What Does It Take To Run A 50 Mile Trail Race?

I am running my first 50 mile trail race in about ten weeks: The North Face 50 at Bear Mountain, NY.  I consider myself to be a complete newbie when it comes to running ultra's.

To date I have participated in two running races, the Dam Half Marathon and the Seashore 50k.  After the rock covered hills of the Dam Half, I was sore for two days but it was nothing I couldn't deal with. After the flat 50k my hip flexors were non-functioning and my calves and achilles tendons were tied up in knots. I couldn't lift my legs to get out of the car. I spent the Monday after the race shuffling around work like a crab missing more than one leg. I almost fell over when I sneezed as my hip flexors couldn't deal with the force of the explosive exhalation. Basically I felt like I got hit by a truck.

Finishing straight at the 2011 the Seashore 50k - My legs are in a world of pain.

Not wanting to experience the pain felt after the 50k, I have been mulling over ways to prevent pain both during and after an even tougher 50 miles. To areas of training that will be the key to my success include:

1. Downhill running - During the last 5 miles of the 50k my quadriceps protested and the slightest loss in elevation. Luckily for me the race was almost pancake flat and I was able to survive and finish. At Bear Mountain, however, the course has 7,000 feet of elevation loss. This means a lot of eccentric stress on the quadriceps muscles and potentially crippling weakness during the race coupled with a huge amount of post race muscle soreness. I will need to work on both volume of downhills run as well as technique or rocky, slippery slopes.

2. Food Intake - I like to run on an empty stomach. I like to think I am teaching my body how to burn fat for fuel. I don't like the feeling of food jostling around my stomach. I don't care for sticky, syrupy sweet energy gels. Unfortunately, ultra running requires food. And lots of it. Wait to long to eat and your day may end sooner than planned.

Race day also brings two undeniable facts: Pre-race nerves and the too fast start phenomenon. Both of these scenarios can lead to improper usage of fuel early in the race which can spell disaster as the day progresses.

Over the next few weeks I will discuss the physiology behind downhill running and how to prevent muscle soreness. I will also look at strategies to help with race day nutrition to help keep both body and mind functioning.
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Snowy Run on the AT - Trindle Road to Center Point Knob

First tracks for the first snow fall of the year. 7:30am and not a soul in view.

The little creatures were out early and then back to bed apparently.

Crossing a horse pasture in the Cumberland Valley.

I don't know anything about tracks in snow. But this one followed the trail for a few hundred meters.

A field-stone wall from days past.

 
2,175 miles. Jennifer Phar Davis set the speed-hike record in 2011 by averaging almost 50 miles per day and completed the trek in 46 days 11 hours and 20 minutes. http://jenniferpharrdavis.tumblr.com/.  I can't fathom her resiliency and determination.

Classic Boiling Springs shot.

And again.

Finally a hill or two to climb.

Time to turn around. I wanted to keep running. The day was young. The snow was fresh and unspoiled. The trail beckoned.  Yet all out and back runs are easy going out.......it's the heading back that gets you.

Sharpen the Pencil Too Often and the Point Will Break

I've been reading Distance Running by Robert Lyden. He breaks down the training season into five categories: Base, Hill, Sharpening, Peak, and Post Season Recovery. If you believe traditional endurance training philosophies then you are probably deep into your base period right now. One word to describe the base period is: Quantity.

Quantity is not Long Slow Distance training. I prefer the term steady state training. Fatty acid training sounds even better, but may cause confusion. How much training you undertake depends on many factors such as training age, goal distance, and number of weeks until race day. But i'm getting ahead of myself.  I don't want to discuss base training so much as what happens if you skimp on your base training.

While skimming the book in its entirety I was captured by the following thought where Lyden is discussing the sharpening period: "The primary factor limiting how much quantity and quality can be assumed during the sharpening period is the aerobic ability and strength of an individual". How do you build aerobic ability and strength? With sufficient time and energy spent in Base and Hill Training.

Lyden continues, "Many are misled by the fact that when athletes begin to conduct sharpening workouts, their performances begin to improve dramatically". This is what we want: snappier legs, quicker turnover, faster pace. Yet far too often we are blinded by our improvements. Sharpening works well for the prepared athlete, perhaps so well that it may becomes the goal of every workout. Unforunately sharpening can only take an athlete so far. Again Lyden, "An athlete who enters the sharpening period with the aerobic ability to run a 4:10 mile can conduct sharpening work to realize that potential. No amount of sharpening work will enable the athlete to raise his aerobic ability sufficiently to realize a 4:00 mile."

The point: base training and hill training must be completed properly before sharpening. If not, no amount of sharpening will suffice to sufficiently enhance the aerobic system which is a necessity for continued improvement. Sharpening is the icing on the cake. Or better yet the bacon in the salad.

What is proper base training?  What is the best way to build the aerobic system? That's a topic for a different day.