 Onward and upward how is everyone doing on a fine Saturday this week we are diving into last week's QD which I posted just on Facebook so all of these questions came from Facebook from the Facebook page. Thanks for connecting there on the Facebook page and I'm reading them right now. I see Michael, Sonia, Chris, Rocky, Stuart, Thomas so we're going to get to as many of these questions as possible focused in all about trail and ultra running okay so let's dive in and then I'll get you the QD for next week's Q&A toward the end all right here we go Michael asks in your video about the Speed Go 50k thank you Michael for going back into the archive and finding an old vlog from two and a half years ago I think approximately so I'm glad you found it in that video about the Speed Go 50k you mentioned that you didn't really like the course I think you called it intentionally obnoxious can you expand on that thought I think I may feel the same way what do you look for in a trail race and what is an ideal race layout for you why do you think some people are drawn to unrunnable courses that is from Michael Michael I love that I love that you're tuned in to once again an old vlog and pulling from that here we go why was the Speed Go 50k obnoxious in case you haven't seen that vlog check it out upper right hand corner I'll try to remember to link to it they sent Speed Go to Carl Metzler is the RD the race director and he created the course and basically the course sends you off trail quite a few times where you're not on a trail you're running just from one point to another and it's marked with flags so that's nice but I must say I wasn't prepared for the uneven surfaces for my ankles and my feet on the off trail section so that was one thing that threw me off mentally I must say also Michael there's points in the race where you go up to a point and then you go right back down to almost where you came from I'm talking specifically like the first probably five miles of the course and it's just like ah when you're out there running especially for that's probably why I like Pike's Peak so much the ascent because you have a goal you're going to the highest point on the mountain and with the Speed Go 50k you're going up and then you come back down and then you go up and then back down and it just got a little tedious at times so anyway that's what the obnoxious part was um can you expand on that thought and then what do you look for in a trail race and what is an ideal race layout for you Michael RD's out there please mark the courses of in fact shout out to the Cirque series which I did in Utah last year and here in Colorado no I didn't race it here last year I did it out in Utah last year the best course markings I've ever been to I can't tell you how many times my brother and I have gone to trail races and when you're okay when you're in first place which sometimes we're in first place when we're racing there's nobody to follow and so you are trusting the course markings so you don't get lost we've gotten lost I'm not going to say many many times but I would say a handful of times either my brother or I have gotten lost so I would say Michael make sure you talk to the RD and like drill into them like I do not want to get lost on this course because it's it's really really frustrating okay I'm gonna leave it there Michael great question oh sorry here we go I got a little excited there training for my first this is from Sonia training for my first 50k in April two questions what do you recommend as your longest training run and I love that the plan I am following has a max of 22 miles is that enough and then question number two for daily mileage is it okay to train on roads with hills mixed in saving trails for the weekend where I can actually train on the course thank you that is from Sonia so Sonia that's a great question and for my 50k Sonia I have a lot more confidence going into a 50k if I can hit I know it's I know so 22 miles is good but I get a lot more confidence when I can hit 25 26 and yes I've hit 27 miles in a training run before 50k and I feel so confident that I can actually finish the 30 to 31 miles strong when I do that so that's my I know it's a lot and definitely do it on a soft surface but 25 26 27 miles is the window that I shoot for okay for 50k's number two for daily mileage is it okay to train on roads absolutely and with hills mixed in absolutely I think now obviously watch make sure you don't have a history of bone injuries if your volume is going to be a little higher because you're training for an ultra race make sure you don't have like for me I'd have to be really careful doing too much on the roads going into a 50k because I have a I have a history of stress fractures in my leg so that would be my only advice for that but yeah just make sure the roads have those hills we'll probably get to this later because those that hill training is so key for the ultra distance okay move it on good question chris asked I have my first 100k trail race on the 8th of February the terraria ultra marathon in New Zealand my longest run to date is 62k what's your best piece of trail running advice for me that's from chris chris seek beauty out there I've heard the terraria course in New Zealand is amazing so seek beauty out there just soak it up and my advice would be 62k is good that's a solid solid training run I don't