Vermont 100 Training Update

Unfortunately I have been pretty quiet here over the last couple of weeks. After Bear Mountain and Seven Sisters I was pretty toast, and a busy work and travel schedule have kept me pretty tired. Thankfully I have not had to stop training, and now I finally have a bit of time to give a little update.

After Seven Sisters, I did my best to hit the ground running. I jumped right back into a training plan and did my best to start to incorporate more runnable elevation changes (not technical, road or trail). I also started to include a double day once a week to run on tired legs and increase my volume. For the next 5 weeks or so I would be really happy to consistently hit 70-80 mile weeks. Going into my first 100 miler, I have no idea what to expect. Not wanting to go into it injured, I don’t see much benefit increasing my volume beyond what I did for my 100K. If after the race I feel terrible then I’ll consider adding volume for 100 milers in the future. Even though I can tell I am tired, I think I have been really executing well on my harder workouts and long runs. My main fear and something I plan to address with some days on the treadmill is getting in enough elevation. Sunny California is mostly flat where I work and it is tough to make it out to the hills on a regular basis. 

This weekend (5/29) I am running the Pineland Farms 50 miler up in Maine! From what I understand the course should be pretty similar to what I will encounter in Vermont, so beyond just going for a nice long run, I should be able to address what my strengths and weakness are going into the final 7 weeks of training. I am really excited to get out and run a course that should be quicker than any 50 miler I have attempted in the past so I am anxious to see how I do. Of course, I am also going into this race without a taper or any goals, so I am trying to keep expectations low. Either way, running ultras is always a blast and I can’t wait for a nice long weekend with my trail running friends.