2023 Badwater 135 Training | Week 2

Week two saw a deliberate hold on mileage, but layered in my first sauna sessions, the “Towne Pass Trainer,” dedicated uphill hiking, and more frequent upper body and core work.  The result, as expected, was increasingly tired and heavy legs, a literal cat nap on Thursday afternoon, and an impending feeling of doom.

Okay, not quite “doom.”  But definitely “what on Earth have I gotten myself into?  AGAIN?!?!”

I’ve generally found the first two weeks and the last two weeks of a hard training cycle to be the most difficult – the first two adapting to the volume of work, the last two just counting down the days to the taper.  Hoping this holds true for this cycle as well, and therefore bracing myself for the week to come.  (I consider last week more a recovery week from Cape Fear than dedicated training, so while I count it as “week one” of Badwater training, it is this past week and the one to come that are really turning up the volume.)

With that, the details:

Saturday, 3/25:  20 mile long run, 30 minutes of upper body and core work.  The long run was challenging not just on tired legs, but due to massive storms and flooding the night before.  After starting in the neighborhood, I headed down to our local bike and running path only find that each of my four usual access points were blocked by flooding.  Not “I might get my shoes wet” flooding, but “I might have to have swim – for up to a mile” types of flooding.  The good news was that I got to run a totally random, made up route and involve some neighborhood streets I generally never get to.  The bad news was there was a lot of stopping and starting and slowing and turning around, etc.  Got the work done and also got to run a bit with one of our lovely neighbors, with whom I rarely get to chat because we are trying to keep our dogs apart.  Daily totals:  20 miles, 30 minutes upper body + core

Sunday, 3/26:  First “Towne Pass Trainer” for 8 miles.  The “Towne Pass Trainer” is a workout I concocted when I ran Badwater in 2015; it built my confidence about the longest climbs on the course, and in particular, the Towne Pass climb, which is the most meaningful to me.  The workout builds to a full 17 miles – the length of the first climb – and takes place on a treadmill to allow me to simulate the grade or greater of the real climb.  It also involves many layers of clothing – and soon a space heater – for some active acclimation work.  This first week’s workout consisted of the following (non-runners, my apologies for the gibberish):

1 mile warmup at 11:30 pace, working up to a 7% grade
1 mile at 11:30 pace, 7% grade
.5 mile at 11:30 pace, 7.5% grade
.5 mile at 11:30 pace, 8% grade
1 mile at 11:30 pace, 8% grade, utilizing a 2:1 run/walk ration
1 mile walking at 10% grade, 17 – 19 minute pace
1 mile at 11:30 pace, 7% grade
.5 mile at 11:30 pace, 7.5% grade
.5 mile at 11:30 pace, 8% grade
1 mile cooldown, gradually dropping grade and increasing pace

Followed workout with 30 minutes upper body + core, a shower, and Mexican food without a margarita (on an alcohol break).  Daily totals:  8 miles, 2800 feet of elevation, 30 minutes upper body + core.

Monday, 3/27:  Weighted hike at 10% incline for 90 minutes.  "Weighted" meaning that I wear my climbing pack with weights in it.  Starting with ten pounds of weight and working up to 15; will also work up to a 12% grade between now and June.  Point of this workout is to hone climbing skills, practice active acclimation, and get more extreme elevation than most Ohio neighborhoods provide.  Followed hike with 30 minutes upper body + core.  Daily totals:  4.65 miles hiking, 2456 feet of elevation, 30 minutes upper body + core.

Tuesday, 3/28:  Regular neighborhood route of 8 miles in the morning, followed by first sauna session of 30 minutes.  3 mile "mini tempo" in the evening.  Daily totals:  11 miles running, 30 minutes sauna.

Wednesday, 3/29:  Wednesday hill route (or "hillier" route) with stiff winds.  Tailwind on the way up, headwind on the way down, but the time of day and time of caffeine consumption worked well and produced an excellent workout.  Daily totals:  10 miles, 427 feet of elevation that felt like more

Thursday, 3/30:  Neighborhood "zipper" route of 8 miles with friends in the morning.  Severe sleepies and sluggishness around 1 pm, resulting in a 20 minute literal cat nap with Finn (a cat) in the upstairs bedroom.  Ability to quickly wake from said naps also a critical component of Badwater training.

3 mile "mini tempo" in the evening, followed by 40 minute sauna session.  Daily totals:  11 miles running, 396 feet of elevation.

Friday, 3/31:  Morning uphill hike @ 10%, followed by a very chill 4 mile shakeout in deference to Saturday's long run.  Daily totals:  4 miles running, 3 miles hiking, 1585 feet of elevation

Weekly roundup:  65 miles running, 7.65 miles hiking, 7664 feet of climbing, 2 sauna sessions, 90 minutes upper body + core work.  We're getting there ...

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