Question:I'm planning to do my first 50K Ultra this fall, and I was wondering
what makes the most sense for a taper. I'm doing the Milwaukee Marathon
on October 3 as a long training run, and then I have a choice of 3
different 50K races either 3, 4, or 5 weeks later. I'm trying to figure
out which makes the most sense in terms of tapering.
I'm just looking to finish the 50K and have fun with it, not set any
speed records.
My thought would be to do long runs of
26, 16, 9, 50K
26, 18, 15, 9, 50K
26, 10, 18, 15, 9, 50K
on the weekends, where 26 represents the Marathon and 50K represents the
Ultra.
The other factor is that the 3-week and 5-week times between races puts
me on trails and hilly courses, where I'm more comfortable, and the
4-week schedule puts me on asphalt and flats in Chicago.
Any help would be appreciated.
Answer:
Go for the 5 week gap, that way the deeper systems will have a better chance
to recover from the marathon. It can easily take longer than a month. Even
doing it just to finish you'd be better taking the extra rest. Definitely
go for the trail not the road version IMO; though it will take you longer,
trails are far more enjoyable than roads.
I would suggest the 50k three weeks after your marthon assuming you run
the marathon as you say, as a training run.
Do you really recover fast enough after a 26 mile run on one weekend to
do 16 the next? I would suggest at best 10-12.
You want to go into the race recovered not recovering.
I mis-read your post. I thought you were "racing" the marathon.
Its hard to do a race slow enough to be a training run, but maybe a marathon
is long enough so you won't get too swept up; good luck. In that case, 3
weeks is the same taper I chose for my 50k from my long training run of 27
miles.
Thanks for clarifying. I think I can keep it under control during the
marathon--I'm figuring I could break 4 hours if I tried, so I'm going to
shoot for 4:20.
What did you do for your long runs 2 weeks before and 1 week before the
50k?
I've done a bunch of ultras in the 50k to 50mile range going back to 1981.
(4 so far this year, and a 50m next month, and one more before year-end).
First off, don't do a training run that takes more than a few days to
recover from.
If the 26 miler is done at a pace where you don't feel back to normal by
Wednesday, it was a) too many miles for your base or b) too fast.
I rarely do a run on Saturday that prevents me from doing a strong workout
on Tuesday, for example. I might take Sunday off, then easy on Monday, but
I'm ready to go to work Tuesday. To do otherwise (at least for sub-100
mile races) is overtraining, imo.
My rule of thumb for training runs is to get one run of 2/3 of the race
duration (in time) 3 or 4 weeks prior to the race. If the 50k is projected
to take you 6 hours, do a 4 hour run. If your guess is 8, do a 5.5 to 6
hour run. Walking uphills is permitted...
By this definition, your 4:20 marathon is a good training run for a 6:30
50k, *provided* you run it easy enough so that you tanned, rested, and ready
my midweek.
Go for a 2 week taper. If you're healthy and uninjured, you don't need 4
weeks to taper! You'll get out of shape instead. I had good results on a 6
day taper when younger, and now that I'm 52, I start 8 - 10 days out, with a
2/3 of my normal long run the Saturday before the race. (For me that's
substituting moderate-to-brisk 14 miler instead of my preferred 20-22
miler).
Personally, I'd forget the marathon -- they're so dull and crowded. The
pavement pounding beats you up. Hook up with some ultra types, and go on
long runs in the trails and unpaved roads with them. You'll need to learn
alot, and picking the pros' brains on a long run is the perfect way to get
up to speed. I strongly suggest that you pick an all-unpaved 50k. Much
easier on the legs, and more interesting, even if there are more hills.
Once you get hooked, the road races are just speedwork...
My first thought would be "Which 50K do you *really* want to do?"
Not all races are equal and while it sounds like you're a little spoiled for
choice I'd go for the most scenic trail ultra I could find.
Just look for the one with the least road and most contours, then make your
plans.
This is not an easy call. Sure, you and I can go off two weeks but the
only the Buckster knows his recovery rate. If any doubt I would go for
three. The third taper week will not hurt. If he needs four then he is
no where ready for this race.
I meant to raise this at the beginning- if you still haven't decided on
what race to do and whether road or trail, then how were you training?
We usually pick the race, study the terrain and train for that race.
Fancy term specificity. A 50k on the roads with 2,000 of elevation
change is light years different than 50k trail run with 5,000 feet on
ungraded, uneven, single track. Training on roads for a trail race and
vice versa will likely make race day somewhere between unpleasant and
DNF.
Well my training is abnormal so don't listen to me. I just do cross
training and only run 3 times a week, and bike 3 times. I don't do a
"long" run every weekend, but only every 3 weeks. Normally I will run 50 to
80 mins, and my long runs have been 3 1/2 to 6 hours. Sometimes on the
weekend I will run 2 hours, but these 2 weeks before my 50k I did 50 mins
last weekend, and today I plan to go about 60-70 mins on trails. I don't
seem to suffer any setback going long every 3 weeks only. In fact each of
my long runs has been much better than the last one.
I've been training mostly on trails, although I have done an 18-mile run
on road. I had originally planned on doing the race 5 weeks from my
Marathon, but then couldn't find any info about it when I went to
register and started looking for other options. Then I found out that
the original race was still on, just poorly advertised, and now I need
to pick one.
Though I'd never run one myself, I am married to an ultrarunner and
know a whole bunch more (it's a bit of a community). My two cents
(about all its worth). The first two things more untrarunners would
tell you:
1) There is no "book" on ultra running, no standard training formula.
Everyone just has to find what works for them and do it.
2) That said, pretty much everyone agrees that ultras *aren't* long
marathons. Taking a marathon training schedule and stretching it out
isn't the way to go. Ultras are different creatures altogether. In a
marathon, you are training your body to cover 26 miles as fast as you
possibly can, spending your last ounce of energy just as you finish.
An ultra isn't like that at all. It's a big LSD run. Miles 5, 15, 25,
whatever should feel about the same. (Note, this assumes you are just
running an ultra, not racing one.)
As for the taper thing, most ultrarunners would rest anywhere from
none to three weeks before the race. Note the word rest, not taper. I
don't know any ultrarunners who do the build up / build down thing you
do in a marathon training schedule.
If you've got a solid based of 50+ miles / week and have done many 20
mile runs for your marathon preps, you've probably got all the running
training you need, so I wouldn't worry about that. Probably better to
focus on work you may need with nutrition/hydration as well as pacing.
Learn to run slow. Build up the uphill walking muscles, etc.
True, Noakes has some great stuff but he is not nor claims to be the
guru of Ultrarunning. Salmoneous is correct there is no single,
literally or figuratively, "book" on endurance running. Even among the
Ultra community there is very little consensus, short of do long runs,
eat, hydrate and do what works for you. There are volumes of data and
opinions on what constitutes "long runs," or hydration, etc. Noakes
will however provide some great starting points.
