The Hill

The Hill is a beating. The Hill has made me sore for the last two days. The Hill is exactly the specific training I need to finish WS100.

The Hill is a small patch of grass alongside I-45 just south of Dallas. And it is the steepest thing we have within 30 miles of Dallas. And when I say alongside I-45, I am talking you are running down this hill and putting on the breaks right before you end up in the road. I believe it may freak out drivers a bit to see people barrelling down this hill and then stopping right before the freeway. It's a little unnerving for the runners as well -- especially when you are tired.

The routine goes like this - power hike up The Hill - run down The Hill - repeat until your quads and calves beg for mercy.

I did two hours at The Hill with Matt on Wednesday - total elevation gain was 3700 feet. The plan is to work the The Hill into our training every Wednesday after work for the next several weeks.

Here is what my training looks like right now.

Monday - easy run - 4 miles - work out the kinks of the Saturday long run; yoga at night
Tuesday - speed day - 4-6 miles - with mile repeats
Wednesday - hill day (see above); Pilates at night if I can get it in
Thursday - easy, easy run - 4 miles - work out the kinks of The Hill
Friday - rest - usually do some walking on this day - 2 miles
Saturday - long run on trails - 18-30 miles depending on the week
Sunday - total rest

My total weekly mileage has been in the 35-40 mile range for the last several weeks. This is really not that many miles to run while training for WS100. Most people average 50-70 miles a week during April and May leading up to the race. Many folks average 100 miles a week. Well, I tried the heavy mileage thing while training for the Rocky Raccoon 100 and my IT Band fell apart. I believe that 35-40 miles per week is really as much as I can do right now without injuring myself again.

I am thinking quality runs over quantity right now. I'm doing as many specific training runs as possible. Hills for strength and mental toughness, speed work for speed - because I am a slow ass runner, and long runs because this is a long ass race. The other runs are all for recovery. And the walks are to make me a faster power hiker which is a skill I know I'll need on the WS100 course.

I've come a long way from last December and January when I could not run a step due to my IT issue. Speaking of the IT - it's still aches most days, but it allows me to run. And I always run on soft surfaces like the Katy Trail or on single track trails on my long runs.

50 days until WS100!