100 Miles is Not That Far - Getting Ready for FANS 24 Hour Endurance Run
Date: 5/19/14
Current Weight: 180 lbs.
Total Miles Last Week: 61
Long Run This Past Weekend: 31 miles around Lake Snelling
"100 miles is not that far" - Karl Meltzer
It could not be put more simply than in Karl's famous quote. As the current world record holder for most 100 mile races won, he ought to know. In order to beat the beast that is a 100 mile run, you need to mentally wrap your head around it being an attainable feat. People tell me that 100 miles is just crazy, and most don't understand how it is even possible in one run. To really understand my mentality when it comes to 100 miles, I need to take you back to my high school days.
I was the kid that would have to "make-up" the mile on the last day of school, because I was unable to get it done in the 14 minute cut off time needed to pass the class. In fact, until I was 19, I had never actually run a full mile without stopping. I remember what a big deal it was for me to get to 5k. A few months later, in fall of 2012, I signed up for my first 10k, a turkey day run. Unsure of whether I'd be able to do the full distance, I went in telling myself I just had to run a 5k, and then run it again. I made it with no problem. In 2013 I would do my first half marathon and then full marathon. I had good time for a newbie runner in the 5k, 10k, and half marathon, but my first marathon gave me a beat down. After the marathon, I committed to sticking with distances of half marathon and under, and maybe...just maybe one day I'd try my hand at the big show again, but not for a while.
So much for that..
Fast forward to fall of this year. A past client of mine, Tony, comes back for more training. He tells me of the races he's prepping for this year - a 50k in April and a 100 mile attempt in June. I admired the hell out of him, but thought that he was a little bit crazy for running those insane distances. That was until he asked if he could join my friend Jess and I on a weekend long run. We did 12 miles that day, and I finished feeling out of shape and miserable. I kept running with him every weekend, though. Within a month we were doing training runs that were over marathon distance on a regular basis, building what would become an awesome aerobic base for our events this summer. The crazy part was that each big milestone distance made me more hungry for the next goal. I began to realize that the biggest limitation to achieving a goal like 26.2, 50k, 50 or 100 miles is your own mind. The body can do amazing things if you let it.
The only thing that stands between me and a 100 mile run on June 7th is my mind. After all, 100 miles is not that far.
The past couple weeks have been phenomenal for training. The weather has been ideal and I've managed to find ways to sneak more miles into my schedule by running at odd times and scheduling my weekly longer bouts on my calendar in advance. Since I am prepping for two big events in June, FANS 24 hour run and Grandma's Marathon, I have two different aspects to my training. One aspect of my training is speedwork and hill work. This is what I focus the majority of my time on during my mid week short runs of 4-10 miles. On the past two weekends, we've been hitting good old fashioned long slow distance workouts to get time on our feet and further build our endurance.
This past weekend we did a "Dress Rehearsal" of sorts at Lake Snelling, the site of the FANS 24 hour endurance run on June 7th. The Lake Snelling course is a beautiful secluded loop that is made up of about 2/3 tar and 1/3 gravel trail. It is a nice mix of inclines and declines, with nothing too steep to throw you off of staying on your pace. We did 50k/31 miles at roughly the pace we expect to be going on the day of the race. We learned a great deal about how to take advantage of the course - the inclines, the descents, and the rough patches. A lot of people ask me, do you actually run the entire 100 miles, or do you incorporate walking. There are some elites we can actually conquer the 100 mile distance without walking, but not many. In fact, the winner of last years FANS race finished with over 130 miles in the bank, and he claims he took a walk break every lap at the main aid station. We will be incorporating 3 short walk breaks at 3 points around the course at Lake Snelling. This will give our bodies a chance to clear lactate and other metabolic byproducts that would otherwise sideline us over the 24 hour event. The walk breaks also help you mentally digest the distance because you're able to focus on just getting to the next break, rather than thinking about things in terms of laps or miles. We established three main speeds that we will be using at FANS...Slow, Really F**king Slow, and Walking. It is all about economy.
I am looking for per mile pledges to help raise money for the FANS cause on race day. FANS is an organization that raises money for inner city youth scholarships. It is a great organization, and if you'd be interested in sponsoring me, shoot me an email (boikept@gmail.com)! People so far have pledged between .25 and $1.00 per mile for each mile I complete. In addition to being for a great cause, it gives me some extra motivation to get out and crush it on June 7th.
Here is a link to learn about FANS - http://www.fans24hour.org/about-fans.html
This week we start tapering, meaning that we are cutting our total mileage this week by about 1/3, and then cutting it by another 1/3 next week. The goal is to have the body in tip top shape for the big day!
