I ventured out to the Noble Canyon trail for an 18-mile run this weekend despite the serious brush-fire in Pine Valley that made headlines early last week. There were no issues gaining access to the trail--considered one of the finest mountain biking trails in all of San Diego County. It's also the site of the inaugural Noble Canyon 50K on September 29, my final ultra-marathon of 2007.
The trail conditions varied from hard-packed and fast to rugged and cautious during the nine-mile climb from 3000 feet to the 6000-foot summit of Mt. Laguna. It's part of my pre-race strategy to check out the course before the race so I can know what to expect of the terrain and practice visualization techniques. I felt good during the run even though I could have ingested a few more calories during my four-hour effort.
My training between now and the race is quite diverse. Tonight, I am training with my relay team for the La Jolla 10-Mile Relay Swim. We'll probably get out for a quick mile swim in preparation for Sunday's event.
Tomorrow is a recovery day on the bike and Thursday night my relay team is going to do the SportsQuest Direct Aquathon with the Triathlon Club of San Diego. This is a 1000-meter swim followed by a 5K run on the beach. Friday is yoga and a rest day to prepare for an outdoor fitness class on Saturday morning with The World's Fittest Man, Joe Decker. The hour and a half workout incorporates various cardio, calisthenics, plyometrics and flexibility exercises.
I plan to keep you all posted with results from the aforementioned events as well as my training leading up to race-day. I'm feeling optimistic about my current level of conditioning which will make for an exciting performance in the Noble Canyon 50K.
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Active Toby's Adventure Blog
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Active Toby
in response to: niemsco
Hey thanks for the comment! Constant cross-training and strategically choosing the activity to recover while still training has been my formula for rapid increase in endurance. I also believe in simulating competition conditions with training conditions. For example, I trained on the course before the 50k, my legs are still cashed so I do yoga, then swim, introduce cycling and then finally running once it all feels smooth again. Always having an adventure on the calendar helps maintain focus, whether a local tune-up 5k or important event. August into September, I was above 10,000 feet on 4 separate occasions which I think has a big impact, too.
I'm going to follow Gale Bernhardt's Ironman training plan to get more routine and structure to my training because now its very spontaneous. I enjoy choosing my training based on how I feel, but I know that her plan will take me the distance. You've traveled 140.6 and you train consistent and hard. You've got what it takes to try a 50k, without a doubt you'll do fine.
I wanted to post a comment on your 2008 race calender but it wouldn't let me, so I'm doing it here. You commented on my blog that I was machine, if that's the case then you are a maniac
Seriously I was wondering on how you would traing for the ultra marathons and the Ironman. I see you have a 50K not too long after Vineman. I'm considering doing some 50Ks myself in between Ironman's but I don't know how this would work. What in addition to the IM training are you going to do for the Ultras? Just more long runs? How many long runs a week and how long do you typically run?
Thanks!