The Hay Is In The Barn

There is nothing to do now but sit and wait.

The training and the taper is either there to help or it is not.

The weather will be a factor or it won't be. Well it probably will be. So read on.

These are things you cannot control.

What you can control is your first 10 miles, hopefully your first 20 miles. And if it is truly your day you will be in the driver's seat through the last three miles.

So control your start. Personally, I would begin my race with the medium or low goal in mind, and not even THINK about up to a higher goal until mile 15 or 20. The humidity and warmth will be factors. Start conservatively. Let people pass you from downtown Minneapolis, past the lakes, and even along River Road.

If you do that, you will pass over 75% beginning when you cross Franklin Avenue.

If you run a smart race, you will run the first 23 miles of a marathon with mental discipline. Mental toughness is for last three miles.

And if you are worried about the weather, you can't control it. Just make sure your race plan has factored the conditions in. There is no use wishing for better conditions. Just remember: the worse the weather, the smarter you need to run.

If that doesn't help you and you still worry about running in rain, warmth, and humidity, just tell the weather gods this...





*

*Credit due to Chris Taylor for "bring it" the Official Finn Mantra of the Fall 2007 Marathon Training Season

Quotes

In the interest of full disclosure, these are quotes from an e-mail I sent out to the training class last year. But as I re-read these quoutes, I had forgotten most of them. And was all like, "Dang yall! These quotes are good!"

What I recommend is that you read through these and find one that resonates with you. Write it down and keep it in your mind. Some of these quotes are good to chew on over the next three days. Others may be a nice thing to remember somewhere on Summit Ave on Sunday morning.

You will read a lot of quotes about taking risks. I want offer my own definition of how risks relate to marathons. The risk you have taken is to sign up for and run a marathon. No other risks need to be taken. You could tell yourself at mile 10, "I feel great, the weather is awesome. I'm going to pick up the pace and see if I can catch the group ahead of me." Technically, that is a risk. But it is risk in the same way jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is a risk.

You took a risk by devoting the last fifteen weeks, months, years to a challenge with unknown results: this marathon. You took the risk to shape your life around training for one race for one fall morning, not knowing what the weather, your health, or your marathon will be like.

That is a real risk.

You guys are great. I hope you don't me to tell you that. You should already know that.

On with the quotes. Happy hunting.

QUOTES FOR THE WHOLE MARATHON EXPERIENCE
"Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport as about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. Sport, like all life, is about taking risks." - Sir Roger Bannister (first person to ever break the 4:00 mile)
*editor's note: This quote by Bannister is one of my all-time favorites.

"Good things come slow - especially in distance running."
- Bill Dellinger, Oregon coaching legend

"We are different, in essence, from other men [and women, right?]. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."
-Emil Zatopek Czech great who won 1952 Olympic marathon

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."
- Anonymous

"A lot of people run a race to see who's the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts."
- Steve Prefontaine one of the greatest American runners who died
prematurely in a car accident

"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways as they're capable of understanding."
- Steve Prefontaine

"The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. Every jogger can't dream of being an Olympic champion, but he can dream of finishing a marathon."
-Fred Lebow, founder, New York City Marathon

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
-Fred Lebow

"I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality and the last part with your heart."
-Mike Fanelli, coach of the San Francisco Impalas

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."
- Jesse Owens

"We will go to the moon. We will go to the moon and do other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard."
- Preseident John F. Kennedy, Jr.

"The only way to define your limits is by going beyond them."
- Anonymous

"The man [or woman] in the arena... who at best knows the triumphs of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-President Teddy Roosevelt

"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
- William Faulkner

"No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success, although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finish marathons with no brains than with no shoes."
-Don Kardong

"Growth means change, and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown."
-George Shinn

"There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less."
-Kurt Hahn

"If you want to keep your memories, you first have to live them."
-Bob Dylan

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."
-Mark Twain

"Anyone can run 20 miles. It's the next six that count."
-Barry Magee, marathon bronze winner in Rome, 1960

QUOTES FOR SUMMIT AVENUE
"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."
- George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian

"Mind is everything: muscle - pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind."
-Paavo Nurmi of Finland who won nine Olympic medals

"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."
-Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ

"Tough times don't last but tough people do." -A.C. Green

"God has given me the ability. The rest is up to me. Believe, believe, believe."
-Billy Mills, '64 Olympic 10,000-meter champion (he also ran the marathon in the '64 Olympics)

"Enjoy your pain, you've earned it."
- Anonymous

"Pain is weakness leaving the body"
-Back of a t-shirt I read

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." -
President Teddy Roosevelt

"People can't understand why a man runs. They don't see any sport in it, argue that it lacks the sight-thrill of body contact, the color of rough conflict. Yet the conflict is there, more raw and challenging than any man versus man competition. In track it is man against himself, the cruelest of all opponents. The other runners are not the real enemies. His adversary lies deep within him, in his ability, with brain and heart, to control and master himself and his emotions."
- Glenn Cunningham
*editor's note: Cunningham was a premiere US middle-distance runner from the 1930s. At age eight he suffered burns so severe on his legs, doctors said he'd never walk again.

"The mind determines what's possible. The heart surpasses it."
-Pilar Coolinta

"Get going. Get up and walk if you have to, but finish the damned race."
-Ron Hill to Jerome Drayton during the 1970 Boston Marathon

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."
-Confucius

"The ultimate measure of a man [or woman] is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I am not afraid… I was born to do this."
-Joan of Arc

QUOTE ABOUT YOUR COACHES NOT RUNNING TCM (ME, DEB, AND CARLY) WHO WILL SIT ON THE CURB AND CLAP FOR ALL YOU HEROES AS YOU GO BY US
"We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by."
-Will Rogers

Does anyone else have some quotes to add?

