Ultra distances: going to the hurt locker

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi All

I started my fitness trend on the MTB so its my first love, and still the most enjoyable for me - great for cross training in winter and giving skills on the bike/interval training.

I have my first 24 hour mountain bike race this weekend - expecting a world of pain as its a totally different beast than my usual Multisport/tri activities. Starting to get a bit nervous!!

For those of you who have completed “ultra” distance events before - be it running or biking - do you have any experiences or tips to share?

Details of the Race: Called the Hillbilly 6/12/24. Course is 11.5km long with approx 500m elevation. Trails are “natural” - so not that groomed and contain a lot of rocks/rough surface (which, given I’m riding a 29er hardtail, means my arse is going to be sore).

I’ve been down on the course a few weekends in a row cutting laps, sorting nutrition, pacing etc. I can get out 55 minute laps - rolling every downhill and granny gear every serious climb. Spent 6 hours weekend just gone and felt pretty fresh which is a good sign. Im probably going to aim for 15 laps in worst case, 19 for good and 22 for amazing… should be between 172.5km (7500m elevation) and 253km (11000m elevation)

Crap - reading that makes it sound even more intimidating!

Food wise:

  • bananas
  • museli bars
  • Chocolate Fudge Banana Coffee Protein Powder Brownies
  • Jacket potatoes with bacon/cheese
  • Salt n Vinegar chips
  • chocolate
  • pizza
  • coke
  • redbull
  • In the drink bottles for the bike (650 ml every lap) will be combination of 20% apple juice, water, salt.

Game plan is to take a 15 minute break every three laps, stretch off the bike, change clothes over, eat “real” food and then get cracking…

2

I did UltraMan Canada last year (3 day/3-0 mile triathlon) and here are some thoughts on your upcoming race. Have plan A, B, and C. Your going to have good times and these will pass. You’re going to have bad times, these to will pass. You might even question why you race in the first place, I know I did. If you have the fitness, you can do it. In Canada, the hardest part was the last 5 miles of the double marathon on day 3. I had an internal argument about quitting and not quitting. It’s really going to come down to how mentally prepared are you so endure and suffer. Good luck.

3

Mentally don’t think about anything more than the current lap you are on. Don’t freak yourself out on lap 7 thinking you have 15 more to go. While your goal is 15, 19 or 22 laps you have to always be thinking 22. If you don’t make it and look back and it was 17 great but there is only one plan and that is 22. It’s all about mental prep and having and following a plan.

Have a plan for each lap. Just because it is laps doesn’t mean it is repetitive. First laps are very different from the last laps. Day laps are different from night laps. Different paces, different drink in the bottles, different food, climate, motivation, everything.

Coming to the end of the lap think about what you need and want so you know. It is difficult to think when you see it all laid out in front of you. Roll in, ask for what you want and roll out.

Stay positive :slight_smile:

I just ran a 50 miler last weekend and I don’t remember who said it but any ultra event can be split into thirds. Run the first 1/3 with your head, the 2/3 with your legs and the 3/3 with your heart! Don’t go out too hard, trust your training and suck it up :slight_smile:

4

One more thing. There are many things that you can’t control…weather, competitors, etc. but, you can control yourself. Your pace, your mental outlook, etc. control what you can, and roll with what you can’t.

5

if you haven’t already figure out your nutrition strategy, ie how much how often and how to access…

On multilap MTB courses, if supported then your gold, if no support then suggest set out a table with things laid out in an order / sequence that lets you see whats what… ie laid out in hourly consume / per lap consume…
rememebr you are out there 24 hours and you will be sick of sweet food before 12 hours is up… mix in neutral savories too… things you already eat that neither bloat you or repeat on you, they don’t even have to bethat nutritious… this is about moral and keeping the brain positive…
lay out all you fluids pre mixed in bottles, alternate flavors and protein / electrolyte mixes etc… USE WHAT YOU ARE USED TOO ONLY…

Similarly set aside an area for meds… pain killers, wipes, eye rinse, spray band aid etc… the pain killer being the most important… (lower back , shoulders and neck often go out before the legs…

Lay out your lighting strategy too… if you have spare battery packs / lights then put them on a second helmet if you have one, quicker to swap lids than to dick about swapping batteries etc…

Then set out an area for spares. eg if u flat in a lap and fix u wanna ditch the old gas and tube and sling em on the table (suggest a bowl or bucket) and have the next set there waiting…
If you have a spare bike or wheels take them and set them out… quicker to swap a wheel than to replace a slashed tyre etc,.

