From Running With Pain To Attempting A 50k Ultra

Running was always something that I found incredibly challenging. 6 months ago I couldn’t run more than 7km pain free. But I’ve spent the last 5 months developing this skill and a couple weeks ago my partner and I ran a large portion of the Grand Canyon between long strenuous days on the bike including a 400km bikepacking route.

In less than a week, I’ll be pushing what I didn’t think possible for my body and attempting to run an Ultra Marathon. Rewind a year ago and I would’ve laughed at this idea. In fact, just a few months ago there’s a very good chance I would have been left at the bottom of the Grand Canyon never to be seen again.

I began this journey because I was sick of the pain and discomfort that came with running. 

I’d wonder, “why is something so natural and one of our primal movement patterns, so hard on my body?” Additionally, I couldn’t help admiring friends of mine who could run these crazy distances and as a coach, I couldn't provide the advice I wanted to my athletes that were pursuing running ambitions.

And the nail in the coffin…. if not now, when?

The coach in me wanted to truly understand the kinematics and cardiorespiratory requirements.

The athlete in me wanted to grow this as a capability rather than deficiency.

So I treated it like I would with a client.

Set an intention, brainstormed my “defenders”, built a program and decided on a goal:

I’d give myself 5 months to train and compete in an Ultra Marathon.

This weekend will mark those 5 months and we will be tackling Sun Mountain Ultra Marathon in Winthrop, WA.

Whether you are a runner or simply someone wanting to progress in your outdoor interests I believe my journey will offer a lot.

I invite you to read-on as I share what worked, what didn't and the many lessons along the way.

Back To The Basics

I told myself if I was going to do this thing, I’d respect the process and do it “right”.

But what does that mean? Do it “right”?

At the time, I didn’t have the answers. However I knew I must be doing it “wrong”.

If running for longer than 30 minutes causes pain, it’s a clear indication, especially being a primal movement pattern, that I had acquired some inefficient patterns.

What I have learned in the last 5 months has changed running.

It’s given me the ability to head out from my house and trail-run a half marathon and recover for a bike ride or another run the next day.

I have explored parts of BC, Europe, Arizona and Utah that I otherwise would never see.

And it’s given me a way to move in a sustainable way creating balance in my sports, thus, in my body.

First and foremost, and potentially the most crucial point is this…

At the beginning, forget running as a form of fitness & don’t treat it as a workout.

Instead, approach it with awareness, curiosity and treat it as a practice.

That is your foundation. Forget that and you will find yourself in trouble. 

Despite there being many things I have learned that I'd love to share, I want to emphasize three key focal points that contributed to my progress:

• Practice the skill

• Train Tissue Tolerance

• Understand the physiology in terms of heart rate and breathing

I feel equipped with a foundation to attempt an Ultra Marathon. 

The only reason I do so, is curiosity met with the discipline to stick to the above. 

And of course, having a rad partner who inspires me to keep going helps too.

I’m excited to share the above points and my process in more depth.

Practice The Skill

Running is a skill, the same way swimming is.

However, it’s easier to cheat when you run.

But cheat and you’ll suffer the consequences.

I think this is far too common.

There was a lot more to the process than what I can sum up in a few paragraphs and if you’re interested please reach out. But to keep it short I’ve chosen the most impactful three:

Cadence & Long Strides

I had a dreadfully slow stride to begin. I asked around, read published articles and books, and everything I learned was suggesting a cadence of 170-180.

I was running around 150 according to my Garmin, yikes. 

I did some trueform treadmill testing and wasn’t getting above 160; which actually felt pretty fast.

This caused me to reach forward with my legs, strike at my heel and create harsher impacts and as a result, slow myself down.

The first skill was to get my feet underneath me, turn them over faster resulting in a faster cadence.

After practicing this for a while, a faster cadence and feet underneath me, I found I had less pain in my knees and my quads were far less smoked. 

To avid runners, this may seem simple. For me, it wasn’t and it felt incredibly awkward.

The coach in me can’t help but watch people run. In my truck, on my street, etc. The high majority have a slow stride. 

This is an easy place to start!

More Posterior Chain

Shout out to Dave Melanson at our studio who helped identify that my glutes and hamstrings were not doing much. This was a big leap forward, literally! 

I implemented a couple new specific exercises and started running with more intention towards my posterior chain. This created more forward propulsion.

I felt lighter, faster and without thinking about cadence it jumped almost 15 strides per minute.

For the first time, I was finishing a run with sore hamstrings.

The Feet

This one was interesting. I believe if you adjust your posture, work on your cadence and more Still, I had an imbalance that was showing up as pain in an old knee injury.

This is where I would usually quit and unfortunately most people do too.

But I dug, and found the culprit, my left foot! 

