The calendar has rolled over and most runners are planning and looking at events for the year. If you are racing at any point in the next 6-12 months, here are some things to think about now.
- Start training now. Fitness is your number one predictor to success in ultra running. And fitness takes time to build. There are no short cuts or hacks to being more cardiovascular fit. It takes weeks and months of consistent training. Even if you are looking at racing in Nov/ Dec, starting training now can help big time. In addition to building fitness, a long training season can give you more time to navigate the unexpected in training; vacations, sickness, or little injuries. It also gives you time to build slowly to allow for adaptations over time rather than ramping up too fast and causing injury or burnout.
2. Start your training with VO2max workouts. Ultra runners still need to do high intensity workouts in order to increase aerobic capacity. However, this intensity is least like race conditions so it is best to work on this physiology furthest from your event. Runners will still get a benefit from this type of training. In fact, it is how you can become a stronger, faster runner. Think of your fitness as a cup. That cup can only hold as much water as its size. The cup is our aerobic limits. And the water is pacing or effort levels within that cup. If we want to be able to hold faster paces with less effort, we need a bigger cup. VO2max workouts specifically help increase the size of our cup. An example of a early season VO2max workout would be 20 minutes at a comfortable pace, 5×2:00 max effort with 2:00 recovery, then 15-20 minutes cool down pace.
3. Plan a training camp 5-9 weeks out from your event. At the beginning of a season you have the advantage of looking ahead and blocking off 3-4 days in your calendar to devote to a training camp. It can be self led or in a group setting but either way it will provide huge benefits for race day. Training camps or a training weekend is so advantageous because it allows you to to focus only on running and recovery without the daily stressors of life. With other life stressors or daily responsibilities removed, you can spend more time and energy on running. In this scenario, some runners can expect to do 2-3x their regular volume. This increase in running volume provides a supercompensation effect and can greatly improve fitness, confidence, and race day readiness. Be sure to place a training camp no closure than 5 weeks out from race day. You want to allow yourself plenty of time to recover from this high dose of training and then gain the physiological benefits from it.
4. Match your nutritional needs with your training volume. Ultra runners expand big energy and need big energy input into the body. It easy to get behind or be unaware of how much you need. This can lead to chronic fatigue and poor performance. Being aware of nutritional demands early in the season gives you plenty of time to adjust intake and learn what keeps your fueled and feeling your best. I highly recommend Fly Nutrition if you need professional advice on how to eat specific to your needs.
5. Identify your weakness as they relate to your race or event. By identifying now what might be a limitations on race day allows you to work on them all throughout your training season. This could be technical trails, uphill running/hiking, or your nutrition. For example, let’s say you are training for a race or event with a lot of vertical gain and you know that you historically don’t do as well on routes with lots of climbing. You can plan more hiking and hills into your training week by 1) choosing course like routes for long runs and 2) add intentional hiking sections into a run. Being aware of your weakness allows you to incorporate them into every training week so by race day they are not as much of a limitation.
Ultra marathons are a big task, demanding a lot of time on feet and months of solid training. By thinking about a these key things at the beginning of your training you can set yourself up to be more prepared on race day. Hope these help! Be strong and thrive!
Blaze Strength and Endurance 