100 Mile Ultra Training Plan

The Dude Abides Welcome back.  If you're reading this, you remembered to bring your phone to the bathroom,  good on you! The Following is my solo experience of about 58miles of the Sinister 7.  Trigger warning:  The following may disturb you. So.....those of you that have read my amazingly written recaps (*cough *cough) know I've had a good year this year.  Put down some good ultras, had a blast in training, and have just been loving on life.  I put a lot of training into running this one race (seriously folks 100-120 miles a week all bloody winter!!!). So, how does one deal with a DNF, or just a crappy day (if you know what I mean *winky face emoji).  This is the tale..... The year was 2017, It was a warm July morning, Trump was in the Whitehouse, Oil was 40 bucks a barrel, and a rather shaggy looking runner, was donning his camo bucket hat and proudly affixing his bib # (#1 of all numbers, thanks for the cursed # Brian, lol)for what promise...

Sunrise at the staging area It's a cold Thursday morning in late June.  Rain had been pouring down for the last 24 hours, but has decided to briefly let up for the occasion.  It's 2:30am.  It's summer Solstice (or the day after as the trail Sage Shayne would remind us, but close enough).  A group of us have decided to attempt a sunrise trail run in the valley a few minutes from town.  The group is mostly the usual trail suspects of a running group. Shayne- The trail sage who knows every ATV path in the area, and has named every goat/mountain bike path up every hill and valley (He's named this route the 'Beatton Beat Down' after the valley we are in). Tom- The guy who stops running mid stride to take pictures, and whose idea of  'walking his dogs' include a vertical mile of gain.  He also designs these insane runs/adventures our group embarks on. Joel- The only one of us that looks like a runner.  The guy who is good company to run with...

Shayne Vs The Unnamed Mountain The Core Lodge Quad Route Welcome back to the end of the internet.  The following is a recap of the awesomeness that took place on Saturday, June 10th, 2017, at the 'Core Lodge' in the Tumbler Ridge Geo park, when four ultra runners decided to attempt the Core Lodge Quad (CLQ). First, about the CLQ.  The CLQ is a 30ish km hike/run/scramble over four mountains in the Northern Canadian Rockies where the runners gain and lose between 7000 and 8000 feet of elevation.  There are lots of bears, no people, no aid stations, and almost no defined trail.  This route requires bush wacking, route finding, and luck with the weather. Second, the group,  I'll post instagram info for easy stalking. Shayne Gunn (runninggunn), Our route finding expert, and trail sage of our area. Tom Coveney (coveneytom), our defacto photographer, and incline junkie. Joel Stainer , voice of reason and all around good dude. Lastly me; Joshua Slykhu...

Me aka Ever Sexy 1541 Pre-race Welcome back to the end of the internet.  I appreciate you taking the time to read this (instead of the shampoo bottle, or toilet paper packaging).  The following is a dramatic retelling of the events leading up to, and on, Saturday, May 27th, 2017.  Buckle up folks! If you've read my last few posts, you know that the Blackfoot 100K was the end of my 3 race, 24 days of stupidity adventure, including the Evergreen Trail Trek Marathon, The Orcas Island 50 miler, and the Blackfoot Ultra.  Yes, I am not a smart man. So we will just say, I was not the freshest, sexiest version of myself going into this. The Blackfoot and I go back to 2013, when a much more....Robust? version of myself bowed out at km 65.  This year, a much smaller version of that man wanted revenge, more than that silly rabbit wanted Trix.  I go into every race with multiple goals, ranging from my 'A' goal through to 'just finish the darn thing singing!...

View from Mount Constitution On May 10th I began my journey to Orcas Island in Washington State.  It had been a week since my second place finish at the Evergreen Trail Trek Marathon in Grande Prairie, and I was riding pretty high.  My legs had mostly recovered from the previous week, and my resting heart rate had almost returned to normal.  The only thing still bugging me was my hamstrings, and it wasn't bad, I was just 'aware' they existed and weren't happy with me.  In the 10 days between races, I ran about 60miles, mostly slow, with minimal elevation gain (maybe 2000ft for the week). We checked into the beautiful Rosario Hotel on the Thursday afternoon, just in time for the wind and the rain (Pacific Northwest for the win?).  This weather pattern more or less continued for the next 48 hours, which I'm told was part of a larger 8 monthes of continuous rain this area enjoys.  For anyone who knows me, I'm pretty vocal about being a skinny dude that c...

My attempt to look serious..ly goofy before the run The Evergreen Trail Trek is an evening trail marathon in the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. As I start, I'd like to say that I do NOT train for the full marathon distance.  I train for Ultra distances, and the race style is very different.  Ultras are run much slower, with a point to avoid 'red lining' (running at peak heart rate).  Marathons are much quicker! This race began and ended at a horse race track, consisting of two half marathon loops. The first 1.5 miles was run on ATV trails and dirt road.  I came out running a 6 minute mile pace as this terrain is not difficult, and kind of my bread and butter next to insane inclines.  I started in first, and kept it until the last 3 miles.  I'd like to add the first place guy followed directly behind me the entire first 23 miles (strategically smart) so this was an epic battle. After the first 1.5miles, we hit the trails.  Basica...

To recap 2017.  January was about building mileage, and running numerous split runs to get to 100 miles/wk. February was condensing those runs and adding much longer runs (weekly marathons). March saw the elimination of split runs while keeping 100 mile/wk for a baseline.  Speed and cross training played prominently into March. April is about elevation.  plain and simple. The motto is 'Get them hills'.  I will be less concerned with the 100 mile/wk upkeep, while aiming to spend a ridiculous amount of time running at inclines of greater than 8% (ideally 10-16%). An ideal week is this; Day 1- 16 mile run with 500ft gain (all the gain is over 3km). Day 2- 12 mile trail with 2000ft gain (4.5k trail loop repeats) Day 3-13.4 mile run with minimal gain Day 4- 5hr+ run hike with 4000ft gain (4.5k trail loop) Day 5- 13.4 mile run with minimal gain Day 6- Hill grind for 5600ft (10-12% grade 2k hill repeats) Day 7- 13.4 mile run with minimal gain I am...