Be Like Geb

Yesterday Haile Gebrselassie broke the men's world record for the marathon, running it in 2:04:26. Just as impressive is the fact that Geb at one point in time has been the world record holder for the indoor 2000 m run, the indoor 3000 m, the 5000 m, and the 10,000 m. And now the marathon. How's that for range! Jack of all trades, master of, um, all.

Anyway, last week I posted a document from Kirk on the google group and said if you read it, you too could run a 2:47.

Well, forget that. I now give you "How To Set the Marathon PR." Look at Geb's splits from yesterday. Match them, and you too can run a 2:04:26. In the interest of full disclosure these splits came via an e-mail to me by a friend of mine who has the suspicious alias "Klassy Barry." So I cannot claim this information is 100% trustworthy, considering the source.

5 km: 00:14:44
10 km: 00:29:27 / 00:14:43
15 km: 00:44:16 / 00:14:50
20 km: 00:59:10 / 00:14:54
25 km: 01:14:05 / 00:14:55
30 km: 01:28:56 / 00:14:51
35 km: 01:43:38 / 00:14:43
40 km: 01:58:08 / 00:14:30

So you guys get out there and run those splits! Records are made to be broken. Why not one of us?

The only thing that would be more amazing than one of us breaking Geb's record is if Marty or Deb posted on this blog. Wait a second, they did! Awesome!

First Marathon

Many of you will be running your first marathon. What an exciting time! It may also be a very scary time since you just do not know what to expect. I bet that most of us can remember our first marathon experience in quite detail since it is such a dramatic event in one’s life. I will now share my experience since there may be some good “lessons learned” (See Marty’s comments “Lessons Learned The Hard Way.”) that I hope I can share with you all. I also encourage everyone else to share their experiences as well, not only so we can give you first timers some words of wisdom, but to give you all encouragement that everything will be OK.

My first marathon was running Grandma’s Marathon in 1984. I just finished my freshman year at Mankato State University. I was talked into running the marathon by my high school friend, Tracy, who ran distance for the CC and track teams. Tracy contacted me in the spring time in 1984 about running the marathon because she thought it would be “so much fun.” I will never forget that she said this because I laughed my head off at the very thought of it being “fun.” While Tracy was the distance star, I focused on sprints and middle distance in high school and at Mankato State. I also thought that distance runners were a bit “nuts.” I told Tracy the only way I would run a marathon is if she could convince our friend Darren to run it as well. I felt I got out of this since Darren was a sprinter and middle distance runner like me and we both disliked running any further than we had to! However, it didn’t take long for Tracy to convince Darren because before I knew it I had an entry form mailed to me by Tracy! I was stuck!

Since I was running track at Mankato State, I did not really think much more about the marathon at all once I registered. I was too busy training for my track events that did not go further than 800 meters! When my first year of college was nearing to an end, my roommate, Sue, who was also on the track team and a distance runner, asked what I was going to do in the summer. I told her for starters I was going to run Grandma’s Marathon. Before I knew it I was getting drilled by Sue as to how many miles I was putting in a week and what my longest run was up to that point. Sue had run several marathons already so she was experienced enough to know that I was not prepared at the time. So that very weekend Sue dragged me out for a “long run” and I really did not know what she meant by this. She just told me to put on my shoes and we were going to be running for awhile! I ended up running about 16 miles on a very hot and humid day. We had many stops at the gas stations along the way for water. This run took place about 3 weeks before the marathon. I guess I was so naïve about the whole “marathon” thing since I really did not know you had to train for this thing.

The Friday before the race, Tracy, Darren and I started our drive up to Duluth. Our lunch consisted of popcorn made by Tracy and a bag of Snicker bars that I brought with for the trip. When we arrived at Duluth, we got our race number and walked around Duluth for a long time! We finally ate the Spaghetti dinner the marathon offers and then we headed to Helen’s campground located near mile 5. Yep, I camped the night before my first marathon. Before we went to bed, I saw Tracy put out a few pair of shoes. I liked one of the pair she had out and she told me that she was not going to run the marathon in those, but the other pair. So I asked if I could run in her spare pair. “Of course!” So I took those shoes and put them by my side. I decided I would wear them because they looked like they had more cushioning then my pair. That is logical, don’t you think?

When we awoke, I remember the butterflies in my stomach. I was still thinking of ways to get out of this thing! I was thinking that I should pretend I’m sick or my back hurts from sleeping on the hard ground. Then all of a sudden Darren tells us we have a flat tire and asked if we knew how to change a tire! A feeling of sheer thrill went through me! Yes! We won’t be able to make it to the start line. That was quickly dampened by Tracy’s remark that we should then run to the start. “Run to the start?” “Are you kidding?” “It’s 5 miles away!” Tracy was not kidding. She was very serious. I was about to run 31 miles so I quickly dashed up to the front office and started asking people if they knew how to change a flat tire. However, Darren was able to get it fixed and we quickly dashed to the start. We made it with a few minutes to spare.

What I remember most vividly at the start line is that it was a cloudy, cool day. They announced that it was 38 degrees. There was also a light mist. Tracy was wearing a light blue tank top and shorts and I was wearing a pink tank top and shorts. Darren had on a white cotton t-shirt and shorts and we were all freezing! As we were waiting for the start, Tracy thought I must have looked like I was going to pass out. She just looked at me and said, “Debbie, we are going to finish this race…OK?” I said “OK,” and with that the gun went off.

I recall that we were chatter boxes the first few miles. We laughed at how our morning started out and then we started talking about what we wanted for lunch later. We were always talking about food! However, before I knew it, it got really quiet. All I could hear was breathing and the sound of everyone’s foot strike.

