05/02/2024
13 weeks until Five Peaks!
If you haven't started training yet, there is still time... but you better get moving. If you need a specific, personalised training plan to help you focus and take all the guess-work out of your training, there are two things you should do...
1. Contact me. I am a very experienced and full-time running coach and strength & conditioning coach. I love working closely with athletes and helping them achieve enormous goals. I will write you the most personalised plan that fits in with your current abilities, lifestyle and goals then I will take you through the process of preparing for an ultra. This is literally what I do for a job and I love it!
And 2. read my weekly posts on how to prepare for Five Peaks then implement as many of those tips as you can.
Enough self-promotion, lets get on with the show...
By now you should have found your training routine by establishing the best times of the week to train. It is so important that you treat your training like it is a very important appointment (because it is!). You don't need to be motivated because motivation will only get you started, motivation waxes and wanes like the phases of the moon. Structure, routines and plans will keep going when the motivation wanes.
You should have a handle on your Easy runs. Remember to keep them very slow! That is a non-negotiable.
If you haven't had the chance, now is the time to start checking out the Five Peaks course. Whether you do it as part of your long runs or in small sections it is vital for numerous reasons. By getting to know the course, on foot and in person, you will develop a much stronger sense of the terrain that maps alone can't give you. You won't have to stress about taking any wrong turns on race day and you will know how it will feel underfoot in various sections (ie is it road, rocky single-track, fire-track or sandy trail, etc?).
Additionally, the Five Peaks course is beautiful and has many challenging sections that can make for an excellent place to get fitter, stronger and faster. There are many hills to train on - not just five ;) so get out there and explore the Five Peaks course this week.
Finally, I have talked about the need to train Easy/zone 2 (which should definitely make up a large percentage of your training) but I want to add an extra ingredient - speed work.
If you want to run fast, sometimes, you have to run fast!
Speed work (interval, tempo, threshold, sprints, hill sprints, strides, surges) is essential for all runners because there are so many benefits. Fast-twitch muscle-fibre recruitment, aerobic and anaerobic development, improved range of motion and stride length and improved lactate clearance to name but a few of the benefits. Running faster sometimes within your build up to an ultra marathon will help improve running economy and believe it or not can be really fun. Various speeds, intensities and duration will bring about a variety of adaptations, which I will talk about in greater detail in following weeks.
If you are new to the whole concept of speed work or want to be cautious then now is a good time in your program to introduce a small simple session once per week.
Try the following simple session.
Threshold Surge.
Warm up for 2-3 km at a very easy pace.
then
Run 300 metres at a STRONG and CONTROLLED pace - not an all out sprint but about the pace you would run for a 10km race - then easy pace for the remaining 700 metres of the kilometre. If you are totally gassed after the 300m, chances are you are running too fast. You should be able to jog the 700m pretty comfortably.
Then repeat this 3 or 4 times max and then finish off with a steady slow cool down of 2-3 km.
Give it a go! It is fun to run fast! Don't forget to tag Distance Runners Unlimited in your activity on the socials.
That is about it for this week. Much longer post than expected but I truly hope you find it valuable!
Until next week...