think you need to go much higher than that I guess one piece of advice would be make sure you know the course well which I've talked about in the past on the channel especially with yeah I've just talked about it so if you can study the course ahead of time and get out and preview the course that's great make sure you have your aid station game plan dialed in so where are the aid stations at what nutrition is available at the aid stations and then of course what will you be carrying on yourself on your in your pack in between the aid stations okay and then also chris if you haven't integrated and it might be too late actually it's it's yeah it's it's probably too late okay but for the future make sure you're integrating some pretty good strength training into your regimen I think for 100 k's 100 milers 50 milers I think good leg strength is critical so whether it's in the gym or body weight training at your house all right there you go chris I hope that helps good question move it on to uh let's see to rocky this is interesting any recommendations for what shoes to wear for an eight hour endurance run it's a three mile looped course half pavement half easy dirt trail that's interesting rocky rocky I would if the trail is really buffed out I would actually I would dabble with the idea and I would need to see pictures of the trail I would dabble with the idea of a maximalist road shoe yes the hoka carbon x I would dabble with that I really would I really I don't know now it depends on how making sure you're not climbing too much vertical but it sounds like it's a pretty tamed three mile loop I don't know I actually I'm trying to think if I would what trail shoe I would consider um gosh I mean I guess okay okay the hoka evo speed go the hoka evo speed go that way because it's it's it's got some good lug depth meaning the the outsole traction but it's not crazy aggressive in my opinion that those laws so you could definitely run on the roads with a hoka evo speed goat and it's very lightweight so I guess I'm giving you two hoka shoes as options I'll leave it there good question that is from rocky moving on to stewart here we go I haven't even read this one let's see what percentage do you think it's mind over body when running 100 mile ultra I'm far from the fittest runner you will ever meet but I'm strong willed and made my legs complete uh and made my legs complete 100 mile ultra in April 2019 congrats stewart stewart I mean a percentage you said a percentage so I will give you a percentage but man I think it's really really critical uh to have a strong mind and honestly stewart I dropped out of my first 100 mile race I blame it a little bit on my plantar fasciitis but at the end of the day I'm not sure I was willing to push myself through that pain to get I dropped out at 50 miles and so was I strong enough up here I would say I probably was I also think I had too too high of expectations of finishing let's say like top 20 top 15 maybe top 10 and once that dream slipped away of finishing high I think my my mind really started to beat myself up so stewart I think it's very critical okay I'm gonna go I'm actually gonna say physical is really critical but I'm gonna go 60 physical 40 mental I don't know because you asked I don't know if that even makes I think that's a little hard to answer but I will go six because I do think you need to be ready to rock and roll physically but that brain is really powerful too anyway to at least run it well moving on good question okay let's see from chris depending on the elevation gain of the race you are training for how much elevation should you aim to run each week yes it does really matter what the course is like for me chris in the summertime a good rule of thumb that I shoot for which I realized depending on where you live if you don't I have access to some big mountains here in Colorado but I think a great rule of thumb is like I'm just gonna I'm gonna say that okay I'm trying to broaden the answer to that three to 5,000 feet of vertical gain per week and again depending on the course you're getting ready for if it's a if it's a flat 50k then that could that could definitely come down but um there's nothing like vertical gain to strengthen your legs for the longer races you know anything especially anything over uh the 40 mile mark 50ks are long but anything over 40 miles I think that's when it starts to get really really difficult so good question from chris I'm gonna put out that three to five thousand foot of feet of elevation gain okay moving on here oh my goodness there's so many questions I can't get to all of them this is from Benjamin how many marathons should someone have run before attempting a 50 miler that's an interesting one Benjamin um I would say my gut is telling me three I think if you can get three marathons under your belt I think you could start to think about a 50 miler but Benjamin I would say don't do that go to 50k first okay so go marathon marathon marathon 50k 50k and then start to think about that 50 miler distance because it is it is a long ways I just tell you it is a long ways as you probably already know so I would say don't quite make that leap uh to straight to 50 okay moving on here oh my goodness Brian asks would I consider running the terra uera absolutely down in New Zealand um this is from Tommy this is interesting oh boy and actually