The race was moving along quite nicely. We had a lot of people cheering for Tracy and I. Go pink and blue!” That was encouraging to hear. All we had along the course was water. We did not eat anything along the way. We did not have Gu’s back then! We just took the water at the scheduled water stops. Darren decided to stop and stretch at mile 12 and said he would catch up to us. We never did see him again until the finish. I then started to feel something in my toes. They felt like they were burning. Then for the next few miles I was complaining to Tracy how I felt my toes were bleeding. I was fixated on my bloody toes. Then at about mile 16, I started to feel “something” in my legs. They just were not moving the same as before. I told Tracy I was going to slow a little bit and she went on ahead of me. Before Tracy took off she said to me, “Debbie, just take it one mile at a time. You are going to make it to the finish line.” I said “OK” and wished her good luck. Now I was left lone to battle my bloody toes and sore legs. It was my toes that were bothering me the most. So for the next several miles, I took Tracy’s advice and focused on each mile. I also tried to think of other things bedsides my bloody toes.

Before I knew it, I was at mile 23 and I thought I could see Tracy up ahead. Sure enough, it was Tracy! I was so happy to see her. When I caught up to Tracy, she did not look so good. All of a sudden, she started vomiting right towards my shoes…I mean Tracy’s shoes, which then started me too think about my bloody toes! I remember thinking Tracy’s puking and I have toes that are bleeding. As I said, distance runners are “nuts!” However, it was my turn to give encouragement; I told Tracy that we are going to finish this thing together! I remember us both getting a drive in us that is beyond explanation. We were like two locomotives. We were in perfect stride with each other. We continued to hear “Go pink and blue!”

Then one of the most miraculous sites I’ve seen was the Finish line! I was so excited! I could not believe I was going to finish. When we crossed the finish line, it was one of the best feelings ever. I remember feeling just so awe struck by what just happened. We were 88th and 89th women overall. It was an incredible feeling to say “I finished!” Of course, the first thing I did was sit down and take off my shoes to look at my bloody toes. I was convinced they were bloody! However, they were just blistered. Not a drop of blood!

I was very happy I ran the race since I now enjoy distance running. My first marathon taught me a lot about myself. Some of the good lessons that I learned immediately was to eat better the day before. Popcorn and snicker bars do not sit to well in your stomach! It probably is not a good idea to borrow someone else’s shoes the day before the race. Definitely not a good idea! I also learned that long runs really are important for the marathon. Although I made it to the finish, my legs would have been much happier if I had trained them a bit more.

The one thing that stands out the most though is how important it is to believe in yourself and believe you have it in you to finish. Tracy taught me this, even though it seemed impossible for me to run a marathon at the time. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should not drop out if you are physically not able to finish! You still need to make choices that are right for you.

I wish you all the very best! You have done the training. Just BELIEVE that you will finish!

Lessons Learned The Hard Way

Preparing and running a marathon just takes a little common sense. The fact that we actually want to run a marathon might mean that we are lacking a little common sense.

My first marathon was the Chicago Marathon in 1980 and I made a few rookie mistakes. First, I signed up for it three weeks before the race thus my longest run was only 13 miles. Next, I just couldn’t resist playing touch football the night before the race. Nobody in Chicago actually plays touch football. To top it off, I told my brother to pick me up in Grant Park after the race not realizing that there will be 6000 other finishers.

The week before my 2nd marathon I decided to try out a new trail that I discovered in the woods of Upper Michigan. Well, six hours later I managed to find my way back to where I started.

For marathon #3, I decided to camp out the night before the race. It is hard enough to sleep the night before a marathon let alone on the cold hard ground. Needless to say, I was two miles into the race before I realized that I wasn’t wearing any socks.

Marathon # 4 was on some country roads with just a couple of aid stations. So, you needed a support team if you wanted water. I had a support team, but I just forgot to tell them where and when I might need water. It wasn’t until mile 23 before we connected and then I just drank a can of coke.

I went into marathon # 5 ready to race a marathon vs running a marathon. I was lucky in my first four marathons that I never hit the wall despite that I didn’t take in much fluid. I was more concerned about staying with the pack vs taking water, so I ran through the water stations. I cramped at mile 20 so bad that I could barely walk.

A friend talked me into running with him at TCM. It all sounds wonderful until we hit the 10k mark and I was a minute faster than my 10k time from 6 weeks earlier. It was a long and painful last 20 miles.

In 1996 I ran the 100th Boston Marathon. Rooms were hard to come by so I told a friend that it was ok for one his buddies to stay with us. Well, I was woken up the morning of the race by some strange guy doing jumping jacks in nothing but his fruit of the loom underwear.

At the St. George marathon in Utah, they bus the runners to the start which happens to be 2500 feet higher than the finish area. Since the temp was a nice 60 degrees, I decided that I would be fine in my cotton t-shirt and shorts. The bad news is that is was 38 degrees on top on the mountain.

I usually buy a new pair of shoes within a few weeks of running a marathon. Normally, it is the same type of shoe that I have been using for training, so I am pretty comfortable that I won’t have any problems with the new shoes in the marathon. A few miles into the last time I ran TCM, I knew something was wrong. In my last minute rush to get to the dome, I managed to wear one new shoe and one old one.

We each will learn something this Sunday. Either it will make us a better runner or we can pass what we learn to someone else.

Don't Be Like Steve

If you have read the previous post, below, you have already seen my sermon about being vigilant to avoid fluke injuries as the marathon approaches. So you know, avoid things like unicycles, rugby, frozen fish....

Read for yourself. This is from Steve "I Hate Running But I'm Training For Another Marathon" Williams. He wrote me to point out yet another way to get a fluke injury.

