Hi :-)

I have exactly 364 days to work up to r2r2r.   Curious if anyone has some type of resource for a training plan. I've done Quad Dipsea, R2R and a 50K.   I'd love to know what you did get ready?  I do know that there are some 3AM runs coming my way. I'm hoping I can get some poor souls to join me.

Has there been any progress in the headlamp category?  I did notice PEZL had a self adjusting light version but it had the full head strap and I prefer wearing one around my waist.  Thoughts?  I really would like to spend a lot of money exactly once. Perhaps I'm dreaming.  The only real reviews I can find are from blogs where it is obvious the writer has been given the item which completely invalidates the review for me.

Happy Running everyone!!!

Andie

Thanks! Is there a particular 50 mile training plan people generally follow? I have a few running books but they are mostly for the traditional marathon.

And yes- I felt great after r2r.  I was very well trained for that distance.  I actually worked a lot on downhill speed work to build the quads.

I did see those knuckles lights. I wasn't sure if it would change my arm stride though, trying to point down at the ground?  I'd be interested in knowing what you thought.

Andie

I think Petzl has lights that can be mounted on different adapters and clips to attach them to almost anything (waist, backpack, head). You might look into this.

I use a Princeton Tech Vizz headlamp, and a small bike light as a handheld lamp. The combination works great. Only downside to the headlamp (165 lumens) is that on the high setting, it needs new batteries every 2-3 hours. But I can imagine that in the Canyon, you'd use some lower setting, at least on some stretches.

If I hold the second lamp in my hand, it does alter my arm motion, but that doesn't have any ill effects on my running. Maybe I've gotten used to it by now, but I never thought it to be especially annoying, exhausting, or distracting (and I'm one to quickly complain about such things, it took me months to get used to running with a handheld water bottle!).

Definitely carry enough batteries, also for the spare lights, and at least three lights with you.

If I were you, with the previous experience, I'd copy the training that you did for the R2R, and add a few B2B's to build endurance. Work on the nutrition strategy for very long duration of the run. Get used to night running, and how to handle the gear in the dark. Figure out how to minimize what you'll carry along, without sacrificing too many safety features.

This is one of the 50 mile training plans from Bryon's book that peaks at 70 mpw.

Date------------sunrise-------sunset----total daylight hours---??---lunar noon

If we start at 3am then 4 hours at the start and up to 4 hours at the end of needed lamp time. It is 3 days off from a full moon so I'm hoping that helps too.

North to south it took 7:30- that included about an hour at Phantom- about 30 waiting for a friend to catch up and 30 to eat. Not my choice- she had rolled her ankle and was definitely hurting.  I think a proper goal time will be set closer to the time. My "max" time is 18 hours but realistically I'd like to be within 14-15 hour range.   I did a ton of elevation training- in hindsight I wish I had kept track of what I did. I do like the idea of back to back runs.   It will be a fun adventurous year!  Hoping for some Half Dome permits and many other back country adventures!

fimmx- While we were running we asked people and they said hiking was 12 hours.  Are you sure going to hike the whole thing? There is a nice stretch in the middle that is easily runable- this would greatly increase your time.  I run at Rancho 6AM twice a week with a whole bunch of ladies.   I live on the Los Gatos Creek trails so my weekend runs are usually down here.  I am not a fast runner at all actually.  I'm just kind of like a slow mountain goat.  Come closer I'll be doing a quad dipsea in the summer for a major training run.  Shadow of the giants 50K is on my list as well as some 8-10 hour Yosemite back country runs.  It will be an EPIC summer!!!

Couch- I'm definitely trying to figure out the light pack, and exactly where I will fill up.

Thanks everyone- do you go to REI or is there a better place to shop for headlamps?

Andie --

For a headlamp, I recommend the Petzl Nao (reactive lighting). It has a belt kit for the battery that is around $30.

I used the Nao at Leadville and probably could have done all my night running on one battery. I brought three batteries and a small flashlight in case I needed to change them in the dark. When I was at 2/3 battery I just swapped in a fully charged one and that was 2/3 charged when I finished.

Since you are local, you could borrow it and test it out if you want (I do not have the belt kit, though), or you could borrow the extra batteries for the run itself, which are not cheap. We could run really early in Wunderlich one morning, and I could use a flashlight and you could try the headlamp. Also, you then would not have to worry about which trail to take, which can be confusing in the dark. Finally, it would be great training There are several variants of a 4-5 mile, 2000+ foot climb to the top of Skyline and back down.

Black Diamond has some nice headlamps - can be fastened/clipped/attached to pack or waist with some creativity.  I have the Black Diamond Storm ($50) and it will last 8+ hours on high and then supposed to last 16-20 hours after that while still having a bright beam.  Takes 4 AAA batteries.  If using as a headlamp, you would need some sort of headband to buffer and it is a tad heavy.  Great for a couple hours but after that, it starts to get uncomfortable.  Very nice beam though!