{"id":91931,"date":"2023-06-16T13:07:12","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T11:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/ivan-penalba-warms-up-for-badwater-135\/"},"modified":"2023-06-16T13:07:12","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T11:07:12","slug":"ivan-penalba-warms-up-for-badwater-135","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/ivan-penalba-warms-up-for-badwater-135\/","title":{"rendered":"Iv\u00e1n Penalba Warms Up for Badwater 135"},"content":{"rendered":"

We spoke with ultrarunner Iv\u00e1n Penalba<\/strong> just a few weeks before facing his season’s biggest challenge: Badwater 135. The grueling California race is his main goal for the season. In 2022 he finished second in his first participation and now returns to try to become the first Spaniard to write his name in the record books of the world’s toughest race. <\/p>\n

On June 25, Iv\u00e1n Penalba and Carmen P\u00e9rez board a plane heading to Las Vegas. After a 17-hour flight they will touch down at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, where Joaqu\u00edn Candel, the head of Team Iv\u00e1n Penalba, will be waiting for them. <\/p>\n

Joaqu\u00edn Candel is a Spaniard based in Las Vegas with extensive knowledge of Badwater 135<\/strong><\/a>, especially all its administrative and logistical-sporting peculiarities.<\/p>\n

\"Iv\u00e1n<\/a>
Images from the 2022 edition, in which Iv\u00e1n Penalba finished in second place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The city of Las Vegas rises in the middle of the Mojave Desert. After a week of acclimatization, with specific training sessions in desert areas very similar to those of Badwater, on July 2 Iv\u00e1n Penalba and the rest of the team members (Joaqu\u00edn Candel, Carmen P\u00e9rez, and Mexican ultrarunner \u00d3scar Hern\u00e1ndez) will travel to the small town of Lone Pine<\/strong>, California. <\/p>\n

This small town of about 2,000 inhabitants that recalls Old West settlements (which is why it has been the actual setting for different westerns<\/em>) is nestled near the Sierra Nevada mountains, Yosemite National Park, and Death Valley, the place where on July 4 Iv\u00e1n Penalba will face Badwater 135 for the second time.<\/p>\n

Lone Pine is the operations center for Badwater 135. This is where the welcome ceremonies, race bib collection, etc., take place. All participating runners gather there a couple of days before the start of the race, whose starting line is located about 200 kilometers away, in the Badwater Basin, at the lowest point in the United States (85 m below sea level). <\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n Penalba: “At Badwater, the winner is whoever makes the best hydration and nutrition decisions”<\/h2>\n

42K:<\/strong> Just a few weeks from the big Badwater challenge, is your preparation going as you expected? Has everything gone according to plan? <\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> The preparation is going phenomenally, which makes me very optimistic. It’s true that some changes and adjustments have had to be made along the way, but that’s normal when you’re facing such an extreme challenge that requires you to train many different aspects (physical strength, endurance, nutrition, heat acclimatization…) and many months in advance.<\/em><\/p>\n

42K:<\/strong> Has the preparation been different from what you did last year for your first participation?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> The experience of having run Badwater once before is essential to know which aspects you need to train especially. Until you experience it firsthand you don’t know what you’re facing. It doesn’t matter what people tell you, it doesn’t matter how much information you have… to be able to aspire to win Badwater you have to have known, lived, and suffered it firsthand.<\/em><\/p>\n

42K:<\/strong> And have you introduced special training sessions this year?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> Yes. I’m doing more specific training for the heat and also for the extremely tough elevation gains and descents of Badwater. This year the heat arrived in Valencia later than in 2022 so I’ve had to do more training and work sessions in the sauna.<\/em><\/p>\n

In addition to more sauna sessions I’ve greatly reinforced strength training to arrive muscularly stronger and be able to tackle the grueling climbs of the course more easily and also the brutal descent of about 20 kilometers that comes after the first ascent.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Throughout the 217-kilometer course you have to overcome three ascents, two of them extremely tough, which represent a cumulative elevation gain of 4,450 m; the cumulative descent is 1,859 m.)<\/p>\n

\"Iv\u00e1n<\/a>
Iv\u00e1n Penalba has dedicated special attention to strength work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

42K:<\/strong> How many kilometers of specific training will you have completed by Badwater 2023?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> The volume of training kilometers will ultimately be similar to 2022, but the difference is that for this edition I’m training elevation gain much more. In the end, the average will be between 250 and 260 kilometers per week<\/strong>. I only had one “off” week in May due to a virus that left me knocked out for several days.<\/em><\/p>\n

42K:<\/strong> What has been and is the toughest part of preparing for Badwater?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> Organizing each day’s schedule to meet all the demands of preparation. When you have to double up on training in a single day you need to adjust nutrition very carefully and, above all, rest periods which are also a very important part of preparation. Especially in the final stretch of preparation, from April onward, the demands of training have increased a lot. Right now I’m training many hours and that requires carefully balancing recovery from efforts with proper nutrition and adequate rest.<\/em><\/p>\n

