Tips for Trail Runners Transitioning from Winter to Race Season

As winter winds down and we start to approach prime trail running season, it’s important to take a sensible approach to this transition. Here are a few considerations.

Variety

Increasingly, and not without good reason, many trail runners enjoy to switch things up in winter. There’s been a big jump in skimo participation, and if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere cold, or in the mountains, ski touring and Nordic skiing are not only excellent ways to maintain a huge degree of aerobic fitness and strength, but they also give the body a break from the rigours of running, and the inherent pounding and soreness that inevitably occurs. Not only this, but I am a big believer in adding variety for both the mental break and for pure athleticism. There is ample published data that multi-sport involvement breeds more well-rounded and athletic sportsmen and women, and potentially reduces injury risk, burnout and dropout rates from sport. 

But it’s also important to be aware that skiing, whether that’s skimo, touring or Nordic disciplines, indoor training on the treadmill or the spinbike, or strength work in the gym, simply don’t impact our musculoskeletal systems in the same way that running does. It’s important to be cognisant of this, lowering training loads and impact until we have time to adapt to the new stimulus. 4 hours on the skis does not equate to 4 hours of trail running, and whilst the cardiovascular load may be similar, the impact on our tendons, muscles, joints and ligaments is quite different, and we need to give the skeleton a chance to adapt, by reintroducing things sensibly and cautiously. 

The best way to approach this in practical terms is to periodize intensity and volume with a structured mesocycle approach and appropriate work:recovery ratios. 

Begin with base-building (predominantly Zone 1 and 2 aerobic work). Hopefully after a winter of consistently lower impact activity, the aerobic base will be robust, but it is never a bad idea to return to some easier work, as the body transitions to more running specific patterns. I do think that regardless of the sport, there is value in maintaining a few days per week of running all winter, but inevitably these runs tend not to be multi-hour slogs in the cold, so there will be a transition period where we adjust, and these easier efforts put far less strain on the chassis and give it time to adapt. 

In terms of work to recovery ratios, it is quite personal, and I certainly coach athletes who prefer to avoid complete rest days, but this just makes it all the more important to ‘ease’ back into running. I, for one, typically shun complete rest days, and certainly as I have aged I find that I feel better, less like the tin man, when I do something on a daily basis, but increasingly that involves cross training – I am lucky to have access to an indoor spin bike, as well as a ski and row-erg, and these are great options on my easier days, where I keep the loads (intensity and duration) purposely very low. These options are excellent in the winter months and I don’t know how many thousands of very low intensity metres I’ve put in this winter on the rower; as I transition to a more run focused program, I continue to ‘top up’ my run training on the bike and row-ergs. Many of my athletes will attest to the value of a post-run spin on the bike, especially if they are coming back from injury, or as the seasons change and they look to increase their overall training volume. If you do prefer days off then I think it’s a good idea to add in an extra rest day at first, or to use one of the aforementioned low impact activities on at least one day a week to give the body a break from running. 

A 6 day a week winter program may look like this

• MON Rest

• MON Rest
• TUES Easy Run + Strength
• WED Easy short run PLUS Bike
• THURS Short run Intensity
• FRI Rest
• SAT Bike Plus Strength
• SUN Long run
• As you get back into running, the program may look more like this (as an example)

• TUES Ski or Run intensity & Strength
• WED Easy ski
• THURS Easy ski or Crosstrain
• FRI Ski intensity & Strength
• SAT Easy Run/Ski
• SUN Long Ski

Training loads

It’s absolutely crucial to monitor training loads so as not to overdo things, and I like the objective nature of ATL/CTL ratios in Training Peaks (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/5/273) but it’s also important to learn to listen to your body. Whilst RPE has it’s drawbacks it is a good idea to be more in tune with how we feel during a session, and its easy to become a slave to the training metrics to the detriment of your intuition, but remember that the most important ‘wearable’ is the one you cannot remove and which resides between your ears! I use my devices to help calibrate my efforts, but realize that the data you get out is only as good as the data you put in. If your FTP, critical power or HR zones are not set up correctly, then metrics that rely on these will also be off. This includes IF, TSS, CTL, ATL and TSB. If your zones are set up correctly then take a look at your ATL/CTL ratio periodically. Once it creeps above 1.5 then we know that injury or illness may be lurking just around the corner. Work by Tim Gabbett (http://Sports Med 2016;50:273-280) and others suggests a two to fourfold increase in injury risk in the subsequent week once ATL/CTL gets above 1.5

Soreness

I recommend that athletes deal with soreness and niggles quickly before they develop into something more major. The early season is a great time to get a check-up with your physiotherapist. In the clinic where I work, our physiotherapists offer periodic check-ups. They perform functional movement screens and assess for potentially problematical muscle imbalances. Winter often leads to these muscle imbalances through altered movement patterns with different sports. 