I was at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, when it was hot. So I was wearing sandals (open toes)...and of course I was in a hurry. On the top shelf in the frozen foods section were the frozen juices. I needed a couple of cans. I swung the door open and quickly grabbed a couple with one hand and spun around to put them into the cart. Well, those darn cans can be pretty slippery I found out, and one slipped out of my hand and dropped from the top shelf, scoring a direct hit onto my big toe! The immediate pain was so intense that I thought I had broken my toe, and I'm sure there were a couple of kids in the aisle who learned a few new words that night! It's been about three weeks now, and that toe still has some color to it, but luckily it's not too sore anymore. Just wanted to share with you another "foot protection" story, something a guy wouldn't even think about, until it actually happens; but believe me, I am now very aware of not dropping items (slow down, firm grip).

You can go crazy trying to imagine every possible fluke injury you can get. So I guess just slowing down and being careful is the best we can do. Are there any other fluke injuries out there, that you know of, that we should be careful to avoid this week?

Don't Be Like Mike

I want to write about some mistakes I have made. And I want you to appreciate the major editing skills this post will take. Because when I look back on my catalog of mistakes, I am impressed and a little depressed by its length. Luckily, I'm going to edit out all my past mistakes that are non-taper related.

So this leaves out all the lapses in judgment I had, well, pretty much every weekend of college. It also excludes the time when I was ten and told my dad I didn't finish raking the backyard, even though he told me to because ""I don't really want to and the Cowboys game is on." Cripes. I think I'm still grounded for that mini, short-lived rebellion. Shhhh. Don't tell my dad I'm going to Major's on Sunday night.

Even better, all non-taper related running mistakes will be left out, like going for a run on a sub-zero January afternoon in Iowa, wearing boxers and Umbro shorts.

Instead, here are the top five errors of my oh-so-humble taper ways...

Example One: Forest Tahdooahnippah I
Ain't

The Star-Tribune ran a real nice story on Forest Tahdooahnippah last week. There is a lot to admire about this athelete. And reading his story will be well worth your time. Click here for the story.

One thing the story touches on is how he is managing his first-year of law school while training for and being part of a nationally ranked division I cross country team.

My first marathon was right when I was finishing up graduate school. I turned in my thesis to my committee on Friday morning, and ran 26.2 miles on Saturday morning. What am I leaving out here. Oh yeah, I only ran twice that last week before the marathon. I was waaaaay to busy frantically putting the finishing touches on my thesis to go for a run. I did a terrible job of balancing my training demands with my school/work demands. Instead I rationalized. "What's the harm in missing these runs? They're meaningless." I was so very wrong.

I trained so well for this marathon. It was a shame that I went and blew the taper. My legs felt so very heavy for the first few miles. Plus, mentally, I just didn't feel sharp.

Solutions:
a) Do not take unscheduled days off, unless you are injured or on the mend. Follow your training calendar.
b) During taper week, minimize your workload at home and on the job as much as you can, while maintaining your responsibilities. Easier said than done, I know, but do your best.

Example Two: Paralysis by Analysis
This week it will become very easy to feel hypersensitive about every nick and ding you feel, or anytime you are out of breath. If you are like me, then your first instinct is to think, "I'm out of breath after chasing my two cats around the house. I need to sleep in an oxygen tent tonight or my marathon is going to be disaster!!!!"

Solution: To decide if you have an issue to really worry about, follow this rule of thumb: flashback to mid-July and ask yourself, "Would I have been worrying about this back then?" If the answer is "no," then you'll probably be okay. No need to stress yourself out unnecessarily. But you can always check in with one of your coaches if you do have worries, no matter how big or small.

Example Three: Don't Play Tag With Edward Scissorhands
After saying don't sweat the small stuff, I am going to suggest you take extra care to avoid things that could lead to fluke injuries. With each passing day, the stakes are higher for avoiding with stubbed toes and bruised heels, as there is less and less time to recover from them.

Two years ago, a week before my marathon, I was walking around my house barefoot and got a tiny glass splinter in my big toe. I had to go to Urgent Care to get it carved out and my toe got one little-bitty stitch. I was fine two days later, and got mocked by my fellow Finns for being lame.

Solution: Take extra care to think about keeping your feet covered. So for the next week...
a) Don't go barefoot. It would be a shame if a fluke cooking accident knocked you out of TCM.
b) Walk, don't run, everywhere (unless of course you're doing a training run).
c) Watch your step extra carefully. Those curbs and tree roots seem to move and jump out at people the week before a marathon.

Example Four: The Wafers in a Kit Kat Bar Do Not Equate To Carbo Loading.
How much sleep you get tonight and what you eat tonight is just as important as what you do Saturday night.

Going back that first marathon I ever ran. I had a great pasta dinner the night before Grandma's. I went to bed nice and early. I even got plenty of sleep the night before the night before. Why did I feel so cruddy then? Maybe it was the Payday candy bar I had for dinner three days prior (did I mention I was in grad school?). Maybe it was two straight nights of five hours of sleep I got early in the week.

Solution: Treat every night from here on out like it is race night. Get to bed by 10 p.m. Eat a healthy diet from when you first wake up until you go to bed (from can see to can't)

Example Five: Did You Get the Memo Yet?
My worst marathon can be linked to one thing: lack of a plan. My training, diet, sleep, and attitude were great going into the marathon. I was just missing one thing. I only had one plan. I only had one goal.

Here was my detailed plan: to go out with a friend of mine who was a bit faster than me, and see what happens.

I was so ill-prepared mentally. I ended up way-off pace by mile 18 and didn't know what to do next other than bleed profusely from my nipples and just try to finish. Not a fun experience, but I learned from it. Now I have policies and multiple goals.

Solution: Use taper week to come up with your plans and policies. Be flexible. Consider the wide range of weather and how you may feel that day. How do you plan to handle each scenerio you think of?

