On this month-to-month article collection, ultrarunner, race director, and coach Gabe Joyes solutions reader questions on something and the whole lot working. Study extra about this ask-the-athlete column, and remember to 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 will have a “regular” working tempo? I certain hope not! Should you run on all kinds of terrain, numerous slope angles, and all of the completely 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 explicit coaching stimulus or movement sample, and I’d additionally guess that you’ll benefit from the journey and selection in your individual private working journey!
Numerous terrain in Wyoming’s Pink Desert results in numerous motion patterns. All images courtesy of Gabe Joyes, until in any other case famous.
Hills and Coronary heart Price
What’s your guiding technique for working hills however maintaining your coronary heart fee zones in examine? — 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 mud, or on rock strong pavement. The trouble principally appears the identical, although the tempo is perhaps wildly completely different. Should you hold the trouble the identical whereas working uphill, you’re possible going to remain in the identical coronary heart fee zone.
That being stated, working uphill is actually combating gravity, which does take extra exertion, so it’s affordable to anticipate your coronary heart fee to creep up a bit as properly. An ideal query to ask your self whereas working uphill is, How lengthy may 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 is perhaps placing an excessive amount of into it.
In case you are not having enjoyable, chances are you’ll have to decelerate. Photograph: Casey Grimle
Pre-Race Nerves
How do you handle pre-race nerves? I discover it tough to sleep, eat, and I’m usually only a nervous wreck. I appear to at all times 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 appropriately. Being nervous earlier than a race reveals that the occasion actually issues to you — it’s one thing vital 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 considerations into two classes:
- Issues which you can management.
- Issues that you just can’t management.
For issues which you can management, get to work on dialing these considerations in! Plan your pre-race consuming, get your sneakers and different gear found out properly earlier than race day, follow a sleep hygiene routine, and decide what you need your race day angle to really feel like. You might have affect over all of these items, and using that energy goes a protracted technique to calming these pre-race nerves.
For the stuff you can’t management, first free your thoughts and settle for that you just can’t management them. Second, settle for additionally that in ultramarathons one thing nearly at all times goes unsuitable — that’s all a part of the sport. Should you 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 at all times suggest you “pre-problem clear up” potential boundaries 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 gained’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 properly as a result of you will have a plan to resolve 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 just can’t management. Return by Strava, or your coaching log, and check out all the effort you place in as it’s simple to overlook about all of that onerous work. You is perhaps dramatically fitter than you even notice! 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 will have, not the health you would like you had.
Fueling
Actually, what has occurred with fueling? A couple of years in the past, it was cool to eat nothing whereas working, and now the fad is one thing like 150 grams per hour (or extra?!) of carbohydrates. I don’t get it. — Confused
Excessive fueling methods are definitely eye-catching. Actually, only a couple weeks in the past I volunteered at The Drift 100 Mile, the place I witnessed an athlete who deliberate to gasoline nearly their total race on Muscle Milk and packets of tuna — a wildly excessive protein eating regimen 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 usually sports activities vitamin suggestions from registered dietitians have modified little or no since I took a sports activities vitamin class in school 20 years in the past (60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour, supplemented with lesser quantities of fats and protein for extra-long period occasions).
There are 4 energy in each gram of carbohydrate, so 60 to 90 grams is 240 to 360 energy per hour. In recent times, 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 sort of like working extra miles in coaching — extra is healthier, till hastily it’s not. Further 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 bathroom paper.
The sports activities vitamin business brings in tens of billions of {dollars} a yr globally, and it’s of their greatest curiosity to persuade shoppers to maintain shopping for extra. My suggestion is to be a bit doubtful of social media vitamin sources — not counting registered dietitians {and professional} sports activities nutritionists right here— which might be searching for “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 vitamin technique. Do not forget that a single athlete, or perhaps a handful of athletes, who’re profitable utilizing an excessive fueling technique doesn’t equate to “greatest follow.”
Whereas excessive fueling methods may fit for sure people, I guarantee you that numerous course information, 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 sort of gel and sports activities drink conceivable, 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 properly fueled, whereas additionally avoiding all of the distress and gastrointestinal misery of attempting to be a excessive carb consuming hero.
Jeff Mogavero experimenting with excessive carb fueling methods in Chamonix, France.
Ending Robust
How do I end a race with out feeling so drained? I see some elites cross the end line not wanting drained in any respect. What provides? — Christina
I noticed an unbelievable 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 although Pkemoi is transferring properly, Puppi emphatically cruises previous him on the way in which to a different spectacular victory. I used to be amazed to learn a mere two days later Puppi’s put up on Instagram:
“As I noticed Robert Pkemoi within the distance, possibly 30 or 40 seconds forward of me with 3km or so to go, I vividly keep in mind negotiating with myself whether or not I ought to dig deeper, giving greater than I assumed I may give, as a way to attempt to catch him. I at all times have a tough time in these moments. On one hand you are feeling an enormous drive to win, alternatively there are not any certainties, no assurances that pushing tougher goes to can help you cross that end line in first. The ache you’re keen to just accept one facet, the glory of victory on the opposite.”
This can be a well timed reminder that what we are able to see on the skin isn’t 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 objective is to maximise efficiency, then ending a race or occasion feeling not-so-tired in all probability means there was room to push on for a special, and maybe extra satisfying, end line expertise.
Francesco Puppi making it look simple on the 2025 Transgrancanaria 47k. Photograph courtesy of Francesco Puppi.
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