Training for the Mount Mitchell Challenge 2016

Introduction

I am an ambitious novice when it comes to racing. This will be my first event over 50k. I did run 42 miles on my 42^nd birthday in August, but that was on flat city streets (in Baltimore where I happened to be at a conference). The Mt Mitchell Challenge is 40 miles. Basically, you ascend about 4000’ to the top of Mt Mitchell (highest point east of the Mississippi) and then run back down.

The ‘Challenge is a popular ultramarathon. Several hundred will compete, including real elites (with sponsorships and stuff). I got in via lottery – dumb luck. Now I need to train for it and I’ve decided to detail my plan and my progress via blog. Today I will give a little background about my running and present my training plan as it currently stands. Future posts in this series will provide irregular updates on my fitness, any little stories that arise on the trail, and uneducated musings about how to train for a mountain trail race.

My running background

I have been running “seriously” for a little over 10 years. I have rarely raced. I had strong half marathon finishes in 2006 and 2007 (sub 1:30), and strong marathon finishes in 2008 (3:08), 2010 (2:59), and 2013 (2:55).

In 2014 I was training aimlessly when I experienced a “pop” in my right knee. I tore my meniscus years ago being stupid in a martial arts class and it had just gone from “sometimes bothers me” to “I cant’ walk”.

I had arthroscopic surgery to trim off about 50% of my medial meniscus in May 2014. As a recovery goal, I decided I should run a marathon before the calendar year was out. There were no convenient marathons on the schedule, so I decided to take on the Norris Dam Hard Trail Race – a 50K in November not too far from home. It was like a running re-birth.

I have always loved running on trails, but was not really aware of Trail Running as a distinct discipline until I started training for Norris. Anyways, I had a blast and posted a solid performance (2^nd place overall). Now I am a Trail Runner.

Over the next few months I ran many happy miles in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and started thinking about racing another trail 50k. I followed (more or less) a 50-mile training plan (thank you Ultraladies) to prepare for my 42 birthday miles, and then decided to enter the Cumberland Trail 50k (Oct 3) and put my name in for Mt Mitchell (assuming no-one gets in through the lottery their first time…).

The Cumberland Trail 50k is fantastic. Over 7000’ of climbing come in four big doses and the final 5 miles includes a hair-raising 2000’ descent complete with hillside stream crossings, steep stone steps, and a slick, rickety bridge. I did well (4^th overall), but fell apart pretty bad on the final climb.

So, I’m pretty fit, recently humbled, and more in love with trail running than ever.

How shall I train for the Mt Mitchell Challenge over the next 20 weeks?

What I know about the ‘Challenge

A super simplistic summary is this: 20 miles of steady climbing at about 5% grade (on average) followed by 20 miles of steady descending at about -5% grade (on average). The very best times are between 4:30 and 5:00. So, this race looks screaming fast relative what I just did on the Cumberland Trail.

The details are dirtier. The average of 5% grade sounds gentle, but the final mile to the summit is very steep (over 20% grade) and there is some super steep stuff near the end of the downhill as well. In addition, the race takes place in late February. This means some years the whole course is a slog through snow and ice, while other years it is pleasant spring day from top to bottom. More likely, it will be spring like at the bottom and arctic at the top. Those fast sub-5:00 times were posted by elite runners who happened to race under pleasant conditions. My race could be a fast weather year (in which case I want to finish sub-6:00), but I need to be prepared for anything.

Training strategy

Spend the first ~10 weeks improving my climbing strength

• Strength training – increase squat and deadlift (supposedly, the best climbers can squat almost 3x their body weight for six reps. For me, 2.5x to 3x 170 = 425 to 510lbs!)
• High intensity climbing – interim goal: Vertical K on a treadmill in close to 35 min (3.1 miles at 20% grade for 1,000 meters of ascent)
• Steady climbing – work up to 20 miles at 5% grade at goal pace

Spend the next ~7 weeks emphasizing descending speed

•  Less treadmill and more real hills
• 800m repeats on the track
• Downhill time trials after steady climbing

Constantly work on skill and agility

• Practice on trails! Run up and down stairs when trails are inconvenient.

