#dammitjeremy

 Boy was I right about jumping into a training plan being like starting a cold engine.  But, the good news is that with a little persistence, things are beginning to fall into place. I had a tempo run this morning and wasn't terribly disappointed with my paces.  I have a love / hate relationship with speed work.  I enjoy doing it because it changes things up and makes the run go by faster - my 6.5 miles this morning was over before I knew it.  It is also the best way to track your improvements, or see where you might be overtraining.  The reason that I dislike speed work is because it is speed work.  It is hard and not fun when you are in the middle of an interval, but it always makes me feel good about the run after. There are opposite opinions on whether there is value in speed work for 100 milers, for your average runner at least. This will be the first time that I consciously add it to my training plan, so it will be interesting to see what happens. I am optimistic about it though. 

Why #dammitjeremy?  Well, basically, that is me blaming my friend, Jeremy Howard, for giving me the nudge to follow my own misguided urge to sign up for the Arkansas Traveller 100 miler that happens just 9 weeks after the Badger 100.  This will be the closest I have ever run two 100 milers, so it will be an interesting test for me and for my coach (Stringbean).  

Badger 100 is a mostly flat, rail to trail course while AT100 has about 19,000 feet of gain over the 100 miles.  My goal for Badger is to be in shape to run as much and as quickly as possible.  My goal for AT100 will be determined after I see how well I recover after Badger.  I think stacking these two races is a realistic goal, but I may have a skewed idea of what is realistic?

The good news is that I will not fail due to lack of support.  I have the famous Fawn Hernandez pacing me for Badger (she has always been famous, just now more people know it), and Roger Rholdon - the winner of the 135 mile Voodoo Ultra pacing me for AT100.  Both high quality people and tough runners who will motivate me to keep my complaints to myself and keep moving forward.  

Really looking forward to these adventures! 

Current mileage:  about 40 miles a week and climbing

Current phase of training:  Tempo and hill workouts. This training block will be about building your high end endurance fitness and ultimately fatigued resistance. Build mileage into the 50's. Incorporate higher weight strength training to build muscular strength

Happy Running! 

Edie