It is not only professional elite trail runners that can take on a Fastest Known Time (FKT) project. You can too.
Lately, high-profile FKT projects have had a lot of attention but they do offer a realistic option for amateur trail runners like you and me when races get canceled just like what has happened to most of the 2020 running season.
Choose Your FKT Goal
When your goal race of the year gets canceled, start planning an FKT project that you can do yourself.
It doesn’t have to be the absolute fastest time on that specific trail, but it could be your personal fastest time.
However, the important fact it is that you choose a goal that you are wanting to do so that you can start planning toward that goal.
Without a goal you can’t score
Casey Neistat
Put A Training Plan In Place
Having a plan helps to keep me motivated and gives me something to measure my progress against. Without a plan, I tend to not get anywhere. Sort of like wandering around like a headless chicken with no specific direction.
Once I have a training plan it gives me a clear idea of what it is that I’m wanting to get out of each and every training session.
Focus On The Key Challenges Of Your FKT Project
Is your run going to be in wet, muddy conditions or will heat be the biggest factor for you to deal with.
Take a moment to assess what type of trails your project has. Are there many hills that are fairly short or is it one big monster of a mountain. Conditions can be sandy, rocky, muddy, or maybe you will even have sections of snow underfoot.
Knowing these types of things ahead of time will enable you to adapt your training to enable you to prepare for the challenges that you’ll be facing out there on your FKT project.
Balance Performance And Fun
Having a Fastest Known Time trail-running project to work toward is very much a performance-driven task, much like your main key race of the year would be.
Even though an FKT project is performance-driven by nature, remember to keep things fun. I’m not a professional Runner and enjoyment is a motivating factor for me to get out onto the trails.
Try not to become too fixated on the end goal and lose sight of the fact that of the essence of why you trail run in the first place. If you are anything like me, you’ve been finding it to be an enjoyable activity.
Have Mini-Goals
A mini goal is a stepping stone on the way to achieving your main project goal in the same way that in a normal running season you set your main key races and then, in the spaces between them, add a couple of “B” races.
These are not that important to you but are useful little tests to make sure that your fitness and training is on track to be able to get you to your main race in the peak possible condition.
The same applies to your Fastest Known Time project. Have a couple of mini-projects along the way to be able to access your progress and make sure that you are on track.
Make Time For Recovery
If you don’t make time for proper recovery, illness and injury will make time for you.
So do yourself a favor, and make sure that you get to sessions of foam rolling in and that you are stretching regularly in to be able to ensure that you can stay injury-free throughout your build-up to your project.
Get On Top Of Your Nutrition
The same as with recovery, you can’t make massive improvements when you fuel up on junk.
Sure a once in awhile junk meal won’t set you back a massive amount. It would be just a small stumble. Think of it as chipping away at your form bit by bit.
However, if you start making junk you go-to nutrition source there’s no way you can make a massive improvement and there is no way you will be able to have a good and solid performance.
Know How All Of Your Gear Works
This is especially true if your project is going to be of a solo and supported type of nature art in the high mountains.
Knowing how your gear works ahead of time will help you to get through your run and out from the trails safely on the other side.
I remember in my hiking days there would be one pocket of my pack that would always have a stove, a mug, and some instant soup. So that if I got into difficulty with lousy weather, there would be one pocket of my pack that I could go to quickly get myself a warm drink.
It also helps get some nutrition into my body as quickly as possible when I get caught in a storm.
So, get to know how all your essential gear works and have dedicated places in your running pack for all your essential, emergency gear. It is vital to know where it is so that you can put your hand on your essential gear if anything happens to go wrong.
Use Visualization
As your goal race or FKT project gets closer and closer, start to picture sections and aspects of your project run while you were out on your normal training runs.
Another time you can do visualization is while you’re doing your recovery in between runs. For example, I often do visualization exercises during a foam rolling session.
This will help you to be more mentally prepared for what your personal Fastest Known Time project will be like by the time you get out there onto the trail.