Oh, and the solution for the bloody nipple thing is simple: use Body Glide and pin your number to your shorts (not you shirt), so you can toss your shirt should Body Glide fail.

Did You Get The Memo?

MDRA is putting coversheets on all its TPS reports from now on.

I realize that Office Space reference may not hit home with all of you, but I bring it up for a reason. Managing a successful marathon is a lot like running a successful business.

Running a 5k? Heck that's like running a lemonade stand. Good marathon runners have as many policies and rules as a well run small business. But like a good business these policies allow for flexibility to cope with change.

As a marathoner, the more analytical and professional you are over your first 20 miles, the more likely you are to have an enjoyable last 6.2 So I would recommend spending the final week and half of your marathon coming up with your own personal marathon policies.

Make you own memo. Below are some policies I would put into my own marathon.

I will not look at the forecast until 72 hours before the marathon.

The folks I did all my 20 milers with are my training partners. They are not my race partners. I will run my own race, no matter how good or lousy my friend feels.

The only agreement I will make with a friend is, in a marathon, neither one of us is obligated to run with one another at anytime. If we end up running together, it is more by chance and choice than obligation.

When I visualize the marathon between now and October 7, I will take the time to consider picture every possible weather condition. Just because it was cool and tonight doesn't mean it will be either of these things in ten days.

I have three goals in mind, a high goal, a medium goal, and a low goal (my low goal in every marathon is to finish). I will decide 30 minutes before the marathon starts which goal I should shoot for.

I will start out the first five miles at goal pace and then evaluate how I feel. I will adjust up or down between my three goals according to how I feel. Repeat at miles 10 and 15.

Between mile one and mile 20, every time I think "I feel awesome! I'm going to pick up the pace," I will make myself SLOW DOWN (unless I'm at miles 5, 15, or 20 and have made a policy-based decsion to go for a higher, pre-established goal).

On each hill between the Sculpture Garden and St. Thomas, I will focus on maintaining a consistent effort, not speed. At least three people should pass me on each hill.

At each mile I will remember something to be grateful for.

If you are a social person, you may make a policy to talk to a new person at every mile.

If you are like me, you may not like socializing and meeting new people in a race (races may be the only place where I finally stop talking). So my policy is if the guy running next to me wants to swap life stories or has decided his job is to "pump the crowd up," I will slow down, and let him run from me, rather than try to race away from him.

Have a policy about the water stops. Walk through them if you want to use them as a break. If you want to get in and out, make it your policy to find other places along the course to take it easy. Marty recommends taking a break every 7 miles. Take a whole mile off, and slow down about 10 sec over that one mile, and then return to your previous pace. I have tried this and it works really well for me. Again, it keeps from being tied to one pack of runners and being swayed by how they are running.

Everytime a wave of runners passes me over the first 15 miles I remind myself, "If I keep running my race plan and manage each mile well, I will pass over 75% of these people in miles 21 through 26.2."

No matter what, never forget: any day you can run is a great day for a run!

Any other policy suggestions?

That's What He Said

Chris Lynch is good people, although you'll never hear that from me (you'll just read it). He's been an MDRA marathon training coach multiple times. While his work ethic is unmatched, I will say this: the dude loves tapering.

The way Chris Lynch sees it, running is hard. He savors the easy runs and curses the hills.

My point to this is Chris is an expert when it comes to tapering. It's his specialty. So below is the link he wrote for the spring marathon training class.

Click here to see what MDRA's expert on tapering has to say. You'll be glad you did. Slowly sip in his wisdom like aged Scotch. Savor it. Just keep in mind, he was writing for the spring class, so you know when he wrote "June" just act like it says "October."

Revisionist's History

Forget everything I said about lactate threshold pace and10k pace in the e-mail about this week's workout. But remember the terms progression run and mararthon pace.

The rules for tonight's workout are simple:
1. It will be one of the hardest workouts we do all season, so come to the run tonight with your time card, ready to punch in and go to work.

That being said, even when you are done with the workout, you should still fell like you had some juice left in the tank. We're not training for a 5k, where you are expected to leave everything you have on the track when you are done with the workout. as Marty says, in marathon training, you don't run yourself to complete exhaustion in the Tuesday night runs. So run hard. But run disciplined.

2. We will warm-up for one mile.

3. We will run four miles at marathon pace (miles 1-4).

4. You will pick up the speed and effort for the next two miles (miles 5-6). I reccommend going on feel. Go hard, but stay in control and in your comfort zone. You still enough in your tank to handle miles 7-8.

5. We will run miles 7 and 8 even harder. You won't be all out sprinting. This is not all out running. You shouldn't be in severe oxygen debt. But you should be running outside of your comfort zone.

6. Cool down for a mile or two and your done.

7. For all you number hounds, miles 1-4 should be easy for you to figure out if you're going the right speed. Either you are going your goal marathon pace or you are not. The next two stages will be a bit more challenging for you since we'll go on feel. That being said, as a rule of thumb you wouldn't want to increase your pace much more than 10 or 15 seconds per mile.

8. Mentally this workout will teach you discipline. Stay at marathon pace at the start. Do not speed up more than 10 or 15 seconds per mile for miles 4 and 5. You have to stay in control all the way through.

9. If you can do this, you will learn a lot about your marathon pace. If you are dead by mile 6, and you controlled your surges through miles 5 and 6, maybe your marathon pace is a bit too fast.

10. Have fun!

No Pain, No Gain... No Bees, No Honey

Celebrity blogger and Boston marathon qualifier Shelly Tuma is at it again!

Those of you who took the 2007 Spring Marathon Training Program loved Shelly's work on this blog, so she's back by popular demand!

Click here to the buzz Shelly created on this blog previously, and keep reading to find out what she's been up to lately.

