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Training and Preparation |
So how does someone prepare for such an event? Although there are any number
of books and websites dedicated to marathon running, this is certainly not your average marathon.
This type of race requires a bit of creativity. Considerations range from how many miles to run
each training week to what kind of socks to keep the sand away from my feet. The number of issues
that I'll have to deal with at first seems overwhelming, but the obvious solution was to take one
issue at a time and just start running.First is the gear selection: deciding what kind of gear is absolutely essential, as I'll will be carrying everything on my back for the entire race, including food, water, camping equipment, cooking gear, survival gear and clothing. 
For food, there is a minimum 2000-calorie per day requirement. Accurate calculation of my daily consumption
requirement will be absolutely essential. Other considerations are taking lightweight clothing that will
be warm enough for cold nights and cool enough for very hot days, a lightweight sleeping bag, and proper
navigational and survival equipment.Training, though, seems fairly straight forward; just run a lot. In order to keep over-training injuries at bay, a carefully planned training schedule incorporating stretching, strength training and massage is essential. To prepare I have been focusing on proper rest intervals, carefully increasing my mileage to reach the level I'll need to maintain during the race, rotating my shoes to prolong the life of my shoes and my legs, varying my terrain to include trail, hill and sand running, and adjusting to the effects of running with a full pack. All these elements play an important role in progressing to the high weekly training mileage (about 100 miles per week) necessary for completing this race. My routine includes increasing my weekly mileage by ten miles per week every month. Starting in October I ran between sixty and seventy miles per week, November, between seventy and eighty miles per week, December ninety miles and January and February one hundred miles per week. My longest training run will be 35 miles in mid-February. After running the LA Marathon on March 4th, I will taper to minimal weekly mileage during the weeks just prior to the race so that my body will be fully rested before the start of the race. To get a better idea of just how I am preparing for this event, you can view my training log. |