Now consider other mechanical needs, ie a bucket of water, a pressure washer, towels rags, WD-40, chain lube, wet wipes for computer screens glasses and light lenses…

OK almost there… depending on where you are… the condition at lunchtime will be very different than that over night ans especially at dawn… you will need some additional warmth but IME less than you think… WARNING IF CONDITIONS ARE WET HYPOTHERMIA CAN BE REAL…
be smart, and have spare on hand IF you need them…

OK and now consider a change of kit mid race… it will be fresh, clean and more comfortable and again moral is key but chaffing after 12hours for another 12 is a race ending… so don’t let it… over lube and reapply if you need…

Re pacing i aimed for Zone 2 the whole way… of course you’ll spike this on certain sections of the course and depending on your condition the last 4 hours may be agony in zone 1… but that’s half the fun !!!

Most of all have a sense of humor, especially with yourself and the predicament you put yourself in… and when it gets dark (not the lighting level here) remember… the end comes… the difference is whether your smiling or not… the pain is the same…

Good luck mate… enjoy

EDIT: oh and re the riding itself… its all about smooth and efficient… keep telling yourself “total minimum effort”… copy others lines if they are smart and better than yours… DO NOT try and follow team riders whoa re nailing it… even if it does look heaps of fun… those guys stop for a manicure each lap or two… you don’t…

6
  1. Don’t sleep lying down. It’s too easy to oversleep, and you lose major motivation. A 10 minute power nap sitting up between 2:30 to 4 am (max sleepiness) if necessary can get batteries recharged. Don’t stop for too long per loop.
  2. The 2/3rds rule: most people think of quitting (and most uninjured racers quit) between 60% to 66% of the total target distance. Just concentrate on getting to 3/4ths (75%) as an intermediate goal. Once you achieve that, there’s no way you’re stopping even if you get pressed for time. (May not apply to 24 hour races though.).
  3. Nutrition. And stomach upset. Depending on your doctor, a long acting antacid and an antimotility agent may help prevent hyperacidity/vomiting and diarrhea. Solid food helps, but that depends on what you train with.
  4. Have a focus thought or item to remind you why you’re doing the race. A photo, an inspirational phrase, a remembrance etc. Something to push you when things go bad.
  5. Be careful, especially at night when you’re sleepy. Crashes due to inattention are usually during this time. Good lighting is a must.
  6. Have fun. Be cheerful with other racers and their crew, and they almost always will likewise boost your spirits. Enjoy the race. When you finish and tell yourself “Never again”, after two weeks you most likely will be looking forward to another such event. Or a longer one.

ETA: Always bring spares of everything. Clothes, food, wheels, lights. Better safe than sorry. It’s a looped course, so you can leave them at your station.

Double iron distance Florida. A few hundred mile races. Planning PBP.

7

Here is link to wife’s blog. We have done several Ultra distance events. In this post from Florida Double Iron distance you may find some tips. Best of luck! Keep a smile on you face a stay in a 5 minute box.
http://www.runningalife.com

8

Well I gingerly sit here writing this having gotten home a few hours ago from completing the race.

Total laps: 20. Total distance: 192.4km, elevation: 3697m.

I got to say I’m pretty happy with my result, pacing and nutrition strategy - bar one thing which was out of my control. Details below

0:42:03
0:40:55
0:42:36
0:42:54
0:42:16
0:48:10
changed my kit
0:50:38
0:44:56
0:45:23
0:48:38
0:48:33
changed my kit + added lights to the bike - start of night laps
1:13:19
0:50:28
0:48:50
0:53:34
change my kit - had a big meal
1:23:50

  • had to call it a night and sleep (2am)
    9:07:00 - first morning lap was actually a 0:37:20, but the 9 hours was started at the end of the previous lap. Yes I was stationary for 8:30…Some of this was medical time, some changing clothes, some eating… only 5 hours sleeping.
    0:34:07
    0:34:12
    0:35:22

Notes from the race:

The limiting factor - the * that caused me to call it a night. My left hand. It went completely numb. Lost all feeling and strength in it. Could barely grip the handlebar. It went all inflamed and I couldnt even see any tendons across the back, and I didnt really have any knuckles when I held my fingers out straight… You can imagine at 2am tearing down a rocky section and your hand gives up… Not ideal. Frustrating really, because even now - my legs feel great. This can be evidenced by the last 4 laps that I did this morning… had so much left in the tank. The decision made at 2am was to preserve myself. The decision made at 9am to ride again was made as I was stupid and feeling energetic.