Actually, what happened is Shelly e-mailed me this story (below) since she it reminded her of my tale from last year's TC10 when I was fishing a safety pin out of my sock less than two miles into the race.

The big difference between our two stories is there is point where Shelly must have looked like a complete idiot through no fault of her own, throwing her gear all over the road.

However, in my story, I was a complete idiot through every fault of my own, dumping a safety pin out of my sock and onto the road.

This story is about Shelly's 20 miler last weekend. It's pretty motivational.

We went to the cabin, so I had to go it alone. First when I got up it was 45 degrees! I could see my breath outside. The cool air felt so good. A mere 3 miles into it, I am running along jamming to the tumes on my mp3.

Getting all the kinks out and warming up, when out of no where a bee flies up into my sunglasses. I freaked out! I could not get it out and my sunglasses flew off my head and my hat came off with my headphones. The bee stung me righ under my left eye.

So then what do I do? I am only three miles into it. There is no way I am not going to run on this perfect weather day. So I kept on.

I found a gas station at mile 6 and went to check it out. A little swollen, but I could still see and the stinger came out.

The lady at the station (of course I had to get a key since in the middle of nowhere someone might destroy the bathroom and they need to keep it locked!) thought I was nuts. She was trying to give me hydrocortisone and ice.

"Can I call someone for you?" she said.

I said, "the clock is ticking sister I gotta run! 14 miles to go!"

Anyway, it was pretty funny. Later I kept thinking of what a sight that must have been throwing my stuff all over the road because I am terrified of bees. People must have thought I was having some sort of fit....It made me laugh. After a couple beers that night I felt even better!

So now I know I am really ready to do those last two 20 milers. Nothing can stop me.

Coexist

Cats and dogs. Rap and country. Ford and Chevy. Snowmobiles and cross country skis. And now runners vs. bikers.



Can we coexist?

Finn Team Leader Nathan e-mailed me a story from a Strib about a lady who crashed her bike due to some pedestrians on the bike path.

Click here for the story and comments.

I found the comments from the readers more telling than the story itself. In my many years of running the Minneapolis lakes, Minnehaha Parkway, and East and West River Road I have been witness to or in the middle of some pretty tense moments between people using the paths.

In general I have seen four major points of conflict:

1. Rollerblades vs. shoes. This has subsided over the years. But every now and then (especially between Lynnhurst and Lake Harriet), I have had to dodge or confront rollerbladers zipping around pedestrians at dangerous speeds.

2. The battle of the combined path. The cities do not plow the pedestrian path in the winter, and both East and West River Road and Minnehaha Parkway have portions that are shared yearround. Cyclists often tend to bike way too fast under these conditions. And last winter there was this same cyclist who, at least once a week, I believed was trying to run me off the trail, but I can't know for sure. Even so, maybe we runners could do a better job sharing the road, especially when we're running in a group.

3. Runners on the Bike Path. This is one we can prevent. I think bikers can be more polite about directing us back to the footpath, but time and time again I see runners on the wrong path. This is especially perplexing when the pedestrian path is parallel to the bike path, just five feet over. I think this is usually due to lack of awareness more than anything else.

There are places where you may decide you want to be on the bike path for convenience (the bike path is shorter than the foot path) or safety (W River Road's foot path is below street level and secluded, between 44th and around 36th street). In these cases, I say do your best to stay on the grass and string your group out.

Bottom line is: be aware. Be aware which path you are on. And be aware that if you choose to go the bike path route you are a guest on their path. To repeat: Do your best to stay on the grass. If you are with a large group of runners, string yourselves out so you are not taking up the whole path.

4. A pack of runners vs. one or two runners. This happens when our training group is out for a Saturday run, and half of the metro area decides to go for a walk around Lake Harriet, as they are entitled to. Just this last Saturday, on two separate occasions a runner coming from the other direction got pretty ticked at me and my fellow Finns for being in the way. Justified or not, solo runners can get pretty surly towards a pack of runners coming at them.

And on these occasions, I think we should be cut a little slack, as long as we are on the pedestrian path. The lakes are for everyone, groups or individuals. It may be idealistic of me to say this, but I hope that other people can remember they are using a popular city park in an urban area. Navigating through packs of runners comes with part of living in a big city with a great park system. It's just something they will need to deal with.

That being said, awareness on our part can help. I'm sure a huge group of us can be intimidating to an individual going the other direction on an already crowded path.

Remember when the paths are crowded to do your best as a group to take no more than half the path. Try to keep your group strung out as much as possible. Make like ants marching in two lines. Be patient if there is a log jam. Slowly and calmly pass other people.

Bottom line is this: everyone in this city needs to take a deep breath and relax before he or she heads to the trails. Very few, if any other, cities have a trail system as extensive as ours. And, equally rare, we have trails desginated for those moving with heels and those using wheels.

If everyone on the paths can remember that, and be grateful for that, a lot of this tension could melt away. I think our class does a good job with trail etiquette. Let's keep it up. We're giving not just MDRA, but all runners, a good name.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? I'd be interested to hear from those of you who both bike and run on the trails to get your perspective.

Week Eight: What A Difference A Week (and 25 Degrees Makes

Great job to everyone who completed Saturday's long run. If you completed your first 20 miler, congratulations. But the best is yet to come (knock on wood).

From a marathoner's standpoint, the weather we had for last Saturday's run was the best we've had yet. Contrast the cloudy, cool conditions to the humid, hot run we had at Minnehaha Falls the week before (when we ran around Pike Island).

How much harder do you think your 20 mile run would have been that day? Or a 26.2 miler?

I would recommend having a firm grasp in your mind of just how different it was to run on August 18, compared to August 11. You can really see how the weather can affect your performance. When it comes time for your marathon, you will hopefully now be more adept at using the weather to help guide your goals.

