An Experiment of One

Could this Flock of Geese mean Spring may come early?

They say in the Ultra world that everyone is an experiment of one. What that means is that there is no figured out standard way of training for ultras. Marathon runners have a plethora of books, material and training guides with day by day schedules for all levels of runners. The same goes for cyclists. Ultra endurance, both running & cycling, is still a mystery. My particular experiment is further complicated in that I’m combining both ultra running and ultra mountain biking. Last week, I think my experiment went a little bit to the extreme, and I paid for it this week. My theory is that ultra endurance is extreme and therefore requires extreme training; 20+ hrs a week. I base my training schedule off the concept of three hard weeks, each building upon the other, and then recover by cutting my training in half every 4th week. It’s a principle used in biking and running at the shorter disciplines. This was supposed to be the third week in the cycle, therefore the hardest and longest. Trouble is I went so hard and long the previous two weeks I was exhausted. So on Tuesday I did something I rarely do. After ten minutes into my ride (on the trainer) I quit. Just couldn’t get it going. I decided to listen to my body and make this a recovery week. For the rest of the week, I took it pretty easy, cutting most of my workouts in half, and keeping the intensity leisure. Re-charge the batteries so to speak. We’ll see how it went. This morning I was feeling like my old self again and was tempted to run 4+ hours instead of 2 ½. Got to have discipline and control my desire to run forever! I am an experiment of one, and we’ll see if this week’s experiment recharged my batteries! Oh yea... Happy Valentines Day!

Training Log:
Mon: PM: Run 0.9 hrs
Tues: AM: Run 1.8 hrs (3-4” new snow) PM: Bike – Started on trainer but quit after 10 min
Wed: AM: Bike 1.8 hrs (Big gear intervals on trainer) + Strength
Thurs: AM: Run 1.4 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 1.8 hrs (Ride home, easy)
Fri: AM: Bike 1.2 hrs (Ride to work)
Sat: AM: Bike 3.4 hrs (leisurely)
Sun: AM: Run 2.4 hrs (Technical Trail Run)