Hursty Thanks, I’m still a bit surprised by how well I ran. Still lots of room to get better, but my plan turned out to work well. The big win was that my training translated better than I expected. I did a lot less volume this time, only peaking around 85k/week for 3 weeks (last year I ran 5 weeks over 105k), and replaced it with rucking. I built to 2500 stairs (50% grade) an hour with 27 lbs in a vest. I did that ever week for 8 weeks and on alternate weeks I was either doing a hilly run or 3500 stairs in an hour with no weight, just working cadence.
My nutrition got a bit derailed, actually. Was on 90 grams of carbs/hour for the first two hours, then got bloated and probably had to cut it in half. I did a run/walk strategy the last 15k or so, probably could have used the extra energy, but it is what it is.
We nailed the aid stations, 6 minutes and change over 4 stops and 2 water drops. Cooling strategy was good too, that helped a lot.
I’ve got a 22k race at the end of the month, but I’m considering dropping down to the 15k. I’m back to running, but my legs aren’t quite recovered yet and I’m tired after every run. Dropping the distance and getting jacked up on caffeine might make it a bit more fun and less of a grind.
Overall, it’s been a good training cycle, I learned a lot this time around.
