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As promised, here are the details of my running/training plan. From my research this summer, I have gathered that there is no great training plan tailored to running the Dopey Challenge. I did look into the Ultras and other long running events (beyond the marathon length) for guidance and found a key component to these plans--it's all about conditioning your body to run tired. This is the key lesson to the Hansons Marathond Method: A Renegade Path to Your Fastest Marathon. Luke Humphrey calls it a renegade path because it does away with the conventional training path--running a couple of times a week and running a very long distance on the weekend, topping out at 20 miles before the marathon. The longest distance you run with Hansons is 16 miles. Yup! Sixteen miles. The reason this work is because you are running 5-6 times a week so by the time you are running your long distance run at the end of the week, you are tired and will work on conditioning your body to run that long distance on tired legs. In the end, this will teach you how to run on tired legs for 26 miles and in my case, beyond that.
Running 5-6 times a week is going to be tough, no matter how serious a runner you are. However, each run has a purpose and each set of weeks introduces a new element. Humphrey discusses physiology and how these runs will maximize each person's potential by building up their fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, optimize each individual's VO2 max, improve anaerobic threshold, and burn fat at higher intensities (to work together with carbs as fuel). Most athletes know this, but as an amateur taking this on her own, this is what I need to know and apply to survive the Challenge. The running activities consist of the following:
In addition to conserving energy by running each event at a different pace, a very important detailed I learned from Humphrey is knowing my exact caloric carbohydrate needs each mile to keep me fueled throughout each event. He provides a formula that will give you an output per mile. This will help in knowing what sources of fuel, how much I need, and at what point to take it so I don't bunk out. Of course, he discusses general nutrition, but especially what you should be eating before and after the event to maximize your performance and to help recover; recovery being key for Dopey. Humphrey also discusses strength training. This was particularly interesting to me since I plan on continuing to lift weights while I train. I don't know how I will find the time but I will do it; muscles are just too sexy to me ;) The official start date of this training season is September 2 (Labor Day--is it ironic I start my training on a day designed not to labor?) and will last for 18 weeks. Remember to look at the countdown on the home page to see how far I'm in to my Dopey journey. Next post will be on Day 1 (September 2). Let's see what the road brings. |