Concept2 Forum

I'm in the process of trying to develop a plan to do an ultramarathon. The plan is to do a marathon on the ski, bike, and rower erg and also run a marathon. I do CrossFit regularly, have rowed a marathon previously, and have done long-distance running but I've never run a marathon. I am putting this out there to see if anyone has any tips/advice or if what I'm trying to do does not seem feasible. Here are a couple of questions that have come to light so far.

Question One: Is there a program that anyone can recommend to help develop a training plan for doing the long-distance? Because this would involve different components, I don't believe I can just simply follow a 100-mile training plan for just one movement (i.e. running). I'm assuming I'm going to have to find a training program and modify it so that I'm building up miles with each component. is this a wrong assumption? Would I be able to strictly train for running 100 miles and not have a negative effect on the rest of the components?

Question Two: I'm still in the early stages of planning this but after discussion with a few people I trust and work out with, I believe that the order I'd do the components would be run, ski, bike, row. My thought is to do the run first since it will be outside (I live in south Louisiana and my birthday is in May) and overall would have the highest impact on my body. I also wanted to split up the ski/row so I would not be gripping something for 8 hours straight. Does this seem to be a logical order, or is there another order that would seem more logical?

I am far from any sort of expert on the ultra-marathon topic but I do have a few thoughts and I have done some long workouts that involved the same equipment (much shorter than what you are attempting)

First thought - are you crazy ?! LOL - this seems really daunting but I love the idea you want to test limits. It's good that you have done a Row marathon before as you have an idea of what that feels like. I don't think the bike will be that hard but the Run and Ski will be very hard. I think the order you are planning is decent but the ski after the run could be brutal but if worried about grip then I see what you are trying to do.

As far as training. You mention you do CF and that's good, I still do some CF and did all CF for a while before rowing more. However, CF trains so much with intervals and short burst and this will be completely aerobic. So, you will need to do a ton of long steady work and I see no way of doing anything but a combination of the movements. I only run when it's programmed in a CF workout that I am doing. I am a decent runner because I have good capacity from rowing but many people that I can crush on the rower and during CF workouts can run as well or better than me - body types make a difference. The main point being that fitness in one movement definitely helps with others but isn't enough to be ready to do a marathon on them. I am guessing you modify a 100-mile plan or just start with doing something like 10K for each an build -up gradually. Again, my advice here is just a thought as this is not my specialty. I can tell you as you prepare and attempt make sure to work out what hydration, food and such you will consume. When I did a 50K row in May I thought I had a good plan but crashed hard in the last part of it despite doing faster paced marathons in prior years.

Anyway, I am fascinated with this goal and want to know how it goes and how the training goes - keep us informed.

I assume you're planning on doing all four consecutively? That sounds absolutely disgusting.

I can't give you any meaningful advice, mainly due to the sheer variety of the exercises and the stresses involved. If I was you I'd make sure to get a marathon done for all four ASAP, as you need to familiarise yourself with what to expect, as well as confirming what your nutrition plan will be. There are significant differences, and muscular loadings, between all four elements, so just training for one of them would be a mistake imo.

I'd possibly say that gripping the handle isn't too much of an issue, and it's never been an issue for me, and you might like to leave the 'easier' element to last ie bike. I'd consider running (lower body), skiing (upper body dominant) rowing (sitting down after lots of standing up) and finish on the bike.

Dangerscouse wrote: ↑

July 1st, 2022, 12:07 pm

I assume you're planning on doing all four consecutively? That sounds absolutely disgusting.

That sounds somewhat crazy.

If I were thinking about a goal like this, I'd start off by looking at training plans for full Ironman races. It's 140.6 miles across three different components, so it would be a starting place on how to think about training for a long endeavor across multiple endurance sports. I'm sure that there will be differences for swimming vs. rowing/skiing. The biking component is comparatively a larger chunk of an Ironman, as well - about 80% by distance as opposed to 25%. But it would be a start.

im doing a marathon in 10 weeks (walking it not running) and everything i can see basicly says do 3 or 4 runs a week with a long session on the weekend. the long session to include up to at the least a half marathon. currently im doing walks when i can get the time and weather window (currently doing a longer walk on the weekend of 15-21km) and my day to day stuff is mostly erg work.
i think this is pretty much the go for all the versions you are contemplating (standard workouts followed by a long one).
im also contemplating doing an ultra early next year but am reserving my decision until after the marathon in Sept to see how i do/feel/recover. then it will be one of three options.
1. 50km run/walk
2. 100km run/walk
3. no freaking way

I agree with the poster that suggested looking at Ironman training plans. You might want to buy Friel’s book. Your biggest challenge will be the run for sure. I don’t know if running first would be smart or not. Could be. I did 2:55 at Boston in 18 and ended up walking about 1/3 of a half at the end of a 70.3 in 21. Running after the swim and bike is a completely different experience.

That said, there is no substitute for running volume, especially when you are talking about the marathon distance. I averaged like 10 hours a week leading up to Boston, but could only manage around five leading up to the half in 21 (due to training for cycling and swimming as well). Made a difference - especially considering overall training volume was significantly higher leading up to the half. Good luck!