UTMB Training Tips: #4-6

Here is the next set of Training Tips. Like tips #1-3, these are also generally helpful to incorporate for any trail / ultra race.

Remember that there is no silver bullet or magic workout. Anyone who tells you so sits on a throne of lies. It’s all about consistency and mixing in the different ingredients. But over time you’ll be amazed by how much you can improve!

UTMB Training Tip # 4: Long Run + Tempo

How do you prep your body to finish strong in the second half of a 100 miler? How can you avoid being the zombie walking backwards downhill, hobbling with your trekking poles, or just curled up in the fetal position on the side of the trail?

Enter the magic of the tempo effort during long runs! After 25 minutes, incorporate a hard tempo effort. Start with 20 minutes and extend up to 45 minutes as your body adapts and you approach your goal race. If you can get to hilly trails, you’ll have the added benefit of climbing, flats, and descents during the tempo effort.

By tiring out your legs early on, you will feel truly whooped by the end of the run. You are simulating running far longer than you actually do without the damage on your body from the extra miles. When I first started doing these, I couldn’t believe how a 25 mile run with a 40 minute tempo effort felt more like 35-40 miles. Like I said, it’s magic, right?!

I credit these workouts to closing hard at Cruel Jewel and moving up from 11th to 8th in the last 20 miles despite not running over 25 miles in training. Long run tempos toughened me up for a big push from Champex-Lac to the finish at UTMB this year, picking up 30 places along the way.

You can include these once a month when further out from your race, but add in tempo efforts for most long runs in the last 3 months of training. .Just make sure to bring plenty of snacks for after you finish - you’re going to need them!

How you will feel at the end of long runs with tempo efforts

UTMB Training Tip # 5: Hill Intervals

Hill interval workouts are hard. Very, very hard. Yet somehow they are also my favorite workout. I’m not sure what that says about me, but it probably isn’t good!

As compared to flatter intervals, hill workouts have more muscular engagement and are more terrain specific. Tough hill workouts hone the strength that will propel you up the endless, steep UTMB climbs.

Up, Up, Up! Cresting the top of Grand Col Ferret.

Hills provide a huge Vo2Max stimulus. I sometimes struggle to get my heart rate up on flat intervals, but I routinely spike over 170 as I'm sucking wind at the top of the hill and about to keel over. Relatedly, doing fast intervals on a hill also reduces risk of injury. You can spike your heart rate and intensity on a hill with a much slower pace and substantially reduced impact forces versus flat running. For runners who are injury prone or over 40 (which I'm perilously close to!), it's a good idea to shift more workouts to hills. More than half my interval workouts are on hills, especially when I'm closer to a race and running big mileage.

Staple workouts include 5x3min, 6x2min, and 5/4/3/2/1min at a 6-8% grade with easy run down recovery. Focus on effort and form rather than pace. Think about fast cadence, forward lean at the angle of the hill, and driving from your hips / glutes. 5x3min may look fairly easy on paper, but I promise you will be cursing the hill by the end!

UTMB Training Tip # 6: Core Strength

Everyone should do core workouts. When anyone asks me about a life problem, I tell them the answer is probably to do more core.

A strong core helps prevent injuries and improves trail running performance, where you have more lateral motion. You'll need that core to work the trekking poles on the steep uphills. I can't tell you how sore my abs were after UTMB!

I do core at least twice a week for 20+ minutes, usually once along with leg strength and once standalone. Leg strength shouldn't be done the day before a hard workout or long run, but you can throw a core workout in any day.

Some of my favorite exercises include planks (w/ shoulder taps and toe taps), supermans, bird dog, side plank dips, bicycles, flutter kicks, scissor kicks, russian twists, and leg raises.

Now go forth and work that core!