Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Running & Training

We had a good group trail run, last night. It was dark and and unseasonably warm - about 75 degrees F, or so. Seven runners showed up, and only 2 runners dropped out at the 5-mile half-way point. Kyle led for most of the run. He pushed the pace right up until the end. Only one runner, James, fell down on the trail (without injury).

Afterward, I showered and played hide and seek with my grandson and dog. We watched him until about 11 PM. I had settled in front of the TV by 9:30 PM (to start reading Humboldt's Gift, again). I haven't read this book since 1992, and am looking forward to getting into it, again. I relaxed with a nice homebrew of mine, (a black India Pale Ale), and a bottle of Sierra Nevada's latest version of "Celebration Ale."

My 100-miler training schedule is working out well, so far.
Check out my "normal" average training week, for the last few months:

Monday
Morning: Weights for 1 hour: Chest, shoulders, Tri's, calves, abs
Evening: 4 - 6 mile "recovery" run (sometimes on pavement)
Tuesday
Morning: Weights for 1 hour: Back, biceps, calves, abs
Evening: 10-mile "tempo" trail run w/flashlight
Wednesday
Morning: Weights for 1 hour: Legs, abs
Evening: 6-10 mile pavement or trail run
Thursday
Morning: Weights for 1 hour: Chest, shoulders, Tri's, calves, abs
Evening: 7-mile "tempo" trail run w/flashlight
Friday
Weights for 1 hour: Back, biceps, calves, abs
No running
Saturday
Morning: Long & slow trail run 12-30 Miles
Sunday
Morning: Medium-distance & slow trail run 10-15 Miles


It may seem excessive, but overall fitness is very important in the later stages of a 100-mile trail run; especially core body strength. I'm pretty sick of running on pavement, so I've almost completely switched to trail running. No surprise there, I've been moving in this direction for years.
So far, I've been able to balance family, friends, work, reading, homebrewing, and the other things in my life, as well.

5 comments:

BuckeyeRunner said...

Awesome! A 100-mile trail run! That's like the IronMan of running! I would love to go on trail runs in the dark - but I don't want to be that isolated when it gets dark so early. Group trail runs would be more my thing. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Looking forward to following your training schedule.

Unknown said...

Hey Ben, thanks for stopping by. Which 100 are you training for? I did my first at CCC last year and am planning on Bear in Idaho in September. Would like to do one in the spring as well, but there is a 24 hour run that usually takes place in March that I am hoping on going 100+ at. I wish I could get a group of night trail runs going on in my area, but there are not too many good trails close by.

Ben, aka BadBen said...

I plan on doing Rocky Raccoon in February, to start the year off right. It will be my 4th Rocky in a row. I'm planning on doing CCC (in 2006) as a qualifier for Hardrock in 2007. I'll be 50 years old in Feb 2007, so I want to do something more substantial than a normal 100. I was going to try for the WS100 lottery, but I hate crowds and high fees, so CCC it is. I have friends and family in Seattle, Spokane, and E-burg, so it's a natural.

Unknown said...

Hey, thanks for visiting my blog. Nice blog. Look forward to seeing you at Rocky Raccoon and maybe other races in the future.

Good luck and happy trails.

Bolder said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog Ben, and for the words of encouragement!

I've got wonderful trails here in Boulder... I'm going to use some of your enthusiasm to get on 'em.

Take care, Bold!