Slow Down to Race FAST
I've been wanting to write about how I've developed my training philosophy of training considerably slower in order to maximize an ultra distance race effort. I have learned that it is best to spend the bulk of my training week, 80% of my weekly volume, running below my heart rate threshold. I am then able to maximize 20% of my specific race workouts for the week.
When I considered getting prepared for this 2019 race season I thought of the length of time I'd be spending on my feet racing. Lake Sonoma was a 7:25ish effort. Since August 2018 I've been training closer to 90% of my volume at a lower heart rate- that's 8 months! I still think I need more base fitness to race my best. So in order to make sure I keep my "storages" full and primed for my next race I need to get back to that base fitness... meaning back to slower base miles.
The past few weeks after Lake Sonoma I wanted to take off a couple weeks to let my body repair. But having already committed to line up at the World's Trail Distance race at the beginning of June, a much shorter effort, and also punching my golden ticket for a go at WSER at the end of June I knew I needed to gently coax the recovery and get back to full steam. Admittedly, I'm still reserved about making this bold move. BUT I feel that over my base training months this past off season I've incorporated the necessary training adaptations to insure my body is receptive to the high demands of this season. I will take sometime now in the weeks before these next two races to press the restart button. Let the body adapt to the training, and spend many hours cycling, heat training and easy running. I want to get to the start line with my battery 100% charged. And when I get to the track in Auburn I will be looking forward to a month completely off running to let my body fully recover. Getting to over ambitious in training can derail your momentum.
Adaptations: I've included a strength routine which I introduced last August. It took me about four months to fully phase in and adapt to the the weight training load. Simultaneously, I increased my running volume and increased back country ski days for vertical adaptation. This was very hard. So in order to allow the body to adapt I kept intensity very easy. I still have a lot of work to do here, and am thankful I've put in the time to dial back in intensity. What I found by spending many months in this adaptation cycle was that when I transitioned to race specificity the few weeks before Lake Sonoma my body was ready to handle the demands I asked of it. When I increased volume, I backed off strength. The following week I would keep volume the same but add some speed. Basically, I could play around with skills I needed to fine tune before race day.
When race day came around I knew my body would respond to the demands of a 7:25 hour day or faster if it was in the cards. I was uncertain of how my stabilizers would respond to the duration of being on a trail since I hadn't spent much time on trails, but putting faith in the training you do goes along way. I had worked relentlessly for this season and so when the race became relentless I was ready.
The past few weeks after Lake Sonoma I wanted to take off a couple weeks to let my body repair. But having already committed to line up at the World's Trail Distance race at the beginning of June, a much shorter effort, and also punching my golden ticket for a go at WSER at the end of June I knew I needed to gently coax the recovery and get back to full steam. Admittedly, I'm still reserved about making this bold move. BUT I feel that over my base training months this past off season I've incorporated the necessary training adaptations to insure my body is receptive to the high demands of this season. I will take sometime now in the weeks before these next two races to press the restart button. Let the body adapt to the training, and spend many hours cycling, heat training and easy running. I want to get to the start line with my battery 100% charged. And when I get to the track in Auburn I will be looking forward to a month completely off running to let my body fully recover. Getting to over ambitious in training can derail your momentum.
Adaptations: I've included a strength routine which I introduced last August. It took me about four months to fully phase in and adapt to the the weight training load. Simultaneously, I increased my running volume and increased back country ski days for vertical adaptation. This was very hard. So in order to allow the body to adapt I kept intensity very easy. I still have a lot of work to do here, and am thankful I've put in the time to dial back in intensity. What I found by spending many months in this adaptation cycle was that when I transitioned to race specificity the few weeks before Lake Sonoma my body was ready to handle the demands I asked of it. When I increased volume, I backed off strength. The following week I would keep volume the same but add some speed. Basically, I could play around with skills I needed to fine tune before race day.
When race day came around I knew my body would respond to the demands of a 7:25 hour day or faster if it was in the cards. I was uncertain of how my stabilizers would respond to the duration of being on a trail since I hadn't spent much time on trails, but putting faith in the training you do goes along way. I had worked relentlessly for this season and so when the race became relentless I was ready.
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