My First 100K Training
It’s one week since we ran our last marathon. Two weeks since we ran Chilhowee Mountain Ultra Marathon 50K. And now we are ready to officially start training for our first 100k, the Silver Heals 100k in Como, Colorado. As we have alluded to in the past, we specifically chose to run the Stump Jump 50k and Chilhowee as tests to prepare ourselves for the significantly greater elevation change we’ll be facing in the mountains of Colorado. With those two 50k races in the review mirror and some time to recover, we’re now ready for the official training to begin
Designing the Training Plan
While we did consider hiring a coach, those are expensive, and we’d rather spend that money on gear and gas. Instead, we’re starting with a blueprint training plan from Coros and tweaking it to meet our particular needs.
The course is a basic 12-week training plan for a 100k. Right off the bat, we must alter it since we only have 10 weeks rather than 12. I’m not worried about that change. After all, the reason for our “late” start is running a mountainous 50k. So, it’s fair to consider us already well on the road to training.
Race Specific Training
It’s other tweaks that have me more concerned. When training for a race, it’s advisable to replicate the race course conditions as best as possible. We don’t live in Colorado, and we don’t have mountains similar to the race, so we have to be a little creative in how we replicate the conditions, but we have several main elements:
- Night running: we have very little experience with night running, but it is an inevitable part of our 100k. The race starts and ends at 4 AM. While we hope to finish hours before the cutoff, we certainly will be spending a significant amount of running in the dark at the start and end. So, we’ll make at least one of our runs each week a night run to grow comfortable with running with a headlamp and other interventions we might encounter
- Speed hiking: Chilhowee was my first race to incorporate speed hiking training. When climbing these mountains, it’s impractical just to run. So, we hike instead, just as fast as we can while always keeping one foot on the ground. It’s an efficient method so that our legs will be as fresh as possible to take advantage of the downhills.
- Altitude: We are training near sea level. This race will reach altitudes of over 10,000 feet. At that elevation, one’s performance capacity is severely limited. In worst-case scenarios, altitude sickness can cause lethargy, nausea, and even require hospitalization. While we can’t magically change our elevation, and gear designed for elevation training is expensive with dubious results, we will travel to Colorado immediately after completing our final peak of training and spend the two-week taper time in the mountain, acclimatizing to the elevation.
Our 10-Week Training Plan
With all these considerations made, we’ve settled on our 10-week training plan. You’ll notice that I’m counting Sundays as the beginning of the week. I know that most people schedule their long runs on Saturdays and Sundays because those are the days they have off from work. We work but have more flexible schedules. By scheduling our long runs on Thursdays and Fridays we avoid the weekend crowds on trails and are better situated to initiate our taper at the same time we head out to Colorado to start acclimating to the elevation.
Week 1
We are starting this week after one week of relative recovery from our marathon one week before and a 50K a week before that. We feel ready for this first week of training.
- Monday, May 6: 5 mile aerobic endurance run
45 minute full body strength training - Tuesday, May 7: 2×3 mile threshold run
- Wednesday, May 8: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
- Thursday, May 9: 15 mile long run
- Friday, May 10: 10 mile aerobic endurance run
- Saturday, May 11: Rest day
Week 2
In the 12 week training plan, this is a drop in effort after three weeks of building intensity. Granted, we don’t mind maintaining this break as we are still getting back into training after our last two races.
- Sunday, May 12: 5 mile aerobic endurance run
- Monday, May 13: 5 mile tempo run
- Tuesday, May 14: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
45 minute full-body strength training - Wednesday, May 15: Rest day
- Thursday, May 16: 10 mile aerobic endurance run
- Friday, May 17: 10 mile aerobic endurance run
- Saturday, May 18: Rest Day
Week 3
And now the training is starting to get spicy: two strength training days, one intense round of speed work, and two long runs.
- Sunday, May 19: 5 mile aerobic endurance run
38 minute running specific strength training - Monday, May 20: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
- Tuesday, May 21: 8 mile alternating effort – 4×1 mile at aerobic power, 1 mile at threshold.
