Alternative
Training Techniques
By: Kevin Sayers and Tom Midlam
http://www.fred.net/ultrunr/alttrain.html
For the past several months, fellow ultra
runner Tom Midlam and I have learned with eager enthusiasm the various training
techniques being employed and promulgated by fellow ultra runners. Wanting to
contribute, we have developed our own training methods and have set forth in
documenting them. We have no statistics on how they might actually improve your
overall ability. Then again, statistics can always be interpreted differently
and we wish to avoid controversy. Remember, what works for us may not work for
you, so it's a good idea to make up your own mind. For your convenience, our
training secrets are broken up into the following categories.
PREPARING
FOR A COLD ULTRA
HOT
WEATHER TRAINING
BONE AND
JOINT STRENGTHENING
MUD AND
SLOPPY TRAILS RUNNING
NIGHT
TIME RUNNING
SIMULATING
A HURRICANE
NUTRITION
WILDLIFE
ATTACKS AND SPEED TRAINING
STREAM
CROSSINGS
GETTING
READY FOR PAIN AND CATASTROPHE ALTITUDE ACCLIMATION
PREPARING FOR A COLD ULTRA
Get a job at the local meat packer. Show up
two hours early for your shift in only shorts and singlet. Enter the freezer
and run laps among the sides of beef. We tried working at a brewery carrying
beer kegs on our backs and running up and down the stairs. Sadly we found
ourselves drinking more than running. Since protein is a more important food
source in ultras, the meat packing job is better suited to our needs than the
brewery.
HOT WEATHER TRAINING
Get a job at the local steel mill. Show up two
hours early and fire up the furnace. Run alongside it until your skin becomes
red and irritated. Let blisters form and turn to tough scar-tissue for
protection against the blazing sun during an ultra. Try to avoid using
electrolyte replacement. Replenishment will only help aid in your effort and
the purpose of training is to make you hard and tough, not to wimp out with
fluid and salt replacement. On the other hand, using an over-abundance of
replacements will also train your body to become a chemical synthesizing
machine so when you do things differently on race day than you did in training,
you can handle it.
BONE AND JOINT STRENGTHENING
After much trial and error, we have found that
jumping out of trees really helps to toughen up those weak tendons and
ligaments in the ankles and knees that runners so often neglect. To do this
correctly, find a sturdy tree, then climb to approximately 20 feet and jump
out. Most people will want to stick their landing with both feet. Those that
require additional canyon falling training can incorporate a parachute roll
upon impact by tucking the arms in and rolling off to one side. Seek out sharp
rocks to roll over in order to get used to that. However, sticking the landing
with locked knees is best as it also readies the spine for severe jarring
encountered on trail ultras. With a little practice, you'll find taller trees
and even jump out blindfolded. Now the most technical course will be a piece of
cake for you.
MUD AND SLOPPY TRAILS RUNNING
No rain lately? No access to trails? No
problem! Filling a bathtub with cooked oatmeal will simulate the sticky and
slick characteristics of mud, depending on the how long you leave the oatmeal
on the stove. Old fashioned oats have proven to be the most mud-like when mixed
with extra water. Instant, flavored oats can be used in a pinch. Fill the tub
up all the way, then run in place while singing, ...I gotta be me... Cream of
wheat simulates quicksand common to many ultras in the south. Think of the
advantage you'll gain over the competition unfamiliar with the extremes of
quicksand.
NIGHT TIME RUNNING
Running at night can be monotonous and tricky.
A head lamp is mesmerizing if the user is not accustomed to it. By putting your
headlamp on, then stepping into a closet and staring at a wall for 4-5 hours,
you are simulating the 3 AM death march in most 100 milers. If a hand held
flashlight is your light source of choice, then run in place holding the
flashlight at waist level focused on the wall and you will quickly see that,
basically, you're out there on that trail, or at least your mind will tell you
that.
SIMULATING A HURRICANE
Adding to the oatmeal/bathtub idea, a slight
variation is to turn on the shower, thus simulating stormy conditions. Also, go
to Home Depot and pick up an industrial-strength fan to create a 50 mph wind.