we just talked about this on today's vlog that published this morning Tommy asks would a carbon plate trail shoe work and do you think they are in development um I think they would probably work Tommy and I suspect that we're gonna see it happen ah it's an interesting I haven't put much thought into that so it's a good question I yeah I think carbon plates can help you on the trails I'm not gonna argue against that and um I wouldn't be listen if running shoe companies can innovate before other running shoe companies I would suspect that they're going to anything to push the envelope and sell more running shoes so good question from Tommy moving on here um Dan asks how do you manage the transition from having one kid to more than one kid while also training uh okay so that's interesting Dan it kind of connects to trail and ultra running but um um Dan you need to have a spouse that is there for you I'm gonna leave it there that I could go on and on for so long about that Dan but I'm telling you it's teamwork makes the dream work you gotta have a spouse that is really in support of your running if not there's gonna be friction there and that's no fun you don't want that so have a yeah just talk it out with your spouse make sure you come up with a game plan for your training okay moving on here to Josh oh this might be let's see how long is this okay it's kind of it's kind of long here we go I started using my vest this week only have about 20 miles invested into it the ray light uh the the one I have uh race vest is near perfect thanks for the suggestion my only issue is today I noticed my rib cage is getting uh pretty tender to the touch around the area the lower area of the bottle's hit I wore it relatively tight each time and on top of clothes do you have any tips or will this go away eventually my 50k trail race is in April but realistically I don't think I will need a vest um so Josh I think you I think okay that's tough I'm sorry that your your ribs are hurting that's no fun I think you will I remember like when I'm using a vest a lot my I I feel the same pain like you do get a little sore where the bottles rest on your body now they should be soft flasks I hope you're using soft flasks and so that should help and I think you will get used to it I know I have in the past um and I would agree that for a 50k just so everybody knows I think if you I don't know I've I've raised 50k's with no vest and just a bottle a handheld bottle okay so I think it can be done yeah good question Josh but hopefully let me hopefully your ribs are feeling better soon okay moving on here uh Jin Jin Jung asked when I watched videos of people accomplishing 100 mile races they often have a crew slash pacer team pacer team helping them out is it possible to finish these races without the help of a pacing or a crew and Jin Jin Jung absolutely you can you can run 100 you can run a 200 mile race um but with with no crew but I would say it helps it helps mentally to have a crew it helps somebody to have an accountability uh partner out there when you're when you're just so tired and you hurt so bad and just to talk it out with someone and somebody that knows you really well physically and mentally so critical but Jin just make sure that you find a race that hat that is known for incredible aid station support not just the food that is provided but the actual volunteers at the aid stations um I think the run rabbit run 100 even though I ended up dropping out of that race I was blown away by the support staff at the aid stations I literally somebody receiving me at the aid station like asking me are you okay how are you doing what food do you need where's your drop bag etc etc so Jin um just make sure you find races that have great aid stations and it just takes a little bit of research but um good question I love that question okay moving on here oh boy okay I think we'll take two maybe three more two or three more uh Jeff asked I ran my first 50k in December and we'll be running my first 50 miler in May I love the progression good job Jeff how long do you think my long run should be towards the end of training for the 50 miler should I do back to back long run Saturday and Sunday I'm working on base building again and trying to keep my long runs to 25 to 30 percent of my weekly mileage but realize the percentage might be thrown off for those two to three weeks of longest run so Jeff good questions um for a 50 miler okay I'm not saying I've um I'm not an about 50 miler expert but based on my 50k training and my 100 miler training um Jeff I would say okay I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you that 30 to 35 mile long run range I know it's a lot but I think if you can hit 30 to 35 miles twice no more I don't think you need more than twice in your in your progression up to the the race in May I think that'll set you up for really solid confidence and aerobic base and more importantly uh leg strength okay and okay I should have a big caveat asterisk Jeff and for everyone it depends on how much vertical is happening in these long runs okay if you're doing 10,000 feet of vertical over 30 miles that's a lot that's that's that's like don't do that um so it also depends on the vertical gain in fact one last point I think when not now but when I train for another 100 mile race down the road I personally am gonna focus more on vertical