Anyone Done the Mt. Washington Road Race?

Finally, this year's lottery gods were kind to me and I've won a spot in the Mt. Washington Road Race in June. I've wanted to do this race for a while, but this is the first year I got in. Yay!

Has anyone else done the race before and wants to share some advice? Besides road races, I've done the Ascutney Mountain Run, which at 3.8 miles and 12% average grade is like half of a Mt. Washington (7.6 miles and 11.5%). So, I'm imagining what it would be like to do that twice.

I'm planning to train distance-wise as if it's close to a half marathon (based on the time predictors) and obviously up my hill work. I train with a heart rate monitor, so I know how to get a consistent effort going, but I'm wondering what the theories are about when and how long to walk vs. run.

Any advice from others who've done this race?

Max VO 2 Test - get your % Bodyfat low as possible without going overboard- stretch and talk to the people in oregon ( Big on Running / up hill not sure.

but I'm wondering what the theories are about when and how long to walk vs. run.

Alicia,

I have never done this run, or any other uphill race, so my advice should be taken for what it is worth. I have done some road races up to 10K that had long steep hills(northern CA, OR and WA type hills) and absolutely love climbing on both my road bike and mountain bike. My thoughts on running vs. walking is that if you can walk uphill faster than you can run, it is time to start walking.

I don't know if you cross train at all but something like Crossfit or even P90X might be a worthy addition to your training. P90X will take at least another hour per day so it might not be feasible. Crossfit, if you scale the workouts, can be done a few times a week and still have results. Yoga or a stretching program is also important. Before I started a structured exercise program my calves would be tight and sore after running hills or a race that had a long hill. My lower back would also be very sore. If you want to hear more of my hill climbing advice let me know but like I said, I've never done any uphill races.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to check out some of the mountain running sites for more info too, as well as Crossfit and other cross-training suggestions (an area I know I neglect).

I regularly run 4-5 days a week and have done one uphill race, among other road ones. But, I know this will be much tougher.

Glad to hear you are going to give Crossfit a shot. Let us know how the race went and pass on what you learned.

Alicia,

I think you have an HRM. This is a very useful tool for training for almost anything. Back when Barb and I were actively racing bicycles, US Cycling Federation introduced HRMs for training for those of us in Cat 1 and 2 and devised training programs that were very similar to those being developed for runners (USCF is the cycling federation part of the US Olympic Committee). Basically the schedule is a mix of endurance (moving up your pace for aerobic activity) and sprints (moving up your anaerobic threshold). If you haven't, you should use the HRM to see what your anaerobic threshold is (it is different for different activities). There are a couple of excellent books on using the HRM for training, written by a team of the USOC coaches and one by Chris Carmichael. Unfortunately, my copies of those books are packed away in the storage area during house construction (progress report - today they got the sheet rock into the second floor, with most of the rest to be done by Thursday). Otherwise I would post a digested version.

Basically, the cycle for both runners and cyclists for a week is MWF is LSD (Long Slow Distance) to build aerobic capacity. TTh is windsprints - you push all out (after warmup, of course) for a certain length of time in your max sprint, then slow jog or walk (or slow ride on the bike in a low gear) until your heart rate returns to 50% of max, then repeat (sprint, cool down, sprint, cool down, ....). If you are not competing on the weekend, you intersperse (for runners) "fahrtlek". This is a kind of playful jog/dance kind of rythm, best done with a companion, perhaps tossing a ball back and forth. The reference gives the canonical max heart rate formula. But you should actually use the max you determine, either having your sports medicine doctor run a treadmill test or just get warmed up and run as hard as you can uphill for several minutes until you are well into your anaerobic phase. The formula tends to underestimate athletes and conditioned people's max heart rate (my measured max is about 10% higher than the formula gives right now while I am not training because of all the housebuilding distraction).

Just be sure, of course, that your doctor says it is ok to push like this, and step up your training gradually from where you are right now.

Yes, I do use a heart rate monitor and am a huge fan of them, which I neglected to mention above. I've actually converted several friends and family members to their use with my evangelizing and the Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot.

I use mine to make sure I'm truly doing the right mix of hard, easy, and moderate miles and so on. For races, since I know what my own max HR is, I also know about what percent I can sustain for that distance.

Here's what I saw recommended in Runners World a while back:

Race Distance
5-K 95-97%
10-K 92-94%
Half-marathon 85-88%
Marathon 80-85%

Based on estimated time (versus distance for an uphill race) I'd aim for 80-85% for this race.

