Notes from a high mileage experiment
1 Introduction
This is not a tip or advice, but a report on an experiment I conducted. As you probably know from reading this site, I recommend running four days per week, as getting sufficient rest is a critical part of training Supercompensation. I've trained every day for long periods and found it to be less effective than four days per week. However, I decided that I would experiment with doing several long runs close together. This was partly to get some sense of what a multi-day event would be like, partly to practice running when tired and partly curiosity.
2 The Plan
My original plan was to take a week's vacation to run long each day starting Monday, following my Sunday day off. However, the preceding Friday and Saturday were tough enough to become part of this experiment. In the end, the runs that I consider to be part of this session were:
| Day | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fri | 26.2 miles | sub 3 hr |
| Sat | 32 | The Sultan 50K, 6,000 ft ascent |
| Sun | rest | |
| Mon: | 30 | |
| Tue | 30 | |
| Wed | 35 | |
| Thur | 36 | Terminated by foot issues |
Total mileage for the seven days was 189; I was hoping for 200. The fatigue built up after the faster run on the Friday, with each day becoming slightly slower. I used a run/walk pattern on Mon to Thurs, just like I do in most ultras.
3 The Lessons Learned
I learned a number of useful things from this
- It is possible to mimic some stages of a longer race by doing back to back runs. The 'flavor' is somewhat different, as there is no sleep deprivation, etc.
- I need to practice my walking. Walking is not just a break from running, but uses different muscles, so I will add in a walking day to my schedule.
- Walking in the Vibram FiveFingers has improved my walking style, and I could keep up a 13 min/mile pace without too much effort if I concentrated.
- Distractions burn time. I can walk at 13 min/mile, but if I'm adjusting clothing, eating, etc, my pace drops dramatically.
- My abs are weak and need more training. After some of the runs, my abs were so sore it hurt to cough, which is a bad sign. I do some core training, but not enough.
- My sore abs may be an indication of poor posture. Leaning slightly further forward relieved a lot of the problems, and I had no issues Wed or Thurs. I probably would not have discovered this unless my abs were so sore.
- Even though the temperatures were not warm (high in the 60s), I need to do some heat adaptation training. The rise in temperature slowed me down more than it should have.
- The Thursday run was terminated by swelling in the tendons of the left foot, which also terminated the experiment. I have had this problem before, and I know it is because of the different stresses when walking.
- After the final run, I found my left ITB to be very painful. I had no problems when running, but the issue must have been building up without me noticing. It is possible that the pain in my foot, which was quite intense for the last 20 miles of the Thurs run, masked the pain in my ITB.
- The day after the final run, my foot was fine, though a little swollen. The ITB was much more of a problem and I treated it with lots of TLC.
- I was able to run 17 miles on the following Saturday without any issues. The ITB is markedly swollen, but not causing any problems.
- Doing a multi-day event would be tough. For a 'go as you please race', I suspect the key will be to go slowly, with plenty of breaks. For a stage race, the key will be to manage day to day fatigue. For both styles, the ability to rebuild, refuel and repair will be critical. The extra running suppressed my appetite, and for a race I would probably need to resort to more appealing and energy dense foods (ice cream, cake, etc., rather than salads).
- Audio books can be great, but I'm much slower with them. I listened to five hours of 'Enders Game', which was great, but when I switched to music, my pace improved significantly.
4 Conclusion
This was a stupid thing to do, but not 'unusually stupid'. I very much doubt if I will get any physical benefits from this training, and I missed out on any quality work that I would have done. On the other hand, I'm a little wise, I had fun and I think I avoided any permanent damage. I also know to practice my walking, strengthen my abs and do some heat adaptation.
