Why Ultra Interval Challenge is such great training for ultrarunning
On March 21st we’re hosting the event Ultra Interval Challenge. This is a virtual event that we’ve hosted several times and we really encourage you to try it out! It’s great for aspiring ultrarunners and for anyone who’s up for a real challenge. And for me personally, it’s a way to get some well needed high-volume training before my upcoming races this spring.
The event: What is Ultra Interval Challenge?
Sign up for the event Ultra Interval Challenge 21st of March!
Imagine running 10k and then taking a shower, eating a small snack and having something to drink, sitting down on the couch for a bit and updating your social media with your latest running achievement — only to change into your running clothes again and get out there for another 10k (that is, your next ultra interval). Repeat this eight times during 24 hours and you have a classic ultra-interval event. If you complete all of the intervals during 24 hours, it equals 80k or 10k every third hour. That’s approximately 50 miles; so about half of a 100 mile race.
What do ultrarunners have to gain from doing these ultra-long intervals?
So why do we love this type of training so much? Other than the fact that it’s fun to try something very different and cool for 24 hours, we think that the main benefit you get from doing ultra intervals, is that you get a chance to practice the ultra-running specifics (i.e. everything that is so tricky about ultra running), but with less strain on your body.
“The two main reasons for doing ultra intervals, are practicing your mental strength and perfecting your energy plan. ”
It’s really an amazing way of training, if you want to become an expert at running for a long period of time. Before my first 100-miler back in 2013, I did this event and discovered many interesting things about myself (mentally) and about how I react to different kinds of energy during long and tough efforts.
It’s not only a great way to train your muscles and heart, but it also lets you practice how to deal with the mental obstacles that often occur during different types of time-consuming challenges — for example ultramarathons, triathlons or other events where you need some extra endurance.
But in our opinion, doing ultra intervals isn’t something that you do primarily to become a better and stronger runner physically. If that’s what you’re aiming for, there are better ways to plan your training in order to strengthen your body in a safe and smart way. The main reason for doing ultra intervals, is that it’s a very good opportunity to practice the mental aspect of ultrarunning, as well as your energy plan. The mental game and the energy plan are two hugely important parts of all endurance sports, and they are known to cause big problems if you don’t have them in place.
In everyday training, you don’t have many opportunities to find out what you like to eat after 15 hours of running, much less what your body can handle after that many hours. Doing ultra intervals is a great way to practice eating during an extended effort. Since you’re resting for such a short period of time between the intervals, your body doesn’t have time to recover and the stress becomes very similar to what you would experience in a long ultramarathon race. Encountering problems with energy intake is very common during this event – but problems are meant to be solved!
After a couple of intervals your body will find it difficult to digest food in a regular way, even if you have time to sit down and eat before heading out there again. The lack of sleep will be obvious even if you manage to nap an hour here and there. The muscles will begin to ache and feel stiff even though you ”only” did four intervals. But after four intervals you’ve been active for 10 hours and that is starting to take its toll. And most of all, you will start to feel like quitting…
It will be very tempting to stop the challenge, especially since you get to lie down on your comfortable couch between every interval. Resting is very nice, and when you’ve already completed e.g. 60k today, who’s to say it’s not enough? Maybe there’s a cold beer waiting for you in the fridge, and maybe your significant other is waiting for you to stop this madness and come to bed? To then put on your cold and damp running clothes — again — and step out into the darkness to run for another hour, is not exactly tempting. Experiencing this feeling is in itself such amazing mental training!
The confidence that you are strong enough not to fall for the temptation of giving up, is something that will remain in the back of your head for a long time. To know that you actually managed to complete the challenge will be like a secret power that you can make use of in other areas of life. It will of course also come in handy when you’re standing at the starting line of your next ultramarathon race.
Let’s do this together!
Sometimes it’s so much easier if you team up with a friend to do the Ultra Interval Challenge together!
We think that more people should participate in this amazing challenge – and you don't have to be an ultrarunner to gain huge benefits from the event! You can even be a beginner runner — just switch some of the running intervals for other types of training (e.g. cycling, swimming, walking, yoga, strength training etc.) or just do fewer intervals. It's still a great way to get inspiration and motivation, to get out there. Perhaps you can set a new PB with a new distance record? Come on, invite your friends and especially that friend of yours who really needs a little "push" to get going! Let's do this together!
Hope to see you in the Facebook event on March 21st!
/Ellen