For the Ascutney Mountain Run, I stuck to a specific heart rate range and just kept running at that effort (well, it climbed up a bit a the very end, of course). It seemed to work fine, though while I ran continually, some runners ran and walked, and finished around the same.

So, I guess if you hit a point where you can walk faster than you can run at a certain effort, then it's time to walk. Otherwise, I'll stick to my standard running/HR strategy.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. I'll have to let you know how it goes in a few months.

Hows the training going Alicia. What kind of miliage per week. Longest run per week. I have run in one 24 hour relay in my time. 257 miles plus for the 10 man team. We had 2 or 3 drop out late so the turns to run came up quicker. Some say this is harder than a marathon; I have gone marathon distance in training one year. I thought the marathon distance was harder than the relay. If I can stop smoking,start running again I would like to get into the Badger State Games. I ran the mile,2mile and sometimes mile relay or 1/2 mile. I did UW cross country coaches running camp one year; 20-25 miles daily(no misprint) 3 runs morning noon and night or 2 longer runs. A former 4:30 miler and cross counry Runner. I may have books with old school names in distancee running: philosophys,training schedules etc. if interested.

Thanks for asking, New Hiker 2B!

You certainly have a lot of running experience. I'm impressed. I think a long distance relay would be fun someday, especially a trail one. I've done a marathon relay, which we have coming up again in two weeks. It's a family thing where my husband and I do it with my father-in-law and my sister-in-law and her husband. It can be neat to take an independent sport and do it as a competitive team.

As for the Mt. Washington race, it is going okay. The main pressure is time, since I have two little kids (in addition to work, etc...). My long run this week (today) was 10 miles. I plan to extend that to 14-15 miles a few weeks before the race. On the endurance side, I'm thinking about the race as being a half marathon in duration.

As for the hill component, I've been mixing in more specific hillwork, doing uphill laps and so on, in addition to tempo runs. Tonight I may run a few miles on our treadmill at a certain grade. Next week's speedwork will probably be several one mile uphill repeats on a trail near my house.

My weekly mileage is about 25 miles, but it will probably be around 30 by next month.

I'm definitely not going to win any awards, though my 5-year-old keeps asking, "but what if you do win?!"

My goals are: 1. do the race, 2. aim for under 2 hours (I don't know if this is truly feasible or not, though the excel predictor says it is), 3. run the whole thing, no walking, 4. hopefully not feel like I might die the whole time. We shall see...

I bet you would enjoy getting back into running! You should go for it, especially as such a talented runner.

You didn't apply not to do the race. Race Time isn't all that important if you keep training you will get better. I would guess your 2 hrs. is very realistic. If you just enjoy the view,people,movement for the first half the race,then start to focus and pick it up ever so slightly you will only have a couple miles to go to finish without walking. You will not die, you will not walk,you will finish strong. If you die it don't last that long thanks to your training. If you walk it is not the end of the world. Besides you can tell your children you win every day with them in your life. I hope you have a great run/race without walking and it sounds like the kids already know their parents are winners. Hey Alicia have a nice 2 hr run up a mountain and for Gods sake don't die the kids are counting on you to win. Sorry I had to. I think what I miss about running is letting my mind go wherever it wanted to; when it went nowhere it was good too.

Thanks for your inspiration. Since joining I have walked with my daughter about 4 miles at Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona WI. We had a wonderful time. Her imagination was in full gear. The walk became a treasure hunt for the hidden immunity idle with clues along the way. We were both tired but felt great.

I'm glad you had a great walk with your daughter. Sounds like a nice outing.

You're right, that it's important to focus on the positive, beauty of the experience. I'm lucky to have won the lottery and I shall enjoy myself on a beautiful mountain.

It was great. Went on another one with my daughter, sister and her daughter. We did about 2.5 miles. Wish you the best on the beautiful mountain. Are there enough people on trailspace to do a cross country relay?

I am also running (walking??) Mt Washington in June.

I can't figure out just how steep it will be.

Yikes

Rob

Good luck, Rob!

If you have access to a treadmill, you could do some sustained uphill runs to get a feel for the grade. I've tried this and my exact verdict is, "it's pretty steep!"

The real thing will likely seem steeper in June, but at least there will be a view (I hope).

