Training for Speed: November 2013 Updates
Time flies…when you’re running a lot!
I apologize for my blogging hiatus. The thing is, after my disappointment at UROC I just wanted to crawl inside a cave and hibernate for a couple weeks. However, the outpouring of support and comments last month have been extremely motivating and inspiring…so much that I’ve decided to start writing again. Thank you for the positive push!
First off some NEWS:
1. My film project “MUT Runner” was successfully funded on Kickstarter! The generous amount of support that I received for this project is a testament to the character of the trail-ultra running community and I’m very grateful to all those who donated and who helped spread the word. Thank you very much!
Here is the trailer (from my YouTube channel):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmugw4sdY-U[/youtube]
2. In training for my next race, The North Face 50-mile Championships in San Fran, I decided to jump into the Moab Trail Marathon last week for a good (and hard) long run. The technical rocks of Moab were both exhausting and invigorating….so much in fact that I actually “decided” to run an extra 1.4 miles on a dirt road in the middle of the race! But really, it was a great event with scenic canyon views and a workout where I got to put in an enjoyable 3hrs and 20min of high intensity effort.
You can find all my training on Strava.com
3. After being humbled at UROC I’ve taken a new approach to training: returning to my classic road marathon roots, while keeping extended (and runnable) Long Runs. When I look back in my training log at the start of last year I was still running efficiently at higher speeds and seemingly had a lot of Vo2max power and a well-trained Lactate Threshold. I seemed to have lost that in training for UROC most likely because of my focus on logging vertical (and because of my busy racing schedule this year). I’m hopeful that some 2-mile repeats at Lactate Threshold intensity, some Vo2max mile repeats and some fat burning 20 to 30 mile Long Runs will get me back into peak fitness. Finally, I’ve been working on my diet so that I can utilize fat more effectively as a fuel source so that I don’t have to rely on a huge sugar intake (and crash) during these longer races. Ingesting a lot of healthy omega-3 fatty acids (such as those found in Flora Udo’s Oil and 7 Sources, which I take) has seemed to shift my metabolism to become more efficient at this.
Sandi and I also added some holiday cheer to our apartment:
In closing, I have a busy 2 weekends of events lined up:
This weekend I will be heading to Texas to help out at the Team RWB Trail Running camp, which is designed to connect our returning Veterans with physical and social activity back home.
On the weekend of the 16th I will be in Boulder helping out at a Running Form Clinic, put on by my local health sponsor Integrative Healing Acupuncture and Wellness (as well as Avery Brewing, Ultimate Direction, and more!)/
You can still sign up for the Saturday session HERE!!
Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best in your own training and racing!
Until next time,
-Sage
Category: blog
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” ― C.S. Lewis Now that you’re done hibernating, good for you for making the adjustments needed to achieve the results you’re capable of. I’m seeing a common theme in MUT blogs that we need more speed work in our training and so back to the track we go! Happy trails and see you at TNF 50!
Sage, glad to hear you are back in good spirits, and am excited to see the results of the decision to incorporate more speed training. I do have one question, I have interests in nutrition and the metabolism and wanted to know how exactly you use Flora Udo’s oil and 7 sources in your diet? thanks.
Glad to see an update, and that your training is going well! You seemed to have good success at races by training fast/marathon type training.
How do you think this training would work for races like Sierra-Zinal or Speedgoat? I’d be interested to know how successful mountain runners like Jonathon Wyatt trained, because he was fast and a very successful mountain runner.
Anyway, good luck at TNF 50, it seems there will be some good competition there.
Hey Shelby,
Thanks for your comment (and the nice quote!). I think figuring out the training is part of the challenge (and the fun) of our great sport! Thank you again and hope your training is going well too!
Hey Michael,
I use Flora’s Udo’s oil, 7 sources (as well as other products from them that are healthy like teas and gogi berries etc) daily as part of a healthy diet. Since I am vegetarian I want to make sure I get enough Omega-3 fatty acids. I’ve found that by having more healthy fats in my diet (in terms of caloric intake and percent of my daily diet) I can rely less on simple sugars to fuel my long runs. I think they are essential for brain and optimal muscle function as well and part of a balanced diet. My girlfriend Sandi Nypaver and I put the oil on top of salads and they can be put in smoothies too! Just a couple spoonfuls a day. I also eat things like almond butter and avocados quite a bit.
Hey Ryan,
thanks! I still have a lot to figure out. I’d say that Speedgoat and Sierre-Zinal were very different in their demands because of the % grade of the hills, the distance of the race and the nature of the race (ie the Europeans start very fast!). I think this year I was tired going into Sierre-Zinal from Speedgoat.
I’ve talked a little to Wyatt but I don’t know how he trains. He did run 27:xx for 10km I think and competed in a couple Olympics in the 10km and then the marathon (2:13 best I think). So he has a lot of speed and a high Vo2max. He also lives in Europe quite and bit and trains in the mountains there. So he knows steep hills and he can really climb….but he can also run fast on the roads [flat or hilly]. His records at Jungfrau and Mt. WA show that as well as Sierre. Not sure if he’s done any ultras though?
Great to see you writing again, my friend. Good luck at TNFECS
Glad you’re back! Your writings always inspire me!
Keep up the good work!
What you’re doing the North Face 50!!! See you there man…
thank you!
hey that’s great to hear! thanks for the support!
you know it! hopefully it won’t flood this year
Hey Sage! You are crazy fast and an inspiration to every runner that knows about you! Thank you for all of the helpful information that you make available to the running community!
Hope to see you at a race one day! Keep up the great work!
-Dave
Hey thanks Dave! Glad you like the blog. See you on the trails!
Cheers,
Sage
good luck, sure you would be interested to know we follow VO2MAXproductions and your running in Scotland.
hey that is great to hear! thanks for the support!
Hi Sage – keep going! You’re an inspiration to the likes of me – 57 years old (34 in my heart, 94 in my legs) I took up running 2 years ago to try & improve my arthritis. Several “halfs”, the Barcelona marathon and a 5,500 elevation trail marathon later I’m still going thanks to the likes of you. I’ve got my first trail ultra in Feb 14 and I’m planning to run across the alps in summer 2015 (I would ask you along but you might hold me up!) I always watch your 28 mile training run video before my long run so keep up all the good work. Cheers buzz
Hey Buzz,
Great to hear! Sounds like you’ve already got some epic adventures in! Glad to hear you like the Vo2max Productions youtube videos.
Best of luck with the run across the alps – that sounds awesome!
Cheers,
Sage