Using cold or hot water will help approximate either winter or summer showers
(tip to the tuff: do not wear Goretex). We have taken to using cold water and
ice cubes, running in shorts without shoes, to make us extra tuff for our
Barkley or Hardrock encounters. Boiling water and loin cloth help with Badwater
conditions. Sometimes we break coke bottles and stir the shards of glass in
with the oatmeal. Your ultra-prepared feet will thank you during the next race.
Blisters will be just a happy memory from now on.
NUTRITION
Practice eating small amounts of tree bark to
aid digestion. Also, eat poison ivy leaves whenever possible. This will
acclimate your entire digestive system to what you will encounter in the woods
of many ultras. Don't get hung up on which glucose polymer BCAA carbohydrate
protein electrolyte fructose drink gel mix to use. We recommend Car-boom gel,
Fig Newton's, and a double-dosage of Ex-lax during your walking breaks. As
ultrarunners do best on an empty stomach, the sudden infusion of apple,
carbohydrate and laxative will speed the digestive and intestinal process. You
will never throw up during an ultra again, and you'll know how to react when
hit with gastro- intestinal distress.
WILDLIFE ATTACKS AND SPEED TRAINING
On your next trail run, steal and kill a baby
cougar (please no animal rights activist comments - this is ultra training and
nothing is as important). Strap the little guy to your back and soon you will
experience the exhilarating feeling of being stalked. Luckily, you'll be
prepared! This is the point at which either fartleks, pickups or intervals can
be used to deter a deadly confrontation. Wearing a mask backwards is also an
excellent idea. But don't get a mask that shows an animal that's superior to the
cougar; that's not training! Get one with a picture of a timid-looking gazelle
or bunny rabbit. Then get ready to bolt. Bonus tip: If you're lucky enough to
have a vulture swoop down to grab the kitten off your back, grab the bird and
bite its head off. Honing these skills harkens back to the days of the truly
tuff distance runners and will help establish your legacy on multi-day runs.
STREAM CROSSINGS
Nothing is more worrisome to an ultra runner
than a babbling brook. But take heart, flowing water can be your friend. Before
you take to the trails, visit your local scuba shop. Purchase a wet suit,
flippers, goggles, and a bathing cap. In your next ultra, think how envious
your competitors will be when you whip out your water gear at the appropriate
moment. If packed correctly this will all fit in a survival pack.
GETTING READY FOR PAIN AND CATASTROPHE
Toss a few rocks in your running shoes. Run
several hours, then place thumb tacks into your shins to experience the
soreness of shin splints. If that's too difficult for you, have a buddy or
spouse insert them. If you've got a really tuff ultra in the near future, you
must plan and train for any contingency. This isn't for everyone, but you can
cut off part of any toe (big toe not an option due to balancing requirements).
Do not apply any pressure or attempt to stop the bleeding. Relish the
experience of low blood volume and know that no other competitor will be as
ready as you.
ALTITUDE ACCLIMATION
Unless you actually live at altitude in the
Rocky Mountain area, everyone has the potential for having problems at
altitude. We tried sealing up our houses and decreasing the oxygen content by
pumping out oxygen. This greatly upset our wives after imploding all the
windows. As a compromise, we've taken to climbing tall book cabinets and
perching there for long periods of time. This has nothing to do with altitude
acclimation but it sounds really X-treme.
Well that's all the secrets that we are
willing to discuss at this point. We are in the midst of developing a number of
others but are not prepared to share them until they are tried and proven and
can be supported with some irrefutable anecdotal statistics.
----
The preceding is not meant to harm or flame
any specific or general individual(s).
You
Know You're an Ultra Runner If...
http://www.fred.net/ultrunr/youknow.html
This was originally authored by various
1.Your wife tries to introduce you to your
three children and you reply "Three?"
2.You spend more time in the drug section than
the food section of the local market.
3.You wonder why they don't make all running
socks a dusty brown color.
4.You have more dirt on your shoes than in
your garden.
5.You think that flagel and ibutrophin belong
on the breakfast table.
6.You get more phone calls at 5:00 AM than at
5:00 PM.
7.You don't recognize your friends with their
clothes on.
8.You have more buckles than belts.
9.You postpone your wedding because it will
interfere with your training.
10.You keep mistaking your boss for Norm
Klein.
11.6am is sleeping in.
12.Your feet look better without toenails.
