With less than a week before Les Templiers, I want to lay my cards on the table. Detail what I did in training and why I did it.
Considerations
5-6 weeks is not a long time but enough to make some adaptations. I have prioritized addressing what I consider physiological deficiencies.
I have focused namely on acclimatisation to higher intensities and skills, like short-steep climbing, descending-at-pace and flat speed.
Two important macro-differences between this block and those preceding were:
Polarization
: When it was time to go hard, I did just that and followed it with very easy effort the following day. I did few moderate workouts.
Volume
: I averaged 130 km, 5200m d+, and 12 hours/week. I cut volume mostly to give my legs a chance to develop some speed.
Advisory
: I would not gamble with this formula beyond a certain time horizon. Longer, moderate work is essential for building and maintaining aerobic base.
Over the past 5.5 weeks I logged 20 or so quality sessions, which can be broken into three categories. If you are interested in seeing the workouts check out my Strava.
Speed
For les Templiers, speed = kilometres under 4 min/km or 6 min/mile. Not overtly fast, but given the distance (80km) and variable terrain, running ‘comfortably’ in this domain unlocks the counterbalance to those slow uphill kilometres.
Track:
I absolutely love running on the track. Curbing this zeal is necessary to avoid turning every session into a time trial.
The workouts were structured with the following criteria
Dial in a pace range (3:30→3:10 min/km)
Keep interval duration simple (range: 2km → 3’)
Take ‘floating’ rest, meaning continue to run a respectable pace (3:45→4min/km) between repetitions, or short full rest (60s or less).
Be mindful of how you move. Feel changes in cadence and power and how this disturbs exertion. Practice good movement.
Get in-get out. All track workout were less than 1h.
Nearly all track workouts were executed after a morning session.
Paved road
: I have been running the Col du Tormalet road all summer. I love it because its dam hard. As you climb, you become muscularly fatigued from the relentless incline (10%) and simultaneously oxygen limited with increased altitude.
This means you get an incredible aerobic and muscular stimulus without taking the beating of doing the equivalent intensity on a flat, low-altitude surface.
Unpaved
: Templiers has a lot of dirt roads. We have many types of terrain here, but lack long gravel/dirt roads. I regularly used what we have available to do an assortment of float style workouts with the goal of accumulating km’s at good pace with changing intensity regimes.
Vert
During this block I capped the climbs to 600m in elevation gain to approach what I will find on race-day. In addition to ‘shrinking’ the climbs, I practiced specific intensity.
The best metric for vert in this context is VAM (rate of meters climbed / hr). After studying Jim Walmsley and Jon Albon’s Strava activities for their respective victories at les Templiers, I found they ran the majority of the climbs at a rate of 1200-1400m/hr, with some spikes and slumps.
Both these athletes top-end vertical speed is more than 1800m/hr for a 20 minute effort, which shows that their race-day climbing intensity was about 70% of max.
Point being, climbing must be sustainable otherwise you will flame out. In training I avoided max effort climbs. I tried to run my vert in this VAM range and in repetition to simulate the fatigue of multiple bouts.
In addition to hill repeats I did climbing drills twice per week. Here I practice bounding and quick-feet going uphill.
Bounding is a form of strength work. It requires you to fire the muscles intentionally with power. Quick-feet is another way to improve uphill cadence which is crucial when the going gets steep.
My protocol
: Alternate 20 bounds / 20 seconds quick-feet for the duration of a climb. Repeat as necessary if the climb is short. In just 30-40 minutes you can turn your legs to jelly.
Combo
The concept is simple, combine flat-speed with vert and fast-descending. There are a thousand ways to structure the workout, but to illustrate, here is a basic template:
2 x climb
40min flat
1 x climb
These workouts bite and in my case, can only be done properly once per week.
Combo workouts strengthen the legs and mind. Eventually, it hurts. Deciding, “ok—I’m tired. No excuses, push the power, drive the legs” builds a pathway to be deployed in races.
Closing
Beyond my control was the length of the block. I think another couple weeks would be fruitful, but it is what it is.
I have observed improvement in my capacities, but to what extent that will stack up against a fleet of talented athletes has to be seen. I just want the chance to give it everything.
Congrats Ben! Great Race!
stoked Ben! simply stoked! impressive dedication on display. make variety that spice in life!