Road to UTMB Obernai 24

Sometimes I'm still a bit unsure about the functions of Substack. This was supposed to be a training log page for the UTMB race in Obernai, France in May 2024. If you have received an email specifically for this, please accept my apologies. In the future, I will simply post my training results here as a kind of diary.

Little summary of planned and achieved goals:

W1: 46k ✅ W2: 45k ✅ W3: 46k ✅ W4: 35k ✅
W5: 0k ❌ W6: 7k ❌ W7: 48k ✅ W8: 55k ✅
W9: 22k ❌ W10: 58k ✅ W11: 45k ❌ W12: 0k ❌
W13: 0k ❌ W14: 14k ❌ W15: 65k ✅ W16: 67k ✅
W17: 65k ✅
W18: 0k ❌
W19: 0k ❌
W20: 45k ✅

20 weeks. 11 times ✅ 9 times ❌ / 661k of 1000k finished.

Week 1 (46k, 224RSS)

01.02.24 - Tuesday started with a very relaxed 7.1k run. Sometimes it was really difficult to run on the trails because it had been raining almost continuously for the last three months and so many paths were flooded. Felt a bit sick.

01.05.24 - Friday a first qualitative unit. Short warm-up, then 10 times 1min around the critical power value, each time slightly increased, then cool down. It went surprisingly well. Very tired in the evening though.

01.06.24 - Just moving the old bones. 5.2k for the books.

01.07.24 - First long run of the year (23k). Warm up, then three 20-minute blocks, each increased, followed by a cool down. Felt a bit stiff at first, but then gradually loosened up. After the first half, I had to contend with a headwind and the cold. All in all, a good long run.

Week 2 (45k, 258RSS)

01.08.24 - Started the week with a recovery run - a bit longer than the week before, but very easy.

01.10.24 - Second run of the week is always a qualitative unit. Warm-up, then 4 times 5 minutes around my critical power value, with a rest of 2.5 minutes. Went well. Heart rate could a tad lower, but it’s part of the process.

01.12.24 - Started implementing strides in my training plan, which wasn’t a good idea or maybe the strides were a bit too fast. 5.3k with four 15sec-strides and after that some nice hip flexor problems. Argh.

01.14.24 - Still had a very stiff hip flexor on the left side, but did the long run on Sunday. Implemented some intervals around my critical power value (1k-3x1.6k-1k with a 200m rest). It was crazy good, so I decided to let it flow on the last 5k and ran pretty fast home. First really empowering unit already in the second week of my training plan leaves me very positive minded for the weeks to follow. All in all a very good week. Reached my distance goal. RSS (Power-related-work) was a bit higher than the week before, but TRIMP-value (Heart-related work) was lower, so that’s ok.

Week 3 (45k, 236RSS)

01.15.24 - First training day of the week is always a recovery run. This time with my Norwegian neighbor Erik. Was very easy and nice to have some company on that slow runs.

01.18.24 - Did another run from the Stryd-Library. ‘The fishtail’ - Warm-up, then 15 minutes at Marathon power, 10 minutes at HM power and 5 minutes at 10k power, always with 2 minutes recovery in between, then Cool-Down.

01.19.24 - Strides in the park.

01.20.24 - Three days in a row running was not the best idea, but couldn’t be organised in a different way. Did a long run on snow and ice which was tiring. Warm-Up, then 4 times 5 Minutes at HM power, alternating with 5 minutes at Marathon power. Really tired after that one. Looking forward to the recovery week.

Week 4 (35k, 155RSS)

Recovery week, so nothing special to tell you about. Got sick at the end of the week.

Summary of the 1st block of training

Week 5 (0k, 0RSS)

Ill.

Week 6 (7k, 27RSS)

Still sick. Tried it on Monday and thought it would be okay, but it wasn't. Hopefully I can run again next week.

Week 7 (48k, 226RSS)

02.12.24 - Just a test run and it was quite ok.

02.14.24 - 7.5k. Also just checking how my body reacted to the first run. Also quite ok. Still coughing from time to time.

02.15.24 - 10.5k. Still checking. This run was a bit faster. Heartrate still too high. Usually I would run this lap at this pace with a 10-15 beats lower heart rate. But that’s how it is at the moment. Still ok.

02.17.24 - Wasn’t sure about this one, but also turned out to be ok. Nearly 19k. The first hour I gradually increased the pace during the first hour. The legs remembered that speed and that is good.

Week 8 (54.4k, 254RSS)

02.19.24 - After the long run two days before, this run went surprisingly well. Close to 12k just running.

