Week 13 of my training for the Badwater 135 was fairly uneventful — just another week trying to grind it out as hard as I could. I wake up every day with the hope of getting four workouts in — a run, rowing, an incline hike on the treadmill and weights — plus time in the sauna.
My miles are more limited than you’d think, but I like the plan because I know I’m not going to overtrain. My fitness is coming along well, though, because in addition to decent run volume, I’m working pretty hard with the cross training.
The rowing is bonus cardio that’s really a pretty good full-body workout, the hikes are insane for the cardio (especially when I do them with the 20-pound weighted vest) and also really strengthen and fatigue my legs. Getting used to running on fatigued legs is critical for longer races, and I feel that the incline hikes really helped me take a big jump in Kansas in March when I dropped my 100-mile PR from 21:07 to 17:56.
The upper-body lifting keeps me strong, but it’s also good for me mentally. In the past, when I’ve gone through stretches of only running, I feel out of balance with an upper body that’s going the direction of atrophy. That’s probably just mental, but I like lifting and I know that with the amount of cardio I do, I’m not going to bulk.
Anyways, I had three good heat-training indicators last week, which is pretty critical because the first 85+ miles of Badwater are going to be in temps well over 100, at times likely exceeding 120.
- On Friday, I did 50 minutes in the sauna and went straight to the treadmill for a 3.0-mile hike at 12.0 incline. It was tough for the first mile, but I picked it up and was running the incline for the last .75 miles or so. This beat me up pretty well, but it made me feel like things are coming along pretty well.
- On Saturday, I ran at the hottest time of the day intentionally just to continue to work on the heat adaptation. I had 18 miles on the schedule, real feel was 99 and I averaged 9:38s at 132 bpm. For context, I have absolutely zero aspirations of going sub-10s in the heat at Badwater, and 132, 133 is my target heart rate to stay below. In the past, during marathon training, I’ve tried to keep my heart rate below 145 for easy runs on cool days. So being able to stay down at 132 was pretty encouraging. The heat didn’t feel bad at all, and I went straight from that run into a 58-minute sauna session.
- On Sunday, it wasn’t as hot — it was 91 at the start of my run and 86 at the end, probably 5 degrees higher for the real feel. At 129 bpm, I got 9:31s for 12 miles. I’m feeling pretty good about being able to stay under control in the heat, which is going to be critical. I’m putting a lot of focus into maintaining a low heart rate on inclines and figuring out that sweet spot balancing high enough effort to move at a decent pace with low enough effort to keep the heart rate low.
This week I’m taking a sweat test to figure out the exact electrolyte replenishment levels I need and I’ll continue to test that in training. I told my dad about it and he said, “that sounds very scientific” … yep, it is. There’s no shortcuts getting ready for Badwater and I’ll use every bit of information I can to prepare for this. Getting to the start line is not enough.
Also, we ordered a sauna and that is coming in on Thursday, so that should make it a lot easier to get those sessions in to really get my acclimation going.
That’s it for this week. Four hard works of training left — I’m feeling really strong and I’m recovering from workouts very well, although I’m starting to feel some cumulative fatigue in my legs. Taper will be nice!
Training Log
Monday
– Run, 6.04 miles, afternoon.
Tuesday
– Rowing, 10 km, before work.
– Weights, chest/arms, after rowing.
– Run, 8.00 miles, lunch.
– Treadmill 12.0 incline with 20-pound weighted vest, 4.0 miles after work.
Wednesday
– Rowing, 10 km, before work.
– Weights, back/shoulders, after rowing.
– Run, 8.25 miles, after work.
Thursday
– Rowing, 10 km, before work.
– Weights, chest/arms, after rowing.
– Run, 8.31 miles, lunch.
– Treadmill 12.0 incline with 20-pound weighted vest, 4.0 miles after work.
Friday
– Rowing, 10 km, before work.
– Weights, back/shoulders, after rowing.
– Run, 4.06 miles, lunch.
– Sauna, 50:07, after work.
– Treadmill 12.0 incline, 3.0 miles, immediately after sauna.
Saturday
– Run, 18.03 miles, afternoon.
– Sauna, 58:04, after run.
Sunday
– Rowing, 10 km, early afternoon.
– Weights, chest/arms, after rowing.
– Run, 12.14 miles, late afternoon.
Totals:
– Running, 64.83 miles
– Rowing, 50 km
– Treadmill 12.0 incline: 11 miles (8 with weighted vest)
– Sauna, 2 sessions, 54:06 avg
– Lifting, 5 sessions
Quick plug, most of you know I’m a charity runner at heart and I’m trying to make the most of my participation in the Badwater 135 by raising money for the National Autism Association (Pennsylvania chapter) and the Michael Lisnow Respite Center. If you ever think I’ve worked hard and want to pat me on the back, the best way to do so is with an easy $5 donation that will be split between those two organizations! Here’s the fundraiser link.
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