My Three Day Training Camp

Early on my coach and I talked about putting together a mini training camp. Something that I could do over a weekend with maybe just a half day of PTO use. Before getting a coach, I thought I might need to take half-days all week to pull together five days of long runs in simulating the Cocodona experience.

That big of a jump in training volume probably wouldn't have been a good idea. I'm glad I opted for a coach and his guidance to something much more "reasonable".

What was reasonable? We decided a 20 mile trail run after work on Thursday evening. Followed by a full night's sleep, a half-day of work and then a 28 mile trail run late Friday. Shower, eat, sleep for a few hours, and then do it again. Hence, the "Three Day Training Camp".

Just as I was getting my final items packed and ready for this effort, I came across this article by Andy Jones-Wilkins titled "The Three Day Training Camp" and I immediately knew it was a good choice.

My Camp Experience

The first run was at a much faster pace than the rest of them. Really this was for only one reason, the park I was running at closed at 8pm and I needed to get the miles in faster due to time constraints. It was still part of the plan and coach thought this was the best one to push the pace since I would have a bigger recovery window.

The second run was the hardest for me mentally. I was running an unknown trail, by myself, on tired legs, and it got dark. But I made it through unscathed. I had a reservation at a lodge where I could get cleaned up, eat and attempt to rest before heading back out.

Luckily, one of my Cocodona crew/pacers was willing to join me on the insane last run of this mini-training camp. He's new to running but is a great companion to have out on the trail. We bested his distance PR by eight miles on this run! He's officially an ultra-marathoner!

We look fresh, but I assure you we were not. This run had a 3:45am start time after less than three hours of sleep for both of us.

All-in-all I think the training camp accomplished what I was hoping for, it gave me confidence that I can push through day after day of hard efforts and that my body and mind are resilient to this kind of stimulus. It also reminded me of how actually insane it is going to be to travel 250 miles on my own feet in five days or less.

I write this post on Easter Sunday, not officially part of my three day camp, but a day that I spent in full recovery mode and a day with a lot of reflection on my training over the past several months. I'm pleased with how it has gone. It wasn't perfect, but it was good. I hope it will be good enough.