Ultra Running Training Principles - Zone 1 and Zone 2

Sustain

Ultra running training itself should be low effort. It should feel like easy. It is easy. Why don't everybody do it ? Because it needs time to develop that easy skill. You look at some quality runners and they run only 3 times a week, giving you 5 hours in a 100km race. Why ? Because they have been exposing their body and mind to long events for over a decade or even more. Ultra running training is hard, when you compare your current results, your current reputation, your current place in the world of short course racing, then you apply it to the long events. This is when people start killing themselves in training, thinking that it can last. Thinking that they can apply the same utilities of short course racing to ultra running. It can happen that you have early successes, maybe even for 5 or 10 years. Then we see runners totally disappearing from running or even sports.

However, my goal in teaching and on a personal level is not to disappear. The goal is longevity. We do this, because we enjoy being out. We like adventures. We like meaning. We like nature, mountains, inward and outward travel. The goal is of course always to better ourselves. To become more efficient, more fluent, handle aid stations better, have a better stride, have a stronger stomach, higher resistance to heat, cold, altitude and fatigue and so on. But every time we are out, we also plan ahead. We look at the future. We want more of this presence, more of this, more of feeling great at a peak fitness level, more outdoors, more mountains. We think of future races, future adventures, future preparation. This is minor, when at a starting line. This future thinking is a just a little atom in the entire mind. But it is there. It should be there. This is what controls us. This lets us have questions during the event. If I am running this fast on this downhill, that is somewhat out of my skill set, what can be the consequences if I fall ? If I pushed my body just a little too much, what would be the consequences for the next 2 weeks, 5 weeks, 10 weeks.
I once tried going ahead with the Tor des Geants. I was extremely ready in my body, not so much in mind, buy my fitness could have outbalanced that. I was feeling great actually. I practiced multiple no sleep days during the year, so when not sleeping during the TOR, but only 10 minutes left-and-right, my body was handling it extremely well. I was feeling very easy and well through out the event. However, I felt a sharp tendonitis, quite stiffening coming on to my right Achilles. Maybe it was mental a little too. It was radiating up to my right side, like hip. It was altering my stride. I actually could not run anymore and walking felt also outbalanced. I had still 100km left. My shoes did not feel right. I used a pair of Altra Superior shoes that were great, but did not prepare a bigger size to handle foot swelling. Then switched to the Lone Peak 4.5 as it had more volume, but twisted my ankles like 5 times in a row in those.  I used an over size Saucony, what probably squashed my toes together too much afterwards. In my mind, the thought was not "Should I continue ? it is way too hard, way too tought for me !".  It was more likely: " If I continued on like this, I might break something, that would need long term healing. Would I not want to run for a year ? " Plans ! Actually it was a good thing to quit. I had some stomach infection going on from probably drinking too much unfiltered water during the summer in the mountains. I felt feverishly sick the next day of finishing and it was lasting for over 30 days. 

Again, training should be easy and in our mind sustainability should be present. Very important. This was Zone 1 ! Lifelong sustainable, always executable training ! The most important for ultra running joy !

Endurance

In order to be able to push a little harder during long events, we need to train our cardiovascular system. We need to stress it. Stress creates cracks. Cracks are adding volume to the tissue, molecule, blood, heart and so on. Cracks that can be occupied. At the beginning it is an injury. A micro tear. Those cracks get filled up with tissue. The overall sub-system gets stronger. Break it down, build it up. Break it down, build it up. It is like folding a steel to make a Tanto. The more often you fold it, to more it becomes resistant. This is training principle in a micro level.

Zone 1 can be done too long, but generally speaking, it is sustainable and low stress. No stress if applied well. Endurance is Zone 2. It creates, just enough stress, that we trigger adaptations. Light ones. Sustainable ones. No major 5day plus recoveries needed. When training in Zone 1 for 5 years, suddenly you go out and do a 2 hour Zone two run, you'll feel it. It still is gentle, but you'll feel it. 

Dosing endurance is important, but it cannot overtake your zone 1 longevity training. We don't prepare our body for a 2hour59 marathon. This is ultra endurance. The two are different. 

Dosing higher efforts into the zone 1 sessions is one way to do so. It can be done multiple days in a row, it can be done if planned properly, multiple weeks or months in a row.

How to know ? Well, if you have been connected to your body since childhood, like a Shaolin  Monk, you would know. If you were 21st century modern human living a constant out of body experience, you would heart rate monitors initially. I have used hem for 1.5 decade, with on and of periods. Now I am off from it again for good. No more GPS, no more HR, no more distraction, just focused and dialed in training. But I needed those tools initially to determine my efforts and to see how my body really is reacting to my will. Now I know, now I understand, no I can apply with no tools. How did people do back than ? Very high-performing athletes had their inner monk externalized and that was called a coach. He told them, today you are too hunched over, he told them, guys, slow down, you are panting too hard. He told them, today it is long and easy, tomorrow it is short and snappy. Back in the day the observation of an external eye was important. No-one ever made it alone. Not like today they do. A family, a coach, a community, friends are part of the big picture.

I am a big believer of Zone 2 training. I really like these very health supporting sport efforts. That can be on the bike, on the run, on the rower. I like a lot the work of Lydiard, Joe Friel and Phil Maffetone. Zone 1 is your Vitamin C,D,E with a little bit of salt, coming from food, flowing constantly into the body, creating your base. Zone 2 is an extra pop of full spectrum Multi Vitamins with all the tissue salts and Trace elements, supplementing you. 

(...to be continued) 

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