Staged Race training program for the 8-day, 400km Cape Wrath Ultra

I've been thinking hard about what to do for my training over the next 4 months to get ready for the CWU in May 2018. With 10 years of ultra running under my belt, I've done my fair share of training and racing, here is a list of what I've done to date:

• Three Marathons in Three Days Ultra (126.6km, Cairns Tablelands, 2012-2017), 
• UTA100 (100km, Blue Mountains, 2016), 
• Blackall 100 (100km, Sunshine Coast Hinterland, 2015), 
• Kokoda Challenge (96km, PNG, 2007) - my first ultra race
• Comrades Marathon (89km, South Africa, 2013, 2014, 2017), 
• Kuranda to Port Douglas Ultra (64km, 2011-2017), 
• Australia Running Festival Ultra (50km, Canberra, 2017), 
• Surfcoast Century (50km, Anglesea, 2015), 
• Inca Trail (45km, Peru, 2008), 
• Great Ocean Road Marathon (45km, 2015), 
• Melbourne Marathon (2012-2014), 
• Gold Coast Marathon (2006, 2007, 2009, 2017), 
• Townsville Marathon (2012, 2016, 2017), 
• Sydney Marathon (2014), 
• Hobart Marathon (2009), 
• Xiamen Marathon (2015) - although you'll not find my name on the results for this race as I ran using someone else's bib!
• and numerous half marathons and other shorter races over the past 11 years.

For the CWU, I'm changing my focus a bit from pure endurance training to the following:

1. run on the trails as frequently possible 
2. run hills - up and down
3. do two 'Shock weeks', including back to back runs, gear check & nutrition check
4. do strength training, mobility training and balance training
5. know how to look after my own feet
6. know how to do some basic maintenance on my own body

To this end, I've put the following in place:

Run on the trails as frequently possible.

Fortunately for me, we have a network of trails that start about 2km from my front door! It's called the Arrows, and there are endless combinations to choose from. I'll be doing an Arrows run at least once a week, probably during the week, after work.

We also have wonderful trails all around us, in the tropical rainforest and in the more open Sclerophyll (Eucalypt) forests on the Tablelands. At this stage I'm looking at doing the following:

Wks to go	Saturday		Sunday
17	26/01/2018	WEIPA	27/01/2018	WEIPA
16	3/02/2018	Smithfield Trails, map	4/02/2018	Misty Mountains, map
15	10/02/2018	Goldfield Trail, Babinda, map	11/02/2018	Mt Bartle Frere PM, map (Clifton Beach Race am)
14	17/02/2018	Smithfield Trails, map	18/02/2018	To be decided
13	24/02/2018	Glacier Rock, map	25/02/2018	Saddle Mountain & Red Peak, map
12	3/03/2018	3M3D, map	4/03/2018	3M3D, map
11	10/03/2018	Trail RACE: Motatapu Ultra, NZ 51km TBC, map	11/03/2018	To be decided
10	17/03/2018	Clohesy River, map	18/03/2018	Mt Baldy x2 PM (Paws on the Path am), map
9	24/03/2018	Thorsborne Trail, map	25/03/2018	Thorsborne Trail, map
8	31/03/2018	EASTER	1/04/2018	EASTER
7	7/04/2018	Mt Haig, map	8/04/2018	To be decided PM (Dynamic in a Dress am)
6	14/04/2018	To be decided	15/04/2018	Road RACE: Canberra Ulta, map
5	21/04/2018	To be decided	22/04/2018	64km K2PD, map

Most of the trails I know like the back of my hand as I've been running and hiking on them for the past 17 years. The distances are not yet decided, but I have ball park figures in mind for my weekly mileage. I'm going to approach a running coach to have a look at that to see if I'm on the right track. The 4-week training blocks are not quite working out for the last 9 weeks due to racing and travel. I'm off to Tasmania and the Mornington Peninsula for the next couple of weeks, so that's not included here.

Wks to go	Week starting Monday	Intensity	Weekly total	Training block total
17	22/01/2018	Medium	93
16	29/01/2018	Hard	103
15	5/02/2018	Harder	100
14	12/02/2018	Recovery	105	401
13	19/02/2018	Medium	107
12	26/02/2018	Hard	115
11	5/03/2018	Harder	127
10	12/03/2018	Recovery	73	422
9	19/03/2018	Hard	132
8	26/03/2018	Recovery	65
7	2/04/2018	Medium	99	296
6	9/04/2018	Medium	102
5	16/04/2018	Medium	108
4	23/04/2018	Recovery	26	236

Do two 'Shock weeks', including

• back to back runs
• gear check
• nutrition check

Back to back runs

'Shock week' is an extension of the term from the book 'How to succeed at UTMB' by Guillaume Millet and Francois Nicot (2017) where they talk about 'Weekend Shocks'. For me the 'shock weeks' are going to be training blocks of 5-6 days where I'll imitate what I plan to do at the race aka get some time on my feet by doing back to back runs, test my gear and test my nutrition, including the food I'll be eating at camp and for breakfast each day. Due to work commitments I don't have much choice in the terrain I run on and I am mostly limited to training in the tropics while my race is in the Scottish Highlands.

I'll do three shock weeks, although for the first there will be less mileage and I'll probably spend some time in Hobart (I've not decided exactly what I'll do while in Tasmania yet).

Shock 1, 20 weeks out from race week: 3 January to 15 January - hoping for some cold weather to try out my gear for the race (GPS, jacket, gloves, etc).

Shock 2, 15 weeks out from race week: Babinda area

Shock 3, 9 weeks out from race week: Thorsborne Trail, Hinchinbrook Island

Gear check

I have most of the gear I need for my race. But I've not tried some of it. The only chance I'm getting to do this is over the next couple of weeks while I'm in Tasmania. And then again the three weeks prior to the race once I arrive in the UK. I'm doing the GL3D ultra from 5-7 May, and the aim is to test my gear there and buy or replace anything I need after that race.

Here is a list of my gear. This is a bit of a headache as I'm travelling to the race and don't have a base. I'm spending some time and energy trying to ensure that my packing lists are done well. For the GL3D ultra I need a tent and cooking gear too. And I'm going to South Africa after my trip to the UK, so I will have some presents for family. I promised my sister a quilt. At this stage I'm thinking it's going to be easier to just make the quilt cover without the batting and then finish it off when I'm in South Africa!

Nutrition check

I've not done much about this yet. I'm using Tailwind Nutrition and will try the Bertrand meals when they arrive. I did visit local dietitian, Mitch Smith, at Health Management and he is helping me to get something sorted. I need to loose about 5kg too.

In my next post I'll elaborate on my preparation with regards to the following:

• do strength training, mobility training and balance training
• know how to look after my own feet
• know how to do some basic maintenance on my own body