In the last 18 years, I’ve done a good number of 50Ks, 50 milers, and 100 milers. Until a few weeks ago, I had never done a 100K. Now I’d like to help YOU do one yourself. Here’s my series, in four parts, on running a 100K, whether you are a seasoned ultra-veteran or just cracking into the beyond-50K distances.
Part Two: Specificity
Let’s say you’ve absorbed the lessons of part one and your base is solid or is well on the way to getting there. Awesome. The other component of your running training is going to be tailoring some of those miles to fit the conditions you’ll experience during your race.
Now, this doesn’t mean you must run 100% of your training runs on terrain that is exactly like your race. Nor does it mean you must go train on the real race course. Nor does it mean you must accumulate just as much elevation gain per mile as the race course every single day.
What does it mean, then? It means that you should keep your head out of the sand regarding what you’ll find out on that course on race day.
Don’t do this. You can be prepared! (from Wikimedia)
If you can’t go see the course or train on it, here’s what you can do:
- Look for photos, both on the race website as well as the googlz.
- Talk to those that have done it – a little web searching will turn up race reports, especially if the race has been taking place for awhile. Facebook is excellent, too. The race might even have its own group for swapping tips and such.
- Read the course description, check out the elevation profile—including the literal elevation.
Of these bits that you’ll learn about the course, ponder what will be new to you. Perhaps you live near sea level and the race is between 4000 and 6000 feet. Perhaps you train on a lot of gravel roads but the course is all single track. Perhaps you love the crisp fall air of the midwest but the race is in July . . . in Arizona.
Now that you know a few new bits of information, let’s take some action. In the above trio of scenarios (climbs, rocky singletrack, and summer in Arizona), there are several things that can be done. In the 4-6 months before the race, get in one or two runs per week—one short and one long—that specifically address those “new to you” elements. In the closer months before you start your taper, bring the specific runs up to 3 or so per week. OK, let’s do this.
Course Specific Training
- Start by throwing in some steep climbs into the mix. If the race has a 1000′ climb, go find the closest thing to it near where you live and power-hike that bugger until it feels less like absolute torture and more like just a grind. Hills like that are never going to feel easy—trust me—but they will vastly improve. You can also run DOWN the same route (see the following section for downhill tips).
- If the race has a legend for rooty rutted trail, find one, even if it’s short, like a couple of hundred yards short. Learn the little dance/tango of bad footing. All the better if it’s downhill to bring in some leg turnover.
- Hot race and you live where it’s cool? That’s gonna take more work. If it’s merely mild or warm near you, train with more clothes than you need, some of the time. If you really need a kick in the butt, go to hot yoga or a sauna. The Army has amassed a huge amount of knowledge about heat training (google for Army heat training), but the gist is you should spend about almost an hour around 100 degrees, several times per week for a few weeks before your event. You don’t have to workout while you’re baking. Just hang. Or do yoga. It worked wonders for me in the three weeks before Angeles Crest 100 in 2013.
Let’s say that race has some monster climbs and you’re doing your hills, great. What about downhills? If you see significant downhills on that course profile, you could fry your quads before the race is half over. There are two ways to beat up your quads in training in a controlled environment:
- Find a good long downhill you can run at the end of a long training week, and ideally on the day immediately AFTER your long run so that your legs are already on the verge of ouch.
- Squats. Oh yeah, squats. You don’t need weights for this – air squats are great, especially when done by the hundreds at a time.
Through all this, BE SMART and do the things that will avoid injury and burnout. Guess what part three is about? You got it – keeping that body moving.