I’m training for a 50k with ~5k elevation gain (and even more loss). I have access to a lot of steep mountain trails I could train on.
But, if I were to train on these trails, I couldn’t follow the Zone 1+2 endurance run plans– I’d have to hike up many parts (instead of run) and have to push very fast on the downhills to stay in zone.
But, maybe it’d be beneficial for me to focus on too-steep-to-really-run trails for SOME long runs?
Example– I have a 2 hour run scheduled tomorrow. I could hike-run the nearby mountain and it’d give me about 8 miles and 2500′ gain and 2500′ loss in 2 hours. But, if I did something NOT steep, I would cover much more mileage (around 12 miles instead of 8).
So, do I focus on distance running with less elevation gain, or hike-run mix with less mileage but more vertical? Maybe I should alternate every other week?
Any thoughts appreciated, just figured I’d get some ideas! 🙂