02.21.24 - My neighbor Erik asked for a run. He wasn’t really well, because of his allergy. I can do 6k, maybe a bit more, he said. We did 17k, but in a very slow pace. Perfect.

02.23.24 - Legs are a bit stiff. Just 6k.

02.24.24 - This was demanding. About 20k. A warmup, then 5k just a little bit above the threshold, 1k easy, 2k around threshold, 1k easy, and then 3 times 1k around threshold with 1k easy. I usually don’t run that fast at the longer distances, but in summary it was one of fastest 15k-times of all times, which is crazy in training. Maybe overdid it a bit.

Week 9 (21.8k, 91RSS)

02.26.24 - I started the week relatively strong with a longer easy run. 14.3k, but in retrospective the heart rate was already too high again. The next days it got worse, but it only lasted 2-3 days, so it’s fine now.

03.02.24 - A little test run. 7.5k - just checking if everything is alright. Yeah it is. So the next week, back to business.

Week 10 (57.5k, 269RSS)

03.04.24 - After last weeks sickness I started slow and my legs thanked me for that. On the first run in week 10 they already felt like concrete, so no need to do too much. 12k at a slow pace.

03.05.24 - The same on the next day, but only 9k and with some vertical meters.

03.06.24 - The first day in the week, where I felt like I can accomplish something and so I did. Close to 11k and the first 7k with increasing pace from around 5min/k. to 3:50min/k.

03.08.24 - On Friday I already did my long run. 25k which were in the beginning very easy and in the end very hard. Had the wind in my back, which I didn’t realise at the beginning and on my way back I had a nasty headwind. After those runs I feel the need to get lots of calories in my body, but this one of weaknesses.

Week 11 (45.3k, 218RSS)

03.12.24 - Easy 15k in the daylight.

03.15.24 - Two sessions on Friday. One in the morning to just get the stiffness out of legs. The other one in the evening was then very fine with 13k. The first 8k with increasing the pace.

03.16.24 - Very easy 10k.

Week 12 (0k, 0RSS)

sick

Week 13 (0k, 0RSS)

sick

Week 14 (13.7k, 72RSS)

04.06.24 - First run after nearly three weeks of sickness. Heartrate high, but legs felt ok.

04.07.24 - Added another one with a little tempo test. Also felt much better then expected. Mildly surprised and feeling optimistic about UTMB in May.

Week 15 (65.3k, 343RSS)

04.08.24 - Tried to do some mileage. Completed around 14k. Heart rate is still high. Legs are fine.

04.10.24 - Added another 13.6k. Again easy. Overall a bit tired, but legs not.

04.12.24 - Tested some intervals. 4 times 400m hard with 400m easy running. Turns out that there is still speed in my legs.

04.13.24 - Got asked by a friend from the neighbourhood if I can pace him to a 5k-PB. Had to run a 4:48min/k-pace which was easy. Got the job done and the PB was safe.

04.14.24 - Big day. First halfmarathon-competition ever. Thought about different scenarios running this race and ended up with starting easy and looking how much I can give. Turns out, that despite being ill, the work this year wasn’t for nothing. Started really moderate and then put some effort into it. Around 10k I was on the way to around my HM-PB. Had some good groups to run with me in front and around me. At 14k I realized that I’m a bit too fast and slowed down. In the end I got a sub90minutes-halfmarathon which was great and didn’t expect. Without the sickness a PB had been in reach. So the heartrate was overall much too high and I’m still waiting that it turns back to normal. I’m going positive in to the next weeks.

Week 16 (67k, 305RSS)

04.15.24 - Easy run after the halfmarathon yesterday. Tired, but ok.

04.16.24 - Another easy one with some vertical meters.

04.17.24 - Getting the legs back more and more. 15k easy run.

04.19.24 - Did a key-session for UTMB. 20k and nearly a 1000 vertical meters. Demanding, but also fulfilling. Managed an ok pace for the uphill meters and a surprisingly good heartrate.

04.21.24 - Added a quite fast run with around 15k. Very sore, but powerful legs. More than 90k in the last 7 days on Saturday. Hopefully I’m not overdoing it.

Week 17 (65k, 293RSS)

04.22.24 - Easy run. Could’ve been easier, but last weeks program was still in my legs, so a bit tired.

04.25.24 - Redid the vertical run on Thursday and this one went pretty well. Was faster and fitter as the week before. Made me very hopeful for the next weeks.

04.28.24 - All hope is gone. 33k-run went all wrong.

Week 18 (0k, 0RSS)

Sinusitis came back! Antibiotics are the final solution.

Week 19 (0k, 0RSS)

Still not running.

Week 20 (45k, 228RSS)

Decided to blow it all off.