I’ll have to go check out new gloves or grips or something because I feel like I could have ridden the entire night if it wasnt for my hand. I guess the vibrations from the rough surface would have caused this.

Food: Built roughly around consecutive laps having banana (and whatever I wanted out of salty chips (crisps), mint chocolate, or “Chocolate, banana and coffee brownie”) and the next lap a baked potato with bacon and cheese (plus whatever) - giving me a good combination of fast and slow energy, plus fats and salt.
Hydration: Carried a fresh 650ml drink bottle each lap and ensure I finished it - 20% apple juice, 80% water + salt. Had two cokes… one at 10pm and one at midnight.

I didnt run out of energy once, didnt get any cramp - just felt realllly full about 6pm. Like major food baby. Cut the food back for the next lap and was ok after that.

Changing gear: Every 4 hours was too late. Really needed to be every 3. The chafe only set in during the last hour of every 4 hour period. Paying for it now.
Changing lights: never forget to change your battery if you arent sure. Made that mistake once and handlebar light turned off mid lap… was a little risky on that one.
Blisters: my palms got rubbed raw… i ended up strapping them, around my thumbs and across the palm - with rock tape. Seemed to hold it off for the most part, still got one really tender spot.

Ended up 7th from 23 in my category (150 teams across the event)

9

Well I gingerly sit here writing this having gotten home a few hours ago from completing the race.

Total laps: 20. Total distance: 192.4km, elevation: 3697m.

I got to say I’m pretty happy with my result, pacing and nutrition strategy - bar one thing which was out of my control. Details below

0:42:03
0:40:55
0:42:36
0:42:54
0:42:16
0:48:10
changed my kit
0:50:38
0:44:56
0:45:23
0:48:38
0:48:33
changed my kit + added lights to the bike - start of night laps
1:13:19
0:50:28
0:48:50
0:53:34
change my kit - had a big meal
1:23:50

  • had to call it a night and sleep (2am)
    9:07:00 - first morning lap was actually a 0:37:20, but the 9 hours was started at the end of the previous lap. Yes I was stationary for 8:30…Some of this was medical time, some changing clothes, some eating… only 5 hours sleeping.
    0:34:07
    0:34:12
    0:35:22

Notes from the race:

The limiting factor - the * that caused me to call it a night. My left hand. It went completely numb. Lost all feeling and strength in it. Could barely grip the handlebar. It went all inflamed and I couldnt even see any tendons across the back, and I didnt really have any knuckles when I held my fingers out straight… You can imagine at 2am tearing down a rocky section and your hand gives up… Not ideal. Frustrating really, because even now - my legs feel great. This can be evidenced by the last 4 laps that I did this morning… had so much left in the tank. The decision made at 2am was to preserve myself. The decision made at 9am to ride again was made as I was stupid and feeling energetic.

I’ll have to go check out new gloves or grips or something because I feel like I could have ridden the entire night if it wasnt for my hand. I guess the vibrations from the rough surface would have caused this.

Food: Built roughly around consecutive laps having banana (and whatever I wanted out of salty chips (crisps), mint chocolate, or “Chocolate, banana and coffee brownie”) and the next lap a baked potato with bacon and cheese (plus whatever) - giving me a good combination of fast and slow energy, plus fats and salt.
Hydration: Carried a fresh 650ml drink bottle each lap and ensure I finished it - 20% apple juice, 80% water + salt. Had two cokes… one at 10pm and one at midnight.

I didnt run out of energy once, didnt get any cramp - just felt realllly full about 6pm. Like major food baby. Cut the food back for the next lap and was ok after that.

