On this month-to-month article collection, ultrarunner, race director, and coach Gabe Joyes solutions reader questions on something and every little thing working. Be taught extra about this ask-the-athlete column, and make sure you fill out the shape beneath to submit your questions for a future article!
On this article, Gabe solutions questions on working hills, pre-race nerves, gasoline, and extra.
Gabe’s Tip of the Month
Do you could have a “regular” working tempo? I positive hope not! If you happen to run on all kinds of terrain, various slope angles, and all of the totally different intensities, you’ll not have the stereotypical “common” tempo. What you should have is a resilient physique that’s not worn out from overdoing anybody specific coaching stimulus or movement sample, and I’d additionally guess that you’ll benefit from the journey and selection in your personal private working journey!
Various terrain in Wyoming’s Pink Desert results in various motion patterns. All photographs courtesy of Gabe Joyes, except in any other case famous.
Hills and Coronary heart Price
What’s your guiding technique for working hills however conserving your coronary heart charge zones in test? — Steph
I’m an enormous fan of utilizing the speed of perceived exertion (RPE) scale to find out my working effort or depth. An RPE of 5 is an RPE of 5, regardless if I’m working uphill, downhill, over scree, by way of mud, or on rock strong pavement. The trouble mainly appears the identical, regardless that the tempo could be wildly totally different. If you happen to hold the trouble the identical whereas working uphill, you’re seemingly going to remain in the identical coronary heart charge zone.
That being mentioned, working uphill is actually preventing gravity, which does take extra exertion, so it’s cheap to count on your coronary heart charge to creep up a bit as nicely. An ideal query to ask your self whereas working uphill is, How lengthy might I maintain this effort? In case your reply is one thing like, I really feel like my coronary heart is exploding and I hate working uphill and I simply need one other rice crispy bar and everybody else should be doping, then an effective way to enhance your working expertise is to only decelerate. Operating uphill is tough, but when each time you are feeling like it’s a herculean effort, you simply could be placing an excessive amount of into it.
If you’re not having enjoyable, you could must decelerate. Picture: Casey Grimle
Pre-Race Nerves
How do you handle pre-race nerves? I discover it tough to sleep, eat, and I’m typically only a nervous wreck. I appear to all the time have issues that come up throughout races that by no means occur in coaching. — Nameless
It’s good to be nervous earlier than a race! Sure, you learn that accurately. Being nervous earlier than a race reveals that the occasion actually issues to you — it’s one thing necessary in your life. That nervousness is our mind and physique trying to gear up and put together for one thing that we all know goes to be difficult. Direct that additional nervous vitality into motion that can assist you put together for the occasion by dividing issues into two classes:
- Issues that you could management.
- Issues that you simply can not management.
For issues that you could management, get to work on dialing these issues in! Plan your pre-race consuming, get your footwear and different gear found out nicely earlier than race day, observe a sleep hygiene routine, and decide what you need your race day perspective to really feel like. You’ve got affect over all of this stuff, and using that energy goes a protracted option to calming these pre-race nerves.
For the stuff you can not management, first free your thoughts and settle for that you simply can not management them. Second, settle for additionally that in ultramarathons one thing virtually all the time goes fallacious — that’s all a part of the sport. If you happen to can’t management one thing, why waste vitality on it? What you may management is the way you reply to those variables, so earlier than a race I all the time advocate you “pre-problem clear up” potential obstacles to success.
How will you handle the absurdly sizzling climate? What’s going to you do when your go-to fueling technique stops working? How will you deal with that man who received’t cease speaking to you about his marathon PRs? Having a plan forward of time to handle all of those potential issues eases post-race nerves as nicely as a result of you could have a plan to unravel the issue — even when it hasn’t occurred but.
Lastly, the most typical pre-race concern I hear is, “How do I do know if I did sufficient in coaching?” Within the few days main as much as a race, this thought squarely falls into the class of issues that you simply can not management. Return by way of Strava, or your coaching log, and try the entire effort you place in as it’s simple to overlook about all of that tough work. You could be dramatically fitter than you even understand! If the coaching wasn’t what you hoped for, use that data to dial in your pacing technique and expectations for race day. In spite of everything, you may solely race with the health you could have, not the health you would like you had.
