Getting up to speed
I’m starting to do alright in my ultramarathons I think. I’m moving up the pack a little and finishing a lot stronger than I used to. So now it’s time to ramp up the pace a little.
I’m also working on the theory that my calves are cramping because they are not used to the effort I’m asking of them in race conditions. So I need to be running a lot harder especially up hills.
With that in mind I set out for a run last night and hit the hill section of what will be my new circuit. Instead of just sticking my legs in low gear and grinding up the hill trying to keep my heart rate down, I pushed hard all the way up to the top, and then kept going!
I was surprised when I didn’t keel over and have a heart attack, and I was running quick quickly (for me). My average pace at the top of the hill was just over 6 min/km. that’s a fast pace for me on the flat!
So I put my head down determined to get around the rest of the course as quickly as I could. Would I blow up later on and end up walking home? Well I certainly had to take a couple of walking breaks (and a loo stop). But I used them to break out of my stride and then see if I could launch right back into it and get straight back up to speed.
Everything seemed to be working well last night and I checked my watch as I rounded the corner at the bottom of the last hill before the finish. My pace was 6:03 min/km. Close enough.
But I still had a long hill in front of me and then a steep climb that leaves you breathless just walking up. I didn’t want to get this far around the course with an excellent time and then blow it in the last few hundred meters, so I put my head down and gave it one last push.
My heart rate was up to 176 bpm by the time I got to the top and sprinted down the other side to get to my house before collapsing in the street. (which would have been embarrassing)
In the end I got to my house and hit the stop button, leaving me with an average pace of 6:03 min/km. I hadn’t lost any speed going up the last hill.
I am blown away by my pace on this run. I felt good doing it. I knew I was going a lot faster than usual, but I was able to maintain the pace over a longer distance than I usually run, with a lot more hills thrown in. That raises the bar of what I think I can do quite a lot.
Whilst I was puffing hard when I got home, and sweating like crazy, by the time I’d had a shower I was breathing normally and I actually felt really good, not at all exhausted like I usually do after a hard, fast run.
More importantly I’m discovering the secrets of running at a sustained pace and how to add power to my legs, just by changing my body position slightly. I’m learning that i can turn the power up at will and sustain the effort for a lot longer than I previously could.
This is all very encouraging at this stage in my training cycle. I still have a little over three months to go before the next big ultra on 14th July and if I can continue to see this sort of improvement then I’ll be on track to finish strong and get a respectable placing.
I’d like to be in the top half of runners, so the middle of the pack sort of placing would be fine with me.
The WUU2K is a very hard course with a lot of hill climbing and my calves cramped really badly last year. And I went too hard at the start and trashed my lungs because they just weren’t up to that sort of punishment. So this year I’m practicing going out hard at the start of a run and pounding up as many hills as I can to be as prepared as possible.
This was the first run in that training series and it seems that I am capable of doing this, and more.
Bring it on!
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This is very motivating...when I read posts like this I wanna run more
hehe thanks. If you want to run more, then get out and do it! hehe. I think it is going to rain today, so I'm calling it a rest day, and feeling good about it ;-0
Must be something in the air, I've started ramping up my training to try to hit the next level, too. Always new goals to reach, right? :) Good luck with the increased intensity!
good on you. I was really surprised at how much faster I could run and how long I could sustain that pace.
I'm looking for the limits on what my body can do, and I guess I'll have to keep looking ;-)
Good plan! Don't forget to train as well running fast downhill, on trails the technique running downhill is essential.
Keep on running!
Oh yeah! Don't worry about that. ;-) I go pounding downhill (that's where I make up any lost time).
I'm working at being fast on everything, but especially the uphills - i think that's where I can power past people and move up the rankings.
The trick is to still be able to run afterwards hehehe.
For the WUU2K there are two really hard uphills after the 40km mark. 1 is about 3,7kms of relentless uphill and then same back down again (there and back section) and then there is a really steep climb up Mt Albert.
I want to be able to run those sections. If i can do that then I should do really well for the race.
So the climbing and descent is really what I'll be focusing on, as well as running fast across the flatter bits.
Maybe this year I'll make it to the finish before dark ;-)
hahhaha! for sure you will arribe before dark man!
Watch the heart rate, you only get one of them,
yeah I know :-)
The thing is, it didn't feel so bad this time. Normally if it went over about 160 I'd be struggling to breathe etc.
But now that i have my breathing sorted, it was actually not so bad. And to be fair - I was pushing really hard up a hill that is hard to walk up, at the end of a 14 km run that I took at a fast pace. So i'd expect my heart rate to spike a bit.
But it does seem to be taking this effort all in its stride now. So that's all positive :-)
Good push on the hill. Are you sure your calves aren't cramping from electrolyte imbalance?
Or maybe you need to amp up your stretching game. Just some thoughts. Those two things impact me and can cause cramping especially if I'm working on speed
I think the electrolytes probably had something to to with it. But also the intensity. I've stopped doing a lot of static stretching because it wasn't working.
So I'm working on increasing the intensity of my training to get my calves used to working harder, and i got some salt tablets to use as well. i'll start using them just before the start of the race instead of half-way through, and see if that helps.
I've got the Wellington Marathon to do two weeks before the WUU2K, so that will be a good last hard run as a test before the big day.
I've got a bunch more hills to run before then though ;-)
Oh no the physical Therapist in me is like why did you stop stretching, it does work! Just saying. I did go to school for it :)
hehehehe I do a bit of stretching, but not a lot of static stretching. i find that warming up by running slowly, and then getting into it works better for me. If I stretch I seem to get more injuries - I'll admit I'm probably not doing it right.
I've never been flexible and I find that a good massage works much better at loosening my legs up.
I do little stretches for a short time, (like while I'm boiling the kettle) and that seems to work for me.
The biggest debilitating factor for me at the moment is the temperature - when it's cold my body really suffers.
Winter is coming ;-)