100 Mile Ultra Training Plan

Sinister - giving the impression that something harmful or evil is happening or will happen 7 - equivalent to the sum of three and four; one more than six, or three less than ten.  Also, the number of remaining brain cells in people who attempt to run the Sinister 7. The Sinister 7 is my white whale, my Moby Dick.  This was my third solo attempt at it.  The first attempt in 2013 was because I wanted to see as much of the course as possible, and this was the cheapest way (I'm Dutch, we have a cheap date thing names after us).  I made it 2 legs.  2016 was a relay team. 2017 was a good old college try, I made it to the last aid station on 4 before the heat got me.  Then 2018, this year, which was a success.  I obsessed for 5 years, and even moved to the area to be within harpoon range of the course. I've decided to write down my observations about this course, so you can prove to people that don't believe you, about how horrible this cou...

Our buddy Steve in full race mode 'he's the dude waving' So to fully understand how this race came to be, a little history. While running a while back, I met a man named Steve.  He was fast.  Much faster than me.  I'd been putting in 100 mile run weeks for over a year, and working to increase my performance. Steve had a course record to his name, and multiple podiums.  He was a swim coach.  He made everyone he was friends with feel like they were his best friend.  The dude was amazing. People eagerly waiting to start the run at midnight We would run this god forsaken 2.5 mile loop patch of hard packed dirt and pavement. It had no consistent elevation.  The city had built this trail a decade ago, but had long since forgotten that maintenance was required.  The bridges are on angles, a mudslide has caused a small forest to slide onto the trail, and in a streak of sheer city planning brilliance, they had put in some wooden stairs, t...

The following is a dramatic retelling of the events that took place between the morning of May 26th through May 27th.  Places and names may have been changed to protect the identities of the innocent. Pre-race glamour photo It was a crisp dark morning on Saturday, May 26th, 2018.  4:15am.  I'd gotten a few hours of sleep since landing the night before, as I flew from Fernie, BC to Hamilton, and was feeling about as fresh as the Hamilton air (bazinga?).  I drove with my amazing, patient, and awesome wife (she is going to read this you know) to the start line in Ancaster, where I would run, and she would crew for the next 24-30 hours.  I grabbed my race package, and asked around for some intel on the course (I was highly prepared!) The race took place at the Dundas Conservation area, and consisted of eight 20km loops, each with about 600 meters of elevation change.  Each lap began running down a long hill, then ended running up the same h...

This is the world's shortest product review. These are workhorses.  They are never clean Icebugs. Are. Excellent. No fiddling with YakTraxs or Microspikes.  These badboys have tiny metal spikes built right in.  They've got a variety of drops (I use a 4mm version), and you can run on a frozen lake in them.  I've been keeping my weekly average at almost 100 miles with using these. I live in the Canadian rockies. It gets cold at night, then warm in the day. I run at 5am, on ice.  every morning. I love these shoes. If you are tired of the endless conversation over 'how do I run in the winter', try a pair of these.  Buy them on sale in the spring.  Put them in a closet, and break them out next winter.  These babies are work horses.  The link to the US store is here Those little metal spikes are the cat's pajama Crush your goals. Find me on; twitter @CanGhostRunner Strava 'Canadian Ghost Runner Istagram '...

A while back, I wrote a training plan for a basic 100 mile week,  a few thousand of you have read it, and I've received some requests for an 'updated/what the heck am I running this winter' plan.  So here it is.  I'll break it down into what I am doing, and throw in a slightly less insane version.  My plan last year helped me shave almost 5 hours off of my goal 108K trail run, and hit the podium.  I'll link to it here. So after a busy year of trail races, and my body being amply depleted, I took 3 days off of running while I moved to Sparwood, BC (yup, a whole three days, I'm a hedonist).  My October plan is about getting back to basics.  My runs will be a little more intense, no walking, and lots more slow running.  It's kind of like track work. One last point in this.  I love my treadmill.  Like really love my treadmill.  (check out the hashtag #50shadesoftreadmill, its all me! hahaha).  I digress. I do enjoy the ...

Welcome back to the end of the internet.  I hope your bathroom time is treating you well!  I am planning on making this more of a weekly thing now that I have internet again (thanks Shaw....). When we last left our protagonist (that's me) he was leaving a job after 15 years, moving to the mountains, and headed to Edmonton for the Iron Horse Ultra.  Catch up here . I may write about that at a later date, but that date is not today.  Suffice to say it didn't go well. Which brings me to today.  We now live 'Fernie Adjacent' in a town called Sparwood.  We bought a modular home..in a park..in cash, so we wouldn't have the constraints of a large mortgage, and could enjoy going to the mountains on our days off.  We have made good use of our time. Harshan and Pru I have been fortunate enough to bump in to more trail saints than I care to count in my trail running career.  In Fernie so far, that has been the intrepid Harshan and Pru Ramada...

Hello, and welcome back to the end of the internet.  This post is about my end of year taper going into a 100mile race, while in the process of moving. First, I want to say that tapering is different for everyone.  What works for me, may not work for you.  A few stats about me.  I'm 34 years old, 6'2, and range between 150-160lbs.  I have a resting heart rate of 40.  I'll be doing a write up on my slightly more advanced 100 mile run plan, but my very first post,was on my first run plan if any of your are interested here .  In training, I aim to run 100miles a week or more.  My body is used to performing in pain, and tapering feels unnatural. Now, lets get to it. Two weeks out.  This is the last meaningful training week before a race.  For this one, two weeks out, I ran a 10 mile, then a 28 mile (Berg Lake, its the previous post), then an 8 mile (viking ridge).  The week was about 105miles (ending the Sunday 13 days out)....