UKC

Can anyone give an idea of a training plan to prepare for a first ultra marathon.

I ran the Rotterdam Marathon (flat) six weeks ago and think I have managed to maintain a similar level of fitness. What sort of additional training do I need to do to get to an ultra??? And what sort of strategy should I adopt for the race????

Ones that I am planning will most likely be in the Alps, which will pose an additional problem for training as I live in the Netherlands. I will be running my first mountain run (26km) in Austria next weekend, so should give some indication of how I cope in the hills.

Cheers

Neal

In reply to fenski:

What is your current training plan? That is, what is a typical week both in terms of mileage and types of run (i.e. speedwork, hills, trails or road etc.)? Easier to tweak what you have I think.

Also, how did you find the marathon? Did you go all out for speed or were you simply trying to get round? If you were just trying to get round, did you feel quite comfortable with the distance?

In my case, I found a hilly off-road marathon a lot easier than a full speed flat road marathon, because the variation of terrain. Flat road marathons (if you're going for a time) are relentless and more difficult psychologically (for me). Certainly, were it not for some nutritional errors resulting in cramps, I felt like I could have gone further in the off-road hilly marathon, but by the end of a road marathon I am totally spent!

In terms of training, I just moved my long run from on-road to trails in preparation and that was about it. But I was luckly enough to have hills where I live (certainly hillier than the Netherlands!), so I'm not sure what you can do about that. Is there anything (however small) you can run up and down (possibly repeatedly) just to get some hill work in?

In reply to fenski:
what ultra?

A 50k? 50 miler? trail? mountainous?

What's your current long run? Typical training week and what was your marathon time?

Many say just add back to backs, I'd be very wary of them.

In reply to fenski:

Marathon time was 03:47, which was my first attempt, and the only run of any kind I'd done before, so was reasonably pleased with the time. Was fine in the marathon till 35km, and then struggled back the last 7km, but ran all the way.

Since then I have been running 2x during the week 10 - 15 km, and 1 x 20 - 25 km on a weekend, just to maintain fitness. These are all at faster pace than my marathon training as I am running a 26 km mountain run next weekend. Other days I am climbing, kitesurfing or wakeboarding.

Probably looking at doing something around 50 to 60 km in length, but in the Alps. Not sure how to get the hill training unless I run up and down the dyke outside my house (about 6m vertical).

In reply to fenski:

Just need hills really, you'll have a solid aerobic base and will need the strength on the hills.

In reply to fenski:

Can you use stairs? When I'm training for a mountain marathon and I'm short on time I just head to the nearest tube station and run up and down the stairs 10x. I'm sure you could find a tall (ish) building somewhere that would suit your needs?

In reply to fenski:
If you are looking at 50-60k there should be no night running involved, so you probably don't have to change much from your marathon training.
Get off-road, even if it's not hilly to get used to the different foot plant on every step. Get used to walking, maybe up stairs for lack of hills, as you probably will do a lot of uphill hiking in the event. Difficult to train for the pounding of the downhills though on stairs, but there is not much you can do about, so forget about it for the moment. Just take it easy on the day of the event and don't kill off your legs on the first downhill.
Learn to eat on the run and try out different foods. You might want something more substantial than whatever you took during the marathon.

In reply to StefanB:

thanks for the replies. what about strategy during the race?? Am I trying to run the whole way or walking up hills, running down??

On the downhills, trying to take it steady, or flat out for speed???

Any tips???

Also, what time would be considered reasonable for a 50k mountain run???

In reply to fenski:

If you're doing 50-60k in the Alps you won't be able to run the hills so don't try. I ran a 32k race yesterday and one section was a vertical KM. The strategy was to just run until it ramped up too steep and then walk, run again when it eased up. On steep stuff, power hiking is almost as fast (and less tiring) than running anyway.

On downhills your quads will take a real battering so go easy. Also you will be knackered so going fast you're likely to trip on roots and rocks and do yourself a mischief. It's amazing how physically tiring running fast downhill actually is.

Your first ultra is always a learning experience though, don't try to overthink it. Just try to reign in the pace to last the whole day and try to enjoy it.

In reply to yorkshireman:

so, I completed my first trail run on sat, 26km with 800m ascent, 1500m decent, in 02:42. Finished 23rd out of 58, so overall was pretty pleased with the result.

what did I learn??

walking up hills is indeed almost as fast as running
running downhill on steep stuff (especially tarmac) is hard
I need some practice on running on the slightly inclined uphill (as opposed to the dead flat i normally run)