phone?
• What type of weather do you feel like you can run forever?
• What type of weather drains you? How do you handle a situation where you must run in such or worst conditions?
• Have you already experienced equipment failure? Headlamps not working or running out of juice, same with headsets or music devices, running shoes or clothing failure.
• What about physical challenges? Like gastrointestinal issues, dehydration, lack of fuel, lack of electrolytes, chafing, cuts and bruises, and sunburns, to name a few.
• What about the load and stress of the weekly miles or the back-to-back runs?

Planning:

This coming week is a recovery week before we head out for another double Umstead loop and increase the back-to-back run mileage. So it is a great opportunity to reflect on the above list and find some golden nuggets of personal information that will be helpful in handling the next and last block of training heading into the 100-mile event.

In a notebook, piece of paper, or electronic notetaking app, think about each one of those bullet points and reflect on the following questions,

• Have you experienced that or a similar situation?
• How did you handle it?
• If positive, what good learning were you able to add to your toolbox that will increase your performance and/or knowledge?
• If negative, knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?
• Do you need to do a little bit more research? Perhaps on the web, read about it, and ask a friend or coach. Look for additional alternatives about how you could handle similar situations. There is more than one way to…
• How can you gain more experience handling those situations?
• What is the probability that it will happen again?
• What will increase the confidence level that you will be able to handle those situations better? (Even if it was positive, there is always room for improvement.)

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How is the plan going:

Summary: Very solid week. 1st double Umstead loops run, with somewhat tired legs, simulating how is it that is going to be during the midpoint of the event. Fueling is going well. Now to concentrate to handles minor details and see if I can get the calories intake a little bit more under control during the workweek.

Monday: The gym was closed this week due to the Holiday. I focused the time doing some Yoga and Rolling.

Tuesday: Easy miles

Wednesday: Some Yoga in the morning, followed in the afternoon with easy miles with the InsaneRunning group

Thursday: Easy miles.

Friday: A visit to the gym, where I learned a few new moves/exercises, including, Open the Gate, Hurdle Stretches, Deer Pose with quads and ankle lifts, followed by Full Hip Rotation, ending with Hip[p Flexor lifts. Holy Tamales, it was a really great workout.

Saturday: Nice long run, tackling Umstead loop twice for the 1st time during this training block session.

Sunday: 3:00 AM start for a 14-mile long run. Felt good, pressed the pace after the turnaround, finishing strong for the last 5 miles.

This week’s actual numbers:

Week 16	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Plan	Stretches & Rolling	6	3	4	Stretches & Rolling	16	26	55
Actual	Stretches & Rolling	4	5	6	1 Mile Gym	28	14	58

Next Week Plan:

Week 17	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Plan	Stretches & Rolling	5	3	Rest	8	16	24	58