Fueling
Actually, what has occurred with fueling? A number of years in the past, it was cool to eat nothing whereas working, and now the trend is one thing like 150 grams per hour (or extra?!) of carbohydrates. I don’t get it. — Confused
Excessive fueling methods are actually eye-catching. In truth, only a couple weeks in the past I volunteered at The Drift 100 Mile, the place I witnessed an athlete who deliberate to gasoline virtually their total race on Muscle Milk and packets of tuna — a wildly excessive protein weight loss program that I’ve to think about will constipate them up till these snowy western Wyoming trails thaw out. Eye-catching doesn’t imply efficient although, and customarily sports activities diet suggestions from registered dietitians have modified little or no since I took a sports activities diet class in faculty 20 years in the past (60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour, supplemented with lesser quantities of fats and protein for extra-long length occasions).
There are 4 energy in each gram of carbohydrate, so 60 to 90 grams is 240 to 360 energy per hour. Lately, excessive calorie drink mixes have made it comparatively simple to ingest much more carbs per hour than this. So how did we get right here!?
Extra carbohydrates in racing is type of like working extra miles in coaching — extra is best, till unexpectedly it’s not. Additional coaching within the legs is wonderful till you get that calf pressure or iliotibial band syndrome. Extra carbs in your abdomen is wonderful to maintain your tempo snappy on race day, till you’re vomiting, or scurrying to the bushes and by accident utilizing poison oak for lavatory paper.
The sports activities diet business brings in tens of billions of {dollars} a 12 months globally, and it’s of their finest curiosity to persuade shoppers to maintain shopping for extra. My advice is to be a bit doubtful of social media diet sources — not counting registered dietitians {and professional} sports activities nutritionists right here— which might be in search of “clicks” and engagement, have a product to promote, or is run by an athlete that has one thing to realize by convincing you to purchase into their particular sports activities diet technique. Keep in mind that a single athlete, or perhaps a handful of athletes, who’re profitable utilizing an excessive fueling technique doesn’t equate to “finest observe.”
Whereas excessive fueling methods may match for sure people, I guarantee you that numerous course data, quickest identified instances, private bests, and different profitable races have been fueled by all kinds of snacks in numerous portions — together with Peanut M&Ms, Doritos, donuts, dried fruit and salami, each type of gel and sports activities drink possible, and naturally the endurance gasoline GOAT: Coca-Cola.
So don’t overthink it or be overly influenced — get on the market and revel in an inexpensive quantity of snacks and revel in the advantages of being nicely fueled, whereas additionally avoiding all of the distress and gastrointestinal misery of making an attempt to be a excessive carb consuming hero.
Jeff Mogavero experimenting with excessive carb fueling methods in Chamonix, France.
Ending Sturdy
How do I end a race with out feeling so drained? I see some elites cross the end line not trying drained in any respect. What offers? — Christina
I noticed an unimaginable video from the 2025 Transgrancanaria Marathon exhibiting Francesco Puppi passing Robert Pkemoi with solely three kilometers to the end. Puppi appears rock strong and ice chilly, and regardless that Pkemoi is transferring nicely, Puppi emphatically cruises previous him on the best way to a different spectacular victory. I used to be amazed to learn a mere two days later Puppi’s submit on Instagram:
“As I noticed Robert Pkemoi within the distance, perhaps 30 or 40 seconds forward of me with 3km or so to go, I vividly bear in mind negotiating with myself whether or not I ought to dig deeper, giving greater than I assumed I might give, to be able to attempt to catch him. I all the time have a tough time in these moments. On one hand you are feeling an enormous drive to win, however there aren’t any certainties, no assurances that pushing more durable goes to help you cross that end line in first. The ache you’re keen to simply accept one aspect, the glory of victory on the opposite.”
This can be a well timed reminder that what we will see on the skin shouldn’t be essentially an correct depiction of what’s going on inside. Although it may not seem like it, Puppi was digging deep. Past that, I’d encourage you to regulate your racing expectations of what the top of a race ought to really feel like. In case your aim is to maximise efficiency, then ending a race or occasion feeling not-so-tired most likely means there was room to push on for a distinct, and maybe extra satisfying, end line expertise.
Francesco Puppi making it look simple on the 2025 Transgrancanaria 47k. Picture courtesy of Francesco Puppi.
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