gain over volume obviously obviously depending on the course but I think leg strength from the vertical gain is more important than how many miles I ran on a long run okay so oh food for thoughts I think it's did you ask another question oh yeah back to back long runs love it absolutely love it for those that don't know getting ready for ultra races it's a pretty common practice now uh training training practice to do back to back long runs on uh consecutive days just to so that you run you run you know maybe 22 miles saturday and 28 miles sunday why so sunday your legs are tired and you're starting tired so that when your legs get tired after a marathon and you're only halfway through the race you can adapt your your your body is ready for that that pain essentially uh because it is painful it is painful good question from Jeff those are some some thoughts for you I hope that helps okay oscar asked do you see any benefits to your ultra running performance for having switched to shorter races it's clearly been a smart move as you as you're producing some amazing results at the shorter distances thank you oscar also on a related note what would what made you originally focus on ultras and what made you stop oh oscar great questions great questions oscar so uh for those that don't know i'm now focused on road marathon races why did i switch oscar well i dnf'd at that 100 mile race one of the reasons i dnf'd is like i was tired at 50 miles like and like my legs are kind of small and like compared to all the other guys around me that i was racing i was i'm kind of a small guy and so that was a wake-up call for me like wait a minute is my body really made for this 100 mile distance and then i realized oscar wait a minute i still have a little bit of turnover left i'm 34 now i was 33 when i did no i was 34 when i did amsterdam but i i was i i was doing some time trials here in denver that at a pretty at elevation solo in like 111 some half marathons in one hour 11 minutes and i was like huh that's interesting i wonder what i could do at sea level so it just got me anyway oscar that's why i made the switch is that i want to use the speed in my legs while i have it okay so i'm going to return to ultra races at some point um but that's down the road when i'm a little older and a little i'll just say a little slower okay uh what was the other one um has it benefited 100 so for those that want to run fast go run an ultra race and put your body through some really difficult training mentally and physically and it honestly like the marathon just doesn't scare me at all i got all so that's one benefit of going from ultras back to marathons oscar you that might be my favorite question today okay moving on here one more um let's see from micolage jonashki sorry that's a great i can't say it but that's a great name do you think trail marathons would hurt my prep for a road marathon um and then he goes on with a couple more should i stick to the roads let's say by september or sooner anyway uh it's kind of a long question but micolage i i think if you want to race a fast road marathon you should focus on road racing ahead of time will it hurt you that much not crazy amounts um but i do think that turnover and that speed on the roads uh the the trails i like the trails as i mentioned a couple days ago to help my legs stay healthy uh but i don't think it does not help my turnover and my speed but getting onto soft surfaces with different angles for my feet and my legs and my knees i think is a good thing so micolage i would try to focus on the marathon uh the the the roads before your road marathon specifically a half marathon about three to four maybe five weeks before sorry four to five weeks before your actual marathon a road half marathon okay everyone thank you for the question that was amazing i hope you gleaned a little information there from my experience with ultra running and i'm excited to return to ultra running honestly it's probably another two or three years away yeah where i i'll probably do like a couple fifty k's in the next two or three years but i'm in no rush to return to the 50 milers and 100 milers i'm excited to someday utmb oh man leadville hard rock i'm gonna oh yeah absolutely i want to do all those but right now i'm just excited to go a little faster on the roads i got nothing against the trails in ultra running and that question of the day for next week which i will pull from twitter all right so if you're on twitter you can ask me there and then also down in the comments below this video so cutie here we go what questions you have for me about trail uh training and racing shoes what you know whatever you want to ask about trail racing and it could be ultra ultra racing or it could be uh short races you know five k's 10 k's on the trails those are good too so ask down below all about trail running shoes and trail racing shoes all right everyone thanks for being here thanks for watching have a great weekend and a great week ahead we'll see you next saturday five p.m mountain time for the q and a we're gonna toss it back on the right to last week's q and a all about road running shoes that was last week's q and a that'll be on the right and then i'll connect to the q and a playlist that'll be on the left hand side there all right everyone you guys rock see beauty work hard and love each other see you tomorrow