Last week, after a long time, I had one of those magical experiences that I only have when running. The plan was to collect vertical meters for the UTMB and as this is extremely difficult here in the region, I drove a few kilometers by car to the next "mountain" and then commuted up and down it. 600 meters up, 600 meters down. 60 meters up, 60 meters down. Minimum goal: 20k.
Finding the right mindset
As I said, I got in the car and was rather semi-motivated because I like to run on diverse courses. It sounded like a very dull program, even track running sounded more varied to me. The only thing that completely convinced me was that I needed the vertical meters in my legs. After all, 1400 meters of elevation gain over 34 kilometers will await me on May 20th. And it was also an opportunity to test a few things, such as running with poles, nutrition and the right shoes.
In addition, there were some relatively interesting weather conditions, which could be the one extreme at the UTMB. 3 degrees Celsius and partly pouring rain. The other extreme could be 30 degrees Celsius and blazing sun, but we are still a long way from that here. So off we go.
Preparation is key
Shoes on, hydration bladder packed in the running rucksack, poles prepared and off we go. I still felt a little stiff on the first few climbs, but the more I got back to the bottom, the more relaxed I felt. The rain didn't matter, nor did the cold. At some point I figured out when to use the poles, when to walk and when to pack them away again. After a few attempts with drinking, it became clear that the best way to do this while running downhill in a relaxed manner and I was surprised that my heart rate kept dropping on the downhill sections the whole time to the same number.
The magic moment
And so it was that after an hour I ended up in a kind of trance and my head emptied completely. My body became an automaton, but my heart was overflowing with happiness. One of those moments.
It has to be said that the state faded after 20 minutes and my thighs started to burn, but it was worth it. I loved it! I ended the whole thing after 20k, because I thought that this enough for the first time and I will come back next week.
Some key takeaways:
- I ran more vertical meters in one run than ever before (951m)
- On average, that was even more per kilometer than at the UTMB (47.55m/km vs. 41m/km)
- On the whole, this was quite doable, but I will repeat it a few more times to get my legs used to it.
- I had seriously considered not doing sessions like this for lack of venues. Silly me.
- The day after, I had really sore muscles, but also a lot of pressure aka strength in my legs. I think if I would do some serious strength training for my legs, it would take me a step forward.
- A hydration bladder with magnesium in my running backpack turned out to be perfect. I would maybe try a softbottle with dissolved gel (has anyone ever tried this? Mix gel with water? I hate those sticky, viscous gels).
- I'll definitely have to try taking proper food with me, just water with magnesium is obviously not enough. Let's see what I take with me next time.
- Poles were good and I will definitely pack them, especially for the walking sections. As long as I can run, I find them more of a hindrance. But I know from the trails in the Alps that the poles are also good for technical sections, even downhill.
- I have tried pure trail shoes. The NNormal Tomir 2.0 are nice and light and have good grip. But I'm still not sure whether I won't run in some old road Hokas out of habit. As long as the weather isn't bad.
- Speaking of bad weather. The weather had pretty much everything in store. I still need a light rain jacket, otherwise it was unproblematic.
- I think that was all. If anyone else has any tips, please let me know. I’m an absolute UTMB-newbie.
Mental-health-update
Family-business is very demanding at the moment. Turns out, that we could maybe have an ADHD-kid here and now further steps are being taken. It’s absolutely necessary for the sake of the family and every member of it.
Running
Another 65k-week.
You can find all updates on my training plan for UTMB Obernai here.
The end
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Fascinating to get some insight into what it takes to run/attempt to run an event like UTMB. A really good reminder that the (pain of!) prep is 90% of completing an event.