How to Train for an Ultramarathon

The number one question I have been asked is "How do you train for a race like 'that'?"  By 'that' they are generally referring to those crazy long trail races that seem to go on forever.  In other words, an Ultramarathon.  By definition, an Ultramarathon is any race that is longer than a Marathon.  Since a Marathon is just over 26 miles (26 miles and 385 yards), an Ultramarathon must be longer.  Typical race distances are 50K (31 miles), 50 Miles, 100K (62 miles), and 100 Miles.  For this article I will focus on the 50K since that is the most common (and easiest).  

How do I train?

This is a tough answer since it is very specific to how I train.  (Disclaimer...) While this works for me, it is not necessarily the "best" or "easiest".  It is the way I do it to give me the best chance of both making it to the starting line healthy and making it to the finish line in as short of time as possible.  Results may vary.  Author is not liable for damages caused to joints or vital organs if a runner decides to follow my example and hurt themselves.  

STEP 1:  Run a lot.  Duh, of course.  Let me explain...  It is important to get out and do something almost daily.  Consistency is a HUGE factor to having success.  It is also important to train your body to handle the stresses (mental and physical) of running.  The best way to do that is to actually run.  It's hard to learn math by practicing spelling.  Likewise, it is hard to learn how to run by riding a bike.  True, it is better than nothing since it trains your heart and lungs and I guess your legs too, but its not as good as actually running.  So, get out and run.

How much?  

For me (see disclaimer above), this means anywhere from 50 to 90 miles a week to get me ready.  "Whoa, never mind I don't want to do an Ultra" you may be tempted to say.  You should work up to it.  Slowly build up your mileage and your body will adapt.  It takes me about 9 hours to run 60 miles in a week and about 12 hours to run 80 miles a week. 

What does a typical week look like for you Cody?

I will share my last week as an example of a good week for me.  I ran 80 miles.  

Monday - Macey's to Providence Quarry (13 miles).  Mix of road and trails.  This was a hard effort.  It was a steady climb the first half and a fun downhill the second half.  I focused on maintaining a solid effort based on heart rate (150-165).  1 hour and 42 mins

Tuesday - Canal Trail & River Trail (10 miles). Mostly flat trails.  This was an easy effort.  It is important to take easy days.  This usually means easy effort and usually shorter distance as well.  Legs were tired from yesterday's hard effort.  1 hour 22 mins

Wednesday - Easy 6 mile run (48 mins) around the neighborhood in the early morning.  After work, I joined with a friend for a trail run on Jardine Juniper trail.  We ran 12 miles on hilly terrain.  Evening run was a medium effort.  1 hour and 52 mins

Thursday - Providence Roads (9 miles).  Again, easy pace.  Recovery day  1 hour 13 mins

Friday - Canal Trail & River Trail (10 miles).  Just like on tuesday, easy day.  On days like this, its all about time on the feet while tired.  This allowed my body to recover for a big effort on Saturday. 1 hour 20 mins

Saturday - Long Trail Run (20 miles).  This was a big effort both in distance and in pace.  The course I picked had a lot of climbing (some of it was so steep I was hiking it).  This is one of the keys of success for an Ultramarathon, the long run.  I try and make these runs enjoyable and they usually are.  If you do them on the road (at least for me) they are torture.  So, I usually plan way in advance what cool trail I can run and have a blast exploring the mountains usually with some friends (yes, I have friends and some of them even run as much as me).  This outing took 4 hours and 5 mins.

Sunday - Off (rest)

While the details change week to week, I try and get in 3 harder days with 3 easier days.  This will give me the perfect balance of too much and too little.  If I try and go too hard on my easy days I pay for it either with exhaustion or injury.  You must keep your easy days EASY!  Too many people fail to do this.  I will sometimes run 2 mins per mile slower than normal on my easy day.  Don't worry about it.  

The other key point is making sure your long runs are reasonable simulations for race day.  It doesn't have to be the full race distance (and usually shouldn't be that long) but to train for a 50K race you should run 20-25 miles semi-regularly.  Training for a 50 Mile race, you should run a 50K or two in the weeks or months leading up to it.  You get the idea.

STEP 2:  Sleep a lot.  Really, as much as possible.  For me that means 7-ish hours (8 is better) if I want to continue running 80 miles a week without breaking down.  This means going to bed at a reasonable time (early for some) since I have to get up at 5-5:30 to get my run in before work everyday.  That means, by 10pm I had better be in bed (or really close).  Most people cheat in this area.  It is ok to do so once in a while, but a lack of sleep will make you frustrated when you are running because you will feel awful and will not be able to get moving at a decent pace.  GET SOME SLEEP!

