100 runs in 100 days – year 10
It is hard to believe that this challenge has now been running for as long as it has, but on December 15, 2015, we kick off our 10th 100 runs in 100 days season. On Slowtwitch.com, several virtual training challenges are run yearly, the 100/100 tending to draw the largest group of participants, perhaps because of the simplicity of running, perhaps because it is something easy to do during a long and cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Having said, that, every year we have participants from all corners of this earth, coming to us from various parts of Africa, South America, Asia etc. While the bulk of our participation is North American and European based, there is no limit to where you need to be to participate. The idea of the challenge is to accumulate overall mileage and enhance your fitness in preparation for the 2016 racing season. Frequency is the metric we’re technically counting to lure you out the door to put the miles in.
It's not a training plan, it is a challenge. Use it to motivate you, but step away from it when you really need rest. The runs are logged over on the Slowtwitch.com training log, which you will find right here.
You sign up by clicking the “Join Challenge” link.
Chase the spreadsheet when you need a spark, don't even open the spreadsheet when you're overtired. Listen to your body, your coaches, perhaps even your spouse when you need a break.
Since triathlon's inception athletes have been congregating into enclaves, forming a critical mass of athletes to push each other in training. First it was San Diego, then Boulder. Slowtwitch challenges are our attempts to bring the enclave to you. Adhering to tradition, on December 15th we commence this long virtual camp with all the rules described in our reader forum.
You must run 30-minutes in a day to generate one accomplished run. You can run longer than that but it's still just one run. Shorter than 30-minutes does not count as a session. More rules are in the thread linked to above as there is some fine print and some exceptions that you should read up on that can work in your favor.
While some athletes will actually run 100 times in 100 days, most of us will run fewer. There are levels for 90, 80 and 70 runs. There is no cost other than some miles on your legs. We strongly encourage you to participate in the reader forum thread and share your experiences, like any training camp, this adds to the value for everyone.
We'll also host a few coaches on the thread to answer your questions. They might kick you out the door and tell you to train harder, but more than likely will tell you to hold back if you go over the top. Stories, pictures and a bit of smack talk and friendly competition are also welcome. Happy and safe training and welcome aboard.
Finally you are probably asking why we start this on December 15th and why not January first. We have three reasons, and they go as follows:
1. We want you to be 2 weeks ahead of the rest of your competition for 2016. They will be 2 weeks and 20 lbs behind you because you are training through the holiday eating.
2. We believe in lifestyle and not resolutions that kick off on Jan 1. If you can get into the habit of fitting in short runs around all the business of the holidays, we’re affecting your “lifestyle”. Your family might think you are crazy cramming in a 30 min run before Christmas eve dinner, but you know you don’t want to fall behind the other guys on the spreadsheet so that’s a good thing. Hey, you’ll be setting a good example for kids too!
3. Pretty well nowhere in the world do we have much racing going on right now, other than the odd resolution run. Since we don’t have any WTC Ironman races to complain about, nor marvel about how fast the Brownlee brothers, Javier Gomez or Gwen Jorgensen are running, nor no longer discussing how much money Daniela Ryf is making on her unbeaten streak, well at least this leaves us with something triathlon related to talk about
Devashish Paul is Slowtwitch.com lifestyle contributor based in Ottawa Canada and has been managing this 100/100 Challenge now for 10-years. Dev started doing triathlon back in 1985, now races in 50-54 and has competed every year since and wants you all to join in the lifestyle. Dev is a 31-time Ironman finisher with multiple finishes at Kona and 70.3 World’s and a former Canadian Armed Forces Triathlon Champion and also coaches athletes in his home town focusing on long distance triathlon. When he is not using his spare time in triathlon endeavors, he does some cool stuff for a semiconductor firm out of Silicon Valley innovating with connectivity chips so you can surf the likes of Slowtwitch through 4G networks worldwide.
