The year is passing way too fast.

Tough month for me with getting the ablation for a-fib, which required several days of inactivity for recovery before I was allowed to even walk for a workout, then picked up a bad cough following which set me back another few days.  Ended up with only 84.1 miles, which broke a streak of 65 months with 100 or more miles. Recovery is going very slowly, so I'm not expecting to race again until possibly December. Nothing in November that appeals to me.

 

Camille burned it up placing third overall in Greece, 153 miles in just over 22 1/2 hours wowza.

And broke the women's record by about 2 hours.

Bear 100

The first climb is less than a mile into the race. 4 miles and 2600 ft vert. Then it rolls up and down for the next 6 miles. I hit my first rough spot from mile 25-34. I could run downhill but had no energy to climb. I bounced back at mile 35 and road that high till mile 80. 

The course is a mix of jeep roads and single track. Around every corner was a photo shoot of amazement. Fall colors and majestic mountain tops. It never felt that warm. Might have hit a high of 75 degrees. During the night in some of the deep canyons next to the river it was below freezing. There was 21,000 ft of climbing. 

I puked the first time at mile 72. I was able to shake it off and keep moving. But then as I left an aid station at mile 80 I lost the contents of my stomach again. Nothing seamed to sit right. I sipped on water for the next 9 miles. I was able to get nutria grain bar and some chews to stay down before hitting the last aid station at mile 92. I think I only had 300 calories in the last 20 miles. 

My nutrition plan for the race was a carb drink called Formula 369. It worked great for the first 13-15 hours. Then was too sweet. I drank 16 oz every hour. I would also eat fruit snacks and chocolate panda during the hour. At every aid station I would drink 6-20 oz if Mt Dew. 

Leaving the last aid station is a 0.7 mile climb with 650 ft of climb. It was a beat down. Then there is a long rocky down hill to the finished. I finished in 24:09.

nOOky - Doing better?

Krash - Congratulations on the Bear! In everyday life (outside of run-specific stuff) are you more of a low carb guy? With so few calories in those last miles I'd have expected much more of a slowdown for someone carb-dependent.

September closed out as my biggest month ever no matter how you look at it - mileage (470), training time (nearly 68 hours) and elevation gain (25k'). I feel oddly good after 10 straight 100+ mile weeks but am ready to taper into a (largely fun run) half marathon this weekend and my goal 100 the weekend after.

So I've kind of lurked here for a bit, but I'm actually looking for a quick sanity check/goal advice?

So I'm a 31 year old guy and I've run a few ultras (nothing over 50 miles, very flat). I'm running Across the Years in December and my training plan is basically just run more. I just finished up with a marathon training cycle, so I'm averaging around 50 miles per week, peaking around 55 miles. My thought is to keep the overall mileage around the same point, but cheat the weekends up a bit where possible. Does it make sense to try for a night double to practice running at night? (I'm pretty sure this is a good idea).

With all of that said, is 100 miles in my first 24 wildly overambitious? It feels extremely aggressive, but I have run a few 50Ks in under five hours and I know that I can walk relatively quickly. Like I'm okay with setting a super high goal but I'd like something that is attainable.

Also, I know there's a few folks here that have run ATY - anything that I should watch out for? It looks pretty cool and I'm excited!

157 miles in Sept for me which is really good considering i had hernia surgery. a lot of it was walking. still having long term hamstring issues. mostly left side but proximal on both sides. going to see a PT tomorrow. i will see if he is able to listen to me and not immediately think he has me pegged by just looking at me. it's worth a try anyway. the good news is that i can slowly add strength training in after 7 months dealing with the hernia and avoiding strain. my upper body is a noodle!

Krash, congrats! still impressive. processed food wreaks havoc on my gut. i am a believer in the fat adapted thing. i will eat carbs at dinner but not ever before or during work hours. It keeps me sharp!

WCR, sound like you are doing the smart thing and giving yourself time. i wish i could do that!

Nooky, hope you feel better. you might surprise yourself at Kodiak.

Captain, you will get good advice here but i am only qualified enough to say: expect the unexpected when attempting 100M and dont try anything new and dont underestimate the mental part!

I love ATY. I have run it twice.  I don't think 100 miles in 24 hour is that hard. I think you can do it. I came from a road back ground. I ran my fastest marathon and 4 months later my first 100 miler in 19:40 on trail. It had 8k vert. My base mileage is 50-60 a week. Then bump it up to 60-80 miles 5-6 weeks before taper. So 8 weeks out.

The key to loop races is managing your pace. Go out to fast and die. Go out too slow and you wont hit 100 miles. There will always be some kind of slow down over 24 hours. My goal has always been minimize the slow down. I would run for 2 miles and then walk for 10-30 sec. I start my walking real early. Changing directions is like a new day. It can get a little boring running in circles. Have a plan to distract your brain is key. Like music, podcast, chatting with others and celebrating the mile stones. Half, full marathon, 50k, 50 miler, 100k and 100 miles.

Have your aid station set up well. I had a good crew. They would see me coming and had my water bottle to me. Then I didn't have to stop if I didn't want to. You can always plan your walk breaks to start 3 ft from your aid.

As for night training I don't do much of it. I do run most days at 4 am. I would focus on making your easy run easier and running your long runs at race pace. I don't train on a loop, unless the 24 hour is on a track. You could run Friday night and then again Saturday morning. Or do back to back long runs.

Feel free to hit me up with more questions. I would love to help out. I almost wish I was running it this year. I have different goals for the rest of my year and next. I will go back to the 24 hour someday. I still think I have 140-150 miles in 24 hours in me. Just got to get one to go just right. Lol.

I think Captain Obvious that you can run 100 miles in 24 hours. If that is your A goal I would start the race with that in mind, and pace yourself accordingly. Seeing that it equates to a just under 15:00 pace seems easy. But allowing for stopping, walking, etc. if you take off too fast it all starts to unravel eventually.

I have run a 100 miler once under 24 hours in 23:30. I started out too fast and eventually died at mile 80, but made it through. If I were to try another 24 hour lap race, and I might, I'd aim for an achievable mileage goal before dark, allow for a natural slow down at night, and then have enough in reserve for renewed energy the next day. It depends on the race, some races have aid stations that keep the energy going all night. I'd listen to an interesting audio book, and try to simply keep moving and keep that pace under 15:00 if I have to walk.

I'm a big fan of Redbull too lol if the going gets tough, I slam one of those and a gel and it's like a light switch.