Question: "How in the world do you train to run 200 miles?"
Let's start this conversation with a quote: "Impossibility doesn't live in the mileage, it dwells in the mind.
When you let go of self-limiting beliefs, you create an opening for your endurance to grow." - Michael D'Aulerio
This is a GREAT question! And to be honest - I'm still doing a lot of research on the topic! This race will be my longest race to date, as well as my first mountain race. New training concepts include increased distance, navigating sleep when completing a 107 hour race, nutrition for a race this long, temperature and altitude training, as well as a whole lot of elevation gain and loss. So I hope you will learn along side me as I do a deep dive in how to prepare for this race over the next several months! Hopefully, this journey will ignite the spark or fan the flame in you!
My name was drawn in the race lottery on August 29, 2024 and the Bigfoot 200 Race is August 8-12, 2025. That initially gave me 48 weeks to work with! That's a large training block!! Which is great because this is a large race! Hahahahaha.
In the past, I typically break my training blocks into phases: you may also hear this type of training schedule called "Periodization." What it does is help me organize my training in a way that focuses attention on only a few physical qualities at a time.
Transition Period: first 4 weeks (month of September) I had only been running off and on throughout the summer months, so I used the first 4 weeks to just get myself back into a nice rhythm with movement. I ran/hiked/walked 3 days a week. These days were easy, low effort days and relatively low mileage. These first few weeks of training felt slow but I reminded myself that these runs serve as the building blocks of my foundation! I pretty much got out on the trails and ran a distance that felt good, at a pace that was enjoyable.
Phase 1 or base phase: This is the phase I am currently in! (up to 16 weeks so we are looking at roughly Oct 1 - Jan 11)
This phase is where the most crucial work of training is accomplished! It is all about trusting the process and putting in the work! It's patience and consistency that is required. The goal is to improve fitness, strength, and building aerobic capacity before starting my race specific training plan. This phase is rooted in long, slow easy miles but with increasingly higher weekly mileage. Maybe it's the nurse in me but I always ask the question "WHY?" So here's some cool science to back these long days out on the trails!
All improvement for athletes is based upon increasing sessions of repetitive, increasing workloads, followed by appropriate rest periods. The result of this repetition is a biological response called the training effect! There are so many cellular changes that occur within the body during this important phase of training. Gradually increasing the work-load, rest and repeat, with extra caloric intake and the body becomes a more and more efficient machine! It's pretty amazing science! Let's dig a little deeper....
The aims and benefits of base training are:
(1) Improve aerobic capacity - the ability to take in and utilize oxygen and improve my aerobic endurance - the bodies efficiency at utilizing oxygen. When you first start running or return after a break, your body increases the number of red blood cells and becomes better at pumping oxygenated blood around your body. As the weeks pile on, your body increases the number of capillaries around your muscle cells delivering more blood to your working muscles. Within these muscle cells, your body builds more mitochondria. Mitochondria are often referred to as the "powerhouse of the cell." More mitochondria means more energy and your body makes them bigger and better! The result is improved aerobic base.
(2) Strengthen muscles, bones, joints = Injury prevention! It's important to not go too hard too soon when you first begin running. With base building the intensity of running is low and the body is able to grow stronger and recover despite the frequent runs. Those easy miles allow your muscles, tendons, fascia, bones, and joints to strengthen. During this phase regular strength training sessions are built in, averaging about 3 days a week in the gym. Stretching, foam rolling and strength training all play into maintaining a healthy running base and helps the prepare the body for the stresses of running and potentially reduce injury risk over the rest of the training block.
(3) Improve fat-burning capability. Distance running demands two energy systems - muscle-glycogen stores and fat-burning. Your glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are limited and on longer runs your body is forced to rely on burning your stores of fat for fuel. With base training your body adapts to fat-burning so you don't get that debilitating feeling of running on empty. Also, by training your muscles muscle's glycogen, your body reacts by increasing its stores- that's a huge advantage for fast-paced racing.
(4) Improves endurance of your fast-twitch muscle fibers (developed for speed). Long slow base building runs rely on slow-twitch muscle fibers (endurance fibers). But when these fibers fatigue towards the end of long runs, the body calls on its fast-twitch muscle fibers to help out. The result: fast-twitch muscle fibers with the endurance characteristics of slow-twitch fibers and a body that can run faster for longer!