Going into Grandma's this year, I had three goals, based on how I felt and the weather. My first two goals were time goals, and my third goal is always the same: to finish.

As I waited in line at the Port-A-Potty at 6 a.m. and the sun beat down on my neck like it was from south Texas, I knew my high goal had to be scrapped. So my approach was to keep my middle goal out there for the first 13 miles and at that point decide if I should scrap that too, and just finish and enjoy the ride. For that too is an admirable goal.

I met up with Marty and a few other folks about 30 minutes prior to the start and Marty said he was actually going to make a determination at mile two about how hard to push himself.

I can't speak for Marty, but I ended up being happy with my marathon. If I didn't have a policy in place about how I would approach the marathon, I would have surely gone out too fast, as I am wont to do. Mental discipline always trumps mental toughness in a marathon.

So consider the weather over our remaining long runs. If you can feel it on a 12 to 20 mile run, you need to factor that into how you approach a 26.2 mile run. It's not the heat. It's not even the humidity. It's how long you are in the heat and humidity that matters. I mean looked at what happened to these little guys on an MDRA long run too long ago.



Stained Glass? A mosaic? Pompeii? Or melted Gummi Bears?

This is what the heat does to marathoners who go out too fast. Well, at least marathoners who are bears made out of sugar. Either way, don't let this happen to you! I don't know if even MDRA team veterinarian Carolyn Fletcher could have saved these poor guys.

At the end of June, you guys did a long run from Hidden Falls. I had a work conference I had to go to. So I set up a water/PowerAid station along E. River Road for the class, first thing that morning, and then went to my meeting. I got out of the meeting just before lunch, grabbed something to eat, and drove back to E. River Road to break down the aid station. It was 2 p.m. by this time. I had put some Gumm... Walgreen's Bears out as part of the aid station. You get what you pay for. Generic "candy bears" clearly don't do well in the heat.

Twenty Freaking Miles

Here are twenty pointers for this Saturday's run.

1. We have three twenty mile runs scheduled over the next six weeks. This is not a prescription that everyone must follow. Some of you may not be ready for a 20 miler yet, either because you are new to marathoning or because of injury. IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD RUN 20 THIS SATURDAY, PLEASE CONSULT ONE OF YOUR COACHES. It was subtle, I know, but I used all caps and bold for EMPHASIS.

2. Feeding off the previous point, you can run a mighty fine marathon off of one or two 20 milers. Three is not some magic number. Please check with me, Carly, Deb, or Marty about your own personal training regarding this.

3. No one is training to peak for Saturday's run. We are all training for a fall marathon. Slow and easy gets the job done on Saturday. Your legs need to get used to working for a set amount of time, not running a certain speed. For example, if I wanted to run a three and half hour marathon, I would be better off on Saturday taking 3:15 to run 20 miles than if I went out and ran the dang workout at an 8:00 mile pace.

4. Twenty mile runs are dress rehearsals. You are getting your body to work for a set amount of time (not speed). You are also getting used to and finding the best clothes to wear on marathon day. You are training your mind to let go of things it can't control, like the weather.

5. Twenty mile runs are also labs for your body. Where do you need to put extra body glide? Which gel/gu/peanut butter nutrition plan works for you? Experiment, with discretion, during these final three long runs. What breakfast works best for you?

6. There is no delicate way to put this, but use these 20 milers to learn your, er, bathroom routine. In an ideal world, all toilet needs would be taken care of an hour before the race. Try to find that ideal.

6. The night before is also important. Lay your clothes out ahead of time. Get the logistics of preparing the night before down pat (otherwise, you'll be like me at last year's TC10 and, two miles into the race, you will end up discovering there is safety pin in your sock). And more importantly what foods work the night before.

7. The week leading up to the 20 miler is important too. Get used to thinking about your diet, sleep pattern, and hydration plan four, five, and even six days out.

8. During the run, do what works for you. Do you need to visualize actually running the marathon? Or are you better served pushing that aside? Personally, I do better when I don't try to visualize the race. I like that we practice on the actual TCM course, because that will give me knowledge of what to expect. But it is a dangerous game for me to begin to visualize what the actual race will be like. This may sounds odd, but when I am confident, I actually try to STOP visualizing a fast race. Otherwise, my imagination runs wild, I feel invincible, and come race day, I am prone to starting out waaaay too fast.

9. For those of you doing your first 20 miler ever, almost every person I know has said, after finishing, "Oh my gosh. There is no way I can run six more miles." It can be discouraging. But take a blind leap of faith. Replace those doubts with this FACT: every person that has said that to me has gone on to finish his or her marathon two months later. So will you. And most them (I'd say over 90%) had a great experience.

10. And speaking of great experiences, to quote Anne Walztoni, "enjoy the experience." Our training program is built around one date: October 7. But really, marathons aren't about just the 26.2 miles. They are also about the steps you took to get there. This is just one more chapter to enjoy in that story.

11. That being said, from a physiological standpoint, this training program is all about October 7. Not about August 18. It doesn't matter if you are a savvy veteran or a marathon rookie, people will feel a wide range of emotions after the run. Some will be discouraged. Others will be pumped up and raring to go. I suggest keeping all of this in check. Good or bad run, pat yourself on the back for a job well done, shake off the emotions, and remind yourself your body is preparing for October 7, not August 18. We still have a lot of work to do.

12. We will have some hills along the Minnehaha Parkway on our course. They are not substantial. But I suggest trying to focus on form on these hills. I learned this trick from Gene Niemi: do not change your percieved effort as you run up a hill. People tend to charge up hills. They will pull away from you, but once things flatten out, you quickly catch up to them and find that you are not breathing as hard. I tried this out at a hilly race on Sunday. It works!

