What’s the definition of crazy? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. As I reflect on my training over the last two years, I realized that I need to shake things up in order to accomplish all the goals I have set for myself.
Last year was no banner year for me. I was injured on and off, and simply fed up with the pandemic. Mostly, I was not in the right head space to focus on running. My only race should have been a big deal – my first 100k. Instead I spent weeks second guessing myself and stressing over not being prepared. Finally I decided to just do it with the mindset – what happens, happens.
Fast forward to race day, I was full of emotions and nervous as heck. But as you all know, I finished in some of the toughest conditions in years.
I will be back at Lost Soul again for another crack at the 100K. I don’t know what it is about this race that keeps drawing me back year after year. This time I will be heading into the race to improve my finish time in what I hope will be a hot one. What can I say? I love the heat.
That means I have lots of training ahead as I have two other trail races before September – Powderface and Sinister 7 50-miler in July. I decided not to do Blackfoot 100k in May because of the expense (it’s $$ travelling to races solo), and I am just not excited about it.
Generally every January I start thinking ahead to the year ahead in racing. New distances. New races. New goals. We can all agree the foundation to reaching these goals is a solid training plan, and a can do attitude. Every year since I started running ultras, the star of my training plan has been ‘time on feet’ runs and back-to-back long runs.
But what if I shook things up? What if I added to my training? What if I took away? What would happen?
How do other runners approach a new training season? Is it based on past results or something else? So I posted the question on a few trail running groups. The answers ranged from the “it depends on how bad the screwed up the previous year” to “always evolving and constantly changing based on errors and from new information.”
My favourite response was from a runner who said “the basic principles never change but I’m always experimenting and fine tuning. Every race changes you, every day changes you. At every race, I am not the same person as before and finding the optimal training balance for who and where I am NOW is a fluid thing. And not easy but that’s part of ultra running.“
Enough said. The key phrase here is “the basic principles” never change. We all know that we have to put in the distance, put in the work to be successful at any race. The way you approach your strategy all depends on your goals and your expectations.
I have been running ultras long enough that I have the basics down. Sometimes, I admit, I lose my training mojo and depend on my banked mileage to see me through. So you’re probably wondering what am I doing differently this year?
Where to invest in 2022?
Strength training. Cross training. Mobility. My list of things to improve on in 2022 keeps growing and growing. Let’s just say I am a dabbler and I get distracted very easily. I am determined to keep the strength training into my schedule. I am always dealing with my recurring hip/hammie issue, and the obvious reason it is recurring is because I do not keep up with my strength and mobility work. Once I get this latest round of annoying injuries under control, I want to work on my pace.
All that said I am super excited about this year in racing. Can I say that as a back of the pack runner? Who cares? I have two new-to-me races, and a time goal at Lost Soul. Happy to have my friend Rachel back for some training runs this season too. One goal this year, and as part of my training, is to toss in a few social runs and hikes with friends.
I consider these questions and set new goals because it’s a new year. And a new year is full of promise and possibilities.
Does your training schedule change every year? What is one thing that never changes? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.