Downhill Running

I have run several technical trail races in the Upper Midwest now, and at each of them, other runners have said the same thing:

“I don’t know how you take the downhills that fast.” 

After getting an explicit question on this on my last post about Zumbro, I got to thinking more about it. There are any number of lists at tips out there about downhill running. Indeed, any trail running book you pick up will probably have tips on how to run downhill. Hal Koerner’s “Field Guide to Ultrarunning” has a number of good tips. I want to take a different tactic here. 

Downhills are inherently important in any trail race with significant elevation change. In fact, recent research on ultramarathons suggests that the muscles in downhill running are the ones that are the most affected by an ultra. I myself have found that, while I’m an average uphiller in Minnesota, I am considered an excellent downhiller, often making up  more time on the downhill than I lose to other runners on the uphill.     

So here are my tips: 

1. Practice: this should be self-explanatory. If you want to get good at running downhills, run downhill. While I lived in Colorado, this was unavoidable. A general run consisted of running up a mountain, then back down it. Longer runs included more mountains. Here in Minnesota, I have to be a bit more deliberate about it. I have found a few courses in the Twin Cities area that feature longish hills. Rather than simply do hill repeats up a hill, I’ll do them up and down. This either results in a tempo run, or running for a rest break at the top or bottom before doing another up/down or down/up repeat. If nothing else, do this. 
2. Look ahead: focus on a spot a few meters ahead of you. Don’t worry so much about the ground right in front of your feet. Look farther ahead, and route yourself accordingly. After some practice, you will get to the point where your legs and feet naturally adapt to the terrain they hit. Trust them, and let them.
3. Relax: many people tense up on the downhills. This just makes it harder to react to the terrain, and takes more effort than staying relaxed. Staying relaxed also makes it much less likely that you will injure yourself if you do take the fall. 
4. Flow: when I get into a good groove on the downhill, I like to compare it to a dance. It’s a great feeling, with your feet just barely touching the ground, dancing across rocks that shift under your feet and flying over gaps. I’m not alone in this: Kilian Jornet says the same thing. 
5. Enjoy : learn to love the downhills. As I said above, there’s nothing as much fun (to me) as flying smoothly down rough terrain, and the accompanying gasps from the people you past. 

If you get the chance, look up some of the great downhillers. Kilian and Anton Krupicka are both excellent. For a time, there was a clip of Kilian going down Grand Swamp Pass during his Hardrock performance last year that was an astounding example of all the above. Here are a couple examples: 

This is a bit shaky, since Kilian is holding the camera. But from 4:20 on you get a bit of an idea.

Here's one at the Pikes Peak Marathon. I was actually in this race, though Kilian was far ahead of me. I ended up in 59th place, rather disappointed since my training partners had come in 9th and 19th, but I did the best I could on that day. 

Zumbro 17: Impressions.

I raced the Zumbro 17 miler in southern Minnesota this past weekend. I opted for the “sprint” race rather than the 50 or 100 milers that were going on at the same time. Huge congrats to those who did the longer distances! That is a tough loop to do once, let alone 3 or 6 times. 

Rather than do a full race report this time, I decided that I will stick to impressions of what I did well with this race, and what I can improve on next time. To be honest, that’s what is more important to me in any case.

I am, on the whole, pretty proud of this race. I ended up in 6th place over all out of 281 finishers. I felt like I pushed hard, but managed to stay in control and leave a little (though not quite enough) in the tank at the end. I got to enjoy an absolutely glorious spring day in a beautiful area of southern Minnesota, and share it with other, like-minded people who, by and large, made a great event even better.  

Things done well: 

Physical and Mental preparation: I had trained well for this race. Looking back on my training up to this point last year, i got in fewer miles, but more workouts. Last year, I was logging more miles, but fewer of them were focused, quality miles with a definite goal. I was doing weekly 800 meter workouts, but no real trail workouts. I have definitely gotten more elevation in this year, and I think that payed off big time. 

My 10-mile tempo from a few weeks ago was a huge mental and physical boost. It proved to me that I could run fast even when i wasn’t feeling 100%. It also showed me that I could run quickly on trails. 

The week prior to this, I fell ill to a combination of allergies and sickness. Only a week before the race, I found I couldn’t run at all (let alone my planned 15 miles) because my body had shut down so much. Even a few days before, I was not back to where I had been. That being the case, I tried to set reasonable goals. I looked back at a similar race in Colorado, the Continental Divide Trail Run, and from that figured I could run between 2:15 and 2:30 at Zumbro, depending on the day. 

