Jurassic Coast Challenge 2012 Training

So I have just over two weeks til the Jurassic Coast Challenge 2012, which is in Dorset GB. It's a 3 day ultra race along the Jurassic Coast taking in 26 miles per day point to point over trail and track. Since January I have been training intensively for this race, having done a trail marathon in the same area back in December I know the terrain and what to expect and dont want to go into this unprepared! It been a tough few months and my mileage has increased alot, for example last week I ran 60 miles of which 45 were back to back over 3 days to try and replicate the 3 days of running with fatigue. We are fortunate here in Jersey to have some beautiful cliff path trails which are great to run on and have plenty of elevation gain, so I have spent alot of early mornings on these!

 I recently joined a website called www.dailymile.com which has been a great aid in motivation to get out there and do the hard yards. Its a great community of runners/athletes from all around the world and it also provides useful stats on the workouts you upload. You can choose to sync with your Garmin Connect account or Nike Plus Account and it pulls all the workout data from it. Like I said I have found it really useful, plus I have been able to see how other people are training and getting feedback from other runners on my workouts.. The other runners are really friendly and inclusive and I have made a few buddies quite quickly. So training... Below is an example of the training I have done over the last few months:

I have been trying out various fueling options whilst training, Hammer Gels which are carbohydrate based (http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/hammer-gel.hg.html) have been useful as they are not so heavy on the stomach as the sugary gels I was using before. For some ready energy I have been using the Powerbar Shots which I have used over a long period of time and I really like. I have also started to use the Clif Shot Blocks as well, these are tasty and provide a quick hit. For recovery particularly after the back to back sessions I have been using the SIS Rego Recovery Shake, which aids recovery in my opinion so well, it really set me up each day to get up running again.

Equipment wise I have been using my Inov-8 Roclite 295's on the trails which have served me well, I have been utilising an OMM I-Drate 12L rucksack, its a useful sack which I have tailored with a Raidlight bottle holder on the front strap, it has useful side pockets and is good for ultra races and days out on the trails. When training on the Road I have been trying out a variety of different road shoes: The Asics Gel Hyperspeed 5, The Saucony Fastwitch 5 and The Puma Concinnity 4 trainer. I wont go into much detail on each, The Saucony being my favourite overall as it has mild stability and is very light. I have used this to log most of my miles over the last 6 months or so and it has aided my transition to a more minimalist shoe, and hopefully encouraging a more mid foot strike. The Puma Concinnity 4 is a realtively new trainer which I have used on some longer (15 miles +) road runs and have benefitted from the increased cushioning I believe. The Hyperspeed 5 are very light and feel fast, I really like them and have used them on my shorter tempo runs and a couple of mid distance runs, I am not sure about there durability however as after only a few miles the soles are wearing down!

I have one more big week of training which I am half way through, I will then begin to taper and let my body recover from the battering it has had over the last few months... And then in 2 weeks I face my biggest challenge so far. Watch this space for a race report in a couple of weeks.