More sauna training and more strength work<\/h3>\n

42K:<\/strong> Many people are surprised by the sauna training. Explain what the goal of that type of training is. <\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> Sauna training is to simulate as closely as possible the heat conditions we’re going to encounter there. It’s impossible to train anywhere in Spain in conditions similar to those of Death Valley, so the only option is to train in a sauna.<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s true that the sauna is usually at higher temperatures but the sensation of dryness and the breathing difficulties are very similar. Adaptation to extreme heat is essential to be able to face a race like Badwater; heat is the main enemy, more than the distance or the toughness of the ascents and the brutal descent of more than 20 kilometers. Going to Badwater without prior acclimatization work to extreme heat is crazy. If doubts creep in when you get there, it’s impossible to have any chance of reaching the finish line. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Iv\u00e1n<\/a>
Iv\u00e1n Penalba and Carmen P\u00e9rez have done numerous sauna training sessions to accustom the body to heat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

42K:<\/strong> And what exactly do you usually do in the sauna?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> The first few minutes are for acclimatization: I go in and sit down so the body and breathing adapt to the temperature of over 60 degrees. Then I do mobility exercises and finally moderate exercise with a height-adjustable step platform. What I also work on a lot in the sauna is hydration and nutrition, which is one of the most important aspects at Badwater. The body doesn’t absorb drink and food the same way at such high temperatures, so it’s an essential part of preparation.<\/em><\/p>\n

If in a 217-kilometer race you make mistakes with hydration and nutrition it’s almost impossible to finish, so imagine at Badwater with the dehydration that occurs just from standing still.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Iv\u00e1n<\/a>
In sauna sessions Iv\u00e1n Penalba has also worked on hydration and nutrition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

42K:<\/strong> After last year’s experience, what changes do you plan to introduce before and during the race?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> The main change will be how and where I’m going to spend the hours before the start of the race, which is at 11 PM. Last year we were staying about 200 kilometers away and went straight to the start, which creates some tension from the nearly 3-hour drive. For this year we’ve found a small accommodation that’s very close to the start so we can spend the day more relaxed and be able to eat and rest well. In the days before the race I’ll do acclimatization training very similar to last year’s in desert areas near Las Vegas, where the team leader, Joaqu\u00edn Candel, lives.<\/em> <\/p>\n

During the race I’m going to introduce some changes in nutrition with the goal of having more energy especially for the demanding ascents. <\/em><\/p>\n

42K:<\/strong> Do you think media and general public interest is greater after your second place in 2022?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> Yes. I’m very grateful for the interest that media outlets in the Valencian Community and also nationwide are showing me. It’s clear that my second place in 2022 has made different media specialized in running and ultrarunning very attentive to me, which in the end is very good because it gives me visibility that for me is very important to in turn give visibility to my sponsors.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Iv\u00e1n<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ishikawa and Lewis, Iv\u00e1n Penalba’s Two Main Rivals in 2023<\/h3>\n

42K:<\/strong> Who will be your main rivals in the race?<\/p>\n

Iv\u00e1n:<\/strong> The two runners who joined me on the podium in 2022: Yoshihiko Ishikawa<\/em> (1st) and Harvey Lewis<\/strong><\/em> (3rd). The Japanese runner is, without a doubt, the rival to beat. He’s a very experienced runner who has won the race several times and holds the time record<\/em> (2019, 21h33’01” running at 5’57″\/km). The American, Lewis, is also a rival with extensive experience who has also achieved victory at Badwater twice and finished on the podium two other times. He’s an ultra-distance expert, one of the best Americans in history, and knows the race like few others.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then there’s a group of 4 or 5 very strong runners with the ability to compete for the podium.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the end there will be about 8 or 9 runners<\/strong> who will be in the fight for the podium<\/strong>. Based on experience and ability as ultrarunners we’re all very evenly matched, but in this race many things matter besides good preparation and being good long-distance runners. Any mistake with hydration or nutrition can knock you out. In a race like Badwater the strongest doesn’t win but rather whoever makes the best decisions regarding hydration and nutrition; in other words, whoever doesn’t make mistakes has the best chance of winning. <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you want to learn more about what Badwater is, Iv\u00e1n Penalba’s big challenge in 2023, you can read this other article on our blog: Iv\u00e1n Penalba Wants to Conquer Badwater 135<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We spoke with ultrarunner Iv\u00e1n Penalba just a few weeks before facing his season’s biggest challenge: Badwater 135. The grueling California race is his main goal for the season. In 2022 he finished second in his first participation and now returns to try to become the first Spaniard to write his name in the record […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":91935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1606],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sporting-legends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}