B2B2B long runs and 71 miles this week

Cold, dark and snowing this morning.  My favorite time to run - no music necessary.  I have not run so much on the road in years so I don't even own road shoes (other than NB Minimus - which tend to give me injuries with to much LSD) and have been road running in my Solomon Speedcross trail shoes.  The traction is sticking on the road and causing me a bit of top of foot irritation so I was grateful to be running on snow and ice today.  Note to self: get road shoes again.

Today was the 2nd in a series of 3 back-to-back-to-back long runs. Ran 30 miles yesterday, 16 today and god-willing another 10 tomorrow.  Ran a total of 71 miles this week.  Lucky for me I felt great this am - legs were not that tired and not at all sore.  Other than general sleepiness - no complaints. Lucky for me, I have a kick-ass mom who will hang the last 5-10 miles with me to stave off boredom.

While this blog is meant to keep friends, family and anyone who is interested in the training progress leading up to my first attempt at running 100 miles - I'm hoping it will keep me accountable with my training.

Ultrarunners are known for being totally obsessive about ultrarunning - gobbling up every bit of knowledge they can find (thanks, Interwebs).  Normally people do not typically want to watch hours long videos of some random person running with a jiggling handheld camera giving a play-by-play of their blisters, nausea and other maladies.  To an ultraunner, though, that makes sense.  So, for anyone who is not sure what exactly and ultramarathon is, here are some answers to common questions I get about running in a 100 mile race:

• Is this a relay? Nope, I hope to complete the 100 miles myself.
• How do you not eat for that long?  I will eat!  In ultras we eat a lot... on the run.
• How do you eat and run at the same time?  You train your stomach to exercise and take in fuel - I prefer to eat real solid food during my runs, I find that my body craves it.
• Will you sleep?  No.  In longer ultras (yes there are longer ones, people will nap for a few minutes here and there, but not typically for 100)
• How do you know you can do this?  I don't.  But I can train to be as prepared as possible and hope for the best!

Have more questions?  Ask me!