The best thing about the internet is all the information that’s out there. The worst thing about the internet is all the information that’s out there.
So the purpose of this blog is twofold: 1) to entertain and 2) to educate. I’m not sure if its best classified as entercation or edutainment. Probably swings from one end of the spectrum to the other from post to post. Mostly though I’m trying to provide some insights into my ultra journey with the hope that someone else can learn something new and apply it to their running. I have historically shied away from holding myself out as an expert (why there’s an asterisk next to “running long since” in my banner). I think I’m close to acknowledging that I’m an expert in some aspects of ultras (i.e. those outside actually running fast), however I am most definitely not an expert on how you, random internet reader, should train and race ultras.
As with all things, context matters. Someone who just started running should approach training for ultras differently than someone who’s been in the sport a long time. Age matters, gender matters, injury history matters. So here’s my current context:
- 26,946 “lifetime” running miles (i.e. since I started running in 2012)
- 7,060 “lifetime” hiking/walking miles (1,100-1,200/year since 2021)
- 246 runs of 20 miles or more
- 61 completed ultras with 32 hundred miles or longer
- No injuries that required time off
- 8-9 hours of sleep every night, 10+ after long runs
This is all a longwinded disclaimer for what’s about to follow. The more experienced runner you are, the more risks you can take with your training. You can take these risks for a couple different reasons. Most importantly, you’ve conditioned your body over years (not months or weeks people – years) to withstand increased stress. Almost as importantly, you’ve learned your body’s unique signals and can differentiate between sore and injury; between discomfort and time to schedule a session with the PT. You know how hard you can push things and recover from them. And how long you can keep pushing before it’s time to dial things back. It would be amazing if there was a manual for this, however it’s all based on trial and error. Typically more the latter than the former. You need to learn what works for you and understand that what works will probably stop doing so at some point.
The 100 Mile Training Run
My current training experiment was to run a hundred mile race during my winter training block. Now races typically come with tapers and recoveries which would take upwards of 3-4 weeks away from actual training. For Angela Ivory, I had a pair of 60 mile weeks then cut back to 30 miles the week immediately before compared to a more normal 60/40/20 progression for me. My recovery week after the race was 27 miles compared to a more typical 6-15 mile range and I’m tracking to 50 miles this week. My legs were sore for a couple days (duh), but they were borderline fresh by day 3.
More importantly I had a strong desire to start cranking up my mileage. Over the years, I’ve learned that my capacity to train is governed by my desire to train. I view lack of motivation as my subconscious’ way of telling me my body isn’t ready to start training. Sure I could push through, but I don’t like the risk/reward ratio. So I hold off on pushing mileage above my 30-40 miles baseline until my mind gives me the thumbs up, which it’s done this week. I haven’t hit my snooze button once. 5am rolls around and I’m up and out the door. Even if it’s only 19 degrees outside.
The key to all this was running an easy enough pace at Angela Ivory. And this is the challenge that you need to overcome to actually pull this off. I’ve only gotten good enough at pacing hundreds within the past year to even contemplate something like this. You need to finish a race with quite a bit left in the tank. Each race is different so you need a large baseline of experience to translate your current fitness onto a course profile and then add a buffer.
It’s still TBD whether a training race is a good idea or not. So far so good, but 10 days isn’t enough time to draw any lasting conclusions. And just because you read about something on the internet doesn’t mean you should try it at home.