MONTANE
LEGENDS TRAIL 2019 The recipe for my success: training, equipment, tactics.
In this technical report, I will attempt to expose and clearly explain the things that allowed me to finish Legends Trail 2019 with 261km, 8800D + in the Belgian Ardennes on the first weekend of March. It's a statement of what worked for me. Each one has to find his own way; I also found mine listening and inspirations from runners with whom I spent time, things i did read in books and magazines, but especially trying everything in real conditions on me, and drawing conclusions after each test. Moreover this recipe worked this time, it does not mean that it will work every time. So experiments, experience and a lot of patience are the basic ingredients.
Physical training
So especially in this part, I think it's extremely personal and personal to everyone. It depends on our sporty past, the time we can devote to training, the region in which we live, etc ... For me the essentials are: volume, regularity and diversity. By volume, I mean the number of kms done per week. In my opinion it is better to run little but often, than a lot once in a while. It is also important and non-negligible to know how to walk fast, because the longer is the distance, the more you will walk, the most important is to keep going, one step after another, regardless of the speed. So let's be efficient even when slow. Regularity is about going out and run. And not finding any excuse, because during the race, to for look for excuses is the first step to DNF. Diversity is on road, on trail, when it's hot, when it's cold, sunny, raining, etc ... and of course, the day, the night, finally in all conditions possible and imaginable. And it is important not to neglect the upper body, abs and shoulders especially because we will be for a long time, standing out, with a bag more or less heavy on our shoulders. An important thing about physical status is dietetic. So from my point of view, I am for natural products as much as possible. By this I mean, that I personally avoid gels, chemical supplements and others. I also try to respect as much as possible my daily pace, sweet breakfast, salty lunch, four hour sweet, salty dinner and night free party!
Cereal bars easy to digest for sweet, scones and sausage for salty, and Dextro, Bio Energy for important carbohydrate aports during down moments.
For the drink, basically water. My own isotonic: half apple juice, half water, a little salt. And often coca to stabilize my stomach. After I never stop myself for a little beer when I feel good, just for fun ... Coffee without abusing it is always useful, especially at night. As much for the caffeine, as for the taste and the effect that it can have on the mental. Same thought about tea. This is for solo trips, for the rest, during races, the Cps fill the rest. One of the most important things: At what pace to feed. So, first of all, listen to yourself and respect yourself. But watch yourself.
I mean, do not force yourself, but keep in mind that we consume "fuel". So, at least one liquid sip every 20/30 minutes, a solid bite every hour. Be careful not to drink too much or not enough. And think about adapting to climatic conditions. It's hot, we drink a little more. It's cold, we do not forget to drink! For the cold, personally a small thermos of coffee or tea is always appreciated! In short everyone to find his treasure, but especially test before the race. Sleep is also an important subject.
I personally have the chance to easily manage the lack of sleep by having the ability to make power-naps quite easily. There is really no definite rule for this, except experimenting before and for the rest. So then, with experience, we can consider a schedule before race and try to apply it, but the most important is to adapt to the conditions of the moment in the race. And plan everything you need, to allow quality sleep, even if conditions are the hard way.
Psychological notions.
So this subject is also particularly personal and unique to everyone.
I often say that the two most important things before an Ultra are patience and motivation.
Patience, because it will be long, see very long. So do not discover that the day of the event is very important. So discover in training how one reacts to loneliness, boredom, euphoria, depression etc ... in short to the different phases by which one is likely to pass.
And motivation, I'm going to say that more than motivated, we have to start convinced that we can do it. But really convinced. To not give in to the first doubt. Because doubts there will be. In short, start with the deep conviction of being able to finish. Even to visualize the arrival in advance. A less psychological concept, but a little bit anyway, the ability to adapt.
By that I mean, resilience. When something is wrong, react, do not collapse. And that, it is learned by experimentation. So we must multiply the opportunities to find in a bad position and see how we react to it and for that nothing better than solo trips.
In short, spending time outdoors, and getting out of your comfort zone, are the only ways to work these different points. So you have to be patient, get experience what comes with time. And always draw conclusions and remember the different experiences, good and bad, and learn from them. And to be honest, in my case, I did a Vipassana retreat, a teaching with Buddhist influence, with methods of meditation, visualization and relativization of the reality that allows me to evolve, as much in the races and in my everyday life, with a lot more ease and clairvoyance.
Equipment. So, again, as for other topics, the most important thing is to test everything before the day of the event. About shoes, it's extremely personal. In my case, I took the time to make a gradual transition to middle foot running by decreasing the drop of my shoes little by little. I even practice the "barefoot" running at training to make my Achilles tendons and calves stronger. Thanks to that I can run on just about anything now, and a stride more efficient.
But currently, I am a big fan of TOPO Athletic. As much road models for training and my road races, as trail-running ones with precisely the models Terraventure and Ultraventure. The Vibram sole grip is amazing. The super wide footwear makes the comfort incredible. The wide toe box is really usefull when it comes to long distances, because the feet often tend to swell, and toes tired of chocs. Then, socks level. This year I opted for breathable shoes, but with a field as wet as the Belgian terrain can be in March, my biggest fear are "trench feet", cold weather and humidity conditions exactly what Les Fagnes are about.
