10 WEEKS TO TRAIN FOR AN ULTRA MARATHON - JOSH LYNOTT

As a writer, I always have a notebook or journal on hand. So I thought why not add another one to the collection. A running journal. A collection of thoughts, training session reviews, things that went well and things that didn’t, plus a whole lot more. I wanted to document the mental and physical side of training of running an ultra marathon. It’s crazy how running opens up your mind, throughout many runs I’d often stop for a moment and plug them into my phone. I wanted to explore all these awesome ideas that were popping up inside my brain space.

The Physical And Mental Side Of Training For And Running An Ultra Marathon

The following are typed notes from my running journal, quotes that motivated me along the way, thoughts that surfaced and physical sensations/adaptions that I experienced. More often than not, this is my stream of consciousness on paper.

Friday 23rd of March – My whole body aches. 48km in the last three days since getting off the plane from Hawaii. Bones, head, back aches. Motivation was good. Some days I’ve been unsure, others go so easy. But that is the challenge. The ups, the downs. The ebbs and flows. Today I ran 12.4km to brekky and 8km back. I run everywhere I go right now.

Saturday 24th of March- Two easy 3km runs. Probably the easiest it’s going to be for a while. Wasn’t in the mood to run 10+ km. I need to do 17km tomorrow. Eh. Head ached, for ages.

Sunday 25th of March – PRE RUN – Feeling positive about run. Need to knock out 16.5km to hit weekly goal. Legs good. Back slightly tight. Head sweet. Hydration not bad.

Monday 26th of March – Yesterday I ran for 20km, 1 hour 47 minutes it took me, slow and steady. I felt good yesterday, definitely give me confidence about my next run. Legs are very stiff today. Rest day for the legs today, happy about it.

Tuesday 27th of March – Going to attempt 20km today. Rest day was very much needed. It hurt to walk yesterday morning, very stiff joints. Had coffee, food, hydration tablet – let’s see how we go. Mental motivation is solid.
Part 2: Ran 24km today. Shins ached for first 10km, then got into the groove of it. Body aches now, feel very heavy. My head is good though. I think I can have a crack at 30km this weekend. Listened to David Goggins podcast and Samantha Gash, both make 84km seem like nothing. Next 2 weeks will still be big adaption phase I think.

Thursday 29th of March – Took 48 hours off after the 24km run. My whole body was really feeling pretty average. Today was a grind, not even 10km. Legs and knee hurt. Phone flat, sketchy running tracks. I ran back to Jorden’s from sunset, it became dark super quick. Somehow got lost, ran along the highway but made it home. That’s a win. This week has been tough on the body.

Saturday 31st of March – Arrived in Sunshine Coast, ran 12km, 6km with Brad. It’s still a grind, my goodness. Legs are still heave and the ol’ shins are questionable. 30km attempt tomorrow, I’m nervous about it. Wish me luck. See how we go!!!

Sunday 1st April – Ran with Brad in Mapleton forest. 800m of incline, 30km in distance. It was very hard. So many different phases, first 15km wasn’t bad but 19km hurt. 21km hurt, the incline was brutal. After 24km was tough, that was inevitable. Everytime I push past the previous furthest distance, it hurts but that’s the transformation. The 2 hours after the run were hell. Walked down stairs backwards. Ran with 2 gels and water.

Tuesday 3rd of April – Went to the track, legs still hurt a lot! Slow to less slow, laps of the track. Still managed 10km, you’ll take that for a sore morning..
Jumped in for run club with TRC, sunset was unbelievable. My favourite time to run.

Wednesday 4th of April – Knocked out 14.9 km, was nice to feel some freshness in the legs again.

Thursday 5th of April – Super cruisy run with the fellas to start, then continued on. Really been enjoying solo runs with podcasts.

Friday 6th of April – Day off today, running anwyay. Spent morning with Brad, Max and Jess. Jess was doing 211 km a week! Crazy. Body is feeling good, took till Thursday to feel good. At 48km for the week (Tues -> Thurs) Goal for week is 88km. Need to do 30km+ on Sunday. Mentally preparing for the grind. Tuesday was so tough from Sunday, Wednesday wasn’t bad and Thursday was cruisy. Definitely feeling fitter. Need to start squatting and hiking hills now.

Saturday 7th of April – Ran 13km with Nathan Pope down to Henley. First run back in Adelaide. Pace was very easy, right side of knee ached/pulled a bit. Tight ITB and quad?? Now need to prepare for tomorrow.

Sunday 8th of April – Within first minute of setting out to run 33km, ITB was extremely painful. Pulled the pin.
What a shame, even had my running backpack ready to go 🙁 The first injury/ the first downfall..

