Joggaholic
I am looking at running a 100 miler on 12/19, I have 3 weeks (4 weekends, plus 2 weeks of taper) left, what kind of long run/b2b mileages should I try to put in to make the most of these 3 weeks? The race has the easiest course I can find, 2 miles of flat concrete loop. This is not my goal race, it is more like a "practice race" to gauge if I want to pursue Rocky Raccoon in Feb. No time goal, just to finish. I trained for a HM in Oct so I had not been focusing on high mileages, so it is a rush trying to get fit for the 100 mile. I'm thinking of doing 30/20, 20/20, 30/20, 20/20 for the 4 weekend b2b's, is that going to be sufficient? The longest I had ever done was 60 miles in 12 hours, 100 mile is completely new to me. Thanks.
Are we there, yet?
I would think it more important to go into the race well rested than to try to cram in some last minute training. Maybe one more long run this weekend, but hopefully more experience ultra runners will chime in.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Was that 60 miler on road/concrete?
That particular one was a 12 hr race on a flat easy trail, but I'm mainly a road (and TM) runner
Would you suggest 3 weeks (or more) instead of 2 weeks of tapering then?
Whatever has worked for you in the past. I find it highly dependent on both quantity and quality of training leading up to taper time. I've taken as little as 10 days for a marathon, but I've also extended that to 3 weeks if I'm feeling particularly fatigued.
Faster Than Your Couch!
It also depends on how long your long and B2B runs so far have been.
I would do one more long or B2B run this weekend, about a bit longer than your longest long or B2B run so far in this training cycle. Then slightly shorter long and B2B runs on the following weekends.
Leave weekly mileage high for the remaining non-taper weeks, spread out miles evenly throughout the week, with maybe one slightly longer run mid-week. Then 2 weeks taper, with intense runs of short to moderate mileage and one moderate/longer run in the first week, then reduce mileage and run only twice or three times in the week before the race, shorter distances, can be intense, but there I'd consider both length and intensity to do what I'd think works best for me.
Just how I'd go about it.
I have done two week tapers before 100-milers, and they worked well for me. For my first 100-miler, though, the 3-week taper was ideal, just because the high-mileage, intense training was new to me then, and my body needed more rest to recover and get ready for the race.
Run for fun.
Just take it easy and follow whatever taper you've done in the past. From now till then don't work too hard, eat too much or do anything overly hard. During the race just go out and make sure you don't get winded. Don't worry about going out too fast the first few miles but make sure you've dialed yourself way back by mile 4. Don't get winded. Drink a lot. Eat a little on the way but don't worry about eating too much early on. Your body will tell you what it does or does not want 2-3 hours into the run.
Have fun.
100 miles on a 2 mile concrete loop.....sounds like the beginning of a bad dream.
Good luck
I never ran more than 50 miles so that my words with grain of salt. IMO running on the road is lot tougher than running on the trails. My feet and legs feel more beaten when I do long runs on roads vs trails. I think most people can run longer at least in terms of duration on trail compare to running on roads. Sounds like you feel confident about running road. How did you feel after 30s/20 b2b that you did recently? Was it on road?
One of the 20s I did on road, the rest are all late night TM runs. I take a water/stretching break every 2 miles be to consistent with the race. I actually feel and fare better running on roads than on the TM, I think mainly because I have poor ventilation in my room and my family likes to keep the temp in the 80s.
MTA: I didn't actually answer your question, did I? The last 5 miles of the b2b my legs were tired as expected, but I think they were not too exhausting as I don't feel very worn out by the next day, judging by my ability to go up and down the stairs as usual. I may have to cut down mileage this week, I feel a cold kicking in and I don't want it to get worse.
Honestly at this point, there's no magic thing except "do no harm".Just run. Not too much.
The race has the easiest course I can find, 2 miles of flat concrete loop. This is not my goal race, it is more like a "practice race" to gauge if I want to pursue Rocky Raccoon in Feb.
Rocky will be a lot more fun. Also less painful, at least if you can avoid tripping on the roots.
Keep Going
I would say it looks to me like you are doing it just fine. I did a three week taper for my first and currently only 100 and it worked fantastic. Like WC said you want to make sure you are rested. I would also have a game plan since it's a 2 mile loop such as walk the first .25 miles then jog the next 1.75 or something like that. Since it's a test 100 you don't really want to go out at someone else's pace and blow up which can happen easily on a short looped course since you will be running with folks the entire time. I think you will find short looped courses can be surprisingly fun. I did a few 12 hour 1 mile looped races and had a blast way more then I thought I would. So good luck and have fun!
100 milers are my favorite