Relentless Forward Progress_ A Guide to Running Ultramarathons - Bryon Powell [25]
Before diving into hill training, talk to veterans of your focus race to determine the mix of uphill grades on the course. Are all the climbs steep enough to require straight hiking? Are there miles and miles of shallow grades suited to running? Is it a mix?
Once you know what the course is like, tailor your hill training to it. If the course includes many shallow, prospectively runnable inclines, be sure to target some long runs on similar terrain. Do not run these grades with intensity in practice. Run up the grades with the effort of an easy long run. Your goal is to become comfortable running your race day effort on these climbs. As your fitness increases, so might your pace, but the change will happen gradually enough that you needn’t worry about running faster in early sessions. Always remember: “Just relax.”
A more mountainous course will likely require you to hike many of the climbs. Unless hiking is another of your hobbies, practice hiking before race day. If you enjoy concerted training efforts, by all means go out and repeatedly hike up a long climb. Do not overexert yourself. Concentrate on developing a strong, consistent rhythm that you can maintain up the whole climb and throughout the workout. If you can’t stomach the thought of repeatedly walking up the same hill or mountain, include hiking in your long runs by practicing walking on climbs you might otherwise run.
A course like the Western States 100 requires walking climbs early in the race. (Photo by Glenn Tachiyama)
On Descending
One of the most overlooked aspects of ultramarathon training is descending. There are two reasons for training for downhills: One is to run them faster, and the other is to allow you to finish. Regarding going faster, many new trail runners either flail about when coming down a hill or are overly tentative. Both of these approaches to downhill running are inefficient. For a trail ultra, practice running down some relatively steep hills to help refine your form and give yourself more confidence on the descent. If you often run hilly trails, there’s no need to design special runs for this; just be aware of the downhills in your training.
On the other hand, if your race has many thousands of feet of descent, training for downhills can seriously improve your chances of finishing or finishing well. Dead quadriceps muscles can reduce you to a walk, which is particularly frustrating as their most acute failure occurs on descents. When running downhill, your quad muscles work differently than during flat or uphill running. They lengthen as they contract in what is known as an eccentric contraction. You must specifically train your muscles to perform these eccentric contractions, and the best way to do so by running downhill.
As impact forces increase dramatically while descending, it is highly recommended that you find a non-paved surface on which to practice your descents. As a bonus, slightly technical terrain will make your downhill training even more effective. On non-technical terrain you can run smoothly down with minimal braking, thus minimizing the eccentric contraction. Technical terrain forces you to brake, shift weight, and alter your stride length, all of which will enhance the eccentric contractions. In addition, if your race will have technical downhills, it’s just good practice to include these in your training.
You won’t need to practice descending every week through your training. For those who regularly run hilly trails, training might consist of three or four focused sessions in the two months before the race. The first session might include up to 30 minutes of combined descent time with workouts eventually reaching up to an hour of combined descent time. The longer the downhill, the better, because as you fatigue, you work your muscles differently. Still, you can get an effective workout by running down a short, steep hill ad nauseam.
If you live in a pancake-flat location, you can still prepare your legs for the rigors of a mountain ultra. Stairs are one good substitute for hills.