Current Weight: 180 lbs.
Total Miles Last Week: 61
Long Run This Past Weekend: 31 miles around Lake Snelling
"100 miles is not that far" - Karl Meltzer
It could not be put more simply than in Karl's famous quote. As the current world record holder for most 100 mile races won, he ought to know. In order to beat the beast that is a 100 mile run, you need to mentally wrap your head around it being an attainable feat. People tell me that 100 miles is just crazy, and most don't understand how it is even possible in one run. To really understand my mentality when it comes to 100 miles, I need to take you back to my high school days.
I was the kid that would have to "make-up" the mile on the last day of school, because I was unable to get it done in the 14 minute cut off time needed to pass the class. In fact, until I was 19, I had never actually run a full mile without stopping. I remember what a big deal it was for me to get to 5k. A few months later, in fall of 2012, I signed up for my first 10k, a turkey day run. Unsure of whether I'd be able to do the full distance, I went in telling myself I just had to run a 5k, and then run it again. I made it with no problem. In 2013 I would do my first half marathon and then full marathon. I had good time for a newbie runner in the 5k, 10k, and half marathon, but my first marathon gave me a beat down. After the marathon, I committed to sticking with distances of half marathon and under, and maybe...just maybe one day I'd try my hand at the big show again, but not for a while.
So much for that..
Fast forward to fall of this year. A past client of mine, Tony, comes back for more training. He tells me of the races he's prepping for this year - a 50k in April and a 100 mile attempt in June. I admired the hell out of him, but thought that he was a little bit crazy for running those insane distances. That was until he asked if he could join my friend Jess and I on a weekend long run. We did 12 miles that day, and I finished feeling out of shape and miserable. I kept running with him every weekend, though. Within a month we were doing training runs that were over marathon distance on a regular basis, building what would become an awesome aerobic base for our events this summer. The crazy part was that each big milestone distance made me more hungry for the next goal. I began to realize that the biggest limitation to achieving a goal like 26.2, 50k, 50 or 100 miles is your own mind. The body can do amazing things if you let it.
The only thing that stands between me and a 100 mile run on June 7th is my mind. After all, 100 miles is not that far.
The past couple weeks have been phenomenal for training. The weather has been ideal and I've managed to find ways to sneak more miles into my schedule by running at odd times and scheduling my weekly longer bouts on my calendar in advance. Since I am prepping for two big events in June, FANS 24 hour run and Grandma's Marathon, I have two different aspects to my training. One aspect of my training is speedwork and hill work. This is what I focus the majority of my time on during my mid week short runs of 4-10 miles. On the past two weekends, we've been hitting good old fashioned long slow distance workouts to get time on our feet and further build our endurance.
This past weekend we did a "Dress Rehearsal" of sorts at Lake Snelling, the site of the FANS 24 hour endurance run on June 7th. The Lake Snelling course is a beautiful secluded loop that is made up of about 2/3 tar and 1/3 gravel trail. It is a nice mix of inclines and declines, with nothing too steep to throw you off of staying on your pace. We did 50k/31 miles at roughly the pace we expect to be going on the day of the race. We learned a great deal about how to take advantage of the course - the inclines, the descents, and the rough patches. A lot of people ask me, do you actually run the entire 100 miles, or do you incorporate walking. There are some elites we can actually conquer the 100 mile distance without walking, but not many. In fact, the winner of last years FANS race finished with over 130 miles in the bank, and he claims he took a walk break every lap at the main aid station. We will be incorporating 3 short walk breaks at 3 points around the course at Lake Snelling. This will give our bodies a chance to clear lactate and other metabolic byproducts that would otherwise sideline us over the 24 hour event. The walk breaks also help you mentally digest the distance because you're able to focus on just getting to the next break, rather than thinking about things in terms of laps or miles. We established three main speeds that we will be using at FANS...Slow, Really F**king Slow, and Walking. It is all about economy.
I am looking for per mile pledges to help raise money for the FANS cause on race day. FANS is an organization that raises money for inner city youth scholarships. It is a great organization, and if you'd be interested in sponsoring me, shoot me an email (boikept@gmail.com)! People so far have pledged between .25 and $1.00 per mile for each mile I complete. In addition to being for a great cause, it gives me some extra motivation to get out and crush it on June 7th.
Here is a link to learn about FANS - http://www.fans24hour.org/about-fans.html
This week we start tapering, meaning that we are cutting our total mileage this week by about 1/3, and then cutting it by another 1/3 next week. The goal is to have the body in tip top shape for the big day!
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