Happy Thanksgiving! This month Sharman Ultra (http://www.sharmanultra.com) is the Coach of the Month for Strava and our fourth post is from Coach Liza Howard, winner of several National Championships and two-time winner of the Leadville Trail 100.





How to Train For Mountain Races if You’re a Flatlander



You dream of racing in the mountains. Leadville. Wasatch. Bighorn. Speedgoat. Hardrock. UTMB. They’re all on your bucket list. But you live in Kansas. Or Florida. Or any place where highway on-ramps and bridges constitute hills. You’re a Flatlander.



So should you give up your mountain-racing dreams and make peace with running flat and fast races? No way! Keep dreaming! What you do need to do, though, is make peace with treadmill training. That’s where you’re going to have to spend time creating mountains.



15 is the Magic Number



Here’s the truth: Power-hiking at a 15% grade on a treadmill at a 15 minute per mile pace will set you up well for mountain racing. And it’s not as easy as it sounds. Or maybe it doesn’t sound easy. Good! Hiking uphill on a treadmill at a 15 minute per mile pace without holding onto the handrails is hard work. And the second it becomes easy, you should put some weight on your back and make it hard again.



How to Become a 15 min/mile Power-hiker



Try starting out at a 4% grade at a 15 min/mile pace. Then, every tenth of a mile, increase the grade by one. Keep increasing the grade until you can no longer hold the pace. Then, either drop back down to 4%, or slowly work your back down to that grade.



Another option: Start at a 15% grade and a comfortable hiking pace. Then, increase the speed every tenth of a mile. When you can no longer hold the pace, drop back down to your starting pace, or slowly work your back down to it.



Power-hiking is a different skill than running. It’s seems like you should be able to hike fast if you’re a fit runner, but it doesn’t work that way. You have to learn how to hike fast. Try shortening your stride to increase your speed. When your calves start to burn, lean forward and focus on using your glutes. And just keep practicing! You’ll improve more quickly if you simply expect it to be hard to maintain a 15 min/mile pace.



How Much Vert?



First, here’s how you figure out your vertical gain on the treadmill:



Vertical Gain = (Grade/100 x miles) x 5280 feet

Example: (0.15 x 4 miles) x 5280 feet = 3168ft of Vertical Gain



So if you’re hiking at 15 minutes per mile, it’ll take an hour to go 4 miles. And that’s about 3000 feet of vert.

The amount of vertical gain you should aim for every week depends on how much time you’re willing to spend hiking on a treadmill, rather than any ideal number. Power-hiking on a treadmill is not fun. No matter what TV show or podcast you’re using to distract yourself, you’re not going to look forward to walking fast up a 15% grade. It’s simply a means to an end. So you should decide how much “not fun” you’re willing to endure to accomplish your mountain-running dreams. Two hours? Three? Six? That’s how much weekly vertical gain you’ll aim for. For a lot of Flatlanders, more than 10k of vertical gain a week, more than three hours, is too burdensome.



Once you can hold the 15 minute per mile pace for 15 minutes, design your sessions around simulating the big climbs in your race. Look at the race profile and figure out the how long each climb is. Practice each climb and then start linking them together. Let how hard the climbs feel, and your “not-fun” tolerance, guide your weekly vertical goals.



What Treadmill Training Can’t Do



Of course, most mountain races require more than uphill running. You’re going to have to be able to run downhill too. And you can’t really do that on a treadmill. Most don’t have a decline setting, and those that do, aren’t steep enough. So find a hill outside that’s 20 to 30 seconds long, and do laps on it. Power-hike up and run down. Slowly increase the number of repeats you do until an hour feels easy. Then add 10 pounds of weight to your back until that feels easy. You can use a weight vest or load up a hydration pack. Run these downhills at an easy pace. Speed, especially with the additional weight, increases your chance of injury. An easy effort will still work well to build up muscle resiliency. If you can’t find a 20-second hill, you can use a long flight of stairs or even a parking garage.



None of this hill work is glamorous, or much fun, but it will get us Flatlanders fit enough to tackle wonderful mountain races (especially if we go out early enough to acclimatize to the thin air!) Heck, hiking at a 15 minute per mile pace at a 15% grade on the treadmill in my garage in San Antonio, Texas got me across the finish line first at the Leadville 100 a couple of times.

Photo: Western States 100 by Matt Trappe/Clif Bar