Triathlon/Marathon/Endurance Sports Thread

[mtwarden]

I'm signed up for the 50k this year, looking forward to it. Another tough one is Speedgoat 50K here in UT at Snowbird - it has ~1k more vert than the Rut, but not sure how the terrain compares.

you'll "like" it

I had Speedgoat on my list, but never made it sadly (or maybe not sadly ). Another one on my list that was never completed was one my buddy had done, the Volcanic 50k- circumnavigates around Mt St Helens crossing a couple of major drainages, some rock scrambling, etc.. He said some of it looked like moonscape where the volcano blew, but other parts perfectly intact Pacific rainforest- lots of contrast in the 30+ miles.

 

[P Carter]

I signed up for my first 50 miler. 50 miles + 11,000k elevation gain. Pretty nervous! I did 40 miles with around that elevation gain, but a number of years ago. Trainings going well so far, we’ll see how it goes! At the very least I’ll get a good number of miles under my feet during the spring and early summer…

 

[schmalzy]

Anyone signed up for the Methodist Mountain 50k in Salida in June?


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[OregonSteeler]

Did my first Oly Tri this past weekend. Felt great (pretty gassed right after though) and loved the dedication needed to train properly. Now looking to do a 100mi bike ride and possibly a half-iron next year depending on if I can get my knee to where it needs to be. Really hoping I see a difference in my ability in the mountains this year with an Idaho archery elk and difficult deer tag in my pocket. Planning on a ton of elevation gain over those two hunts.

Hope everyone's races for the year have been going well!

 

[cs1]

Nothing works better than having an event on the calendar. My wife and I are signed up for a trail 25k in September. I’ve done six marathons, three 50k’s and one 100m in the past but covid shutting everything down and family matters have really put a damper on our running the past four years. We had to get off our butts and a 25k is perfect for that. I’ve been at IPA weight for way too long.

I ran the Big Horn 50k in 2018 (i would say it was the mud year, but that race is always a mudfest). That has to be the most beautiful country one could run in.

 

[P Carter]

Thanks for bringing the thread to the top.

My planned 50m was a no-go due to family obligations. Planned a diy 50 miler on the next weekend, but the area caught on fire so I had to cancel. Decided I had to do *something*, so I played hooky from work for a day and did the so-called Boise Grand Slam in a day. 4 peaks in the Boise area that folks mostly hike in the spring to get ready for the summer. 37ish miles, just under 11,000 feet of elevation gain. Took me just under 11 hours. I was lucky to have access to the truck between peaks - high was 102 for the day, so even starting at 3:00 am the last two peaks were toasty.

Everything worked great. Leaned on teddy grahams and tailwind. Took the last peak very slow so as not to frickin pass out and die in the heat. (No one else was out there mid afternoon!)

No ill effects other than I’ll probably lose a toenail. My extreme heat techniques worked great (white sun sleeves, ice in sun sleeves, ice in hat, towel off in cooler of ice at the truck, tons of tailwind and nuun).

Was sore for a day but back to running 2 days later. I think this was partly due to the heat - I kept the effort level very under control so as not to overheat; that means I didn’t really have the chance to overdo it on the muscles.

Definitely a route to do in the spring, not summer, but glad to have done it. Now time to work in some weighted pack hikes to specialize for September.

If anyone in Boise ever wants to do this route, or even 2 or 3 peaks, let me know. Would be a great goal for April or may.

 

[Dakota_Rookie]

Just ran only my second half road marathon today. Was never a runner until a couple of years ago, but now I love it. How would someone go about training for a 50+ mile trail run in mountains?

As my name implies, i’m from the dakotas. Very flat with some gradual inclines. I mostly run on the road with random, short trail runs. I just don’t have any long, mountain type trails within a reasonable driving distance.

Should I run a couple of full marathons first? Or try to start training and complete some shorter trail runs first?


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[mtwarden]

Yeah I’d recommend a couple of 20-30 mile races under your belt before tackling a 50 (or over) miler.

Just google 50k race plan and you’ll come up with several plans.

They should all be relatively close and have several things in common. They’ll have a couple of rest days, progress is very incremental, they’ll be one longer run (sometimes two as you progress) and will taper as you approach race day.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I did 3 Ironman races one year, I was disappointed at the time that none of them ended up being the break through race I’d hoped for, the fastest was ~ 10:45, the slowest was 11:11, I ended up with some tough injuries after that year.

