WS100 Training ~ Weeks 1 & 2 *Doubles Begin*

Last week I posted my Western States 100 training schedule (post here) but as we know, I'm still not done with a few other goals... 
~ Finish 50 Marathons in 50 States (aka. stay injury free)
~ First indoor marathon and GE Corporate marathon competition (run fast on flat)
~ Sub 3:20 marathon in 2011 (get fast!)


Due to the number of goals, my training is a little crazy right now. I'm plan to keep up the 100 mile schedule I posted, but a few of the runs are going to have special workouts with them to keep me injury free, fast, and ready for those huge WS hills. Every workout has a focus on one or more of the following...
~ Endurance! Double long run weekends and increased overall mileage 
~ Strength! 2-3 strength training workouts after runs
~ Hill Training! 2nd long run day completed on tough trails or on large hill repeats (HR). Cross Training completed on a stair stepper!
~ Speed! Short mileage day will be done with speed workouts. 


Week 1 & 2: 
Overall: My mileage hasn't increased drastically, but the intensity of the workouts has, especially adding some very tough strength workouts in there. The first things I've noticed is that I'm STARVING! I can't start a run hungry or I will get dizzy and not be able to finish. This morning was my 2nd week of double long runs and it took 2 hours of inhaling any food I could find before I felt semi-comfortable enough to start... and even then, I needed to bring a Gatorade to keep my calories up. 


Workouts...

Notes/Thoughts: Started indoor track workouts so I can be prepared for the Zoom Yah! Yah! Indoor marathon and to do speed and tempo runs. Besides the tougher strength training I started for my legs, overall it didn't feel too much harder than my normal workouts. 

Notes/Thoughts: 

HR- Hill Repeats. I found a 2 mile loop of long uphill and long downhill on a pretty good grade. I repeated these for 10 miles as my 2nd long run of the weekend. 

This week I definitely started feeling the intensity and length of my workouts. I added a day of yoga to help increase flexibility. The reason I really want to work on this is for my quads... at the end of ultras the downhills tend to pull on the quads and trash them. Making them a little more flexible should help to save my legs and knees. 

Not a bad start to WS100 Training. Next week is a drop down week for the long runs... which is good cause it's Christmas!!! The week after I'll bump up to 16 and 10 for my long runs... then we have a stream of marathons/ultras coming up... yes, again! More to come!!!

Happy Running!

Stephanie

"Run to Win" - Meb