Don’t get hurt

• Rest enough (whatever that means)
• Do lots of functional strength and mobility exercises

Training plan:

Week -1:  Rest and play after the Cumberland Trail 50k

Week 0: Fitness tests  

• Sunday: “Indoor Incline”: ~2000’ (200 floors) on a Step Mill stair machine (~117-124 steps/min for a time of 28:24)
• Monday: rest
•  Tuesday: 1-mile time trial – how close to 5:00 can I get on the track? (Couldn’t get on the track, did about 5:30 on the greenway according to the mile markers and my watch)
• Wednesday: Rest
•  Friday: “Virtual K”: 1000m on a treadmill (20% grade for 3.1 miles). Start at 4mph and try to increase toward 5.5mph (had to skip this)
• Saturday: At hotel in VA, see what it feels like to run 9min/mile (6.666mph) on a treadmill at 5% for 5 miles (8:30 pace felt better. Steady pace is really tedious; occasional pickups made it seem more bearable)

Weeks 1 – 19:

10-day training cycle with the following pattern

1.     Long run progressing from 10 miles to peak of 30 about one month before the race

2.     Long run (back to back) progressing from 6 to 10 miles

3.     Easy + Strength: ~ 5 mi easy with my dogs in the am, Squat Workout in the pm

4.    Rest

5.     Hills: ~5 mi easy with dogs in the am, Hill Session in the pm

6.     Easy + Strength: ~ 5 mi easy, Shoulder Workout

7.    Rest

8.     Speed: ~ 5 mi easy, 800m Repeats

9.     Easy + Strength: ~ 5 mi easy, Deadlift Workout

10. Rest

Details and comments:

·      Back to back long runs basically follow the Ultraladies 50 mile plan, increasing by 2 miles per cycle

·      The first 8 hill sessions are designed to hit my mid-cycle goal of a 35 minute Virtual K (1K vertical over 5K of horizontal on a treadmill at 20% grade) by progressing from 1 mile to 3.1 miles on the 20% incline at ~5.5 mph

·      The next 5 hill sessions should emphasize downhill skill and strength without losing uphill fitness. I plan to do repeats on local trails or stairs.

·      Speed sessions are designed around a famous marathon fitness test, “Yasso 800’s”. The idea (with some empirical support) is that if you can run ten 800m repeats at X minutes and Y seconds per rep, then you can probably run a full marathon in X hours and Y minutes. I will progress from two to ten reps, trying to keep each rep well under 6min/mi pace, as that might be what I’m trying to run on the way down Mt. Mitchell. To really race that second half, I need to practice running faster than my goal pace.

·      Strength Sessions are intended to prevent imbalances and increase climbing strength. Basic outline is:

o   Warmup: skip, hop, butt-kick, toe-taps

o   Key lift: Depending on the day, squat 3x5, deadlift 3x5, or high-rep shoulder routine (10-15 each: side raise, rear deltoid raise, rotator raise, Arnold press, narrow rows, pushups, wide rows, front raise)

o   Crossfit style: (5 pullups +10 pushups + 15 lunges) x 5 rounds

o   Core: side planks, crunches, gorilla swings, medicine ball rotations

o   Warmdown: More stair climbing as time allows

·      Everyday mobility: Myrtle after every run

·      Taper ... I am planning to start my taper 14 days before the race. My last two weeks will look something like this (no strength training, maybe some little strides or pickups to keep me "sharp")

Sunday           14-Feb            15 miles (inclined treadmill or trail run)

Monday          15-Feb            10 miles (inclined treadmill or trail run)

Tuesday         16-Feb            5 miles easy

Wednesday    17-Feb            REST

Thursday       18-Feb            7 miles on hilly trails

Friday             19-Feb            5 miles easy

Saturday        20-Feb            REST

Sunday           21-Feb            4 miles easy

Monday          22-Feb            3 miles easy

Tuesday         23-Feb            2 miles easy

Wednesday    24-Feb            1 mile easy

Thursday       25-Feb            REST

Friday             26-Feb            REST

Saturday        27-Feb            RACE

That's the plan. I'll try to post monthly updates/comments. I will log everything on Strava ...