So the solution I chosed, on the advice of other riders, is: an Injinji liner to avoid chafing in case of overheating and Bridgedale Socks up to my knee waterproof socks. This combo works perfectly, especially if it is combined with regular preparation and care of the feet. For this the cream NOK is perfect, for example. For the preparation of the feet (one to two weeks before the race), camphor alcohol works really well too, it tanned the skin of the skin under the feet, and makes it more resistant to the stress it will undergo.
For clothes: my plan is simple.
The different layers, the first draining layer for sweat and avoid overheating, a thermal layer, and a layer of wind and / or waterproof (if necessary). And I apply that to my whole body from head to toe, except to the legs where only two layers max are needed. I focus on that, cause about this rule, the hands and the heads are often neglected in this respect.
My second rule is action / reaction. Even if it's cold, overcast, you can overheat. When you overheat, you sweat, sweat wets clothes, which have difficulty keeping warm then. In short, never hesitate to stop to remove or add a layer when necessary. An Ultra is long and we must pay attention to its mount ...
For the upper body, the first layers, I find my happiness with the Nike range PRO or Under Armor, for light ones, and Craft or Odlo for the warmest.
In second layer, Odlo makes great products, Nike too and previous race technical T-shirts are perfect. For the last layer, I adjust according to the weather. Nike Aeroloft sleeveless vest, or Montane Featherlite Vest, if it's hot and dry, and OMM Kamleika type rain jacket, light, efficient and with a nice material, and another Millet hiking jacket more warm, windproof and waterproof.
I also have a softshell jacket (like NorthFace Termoball, or Montane Featherlite) packed in my bag in case the conditions get colder, and in case of prolonged stop.
For the legs, the winters I am used to a simple Nike tight enough thin, mainly used to avoid direct contact with cold air. If necessary I combine this with a Montane Terra Pant or this one alone sometimes, its great quality is about its ability to dry extremely fast. My best discovery is the pants adidas Terrex Skyrun, quite surprisinging, it is hot and breathable at the same time, even wet, it stays hot and dries also particularly fast. So a very good companion for the winter races.
For the hands, I have a pair of mittens for the prolonged contact with the sticks and / or the possible contacts with the grounds (climbing, falls, supports on the trees ...) a pair of gloves NorthFace GoreTex Infinium windbreaker , and for the case of rain or snow Salomon waterproof 37.5 °, so depending on the situation, I have complete freedom to adjust.
A small first aid kit, with essentials, tape, compresses, tiger balm, disinfectant gel to clean my hands in case it is necessary ...
The tiger balm is very effective in many cases, like muscle contracture, sore tendons, blue in case of a fall, etc ...
And the tape is also very useful, and there are videos very well done on Youtube, showing how to strap knees, ankle and others, always useful if necessary, verified and approved in my case. In terms of safety, a waterproof bivy is also very important (even if this year I forgot it which gave me 4h penalty!). Especially for the races over several days, because the more the time goes, more sleep can really appear at any time, anywhere.
In terms of light I tried a lot, and I strongly recommend the LedLenser Neo10 for its quality of light beam and its autonomy. Element to take into account, the batteries. For the races on multiple days, the security choice are the simple batteries, cause in case of any problem, it can be found in any shop on the way. A small Petzl Tikka as an emergency lamp is also perfect.
For navigation, Garmin 64s GPS is for me the simplest, most durable, versatile and affordable. I have the idea to train to navigate the map and compass because to have had a try, it's cool, flawless and an excellent Plan B in case of GPS crash.
On my watch, Polar Vantage V, I monitor my pace, time and distance. I set a beep every 5kms to try to never be below 5kms hours on the move, or at least monitor how far I am from this pace. Just a default on this watch, I can not charge it when an activity is in going. So at every opportunity (Check Points) I charge it, and it has the quality to charge extremly fast (1% per minute). But the good about that is that the distance between Cps is more accurate (sort of reset errors every time).
There are also walking sticks. Personally, in case of elevation higher than 4000m D +, I take them. For 100 miles or more too.
But it is clear that it's better to know how to use it than to discover on the D-day.
And to finish the bag. For the Legends Trail, I choosed the Salomon OutPeak 20L. Fairly large capacity, but worn as a waistcoat, without hipbelt, which frees the hips and relieves the lumbar and a gain in mobility.
I am very happy of it. My only comment is about the two pockets in front of the flasks pouchs which are, i think, not stretch enough to properly put anything in, once the flasks in place.
I use one of the flasks pouchs for a soft flask 500ml, and the second for my GPS. The two side pockets on the back allow me to set up in one side a bottle Klean Kanteen 800ml and on the other a Klean Kanteen thermos 600ml. Enough for the winter, checked at the Legends Trail with a max full autonomy of 72km.
The two pockets on the shoulders are very useful too, for example one for the Tracker when you have one, the other for gloves ... in any case, by experience, avoid putting something large and rigid because it makes a hard point on the shoulder, where all the load is applied, which can be painful ( it happened to me...)
Obviously, load the bag with light loads down and heavy on the top. What is convenient about this bag is that the zip can be opened from above or from below, giving free access to all the contents of the bag.
In addition to the small front pockets of the bag, I have a Salomon Agile 500 belt, allowing me to easily manage my food, my GSM, my GoPro, and other waterproof wallets for ID and cash without having to stop to have access to my bag.
But this point is very personal to everyone to see what he prefers.
That's it, this report is certainly not exhaustive. It's just my experience that I enjoy sharing. All these solutions are mine, they are today as they are, and will certainly evolve in a way or another. At each race, all of this must be adapted, to the weather, the terrain, the distances, etc.