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Writer's pictureAntoine Gauthier

Keeping Speed Work in Your Trail Running

I'm running trails/ultra races. Do I still need to do speedwork?

For most of us, it isn't safe or smart to go top speed on trails, but you’re not getting away from speed work that easily!

 

When I was training for my first ultra, I did not have access to trails near my home. All my training was either on pavement or on gravel country roads north of Waterloo, Ontario. Fairly flat, not technical AT ALL (read straight and flat) and too easy to fall into a monotonous “forever pace.” In these conditions, how can you work on improving your speed on the trail?

A man runs towards us on a trail.

Nothing will recreate the trail, but you can still do a lot to get you ready for the big day.

If you are transitioning to ultra distances from road half or full marathon, you might already be used to interval training. For these races, your intervals focus on running fast for a longer periods of time. An example would be 3 x 20 minutes at tempo. This tempo pace would add up to a third of the time you’ll be racing.


In trail running you’ll never have to, or even be able to run consistently for such long periods. Pace is actually irrelevant in a trail race as each race is different. Even the same race, year to year, will not be the same. I ran PYP 50km in perfect dry conditions and then PYP 25km in pouring rain. Completely different courses because of the conditions.


What is "speed work"?

Speed work is also known as speed training or interval training and it involves running at a faster pace for short bursts of time, followed by periods of recovery or slower running. These bursts are called "intervals."


Speed work is a well established training mechanism used in preparing for racing. These workouts improve your running economy, anaerobic threshold, and overall speed and are backed by research on optimizing .


So, how will intervals benefit me in trail running?

It's a good way to strengthen mental fortitude -

Let's be honest, intervals are hard! That's why we want to drop them from our training. By keeping this exercise in pushing yourself in your training you're continuing to train your mental fortitude to push yourself, and you're going to want that mental toughness when you need to push yourself in an ultra.

A man looks determined to run up a hill wearing gloves.

To keep your cardio strong -

The first obvious reason to keep doing speedwork while training for your first 50km ultra is that you will be able to run the flat and down hill sections faster. The second is to improve your turnover at the top of a hill. Nothing is worse that getting to the top of the hill after power hiking it and having to stop to catch your breath! In a race, you want your legs to get going as soon as you crest the hill. So keep that cardio fit and surprise your fellow racers by taking off immediately after that long hill climb!


Speedwork will help you the most in an ultra by getting your body used to working hard, take a little rest, and get going again.


Here's some example interval workouts.

Here's some examples of interval workouts I used while training for my first 50km.

From Running Your First Ultra by Krissy Moehl:


1 - Quick interval workout

  • 15 minutes warm up

  • 4 x 5 minutes on / 1 mins off

  • 15 minutes cooldown

  • As you progress, you can add one interval per week, up to 8 x 5 minutes

 

2 - Longer interval workout/pyramid

  • 15 minutes warm up

  • 2 min, 4 min, 6 min, 8 min, 10 min, 6 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min speed intervals with half the time period in between as rest: eg, 2 min speed, 1 min rest, 4 min speed, 2 min rest... etc

  • 15 minutes cooldown


These workouts are short enough to be done on a weekday and they can be run in your flat neighbourhood, on a track or easy rolling trails but since you want to run fast during your intervals, stick to inclines that you can run on. You’ll want to run these intervals at your 10k speed on the road or what feels like race pace on the trail.


What does a balanced training plan look like?

Speed work doesn't need to take away from your trail time. Put 1 to 2 days of speed work on the road into your weekday training and hit up the trails on the weekend for your longer runs. Focus on having fun, eating lots and test out those speed gains at the top of every hill! By keeping a little bit of speed work in your training you'll be surprised at how strong you feel at your next trail race!

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