with a 300km, 6 ultra-marathons in 6 days awaiting me at the end of this, I'm conscious that it's not about simply going far, but doing it again and again.
This is a different prospect in so many ways.
It's a different mangle that I'm going to put my body through. It's different mentally. It's different spiritually and it's different on my use of time...
...And this means I have to train differently.
I've always been a believer in train as you intend to execute. If you are aiming to compete as a fighter (which I used to do) you have to train with ferocity. As a sports person, with intensity. As a business professional, with commitment. If you don't train with deliberate practice that stretches you, then you don't grow, and when it comes to game day there's a high risk that things will turn to shit quickly and the intensity will catch you out.
The SAS have a saying... 'Train Hard, fight easy'. They spend a significant amount of time training as they intend to execute. Under pressure. The same in Sports such as rugby, where the training is in short bursts (just like the match situation), at high intensity and with ball in hand. This is no different.
The factors I need to consider
I'll be running 6 ultra marathons in 6 days. Back to back. Day after day. That means I need to train in the same way. This is because of what will be going on with my body.
Cooling Down and warming up
I'll be cooling down and starting up.... a lot. After my body has spent each night stiffening up and going into repair mode, and with lots of inflammation. I'll have to go out with inflammation high, which increases injury risk. This damage accumulates over time and I need to be ready for this.
Cool downs at the end of each run, with active stretching, hydration, calories, protein (a bit one) before I rest. The next day, taking time to properly warm up the muscles again. My Physio told me that it takes 15-20 mins to warm up the muscles when running before you race. I can see a slow warm-up start to each run as critical to get the blood flowing properly.
2. Head Space
Once you go past 50k, it is as much (arguably more so) a mental challenge as a physical one. Be aware of my own mind, is top of the billing here. The loneliness, the pain, the doubt, the discomfort, the periods of utter shitfest, the thoughts to quit, the knowing you have to do it all over again, and again, and again. This stuff gets to you. It gets to me. I can also see it stretching my mind and my resolve further than ever before. Way further, because once you've stopped for the day, your mind switches modes from game-mode to completion. This doesn't happen when I've run a single ultra until I have finished. So the challenge is how to stay in game mode. I'll save this for another post as i have some good stuff for this.
3. Plan B
I need to have a plan B. Shit will go wrong. Things will fuck up. Kit will fail. I'll tweak a calf. I'll miss a signpost. Being prepared in my own mind about what I will do will help.
And this is where back to back training will help. It will get me used to the above challenges over time. Strengthen the body, the recovery and my resolve. Starting this now allows me to test supplements to help recovery. It allows me to build a tolerance to the fatigue. I enables me to test mental approaches and the time to tweak all of it and find out what's working.
My back to back training is going to be 5 days on and two days off. Eventually it will build to be multiple times per day, but I will listen to my body and feel where the edges are and when I'm in the red zone (high risk of injury, burnout, etc). It'll look a little like this for now:
Sat - Run (trail)
Sun - Run (trail)
Mon - Run
Tues - Cross-train (or run) & weights
Wed - Pilates
Thus - Rest
Fri - Rest
Each run will be shorter than the one preceding it for now, and likely slower. I'll be stretching, etc each day. The back to backs will get me used to going day after day that bit further than the week before with a 10%-15% progression each week for the time being.
I'll keep you posted on all of it.
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