Specific Skills

Allow 4-6 weeks of gradual adaptation when transitioning to technical trails. It never ceases to amaze me how I feel clumsy and inept on technical trails the first few runs. It’s almost like I have forgotten how to scan the trail ahead, and I inevitably take a few falls in the early season, but it comes back quickly, almost like there is a muscle memory.

It is a good idea to reintroduce downhill running progressively to minimize eccentric muscle damage. Begin with lower-grade technical sections before advancing to more challenging terrain. Descending technique sessions can be useful. 15-20 minutes weekly spent on technical descents, with a focus on quick foot placement, high cadence running and center of mass positioning is really helpful. Progressively expose yourself to increasingly technical terrain. This helps restore “Trail vision”. I think about scanning terrain 3-6 feet ahead of me, while maintaining awareness of immediate foot placement. Soft landings with slight knee flexion helps to avoid injury and braking impulses. 

In the gym, I like to introduce more single leg strength work at this time of year. Heavy weighted Bulgarian split squats are my current favorite!

Volume and Intensity control

I recommend to start with no more than 60-70% of your winter training volume on the trails at most, gradually increasing by 10-15% weekly. 

Low Intensity (Zone 1-2) training should comprise at least 75-80% of total training volume. Aim to keep your heart rate below aerobic threshold during these sessions, so on that note, now is a great time to reset your sport specific HR zones with a drift test and this will ensure that metrics like TSS/ATL and CTL are accurate and up to date. Remember that Thresholds vary from sport to sport, so early season as you transition to trail running is the ideal time to do a test. More information can be found at https://evokeendurance.com/resources/evoke-endurance-masterclass-heart-rate-drift-test/

Recovery/Deload

Including scheduled recovery or deload weeks, with a 30-40% volume reduction, makes a lot of sense every 3-4 weeks, especially in the early season as our musculoskeletal system adapts to the new stresses. Prioritize sleep quantity and quality hygiene. Whilst not perfect, I do like to monitor heart rate variability (HRV), RHR, and subjective motivation to assess recovery status. My athletes comments in Training Peaks are incredibly helpful in this respect; if I sense some negativity in comments two or three days in a row, I typically delve into HRV and RHR values, and make adjustments to the training plan.

Fluids & Electrolytes

The transition to warmer weather training usually requires some adjustment of fluid, electrolyte and caloric requirements. It is fairly simple to calculate sweat rates with a pre and post run weight, to help personalize hydration needs, or, better still, consider formalised sweat testing. If you are racing at Western States or Badwater, with the typically extreme temperatures encountered there, engaging the help of an expert in these areas is highly recommended. The same goes for racing at extreme altitude. Before the Hardrock 100 race last year, I received invaluable advice from a sports nutritionist about fluid and carbohydrate needs at altitude.

Monitoring Systems

Because of the increased or differing stress and load on the body, it can be helpful to introduce a pain monitoring system. Remember that’s it’s normal to feel some aches and pains as you transition. I like to implement a pain monitoring (0-10) scale 

• Acceptable pain: 0-3/10 during activity, resolving within 24 hours
• Warning sign: 4-5/10 during activity or persisting beyond 24 hours
• Red flag: >5/10 or increasing during activity

Acceptable pain is almost inevitable with transitions. If pain is mild, is not associated with swelling or altered gait, and resolves by the next day, or rapidly during a warm up then this is OK in my book. Watch out for escalating pain however, and if a new pain persists beyond 24 hours, consider adjusting the next session. I am always telling my athletes that the most important session is the next one. Ignoring a potential injury and needlessly pushing through can necessitate weeks away from consistent training, when it could have been nipped in the bud with an easier session or an additional rest day. Nothing hampers long term athletic development like a prolonged injury.

Think Ahead, Be specific

In the early season or as you approach your race season it’s a perfect time to start to think about the specific demands of your target events. Consider the “law of specificity”. Look at the demands of your next race – is it fast and flat or mountainous and technical. Focus on the specific demands of the event. If you are racing the Hardrock 100, for example, the demands will be quite different to the Western States 100, and the training will look very different.

If you will be doing a lot of steep hiking, incorporate walking into your training runs. If you’ll be at altitude or in a very hot environment, think about specific protocols and implement these at the appropriate time. There is a wealth of good information now on specific heat protocols that can help you prepare not only for races at altitude or in hot climates, but that can also improve temperate or sea level performance. 

The coaches at Evoke can help program these at the appropriate time. It’s never too early to start to consider these factors, so now might just be the ideal time to enlist the help of an expert.