I am about 5’3 and ~100 lbs. I started consistently running back in January of this year, prior to that I mainly hiked with some mountain biking mixed in. In March I started running short races and early this month completed my first trail half marathon. Since then I have decided to sign up for a trail 50k that will take place in February 2018.
I believe that I have given myself enough time to work up to this distance but I need some advice around a training plan. Currently I have written up a 20 week plan that that I pieced together that looks like the following:
Monday: RestTuesday: 60 minutes of cross training (mountain biking) followed by 30 minutes of strengthWednesday: 60 minute easy runThursday: 60 minutes of cross training (mountain biking) followed by 30 minutes of strengthFriday: RestSaturday: Long run (starting with 10 maxing at 26)Sunday: Second long run (8 – 14 miles) or a 4-5 mile tempo run
As the weeks progress the Wednesday run alternates between hill workouts and speed workouts.
At first I thought this seemed like a well-rounded plan but the more I look at it the more I think that I am not running enough. At its peak, the plan has me running about 40 miles in a week which compared to many plans seems pretty low. Is cross training worth only running a few days a week?
I am not an extremely fast runner but I want to improve and get faster as well as increase my endurance. On the other side, I want to train smart and not find myself sidelined before race day.In your opinion, is a plan like this useful or do I need to be putting in more miles? I know that everyone will have their opinion (which is apparent when you start looking at plans!) I’m open to any advice!
A 26 mile long run is kind of excessive for a 50K, and it is especially excessive if you're only running 3x/week. I have done a couple 50Ks on <40 mi/week so the overall mileage isn't that bad, but on the low side of what people would do. The problem comes if you miss a day of running - you've lost a HUGE chunk of your weekly mileage. If you've never run longer than a half marathon, it's probably best to spread your mileage over more days (though you don't have to actually increase your mileage).
Are we there, yet?
I'm by no means an expert and I lean toward fixed time races, but those weekend back to back runs seem overkill training for a 50K race. They seem more in line with training for a 50M or 100K race. I would think aiming for a total of about 30 miles for the back to back runs would be adequate, e.g. 20 and 10 or 22 and 8 or even 15 and 15. If you haven't already picked up a book on ultra running, Relentless Forward Progress by Bryon Powell and Running Your First Ultra by Krissy Moehl are good ones for a start.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Tim
II am not an extremely fast runner but I want to improve and get faster as well as increase my endurance. On the other side, I want to train smart and not find myself sidelined before race day.In your opinion, is a plan like this useful or do I need to be putting in more miles? I know that everyone will have their opinion (which is apparent when you start looking at plans!) I’m open to any advice!
Congratulations on taking the plunge.
Reaching the line healthy is definitely 1st goal.
Looks like 4 days of running per week with a lot of X training. My wife runs 3-4 times per week and teaches fitness classed 7-8 timer per week (mostly senior fitness, and she's 52.) She's run a 48 hour event and several 24 hrs on that schedule, so yes can be done. She does this by doing very long runs on the weekends, but we've been running for a very long time, so injury is not as huge a concern as when you are building up for the first time.
Long runs are very important, and I agree, you really don't need to push out to 26, unless you feel the need. Training on the same type of terrain and elevation is really important, so if trails are technical, you want to make sure you train for that. If there is a lot of elevation, be prepared to do some walking / power hiking, and you need to train for that as well.
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
Teage O'Connor
A 50k isn't too much farther than than a marathon (42k), and your training can be comparable to what you'd find in most marathon training plans. I'd agree that a 26 mile long run is too far, especially if your weekly mileage is around 40. But I'm in the lower mileage long run camp. I started using the Hanson's training method because my body grumbled when I would do 24 mile long runs leading up to a marathon. Their training plan never has you going over 20 miles for long runs, and I found 20 to be plenty.
I'd agree with what the others have said above. And also agree that 26 is a little long. You can follow a marathon training plan that has max runs of 20 mi. When you get to your peak weeks say 6 to 4 weeks out from the race you may want to drop one of the cross training days and do another 60 min run instead. I also do my longer runs on Sat and follow that up with 10 on Sun.
Also, every once in a while you should schedule a cut-back week where you do less mileage, kind of like a mini re-set to recover a bit in the middle of training.
GL and have fun.
2/17/24 - Forgotten Florida 100 Mile, Christmas, FL
king of the non-sequitur
Haley, i agree with the others about 20 miles LR being good enough and 40mpw good, but I'd also like to stress the importance of finding out about the terrain & likely conditions race day and be prepared in other ways than just mileage! if you provide more specifics about the particular race you may get better advice. some 50ks can take more than twice as long as others. no two of these are the same! they aren't like road races
Bridle Trails 50k 1-13-24 5:39
Cottontail 6 Hour 4-13-24
Cougar Long Series (May,June,July,Aug 2024)
Carkeek 6 Hour 10-19-24
thank you so much for all of the advice!! After reading everything you guys have suggested I think I am going to modify my plan some. I think I will trade out the cross training days for shorter easy runs and maybe bike on fridays instead of a rest day if I feel up to it.
As far as the 26 mile long run it was more of a mental thing for me. I'm worried that if I don't get a little close to the distance then I might feel like I won't make it. I don't know, it's just new to me.
the race I'm doing is the Cloudland Canyon 50K in Rising Fawn Georgia in February. The course description isn't super specific. It seems like it won't be terrible until the last 11 miles or so where I think you hit the bigger climbs. I think it's somewhere around 2000 ft of elevation gain. I plan on trying to incorporate some hill work outs as well as strength training and hiking if I can.
check out past results and race reports if you can. 2k isnt a lot unless it's all roots & rocks & mud & swamps!
SIAP, but Hal Higdon now has a 50k training plan:
http://halhigdon.com/training/67146/Ultramarathon-50-K