I had a hip thing going on that would almost cripple me after longer runs, not sure what it was, maybe bursitis, but I’d have to sit down a lot, it would be brutal to get moving after sitting awhile too.

I also had an issue with the joint of one of my big toes, I’d step down and pain would shoot up my whole leg. I dealt with those issues for a few years off and on before finally having to take time off.

 

[WashCycle]

Former "Professional" road cyclist(I raced many of the top American events on a professional team but had a day job) . Mostly the velodrome but I would moonlight in some national level road racing and and criterium racing. Many years where I was pedaling a bike 700+ hours a year. I still ride a ton, jump into a PRO/elite level race from time to time as well as just doing big dumbass rides for the fun of it. The endurance absolutely pays off but hiking/back country fitness is still a bit of a different beast. I've worked1-2 5-8 miles hikes in to my routine at least every week and that is paying off and it's letting me learn my pacing for hiking with a hunt pack.

Some other pros are that I'm mentally very strong in the worst conditions and I've learned where my limits are because I've crossed them so many times and paid the price. It's educated me on how to be very in tune with my body. Living at elevation also pays off a bit so there isn't much change in feeling when I'm up over 10K on a hunt other than needing more sleep.

Cons are nutrition for endurance athletes in the 2000's was quite poor...along with the idea of what it meant to be a "healthy" athlete. the diets we followed, years of starvation, asking more of your lungs than they can handle and many massive crashes...they take their toll and have caused some life long damage.

By this time of the year, I'm burned out on riding bicycles but I keep pushing to sustain that fitness for hunting season!

 

[mtbraun]

Just ran only my second half road marathon today. Was never a runner until a couple of years ago, but now I love it. How would someone go about training for a 50+ mile trail run in mountains?

As my name implies, i’m from the dakotas. Very flat with some gradual inclines. I mostly run on the road with random, short trail runs. I just don’t have any long, mountain type trails within a reasonable driving distance.

Should I run a couple of full marathons first? Or try to start training and complete some shorter trail runs first?


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We must be neighbors! I transitioned from a half to a 50, but followed a prescriptive training plan. I did run a marathon, but as a training run as I worked up to the 50 mile race. You will find a lot of 50 mile training plans online, look through and pick the one that best fits your schedule and commitment.

My preference is to run mountain ultras, and as you noted in southeast SD there aren't many places to train. But, I hit Newton Hills and Five Ridge (Iowa side) a lot for my long training runs. Plenty of opportunity there for single track and vert training. Also supplement with rucking and the incline treadmill.

 

[snowynock]

I'm hoping to get back into the game in the next 2 years. I'm from NYC - this year was going to be slow for me - only doing the 5 borough bike tour and Ironman 70.3 in Happy Valley, PA but I tore my meniscus in January putting a hold on all my plans - I was also hoping to go to a trail running festival in Virginia to start building points to apply to UTMB - I would LOVE to run that race one year.

 

[mtwarden]

^ A friend of mine qualified for UTMB a couple of years. He was super excited and brought his over with him—a day (maybe two) before the race he came down with a really nasty stomach bug, never even got to toe the line

 

[Cactus kid]

Any clydesdales on here?

Ive never done a marathon, only a handful of halves. Most of my "endurance" training has been for hunts. At my lightest, with 14-20 hours a week of cardio and no weight training i weigh 210lbs.

A mountain biking injury I acquired six weeks ago forced me off the trails and into the weight room, and my weight as increased to 225lbs.

Any big dudes on here that have had success in endurance sports want to share tips? Should I even be considering a marathon?

 

[mtwarden]

I've seen every shape and size (guys and gals) at all the ultras I've done. I've found out that you can definitely judge a book by it's cover.

I never went into a race thinking I'm going to win this thing, but rather what's a respectable time for me and can I achieve.

I say go for it.

 

[snowynock]

Any clydesdales on here?

Ive never done a marathon, only a handful of halves. Most of my "endurance" training has been for hunts. At my lightest, with 14-20 hours a week of cardio and no weight training i weigh 210lbs.

A mountain biking injury I acquired six weeks ago forced me off the trails and into the weight room, and my weight as increased to 225lbs.

Any big dudes on here that have had success in endurance sports want to share tips? Should I even be considering a marathon?

