Welcome back! After a brief hiatus, I have decided to
continue to write my blog. I’ve been running marathons for the last four years now
and documenting that process for the last 2 two. I was ready to give up on the
blog but a new journey awaits! This year is the year that I run my first ultra
marathon. I’m excited to share this experience with you and to chronicle this
adventure for myself. I’m on the verge of training (only 6 days!) so I thought
I would start with laying out my training plan for you all. I will also share
the changes I’m making in order to go from marathon to ultra marathon training
and I will share all my hopes and fears! This is going to be one hell of a ride
but I really am so excited for this new adventure.
First thing's first…the training plan. The biggest difference
I’ve noticed is that my first long run starts at 10 miles, whereas marathon
training usually starts around 4 or 5 miles. I’m also going to be running A LOT
more during the week.
Week
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Mon.
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Tues.
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Wed.
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Thurs.
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Fri.
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Sat.
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Sun.
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1
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Off or Easy Swim or Ride
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45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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45 min Hilly run
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
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Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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Long Run: 10 miles
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1 hour Medium Effort Run
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2
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Off or Easy Swim or Ride
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45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 3 x 600m
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
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Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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12 miles
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1 hour Medium Effort Run
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3
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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50 min Hilly run
|
1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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14 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
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4
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 5 x 600m
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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16 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
|
5
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
|
55 min Hilly run
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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18 miles
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1 hour Medium Effort Run
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6
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 7 x 600m
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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20 miles
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1 hour Medium Effort Run
|
7
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
|
60 min Hilly run
|
1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
|
16 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
|
8
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 8 x 600m
|
1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
|
22 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
|
9
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
|
65 min Hilly run
|
1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
|
16 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
|
10
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 9 x 600m
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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24 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
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11
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
|
70 min Hilly run
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
|
16 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
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12
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 10 x 600m
|
1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
|
26 miles
|
1 hour Medium Effort Run
|
13
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
|
70 min Hilly run
|
1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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Race: 10 mile or ½ marathon
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1 hour Medium Effort Run
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14
|
Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 8 x 600m
|
1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
|
Off or Easy Swim or Jog
|
30 min Easy Run
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Race: 10K
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15
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Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run PLUS Core
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Hill Repeats: 5 x 600m
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1:15-1:30 Easy run
PLUS Core
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Off or Easy Swim or Jog
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Race: 5K
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90 min Run
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16
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Off or Easy Swim or Ride
|
45-60 min Easy run
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1 hour Easy run
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OFF
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OFF
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30 min Easy Run
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50K Race!
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To some, this training plan may seem daunting but I look at
it and I get so excited. I’m more motivated than ever to start pushing my
limits even farther. As you can see, there are some common themes. Mondays and
Fridays are meant to be off days or easy effort cross training days. These are
built into the training plan to guard against injury. I won’t try to push
myself to run every day. Recovery is going to be super important when your
mileage starts to increase. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays are mostly the
same workout every week. On Tuesdays and Thursday I will add an additional core
workout. Core training is also important in ultra running. This helps your
balance and stability which will be be needed on the trails. Speaking of
trails, these are explicitly stated on the training plan, but I will hopefully
be running at least half of my runs on the trails. I’ve gotta get trail
experience!! Wednesdays will help with this as well. Wednesdays are my hill
days, either hilly runs or hill repeats. These double as speed workouts as
well. Finally, Saturdays are my long run days. As you can see I will hit my
first 20 miler on week 6!
Pre-training: Leading up to training I’ve been following a
similar schedule. I’ve been doing long runs on Saturday. My most recent one was
8 miles so I will be primed and ready for the 10 miler during week 1. I’ve also
been doing increasingly longer workout on Tuesday and Thursday with a core
workout added to it. Sundays have been around 45 minutes at medium effort.
Diet: Something new that I’m trying this year is
carb-cycling. On days that I don’t run (Mondays and Fridays) I am doing low
carb. Easy runs or medium distance runs are my moderate carb days. Long runs
are high carb days. Right now the macros are fixed to meet my current needs but
they will obviously have to be adjusted as a progress through training and
start running a lot more miles. I’m doing this in an effort to actually lose
weight this year! Most years losing weight becomes difficult during training
because of the amount of calories needed to fuel me during my runs. We’ll see
how this goes.
My nutrition plan for my long runs will also have to be
adjusted some. During ultra marathons you are encouraged to EAT
differently/more than marathons. For instance, the aid stations during the
ultra will have: bananas, potato chips, pretzels, animal cookies, M&Ms,
gummi bears, Goldfish, trail mix, PB&J. Hydration options also differ:
water, Gatorade, assorted soft drinks and coffee. So to prep for this change, I
will try to incorporate some of these options into my long runs to see what
works/doesn’t work for me. I’ve also heard boiled, salted potatoes are a good
option.
Running and training for the ultra will also require some
new gear. I’m looking into buy some new shoes – ones that are made for trail
running specifically. I also need a pack to carry more supplies and more water.
This will come with some more time and research.
Now on to the actual race. I have already signed up for the
Table Rock Ultra 50K. It will start and finish at Steele Creek Park in North
Carolina.
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| The race course |
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| One of the views during the race |
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| View from the Table Rock Summit |
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| One of the waterfalls on the course |
So obviously I have some fears about running my first ultra.
I feel confident in being able to run the distance. After all, I have 4 years
of running 26.2 under my belt. The 50K amounts to a little over 31 miles so I
don’t feel like it’s going to be much different than 26.2. However, the 50K
also requires some difficult trail running with an elevation gain of 6,500’. I’m
looking forward to the challenge and I’m hopeful that I will do well. I’m not a
fast runner at all but I’ve always been confident about my ability to keep
going.
