Within the last week, I have repetitively recapped what went correct and incorrect leading up to and throughout the UROC 100k in Colorado. Really, I would say this year has been a turning point in ultra-running knowledge for me, producing results that I truly feel are some of my better. With that said, I am going to break my UROC 100k experience into two parts, with the goal to keep my posts more concise. Hopefully, for those that read my blog every once in a while, I won't put you through an ultra marathon of reading. This first entry will summarize how I approached race day and what truly benefited my performance.
Over Racing:
Over racing has received a ton of coverage in ultra running lately. Look at Competitor.com, Ultra Runner Mag, and Irunfar...they all have posts, mostly stating the same facts. In marathon, the top elites are maybe doing two major marathons a year...at most. Ultra running however has completely ignored this rule of thumb both on the elite and participant level. You have top athletes running not only more mileage in training, but completing 6-8 ultras a year over the 50 mile distance. Though this seems "normal" to the odd crowd of ultra athletes, I believe it is far from...and something that is not only burning people out, but producing sub-par results.
Following a great race in the Black Hills at the end of June, I was mentally fried. Not only did my interest in running wane, but my body was tired. I noticed these signals from last year where I simply pushed through without a break, ultimately paying in a DNF at Superior 100 and a DNS at Twin Cities Marathon. Instead of blindly preparing to race Voyageur 50 in 4 weeks, I alternatively decided to travel with my wife, rest for a week training wise, and reboot with a race further down the road. In the end, I chose UROC in September, allowing for a complete rebuild of my training process. I believe this move was not only wise, but greatly beneficial. As I sit here now, I still LOVE running. Asked the same thing last year and I would tell you absolutely not....I hated running for months after last season!
Flat Land Training for Mountain Racing:
The easiest line of thought is, if you live in the Midwest, good luck performing well at high altitudes...IF you hold a regular 8-6 day job. Well, that notion is false. There are plenty of role models in the Midwest that do extremely well out west. It just takes a hard shift in training and for me, multiple trips out west in short succession.
I think one of the top things that paid dividends, was knowing how my body would perform at high altitude. I didn't have weeks to acclimatize or an altitude tent, but I didn't walk into the race blind either. I ran for nearly seven hours out in Teton National Park, scaling some gnarly terrain in 34 miles and also had the opportunity to pace in Leadville. Both allowed me to be at altitude not acclimatized and on my feet for 6-11 hours. I not only identified my weaknesses at different altitude levels, but I knew exactly what to expect. Both helped me mentally prepare for what would unfold during different parts of UROC. With ultra running being a large part mental focus and control, I couldn't recommend an approach like this more to anyone thinking about a western event in the future.
Additionally, the second success I had was training with what is available. No, I couldn't find those 5 mile long grinding climbs and descents, but I did find some pretty good hill routines. I spent at least one day per week running the longest hills I could find repetitively for hours. Was it fun...HELL no. But, it did build the leg and lung strength necessary for race day. Between hill repeats, strength training, long runs, and track workouts, I certainly felt adequately prepared and ready to race at UROC. In the end, I was confident with my fitness level due to the type of workouts completed, travel prior to the race, and distances covered in other events during the year. Sticking to a training plan and believing in it delivered the confidence needed to perform well.
Sleeping Low / Racing High:
My friend Jason and I had a relatively long debate on how to prepare for the altitude prior to UROC. We debated about going up high early or staying in Boulder the two days prior to the event. Overall, we had left ourselves three days to get used to the altitude prior to UROC, flying into Denver on Wednesday. Thus, we were in the dead zone. Research and personal experience would show that there are two approaches to altitude acclimatization. The first method, one I have used to moderate success prior, is the surprise attack. This involves arriving the day before and just racing. It isn't the most settling approach, but your body doesn't know what hit it. Not only is it not registering the change fully, but it isn't wasting energy trying to acclimate to the new altitude. With the proper hydration and rest, this approach can pan out nicely. Though, I would do a test run like I talked about above prior to the main event.
The other approach is gradually acclimating over 3-5 weeks prior to an event. Because almost everyone I know isn't elite enough to go forward with this approach (hence, we all have jobs of some type), I won't delve much further into this. I would say from past experience living in Jackson Hole, it took me over a month not to feel the fatigue and effects of climbing and running at altitude.
What I haven't seen is the benefits of acclimating for one week prior to an event. This is based on personal experience, and I recognize that everyone is different ahead of time, but I believe acclimating for one week is entirely worthless. From personal experience, my body is most affected at altitude within 3-4 days of staying up above 8,000 feet. From that point, the effects very gradually begin to fade, but the normal energy doesn't return for another couple of weeks.
I would recommend testing yourself at a variety of altitudes prior to ever thinking of a race out west. Not only would I recommend identifying the elevations where you begin to feel different symptoms, but know how you best acclimate or don't acclimate time frame wise. Both pieces are vitally important to success. For example, I knew very confidently that showing up one day prior to the race would be best in that three day time frame prior to the race. Staying in Boulder allowed my body to adjust to 5500 feet, but not exhaust itself staying at an oxygen deprived 9500ft. Additionally, I knew that I could run anything up to 10,700 feet, slowing my pace gradually by feel as I went beyond 10,000ft. At 11,500ft, I knew running would be very tough and likely cause a slight amount of dizziness, which in this case was normal for me. At 12,000ft, I knew I could retain a very fast hike, but running would be both too exhausting and worthless to my overall finishing goals. In the end, breaking down all this information is what will get you to the finish!
