What I learned about running in 2018

Today is the winter solstice, and the dark has enveloped Norway. It's the time of year to sit back and reflect on the year gone by. This was a breakthrough season for me, where I went from being an upper-mid-pack runner to a podium contender, at least at ultra distances. Here's what I learned about running this year.

(Check out previous editions of this post: 2015; 2016)

Setting off a long day of Xreid recon in June. Photo: Audun Bugge

Focus on the process. As a classic type A, goal-oriented go-getter, it's easy for me to get caught up in the target. Running is beautiful in that it is so incremental. Every day is another step towards your goal, whether it is a hard workout, an easy recovery jog or a rest day. The process of completing those daily, incremental steps is what improves you and makes the big outcomes possible.

My first podium of 2019 - winning Ecotrail 80K. Photo: Audun Bugge

It may be fun, but winning doesn't change everything. I'll confess, I've daydreamed about all of a sudden becoming good at the crazy sport of ultrarunning. So in some ways, this year has been like a dream come true, and you would think it would change my relationship to running more than it has. I definitely view racing differently now, considering myself as more of a competitor than a completer. At the same time, my best memories in running this year aren't crossing the finish line in first place. My best memories are of the long training days in the mountains.

Hanne Marthe, Knut, Fredrik and Pål joined me in running the Tour du Mont Blanc over five days this summer. 

With a little help from my friends... I was pretty much a lone wolf for the first years of my running career, and I thought that I didn't need other people to love running. This is partially true, but the camaraderie I've found in meeting other like-minded souls has been absolutely instrumental to this year's progress. I've pushed my pain threshold with OSIF track group, and met people who don't think I'm crazy to want to run through the night in the Skyblazers. Good running partners make good run better, and bad ones bearable.

I also learned how much of a mental boost a good crew can give you, from the ice cubes doled out by the Skyblazer crew at Ecotrail to my mother's enthusiastic shouts at UTMR.

My mom, crewer extraordinaire, at the finish line of UTMR. Photo: Zoe Bazilchuk

Fitness is the ultimate foundation. The ultrarunning coach Jason Koop has written quite a bit about this, using the example of Kaci Lickteig. She lives in super flat Omaha, Nebraska, but still manages to be competitive in mountainous ultras like Western States and UTMB. How does she do it? Mostly, by being in really kick-ass shape.

Flogging the tartan in January in Tenerife. Photo: Fredrik Fyksen

I can't train like a mountain runner all the time, though I do frequent the steepest trails of the Oslo forest. But I can whip myself into great shape, and then travel to the mountains to do specific training. From October to May, I train with the OSIF track group, and most of my workouts are similar to those done by a 10K runner (example). I do make some tweaks and focus my training more specifically for ultradistances, especially in terms of long runs (example). But you can get pretty far with a solid fitness foundation.

And a more specific hill workout in Trysil. Photo: Tyler Jones

Big mileage is magic, if you can handle it. This year was different in that my peak mileage was much higher than every before. I had 13 weeks in excess of 100K, maxing out at 175 km the week I ran the Tour du Mont Blanc. I'm absolutely certain that these weeks were key to my success, but I'm equally certain that I would have gotten injured doing the same thing a year or two ago. It takes time to build up your body to handle the big mileage, but once you can it is a game changer.

- The Wild Bazilchuk