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"Adventure Race" as base for running season
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I'm in my mid 20s and I am your typical endurance guy. I have not much speed or power but my aerobic system is quite good. From all endurance sports, running is where my talent lies. Unfortunately I never honed my speed or form in my teens as I did other sports when I was younger.

After some years with shortish multisport events, I want to focus more on running in the future. I will start with mountain- and roadrunning races from about 10k to the halfmarathon this season and work more on my speed. Goal for the seson is to run 32:xx in the 10k and 1:12 for the half (I've run 33 and 1:13 without too many specific sessions). I will wait a bit with doing a marathon and I see myself on long trail races in the future.

So now, this season is about running speed. But there is this adventure multisport race I can't stop thinking about. I've never done a race of this length and I want to find out how I will fare, as longer distances seem to fit me.

The race consists of the following:

Mountain biking: 24k with 1500m elevation gain

Running: 11k with 500m elevation gain

Skimo: 7k with 1200m elevation gain

So there is a total of over 3200m of climbing (more than 10'000 feet of vertical gain) and the race finishes on the glavier on over 10'000 feet as well.

I like to do long training days and a lot of hours. I thirve on volume and have to be careful with too much intensity. At the moment I am working on the extremes; short sprints, endurance, strength. I think I can do this race and the whole strength endurance side in the training can actually help me in my running later. I would still do my weekly sprint sessions though.

So my question is if that race and the preparation for it can be benefitial for my summer running goals?

I saw that Blummenfelt is doing a 70.3 early in the season and then his focus is on the itu circuit. What do you think?

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [ToBeasy] [ In reply to ]
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So no opinion on that?

How are you guys feeling after a 70.3 tuneup? The time it would take me would be around 3:30-4 hours. So a bit shorter than a half ironman. I guess thereafter your aerobic system is strong emough for some serious 10k workouts.

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [ToBeasy] [ In reply to ]
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IMO the adventure race would be better prep for a half than a 10K.

10K will require more specificity.

But the real answer is do stuff that makes you happy. You have a ton of years ahead, which is the beauty of endurance racing as a hobby.
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [SBRinSD] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for your opinion.

Yeah, I still have time to find out how I can do in longer stuff. And I wonder if I should work on my speed a bit more. However, the race is quite tempting and I guess I should do what is fun. As long as it doesn't hinder my running development.

After the adventure race I still have two month for specific 10k training. Maybe 4 Werks Vo2max and 4 weeks racepace.

After the 10k I have another 2.5 month for treshold and fast longruns for the halfmarathon.

And through all that time I will do some mountain races as well. So the early season biking and skimo training could still be put into good use.

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [ToBeasy] [ In reply to ]
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Why not? In my experience, if something gets you excited and fired up to get out and put in the hard yards then do it! The summer is a long way away. There is plenty of time to dial in the focus to run fast. It's more important to find what is going to keep you fresh, motivated and training consistently. I would recommend, and recommend for pretty much everyone anyways, to continue doing strides 96 x80m-ish accelerations) after your runs to keep in touch with your speed. It won't take anything out of you, but make the transition a bit smoother when you go back to a speed focus. If you get more fired up to continue focusing on running speed, you could also keep the focus on that and do the race adventure race a little less than optimally prepared and just treat it as one big epic training day. But ultimately I don't see anything about that race or distance that is going to have a last negative impact.

Enjoy it! It sounds like an epic event!

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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [Symonds] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, that event is quite cool for a mountain lover like me.

The strides thing is a very good idea and I really believe in it. Maybe the strength you get from cycling uphill, will transform into running speed later. I always think that when I do a long and hilly bikeride and go on a run the next day, there seems to be a bit more of a "pop" in the legs.

Anyway, I had a great day on the snow today. Over 10000 feet of vertical gain on the skis. I love days like that.

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [ToBeasy] [ In reply to ]
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What I also wonder is if your bodys ability to produce lactate counteracts with the systems needed for a four hour race.

I am naturally not a powerful guy. So in the next month I will do hard hill reps and 200m reps as well as the long aerobic stuff. That should prepare me for a speedy road running season. I wonder if stuff like that in the weeks leading um to the adventure race will give me another fear and make me feel racepace easier or if that hinders the aerobic system to work at its max.

It is so interesting to see how the body works and how I it reacts to stimuli.

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [Symonds] [ In reply to ]
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I am registered for the race now.

