Butte 100 Training – 12 Weeks to Race

Week 12 Review – May 7th to May 13th

Another solid week of training.  Continuing to get a few runs in and more time on the mountain bike.  Sunday of this week is Mother’s Day, so I could not get the big ride in on Sunday.

Working with my coach John Fitzgerald, we rearranged things and I was able to get a 3-hour ride on Friday with some intervals to start if off.

After the 3 hour session on Friday, the hour or so ride on Saturday felt much better.

Whoop Results

My Whoop Stats for Week 12.

As you can see Friday and Saturday were bigger days. Sunday was mother’s day so the only activity was a family ride down at the river.

Daily Training Session Details

Monday

Rest Day – Some of my favorite days.

Tuesday

1-hour recovery run.

Results: Ran the normal Indian hills loop, everything felt good.

Wednesday

Today’s session was muscle tension intervals.  This is low cadence high watt pedaling.  Everything went well.

I did not focus too much on watts since I was not sure what they should be I just set the trainer to be difficult enough that I could complete the session without crashing out.

Was a good session.

Thursday

Another 1 hour 5 AM run of the normal Indian Hills loop.

Did not feel the best during this run, had to cut it a little short, but I still got out there and made an effort.

Friday

3-hour Outdoor Mountain Bike Session. Took Friday morning off and headed up to blankets creek for a 3-hour session.  Everything was great.

First up was some hill repeats. I rode back to the street and found a neighborhood hill that was super steep.  I think I got 6 or 7 repeats in. It took me right around 2 minutes to climb the hill so it worked well.

This was the first session of doing hill repeats at blankets creek, so when I go back I will know exactly what to do.

After the intervals, I headed to the trails for a couple loops on dwelling and the Van Michael trail.  Everything was great.

I needed to drink more water. I will say it is getting easier to drink water while riding the trails.

I also brought a gel flask out and that was fantastic.  I was able to tuck it into a jersey pocket so I could grab it and fuel without having to stop and open my pack.

I am gradually dialing in how I will carry and use everything with minimal downtime and effort.  After the ride, I started looking for bike shorts that have pockets.

In summary, was a great ride and it was well worth it to take the time off and get the ride in.

Saturday

Outdoor Mountain Bike Session – 2 hours on the mountain bike with 8 2-minute hill intervals.

Went with a friend over to Sope Creek to get a ride in.  All was good, after the 3-hour session yesterday, I felt way more comfortable and confident on the mountain bike.

I still have a ways to go but I can tell I am getting better.  This is not earth shattering but I am sure the more time and the longer the sessions are the stronger my MTB skills will get. Going to keep this in mind when I am in the 4th act of a days riding.

Sunday

Mother’s Day.

It was in my best interest to put any training on hold 

We did take a family ride / run down at the Chattahoochee River. This might have been the best ride of the week.

It was a good week of training and I am ready to take on next week.

Any thoughts / questions / or comments?  Let me know.

I am happy to help or maybe you have a suggestion for me.

Thanks! — Steven