Badwater Training and Race Schedule 2011

My training for the Badwater Ultramarathon 2011 is going very well so far. Even though I much prefer running outside, the long and very cold winter in Toronto made me choose the treadmill a lot more frequently than I normally do during the winter months. Running for hours on the treadmill next to the fireplace was still way more enjoyable than running in the freezing cold on icy roads or trails. All in all I kept increasing my weekly mileage and March was my best month ever – 402 miles!

My training schedule till Badwater looks something like this (except for race weeks):

Monday: 5 – 10 miles easy recovery run
Tuesday: morning 10 – 15 miles; evening 5 – 10 miles
Wednesday: 10 – 15 miles hill repeats, intervals or tempo run
Thursday: morning 5 – 10 miles, evening 10 – 15 miles
Friday: off
Saturday: long run
Sunday: long run

I’m also doing weights 4 – 5 times a week, and will add heat training (sauna sessions) the last two months before the race in July. In addition, I’m planning to do some races before and after the Badwater Ultramarathon.

My tentative race schedule for 2011 is:

April 23: Jerseyville 100
April 30: Pick your Poison 50k
May 28: Sulphur Springs 100
June 11: Laurel Highlands 77 miles or Kingston 6 hour
June 18: Niagara 50k
July 11: Badwater Ultramarathon
Aug 6: Dirty Girls 6 hour or 12 hour
Aug 20: Summer Beast of Burden 100
Sep 10: Haliburton Forest 100
Sep 24: Ottawa 24h
Oct 8: Oil Creek 100

I will be a very busy runner this year and hopefully it will be another great year of running with Badwater as my highlight again!

Ultrarunning Magazin - March 2011

My PB at the Jerseville 100 in April 2010 made it to the 11th place of the "2010 TOP 100-MILE TIMES -WOMEN in the Ultrarunning Magazine. http://www.ultrarunning.com/ I just missed the top 10 by 4 minutes but I am very happy to see my name behind some of the best American female ultrarunners.

Freezing Rain and Snow or Treadmill?

Yesterday when I checked the weather outside my house I decided in a split second that there is no way I would run outside in those conditions – wet and cold! The treadmill next to the fireplace looked way more appealing than getting soaking wet and freezing cold. I don’t really like running on the treadmill, but wintertime in Toronto can be quite tough. Right now it looks like this winter will never end. I’m really getting tired of all this exercising with the snow shovel and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Anyway, I ended up running 33 miles yesterday and another 22 miles today – yes on the treadmill! It definitely was the most I ever ran on the treadmill in two days. All in all it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. All you need is an iPod loaded with lots of music. The best tunes for long runs are very long songs like:

Genesis – Abacab
Genesis – Tonight, tonight, tonight
Don McLean – American Pie
Peter Frampton – Do you feel like we do
Pink Floyd – Echoes
Pink Floyd – Shine on you crazy diamond
Iron Butterfly – In-A-Godda-Da-Vida
Doors – L.A. Women
Doors – Light my fire
Doors – Riders on the storm
Doors – The end
Dire Straits – Money for nothing
Dire Straits – Telegraph Road
The Temptations – Papa was a Rollin' Stone
Prince – Purple Rain
Michael Jackson – Thriller
Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells
Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Child
Rolling Stones – You can’t always get what you want

Badwater Heat or Toronto Cold?

What a tough run on icy and snowy roads this morning! The temperature in Toronto is completely the opposite than what it will be during the Badwater Ultramarathon. It was freezing cold and with the wind chill factor it was -20 degree Celsius. Even imagine how hot it will be in Badwater didn’t make me feel any warmer. I can’t wait for this long and cold winter to be over and run in the heat again. At least my feet were warm. I was wearing the Drymax Cold Weather running socks http://www.drymaxsocks.com/index.php Great socks! And they keep my feet dry and warm.

Drymax Cold Weather Running socks

Badwater Ultramarathon 2011

Yea!! I got some great news at 4:00 am this morning:

Congratulations! You have been accepted to compete in the 2011 Badwater Ultramarathon, presented by AdventureCORPS, Inc. You are part of a select group who will participate in what is recognized across the globe as “the world’s toughest footrace.”

I am so excited! I can't wait to run in Death Valley again. Congratulations to all the other Badwater Ultramarathon runners. See you in July.

Hoka One One - Time to Fly!

And flying I was today. I absolutely love my new Hoka One One! I did a 3 hour trail run at Sulphur Springs today with my friends Adi, Steve and Dave. The Hoka One One surpassed all my expectations. When I first tried the shoe on the treadmill for 10 minutes it felt ok but didn’t give me that “wow factor” so I was very anxious to test it on the trails.

The trail conditions at Sulphur Springs were absolutely perfect today – packed snow. It was quite cold but very beautiful. When Dave first noticed my new Hoka One One he asked if I was wearing moon boots. However after we finished our run he was quite impressed. He likes to try out everything new and I bet he has already ordered a pair online.

The Hoka One One has a very good grip in snowy conditions. The shoe is light as a feather and very comfortable right from the beginning and the cushioning is incredible. It almost feels like running on a cloud. I was never worried I could roll my ankle; rather the Hoka One One has great stability and helped me to keep my balance. Running downhill with the Hoka One One is a blast! I can’t wait to run my next 100 mile race with the Hoka One One (http://www.hokaoneone.com/en/).

Jerseyville 100

My first race this season will be like last year the Jerseyville 100 on April 23. I ran a 100 mile PB there and I hope it will be a very special race for me again.


Hopefully all the stars will be lined up again for a perfect race...