Trying a new sport is often humbling, and entering the world of trail running has been no different for me. Although I have a ton of experience racing track, cross country, and road races, the transition has been difficult. Trying to decipher threshold paces on a technical trail with an ever-changing gradient is like learning a new language. Deciding how much training is needed for new race distances is challenging. Attempting to do an easy run up a technical, 20% grade is nearly impossible. With that said, I don’t want to minimize the difficulty of succeeding in track and field. The training schedule and workouts necessary to be successful at the top level of any sport are incredibly difficult. However, I would argue that training for trail racing is more difficult than track for two reasons.
First, it is much more difficult to replicate race conditions and pace. For track races, it’s pretty simple to replicate the race: just go to a track and run your goal pace, rest, repeat. It’s not easy, but it is straightforward. For trails, the only way to truly replicate the race is to travel to the actual course and practice on it. Even then, the conditions on the day (rain, wind, etc) have a major impact on trail conditions and, in some cases, the route can even be changed due to these factors. In addition, it’s tough to decide on an exact goal pace because, even if there is a goal time in mind, the pace will vary so drastically throughout the race due to the changing terrain. Also, there could be multiple different pacing strategies that lead to a similar time (such as pushing the uphill and surviving the downhill vs. conservative up and killer down). These intricacies make trail racing very nuanced and training for those races similar to a complex mathematical equation.
Second, there are far more technical aspects of training. In track, there are are hurdles and steeplechase, but those obstacles are predictable and simple (though difficult) to train for. In contrast, trail racing has a myriad of technical elements (rocks, roots, shale, scrambles, ropes, ladders, etc) that are difficult to train for in any way other than just….running hard in different terrain. There are step patterns and techniques that can help with mastering these skills, but each trail is different enough from the other that the exact same technique is never used twice. Additionally, there is a certain level of focus that’s required for trail running that isn’t needed in track. When I do a workout or race on the track, I try to zone out and just run, but if I try to do that on the trails, I immediately face plant. The constant need to focus adds to mental fatigue and has to be considered in the training fatigue accumulation equation.
I love both track and trails, but I find trails much more difficult. With that said, I was SO EXCITED to finally do a track workout again. The track is still my comfort zone, and doing this workout was incredible. Watch the video below to see how the trail training translated to the track.
