When I ran my first ultra and struggled with the whole race, I thought I knew how to train. After trawling social media for ideas, in reality, I was out of my depth and got the training completely wrong. Everything from no structured sessions or specificity, nutrition made up on the go, enough kit to survive the apocalypse, and zero ideas on pacing an ultra. Sound familiar? Do you want to run faster and further whatever your distance, but don't know how?
Journey2Ultra - Regular Newsletter and Planning Your Training
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Hi Reader, You want to run those races you have signed up for at your best (I know you say you just want to finish!!). Have you ever wondered how to plan your racing year to achieve this? I have you covered below with a section on planning ahead. I am also going to touch on the Olympics with lessons we can learn from the pros and a comment about AI following my previous email. Planning AheadAs we crawl out of winter here in Aus, it is a good time to start planning for the coming year and any races you are running. I wrote a piece for Trail Run Magazine about how to approach this last year and it can be read in full here - "Setting out the Training Year." and summarised below. This piece dives into planning your racing year after a period of disruptions in schedules. It talks about figuring out why you love racing and which races matter most to you. The idea is to plan your training around these races so that it's fun and aligns with what you're aiming for. It suggests splitting races into three categories: A, B, and C. A races are your big deals, where you put most of your training focus. B races are like practice runs for your A races, where you test out stuff like pacing or new gear. C races are more like part of your training or just for fun. When it comes to planning, it's all about starting from your main A race and working backward. You want to focus on the specific things you need for that race closer to the date, like if it's a hilly trail race, practice those hills and technical bits nearer the event. And work on your weaknesses earlier in your training blocks. The advice at the end is to start planning and training ASAP. Don’t wait for some future date to kick things off. The earlier you start, the better and more fun your race day will be, no matter when it's scheduled. OlympicsI have been putting regular comments and lessons learnt on my social media pages. Covering varying subjects as they pop up in the Olympics and how we can relate them to our training and racing. There is a lot of sport going on and a lot we can learn from the Pros over in France. Interesting they don't always get it right! I've briefly covered subjects touching on:
Head over there for these and plenty of other tips. Comments AII wrote previously on AI and how it is ineffective in providing quality training plans at this stage. I do however believe AI at some point will be used by coaches, (data analytics, patterns, predictions) with the right learning, it's just not there yet. Plus its never going to replace those person-to-person conversations and soft skills that a good coach should possess. Time to get signed up for your next race and start training! Cheers, Ash |
Journey2Ultra Running Coach
When I ran my first ultra and struggled with the whole race, I thought I knew how to train. After trawling social media for ideas, in reality, I was out of my depth and got the training completely wrong. Everything from no structured sessions or specificity, nutrition made up on the go, enough kit to survive the apocalypse, and zero ideas on pacing an ultra. Sound familiar? Do you want to run faster and further whatever your distance, but don't know how?
Hi Reader, I'm not one to shy away from more contemporary thinking. I previously wrote about the overuse of electrolytes and whether we need to supplement with them, as much as the marketing departments would have us think. Another area I believe can be overhyped is training using heart rate (HR). I am open in my coaching that HR is not a metric I use. But why would I not use this, and what alternatives do you have? As with most things I deal with, it's based on science, not following the...
Hi Reader, Nothing new on race day! We've all done it, worn those new running shoes we are keen to try out, or bought that gucci piece of kit at the expo, then suffered for it a few ks into your race. How can you have the best day out and what do we mean by this? How you race - Who's been caught up in the cattle stampede at every race start? Regardless of distance have a pacing plan and stick to it. For road races, through testing and training, you should have a good idea of your goal race...
Hi Reader, At a high level, we classify our runs into three buckets: easy runs, hard interval/threshold runs, and the long run. We might mix these up sometimes, for example, including faster threshold running or race-pace efforts in your long run. Today, though, we are going to focus on the long run, probably the most important session for you as a runner. Whether you’re preparing for a marathon, ultramarathon or simply aiming to improve your endurance, understanding the reasons behind the...