Monday 9th – See podiatrist. Intense dry needling. Advised to push through pain this week, leg still no good. Lots of fast running ahead.

Podiatrist: “You’re going to have to push through the pain for me this week!”

Tuesday 10th – 20 x 200m feels good, sore on warm down. Ran with Chris, made run enjoyable.

Wednesday 11th of April – Pick up run, 30 min on treadmill. 8km, Max HR 202. Killed me. Hobbled out of gym. Seriously laying in agony on the floor. Dammit.

Thursday 12th of April – Today sucks. Was meant to do 90 min hike, instead did 55min on the elliptical trainer. Never trained on one before, I got through it but once I stopped, ITB was excruciating. I feel faint and can’t walk without limping. This just makes me wonder how I’m possibly going to get through 10+ hours of running.

Friday 13th of April – 3.9km warm up. Went to start session and knee locked up. Wasn’t able to finish session. Really really hurt, pain level 8/10. Wanted to cry in middle of oval.

Saturday 14th of April – Went out for run, who knows what was going to happen. Maybe 1km, maybe 10km. Went out incredibly slow, 6:20 min/km pace, ended up running 1 hour 40 min a 6:07 min/km. 16km into the city to see the boys at 9.30pm. How’s that for a Saturday night!

Sunday 15th of April – Very late run with the boys. Was amazing to run with some company. It has been a very tough week with the ITB/Knee pain. We departed at 8:30pm and rolled out for 15km. West Beach -> Tennyson return. Finished with a 3:26km, rolling in for the last bit at 3:05 pace. Knee was very sore after, but very glad to scrape 50km out this week. Hopefully can build back up to 60+ this week. Had banana bread + muffin pre run. Need to start focusing on nutrition now. Mentally was really good on easy run, the great chat took my mind off the pain/running.

Monday 16th of April – Listened to group/team call recording. Filled me with excitement. Could be in for 14 hours of running.

Thursday 19th of April – Legs hurt a lot, had to cut run short. ITB/Knee gave me grief. Sunset was great.

Friday 20th of April – 15min easy jog, with strides.

5km RACE TACTIC : It’s all about perceived effort. First 3km around 7-8, last 2km effort 9-10.

Saturday 21st of April – 17:10 parkrun at @3.25 min/km pace. What a morning!! These are my favourite. Went out hard at 3min pace and then first km was 3:15. Was tough pace after 2km. 4km I hit the hurt locker but got through. Sam Tierney ran with me, helped a lot! Team Tempo, Sam, Chris, Booker, Gossy + many more were out. Beach after, smoothie and swim. Leg felt good, made my week.
Part 2: Long run tomorrow, fingers crossed.

It’s been huge for me having my best mates and people come for runs with me the last two weeks. To take my mind off the discomfort and bring enjoyment to running when getting out the door was hard. Motivation was back in full swing after the race.

KEY: Getting it done, no matter how much (little) you don’t feel like it.

Sunday 22nd of April – Went out for long run with Nitta and Adelaide Harriers crew. Was a long run through Belair National Park. I hadn’t actually done a lot of the track we ventured on, super scenic and had a good chunk of hill. Did nearly 400m of incline over the course of 90min. Throwing chat made the run go very smoothly. Was meant to do 22km but leg tightened up after 18km..

Monday 23rd of April – Recovery.

Tuesday 24th – Rolled out for a 20km with little stopping, leg felt reasonably good. Awesome how 20km is a comfortable distance to jog now, 4:53min/km pace.
Part 2: Had needling after, was cooked in the evening..

Wednesday 25th of April Day (ANZAC DAY) – Went to ANZAC service at 5.10am, legs were very sore and heavy. It was a quick reminder that what I am going through is nothing in comparison to what previous Australians did when they served for our country. Returned home to nap, and woke up flustered, sleeping in past when training was scheduled to start. Got there as quick as I could, 2km warm up and then straight into a ‘threshold run’. Ended up running pretty close to race pace on Saturday. After running 20km yesterday, I managed to get through this session very well. Rhythmically, everything felt smooth. 3:28 min/km for last km, max HR 204. Finished with 2 x 200 with pretty tight/sore leg. The 200’s were purely to get more time on legs. Despite sleeping in, happy with the session today.

Having a bigger cause to run towards, is a massive driving factor.

Thursday 26th of April – 55 min walk along the beach to watch sunset. Followed by 12km run with Sam, Chris and Booker. Sam and Chris were already 8km in when Booker and I joined. It was their first 20km attempt! Was very enjoyable cruisy run, followed by a $12 parmi. What a night.

