My first big ultra, the 30hr Frozen Yeti, begins on Ground Hog Day at 8am. So far, I’ve done a 6hr TARCkey Trot (11/17/19) and 40M Winter Fells Winter Trail Ultra (12/1/19). Before those two races, I’ve run 5 marathon road races but nothing like this.
If all goes, well, here are my takeaways.
- Put in the miles
- Sleep deprivation
- Run the course if possible
- Train on more technical terrain than your race
The race is in the Hale Reservation in Westwood, MA. There is a required gear list that we need to carry at all times, and an additional gear list if forecast -20°F wind chill or below.
1. YOU DON’T NEED TO RUN THIS MUCH, BUT, leading up to the event, I got up to a max week of 100 miles like my marathon training. I recommend 60 max as a base if you’re running to be competitive. Running trails in training are key for a trail race. Common sense. I visited Hale twice and really loved the park. I also run in Walden State Park on Sundays and my beautiful hometown Fells anytime I can.
2. Two weeks ago, I was up 30 hours straight and did 4 runs to make sure I could handle the sleep deprivation. I read that practicing sleep deprivation was really helpful from Jason Robillard, author of “Never Wipe Your Ass with a Squirrel.” It was so tough, probably harder because I wasn’t always running. Ran about 25 miles total in the 4 runs. Watching tv was tough, and I almost closed my eyes a few times. When the 30 hours was over at 2pm next day, I fell asleep on my mother-in-law’s couch and pretty much slept until work the next morning.
3. It’s good to run the course so you’re ready for the terrain and know what type of wear your body will go through and any gear changes that may be necessary. For this race, I realized that I could wear trail flats. The course is not very technical, and it’s nice to have lighter shoes when tackling hills. Also, every park has a different trail width. Hale has thinner trails than my Fells, but they’re also more pronounced. The woods are thicker so any clearing usually means a trail, whereas in my Fells, the trails are nice and worn but can be deceiving. When you’re in the midst of a race and super tired, it’s nice to have a feel for knowing where to go if there isn’t another race marker nearby.
4. Another key to my running over the years, is that whatever the course, I make sure that I’m running now and then with much higher elevation and course difficulty. Usually, I run about 3000-4000 feet elevation per week, but recently, I’ve had some weeks over 8,000. The Skyline trail is considered technical and has twice the elevation per mile as Hale so I’ve run it a few times since my 40M (5 loops of Skyline). It’s important to be ready for what you’re facing and be able to say to yourself, hell, this could be worse, and I’ve done it before.
I’m both excited and nervous. My goal is to get over 100 miles and run all 30 hours, hopefully, both. Most important, I just want to know I never gave up. Hey, if some superstar shows up, I’m okay losing. First place at the 40M beat me by over 1.5 hours.
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