I am running the race up Mt. Washington this month as well. I have had no experience running uphill so I am kinna apprehensive but I have trained for a half marathon that I just did over the memorial day weekend. For the remaining couple weeks left, I intend to train on an incline on a treadmill. I was just wondering if anyone knows what the numbers on the treadmill mean and what incline on the tread would correspond to an average slope of 12% at Mt. Washington. Please chirp in.

Good luck, Nepalinut.

I'd assume that if the treadmill has an incline that it corresponds to % grade. Mine says "Elevation."

You'll also hear that running flat (0%) on a treadmill is easier than running flat outside, so it's often suggested to normally run at 1% or some low incline to offset that advantage. I admit that I never do this, unless I actually need specific hill work. Generally I stick to outside as much as possible anyway. I keep the treadmill for when I have no better options.

I have a number of hills around me. There's a .6 mile one that averages about 7.5% grade, which I did a bunch of repeats on yesterday morning.

Thanks Alicia. I do intend to go up to the Wachusett (sp) over the weekend to practice running in the hills. However, on work days, I do not have the time to go to a 'hill' so i probably have to stick to treadmills.

The treadmill that I use has numbers like 1,2, 3 and all the decimals within those three numbers. '3' is definitely way steepe than 3 degrees on the tread that I use.

Hmmm... that's a puzzle. Mine will do a 0-12% grade incline (with half grades in between), which it calls Elevation. Maybe you can find out your treadmill's features online.

Have fun running up Wachusettt!

Nepalinut -

Here is hillrunner's chart on use of incline on treadmills. The comment about running on a flat treadmill being easier than on the road is supposed to be because of the lack of wind resistance. I have always doubted the validity of that for anything other than the 4-min mile crowd, at least based on what wind resistance feels like on a bicycle where I can easily observe my speed and feel the wind resistance at the same time (drafting on bikes doesn't really come into play until at least 10 mph).

You can figure out the percentage incline by measuring the difference in height between the two ends of the belt and dividing by the length of the belt. So for a 5 foot belt (60 inches) with a half-foot (6 inches) rise, you get a 10% incline (also called a 1 in 10 grade). Then use the chart to estimate the added resistance.

Or if you run hills, take the altitude gain and divide by the trail length. So my hike yesterday of 3 miles bottom to top, with a gain of 2200 feet is an average of a 13.8% grade (some sections are nearly flat and some are much steeper, about 20%, which you will find on Washington as well).

Just wanted to give an update that I ran the race on Saturday and it went well. I managed to squeak in under two hours (1:59:16). The first four miles were fine, but it got tough after the steeper switchbacks around miles 4-5.

I'm really glad I did it though, and I would do it and other hill climbs again. And all the people I met were really nice.

Note to self, here's what I learned and would do next time.

1. Run even more hills, especially steep continuous ones, because nothing prepares you for running up 18+% grades, like running those inclines.

2. I'd do more treadmill time, working up to a 10% incline and increasing my time at that (this from a very nice guy in the port-a-potty line who's coached some age groupers).

3. If possible, I'd up my overall and long run mileage even more, but I think for a first-timer it went well.

Congratulations, Alicia! That's a pretty respectable time. How much runnig vs walking did you end up doing, vs what you originally thought? I see by the photo that Mt Washington was living up to its usual weather reputation ("whether it is raining or snowing"). What was the temperature and wind speed (I think every time Barb and I were at the summit, the wind speed was at least 20 or 30 knots, and can't remember a calm day, though a couple of times it was sunny, but never warm)?

Thanks, Bill.

The run-walk thing should have been my fourth point.

4. Get and stay into a steady low gear from the get-go (which I did), but once that no longer works, get over my no-walking rule. Sometime after 4 miles I started walking more and more. Next time, I'd know that eventually that would probably be necessary and to have a plan for it, like run 100 steps, walk 100, repeat, or something specific like that. I think I could shave a few minutes off doing that.

The weather turned out great for race morning. It has been very rainy in New England for a week or two. Friday it was downpouring at times. But on race day it drizzled a bit in the morning, but was only very cloudy for the race. The summit was above the clouds. So, there weren't any views until the last half mile or so.

Temps were in the 60s at the bottom, 50s up top. Winds were low too, 5.9MPH.

It began raining again on Sunday though.

way to go alicia

Rock on Alicia!

Thanks, everybody!

Congradulations Alicia.

It sounds like you had great weather for the run. Make the notes and plan for the future.