Training For A 100-Mile Ultra, Committing To Something I Once Thought Impossible
Commitment can be a scary thing. Especially when you are doing something that is considered to be on another level by the majority of society.
In 8 months, I will run a 100-mile ultra marathon. The Potawatomi Trail Runs.
I did the 50 miles back in 2018 with a measly time of 15 hours and 36 minutes.
I can do better than this.
Commitment is a tough thing. A lot can happen over the next 8 months.
This time, I’m not going to allow life to get in the way. This is a race that I know I can do.
Over the last month, I fell out of my training. I got an upper respiratory infection that I’m convinced was from the wildfire smoke and then I got what I think was Norovirus which knocked me out a week.
I am back at zero with my training.
Below is the training plan that I have devised to conquer this goal.
Weeks 1–4
Weekly Mileage 49–56 miles
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 5–7 miles, easy pace
Wednesday — 8–10 miles, including hills or trail
Thursday — Rest day (work on mobility, super light run on a treadmill)
Friday — 5–7 miles, easy pace
Saturday — 12–15 miles, at a comfortable pace
Sunday — 8–10 miles, easy pace
The challenge for me here is going to be the hills. I live in Chicago. There aren’t exactly an array of trials to choose from around here.
However, I live across the street from a parking garage. Running a loop up and down the parking garage is a 120-foot climb per mile run. If I go on a 10-mile run, that’s a 1,200-foot climb.
It seems psychotic but it’s necessary to reach my goals.
Photo by Jordan Opel on Unsplash
Weeks 5–8
Weekly Mileage 62–70 miles
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 8–12 miles, start incorporating speed work and intervals.
Wednesday — 10–12 miles, including hills or trail
Thursday — Rest day (work on mobility, super light run on a treadmill)
Friday — 8–10 miles, easy pace
Saturday — 18–20 miles, at a comfortable pace
Sunday — 10–12 miles, easy pace
Three days in a row of runs with a mileage of about 40 miles will be critical at this stage.
Yes, each week it will suck.
Getting proper calories and fuel will be more critical towards this stage. When you get into a large calorie deficit at this stage, your body will start to become more prone to injury and fall apart.
Now that a base has been built, it’s time to start incorporating speed work into the equation.
Weeks 9–12
Weekly Mileage 78–87 miles
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 5–7 miles, easy pace
Wednesday — 10–12 miles, including hills or trail
Thursday — Rest day (work on mobility, super light run on a treadmill)
Friday — 8–10 miles, easy pace
Saturday — 18–20 miles, at a comfortable pace
Sunday — 10–12 miles, easy pace
If I have difficulty getting the weekly mileage in, I am going to have to get creative with it.
It may require me to start running commuting to my job on Tuesday and Thursday and that will require a little change in my running schedule.
Having a plan isn’t always about following it perfectly. Having a plan is to have some framework to work off of and when something doesn’t work out, you’ll know where to plug in where you need.
Weeks 13–16
Weekly Mileage 100–119
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 12–14 miles, easy pace
Wednesday — 10–12 miles, including hills or trail
Thursday — Rest day (work on mobility, super light run on a treadmill)
Friday — 8–10 miles, easy pace
Saturday — 18–20 miles, at a comfortable pace
Sunday — 10–12 miles, easy pace
Each month when the mileage increases it going to get harder and harder.
Especially when the time rolls around when the Chicago winter is coming.
It’s going to be cold. I’m not going to want to go out. My body will feel stiff. These are the months that count the most.
Weeks 17–20
Weekly Mileage 100–119
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 12–14 miles, speed work.
Wednesday — 10–12 miles, including hills or trail
Thursday — No running. Strength training at the gym.
Friday — 8–10 miles, easy pace
Saturday — 18–20 miles, at a comfortable pace (one of these runs will be about 35 miles)
Sunday — 10–12 miles, easy pace
This is where my weekly mileage will plateau. If I am going, to be honest, it’s mostly because I do not have time to constantly run more and more on the weekends.
Settling in at 100 miles a week should be sufficient for this amount of time.
During this stage, instead of focusing on upping the weekly mileage, it will become a more complex focus on speed work and strength training.
I’m lucky enough to have a gym at my employer and I am in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On days that I am in the office, I will layer in some extra strength training to make sure that my muscles stay balanced and I am not overdeveloping any muscles from the miles I have been putting in weekly.
Weeks 21–24
Weekly Mileage 100–119
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 12–14 miles, easy pace
Wednesday — 10–12 miles, including hills or trail
Thursday — Rest day (work on mobility, super light run on a treadmill)
Friday — 8–10 miles, easy pace
Saturday — 18–20 miles, at a comfortable pace (one of these runs will be 40 miles)
Sunday — 10–12 miles, easy pace
This is the block where I expect myself to find my new norm. It’s not going to be easy but eventually, the mind and body will shift gears.
We find new norms all the time in life. If you’re someone who works out for an hour a day and has done that for years, you can’t imagine not having that time block now.
Most of us wake up to go to work today and that has become a ritual for us.
Find your new norms and then eventually try to level it up.
Weeks 25–28
Weekly Mileage 100–119
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 12–14 miles, easy pace
Wednesday — 10–12 miles, including hills or trail
Thursday — Rest day (work on mobility, super light run on a treadmill)
Friday — 8–10 miles, easy pace
Saturday — 18–20 miles, at a comfortable pace
Sunday — 10–12 miles, easy pace
I will probably feel like I am ready to go at this stage. This stage may be the hardest mentally because it will be tempting to start taking it easy before it’s time.
This is the stage where the fire needs to keep burning. There’s no room to be satisfied. Taking a week or two off can derail things by a lot at this point.
Weeks 29–30
Weekly Mileage 44–50 miles (tapering)
Monday- Cross training
Tuesday — 10–12 miles, easy pace
Wednesday — 12–14 miles, easy pace
Thursday — Rest day (work on mobility, super light run on a treadmill)
Friday — Rest day
Saturday — 10–12 miles, at a comfortable pace
Sunday — Rest day
During this stage, going easy is going to be critical. Tapering is tough. Especially when you have found your new norm to become a level that has been higher than what you did before.
Take Aways
There are a few things that I know that will be critical for doing this.
- Consistency: missing a day can be a huge setback, especially on the weekend runs. Make sure that those days are not missed.
- Nutrition: I didn’t write a whole lot about nutrition here but getting proper recovery supplements and maintaining my caloric intake will be a make or break.
- Prioritizing recovery: Stretching and working on mobility work every evening will make sure that my body feels like it will be able to keep going each day.
- Understand things will go wrong: There’s a plethora of variables that can throw me off. Do not get frustrated, adapt.
Do you have a goal to run a 100-mile ultra? Look here for a downloadable version of this training plan. Follow my training journey at Running Relentless.
