In the Pursuit of 24: Week 26 : Insane Running

In the Pursuit of 24: Week 26

We are already in the second week of our plan, two weeks down, and a few more miles to go. Like any good initial plan, there are going to be adjustments. You start realizing a few conflicts with work, family commitments, and other running events that you might have signed up for. Once we have that initial preliminary plan, we need to continue to look ahead in the schedule to identify as many as possible conflict dates that will make that week’s plan challenging to meet the miles and or schedule.

This is part of a series of posts regarding how we prepare, plan, and train to complete the 100 miles Ultramarathon Umstead 100: In the Pursuit of 24. For all the ultrarunning series, here is In the Pursuit of 24, last week’s post, and for additional ideas, follow the link. Training for a 100 .

This week, I had some unplanned (Well, more planned than not) family fun travels, and next week is the Bull City Half marathon, so for the plan, it is going to be just one long run. For this week, I adjusted, still giving purpose to the key long run, and although I did not meet the total long run mileage, I continued to grow my endurance slowly. Also, in next week’s event, we will have the opportunity to test a little bit of pace testing as well as basically having a supported training run.

In this case, the plan needs to adjust slightly, but always look at the whole purpose, intention, and the larger picture of the training plan. Key days that could trigger an adjustment could be Vacation days, Holidays, Celebration Milestones, events, and a few others that can and will have to be taken into account. Perhaps you might need to travel or have an activity that requires you to leave early in the morning, and that is the time you normally go out for a run. Or vice versa, you need to spend some time preparing for a key presentation, which will eat up the time you have available to run in the afternoon or evening.

These are cases where you can actually plan ahead, switch run times, and adjust a week or two because of the predictability of the adjustment. This does not include the unpredictability of injury, sickness, or urgent family/work matters that might pop up on short notice. In these cases, it might require a different approach that we will discuss in a later post.

Assessment:

You want to once again be honest with yourself about the time available and the important dates.

Start comparing the plan with the calendar: Identify every day that might be a conflict or could add additional challenges to complete. Any birthdays, graduations, travel time, special anniversaries,…
Determine the flexibility of the conflicts: Sometimes, we can prepare ahead and adjust some of the dates, times, and challenges. Travel time, or shift that travel or celebration date.
Highlight the ones that are still problematic: Those days that you know there is no break or chance for adjustment. It could be like a New Year celebration.

The answers will help you get ready for the next step, the planning session.

Planning:

Now, this is how I got about adjusting for those days that are conflicting with the training plan,

Workweek day run: If it affects the time available, I might reduce the mileage if possible or try to head out 10-20 earlier for the run. If not possible, I try not to be two days in a row. I might take a break or shift the rest days for that week to make sure I get the cardio and activity needed. You will need to pay attention to recovery days as you should not sacrifice those as they are as important as the runs themselves.
Workweek workout: If the conflict affects the speed work, Tempo, or hill work, I will try to compare the long run mileage and see if I can add some of the work during a section of the long run. Perhaps not a complete workout, but a reduced version. For example, instead of the 10x 800 meters, I might do 8x 400 meters, and instead, in the long run, I might do some decent tempo at a faster pace (Shorter than the long but longer than usual tempo).
Long Run or Long Back to Back: This one is one of the key training runs for the Ultra as this is where you get not only the endurance but also fueling and mental training done. I most likely will figure out when I can cover the distance. Can I split the run in two on the same day? Make it a double (Morning and Evening?) Can I shift the targeted day for the rest or stretch day to make sure I can run the long run? I love back-to-back runs, and I try to make sure I do those, but if it is not possible, I would then still have the two long runs in that week, even if they are not back-to-back.

How is the plan going:

This week was another solid week. The workweek mileage was decent, here are some highlights,

Monday: Rest day after nice back-to-back longer runs

Tuesday: Easy 6 miles; weather is cooperating now

Wednesday: Felt good in the morning for ten easy miles, followed by InsaneRunning group run at a slightly faster click. A couple of PRs for some of our runners group during the run.

Thursday: Travel tomorrow and the weekend. Needed to do my 13-mile streak run today. It felt good, but my knee still telling me it was there, not 100%.

Friday: Travel day, but was able to squeeze a 10-mile run, just in case I am not able to run over the weekend.

Saturday: Lots of great walking today

Sunday: I was able to do a fun run around Colonial Williamsburg in the morning before heading back home.

This week’s actual numbers: