Hey Couch... looking forward to your next 95 questions. I am only a 2 time 100 mile finisher so my experience is limited.

- How many miles per week for what period did you run before your first 100 (is this different from the next 100-milers)?

Recommendations?

I was running 60-90 mpw during training with the occasional cutback week. Back then 45-55 was a cutback for me. I had been running this mileage for a few years I suppose.

- In how much pain (physically, from "overuse" or from the exhaustion) were you after the run, and how long did it take to recover from that?

My biggest issue was sore blistered feet. Sure, for a day or two or three afterwards I was sore all over but it wasn't awful. The following weekend I went out for a short run.

- What is more challenging, the distance (physical exhaustion), or the mental barrier? (and what, specifically, was your greatest mental obstacle?)

I was pretty confident in my ability and fitness before the race so mentally I felt pretty strong. Despite raging thunderstorms and blistered feet I kept trudging along. I think my biggest issue was nighttime running and vision. I am very near sighted and with rain and fog really had trouble seeing the trail and rocks at night. I just sort of stumbled along until the sun came up.

- How much night running before the race do you recommend? Weekly? How long, when in the night?

I'm a scaredycat, should I run with a buddy at night (I have done some night runs alone, and at some point, there was always that irrational fear of everything, and the only thing saving me was the thought of DH being somewhere waiting for me within an hour or so)? How do you cope with that in training?

I didn't do enough night running in training but am not sure how much to recommend. Seeing many of the trails around here do not encourage night use I doubt if I would do more. I'd do 3-4 runs, starting at twilight and running into the darkness. Never completely overnight. Saved that sort of fun for the actual race.

- Is warm food better in the night, or just the same ol' stuff that you take during the day?

I start craving warm/real food earlier in the race than nighttime. Soups and such are extra good at night though.

I am considering registering for a 100-miler in early October (Oil Creek 100), but I am not sure if I'm ready.

Ready to register or ready to run? Afraid of a little committment? Want to just go through life fantacizing? You won't know if you are ready until about ninety miles in. Even then something mght happen (I added a quarter mile at about ninety-nine miles down at Leadville). It is the retrospect that is fun. The getting "ready" is a series of adventures and suspense points.

So I have some questions for our experienced 100-mile pros:

Oops.. I won a $25 gift certificate at a 50k, but, so far, nothing at 100 miles.

- How many miles per week for what period did you run before your first 100 (is this different from the next 100-milers)?
Recommendations?

I still have the chart... wanna copy? I rarely got above 65 miles per week. I did 16 40-45 mile weekends during the 21 weeks (ending two weeks before) going into Leadville.  I followed a similar pattern the following year (LT100 again) and for Cascade Crest two years later. Both were DNFs, but for widely different reasons.  Recommendations... stay within yourself.  Don't fall for "the other person did it, so must I" idea.  When we were young and racing---Kathy stayed around the 100-mile week mark, I seldom went past sixty-five.

- In how much pain (physically, from "overuse" or from the exhaustion) were you after the run, and how long did it take to recover from that?

I was not in pain. We did some shuffle/jog things on the drive home from Colorado (five-day trip). I think I did a PR 8k thingie about three weeks afterwards. Pain comes from the distance, or effort at that distance, you are not trained for. The three "memorable" runs I had (course record or overall first) had no pain--they were well-trained-for events.

- What is more challenging, the distance (physical exhaustion), or the mental barrier? (and what, specifically, was your greatest mental obstacle?)

The mental barrier. I went in thinking sub24-hour, knowing the voices inside did not believe that and the fear overtook the confidence about thirty miles in. It took twenty miles to regroup, accept the defeat (no sub24) and continue. (I did finish).

- How much night running before the race do you recommend? Weekly? How long, when in the night?
I'm a scaredycat, should I run with a buddy at night (I have done some night runs alone, and at some point, there was always that irrational fear of everything, and the only thing saving me was the thought of DH being somewhere waiting for me within an hour or so)? How do you cope with that in training?

I did a two- to three-hour night run on Wednesdays for about eighteen weeks. I sometimes started the long run so I would get home well after dark. The transition into darkness seemed a good tool (mental transition).

I cheated on the 'scaring myself silly' thing. I was coaching two women for their first hundred and we did the Wednesday night runs together. I used to use forestry roads for solo night runs because I knew there were things that go bump in the night on the trails. (One of my columns was a wonderful night run... hint hint.)

- Is warm food better in the night, or just the same ol' stuff that you take during the day?

The potato soup at two o'dark in the morning was great, but so were the brownies and milk. I also like hot broth on cool days. This is a personal thing. I used several long runs purely to experiment with foods. Crunchy gives way to soft, warm to cold to hot... salty to sweet. Double cheeseburger with 55 miles behind you can be just what is needed, then again, maybe not.  Experiment with food and drinks.

*****hugs are good***** *****hugs and familiar voices in the night are true gifts for the soul, heart, body, and mind*****

I am sure I'll have at least 95 more questions (which makes it 100, one for each mile run), but for now, I appreciate every input and experience.

The first DNF at Cascade Crest should have been a DNS--the closest I have ever come to admitting that many things were wrong.  I, like many others, believed in the miracle cure capability of the starting line.  There is a lot of value to a DNF if you understand the lessons and not just the emotional turmoil of not finishing.

For the folks that have a life, real or imagined:

"The Low Key Approach to a Trail 100-Mile", Jeff Hagen, UltraRunning, March, 1987

available via e-mail

- How many miles per week for what period did you run before your first 100 (is this different from the next 100-milers)?

Recommendations?

I'd recommend a 50 mile a week base for a few years first. I topped out around 70 for my first and felt it wasn't enough, got up to 90 for my next

- In how much pain (physically, from "overuse" or from the exhaustion) were you after the run, and how long did it take to recover from that?

Plenty. I went to bed after but just laid there and moaned, too much pain to sleep. It took a few days to walk normal and a week before I felt like running. After my last race I looked in the mirror and saw a crack whore looking back at me. take a look at Larry Gassan's finisher's photos, the ones that are smiling did not run hard enough

http://www.fotovisura.com/user/larrygassan/view/100-mile-runners-at-the-finish

- What is more challenging, the distance (physical exhaustion), or the mental barrier? (and what, specifically, was your greatest mental obstacle?)

Good question. In some way's they are really hard to tease apart, is it really physical exhaustion or more mental fatigue? Recovering from a mental lowpoint in a race takes more effort than you'd guess. Breaking the chain of self defeating mental chatter when you get down is the biggest obstacle

- How much night running before the race do you recommend? Weekly? How long, when in the night?

More than I did for my last! I only did a few hours and paid for it. I kept gettting turned around and got very discouraged. The importance of course depends on the course and how well marked it is, on a loop course, not such a big deal, point to point, very big deal. Any time at night is good but I like starting at 2 or 3 and running till dawn. No, not weekly I don't think but at least a half dozen times and long.

I'm a scaredycat, should I run with a buddy at night (I have done some night runs alone, and at some point, there was always that irrational fear of everything, and the only thing saving me was the thought of DH being somewhere waiting for me within an hour or so)? How do you cope with that in training?

Try watching a horror movie, especially one where the victim is getting chased through the woods at night. Seriously, it is just a fear you have to face and conquer unless you are going to run with a pacer in the race. The fear will definitely keep you awake.

- Is warm food better in the night, or just the same ol' stuff that you take during the day?

I did have a cup of coffee  at 2 am one race that was pretty heavenly. But generally I stick with what I know, I don't want to risk a stomach rebellion

John: Sounds interesting, I'll PM you for the e-mail address.

DD1: I hope to get that motivational push if I sign up. Somehow my mind is convinced right now that I can't even do the 50k that's coming up, despite having had some great training runs. Those little voices deep down are nasty sometimes!

