Not entirely sure the total count of Ultra’s and endurance events we have done. We have been working at this for a little under two decades. While always committed to a weight training regime. This is just some lessons learned and food from thought from our realm.
Endurance events – Ultras. Our first ultra was a 50km in Hawaii as that is where work had taken us. Humidity, roots, rocks, elevation, and mud posed a challenge. Early on we realized the importance of electrolyte intake. Heavy sodium and electrolyte pills became a staple for us. Our formula was 800 mgs of sodium an hour minimum. On top of regular nutrition and fluids. We were bonking kind of hard towards the end. The aid station with 6 miles remaining offered us a solution for low energy and pending cramps. Flat mountain dew was ironically well received. Pure sugar and caffeine helped at the time. The following year we would come back and do much better at this race. This is the growth and exposure factor. Figuring out what works for you isn’t an exact science. You have to test it. The purpose of this paragraph is DIALING IN NUTRITION. Electrolytes. Nutrition. How many calories per hour? We have messed this up. Not an ultra but on a 22 Miler trail run we have done previously we disregarded this, we paid for our egos mistake and cramped so bad we lost control and pissed our self. Lesson learned. Humility. Sometimes you have to force things down. But ideally find what is palatable for you. What your body craves during an event is usually accurate. Sweet, salty, whole foods, etc. Don’t forget about water as well. Drinking all electrolytes is good, but in our experience alternating has been pretty well tolerated for us. Examine the environment for its factors and tailor your nutrition to meet those factors. Ultras we have done in drier climates like Montana have tailored a different formula for nutrition/hydration.
Feet. SO important. Small issues become big if not dealt with. Blisters can be troublesome. Changing socks varies based on distance for us. On our 1st 100km trail run we did the elevation profile was daunting. 16,000 feet plus over the course. This race we figured out that toe socks were ideal for us. Because with regular socks blisters would form between our toes then pop. Painful yes, but honestly after they popped and hurt for 15 mins they went away until the next formed. Heels and other areas for blisters are not as easily disregarded. Find a system that works for you in dealing with these and have some of these light weight tools available to deal with this as they come up. A lot of times, everything just ends up hurting in the end so its part of the journey to embrace it and keep going. Mitigate what you can, look after your feet, but issues are due to arise if you are in the arena long enough.
Chaffing. Yep, terrible. Squirrels nut butter, Vaseline, aquafor. Use this ahead of time and do not let it go by the wayside. This one really sneaks up on you and compounds if neglected. Know these hot spots from training runs. Once you are behind on this it is more difficult to catch up. Even the nipples can chaff, and then you look down and you can see skin rubbed off. Whatever your clothing choice be sure to mitigate this factor of chaffing.
Pacing. Every single time we have been on trail all day into the night and through it our pace has slowed at night. Obviously, fatigue with wear and tear is a factor that contributes but, you lose sight of everything outside of a head lamp so your natural route is delayed. This is just our experience. Plan this into your timing. Going all night and watching the sun come up is wild but, at the very least keep going. An object in motion stays in motion.
Aid stations. Do not loiter. We have failed 100 mile trail runs for time. Looking at the loiter time at aid stations it was appalling. If we would have bought more time by getting what we needed and getting out it would have helped us make time. Do what you need to, but watch the bodies natural response to want to chill. Mile 86 was our last timeout. Too slow, and all that work down the drain. More on failure in next paragraph.
Failure. If you are doing something and you fail at it then great. Don’t give into the laundry list of excuses but pushing yourself beyond your boundaries and failing is a noble persuit. Our experience with this is our wounds healed. Our body regenerated. We recovered. Failure is final when you never try again, or you fail to learn from that lesson. Don’t do what is easy. Do what is hard.
Pre-hab. Yoga / Mobility / foam rolling / stretching. We neglected this for a lot of years. Let youth be our excuse. It is now a dedicated part of our regime. Your body is an interconnected mesh of fibers. It needs to have those fibers be fluid and non rigid. Examples of this going poorly for us have been IT bands so tight that outside knee pain has been excruciating. Running with that for 50 miles is not ideal.
Downhills. This is the most painful part of ultra running for us once a threshold is reached. Train these frequently to resemble race elevation profile.
Uphills. Consider walking them. Flow like water, slower up hills and glide down the hills. Also for lots of elevation using trekking poles has been very beneficial in our experience. Light weight poles can help speed hike those uphill sections.
Marathon and under. Depending on fitness level this is where we get to let the faster pace go. 10km, 21km are good distances and staples in any race format worldwide. A really good place to start for those getting into it. It is good to do training runs but if you can register for these races. The race environment makes it very enjoyable. Competition helps as well. Aid stations are there and it’s really nice to have these things provided. Also a good gauge of where you are at. Pace, tolerance, nutrition, etc. Back to the above point of testing your formulas. In our experience Marathons can be fun even if a road race and not the preferred trails. It is an experience, recommend trying one.
This is a working document, I am sure we will circle back to more on this at another time…
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