Starting exactly at midnight on Saturday morning, I ran 4 miles every 4 hours for 42 hours.
This kind of training weekend has benefitted me the most for the looming 100-miler; in fact, I can’t imagine a better sort of weekend.
I practiced starting and starting and starting at all times of the day, in all states of sleep-deprivation.
Because of the nature of this adventure, because it was something new for me, because I knew that no one else was doing this…I actually had fun with it.
Through success and failure I’ve compiled a little list of tips for making this kind of endeavor manageable and–dare I say it!–enjoyable.
- Make each run a little different, but plan it ahead so you can do it reflexively:
- I had 6 different routes on multiple terrains; hilly, trail, road, etc. I ran those 6 routes and then I ran them again.
- I switched between audiobook (Return of Tarzan of the Apes), silence, music, silence, podcast, silence, (repeat). I knew what was going to happen next, I didn’t have to decide.
- I wore the same running clothes each time, except I switched between shirts every four runs. I would have changed clothes more often if it had been warmer.
- Stretch after each run!
- Eat a little after each run (or a lot, really, I ate a lot of peanut butter this weekend)
- Drink even more than you eat. Make sure you don’t miss this step when you go back to sleep during the night runs.
- When it comes to the night times, it’s tempting to go to sleep in the clothes you just ran in, when you have to run in a few hours again. But don’t! Give your body a chance to . . . air out (to put it cordially).
- Two more minutes of undressing / dressing will save you from chaffing in the long run.
- Welcome the sleepiness. Know that it’s going to be hard to go straight to bed after you finish the midnight / 4am runs. Know that it’s going to make you stronger.
- Write it all down
- For the first 3 times, I began my run on the hour exactly. After that, it became a sort of challenge: I’ve got to start on the hour! Got to! That little boost of competitiveness gave me the push to just go run each time.
- Use the time in between running efficiently. You’ve segmented your day nicely; I used these segments to hyper-concentrate on 3 things I REALLY needed to get done for each day, and ended up being more productive than usual on Saturdays.
- Excuses don’t have to exist. I had 2 meetings in Emporia on Sunday; I ran before and after each meeting.
- Let yourself feel the swells of pride after each run. The hits of dopamine. Ride that. Be proud of yourself.
Data:
Start | Stop | Distance (mi) | Pace (m/mi) | Route | Noise | Elevation (ft) |
00:00 | 00:37 | 4.08 | 9:17 | Linear e. | a-book | 20 |
04:00 | 04:37 | 4.22 | 9:37 | MHK hill | silence | 177 |
08:00 | 08:38 | 4.24 | 9:02 | L.buster | music | 331 |
12:00 | 12:36 | 4.06 | 8:56 | Linear w | silence | 72 |
16:00 | 16:37 | 4.27 | 8:47 | Girl scout park | podcast | 338 |
20:00 | 20:37 | 4.37 | 8:38 | M Stadium | silence | 108 |
00:00 | 00:38 | 4.16 | 9:11 | Linear e | a-book | 36 |
04:00 | 04:36 | 4.09 | 8:52 | MHK hill | silence | 89 |
08:00 | 08:36 | 4.11 | 9:00 | L.buster | music | 308 |
12:00 | 12:35 | 4.15 | 8:38 | Linear e | music | 59 |
17:16 | 17:56 | 4.06 | 9:30 | Emporia | silence | 243 |
Total: 45.81 miles
Average pace: 9:04/mile
Hours: 42
Peace and Blessings,
Josie
Epic physical adventure!
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I’m so glad you posted the data! So fun to look at. (Were you not tempted to include charts? Yes, a line graph would make sense, but I would be thrilled to see some kind of pie chart (somehow…). Why not both?
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I didn’t even think about making other charts….I will experiment with that! 😀 Superior suggestions!
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