13.Your idea of a fun date is a 30-mile
training run.
14.You're tempted to look for a bush when
there's a long line for the public restroom.
15.You don't think twice about eating food
you've picked up off the floor.
16.You can expound on the virtues of eating
salt.
17.You develop an unnatural fear of mountain
lions.
18.When you wake up without the alarm at 4AM,
pop out of bed and think "lets hit the trails".
19.When you can recite the protein grams by
heart of each energy bar.
20.You don't even LOOK for the Porto-sans
anymore.
21.Your ideal way to celebrate your birthday
is to run at least your age in miles with some fellow crazies.
22.Your ideal way to have fun is to run as far
as you can afford to with some fellow crazies.
23.You know the location of every 7-11, public
restroom, and water fountain within a 25-mile radius of your house.
24.You run marathons for speed work.
25.You have more fanny packs and water bottles
and flashlights than Imelda Marcos has shoes.
26.You visit a national park with your family
and notice a thirty-mile trail connecting where you are with the place your
family wants to visit next, which is a 100-mile drive away, and you think
"Hmmmm".
27.Someone asks you how long your training run
is going to be and you answer "seven or eight ... hours".
28.People at work think you're in a whole lot
better shape than you think you are.
29.You actually are in a whole lot better
shape than you think you are.
30.Your weekend runs are limited by how much
time you have, not by how far you can run.
31.You always have at least one black toenail.
32.You buy economy-sized jars of Vaseline on a
regular basis.
33.You tried hashing, but felt the trails were
too short and easy.
34.You think of pavement as a necessary evil
that connects trails.
35.You rotate your running shoes more often
than you rotate your tires.
36.Your friends recognize your better dressed
in shorts than in long pants.
37.You really envied Tom Hanks' long run as
Forest Gump.
38.You carry money around in a ziplock bag
because store clerks complained that your money's usually too sweaty.
39.Any time a plain old runner talks about her
aches and pains, you can sympathize because you've already had that at least
once.
40.You put more miles on your feet than on
your rental car over the weekend.
41.You don't need to paint your toenails;
they're already different colors.
42.You start planning the family vacation
around races, and vice-versa.
43.When you start considering your next
vacation location on the merits of its ultras only.
44.You spend you entire paycheck on running
gear, ultrabars, and entry fees.
45.You miss a work deadline cause you just had
to have that "one more minute" on-line writing to the list.
46.You become a quasi-expert on different
detergents so as to not "hurt" your tee shirts.
47.You leave work early to hit the trails.
48.You wear t-shirts based on if you've had
good work outs when you 've worn them before.
49.Have a trail shoe collection that would
make Imelda Marcos envious.
50.You walk up the stairs and run down them.
51.Peeing in the toilet seems unnatural.
52.You start wearing running clothes to work
so you're prepared for afterwards.
53.Running trail is better then sex.(even if
you don't get any)
54.Vaseline isn't just for fun anymore.
55.When the start of a marathon feels like a
5K and you're wondering "Why is everyone in such a rush? Where the
##@@**!! is the fire?"
56.If as an infant you were dropped on your
head.
57.If nobody recognizes your power T's. Met a
guy at the market the other day who was wearing an AR50 T.
So was I. I gave him a hearty,
"Ta-da." He said, "Oh yeah, I tell people we were all acquitted
and the charges were dropped."
58.When you sign up for a 10K and you strap on
your fanny pack because you never know where the aid stations are. you bring
your own drinks. you bring potatoes and salt. you start fast and a six year old
passes you. you are the only one walking the up hills. you run it a second time
because its not far enough to call a training run (and you were racing the
first time through). you are the only one around who is eyeing the bushes THAT
way. you punch the lap button on your watch instead of the stop button at the
finish.
59.When "NEXT GAS 36 MILES" signs
start sounding like tempting runs.
60.Your pedicure kit includes a pair of
pliers.
61.Your number of toes to toenails doesn't
match.
62.You drink from a water bottle at the dinner
table.
63.You consider the mold and mildew in your
bottles extra electrolytes.
64.You just found out Poison and Oak are words
by themselves.
65.You see a 1 quart water bottle colored like
an Advil bottle, and don't realize that it's not in fact an Advil bottle.
66.If you've been kicked off the Ultra List.