I ran a 2:22:50. 

I also planned better for the race course. I studied the elevation profile, locations of the aid stations, and had my plan in place before I set foot in the park. I knew that if I could manage my efforts on the climbs, I could still have enough left in the tank to push on a section of gravel road between 12 and 14 miles. I didn’t go quite as quickly as I’d hoped, managing around 7 minute pace, but that’s much more quickly than I’ve ever run that far into a race before. 

Race Day: On the day itself, I did fairly well. I brought my Simple Hydration bottle, allowing me to carry 13 ounces tucked into my waistband. I brought 1 VFuel gel in my shorts pocket, which was useful, but this will also go under “Thinks to Improve.” Despite a somewhat chilly start, I went with shorts, a tank top, and gloves, knowing that it would heat up. Anything more and I would have definitely overheated later. 

During the race itself, I played to my strengths well. I let some people go a bit on the uphills, and dropped the hammer a bit on the flats and downhills, trusting my speed work and descending ability. And sure enough, after the first pair of downhills, another racer ran by saying “I don’t know how you take the downhills the way you do.”  On the gravel road, as I said, I didn’t quite have the 6:30s I was hoping for in me, else I would probably have taken 5th. I must have had my pacing nearly perfect, because after the 5th mile or so, I didn’t get passed (nor, sadly, did I pass the 5th place runner). 

Things to improve:

Preparation: Ideally, I would have gotten another long (15+) mile run in, with a significant flat section where I could drop the hammer. Afton is perfect for that, and would let me work on uphills at the same time. Other than that, I felt pretty good with my preparation, given my illness the week before. 

Race day: I knew the aid stations carried Hammer gels, which I don’t tolerate at all. Knowing this, I should have carried an additional VFuel gel for the race. Two gels is just about perfect for this length race (for me). 

Secondly, I need to work on my mental game. The last 4 miles or so, I knew where the 5th place runner was. I could see him on the road and wherever the trail straightened out. I did consciously push the pace, running a mental string between us and trying to shorten it slowly and surely. It worked, to an extent, but I ran out of time. I was pushing to the borderline, and if I ran much faster my quad started cramping and twitching. But had I been able to move just 5 seconds per mile faster, I could have made it a sprint for the line. 

Other thoughts: 

It was a tough course. My watch said about 2000 feet of climbing, though it was probably closer to 2500 based on other peoples’ readings. There were four big climbs, but those weren’t the worst sections for me. The worst section was coming in to AS3, along a flat section. The only problem was it wasn’t really flat, it had tiny, rolling bumps, like those you see on mountainbike trails. Each little bump sucks just a little life out of your legs. 

I’ve always hated those things. 

Seriously, though, it was a beautiful course, and well marked. There was no point where I was worried about getting off course. I would highly recommend the race to anybody who has an interest in mid-length trail race. 

Week Ending 4/5

Setbacks.

In any running year, they happen. I had one this past week. Around Tuesday, I started feeling congested, and just a bit ill. Even so, I did a solid hill workout on Tuesday, and a 6 x 3 minutes on, 2 minutes "float" fartlek on Thursday.

Friday I had planned 7 miles. I managed almost 4, with tears streaming from my eyes due to allergies. In the afternoon, after trying to work for several hours, I passed out in my bed for a couple hours.

I never take naps. In the past 10 years, I can count on one hand the number of times I've taken a nap. I know they can be useful and healthy for many people, but I have never been able to fall asleep during the day. That should give an indication of how far gone I was.

Saturday I had planned a run out at Afton: a 15.5 mile loop I've done several times before. After Friday, though, I realized that, while I could probably have done the run, it would have done more harm than good.

For any runner, the decision not to do a workout (rather than, say, shortening or easing up on a planned workout) is a difficult one. Training requires, for me, a carefully acquired OCD tendency that is hard to set aside when things don't go your way.

I ended up taking the entire weekend off. After a couple rest days, I headed out for 3.5 miles today (Monday) and while I feel mostly better, I am not 100% by any means.


I can only hope I feel better as the week goes on because, on Saturday, I have my first race of the year! The Zumbro 17 (https://www.zumbro100.com/) is a 16.7 mile trail race with, depending on who you ask, 2300-3100 feet of elevation gain. Looking at past performances, if I feel ok I should be able to finish it in under 2:20. I ran a much harder race, the Continental Divide Trail Run in Steamboat (15.5 miles and 4300 feet at 8000+ feet elevation) in 2:22 off of two weeks' training.

I hope I feel better, and can really lay the hammer down.  With any luck, my enforced taper should help.