There comes a time in every training plan where you hit “peak week”. This is the week where you max out the longest distance that you’re going to do for your training cycle and try to simulate some level of race dynamics when doing so. I’ve been using a heavily modified and customized version of the Relentless Forward Progress plan, and my peak weekend ended up with around 38-40 miles of running in a single weekend. This means two heavy back to back runs, and for this block I decided to do something different for that.

The point of two big long runs in a weekend is to simulate the race day experience, specifically running on legs that are already pre-fatigued. You want to gain experience working with a body that’s already been through some crap, yet needs to keep moving. This means adjusting not just pace, but also mindset. Coming face to face with the reality of what your body is capable of, but continuing to move even if it’s not as fast as you want.

I never like going over 20 miles in a single training run if possible. I find the benefit to be negligible after that many hours and so I decided to break this weekend into two 20 mile runs. But I wanted to do something different, not just back to back days at my usual park. Instead I opted for a double long run day at a park that I’ve only run at a couple times. To accommodate this I reserved a campsite at the park and camped out Friday night, ready to run at 7am. The plan was to then spend all day recovering, and head back out again at 6pm for another 20 miles. That would give me 40 miles on the day in around a 15 hour span of time.

I chose Carver Park Reserve out near Victoria, MN, which is a park I’ve bikepacked at many times. My friends Beth and Mike agreed to come out and pace me throughout the adventure, trading off 10 mile segments. This made a huge difference in the day as the miles melted away in conversation. Plus, I was able to mentally break the day into four 10 mile efforts, as I would stop by the van to swap pacers and refill my supplies at the halfway point of each 20 mile run. In many ways this simulated the concept of running “aid station to aid station”, which is a mental technique of not focusing on the entire race, but just focusing on each segmented effort to get from one aid station to the next, and then refocusing on the next push to the next station.

Mike chose to camp out Friday night with me and we had a great time sipping bourbon and chilling out. Saturday morning 7am hit and we were on our way. The plan for this first 10 mile segment was to run out to the hiking trails around the Lowry Nature Center and then do some pavement to get us back to the campsite with the van. I had never been to these trails before and they did not disappoint. Lots of beautiful wooded areas, low lying swamps, and boardwalks. We decided that driving to these trails for a short Sunday morning run sometime would be completely worth it.

After finishing the hiking trails we headed around a pavement loop that got us back to the campsite just a little over 10 miles. I picked up Beth and we made a beeline for the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail. This is a gravel rail trail that is incredibly similar to the actual race course I’ll be doing at Badger 100. I wanted to ensure that some of my training this weekend was on trails similar to this. It took a fair amount of pavement to get there, but we still managed a bunch of miles on the target trail.

By this point in the day the sun was getting hot and we fell into my 70/30 run pace. Basically I run 0.7 and walk 0.3 for each mile. It’s a technique I’ve used in the past with great success so this felt like a perfect time to pull it out again. About a mile from the end of our run I ran out of water, and started to get slightly dehydrated, so it was a good reminder to adjust my drinking as I get sweatier and sweatier on a hot summer day. Soon enough though we were back at the campsite and it was time for intentional and focused hard recovery work.

I mixed up a bottle of Skratch Recovery mix and started downing a bunch of water. I prepared some mini-bean burritos loaded with guac and cheese to refuel, and even enjoyed a nice beer. I also made sure to keep my legs elevated to get circulation back to where it needs to be. With a full belly, and feeling re-hydrated, it was nap time. Unfortunately, the camp site I was at didn’t have any good hammock trees, but I was able to keep the van shaded and cool enough to enjoy a nice afternoon nap with the doors wide open and a breeze.

The rest of the afternoon was spent staying off my feet as much as possible. Around 5pm Mike showed up again to join in for the next 10 mile segment. We relaxed a bit and then headed out around 6pm to repeat the same Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail route that I had done with Beth earlier in the day. The miles melted away and my 70/30 pacing continued to work great for me. I was more intentional about keeping hydrated and also keeping the calories flowing to keep the bonk at bay. Quicker than my morning attempt we arrived back at the van just in time for Beth’s arrival. I did a quick aid station turn-around, chugged a bottle of Skratch electrolyte fluid, grabbed a headlamp and poles and we hit the trail for one final push.

The plan was to do the hiking trails with Beth, similar to what I did with Mike in the morning. However after a half-mile in the woods it became clear that the bugs were going to be too brutal for that plan to work. We abandoned the nature center area and headed back to a completely different set of paved trails on the north west side of the park. Although they were mostly pavement we did eventually come across a gravel road which provided a couple miles of a surface different than asphalt. I tried keeping up the 70/30 splits, but at a couple points after mile 15 it was getting difficult to keep running up the slight hills like I had been doing. Despite this, the majority of the miles were at my target interval.

We eventually made it t the end of the gravel road where the mountain bike trails start and turned around to head back home. By this point it was almost completely dark, but thanks to an overcast sky and the fact that we were running on an asphalt trail with a big yellow stripe down the middle, we never pulled out our headlamps till the campground. Even though Beth didn’t get to experience the hiking trails we were treated to the most amazing display of fireflies. The woods and prairies around us exploded into constant flashes. It was a beautiful and calming way to conclude an amazing day of running.

Sooner than we expected we arrived back at the campground and my watch beeped 20 miles. I had done it. Two back to back 20 milers in a single day with intentional recovery in the middle. The biggest shock? How great I felt throughout, and after, the effort. I kept a consistent pace for both runs, and managed to never fall apart. Even the morning after I had minimal soreness and was able to move just fine.

One thing that I didn’t quite expect was the extreme exhaustion that hit me on the middle of the day on Sunday. I ended up taking multiple naps (it was Father’s Day so seemed appropriate anyway) because I couldn’t keep my eyes open after a while. Now that I’m two days removed the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) kicked in a bit in my calves, but overall everything still feels great.

I’m really happy with how this entire endeavor went. I got some great outdoor time, got to spend quality running time with friends, and accomplished something that seemed daunting. I tend to downplay my abilities quite a bit, feeling like I’m just never doing as good as I think I should be doing. This weekend showed me that I’m probably a lot stronger than I think I am, and that’s an incredible feeling. Soon my full taper kicks in, but as of right now I’m feeling ready and confident that I can give it my all at the Badger 100. Success is hardly guaranteed, but I think I’ve done the right things to give me a fighting chance to pull this off.