Ultra Marathon Plans, Plan Samples, Plan Guidance Requested...
Folks, I am looking to collect some best practices of ultra running / training so that I can help guide some of our new members through the "other" races in their season vs just the triathlon stuff. I would appreciate any information you could share, whether it's link to articles, sample plans, a basis week, what worked for you, etc...it would be very helpful. 
Thanks!!!
Patrick
0
Comments
Back in 2008 I ran JFK. Finished 9:40 which was good, but not the sub 9 I had thought possible. I'd do it again in a few years maybe.
These shots below are from my build. I started with one of Higdons plans for my first marathon in 2004 then modified it from there for each of the next 9 marathons leading to JFK. My customization were geared towards what worked for me physiologically and schedule wise.
The big key for this and my recent marathon PR is lots of back to back long runs at or near goal pace.
Here's my long post!
Coach P – I’ll be following this thread with interest as it is likely that one of my A races will be a 50 mile Ultra in October, 2014. I did the same one in 2012 and am convinced if I can get on top of hydration (especially) and nutrition, that I can do much better next year. And, I’m doing IMMT as well.
As background, I did my first IM at WI in 2011 – great race for me – felt prepared – got the workouts done, etc. – 14:39 - yup, not fast – but had a blast! On to 2012 – was going to do Vineman but just didn’t have the mojo for a mid-July race and decided to just to do HIMs and focus on doing an ultra in October. HIMs were Florida 70.3 - May, Door County (WI) HIM - July, REV3 WI Dells HIM – August. Focused on building bike and swim in early part of the year (including training for a tough 100K HILLY bike ride at the beginning of June) and then basically did only enough to maintain fitness – after Florida in May and the bike ride in June. The flip side of that strategy is that my times were definitely not where they were the year prior – although it was also one of the hottest summers on record. By mid-June, I was focusing on the run build.
In deciding on a run plan, I looked at the Hal Higdon ultra plan, the plan from the Relentless Forward Progress book (using the plan for the 40 miles-100K race on 70 miles per week), and a Runner’s world ultra plan. I ended up with the Relentless Forward Progress plan – it fit with my schedule, was a little shorter that the Hal Higdon plan (as I recall), and it put the long run on Saturday vs. Sunday. (PS – the Relentless Forward Progress book is a must read for those considering an Ultra).
In planning my training, I would look at the run schedule I developed and compare it to the EN plan and combine run distances (or add a little to the Tuesday or Thursday run) to get the run plan distance. By mid-June, I stopped doing the Sunday ABP ride, in favor of a long run – but hadn’t started doing the weekend back-to-back runs.
One take-away – I couldn’t do both at the same time - train for an Ultra and a PR focused HIM. There’s just not enough time, energy, and recovery time. – IF I had been concerned about the results.
This was my plan – I wish I had kept the actuals that I did. I can tell you that the Tuesday workouts were too much – usually only 2-4 mile easy runs (instead of the 8-12 in the plan) and I never tried to push it. The back-to-back weekend workouts, in my mind, were the key to a strong build to the race. I didn’t do any speed work as I wasn’t sure how my body would handle it/recovery. I had some calf muscle issues and my ART doc said I was running too slow- in hindsight - I think the muscle memory of some speed work would have been helpful (plus kept the quads/glutes firing better) – even if it was shorter distances (800s).
The philosophy of ultra running (for those not at the FOP), as I understand, is to walk the hills and at specific distances/or times – which is a great strategy. However, I did as hill running in training as I could. Also, know the course profile. I started out training on a flat trail – an old railroad bed. Then had the opportunity to drive the course in mid-July and discovered that the first half was hilly – which totally changed my training runs. I also knew I couldn’t survive on liquid nutrition and gels. So I practiced eating on some of my training runs – oranges, cooked potatoes, mountain dew, etc.
Okay – I’ve rambled. I didn’t write up a race report but wish I had.
I’m also thinking about how to integrate training for an Ultra with IMMT – my initial thought is to use this winter to continue building some long runs (along with the OS plan) so it’s “easy” next year and I can slide into the IM plan. My rationale is that with the ultra plan I followed, when I actually hit the 26.2 mile mark, I wasn’t tired – this tells me that run durability is one of my keys to success. Other thoughts are appreciated!
Hope this is helpful and/or what you were looking for!
Excel File:
The plan had speed workouts on Wed and Sat. The Wed workouts were tempo workouts. The Saturday workouts were HMP/MP integrated into the long run to simulate running on tired legs. I brought in elements both from the Advanced Marathoning and Run Faster 5k to the Marathon to try to build up that endurance and speed during the long runs. Sunday workout was always half the distance of the prior days workout to really push on tired legs. Had planned on working up to a 100 miler in November, but I had to bail right before the last 50 mile race of the seasons because of work. But did get the marathon (3:03) and first 50 miler (7:25) in. Managed to set the state record for my age, so I can't complain too much there on my first 50