My first endurance event was in Stratton, Vermont in 2022 - hike Stratton mountain 17 times to equal the height of Everest. I met an array of people there - one of which had a bad case of asthma. We had 36 hours to do the event - she racked up 8 laps in 36 hours. I have a buddy who's on the heavier side who does 1 to 2 Ironman 70.3s a year. He definitely doesn't look the type to be able to do them but he does in usually 5-6 hours.

There's Achilles Track Group here in NYC and they help people with disabilities run all types of races from 5ks up to marathons. They were guiding some wheelchair folks and blind folks through their first marathons.

You can do it.

 

[mtnbound]

Any clydesdales on here?

Ive never done a marathon, only a handful of halves. Most of my "endurance" training has been for hunts. At my lightest, with 14-20 hours a week of cardio and no weight training i weigh 210lbs.

A mountain biking injury I acquired six weeks ago forced me off the trails and into the weight room, and my weight as increased to 225lbs.

Any big dudes on here that have had success in endurance sports want to share tips? Should I even be considering a marathon?

I fit in the Clydesdale class and while I will not be able to be competitive against a 150# bean pole runner the race is me against the mountain, the elements and myself.
Us Clydesdales need more calories that’s my tip.


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[OregonSteeler]

Former "Professional" road cyclist(I raced many of the top American events on a professional team but had a day job) . Mostly the velodrome but I would moonlight in some national level road racing and and criterium racing. Many years where I was pedaling a bike 700+ hours a year. I still ride a ton, jump into a PRO/elite level race from time to time as well as just doing big dumbass rides for the fun of it. The endurance absolutely pays off but hiking/back country fitness is still a bit of a different beast. I've worked1-2 5-8 miles hikes in to my routine at least every week and that is paying off and it's letting me learn my pacing for hiking with a hunt pack.

Some other pros are that I'm mentally very strong in the worst conditions and I've learned where my limits are because I've crossed them so many times and paid the price. It's educated me on how to be very in tune with my body. Living at elevation also pays off a bit so there isn't much change in feeling when I'm up over 10K on a hunt other than needing more sleep.

Cons are nutrition for endurance athletes in the 2000's was quite poor...along with the idea of what it meant to be a "healthy" athlete. the diets we followed, years of starvation, asking more of your lungs than they can handle and many massive crashes...they take their toll and have caused some life long damage.

By this time of the year, I'm burned out on riding bicycles but I keep pushing to sustain that fitness for hunting season!

Thanks for sharing your history in endurance and what it's done to your body. I believe the Zone 2 or 80/20 training method is relatively new and would have done wonders for athletes who pushed the limits years ago. I enjoy the "struggle" and continue to push, but keep reminding myself it's not worth getting hurt or causing long term damage. And I definitely need to remind myself often!

 

[OregonSteeler]

Any clydesdales on here?

Ive never done a marathon, only a handful of halves. Most of my "endurance" training has been for hunts. At my lightest, with 14-20 hours a week of cardio and no weight training i weigh 210lbs.

A mountain biking injury I acquired six weeks ago forced me off the trails and into the weight room, and my weight as increased to 225lbs.

Any big dudes on here that have had success in endurance sports want to share tips? Should I even be considering a marathon?

Not a clydedale but close. Was about 220 when I started my endurance life about year ago. Since dropped a bunch of weight but can still put on the lbs VERY quickly as I have an "overeating" habit. I NEVER want to see a "2" as the front number on a scale again.

As far as being able to do endurance events, you absolutely can! I am not naturally gifted in any way, I don't run fast, swim efficient, or bike like the wind. But, I am stubborn as a mule and keep at it. The more I stay on my training regime, the faster, longer, more efficient I become. Will never be on the podium but happy to see my performance get better over time.

Have a half marathon a week before my elk season starts so that's keeping me on task. Then it's a couple months of 4-5 times/wk in the pool as I desperately need to get more efficient in my freeestroke.

 

[mtbraun]

Ran the Booneville 100 this weekend. To be honest, the terrain isn't my jam as I like the western mountain trail races much better. Small race and generally flat, but what it lacked in vert it made up for in unforgiving limestone roads. It also got very hot Saturday afternoon. I had a great day, was able to keep eating and drinking and finished with a sub-24. Couldn't be more pleased with the result.