Ultra training tips for flatlanders

jchite84

Okay, here is my life story: For a year I lived in the foot hills of the Appalachians - not big mountains, but big enough. I got strong at climbing and trail running and fell hard for the sport. Even when I was road running, I had good climbs. Jobs changed, I had to move. I now live firmly in Ohio corn country. The closest good climbs are an hour away. I've got access to a couple short flat trails (<4 miles). My last couple of trail races have been nightmares. I feel like I lost my rhythm on the trails and am losing my climbing abilities. But, my goal is to try and go for a 50K this season. Any other flatlanders who train for ultras? Got any tips or suggestions?

beemerphile1

May sound crazy but it's what popped into my head, how about parking garage ramps? Certainly not trail running but could be good hill workouts.

Are you in Green as in Summit County? If so, the Metro parks are nice. Goodyear Metro has a good loop.

jchite84

That's not a pretty good idea. Unfortunately, the closest parking deck is 40+ minutes away, haha. I was thinking hard about where there was a closer one. I've also been thinking about overpasses - I do have several of these, and I could just do many many many repeats. I live in Greene, Twp in northern Trumbull County. I've run at Goodyear Metro though, it's a nice park. Right now I usually go to Pymantuning, and either Mill Creek Park (Youngstown) or if I'm feeling plucky I'll drive over an hour and go to Beaver Creek (Columbiana) to get my hill fix.

isulo_kura

My suggestion would be to find the steepest local hill (be it road or trail) and just do hill repeats on it. It may be dull but it will build the leg strength up. Also steps any local buildings or walkways with flights of steps? I've also heard of people using a treadmill and cranking the incline up (I can't believe I just suggested a treadmill to someone )

vcphil

I'd try to make it out to those hilly trails 2x a week. It's only an hour away. Do the rest of your training on the road. Maybe do some stair action another day. The treadmill works wonders for inclines :-P

taeliesyn

I've got no experience with it, but I was researching similar when it looked like I would be moving away from my hills (tiny compared to what the US has, but still) and one thing I came across as an option to keep the leg strength up was tire dragging.
I've got no personal experience so do your research if you decide to try it.

PavementRunner

I know some Florida ultrarunners who drag tired up overpasses.