Gumby: I have a good base (35-65 MPW for more than a year, and I've been running for most of my life pretty consistently). I think this is also the reason why I could build up so quickly for my 50-milers despite all the health turmoil I had in the 5 months before the races. I had been in great shape for the 50k in April, then had pneumonia and pleurisy, barely gotten out of the worst when I had bronchitis, and took 10 weeks to recover. Then I had surgery in August. I built up for the 50M only in the second half of August and September (way later than planned), the race was mid-October, and it went very well. My second 50-miler was 4 weeks after the first, which may have been a bit too soon. I had recovered, but not run a significant mileage since the first 50M. I wouldn't do that for a 100-miler. Still that race went well, too, although I experienced some fatigue after 35 miles.

Two weeks after that, I ran a PR in a (road) HM.

I've been running decently this winter, so the base should be there. But I definitely need to catch up on the long (30+ miles) runs, and the night running on trails.

seilerts: I have gone through some physical and mental fatigue in the 50-mile races, but I expect it to be much worse in a 100-miler. In the 50-milers, I recovered each time, which was a good and valuable experience. I think the worst was the later stages of my second 50-miler, when I started to get bored, exhausted, and was questioning why I even did that to myself, LOL. Still I think the prospect of night running in a 100-miler would keep me more alert and in better spirits, at least for a while. Physically, I've experienced some major discomfort, but I still would expect much more on a 100-miler, especially in terms of cramping and nausea.

It won't be easy to train on the course (it's a long drive away), but I could probably run some sections of it 2 or 3 times before the race. And my usual trails are pretty similar to what I expect for the race course, so it should prepare me fairly well.

A big challenge for me is pacing. I tend to run by effort and wing it rather than run by a specific plan. That could be my downfall in a 100-miler, I suppose?

In my 50-milers, my strength was definitely to be able to keep up a nice pace even in the late stages, and to be able to motivate myself to run even when I absolutely did not want to any more.

My goal is to finish within the cutoff, and I think I can do that. The cutoff is 32 hours, and I expect to finish anywhere within 26 to 30 hours (a guesstimate from my 50-milers and 50k, race reports and comparison with runners who have run it, without having seen the course myself).

So I really have no reason to offer any constructive feedback on 100 mile training so I have no clue what it takes but I wanted to stop in and say a couple things.  FIrst is you can do this if you realy want to.  Your running base is your biggest running asset.  Years of running plus the trails you normally do are just gnarly.  Most people on here don't know that even with your own descriptions.  You have technical trails, lots of hills to ascend and descend.  Your biggest hurdle will simply be your own self doubt.  Your DH seems to be supportive so that is a huge plus.  You can figure a way to get in the long runs.  You may not really need to get any runs in on the actual course.  I don't know it personally but I do not think it's as technical as your trails.  (But I could be wrong on that).  You doubted yourself for your 50 milers (well mainly the first) and you killed both of them.  Why? Because you have a great base.

So you have less than a week until OC registration opens.  Last year the 100 miler did not fill in the first day (the 50k and 100k did) but this race is becoming more popular so you cannot rely on that.  Committing to it now might be what you need to keep disciplined.

The night running should be fine.  By the time you get to running in the dark at OC, you will have done the loop twice already.  That plus a pacer and you should be fine.

So what's the verdict? What do you need to "pull the trigger"?

I was seriously considering OC 100k for this year but my supposed recovery is not going great.  Although there is a lot of time until OC, for me not a solid decision.  So I will wait til next year (maybe).

... I have never tried two lights, things were fine with just the headlight on the gravel roads I usually do in the night, but the rocky trails really require better depth illumination. And 140, or even 400 lumens, that sounds almost brighter than daylight to me (coming from the 43 or less lumens corner, which barely beats the half moon on a cloudy night)!

 

A second vote for one light (often the headlight) on easy stuff, then turn on the handheld when the footing gets more difficult.

Last year I got a new headlight.  Old [eight years?] Petzl something to new Petzl something -- went from 46 lumens to 80 (bright setting).

I found that I hardly ever used the  bright setting.  The low brightness setting was a lot brighter than my old light.  Look for close-outs on The Clymb or REI-Outlet.  Even what isn't the bestest and brightest might be a huge improvement.