UKC

ullo, im in training for a few ultras and Im getting unmotivated on long training runs.
ive been listening to ministry of sound running trax, but that only lasts about 3.5h, plus week on week its boring and all the dancy upbeat songs blur in to one.
ive got loads of mp3s / cds but im wondering if anyone has other suggestions - audio books any good?

In reply to Pesda potato:

Take the headphones off and listen to the birds

In reply to Pesda potato:

Forget about speed. Run slower

In reply to Pesda potato:


Is this really the sport you want to pursue? I know there's no gain without some pain but training needs to be fun otherwise what's the point? Still, I'm sure an audio book would help the time pass.

In reply to Pesda potato:

yeah just run in entertaining areas.

I rarely go over 3 hours of running..

In reply to Pesda potato:
I do vary where I run and the scenery is nice, there are lots of birds and waterlife, but im following a 100 mile training plan and one day a week is a 30 miler.

its not about speed slow down? and spend even longer out on my own?

I only wear one earphone btw I wouldnt cut myself off from nature

In reply to Pesda potato:

try mindfulness through tuning into your breathing, seeking rhythm, cadence, pace, seems to be working for me

In reply to Pesda potato:

podcasts? There's a zillion out there!

In reply to Pesda potato:

I've used audio books, something with a story, then you can get into it and time flies away. With audio books that try and teach you things, I find I sort of drift off and can't remember much detail, though it's interesting at the time.

In reply to Pesda potato:

Try podcasts, I tend to use them cycling rather than running, but my runs are much shorter than yours. Obviously depends on your interests, but I can recommend infinite monkey cage, no such thing as a fish and bbc history today

In reply to Pesda potato:




"one day a week is a 30 miler."

Who the hells is this? I am seriously gobsmacked...

In reply to Pesda potato:

1. learn Japanese.
2. when finished, compose Haiku in Japanese in your head. The miles will fly by.

Glad to help.

In reply to Bobling:

Yep, down load the TED ones. So many options and many are really good

In reply to Pesda potato: find people to run with for at least a part of the run

A weekly 30 - seriously? Do you have a job as well? Are you recovering from them, and what else do you do per week?

In reply to Pesda potato:

or maybe find some nice people to run behind. someone with a nice bottom works for me, or how about running behind a clown?

In reply to Pesda potato:

For 30 years running I never understood people using headphones or being bored.
I always ran in the country and looked and listened to things, my problem was not to keep stopping to have a poke about at something interesting I had seen.

In reply to Pesda potato:

Will you be listening to anything during the event? If not, get used to running without headphones.

As an aside - can running a 30 miler every week really help? I'd be broken!

In reply to wbo:

ha yes I do have a normal 9-5 x5 job

the plan im following is about 70m pw so something like 4m 6m 15m 30m 15m
ilk be looking foreward to enjoyable runs again after the event.

thanks, lots of good suggestions to try out

In reply to Pesda potato: who suggested that plan? I am not very familiar with ultras, but none of the good ultra runners i know do anything like that - id guess you're most likely to end up overtrained/slow

In reply to wbo:

Exactly, that sounds an awful plan, I'd run more, I don't think you need 20's every week even in marathon training, every 10-14 days.

I'd run more and more structured sessions, even ultra runners need LT and speed work.

In reply to Pesda potato:

its a 100 mile event training plan I got from a link on runners world website

I do mix up the shorter runs for speed and hillwork and the rest is mix of road and trail

In reply to Pesda potato:

I'd question what runners world know.. normally they just steal.. and make things up. One of my articles appeared on their site... absolute scum of the running world.

In reply to Pesda potato:

Three observations:

I never used to listen to anything running, but increasingly I hurt when I run (an age thing, I guess), and I live in Birmingham. I need something to get me out of the door. Someone else to chat with is ideal, but rare for long runs. Radio 4 works for me.

If you are really running 30 miles in 3.5 hours in training then you must be doing something right (or very badly wrong). If that is at race pace, then the world 100 mile record is yours for the taking.

I've been reading a lot of blogs of good ultra runners recently. I find that this is in many ways easier than actually running. Obviously I bow to other thread-contributers' greater experience, but I don't think sort of distance at the weekend is at all unusual.

In reply to Mark Torrance:

I never said 30 miles in 3.5h, thanks for the reply but I think you got a bit confused.

im a very average runner.

In reply to Pesda potato:

I don't normally listen to anything any longer while out running, but a couple of years ago I did listen to the podcasts of Neil McGregor's History of the World in 100 Objects, and to several of the In Our Time discussions hosted by Melvyn Bragg. Now, the sound of my own snot gargling in my throat is becoming so distracting that I am thinking of trying McGregor's Germany series.

In reply to Mark Torrance:

If you follow people on Strava, plenty of top ultra runners use it, the mileage is often pretty low.

But also the long runs are more often than not in the 18-22 mile range, but lots of 10-15 mile runs. I follow Kaci Lickteig, one of the best female ultra runners in the US on strava, former Olympic Trials Qualifier, and she runs 12-15 miles most nights on trails with her dogs.. few long runs. But then last week she ran and won a marathon in the morning and did 11 miles with her dogs in the evening.. almost week in week out she runs more than me, I'm at low 90's and she's 110-120 miles a week.

In reply to Pesda potato:

defected podcast is really good. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/defected-in-the-house/id120107389?mt=2

In reply to Pesda potato:

I get a bit bored after a couple of hours on familiar ground. I once set off for 50-60k in a group of 4 thinking we were out for a nice run together. 2 or 3 miles in it turned to every man for himself. I was definitely fed up with my own company after 6h.

Interestingly, I just did 4000' of hill repeats on the bike with an (ultra) mate who's training for the Fred Whitton. That actually passed really quickly compared to the same session on my own.

In reply to Pesda potato:

A good maths problem (if you are that way inclined) or at least some sort of puzzle to occupy your mind. Has the advantage of no headphones cutting you off from nature.

In reply to Pesda potato:

unfortunately a training buddy is not an option for these longer runs as I tend to do them as and when I can, plus what normal friend would want to run 30 miles in the dark every week.
I do run with a club but they only do shorter hill and trail sessions of about 6 miles

In reply to Pesda potato:

'Serial' Podcast