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Full disclosure: when I started getting into this amazing sport, I made many of the mistakes listed below. But through learning and experience, we grow, and hopefully, the knowledge I have gained can help runners like yourself not make the same mistakes I did. I am constantly learning and growing as a coach and a runner. This sport is a never-ending journey, and there is never any pressure to be perfect and know everything because you can’t! I think that is one of the aspects that makes the sport so beautiful and special because a lot of the time in life we have that expectation to know it all, be perfect, show no fear or emotions. Ultra-running is an escape into the unknown.
Build the pace and volume slowly
(Not every run is a race–quality over quantity)
Contrary to popular belief, running more miles does not necessarily make you a better runner. Building pace and volume slowly is crucial for a sustainable ultra-running journey. Running too far and too fast before your body has had a chance to adapt to the strain of running is a sure-fire way to end up injured or burnt out. I know it is tempting to get out on the road or trails and let rip, but if you are in this for the long term and want a sustainable way to improve and enjoy your running, see the tips below for building pace and volume.
Fitness comes first: Build your base fitness before you start hammering out speed sessions or longer runs. Slow and steady efforts on a consistent basis are your friend; keep these runs at an effort where you can still hold a conversation. Being able to complete 3-4 sessions a week on a consistent basis will help you both from an aerobic fitness point of view but also help turn running into a habit.
Strength Training: Strengthening the main running muscles (glutes, hamstrings, calves) through basic strength and mobility work (even 5-10 minutes a week is better than nothing) can have a big impact on your overall enjoyment and health in the sport.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Slowly build speedwork into your running, starting with one short session a week before increasing to two or three over time. The 80/20 principle, with 80% of your running at a slower pace and 20% at harder efforts (speed sessions), is a good initial guideline to follow once your body is prepared to pick up the pace.
Volume: Steady progression of your overall weekly volume and longest run per week is vital if you want to stay injury-free and ensure you are improving. There are no set-in-stone guidelines for how much this increase should be per week, as every athlete responds differently to new stimulus. However, maintaining a 10% or less increase in overall volume from week to week is a good starting point. Be mindful of how your body feels from week to week and make changes accordingly.
Don’t compare yourself to others (we are all on a unique journey)
In today's digital age, it is easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others. Data from our runs is readily available and can be disseminated instantaneously on social media or by training apps such as Strava. Just remember that every single athlete is on their own journey. There is no point comparing your current level versus another. For instance, they may have been training for over ten years and slowly built up their speed, volume, and strength over this time, whereas you might be six months into the sport. You might see an athlete pumping out 100 miles every week and question your own efforts, but you don’t know what other areas of this athlete’s life are impacted in order to produce the volume. They may see less of their family, not have time to enjoy other hobbies, etc., and you cannot determine how their body and mind feel pumping out this kind of mileage. Data and social media can be great for providing support and motivation, but it can also be deceiving and even de-motivating for others.
Be mindful of how looking at others affects you, and if it is creating anxiety and frustration, look at limiting your time on these training platforms and social media, or remove them altogether. Your journey is a unique one and has value, no matter what others do or say.
Mental skills are vital
Mental skills are often the most overlooked and underrated aspect of ultra-running. Gaining a mental skills toolkit will have a massive impact on both your performance and overall enjoyment of the sport. Two factors that hold athletes back are perception of effort and motivation. Practicing mindfulness, which is the ability to stay in the moment and see that everything is transient in nature, will help reduce how hard running feels at any given time and stop you from constantly thinking about that finish line! It can help to reduce anxiety and stress during your runs and in your day-to-day life. Aligning mindfulness with a strong reason for running (Your Why) will also help you stay motivated during those tough moments in both training and during races. I will delve further into this topic in upcoming blogs, but as a starting point, here are four things you can start doing now to help you build a mental toolkit:
Practice Mindfulness: Start with a small mindfulness practice each day (even 5 minutes to begin with). There are plenty of videos on YouTube and apps with free content such as Calm and Headspace. Once you have become comfortable with the practice, you can start incorporating being mindful at different stages during your running.
Find your Why for running: Do you do it to make your family proud? To be the best version of yourself? Whatever the reason is, having a strong “Why” will be vital during the inevitable struggles of ultra-running. Take the time to write a few sentences on why you do this crazy sport!
Be Grateful: Gratitude can increase positive emotions and help deal with adversity. Definitely two things you want when you are shuffling around, tripping over rocks in a forest in the middle of nowhere. After each training session, write down three things that you were grateful for during the session. It can be absolutely anything. That cute puppy you saw, the breeze on top of the mountain, doesn’t matter as long as it is positive. Once you have created this habit, you can start incorporating it into your runs at various stages. You will then have this in your toolkit to use at points when the situation really gets tough.
If in doubt, smile: Do you want to run like Kipchoge? Well, this is one of his strategies when he is finding it tough during a hard session or race. Studies have shown that by smiling, athletes reduced their overall perception of effort, used less oxygen, and ran more economically. So next time you feel like you’re going backwards on that hill climb, get those pearly whites out and let the good vibes flow!
There is no quick fix (enjoy the journey, not the destination)
Finally, one of the most challenging aspects to understand in this sport (and in life) is that there is no quick fix or silver bullet for progress. If you want to get faster or run further or climb higher, it will take consistency and hard work, which equals time. Yes, there are sessions that create the adaptations required to meet your goals, but if you expect to be Kilian Jornet after four weeks of a couple of hill intervals and tempo sessions, then sorry to say you are sorely mistaken. It is the consistency of constantly breaking your body down, recovering and adapting, and then going again, that will get you towards your goals. And if you try to circumnavigate this and speed up the process, guess what? You will probably end up injured or burnt out. Slow progression with plenty of recovery time and creating a solid mental aptitude with a foundation on a love of running will help you to continue to enjoy this sport for years to come.
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