Two Castles Mountain Ultra 50k Training Plan

The Race

Check out my post for full details on the race itself.

Goals

My goal is simply to finish the race without needing to be airlifted off the mountain. Although 50k is considered an “entry-level ultramarathon”, this is longest distance I have ever attempted. I ran the 30k version of this race last year (my very first trail run!) and it was absolutely brutal, so I know what I am up against in terms of altitude gain.

I have no expectations for a strong finish time and according to the race’s website there doesn’t appear to be a hard cut-off time for the 50k race. That being said, I do hope to finish within 8 hours or so just for convenience sake.

Training Philosophy

Coming from a background of weightlifting and no distance running, I put a heavy emphasis on strength conditioning–and my training plan reflects that. I think weights are just as important as the running aspect in order to reduce the chance of injury and stay healthy throughout the training cycle. Of equal importance is nutrition, which I will also discuss at length as time permits.

My basic workout schedule is as follows:It’s pretty self-explanatory, but it amounts to 4 runs per week and 5 workouts in the gym, doubling up on runs and weightlifting twice (maybe three times) per week. The “short” runs are 2-4 miles, the “medium” runs are 5-8 miles, and the “long” runs are 12-25 miles (see run schedule below).

Weightlifting

Here are the exercises, sets, repetitions, and rest times I do for each gym workout:

My split is really only 4 days, so the 5th day is just gravy and I use it to get in some more leg work with a couple upper body exercises.

Running

Below is the training plan I am following (albeit somewhat loosely). I had been running rather consistently before my actual training cycle started, so I really started at about Week 5. However, knowing I have some long travel coming up before race day, I need to push ahead as much as possible so I don’t have to play catch-up as race day closes in.

(Note: Click here to view and save an editable Excel version from Google Drive.)

Two Castles 50k Training Plan

 Week #:  Day of Week: Date:  Mileage:
Week 1 M 12/26/16 Off
T 12/27/16 5 miles
W 12/28/16 5 miles
T 12/29/16 3 miles
F 12/30/16 Off
S 12/31/16 11 miles
S 01/01/17 1 hour
Week 2 M 01/02/17 Off
T 01/03/17 6 miles
W 01/04/17 5 miles
T 01/05/17 3 miles
F 01/06/17 Off
S 01/07/17 12 miles
S 01/08/17 1 hour
Week 3 M 01/09/17 Off
T 01/10/17 6 miles
W 01/11/17 5 miles
T 01/12/17 4 miles
F 01/13/17 Off
S 01/14/17 13 miles
S 01/15/17 4 miles
Week 4 M 01/16/17 Off
T 01/17/17 5 miles
W 01/18/17 4-5 miles
T 01/19/17 3 miles
F 01/20/17 Off
S 01/21/17 14 miles
S 01/22/17 1 hour
Week 5 M 01/23/17 Off
T 01/24/17 7 miles
W 01/25/17 6 miles
T 01/26/17 5 miles
F 01/27/17 Off
S 01/28/17 16 miles
S 01/29/17 1 hour
Week 6 M 01/30/17 Off
T 01/31/17 8 miles
W 02/01/17 5 miles
T 02/02/17 5 miles
F 02/03/17 Off
S 02/04/17 14 miles
S 02/05/17 1.5 hours
Week 7 M 02/06/17 Off
T 02/07/17 8 miles
W 02/08/17 7 miles
T 02/09/17 5 miles
F 02/10/17 Off
S 02/11/17 17 miles
S 02/12/17 1 hour
Week 8 M 02/13/17 Off
T 02/14/17 6 miles
W 02/15/17 7 miles
T 02/16/17 3-4 miles
F 02/17/17 Off
S 02/18/17 15 miles
S 02/19/17 10 miles
Week 9 M 02/20/17 Off
T 02/21/17 6 miles
W 02/22/17 5 miles
T 02/23/17 5 miles
F 02/24/17 Off
S 02/25/17 18 miles
S 02/26/17 1.5 hours
Week 10 M 02/27/17 Off
T 02/28/17 6-7 miles
W 03/01/17 7 miles
T 03/02/17 5 miles
F 03/03/17 Off
S 03/04/17 22 miles
S 03/05/17 1 hour
Week 11 M 03/06/17 Off
T 03/07/17 5-6 miles
W 03/08/17 5-6 miles
T 03/09/17 3-4 miles
F 03/10/17 Off
S 03/11/17 16 miles
S 03/12/17 10 miles
Week 12 M 03/13/17 Off
T 03/14/17 8 miles
W 03/15/17 5-6 miles
T 03/16/17 5 miles
F 03/17/17 Off
S 03/18/17 25 miles
S 03/19/17 4-5 miles
Week 13 M 03/20/17 Off
T 03/21/17 7 miles
W 03/22/17 7 miles
T 03/23/17 5 mles
F 03/24/17 Off
S 03/25/17 15 miles
S 03/26/17 1 hour
Week 14 M 03/27/17 Off
T 03/28/17 6 miles
W 03/29/17 6 miles
T 03/30/17 4 miles
F 03/31/17 Off
S 04/01/17 18 miles
S 04/02/17 10-12 miles
Week 15 M 04/03/17 Off
T 04/04/17 5-7 miles
W 04/05/17 4-5 miles
T 04/06/17 5 miles
F 04/07/17 Off
S 04/08/17 22 miles
S 04/09/17 1.5 hours
Week 16 M 04/10/17 Off
T 04/11/17 4-6 miles
W 04/12/17 6 miles
T 04/13/17 3-4 miles
F 04/14/17 Off
S 04/15/17 16 miles
S 04/16/17 1 hour
Week 17 M 04/17/17 Off
T 04/18/17 7 miles
W 04/19/17 7 miles
T 04/20/17 5 miles
F 04/21/17 Off
S 04/22/17 22 miles
S 04/23/17 1 hour
Week 18 M 04/24/17 Off
T 04/25/17 7 miles
W 04/26/17 7 miles
T 04/27/17 5 miles
F 04/28/17 Off
S 04/29/17 15 miles
S 04/30/17 3 miles
Week 19 M 05/01/17 Off
T 05/02/17 6 miles
W 05/03/17 6 miles
T 05/04/17 Off
F 05/05/17 Off
S 05/06/17 10 miles
S 05/07/17 3 miles
Week 20 M 05/08/17 4 miles
T 05/09/17 Off
W 05/10/17 Off
T 05/11/17 3 miles
F 05/12/17 2 miles
S 05/13/17

RACE DAY!

 

 
 

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