Runners
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All workouts in a training plan are important but the long workout and interval sessions are most important so it’s possible to alter the easy runs to cross training but running is the best workout to prepare for running, unless that’s going to cause you injury. Strength training also helps a lot with that.
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@Nik mentioned strength which is really important and take care of recovery and nutrition.
Try to prioritise sleep to allow your body to recover properly.
Nutrition wise, my best advise is to fuel your runs properly. If you train for performance it’s not a good time to focus on weight loss or body composition. Do this, if needed, before. I have been there and broke down completely because i was eating too little trying to loose every single remaining gram of body fat.
I still am mentally challenged with this, but on a good way now, although I would need to gain some weight for better performance. -
All registered for South Downs Way 100 mile race 8 June 2024. After running 100k under 11 hours I’m going to train hard and see if I can get a reasonably good time. I guess that would be under 18 hours. Will still need a head torch for the night running.
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Drink lots, fuel more than when it isn’t hot, include more electrolytes in fuel esp. if you have salty sweat, and be patient because heat acclimation takes time. You can wrap ice in a bandana and wear it around your neck too, I haven’t tried it but pros do it.
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My times were just about the same as always but the perceived effort was maxed, and my heart rate showed it. I don’t normally carry water on anything under 10km but I now will in that kind of humidity. Clothes were absolutely soaked when I got home.
Appreciate the advice!
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I'll go slightly off topic as is my specialty; high humidity training certainly brings on dehydration and exhaustion concerns but on the positive side, high humidity stretching is the bees knees.
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Well done. No shame in taking breaks. A run is still a run when it includes walking and stopping.
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@Nik I love it!! I’ve been binge watching the Barkley marathons
Ha! I may have mentioned it, but my neighbor is a 1x Barkley and 3x fun run finisher. Also held the AT thru hike record for a decade and still holds a few FKT, incl. White Mountain 4000 footers. A beast to say the least. Apart from the athletic side of things, the mental toughness is mind blowing. He can just keep going when miserable, hallucinating etc.
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Wow that is extremely impressive.
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@Nik Humbling community here in a town of 10,000. Countless Olympians, a current 2:10 marathoner, this years female winner of Ironman Europe and so on. While I am running intervals they jog past me in their zone 2. Perspective can be a bitch.
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Funny you mention zone 2…tried my first zone 2 training run today and it was such an odd experience. Ran for 70 minutes and felt like I could run another 70. The problem was staying in the zone and not bumping up to zone 3. The walking part was frustrating to get my heart rate back in zone as my heart rate recovered quickly, ran for another minute or two and I was back in zone 3, then brisk walking to get back to where I should be.
Pacing is definitely a bit weird and will take some time to get used to.
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It is also worth experimenting with zones. 220 minus your age or percentages of max HR will give you lower zone values than finding your lactate threshold HR and working it out that way. The best is to have zones that feel right, and there is a lot of information out there about how each zone should feel.
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@goosehd
Agree with Nik.
Lactate lab is best.Short of that, establish your max heart rate (warm up, run uphill at max sustainable speed for 10 minutes, rest 5, do it again and take max heart rate of second run --- many other ways available). Subtract your resting heart rate from max and divide range in 5 zones. Add them to resting heart rate.
Remember that zone 2 is volume training. In order to see benefits (MAF test or just faster at same HR) takes at least 5 hours per week running in zone 2 imho. You can also use running at conversational pace, nose breathing etc. Don't be too dogmatic about it. When running uphill and you pop out of your zone it's fine as long as your HR quickly returns back to zone 2 after.
If you got back from a 70min z2 run and felt you could do it again you are perfect. That is how it is supposed to feel.
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@Dmart @Nik @Perpetual_beta Thank you gentlemen for the advice and support!! I've read from a few different sources about calculating zone 2 and on more than one occasion, the zone 2 for the person was just about the same for the different ways calculated. All zone 2's were within a margin of error from using the standard 220 - Age formula. I also used the talk semi what comfortably and where I was just slightly breathing heavy and could breath through my nose.
I'm going to try this method for a couple of months and see how it goes. If it works for me (and there is no reason it shouldn't), I may go to a lab and get properly tested based on availability and costs involved. Would be interesting to see my Lactate and VO2 Max numbers just to see how fit (or unfit) I am.
Also, a big thank you for posting and being an inspiration. There are quite a few great discussions on this forum and this is one I feel is truly helping me for the years ahead.
Keep us up to date with your training so that we can follow along.