Training For a 100 Mile Race

"The front side of Hamel.  That mountain will always be special to me!!"

I have been pretty slack in my blogging for the past few months.  Id like to say this is because I have been focussed 100% on my training, and that is mostly true!!  When I started to train for my first 100 mile run, race day seem a long ways away.  Sinister 7 is the first race of the Sinister Triple race series.  Four weeks after completing the 160 kilometre Sinister 7 is the 125 kilometre Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache.  Three weeks after that race is the final race in the series, the 108 kilometre Black Spur Ultra in Kimberly, BC.

"After a serious conversation coffee at Starbucks,
with coach Krista, I decided to sign up
for the Sinister Triple."

Thanks to my amazing coach, I didn't have to give my training plan too much thought.  It was actually quite simple - just do what the training plan says, and trust the process.

I am a numbers and statistics guy.  So when Krista gave me my training plan in late December, my first goal was to see how many kilometers I would have to run before race day.  My coach is much smarter than me (which is why she is my coach) so she only gave me my training plan for the first month...  There was a method to her process.  She wanted me to focus on one month of training at a time.  Just like my long runs; focus on what is just in front of me, not on the whole picture!!

"Nearing the summit of Hamel with Jay Morrison
and Phil Phelan."

"Climbing the rock slide on Hamel"

In early December while running down Hamel, I rolled my ankle.  It wasn't a bad sprain, and I was only running 20 to 30 km per week.  I thought I had given it lots of time to heal up.  But towards the end of January, as my runs got longer and the pain started to come back.  As a precaution, I talked with my chiropractor and physiotherapist to get their opinions.  My chiropractor told me to avoid running on rough trails but didn't see the need for me to stop running completely.  My physiotherapist gave me some exercises to strengthen my ankle and advised me that I could experience pain for 3 to 6 months while it healed completely.  Keep going, but don't stop!!  A very valuable lesson every ultra runner needs to learn!!

"Heading towards the summit of Hamel"

"A winter run on the Muskoseepi trails"

"The summit of Mount Hamel"

And so the training continued.  The winter months are always tough to maintain my training plan.  We had lots of snow this winter which limited what trails I could run.  Then there was the cold.  February and March were unusually cold, but the training had to continue!!  When the temperature reached -30 that was usually my cutoff for running.  But there were a couple days when I just had to go out anyway.  My coldest run was -42.  I discovered that if I dressed properly, the cold was actually manageable for the most part.  The cold did bight back a couple times though.  By the time the snow melted and spring arrived, I had frozen my nose, my cheek, the side of one foot and a couple toes.  But it was nothing I couldn't recover from, and I still had all my toenails.

"After a 25 km run at temperatures below -30 degrees, the frost starts to build up.
And it seems like it is always dark when you finish running!!"

"A typical winter trail run"

"Winter trail running at its best.  There is
a trail under that snow, somewhere!!"

Once spring hit, the training intensified and the runs became longer.  Being able to run in the mountains was a welcome change to running the trails near the city all winter.  The two-hour drive to Grande Cache to visit Hamel Mnt became a regular occurrence.  The mountain air and steep mountain runs made me feel stronger.  My runs on the trails got longer and longer.

"Just finished the Magoos Madness Marathon.
The smile says it all!!"

My first marathon distance of the year was at the Evergreen Trail Trek.  Even though this race was just a training run, my goal was to complete the marathon faster than I had the previous year.  I was much better trained this year, and with a finish time of 5:41:55, I beat my target finish time by nearly 15 minutes!!

Marathon distance training runs were now becoming common on the weekend.  A typical weekend of running would be a 30 to 45 kilometre run on Saturday followed by a 1.5 to 2.5 hr (15 to 20 km) recovery run on Sunday.  During the week, I would run two or three evenings for another 30 to 40 kilometres to round out the week of running.

"The elevation profile of Magoos Madness.  Just like in real life,
the hill seemed to get higher and higher with each lap"

The last weekend of May was the final race of the Northern Alberta Trail Series.  Magoos Madness was my second official marathon of the year.  As the name implies, it was not the friendliest run I have completed.  The 42-kilometer course was made up of 8 loops that were each 5 km long.  The "madness" part was the fact that each loop consisted of nearly 150 meters of elevation gain, and the temperature hovered around +30 for the entire day!!  It was fun to share the course with the other 5, 10 and 21 km runners, and the repetitive loops were great for mental training.

"Exploring new trails at Crimson Lake near Rocky Mnt House"

Nearly every week in June, I headed to Grande Cache to run in the mountains.  My toughest run was running Hamel both directions in one day.  The 60 kilometer run took me just under 11 hours and after summiting Hamel twice, I had gained over 2,700 meters in the day.  The run was tough physically, and emotionally draining, but when the run was finished, I felt like I was nearly ready for the race. 

"There nothing like running with a guy who
25 years older than you and having to
fight to stay ahead of him.  John will be
soloing Death Race this year!!"

"No words....just thoughts..."

"A taper run up Folding Mountain near Hinton"

"A solo run up Coliseum Mnt
near Nordegg, Alberta"

I am now in the third and final week of tapering down to race day.  Saturdays run was just 10 kilometers and I ran another 10 kilometres on Sunday.  Next week, I will only run a total of15 kilometers prior to race day.

Yesterday after my run, I took Grizzly for a walk around our neighborhood.  On the way back, I met a lady who was out for a run.  She seemed to be relatively new to running but was definitely giving 110% effort.  As I walked closer to her, I could see a look of drive and determination on her face.  Her stride was short and focused.  When we met, I stepped off the sidewalk and said, "You are doing great!! Keep going!!  You can do this!!"  A smile momentarily crossed her face, then the determination set in again.  I watched her run past me and up a small hill.  Her stride shortened even more and her pace slowed a bit more, but she never slowed to a walk.

As she disappeared around the corner behind me, I could still see the determination on her face.  I thought to myself, "That is the level of determination I needed for Sinister.  She is pushing herself to her limits; that is the drive I needed to keep me going for 160 kilometers.  If she can keep going, I can too!!"  

A couple blocks later, I noticed that she was ahead of me again.  This time, running the same direction as me.  I was power walking, but I slowed my pace a bit because I didn't want to pass her.  After she turned left and crossed the street, she stepped up onto the sidewalk.  I heard her shout "YES!!!" and both hands shot up in the air in celebration of finishing her run!!  A lump immediately formed in my throat.  I couldn't help but smile with her, and share her moment of success.  A complete stranger had just inspired me!!  I saw her fight, and I saw her reach her goal!!

One thing I have learned this year:  It doesn't matter how far you run or how fast your pace is; there will always be someone faster than you and there will always be someone who can run farther than you.  Distance and pace do not measure success.  Success is when you have pushed yourself to YOUR limit and reached YOUR goal!!