Up Next:
In the second part of my UROC 100k recap, I will recap my race day experience, how I adjusted once sickness hit, and what I am going to do differently going forward. Thank you for reading, hopefully my experiences will help you tackle an awesome race out West!
Over Racing:
Over racing has received a ton of coverage in ultra running lately. Look at Competitor.com, Ultra Runner Mag, and Irunfar...they all have posts, mostly stating the same facts. In marathon, the top elites are maybe doing two major marathons a year...at most. Ultra running however has completely ignored this rule of thumb both on the elite and participant level. You have top athletes running not only more mileage in training, but completing 6-8 ultras a year over the 50 mile distance. Though this seems "normal" to the odd crowd of ultra athletes, I believe it is far from...and something that is not only burning people out, but producing sub-par results.
Following a great race in the Black Hills at the end of June, I was mentally fried. Not only did my interest in running wane, but my body was tired. I noticed these signals from last year where I simply pushed through without a break, ultimately paying in a DNF at Superior 100 and a DNS at Twin Cities Marathon. Instead of blindly preparing to race Voyageur 50 in 4 weeks, I alternatively decided to travel with my wife, rest for a week training wise, and reboot with a race further down the road. In the end, I chose UROC in September, allowing for a complete rebuild of my training process. I believe this move was not only wise, but greatly beneficial. As I sit here now, I still LOVE running. Asked the same thing last year and I would tell you absolutely not....I hated running for months after last season!
Flat Land Training for Mountain Racing:
The easiest line of thought is, if you live in the Midwest, good luck performing well at high altitudes...IF you hold a regular 8-6 day job. Well, that notion is false. There are plenty of role models in the Midwest that do extremely well out west. It just takes a hard shift in training and for me, multiple trips out west in short succession.
I think one of the top things that paid dividends, was knowing how my body would perform at high altitude. I didn't have weeks to acclimatize or an altitude tent, but I didn't walk into the race blind either. I ran for nearly seven hours out in Teton National Park, scaling some gnarly terrain in 34 miles and also had the opportunity to pace in Leadville. Both allowed me to be at altitude not acclimatized and on my feet for 6-11 hours. I not only identified my weaknesses at different altitude levels, but I knew exactly what to expect. Both helped me mentally prepare for what would unfold during different parts of UROC. With ultra running being a large part mental focus and control, I couldn't recommend an approach like this more to anyone thinking about a western event in the future.
Additionally, the second success I had was training with what is available. No, I couldn't find those 5 mile long grinding climbs and descents, but I did find some pretty good hill routines. I spent at least one day per week running the longest hills I could find repetitively for hours. Was it fun...HELL no. But, it did build the leg and lung strength necessary for race day. Between hill repeats, strength training, long runs, and track workouts, I certainly felt adequately prepared and ready to race at UROC. In the end, I was confident with my fitness level due to the type of workouts completed, travel prior to the race, and distances covered in other events during the year. Sticking to a training plan and believing in it delivered the confidence needed to perform well.
Sleeping Low / Racing High:
My friend Jason and I had a relatively long debate on how to prepare for the altitude prior to UROC. We debated about going up high early or staying in Boulder the two days prior to the event. Overall, we had left ourselves three days to get used to the altitude prior to UROC, flying into Denver on Wednesday. Thus, we were in the dead zone. Research and personal experience would show that there are two approaches to altitude acclimatization. The first method, one I have used to moderate success prior, is the surprise attack. This involves arriving the day before and just racing. It isn't the most settling approach, but your body doesn't know what hit it. Not only is it not registering the change fully, but it isn't wasting energy trying to acclimate to the new altitude. With the proper hydration and rest, this approach can pan out nicely. Though, I would do a test run like I talked about above prior to the main event.
The other approach is gradually acclimating over 3-5 weeks prior to an event. Because almost everyone I know isn't elite enough to go forward with this approach (hence, we all have jobs of some type), I won't delve much further into this. I would say from past experience living in Jackson Hole, it took me over a month not to feel the fatigue and effects of climbing and running at altitude.
What I haven't seen is the benefits of acclimating for one week prior to an event. This is based on personal experience, and I recognize that everyone is different ahead of time, but I believe acclimating for one week is entirely worthless. From personal experience, my body is most affected at altitude within 3-4 days of staying up above 8,000 feet. From that point, the effects very gradually begin to fade, but the normal energy doesn't return for another couple of weeks.
I would recommend testing yourself at a variety of altitudes prior to ever thinking of a race out west. Not only would I recommend identifying the elevations where you begin to feel different symptoms, but know how you best acclimate or don't acclimate time frame wise. Both pieces are vitally important to success. For example, I knew very confidently that showing up one day prior to the race would be best in that three day time frame prior to the race. Staying in Boulder allowed my body to adjust to 5500 feet, but not exhaust itself staying at an oxygen deprived 9500ft. Additionally, I knew that I could run anything up to 10,700 feet, slowing my pace gradually by feel as I went beyond 10,000ft. At 11,500ft, I knew running would be very tough and likely cause a slight amount of dizziness, which in this case was normal for me. At 12,000ft, I knew I could retain a very fast hike, but running would be both too exhausting and worthless to my overall finishing goals. In the end, breaking down all this information is what will get you to the finish!
Up Next:
In the second part of my UROC 100k recap, I will recap my race day experience, how I adjusted once sickness hit, and what I am going to do differently going forward. Thank you for reading, hopefully my experiences will help you tackle an awesome race out West!