Changing gear: Every 4 hours was too late. Really needed to be every 3. The chafe only set in during the last hour of every 4 hour period. Paying for it now.
Changing lights: never forget to change your battery if you arent sure. Made that mistake once and handlebar light turned off mid lap… was a little risky on that one.
Blisters: my palms got rubbed raw… i ended up strapping them, around my thumbs and across the palm - with rock tape. Seemed to hold it off for the most part, still got one really tender spot.

Ended up 7th from 23 in my category (150 teams across the event)

Very impressive!!! How many hr/wk did you spend on your MTB in the weeks/months leading up to this race??? Hard to believe it was your hands that let you down, rather than your legs:)

10

Prior to starting a “proper” tri training program 7 weeks ago, I would be on the MTB up to 6 times a week - sometimes for an hour, usually up to 3. Combination of technical stuff and fire trails/4WD tracks.

Proper training would be 3 swims (one pool two ocean), 3 runs (1 long) and 4 rides (one recovery for an hour, 1 turbo power session, 1 big gear or race pace, 1 long ride 3.5-4 hours).

I did a few longer rides prior to the race, but the longest of those was only 6 hours - so nothing really like the proper preparation I’d need although even today sitting at work, the legs arent really that sore - tired, but not really achey. My back is pretty stiff, the chafe hurts… but my hands still arent working very well. Bit of a struggle to type.

I guess longer rides would have given me an indication of the hand thing - could have worked out some way to deal with it. Next time.

11

Prior to starting a “proper” tri training program 7 weeks ago, I would be on the MTB up to 6 times a week - sometimes for an hour, usually up to 3. Combination of technical stuff and fire trails/4WD tracks.
Proper training would be 3 swims (one pool two ocean), 3 runs (1 long) and 4 rides (one recovery for an hour, 1 turbo power session, 1 big gear or race pace, 1 long ride 3.5-4 hours).
I did a few longer rides prior to the race, but the longest of those was only 6 hours - so nothing really like the proper preparation I’d need although even today sitting at work, the legs arent really that sore - tired, but not really achey. My back is pretty stiff, the chafe hurts… but my hands still arent working very well. Bit of a struggle to type.
I guess longer rides would have given me an indication of the hand thing - could have worked out some way to deal with it. Next time.

So, your MTB training was around 15 to 17 hr/wk then??? And, JOOSC, why did you start tri training just 7 wks before this pure cycling race??? Seems like you might have been better off sticking to pure MTB training until after this 24-hr race:)

12

MTB “training” was more me enjoying it and going for casual rides with mates, i wouldnt call it training - no structure or anything, just a lot of zone 1-2 stuff. And those rides would have been only done on a good week… some weeks would be 1 ride of an hour max.

Tri training was started because I had sufficiently recovered from an ITB issue and could run again - was waiting for this to heal so I could train properly for IM. The 24 hour race was just for funsies… call it a D race. Wasnt any specific training done for it apart from making my long rides on the MTB and making them a little longer than the usual 3.5-4 hours.

(Also JOOSC… Just out of s… curiosity?)

13

MTB “training” was more me enjoying it and going for casual rides with mates, i wouldnt call it training - no structure or anything, just a lot of zone 1-2 stuff. And those rides would have been only done on a good week… some weeks would be 1 ride of an hour max.

Tri training was started because I had sufficiently recovered from an ITB issue and could run again - was waiting for this to heal so I could train properly for IM. The 24 hour race was just for funsies… call it a D race. Wasnt any specific training done for it apart from making my long rides on the MTB and making them a little longer than the usual 3.5-4 hours.

(Also JOOSC… Just out of s… curiosity?)

“Sheer” curiosity:) Well, i can’t say i would do anything for 24 hrs just for fun, though it looks like you ended up doing around 15-ish hrs of riding but still that’s a lot in 24 hrs. When i was age 15, I did a 50-mi run/walk just on a dare, with no run training at all, but i was coming off of winter swim season so in good aerobic swim shape. Anyway, it took me about 14 hrs but that was 0730 to 2130 straight. Out of 75 starters only 4 finished and I was 2nd. No aid stations and no support except for a couple of guys in pickup trucks to round up those who dropped out. We were told to take money and buy Gatorade, Cokes, etc, at the gas stations along the way, i.e. it was a long out-and-back course on a state highway. Anyway, that has been my longest “endurance test” to date:)