Learn to Fall

Huh? Isn't falling, by definition, something you can't predict?

Yes. But you can develop your ability to fall better.

Falling while trail running is an inevitability. Most people just do their best to avoid falling and hope they don't get hurt too badly if the unfortunate happens. I'm clumsy. I don't like to take those chances.

So how do you go about learning to fall? Find a location with soft ground. Sand is perfect. Grassy fields are another good choice. Run at a slow speed, then purposely fall on the ground. I prefer to use a “slow your fall with your arms, then roll” technique. As you're falling, keep your elbows bent. When you hit the ground with your hands, the bent elbows will act as shock absorbers. As my arms are absorbing the shock, I begin rolling my body to the side away from the most dangerous debris. Depending on the trail, I may roll several times.

This specific technique will not work on all trails. For example, it may be impossible to avoid serious injury if falling on rocky mountain trails. In that case, do what you can to avoid smacking your head on a sharp rock.

I prefer to carry handheld water bottles to help soften the blow of landing hard on my hands. The bottles usually take a beating, but it saves my hands. Wearing gloves can also serve the same purpose, but may be too hot depending on the weather.

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Training in Various Bodily States

Running an ultra is essentially an exercise in problem solving. Your ability to solve the problems that arise will determine your ability to finish the race. The more you train, the less likely you'll experience problems. However, by purposely creating problems in training, you'll learn to recognize the signs of an impending problem and develop the skills to fix the problem before it threatens the race.

I like to think of this training as 'body state training.” I intentionally create a problem. Then I fix the problem. Here are the problems I like to create:

Run on a full stomach: Ultras almost always require eating during the race. Digesting food while running doesn't work well... unless you train your body. This is very simple. Pick one run per week and eat a big meal immediately before running. My favorite method is to down a Quarter Pounder extra value meal from McDonald's, then go out for a run of at least 10 miles. The key is to start running at a very slow pace. As your body acclimates to running on a full stomach, you'll be able to increase the pace without discomfort.

Run on an empty stomach: I touched on this topic earlier when talking about heart rate training. The idea is to purposely deplete your body of carbohydrates, so you hit a wall early in the run. After doing this a few times, you'll recognize the earliest stages of that crash. The crashes you experience will also get less severe. Your body begins t adapt to making that transition to fat burning. I practice this technique about once every two weeks. I'll stop eating by noon the day before a long run. I won't eat again until after the long run. It's not a pleasant type of training, but well worth the effort.

Run while tired: Toward the latter stages of an ultra, you'll be tired. You tend to trip and stumble more. You may have trouble maintaining good form. If you're really sleep-deprived, you may even hallucinate. Training while tired can help you learn to cope with this. It's easy. Go to work. Come home. Do a bunch of chores. Run some errands. Once you're absolutely exhausted, go for a good, long run. Alternatively, wake up a 2am and run. Either one works.

Run while hot: Heat training allows your body to adapt to running in warm to hot temperatures. Many ultras are run in hotter weather, which introduces issues like sweating, electrolyte balance, and thermoregulation. Heat training is simple- just run in hot weather. If hot weather isn't available, dress in several layers retain body heat. The tricky part of heat training is safety. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are significant dangers. Familiarize yourself with the early symptoms: excessive sweating, dizziness, headache, muscle cramps and weakness, and vomiting. The more severe symptoms include a cessation of sweating, seizures, and confusion. It's a life-threatening condition, so stop immediately if you experience any of the early symptoms. I'll discuss specific heat training techniques in a later section.

Run while cold: Cold training serves the opposite purpose, though we're generally more adept at running in the cold. Our bodies usually produce enough heat to remain comfortable in everything but the coldest of temperatures. Still, it's handy to do some training while cold. It will teach you the art of bundling up. Wear too many clothes and you'll end up sweating profusely, which will ultimately make you colder. Wear too little clothing and you'll be exposed to the elements. Unfortunately it's difficult to simulate cold weather if you don't live in a cold environment. I did hear a story of a dude that convinced a local grocery store to let him put a treadmill in a freezer (which is usually kept a 0° F). If you have those kind of connections, go for it. 

Run while wet: It's likely you'll get wet at some point in an ultra. It may rain. There could be water crossings. It could be humid and you sweat like the hands of a boy on his first date. Regardless, learning to deal with moisture is a useful skill. Unchecked wetness can be uncomfortable, cause body temperature to plummet, or cause excessive chafing and blisters. About once per month, I'll do a “wet run” that involves jumping in a lake early in the run. This allows me to play with a few variables that I couldn't test otherwise. Running in the rain will serve the same purpose. Oh, and for those of you that thought 'running while wet" might have another meaning... I like the way you think.  ;-)

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Training Run Conversations

Now that you have a training partner, you may need some help with conversation topics. Well, if you have social skills like me, you could use some help. The rest of you socially-competent folks are fine. Go ahead and skip this section.

Those long runs can last forever, so these should help fill the awkward lulls. I'm dividing the topics based on familiarity with the training partner.

Partner you just met:

• Weather
• Movies you've recently watched
• Running history, how and why you started
• Profession
• Kids (if you have them... otherwise pets are acceptable)

Someone you've known for a few weeks:

• Educational history
• Family history
• Food preferences/diet
• Observations about other runners you see on the trail, but stay positive
• Favorite childhood cartoons and/or toys

Someone you've been running with for months:

• Political views
• Religious views
• Philosophy of life
• Dreams and aspirations
• Whether you sleep in the nude or prefer pajamas
• Annoying co-workers

Someone you've been running with for at least a year:

• Details of the poop you just took in the woods(color, consistency, etc.)
• How different sports bras and/or shorts keep your breasts or genitals from bouncing
• Your real dreams and aspirations that you were too embarrassed to admit earlier
• Best place to dispose of the bodies of those annoying coworkers*
• That trip to Cancun, the video on the internet, and your resulting illegitimate child

*Just kidding law enforcement friends.

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Let's Start Training: The Art of Experimentation

If you do a quick search on the Interwebz, you'll find a tremendous number of ultramarathon training tips and advice. You'll find dozens of training plans, philosophies, techniques, and research. You'll also find a ton of information refuting each and every one of those training plans, philosophies, techniques, and research.

What does this mean?

There is no one right answer.

You can follow a lot of different plans and still get to the finish line. You can even make up your own plan out of thin air. It does help to have some guidance, though, so how do you choose? Many are tempted to just do what their favorite elite runner does. This will probably work, but that elite, like every other runner, is a different individual. Their plan probably isn't the best fit for you.

I'll discuss a large number of ideas to consider from training plans to the tiny details of ultrarunning. I would highly recommend developing your own process of experimentation to decide how to deal with each issue. Test out a wide variety of ideas. Keep those that work. Get id of those that do not. By using this process, you will continually improve using the methods that work best for you.

In essence, think of your ultramarathon training as one huge experiment, and you're the subject.

Here's the method:

Step One: Choose the new thing to test. It may be a food, piece of gear, exercise, what lube prevents your junk from chafing... whatever. Only change one variable at a time.

Step Two: Test the new variable. In many cases, this will involve going for a run. Pay close attention to the effects of the variable. If it is a food, how did it make you feel? Was it easy to eat? Is it something that can be carried with you?

Step Three: Decide if the variable helped, hurt, or further experimentation is needed. If it seemed to help, adopt it as part of the training. If it hurt, abandon it. If further testing is needed, try it again.

This simple process can be used to tailor you training to YOU. 

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Finding the Time to Train for Ultramarathons

Ultramarathons must take a ton of training. Don't they?

That's a question I receive more than any other. Well, aside from “Why do you do it?” People are hesitant to make the plunge into the world of ultras because the training appears so intimidating. It must take a gargantuan weekly time commitment to prepare your body to run 31+ miles at one time.

Yes and no.

It is possible to run an ultra on very little training. Rich Elliott, a good friend, decided to run a 50 miler with no training. His lone training run consisted of a 5k a few weeks prior. That's it. He ran 3.1 miles in two years. On race day, he managed to eek out 27 miles before throwing in the towel.

John DeVries, another good friend, ran a 12 hour timed ultra with a single 8 mile run in the previous two years. He made it to about 22 miles. Off topic, but check out John's adventures as he travels the Americas on his motorcycle: http://motovagabond.net/

What can be learned from their experiences? It's tough to run an ultra with no training. If you have a little bit of a running background, you could probably do it with minimal training. If you have a strong running background, you can probably do it with the training you already have.

The correlation should be obvious- the more you train, the better the results. I would go a step farther and say the more you train, the more enjoyable the race will be.

It does take time. This is a huge undertaking, and you will have work to do. There are no substitute or shortcuts- you have to put in the hours.

However, these hours don't have to be intimidating. You don't have to add a ton of training hours on top of your already busy schedule. The trick is to merge your ultra training with your existing daily life.

Not only is it possible, it's the norm. Ultrarunning is a unique sport. Even the best of the best don't make enough money from sponsorships or race winnings to make a living. In fact, this money rarely pays for the races themselves. Pretty much all ultrarunners have normal jobs. They have to figure out how to fit ultrarunning into their lives. 

The secret is deceptively simple:

Always train. 

No, I don't mean skirt all your responsibilities, sell the kids on eBay, and start running ten hours each day. Look at everything you do on a daily basis and begin asking:

How can I tweak this activity to achieve some training benefit?

Turn everything in your life into an opportunity to train. By simply re-framing the situation, you don't have to worry about carving four hours each day out of your already busy life. Instead you are now free to train 24 hours a day, seven days a week!  Day at the office?  Training.  Picking up toilet bowl cleaner from the grocery store?  Training.  Puttin' the moves on your significant other?  Training.  Yes, you read that right.  Sounds more fun than running around a track, huh?

I know what some of you are thinking: but I don't have a significant other!  Worry not strong-armed friends, I have at least one tip for you, too.

Most of the advice I give in this good revolves around this idea- you can train pretty much everywhere no matter what you're doing.

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A Few Commonly-Asked Questions About Ultramarathons

The promise of groupies did it, right? I thought so. Oh, they usually congregate at the finish line... so don't expect to see them until then.

So now that you're interested, I'm sure you have more questions. Here are a few I regularly field:

You mentioned health? Are these things really dangerous?

I won't sugar coat this- you may die. That's unlikely, though. More realistically, you may get injured. Most ultras are run on trails, so there's a danger of tripping, falling off a cliff, being attacked by wild animals, or getting hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere. Now that we put everything on the table, we can be more realistic.

The race directors that conduct these races are fantastic. Runner safety is always a primary concern. Proper training will eliminate many of the dangers. There are countless ultrarunners that have been doing this for decades without ill effects. Good preparation should eliminate almost all potential hazards. This book will help prepare you to face the challenges. Also, I would always recommend consulting your doctor before beginning any exercise routine.

I ran a 10k a few weeks ago, and it was really hard. Why the Hell would I want to try something so much longer?!?

It's common for people to take their experiences in shorter races (even marathons) and extrapolate the experience to ultras by imagining them being exponentially more difficult. Ultras ARE tough, but they're completely different animals.

Let's look at a common semi-serious race distance runners tackle: the half-marathon on a road. There's a huge crowd. Parking sucks. The porta-potty lines are worse than the Black Friday lines outside Walmart. And there's always that jackass wearing matching spandex shorts and tank top that gives you the “You have no business running this race” look . You know, the one with the heart rate monitor, iPod, and some mysterious gadget you could swear is a bubble gum dispenser. You run through suburbs, through industrial zones, and somehow always manage to pass the waste water treatment plant. On top of that, you run really hard for 13.1 miles.

Now let's look at a typical ultra. It's not uncommon for runners to party the night before. The race itself has a laid-back low key vibe. The race course is almost always held on interesting trails through beautiful natural settings. The people, even the elites that usually win, are supportive and approachable. When running the race, it's acceptable to run slow, walk, and even stop occasionally. We call it “strategy.” And the food! Each aid station, usually between three and six miles apart, is essentially a snack food buffet in the forest.

How long does it take to train for an ultra?

Experiences vary, but most people can go from no running experience to running a 50k in about six months. If you already have experience running shorter distances, this number could easily be cut in half. Some people can go farther. I did my first 50 miler after about six months of training. I've known people that have successfully run a 100 miler with less than a year of training. This isn't an endeavor that will take years to achieve.

How is this training going to change my lifestyle?

Most of us are pretty busy. When I started ultras, I had a full-time job (teaching high school), earning a Master's degree, and my wife and I had a newborn baby. It was difficult at first... until I learned a little secret. I started treating every experience as if it were ultra training. Waking up to feed the baby at 2am? Sleep deprivation training. Trip to the supermarket? Park as far away as possible and get some practice walking. Have a grad class on the tenth floor? Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

These little shortcuts allowed me to live my life with minimal distraction. I didn't have four hours a day to train. I was lucky if I could eek out four hours per week. I'll share many of my “using life as training' tips in this book.

How do I know if I'm ready?

You don't. Odds are you never will feel ready. No matter how hard you train, you'll always feel as though you could have done more. In fact, “I'm not ready” is just code for “I'm scared.” Running an ultra is intimidating. Everybody is scared when they run their first ultra. Hell, I'm still scared when I run ultras.

If you wait until you feel like you're ready, you will never do it. I lived a good portion of my life in a state of fear. I was routinely paralyzed by “what if's.” I did what I could to get the fear to vanish, which never worked. Eventually I realized the fear would always be there. The trick was to just close my eyes, accept the fear, and take a blind leap.

If you can't overcome this fear, I'll give you some good tips later in the book.

I know you have A LOT more questions. Don't worry, I'll answer all of them in the coming pages.

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