Ultra Training - Less running / more cross training?

I'm digging long trail runs over 20 miles. I wish I could do one everyday. I am so focused after the run and feel great. I never knew how addicting running could be. The confidence just keeps building after each run. Unfortunately, running the long training runs everyday doesn't fit into my life or physical abilities. I like to keep my training routines mixed up because I lose focus so quickly & fall into a rut. I have avoided the rut for well over a year now & intend to keep it that way.

Since beginning training for the 100 mile distance I have pushed my intensity up in everything. I'm running harder, faster, and farther than ever before - which is still not really fast or far! I'm carrying that same intensity over to the gym as well. It is tricky to find the line between pushing your limit and hurting yourself. I think the secret is pushing the envelope a little farther each time without over extending yourself.

I am a firm believer in Crossfit. This is exercise that pushes your body extremely hard (using great form) for short periods of time. You get a great cardio & weight workout if you follow the guidelines and apply yourself. I have read several different opinions on using this type of training for ultra running and believe that each individual should use whatever works for him/her. From what I have read - most ultra runners use some type of hybrid plan derived from the Crossfit basics.

After saying all of that my training is turning in another direction once again. I am running a 20+ mile training every Saturday and mixing in as much cross training & Crossfit as possible during the week. Every 3-4 weeks I will bump the mileage down some on Saturday for recovery.

So the schedule will look something like this:

Saturday: Long Run
Sunday: Light 1 Hour Gym Or Rest
Monday: 2 Hours Gym
Tuesday: 2 Hours Gym
Wednesday: 2 Hours Gym
Thursday: 2 Hours Gym
Friday: Rest

The typical "Gym" workout consist of about 1 1/2 hours of cardio and 30 minutes of high intensity weights / machines.

I will use this schedule for the next month or two and see what happens. At the very least it will help me lose my last 20-30 pounds and keep me looking forward to the long weekend run.

I am super pumped about doing my first 40 miler at the FATS 40/50 Ultra Race on October 4th!

Lynch's Woods 50K - Zig Zagging Into Oblivion

Jason's back before the start @ the aid station.
Lynch's Woods 50k - hosted by race director Terri Hayes was my final 32 mile race before the "official" training begins for the Iron Horse 100 miler in February. My training has been very laid back & slack since the Laurel Valley 35 mile race at the beginning of August. I have put in a few runs around 14 miles, but nothing longer. My friends Wayne & Kyle came up from Georgia and stayed at my place the night before the race. We had a 30 minute drive down to Newberry & easily found Lynch's Woods park. This has been the easiest race to find so far! A nice change from being lost on mountain roads minutes before the race begins...
David, Wayne, Mark, Jason @ Start

Jason w/the GUTS crowd before the race...

The race director gave us instructions for the course at 7:15 and we were off & running at 7:30. About 60 runners were running this event which consisted of a 4.25 mile loop around a dirt road, about a mile lollipop out-n-back and then four loops around a single track trail which added up to a 50k. I never really understood the entire race route, but it was marked so well I could easily stay the course.

I started out slow on the dirt road loop and lots of runners took off fast. The 4.25 mile road portion went by really fast since I was jawing with lots of old and new friends.

Friendly horse on the trail...

I caught up with a nice husband & wife couple from Charlotte, NC running their first ultra on the lollipop section of the course. I think we ran a little extra on this part and ended up back on the road with this horse checking us out.
We quickly found the trail back to the main aid station which was also the start/finish. From here the race takes you on four identical single track trail loops through Lynch's Woods. I haven't ran many trails, but this one was extremely zig-zaggy. At one point I felt like I was running through a pylon obstacle at football training camp. There was serious fun to be had & I can't wait to go back and try it again. I was not expecting the large amount of ups & downs either. They were not huge, but kept coming at me all day long. By the end of the last lap I pulling myself up and down the little hills and my lack of training was slapping me in the face. On the other hand, I had a blast running the course with so many great runners. I ran most of the final lap alone until I was "chicked" by by Kim Pike & then "Ray'd" by David Ray. It was great to see them both finishing strong & it helped me to stay focused on finishing. Thanks again to Terri Hayes and her great volunteers who pulled off another memorable ultra!

Coming into the finish @ 6:58!

High fives for the family @ the finish!

Mark, Wayne, & Jason @ the finish. It looks like Wayne is giving me the birdie, but he wasn't!

Next up - FATS 40 mile race in October!