STEP 3:  Eat a lot.  Your body is burning LOTS of calories.  This is a huge benefit for most.  Enjoy the finer things in life... like food.  You should focus on eating healthy food, and I usually do.  But I also enjoy a huge bowl of ice-cream or a half dozen cookies when the occasion presents itself.  While this is not really recommended, my body craves those fatty foods and as long as you are keeping things reasonably balanced you can enjoy life.  If you are getting fat I guess you should cut back a bit, but your body is an engine and needs fuel to burn.  Try and keep the fuel tank full.

STEP 4:  Explore new places.  You will receive energy and joy as you find hidden gems as you go running.  I love to climb mountains and find remote places.  I spend some time on Google Earth looking for sweet trails.  I also enjoy Strava.com looking at other runners' training logs and where they like to run.  I have found some sweet trails (and running buddies) by this method.  On the right side of this blog is a link to my Strava training log where you can see exactly where I have been running.  It's ok (I am pretty sure) to spy on other runners and steal training ideas and inspiration for your training.

STEP 5:  Pick a race and train for it!  Nothing motivates more than a deadline and a goal.  I love to look at Ultrasignup.com and look at the popular races and see what's out there.  I would be happy to give recommendations as to good races for a first time Ultramarathon runner or a first time Trailrunner.  There are lots of good choices out there that are not too difficult (relatively).  

There you go!  Are you successfully motivated and coached to get outside and run?  No?  

Fine, I give up, you figure it out yourself.

In a future blog post I will try and teach about HOW TO FINISH YOUR FIRST 50K.  I will share what went wrong for me and how I have learned from my mistakes.  Maybe it will help you or someone you know keep from making the same mistakes.  It's my bedtime now so good night.

Some Pictures I took (not as good as Bethany's but its the best I can do) during that 20 mile run on Saturday.

A Preview in a Review...and lots of side notes. Sorry, I cannot control them.

In this small lull in our Race Schedule (captialization was intentional for around our house the "Race Schedule" is what we set our whole year by. Weekends rise and fall by the "Race Schedule." In fact, I am thinking the "Race Schedule" needs to adopt the quotations now as well, for it is THAT important) I decided to do a little reminiscing. A little walk down memory lane, if you will. So, in honor of the next race on the "Race Schedule" here is a little reviewing preview of the formerly Pocatello 50- now the Scout Mountain Ultra Trail (SMUT for short). There ya go, I linked that site for you. Go there for all the details. Or wait for Cody's review here in a couple of days.

This race has been a hit and miss for Cody (as he will later flesh out in detail) and has been a complete miss for me. This whole, me following my crazy husband around for days in the mountains, has only fully evolved in the past 10 months. My first real attempt at documenting the ultra running experience was last July. Pokie was in June. Oh sad. Prior to me fully plugging in to my husband's hobby, I was pursuing my photography in almost every other possible avenue BUT sportslandscapeography (just made that up. Can you tell?) (I also like parentheses. Bet ya didn't notice that either.) My whole approach to "Crewing" was to show up where he points on the map precisely at the time he tells me and then leave as soon as he runs through. If I snapped a shot here and there, it was usually of flowers or bunnies or something in the complete opposite direction of the race. Case in point. My best efforts from Pocatello 50 2013:

See? Flowers. Not runners.

This is the extent of my course shots. 

 A family hike to "scout" out the trail that Cody had already run several times before. (We were trying to stave off the wild animals those littles become when they reach the deadly level of "boredom". )

 Here is my shot of Cody running in to City Creek. Quite possibly the least scenic location possible, but hey, I did my crew chief duty, nay, my wifely duty to document this moment in his racing history. But that was it.
Don't even ask me for a close up. My camera was for flowers. Or bunnies. 

This was a shot I took of the start/finish. Mostly because I had a fish eye lens on me and wanted to use it. Hence, to wrap things up (since you come here to scroll through pictures and read a runners diary, not a photographer's) I did not do a great job setting up a blog post to preview this race. Ha. I could have told you at the beginning of this post and saved you a lot of reading, right?! Nope. I like the long and painful way.
And now, you can see where I started and give me a little credit for some progress made in fully appreciating this amazing and inspiring past time of ultra trail running.