Changan Ford 100K: will 7 50Ks do?

Here you are, as some of you must have wondered what I was preparing for with the high volume training right after my TDS race, announcing my next big goal... Typically, I end the season with a few 10Ks such as Trailblazer (2 weeks ago already) and the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10K on Thanksgiving morning. Well, I got an amazing surprise a few days before TDS in August: I got invited to a 100K road race near Wuhan in China. And, even better than the 2018 Boston invitation which saved me the entry fee last year, this one includes not only registration but airfare, transfers, hotel and food, wow! I'd better represent now!

With that in mind, you may understand why finishing TDS just for the sake of it wasn't my top priority. It was still an amazing experience to be part of the UTMB party again, but not worth the risk of more falls in the mud. After DNFing at 90K, I did rest for 2 days to get over that grueling experience, then resumed training even harder since then.

This Sunday, I ran my 7th 50K in 7 weeks, and it was a very special one at the track, in Dennis Connor's memory, wearing his favorite Ohlone tee.

I flew back from Singapore this Saturday morning but we landed at 9 am so too late to catch the Ohlone group run to celebrate Dennis.

123 laps at the track (I run in lane 2 to save lane 1 from more wear) isn't easy but thinking of the agony which Dennis must have suffered for hours and days at the bottom of the canyon he felt in was a way to relativize. As well as thinking about Michele's pain. I hope Dennis' spirit accompanies me during this 100K run in China, I'll need all the support!

My goal is to PR there, running under 7:38 which corresponds to 7:22 min/mile. At this level, I don't know of a 100K training plan so I'm purely guessing, hence the title of this post. I will aim at running the first 50K not faster than 3:45, hence these 3 50K workouts at the track in 3:35-3:36 to get used to a slower pace. We shall see in 12 days now if this biblical 7 pays off... ;-)

These past 6 weeks have been intense, at work already, but running wise too: 88.9, 100.2, 100.5, 102.9, 72.6 (spent Sunday flying to Singapore), and 90.9 miles respectively, it had been a long time since I had run that much in 6 weeks. Although I have to admit that, except for the run up to Skyline 3 weeks ago, these miles have been mostly flat ones. 586 miles since September 1, 71h24 total at a 7:20 average pace, phew, looking forward for some much needed tapering now!

The race is on Friday October 26 and I'm flying there next Tuesday. Well, after flying to Nashville, TN, tomorrow, for 5 days. I'll post more details next week.

Have a good week all!