(5) Train your mind to resist fatigue. These long slow miles will help build your mental toughness!
(6) Dialing into proper nutrition. Focusing on good everyday nutrition! Focusing on incorporating more fruits, veggies, and lean proteins. Healthy pre and post workout nutrition to fuel my muscles and assist with active recovery!
During these 16 weeks I will layer on gradually - mainly increases distance rather than speed. I build mileage based on the 10% rule. Which has me increasing my distance by no more than 10% each week. I have also started using a heart rate monitor that is linked to my running watch, I am able to monitor my heart rate with an aim of staying between 65-75% of max heart rate. This keeps my runs within the aerobic threshold or "Zone 2." You can get a rough estimate of this by using the calculation of 220 minus age to get your max heart rate. Then multiply that by 0.75 to get 75% of your max, which would be the upper limit heart rate of your easy pace. It's important to note, though, that this is a rough estimate, so don't get to tied up in over analyzing if your heart rate is a few beats above or below what you calculated. As long as it's relatively close to the range, you can hold a conversation on the run and you feel like it's easy!
In addition to heart rate I am tracking my: resting HR, hydration, sleep, caloric intake, weight, distance, mobility, core and strength training.
Here's what my 40 mile week breakdown looked liked: (note: I work 7pm-7:30am fri,sat,sun at the hospital)
Sunday: Rest day
Monday: 6 miles
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: 12 miles
Thursday: 6 miles
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 3 miles
As I layer these initial base weeks on I will start to incorporate a few modifications into my runs to include:
(1) Initial speed work- this is minor and less structured/intense than Phase 2 of speed work training. This may be just adding a few strides into my normal run. A stride is a very short burst of controlled, fast running. Starting out in my normal jogging base and then accelerating to a fast run over about 20-40 seconds and then recover for a few minutes. I complete around 3-6 strides towards the end of an easy base run. These reinforce proper funning form and help prepare the body for the speedwork later in the training block. Another way to incorporate speed work during the building phase of training is to complete fartleks or "speed play". For example I might ho out for an east jog and then run fast for three tree lengths, then slow to another tree. Or I like to vary my pace based on the song I'm listening to. The beauty of fartlek workouts is that they're unstructured, I just run by feel and fun! The goal of this type of speed play should be fast leg turnover and intermittently changing paces - not running so hard that I'm exhausted at the end of the session.
(2) Hills-
(3) Progression runs: in these runs, I start at a slow easy pace, and then gradually progress to a faster pace by the end of the time/distance. This helps me better manage pace, and learn controlled speed on legs that have already been running for a while. An example, I might go out for a 6 mile run, in which the first 4 miles are easy, the 5th mile is moderate, and the 6th mile is comfortably hard.
Several of you have asked about gear, I plan to do a full post dedicated to running gear in the upcoming weeks but here is a short snapshot of what I am using to help track the information we discussed in the above chapters.
(1) My running watch with heart rate monitor Suuntoo AMBIT3 Peak. Tracks pace, heart rate, GPS
(2) Strava app on my phone helps me log overall weekly mileage, speeds, elevation, photos,
(3) Fitbit watch with app. I track my water intake, calorie intake, overall steps per day, heart rate
I am currently on week 5 of base training. This week my total mileage goal is 46.5 total with a goal of running 5-6 days this week. My average mile times at the moment are 14-15 minutes, and my long run distance is 15 miles. I also continue to strength train 3 times a week (tue-thur) following a push/pull/legs rotation with core work on all 3 days. I have also started to include 4 days (mon-thur) of yoga/mobility work in the evenings followed by a mediation or a breathwork session.
The bottom line is building a running base is important because it prepares the body for more strenuous work later on. Having this solid foundation helps reduce injury while also making sure I have enough aerobic fitness to handle the harder workouts and tempo runs when they come around later in the training block.
I will dig in to each phase as we make our way through the training block but here is the breakdown of the next phases:
Phase 2 or strength/speed phase
Phase 3 or race specific phase
Phase 4 tapering and race prep!
Thank you for digging into the physiology behind the building phase of this training block! In the weeks ahead I Cheers to staying in motion and revamping the running game!
Much love,
Katie
RN, CPT, Wellness Coach
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