Answering YOUR ultra FAQs
We took to Instagram to find out what athletes really wanted to know about the world of ultra running. Thank you everyone who responded.
Questions about Nutrition
Nicole asks for the best nutrition practices
What role does protein play in race fueling? -Greg
In events longer than eight hours, you start to experience muscle breakdown. Protein can slow this process and help you maintain strength longer. However, protein can also be a little bit difficult to digest. To insure your stomach stays happy, try to eat one part protein with three to four parts carbohydrates.
How do you deal with nutrition if they frequently have stomach trouble in a race? -Nicole
Practice and creativity. First, practice eating like you will on race day. If you have a 4 AM start, start a couple of your runs at that time, including eating breakfast and dinner as you would before. Look up what foods the aid stations will have ahead of time, and try to keep those options on had during your long run. A really great way to practice this is to find a place to run where you will go past your house or your car a few times. Keep a cooler with all of the aid station options and try them out on race day. Of course, something might have worked well in practice, but is not staying down on race day. This is when you get creative. Find high calorie drinks that might work well for you. Finally, make sure to have some ginger chews, Tums, or other tummy-settlers in your race pack or drop bag for an emergency.
Questions about Training
How do you move up from half and full marathon training?- Sally Kate
The most common way is taking baby steps. First, look for a local trail race that might be marathon distance or slightly shorter. Trail running will be a bit slower than running on the road, so you will get a good idea of what an ultra might feel like. Then, start to look around for a 50k. While this might not seem like it is a ton further than a marathon, it is actually 20% farther and is a very different kind of race. For this reason, it is important to go into your first ultra with different expectations than you might go in with a marathon. No matter how strong of a road runner you are, if this is your first ultra or your first trail race, give yourself a lot of grace and do not fixate on time.
What kind of mileage should you be running with ultra training? -Karina
Sally Kate asks how to make the transition from marathons to ultras.
Distance per week and month will very greatly on the race distance, terrain, and the athlete. It is common to focus more on duration, or “time on fee,” than distance covered on your long runs. If someone is training for a mountainous 100k, such as Never Summer, they might want to spend a lot of time on steep, long climbs, but may not cover as much distance as someone who is training for a flatter 100k, such as Bandera. Rarely should one training run exceed more than 7-8 hours. If you are worried about getting enough training, think about breaking up the long run into a morning and an evening run.
If you were unable to run more than 80 miles while training for a marathon, it is unlikely that you will be able to run more than that on more difficult terrain during ultra training. It is important that you do not over extend yourself and become injured because you think you need more mileage than necessary.
I get tired. -Geoff
It is not uncommon to be fighting with fatigue while training for an ultra. If you are feeling depleted and run down before you start your run, ask yourself the following:
1) When was my last rest day?
If you are running seven days a week for an entire training period, there is a good chance you are burning yourself out. To start, make sure you are taking one to two days off a week so your body is able to adjust to the training load. As the cycle goes on, you may move on to one day off, or one or two days of LIGHT cross training.
2) Are you eating the right foods?
If you have any dietary restrictions, or have not increased your caloric intake to match your training, there is a good chance your are under-fueling.
3) How much are you sleeping?
Sleep is when the body heals itself. Maybe before you were in your training cycle you could get away with six hours of sleep a night, but now that you are spending long days running around the mountains, you need to make sure you are getting enough rest. This could mean forcing yourself to bed early, or carving out a time during the day to nap. Regardless, if your training is increasing, so should your time snoozing.
4) What kind of mileage are you running?
Generally, you should not increase your mileage more than 10% per week. That means if you start out at 30 miles per week, you should not jump up to 50 mile per week to get ready for the race. Be patient and move up slowly. If you are having trouble making a plan, learn how to make your own.
Questions about the mental game
Question contributor Megan asks how to train your brain.
How do your train your mind to embrace “the suck?”-Megan
Hopefully, if you have signed up for an ultra, you love to run. However, chances are high that you are not going to feel comfortable for a large part of the day. Again, this is where “time on feet” training will come in handy. Spending lots of time running, being uncomfortable, then doing it again the next day will start to build up your mental endurance.
Just like you will plan ahead with your nutrition, plan what can help you get out of your funk. Throwing a pair of headphones in your pack (in case you need to listen to music) setting your crew, friend, or pacers strategically on the course when you will be excited to see them, and making sure that you are fueling regularly (to avoid a mental and physical wall) will all be important in keeping your moral high.
Finally, getting into the practice of mindfulness or meditation can improve your mental strength during long, painful races.
Why is it so much fun? -Nick
What is not to love? You get to spend hours, or maybe even days, doing on of your favorite things in a beautiful place. You are pushing yourself to the limits and achieving amazing goals that your co-workers will never understand.