Medium and medium long trail events introduce a greater complexity into the mix of specific abilities to be mastered.
The necessary muscular and neurological adaptations are multiple due to the lengths of the climbs and descents, and the fact that it is quite common to find a series of such climbs and descents. The necessity to move quite as quickly over difficult terrain is not as geat as that which we may experience in shorter races though a good leg turnover can certainly bring benefits. Both the mental approach and factors of nutrition and hydration are fundamental and should be practiced in training.
The fundamental specifics to be trained and practiced will be strength, endurance and efficient walking.
Strength
During the previous speed and strength phase we have seen how short uphill intervals can be utilised to boost anaerobic performance. In this phase the length of these intervals will be increased to distances of between 1 – 2km (7/10’ – 15/20’). The number of intervals to be performed will vary from 4 to 8 depending on the length of the intervals and the present state of form. Between each repetition the rest interval should be approximately equivalent to between 50-60% of the time required for the uphill phase. Generally the rest interval should be performed as active recovery. Given the difficulty of finding a similar terrain of considerable length the recovery phase will almost certainly have to be in descent on the same terrain. Since this mimics the specificity of a race it is also possible to use the descents as an active training session, following a passive or active recovery period at the culmination of the climb. However for those having the good fortune of a longer hill (for example 3 - 4 kilometres), a continuous upward direction could be maintained in which faster periods are followed by slower recovery running or even walking.
The steepness of the hill should be sufficient to elicit an effective involvement of the muscular and neurological adaptations but not too steep as to prevent an effective running action. In general this can be achieved on a medium slope (approximately 10% - 100 metres of height gain for 1000m of distance. A slope on natural terrain should be preferred to asphalt due to the added training effect of an uneven surface.
Endurance
Once a week to 10 days long runs should be utilised in which race day equipment should be experimented with. These long runs promote muscular adaptation, improvement of mental approach and provide the possibility of experimenting with nutrition and hydration. Some of these runs can be attempted in a fasted state in order to encourage “fat adaptation” and mimicking race day nutritional stress. Other runs can be attempted in a state of fatigue whereby a medium long run on one day is followed by a similarly long run on the following day (it is also possible to achieve this result by substituting the first run with a long bike ride). The distance of these long runs should gradually increase to a distance at least equivalent to 50/60% of the race distance in the case of longer races and up to 80% in the case of the shorter length races (40-50km). As an alternative to training runs short races can be utilised for this purpose however it is important to note that, unless these races are performed at significantly less than race pace, they will require to be followed by suitable recovery periods.
Walking
Unless you plan on running among the leading pack it is probable that you will have to walk at least a part of the hills and this should be practiced either during training runs or as a combined session with hill descent intervals (first descending a slope and then walking back up as active recovery) . Experiment with different methods, hands on knees, arms behind your back (Olmo style), using poles. Which method is quicker, which is less tiring, at what point is walking as effective as running?
Aerobic runs should continue to be utilised for active recovery and it may be useful to insert a session of short intervals (200 – 400m) or short hill repeats (100m) every 15 days in order to maintain leg turnover and fast twitch muscle coordination.