I need some opinion on the following:

Of course I will be doing some long endurance work as a preparation. In addition to a lot of easy-moderate volume on the run, skis and bike I will do one hard and long intervallsession on the bike followed by a hard, mountainous longrun. That will be my specific session for the week.
But I think I will continue to touch my top end running speed once every week (in addition to the strides). So I will do hillsprints or fairly hard 200s (not for the adventure race but for the summer running season as speed is my weakness).
A good idea or should I do a second specific session instead and only do strides?

On another note: I have scheduled a 10k road race two weeks before the adventure race. I intended to do it go get the legs goining in the spring and see where my running is. But that was before I even thought about the adventure race. Would you run a hard 10k 14 days before a 70.3?

Thank you very much guys for your thoughts.

Cheers

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [ToBeasy] [ In reply to ]
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I think the hill sprints would be more effective for you than the 200's. I personally don't do hard 200's at any time really. I do hard 400's on short rest. At mile pace. But not much faster than that. The 200's could good if you want to roll the legs out and get comfortable at a faster pace. What I have done that is good for speed is X's. Go to a soccer field, Run the width of the field (past the goal posts) super easy and then run the diagonally across the field hard. Repeat that for 10-15 minutes at the end of a run. Hard doesn't have to Sprinting. Maybe start at 5k or mile pace and roll with what feels good.

Hills are good for strength. so that is a double benefit. I would recommend those, except you are going to get a lot of strength from that long run and hills don't necessarily give you a fast speed and turn over.

Personally I have don't have much speed and have found longer intervals to be more effective for my 10k and half marathon times than doing 200's and 400's. I I think intervals from 800-1600's might be a better use of your time/energy if you are only doing one a week. Or long tempo intervals.

Usually my recovery from a mental stand point goes in swings. Something like this.

Day 1: I don't feel that bad. I am going to recover from this race really fast!
Day 2: Yep There's the soreness I'm wrecked
Day 3: I feel pretty good, I'll be back to feeling awesome tomorrow!
Day 4. Still flat. feel toasted. Didn't expect that.
Day 5. Feel better than yesterday.

Days might not be totally accurate. But be aware of the post race excitement and mental swings and judgements post race. They can cause you to go crush workouts before you are recovered. Respect that recovery window, resist the urge to start cranking out workouts in the first 5 days after. Even if you feel good keep it light.

That is probably more info that you were looking for, but I would rather give full answers than half ass ones. Also good to pay forward the help and knowledge I have been given on this site.

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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [Symonds] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you very much for your feedback. I soak up every bit of advice that I can get, especially from an athlete of your ability. I've always been self coached and love to discuss stuff like that.

My training now is kind of a base phase for the running season. Thats why I do solid volume and only one long and harder workout (about threshold) and one short sprint workout a week. I think I will do two hard workouts in the Vo2max-threshold range from the beginning of May.

I like your idea with the "diagonals". I think I make good progress with relaxed fast running for short increments so that it doesn't get too hard and requires less recovery time but still gets the legs turning over quickly. I will add a weekly "workout" like that along with my specific long adventure day. Maybe I do the hill sprints only every other week and instead alter those with another aerobic workout, like progressive tempos or long uphill intervals.

Funny that you write that aerobic work is more benefitial for me than the anaerobic stuff. I am a true slowtwitch guy and respond quite well to endurance training. When I do a very hard 200m it is in the 30s range, but last year I run a 33:30 10k off of only base work. So I (maybe wrongly) assumed that I should work on my top end speed to make the next step. But I guess you are right that the lower hanging fruit lies in more steady work

About the 10k race. I would treat it as the last very hard session before the adventure race (two weeks out) and a long easy day on the sunday. Then I would do a week of easy volume and a last, but not too hard, specific session seven days out.

Anyway, thanks again.

cheers

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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Re: "Adventure Race" as base for running season [ToBeasy] [ In reply to ]
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 I had a good weekend:

I started with a "preworkout" on Friday. A 60 minute run with 14x20s surges on two minutes. That is very easy with so much rest but it gets the legs turning over and teaches you to run fast without effort. Surges were about mile pace.

Saturday was a specific session. 10x4 minutes climbing intervalls on the bike followed by a very hilly trailrun (1hour). I pushed the uphills hard and cruised the downhills. Felt terrible at first but much better the longer I run.

Yesterday was a long slow day on the skis with nearly 10'000feet of climbing.

Trainings goining well.

10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40
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