I didn’t trust it. I was landing with greater force and intensity on the right.

I boiled it down to two factors:

• An old injury to my left plantar fascia - trauma baby, it doesn’t leave us easily

• The imbalances of my main sports

The old injury caused a mental barrier with trusting and loading my left foot.

There was no way around this other than start trusting it more; the whole system, foot, ankle, calf. When I did it was evident, I’d need to train the surrounding soft tissue! A whole new world of developing tissue tolerance.

Then, there was addressing my patterns acquired from my sports, biking and boarding; both asymmetrical sports. My right leg and foot are always the rear leg and dominant side. Bingo!

This was so interesting and obvious to me. That as a biker and boarder, I’d be wrestling with the imbalances no matter what. I would have to be mindful while on my feet. Intentional with my left. 

But what a wonderful process, finding something that works towards equanimity and balance; running.

Tissue Tolerance 

The second focus was a little more simple. Want to run? You’ll have to train the high-repetition impact and the “tissue tolerance”. Essentially, if you are not used to running, and taking 20,000 steps per day, you will have to train the soft tissue to be able to endure that high number of repetition and eccentric loading.

My suggestion, start small! Real small! Like, 20-30 minutes small.

In addition to running I began doing more eccentric exercises at the gym.

Additionally, I’d skip and do single leg hopping to build the tissue up.

But above all, respecting progressive overload and small incremental gains is vital in the longevity and development of any activity or sport, especially one of endurance. 

Put in your reps, create a program or hire a coach, and above all, remain patient.

Aerobic Physiology & Breath

I began doing breath practices long before I began running frequently.

Yes, some from more yogic tradition and spiritual. 

But also breathing protocols to increase my respiratory dexterity, tidal volume and regulate my nervous system either up or down.

Knowing the importance of nasal breathing helped slow me down in the beginning which assisted in focusing on the skill and developing tissue tolerance. I was tripling up!

Respiratory dexterity, high cadence at slow pace and building soft tissue? Sign me up!

I’ve never been a huge fan of using heart rate zones as a metric while actively doing an activity. I’m someone that appreciates play too much, and this feels rigid.

But I wanted to have range throughout all my zones and keeping in mind my intention with this journey was to better understand the process for my clients and athletes.

With a strong understanding of the importance of training all my different zones, from aerobic base, to V02 Max, I began applying more intention to training them.

Still, I had resistance. 

Then an old coach in the city shared with me some work by Brian Mackenzie, Andy Galpin and Andrew Huberman.

It’s more dynamic then I will make it out to be and similar to the skills and tools for building them, if you want to discuss, please reach out. 

Here is a brief summary of this protocol: 

A Gear System using your breath as a metric.

Gear 1 - Resting breath. Hopefully in and out the nose and at 4-6 breaths per minute.

Gear 2 - You’ve started moving, respiration then increases, but you remain nasal breathing.

Gear 3 - Nasal/Mouth. Intensity has increased and you can no longer breathe nasal only. You’re breathing in the nose, and out the mouth. Or vice versa.

Gear 4 - Mouth/Mouth. High intensity to the point that you can no longer breathe through your nose. This is the highest gear and hardest level of output.

Ultimately, if you are “training” and not simply out on a soulful run or practicing the skills, consider being intentional about what gear is the focus for that run.

I love this system!

It’s simple to practice out on the trail and it keeps you mindful.

I feel proactive, using breath as an anchor point, rather than reactive to what Garmin is telling me.

Additionally, it’s really cool if you start your training like this and notice that you have to move from Gear 2 to Gear 3 (nasal/mouth) around 145 beats per minute. Then as you progress, you notice you are switching into Gear 3 around 155 beats per minute. 

This is aerobic capacity! 

You are directly increasing your ability to efficiently use oxygen as fuel! 

Wrapping It All Up

It all starts with awareness, and that’s what I’ve loved most about this new practice of running.

It may seem like a lot of work. Truth is, it is a lot of work, but it has been so worth it!

To understand my body more intricately. To develop my wellbeing and spend time out on the trails in a way that is new and explorative.

And, to have developed a skill for the rest of my life, that I had lost.

6 months ago, I couldn’t run 7 km without pain, discomfort and needing 2 rest days.

Running 25km and 1500m with my partner to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up was a bucket list mission and an experience I’ll never forget.

So as much as the practice and protocols are gearing me up for an Ultra, it’s never been about the Ultra itself. Sure, the Ultra gave me direction and discipline, and in a few days it will be a fantastic challenge.

But it’s been about building the skill, developing a more capable body and understanding the effects and power of breath and our cardiovascular health.

Above all, it's about being able to explore, regardless of where I am in the world. 

It’s about being able to see the sites I’d otherwise miss.

It’s about being boundless!