5 Things I Learned Training For An Ultramarathon

Before I tore my MCL skiing in the beginning of April, I had trained for the past 5-months to run my first 50-Mile race. Obviously, I was heartbroken from training for so long without being able to even attempt my goal of running 50 miles. All that effort to get myself into the best shape of my life seemed like it was just wasted. When I take a step back now, well over a month after my injury, I realize that there are plenty of positives to take away from my training and effort that I put in during the previous months. Here are 5 of the biggest takeaways that I learned from training for a 50-mile race!

DISCIPLINE IS EVERYTHING

One thing that was evident immediately when I began to train for my first 50-Mile race was that discipline was going to be vital on my journey. Unless you are a psychopath, there is no way that you will enjoy every second of your brutal training splits when you are training for a race that is this long. That is where discipline comes into play. There were so many mornings when I was sore and where one of the last things in the world that I wanted to do was to lace up my shoes and go for that run. But in the back of my mind, I had a scary ass goal ahead of me. 50-Miles wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, especially when the longest I had run before that was a marathon, in which I was lowkey lucky to even reach the finish line. So whenever it was time to head out for those runs I did them without thinking. Discipline is crucial to progress in the ultra-running world, and I hope I can continue to carry the discipline that I had throughout my training into other aspects of my life.

BE AWARE OF PEAKS & VALLEYS

During my training, there were peaks and valleys nearly every day. One day I would feel on top of the world, thinking that I was going to crush my goals and destroy my 50-mile goal. Then the very next morning, I would think that my goal was batshit insane and that there was no way I could run that far. When you have big goals, you must be able to fight off your inner voice and stay grounded in the moment. There are going to be peaks & valleys in life no matter what. For every low you encounter, there is likely to be a peak ahead of you soon, and vice versa. You just might not be able to see it from your perspective of the moment.

CONSISTENCY + EFFORT = PROGRESS

One banger workout isn’t really going to mean a lot in the grand scheme of things when you are training for a race as long as a 50-Miler. You can kill a long run, but if you are too beat up to run within the next couple days, that run didn’t do you much good. I used to be the warrior who would skip easy runs and then go twice as hard on my longer runs. But whenever I began to put in weeks that contained solid, consistent workouts, I gained the most results. I think that this can be translated into all aspects of life. For example it’s better to eat decently throughout the week than have a couple days where you binge on bullshit and a couple days where you eat flawlessly.

TAKE IT SLOW

Slow shit down. Not just in running, but in life in general. Whenever I began to slow my runs way down, I began to see more progress in all aspects of running. My faster runs were easier, my slower runs were more enjoyable, and my recovery was way faster whenever I began to slow things down. This is translatable into everyday life as well. Slow things down and enjoy the moment and process. When you take a look back, you will realize that you made a lot of progress while not rushing the moment. Whenever you start to slow your runs down, they are more enjoyable to you, and at the same time you begin to build your cardio base even more than when you are running too fast and tapping into your anaerobic system. For me, this is translatable throughout my work in the studio. Whenever I am taking my time and making sure that I am fully present creatively, I end up making the best work and end up having more creative output. This involves me taking many breaks throughout my session as opposed to just rushing through a project for the sake of finishing it. This might take more time and be slower in the moment, but in the long term it leads to more progress and results for me. It might take some time to notice but slowing down might help you substantially.

RECOVERY IS AS IMPORTANT AS WORK

Whenever you are running 50+ miles in a week, you need to factor in what you are doing to recover from those runs equally as much as you factor in how you are going to complete a high volume training week. If I didn’t take my recovery seriously everyday by making sure I had enough calories in my body and got enough sleep at night, my next training session would be dramatically affected. Stretching, soft-tissue massage and icing became an essential part of my training routine. I think that this is just as important in creative endeavors as it is with endurance training. If you don’t do anything interesting and take a break to draw inspiration, your art is going to take a hit. It is obviously essential to stay disciplined with your craft. However, drowning in long studio sessions is the same as running on legs that are in dire need of a day off. Taking time to recover is just as important as work, even if your recovery just means a good nights sleep so you can go hard in the studio the next morning.