American Canyon 50K Training Week Four & Footfeathers Clinic

The Pirates Cove section of the Marin Headlands

Week four of AC 50K training was one of those "lost" weeks. I missed two hours mid week, but made up about an hour and forty minutes on the weekend. What resulted was a decent introduction to the back to back long run. Back to back runs on the weekends are a staple of the ultra runner. They really boost the time spent on your feet, and give you lots of experience running on tired legs. I felt the effect of a strong foundation of  base miles the second day, as my muscles outlasted my ankles and hips. More cross training and core work are on the horizon...

The week:

Monday: ~3 hours back country skiing with Twirly and friends

Saturday: 3:45 hilly run in the Marin Headlands

Sunday: 96 minute recovery jog

Totals: 29.51 miles, Elevation gain: 5,446', Avg HR 127

Tenessee Valley, with San Francisco's Sutro Tower in the far distance

Saturday's run in the Marin Headlands was spectacular, and once again provided a downpour to make things interesting. I drove to the Tennessee Valley trail head after attending a Footfeathers clinic on training for ultra distance races. Tim always puts on an entertaining forum, complete with anecdotes and plenty of laughs. Topics included periodization, heart rate specific training strategies and theories, training volume and specificity. It provided me some more insight into the method behind Tim's madness. And there was food.

I was able to snap a few photos during my race simulation long run before the rain began. My schedule called for 3 hours of practice racing. "Moving constantly, efficiently, eating and drinking" was the goal, although I began with 50 ounces of water when I should have had 70, and I stopped to take pics along the way (not likely during a race). The biggest lesson I learned was that my muscular endurance is good enough to outlast my joints if I bomb technical downhill too hard! I used Vespa again, and it looks like one every three hours will be a good consumption rate. I started bonking around three hours and ate an additional ViFuel instead of wasting a Vespa on 45 minutes of running. I refueled with a new drink, Cytomax Fruit Punch, and I think I have found a new favorite recovery drink!





Pirates Cove without my mug

Mount Tamalpais

The run ended up being 3:45 and bit over 18 miles. I was pretty wrecked at the end, but got in a 9 mile recovery jog on Sunday, thus beginning four months of back to back runs in preparation for American River 50 in April.

Here are the details from Saturday's adventure: