Race Specific Training

 

This is crucial for your success. Specificity. The thing about trail running, that while training itself doesn't change compared to road running or even track and field, where you train does and how you adapt your training does ! What you don't have in road running is recovery, downtime, lowering your heart rate. If you did so, you lost your race. In trail running, there are descents and aid stations, where you can take some time off, take some pressure off. 

Look at marathon training. What a great way to prepare for 3 to 6 hour races. 

• Base Training
• Fitness Training
• Specificity

Already in the base actually you train on the desired, race specific terrain. But you are more relaxed, easy, nutrition is not forced, but comfortable. You run what you can, you walk what you want. You interval workouts are still necessary, but they are just to keep you fit. Your VO2max workouts are there, but only once every two weeks. Running a 5 x 10 x 30/45 or a 4 x 4min +R3:00. Your long runs resemble maybe long hikes sometimes.

VO2MAX 

Then you get into the fitness section. Your base volume and time on feet will permit you to crank up the intensity. Your VO2MAX workouts will take most of your first 3 weeks here. For beginners this would be the all out balls to the walls, huff and puff, very hard, lung destroying workout, 4 of them in three weeks time.  For more advanced runners, this would be 10 workouts in a 4 week period, doing 2 or more of those on the bike ! 

The shorter the race is, these workouts should be very very specific ! The longer the race is, the importance of the VO2MAX section is simply keeping your yearly fitness in check. Ne need to risk injuries running all out pace on ankle twisting terrain. However if you did Golden trail, Sky Running or other type of short and brutal events, make sure that you add at least some downhills to your VO2MAX intervals. For instance running a 4 x 4. You run 2minutes on rolling uphill of 2 to 3%, followed by a very technical downhill and finishing off with 1min very steep uphill.
For ultra running or 3hour+ races, you can do VO2MAX on 2 to 4% road uphills. This is the best for really turning those glutes on, not tearing off the calves but working them, reducing impact and increasing power output. 

LT or Lactate Threshold with speed

This is where periodization gets a bit tricky. This is still part of your fitness section, but greatly overflow to your race specific part. When you do races like CCC or PICAPICA, maybe Trail Ubaye Salomon, or one of the 42 events during UT4M, you run multiple more or less long climbs. Even if some climbs are 1hour, there will be a point at each that you gotto push hard. You need to have a the ability to create lactate, to push it high, resist it, eliminate it and also to recycle it. 

You can have some destroying workouts, where your legs are shaking, but that is not the point and not the best way to train your race specific resistance. One of the tricks I find works well, is long runs with injected lactate efforts to it. Why ? Because race is like that. You need to pull out a magic rabbit from your cap at any moment. 

Threshold is a range. When you train for a 1500, you do it on the top edge more often, when you train for an ultra, you do it longer, but on the bottom edge more often.  

Yesterday I had 1h, warming up included. I did 8+8+12minutes @ a 160 to 170 heart rate.
If I had to to this during my weekend long run, I would be smoked. It is more likely a notch under, like heart rate of 150 to 155 and for the last 20minutes of each climb. That is the way I will do it during the next race. I want to start each climb gradually and accelerate into it. The thing is that you have to find your strong points. If your downhill running is exceptional and quad resistance is also top of the line, you might want to decelerate during climbs, like start out harder for the first 75% and slow down for the last 25% in order to clear out lactate and to focus on the decent. This way you least likely will trash your legs. 

Try out a workout once to understand. Accumulate lactate in your legs from steep uphills at a high heart rate for about 10minutes, then run down to the spot. Do it 5 times. Focus on not huffing and puffing, but burning those legs. 
Your quads, hams, calves will be trashed. 
Next time you do the same exact workout, but now when you are on the top, you do a 5 min flat jog. Your body will be just fine afterwards. 
This is simply because for those downhills, you are there with clean muscles and eliminated recycled lactate. 

I also am 45 years old. I have been running for half of my life. Going out, especially winter time, for a long run, is a pain in the butt. Summer time, adventures, long run with friends, all good. But alone in the dark, with rain, cold wind, doing 4 to 6 hours alone, it is hard man. So I shorten my long runs to 2 to 3 hours, and add in these 20min efforts often enough to not to loose focus, turn back around and go home. It works like a charm. 

For specificity, always  chose terrain and equipment proper for the actual trail. Chose your efforts well. Run it on race specific terrain ! 

More to come