Am I Out?

[dnavarro927]

Hi Everyone,

My plan was to sign up to attempt the Ascent this year.  Started off the year on the right path, have always had pretty good fitness/stamina, but...hurt my knee a couple days ago, which is putting any lower body work out for the time being.  So for now, all I can really do is upper body, which I know does close to nothing for a race like this.  Will be doing a lot of swimming to at least maintain the "motor".

With all that said, what is my absolute cutoff for having enough time to train to make this a realistic goal.

Thanks in advance

Daan

[John Garner]

It totally depends on where you were to start and what your goals are.

If you are one of the top 10% of genetically gifted folks who don't have to do much in terms of training to run a sub 1:30 half marathon and just want to finish, you could probably do next to no training, walk up the hill backwards, and still make it under the cutoff time with an hour or two to spare. (We all hate folks like this.)

If you are a mid-packer and your parents didn't bestow you with the right genetics, you may be able to get away with less than you think. If you can get in 8+ weeks of solid hill training then you would have a good chance of finishing under the cutoff. Doing your "best" will take 6-8 months of very carefully planned training and may need to wait until 2019.

If you are a back of the packer for whom the qualifications were daunting enough, you are going to want 4-6+ months of solid hill training 4-5x per week just to have a chance of finishing.

As for doing other things, try cycling. While not optimal, you would be improving the same part of the body that carries you up the trail.

--john

[dnavarro927]

Those are good ways to gauge this, thanks!

In races that I have done, especially in recent years, I am typically within the top 10-15% in my age-group.

My half marathon qualifier was a 1:52 and was part of a half ironman.  Doing a standalone half marathon, I'm confident I'd be able to run a 1:30 to 1:40 with running three days a week (mixing in other activities on the other days).