- Wednesday, May 22: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
38 minute running specific strength training - Thursday, May 23: 16 mile long run
- Friday, May 24: 12 mile aerobic endurance + aerobic power run
- Saturday, May 25: Rest Day
Week 4
The long runs are really starting to add up at this point.
- Sunday, May 26: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
38 minute running specific strength training - Monday, May 27: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
- Tuesday, May 28: 8×1 progressive run
- Wednesday, May 29: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
38 minute running specific strength training - Thursday, May 30: 18 mile long run
- Friday, May 31: 12 mile aerobic endurance + aerobic power run
- Saturday, June 1: Rest Day
Week 5
This week marks the final round of scheduled speed training on Monday. After this, it’s all distance all the time.
- Sunday, June 2: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
38 minute running specific strength training - Monday, June 3: 9 miles – 6×1 mile thresholds with 1/2 mile recovery at aerobic endurance effort.
- Tuesday, June 4: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
- Wednesday, June 5: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
38 minute running specific strength training - Thursday, June 6: 20 mile long run
- Friday, June 7: 14 mile aerobic endurance + aerobic power run
- Saturday, June 8: Rest Day
Week 6
This is a welcome drop in intensity after last week’s 20-mile long run. This is also the last scheduled week of strength training which I certainly don’t mind.
- Sunday, June 9: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
- Monday, June 10: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Tuesday, June 11: 4 mile aerobic endurance run
- Wednesday, June 12: 38 minute running specific strength training
- Thursday, June 13: 12 mile aerobic endurance run
- Friday, June 14: 12 mile aerobic endurance + aerobic power run
- Saturday, June 15: Rest Day
Week 7
The intensity keeps ratcheting up but at least we are done with strength training at this point.
- Sunday, June 16: 8 mile aerobic endurance run
- Monday, June 17: 6 mile tempo run
- Tuesday, June 18: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Wednesday, June 19: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Thursday, June 20: 22 mile long run
- Friday, June 21: 16 mile aerobic endurance + aerobic power run
- Saturday, June 22: Rest Day
Week 8
This is the peak of our training and our last week before taking off for Colorado to start acclimatizing. The plan is to run our final long run on Friday and then start our trip to Colorado with the goal of reaching a high altitude camping location by Saturday night.
- Sunday, June 23: 8 mile aerobic endurance run
- Monday, June 24: 7 mile tempo run
- Tuesday, June 25: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Wednesday, June 26: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Thursday, June 27: 22 mile long run
- Friday, June 28: 20 mile aerobic endurance + aerobic power run
- Saturday, June 29: Rest Day
Week 9
This week is the most in flux. While we do have a training plan, a lot of it is subject to change based on how we feel once we are at altitude. I’ve experienced altitude sickness before and it would completely upend our training. So it’s better to be extra sensitive to our bodies than risk training ourselves into the hospital.
Instead, our greatest interest is in scoping out the course and developing some comfort with the terrain, even if that is at a slow pace.
- Sunday, June 30: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Monday, July 1: 5 mile tempo run
- Tuesday, July 2: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Wednesday, July 3: Rest Day
- Thursday, July 4: 12 mile long run
- Friday, July 5: 10 mile aerobic endurance + aerobic power run
- Saturday, July 6: Rest Day
Week 10
This is the final week. By this point, we should be safe to run but also at a point where we should let our legs rest to be fresh on race day. Similar to last week, these training days may be more about scoping out the course than attempting any kind of rigorous pace.
- Sunday, July 7: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Monday, July 8: 5 mile tempo run
- Tuesday, July 9: 6 mile aerobic endurance run
- Wednesday, July 10: Rest Day
- Thursday, July 11: 12 mile long run
- Friday, July 12: Race Day
- Saturday, July 13: Race Day
Training
We have a schedule, but, of course, a lot can happen in 10 weeks. We’ve learned to be aware of our bodies and allow for necessary breaks to avoid overtraining injuries. So, rather than assuming this is all set in stone, I’ll be posting updates throughout the process.
This is a completely new distance to us and a terrain I’ve only visited on occasion. But we are so excited for the opportunity to push our limits again.