Friday 27th of April: One month out!! Whoah. 30 min with Oli and Chris.

Highlight from Chris: “It shows the quality of your mates when they also embrace a big event/challenge in your life.”

This really hit me. I am so lucky to have people so keen to join most runs with me towards the bigger goal.

Saturday 29th of April – Hill session in Belair with Booker. 2km warm up then 6 x 3min uphill effort with 90 seconds downhill recovery. Was a really solid session by the two of us with seriously steep incline at the end. Was awesome to do with Booker. Brekky with all the boys after, so grateful.

Sunday 30th of April – Started run at 6.10am with Nathan, he wanted to run 15km and so did Booker. Booker joined in at 7am which worked out perfectly. Both boys got their 15km done on either end and I ticked over 25km. Great finish to the week, legs held up relatively well. 85km week. BOOM.

Monday 31st of April – Recovery, heavy legs. Rest was needed.

Monday 1st of May – Awesome morning trundle with Thommo, he has also returned to running so he can run with me as support.

Wednesday 2nd of May – 15km chatty run with Sam and Chris. Heart rate average was 138bpm. Very happy.

Thursday 3rd of May – 17km with Chris and Nathan. Chris was super late, so I ended up doing a 7km warm up before he arrived. We did 10km with Chris. Felt okay, a solid back to back two days of training.

Friday 4th of May – Needed to get a run out despite how average I was feeling. Ran solo, at night with no music or anything. Was frustrated going into the run. Running frustrated only uses more energy.. Ran to Tom’s.

Saturday 5th of May – Ran around city with Booker, 11km. Scored a beep mid run, love when friends see you running. Delicious brekky after. Seriously the best way to start a Saturday morning.

For ever bad day, these kids have 10 more and probably a lot worse! – A guy I met said this when I told him about the ultra.

Sunday 6th of May – We talked about this run all week, the mental prep for this was huge. From Glenelg to the top of lofty summit – 24km with 750m + of incline. We kicked off around 7.30am. Pre-run I had a slice of banana bread and black coffee. Had ‘Tailwind’ nutrition in my backpack bladder. First time running with my pack.
My bladder was 1.5L and can also hold 2 x 500ml bottles, 2 phones and gels for Booker and I. First hour was very cruisy, chat was flowing – always a great indicator for perceived effort. Even the first 20km ended up going by very smoothly, I think we nailed nutrition. Lofty summit was hard but not as bad as I thought, I think this was a result of me playing it out in my mind to be a lot worse, hence, lowering perceived effort on the day? Breakfast after and swim, another great morning out.

Sunday night 6th of May – 5km and life chats with Sam. This got me over the 90km mark. Running 91.5km for the week.

Monday 7th of May – Woke up real achey and tired. Was a very very slow day.

Tuesday 8th of May – Appt with Podiatrist Michael Nitschke. We scheduled the last 2 weeks of training. This week will push me out close to a 100km week and 3 hour long run. Then back to 75km next week. 30km before ultra and then boom. Just have to keep myself healthy. Eat well (lots), sleep more and maintain positive headspace.

Tuesday 8th of May: Entry 2 – Solo run. Ran around the city with a 6km tempo in the middle. 5 x 2min efforts. Felt really good. Listened to Conor McGregor for motivation.

Wednesday 9th – Run with Chris. Was very cold and wet. Rainy was bucketing down by the end of run. Second half run was way better. Chicken parmi after the run went down a treat with even better company.

Thursday 10th of May – Chris, Sam + Oli out for warm-up. 4 x 1 mile reps. First two mile reps, I got to tag along with Team Tempo. Really got me going, moving around at 3:35 min/km pace. All four reps held this pace and felt strong. 10min warm down.

Friday 11th of May – Very cold flush out run. Very easy running, just great life chats with Sam. Running has provided such an awesome time to chat.

Saturday 12th of May – Run with Booker and Bec. Booker invited Bec, I loved how running brings people new people together. Legs felt good. Saturday routined continues with breakfast after. We really are crushing Saturdays Booker and I.

Sunday 13th of May – Woke up to run at 2.40am, and started run around 3.40am at the bottom of Adelaide Hills. I ran as far into the hills as I could, it became so dark, it was actually a bit scary. I turned around and stopped for a moment. Once I did this, my ITB tightened up again.. Managed to run through it for another 4km, with the thought process of what I’d do if it happened in the race. Stopped again and that brought on a world of pain. Walked for a while, with a slow shuffle attempt. Couldn’t straighten my foot to usual position. Pete came to the rescue and picked me up at 6.30am. What a hero.

