Which begs the important question, "what's the best type of training for an ultra?"
The obvious answer of course is to run lots, but really, that isn't an answer at all. After all I'm sure a 10k runner will tell you that they run a lot. The reality is that the answer to that question lies in the type of running (and other complementry training) that you do. When you boil it down, I believe (because I've asked it seriously) that the question becomes this; "do I training by running long and slow, or do I continue to include speed work?"
There's pro's and con's to both approach's. On the one hand, by running long and slow you are significantly less likely to pick up an injury, as your body isn't being pounded excessively. In addition its been pointed out that the key to running an ultra isn't so much running fast, but rather not slowing down - so long and slow would make good sense.
However on the flip side, do you really want to train yourself to run slowly? Maybe if you don't have a competitive streak and you simply want to complete. Its also interesting to note that successful ultra runners generally run sub 3 hour marathons - now you don't do that by training yourself to run slow.
I'm convienced that the answer lies somewhere in between. And personally I'll be aiming to keep my splits down. For my part I don't simply want to complete a 100k race, I actually want to do well in it. If that means I mess things up and blow to pieces, then so be it - there's always the following year to get it right. In the mean time I've set myself a Sub10 target (which given I have no experience with that distance, and its a fairly hilly course my be a bit premature) and I will be setting myself up, as well as possible, to get there!
On that note I logged in my first real long run today on a fairly tough course. I headed out into the wops and up a bunch of hills. It was my first time on this course but LOVED it so will probably make this a staple.
This is one of the hills I went up - got rained on again!!
It was a really cool run and I only saw maybe three cars (loads of cyclists, but hardly any cars!!). I to stretch it out a bit though, so will be looking to add a bit more to it.
The sun came out on the way back down
I felt really strong throughout and could have; a. Pushed a lot harder, or b. Gone a lot farther. After doing this I'm really encouraged about both the upcoming half marathon (I've decided to enter by the way - see previous post) and the Auckland Marathon. The course for both are MUCH flatter (therefore easier and quicker) than this course. I'm starting to believe that sub 1 hr 30 min for the half and 3hr 30min for the full are both possible for me this year.
All in all, the sun's shinning a lot more and things are good. I'm planning another long run tomorrow of similar distance to todays (I'm going to be building up my back to back long runs in the weekends followed by a swim on Mondays going forward). Next week will include some technique work as well as some shorter runs.
2 comments:
Interesting ... a 100K doesn't seem quite as mad as a 100 miles and 10 hours seems a good target to aim for. That pace would definitely be 'easy' for you over a shorter distance (even a marathon I would think) ... but as you know it's all about the exponential pain/difficulty/mental toughness when you go THAT long. I'd be interested to see how you lead up to such a distance ... how long is your final long run going to be (80% of 100K???) and what pace are you going to attempt that at and how long recovery do you give yourself before the BIG one??? ... sh!t! I'm getting interested in bl@@dy long runs now! :(
You'd better watch yourself - my prediction is you enter NZ Ironman 2010, knock that off in spectacular fashion then get hooked on the ultra distance thing. The only question for me is "will it be running or cycling?" (I'm thinking Lake Taupo Super Enduro ...).
At this stage my plan isn't so much clocking up a super big run in my buildup to the 100k. Although in saying that I do plan on running a couple of marathon's in the space of a month in November - one of them a really tough offroad marathon. Basically the plan is to start backing up long runs. I.e. I'll build up to running, say 45k on a Saturday followed by 35k on a Sunday. I think running a single huge run (like 80k) in training would be to taxing and result in the following weeks being rubbish as I try and recover. One of the things that I learnt when doing exercise physiology was the value of consistant volume. Basically if you training your body to work efficiently in its aerobic zone, then you can go for a very very long time (as long as you stay fuelled). However if you cross into your anaerobic zone then thats when you start to hurt and run into problems. Another issue is being aware of what energy system your body is tapping and the by products it produces (ie how you access ATP - Adenosine triphosphate, here's a link if your interested http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_systems ).
The long and the short of it is that you can generally (and I really do mean only generally) double the distance you do in training on race day.
I probably could have said that a lot simpler ...
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