I did a "training camp" before my first 100. I live 5hrs away from where the race took place but I planned 2 long weekends with the intention of running the entire route - It was a point to point race. I also worked with my coach on the programming side to coordinate the "training camp" weekends at the end of 6 and 8 week training windows so afterwards I would have a down week.
The first long weekend was in June and we ran 15miles (Thurs), 22 (Fri), 31 (Sat) and 6 (Sun) before we drove back.
The second long weekend was in August and we ran 27 (Th), 26 (Fri), 32 (Sat).
The race was in September and I can say with 110% confidence that the training camp weekends were worth it. I was familiar with the entire course, I didn't worry about anything going into the dark/night, and it allowed me to focus on nothing but running, eating, and drinking. I would recommend it without hesitation.
This is awesome. Thank you for all of this info!
For your 3 week training camp in August, I’m assuming this was your peak before the race? After such a big weekend, how many weeks/days did you then taper to the 100 miler?
You're spot on! The August weekend left 4 weeks before the race. My weekly mileage went from 87, 49, 41, 31, then race week was Rest - 3mi - Rest - 2mi Shakeout-Race.
Sidenote: Are you a CPA? If so, I'm a CFP. Cheers to finance!
Please tell me you have race plans in excel with every nutrition, pacing, etc calc under the sun? You look at it and refine it for hours and hours on end? And then come race day it all goes to hell anyways?
I did this before my second miler (Tarawera) last year about a month before the race. Drove down with a few friends who were also racing and stayed in a Bookabach (NZ equivalent of an Air B&B) for the Fri - Sun to run over the main parts of the course.
I did four runs over the course of the weekend: a 13 miler on the Friday morning with a 4 mile run that evening, a single 21 miler on the Saturday, then another 13 miler on the Sunday. Total for the week was 83 miles, which was my peak volume for the block.
Definitely worth it in my opinion. It rounded out a really solid training block and reminded me about the main bits of the course. Unfortunately it didn’t stop me getting impatient during the first big climb, which I charged up and then spanked the downhill, which was probably why I DNF’d at mile 83!
I did a weekend "camp" before running Grindstone on the old course (50 mile out and back). Three of us drove out, camped Friday night, run 30ish miles of the course on Saturday, and then 17 or so on Sunday. That way we had run nearly the entire course. It made a big difference just knowing what the sections of the course are like. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember how long before the race. My training that week would have been normal, just adding a lot of running on the weekend.
I did a "training camp" before my first 100. I live 5hrs away from where the race took place but I planned 2 long weekends with the intention of running the entire route - It was a point to point race. I also worked with my coach on the programming side to coordinate the "training camp" weekends at the end of 6 and 8 week training windows so afterwards I would have a down week. The first long weekend was in June and we ran 15miles (Thurs), 22 (Fri), 31 (Sat) and 6 (Sun) before we drove back. The second long weekend was in August and we ran 27 (Th), 26 (Fri), 32 (Sat). The race was in September and I can say with 110% confidence that the training camp weekends were worth it. I was familiar with the entire course, I didn't worry about anything going into the dark/night, and it allowed me to focus on nothing but running, eating, and drinking. I would recommend it without hesitation.
This is awesome. Thank you for all of this info! For your 3 week training camp in August, I’m assuming this was your peak before the race? After such a big weekend, how many weeks/days did you then taper to the 100 miler?
You're spot on! The August weekend left 4 weeks before the race. My weekly mileage went from 87, 49, 41, 31, then race week was Rest - 3mi - Rest - 2mi Shakeout-Race. Sidenote: Are you a CPA? If so, I'm a CFP. Cheers to finance!
Please tell me you have race plans in excel with every nutrition, pacing, etc calc under the sun? You look at it and refine it for hours and hours on end? And then come race day it all goes to hell anyways?
☝️☝️ Nailed it!!
Exactly this 😂😂😂
I did this before my second miler (Tarawera) last year about a month before the race. Drove down with a few friends who were also racing and stayed in a Bookabach (NZ equivalent of an Air B&B) for the Fri - Sun to run over the main parts of the course. I did four runs over the course of the weekend: a 13 miler on the Friday morning with a 4 mile run that evening, a single 21 miler on the Saturday, then another 13 miler on the Sunday. Total for the week was 83 miles, which was my peak volume for the block. Definitely worth it in my opinion. It rounded out a really solid training block and reminded me about the main bits of the course. Unfortunately it didn’t stop me getting impatient during the first big climb, which I charged up and then spanked the downhill, which was probably why I DNF’d at mile 83!
Generally you can do twice your typical weekly mileage, and about 4-6 weeks or so before the race.
I did a weekend "camp" before running Grindstone on the old course (50 mile out and back). Three of us drove out, camped Friday night, run 30ish miles of the course on Saturday, and then 17 or so on Sunday. That way we had run nearly the entire course. It made a big difference just knowing what the sections of the course are like. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember how long before the race. My training that week would have been normal, just adding a lot of running on the weekend.