Tuesday 15th – Felt very good. No pain!? Went for 60min run, knocked out 14km. I had a cortisone in my knee today. I was concerned about it, because cortisones have always carried a weird stigma to me. I actually learnt a lot about them, to put it simply, they’re like a potent anti-inflammatory. They did an ultrasound on my knee and it was very pure form of ITB syndrome. Swelling and fluid all around the knee. I had full faith in the medical practitioners looking after me. I’ll take Wednesday off.

Thursday 17th – Hour run through the forest with Nitta and Wighty. Love forest running! Ripper chat with both the fellas, and discussed about a possible podcast and training plan for beginners. Followed up run with bakery donut, sausage roll and choccy milk. Bit of a treat, but gotta love a country bakery.

This is probably my favourite quote that I wrote down from David Goggins. I didn’t want to jump in the shower after the ultra and think that I could have done more. On my arm during the race I had “HOT WARM SHOWER” scribed in permanent texture.

Friday 18th of May – 10km beach run with Sammy. Again, running is such a great vehicle for conversation.

Saturday 19th – 1 hour 40min with Booker. This was my last scheduled ‘long run’ before the big dance. Found $70 on the ground, the universe must have been telling me something? I’m going to put this towards race nutrition and a head torch. Booker has been so reliable as a weekend training partner, so thankful. Coffee and acai bowl after, again – how good are Saturdays.

Sunday 20th of May – Took the morning super easy and decided it’d be better to run in the afternoon. Ran with Chris and Booker, this was the last run together with the fellas. How good they’ve been, wow.

Tuesday 22nd of May – 45 minute run, 10km along the beach. I’m so glad to be going to Bali, it’s so cold running now. Had a huge tailwind on the way home, felt a bit heavy but good to knock that out before jumping on the plane to Bali.

Wednesday 23rd of May – Arrived in Bali! Met my team mate Tarek. We trotted around Seminyak for 30min. BALI IS SO HUMID. Thank god we will be doing the race over night. Tarek has completed 23 marathons in the last 5 years, one of them was going down from Everest Base Camp, another in Africa plus an 84km ultra in San Fran. The team is full of incredibly amazing people.

Thursday 24th of May – 55 min run around Seminyak, 10.5km super easy easy running. Sweating bullets, I’m really going to need to focus on hydration. We drove the course backwards today. Took 4 hours just to drive! Unbelievably hilly. The first 23km of the race is utterly ridiculous. I’ll be doing a lot of walking in that section. Just buzzing at how wonderful the team is.

Friday 25th of May – Went out for 4km run in the morn around 11.30am. 35 degrees and super humid. Did some strides with my team mate Lyndsay. Feeling good so far. There is nothing more to do now. Time to show up to the race and go.

Run Briefing – May 25th

Tonight Sam Gash spoke to us. I haven’t felt much about the race till now. That’s just how I am, live each day as it comes and feel as much as I can in the moment.
The brief was confronting, seeing what may possibly happen to me. On the verge, breaking down, non-responsive. It’s going to be brutal. Sam really helped settle me after when we had a chat about a race plan.

** Leave the ego aside. People respect the patient person that sticks to their race plan.

Tactic for the big day.

Start in second group. Jog to the start of the hill. Walk to the top of the hill. There is no need to run. Power walk and hike the hill hard, watch out for HR. Keep HR less than 150 or perceived effort below 6/10. After hill, be super light on feet going down the hill, short steps. Jog or run on the flat, 13 min run, 2 min walk. Always walk on any incline. Take first section SUPER EASY! Don’t let ego get to you. Use catching people as a boost. Experiment talking to people.

Stretch goal: WIN. 1ST PLACE.

Race day – 5 hours from start.

Me trying to sort out all my race nutrition.

Well, maybe I’m a little under prepared. Not really, it’s more just having no idea about how to prepare a race bag or the nutrition. The tactic is 200 calories per hour. One gel + tailwind nutrition. Then I’ll potatoes. I’m starting in second group.

Thank you to the following people.

Michael Nitschke, from SPARC Adelaide. For his ongoing support, guidance, knowledge and sound treatment.

Booker, Chris, Nathan, Sam, Andrew, Wighty and Oli for joining so many of my training runs in the lead up. Special mentions, to Gossy and Tom for being the non-runner support to us all.

To The Running Company, across Australia your support is always extremely appreciated.

Samantha Gash for taking the time to pass on knowledge gained from your unbelievable experiences in ultra running and life.

Everyone involved with Bali Hope Ultra – incredible humans you are.

Chris, Me, Sam and Booker. Cheers fellas.