He does. Personally, I think that’s a little over conservative. It depends on where you are in a training block I reckon. I certainly wouldn’t go straight back into hard intervals, but I will do some low intensity stuff as soon as I begin to feel noticeably better.
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Got the lights on the road bike and went out for an hour or so after work on Friday, only to stack it 2 minutes from home on the way back! 
so not done anything since other than nursing the road rash on the legs and realising how much I take for granted various sitting/lying positions!
Thankfully the bike is a sh!tter so didn’t mind a few scrapes - all still works just needs new bar tape!
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Oohh that sounds crap! Nothing too bad hopefully.
Oh dear. Hope you are ok.
I may be a bit of a wuss (floodgates opened!) but I have no interest in doing training rides in the dark. I commute by bike which is OK but trying to tell the difference between a puddle, a pothole or a tarmac patch at speed in the dark doesn’t sound like much fun, and is bound to end in tears sooner or later. There are no streetlights where I live which would obviously help but even with the kind of bike lights that microwave any wildlife stupid enough to cross your path the depth perception and peripheral vision just isn’t the same.
Credit to those that do but it’s not for me.
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Nothing to do with the dark in this case - was almost back home so on a well lit mini roundabout, just a bit keen cornering where it was damp on the car tyre line. The rest of the ride was really nice - quiet roads, clear evening. Thankfully just scraped leg and an achy thumb/wrist - no intervention required just time. Bit annoying as I felt like I was getting back into the swing of things
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4.5km straight swim with pull buoy and paddles.
I enjoy these long swims even if others don’t
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I was meant to do between 11 and 17km (split) today but after yesterday’s treadmill and after a shower, I felt my right calf go a bit tight. I had a bit of a tight quad last week.
I want to give Bramley 20miler a good showing this Sunday, so I might head out later for an easy 6km and see how it feels.
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Makes sense there FP
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3x10mins run intervals this morning. Far too cold for all that shenanigans. Forgot my gloves so my hands were in bits by the end.
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The runners/ultra specialists, do you just run? I would think 3 runs a week and supplement it with other CV work for the engine would be the best bet? Especially this time of year. A lot of you guys & girls seem to get injuries.
Outlaw Half 5 weeks before the Fan Dance will probably save my bacon. I’m only doing one bergen run a week, all the way up to July. Everything else is staying fit and saving my knees.
I’m running about 6 times per week, probably pushing my luck because I have had more surgery than most on here.
You’re really asking two questions. A running specialist and an ultra specialist are two different things IMO. A run specialist probably puts more emphasis on quality/targetted outcomes and still does decent volume.
An ultra specialist (I’m not one) really only concentrates on two things, vert and time on feet. I think converting from ultra to fast road is slightly easier as a speed session and tempo session can still be shoe horned into a plan. But a road runner who doesn’t deal with a lot of vert can get an awful shock when they have to climb for 30mins plus.
That’s not to say that training for an ultra should ignore speed altogether. I’m not seeing a whole lot more injuries than any other triathletes really. More niggles.
The biggest difference is mindset. At my speed, endurance work is endurance work, CV etc, it’s all good these days. If you want to complete, then 3 runs backed up with CV will work.
Competing, is another matter.
Strangely, I’ve found writing a plan for Ultra and marathon much more difficult than planning for IM. With IM training you get a natural break from the pounding of running. When run only (or mostly) the breaks, distances and pace needs some careful thought.
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That’s a decent post @FatPom and i tend to agree with most of that.
I have less injuries now doing ultras than i did when i focussed on road running … and to be completely honest, they’re all self inflicted. I know what my weaknesses are (hips and glutes) but i consistently fail to address them with the strength work and maintenance work that i know i should do. And pay the physio a couple of times a year to tell me again! I believe it makes me insane (doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome!!), but really it’s nothing more than pure laziness!!
I would say having a big CV engine is needed. You will have that from your years of endurance sport, previous employment etc. You can get by on that most of the way, supplemented with a few longer runs. That’s the one thing you need to train specifically is the hours and hours on feet walking up big hills. Again not knowing how much you’ve kept up with that sort of stuff over the past few years, you’ll either need a little top up or to statr getting those miles/hours in early.
As FP says (and same with IM), if you’re reasonably ‘fit’ you’ll get through an ultra just fine as long as you have a decent mindset (and like eating food). If you want to be up the top end of the race, then yeah, you’ll need more race pace/simulation stuff thrown in. The fields aren’t as deep in the ultra world as tri though, so i’m sure you’ll be fine.
Again, like FP, i don’t know how to train for an ultra. I just do stuff. I don’t plan it, i just run when i can. Some slow, some quick. Some short some long. Always with at least one ‘proper’ long run in there.
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Out there today getting it done, pretty nippy up on the tops, got a couple of hills in and smashed out some power from the hurt box.
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Double run day!
9.5 kms outside this morning, quite hilly and windy too!
After a rest day, so left the monitor off and just ran…!
Not balls to the wall, but harder than my multiple 12 kph t mill hours.
Result was 39.09 ?!
Then my 22nd? 12 kph t mill hour since 1/12/19 which felt easy by comparison but my hr was higher for the first time?
With a boxing session in the middle it’s probably fatigue.
Stick at it folks!
Summer is coming
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8km at 5.14 pace. Calf felt ok, until last km, still feels ok but not quite right. Think i might rest and do some strength until Sunday (although Sunday’s race going ahead looks like a 50/50 right now, thanks Dennis!)
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Man flu subsided. 5k on the rowing machine.
Didn’t cough up a lung.
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75 mins steady on the turbo at 65% FTP whilst watching some crap on Netflix
VO2 session on the trainer 2,3,4,3,2 min efforts at 110% FTP on 2 min recovery, and then a push up to 120% for another 4 mins… bloody tough set!
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Ultra training for me typically 2 strength sessions a week, easy turbo session on the bike after the long run and then 4 or 5 runs a week. FP is right on the vert - come spring going to be hitting the hills big time
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