13. Have a policy about aid stations: are you one to get in and get out as fast as you can? Or do you see them as a well deserved break and like to walk through them. I can make an argument as to why both approaches are good ideas. But that is irrelevant. Figure out what you think.

14. Regarding nutrition: Janelle, our star nutritionist recommends a gel/gu every 45 minutes with water. This works great for me. Find out if it works for you and if not, figure out what you need to do to adapt. And there are tons of gels and gu out there. Figure out, through trial and error, what works for you.

15. Run YOUR pace on Saturday. You will have to run your pace on October 7. Start practicing now. If the pack you are with is running a bit too salty for you, back off. Let them go. It's not easy for some of us (translation: me) to do this. Mental toughness is hanging on for dear life over the last five miles of the run, just so you can finish with the group you started with.

Mental toughness kills marathons.

Mental discipline makes a marathon. Mental discipline allows you to decide your mates are running too fast and saying, "I need to train at my own pace." Embrace mental discipline. Save mental toughness for the last mile of your marathon.

16. Get simple sugars into your body ASAP once you are done running.

17. Walk later in the day if you are sore. Go for at least a 15 minute jog ton Sunday no matter how sore you are. However, I say that with one qualifier, if you don't start to loosen up at all after five minutes of jogging, then you should stop and walk for the last 10 minutes.

18. If you did 18 miles two weeks ago, remember, 18 + 2 =20. Your only going two more miles than what you did two weeks ago. You can do this!

19. We live in the wealthiest, greatest nation on earth. And on top of that, we are a select few people who have the freedom (health-wise, financially, and time-wise) to train for this. There is so much for us to be grateful for.

I like to remind myself of this when I am struggling through the last few miles of a long run. Chin up! It's good to be alive.

Like my coach in high school said to start each practice and race, no matter the weather or the workout he was about to put us through: "It's a great day for a run."

20. Have fun!!!!!

Paparazzi: Part II

If'n you didn't see the Star Tribune on Wednesday, I will bring a copy to Saturday's run for you to peruse. In the meantime, all this added publicity continues to fan the fire on MDRA's rumor mill.

Are these just rumors, or is their a truth to them? Time will tell.

But my sources tell me that a major studio is already beginning to produce to next installment of the Die Hard series. It will be called Die Hard 26.2: The Crawl to St. Paul

From what I understand they are looking for a new, up and coming actor to play the role of hero cop John McLane.



So are we to believe that Brian Tefft is really the studio's choice to be the next John McClane?


And what about this business about Robert Redford trying to find someone to play his Roy Hobbs charachter in a sequel to The Natural?



Sources close to Redford say golden boy Steve English will take on the role of Hobbs in this movie.



And lastly, Marty and I are in the final negotions with some Hollywood business type for a sequal to Dumb and Dumber.



As you have probably figured out by now, the movie will be called Dumber and Dumbest: Marathons Cause Brain Damage.

The Paparazzi

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Over 100 people decide to train for a marathon! Some of them are crazy enough to run up and down the same hill over and over!

So the Star-Tribune is going to run a story about first-time marathoners, and the story will highlight people in the MDRA training program. The story is scheduled for this Wednesday.

Source... Isn't that the section that has movie reviews and Hollywood gossip? I can already see where this story is headed.

MDRA's own Andrew and Jim



in a re-make of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?



Or here's something more frightening and shocking than Reservior Dogs



It's Reservoir Kiwis!!!



And this last rumor is just too good to be true. Are they really bringing back the show CHiPs?



Rumor has it they'll change the name and premise just slightly. This time around they'll call the show Finns and these cops don't need motorcycles. They'll just run everywhere and chase down crime in their Asics. Ponch and John don't have a thing on our own Steve and Nate!



You know this last would have worked a lot better, if Nathan were on the left, and Steve on the right.

Week Seven: Pace Race

We are smack dab in the middle of marathon training season. This week, we cross over from hills and strength work to pace work. If you need help arriving at a marathon pace, I would suggest you consult ALL THREE of the following:

1. One of your coaches.
2. Your team leader.
3. The person/people whom you are doing your long runs with.

Each person will have unique insight either about you as an individual or have marathon experience that can help.

Or for all you do-it-yourselfers, the interwebs has some pace calculators and conversion charts. Click here for the most dangerous tool on the interwebs: the Race Results Predictor. I hesitate to pass this website onto you. So I pass it on to you with one major disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER: The race predictor calculator uses mathematical formulas. It cannot take into account where your individual strengths and weaknesses are. I will use myself as an example. I am a much better at running the 1500m or the 5k, than I am at a martathon. So if you punch my 5k time from last spring into the race predictor calculator, it predicts a marathon time that was 16 minutes faster than what I actually ran at Grandma's. I put in my Half-Marathon time in from April, and it predicited a time that was still ten minutes too fast, compared to how I did at Grandma's.

Also, the predictor cannot take into account what the weather will be like on race day.

So if you play around with the race calculator, please take the results with a grain of salt. Consider your strengths and weaknesses. If you are like me, and really skewed toward one distance, it can mislead you into thinking you can should a faster or slower pace than necesarry.

But the nice thing about using race predictor calculator is it can give you a start at finding the marathon pace that is right for you. It is one more tool for you to use, but by no means is it an exact science.

And that is after all why we run the race right? If everything was guaranteed, we could all just go run a 5k, punch our time into a the calculator, and stop training since the calculator already told us what was going to happen. We could just say that was our marathon. I personally like challenge of facing the unkown. And that's why I keep coming back to this distance again and again. No other distance I've raced compares to it, in terms of the stakes and the unpredictability.

Weeks Five and Six: I-35W

It is hard to talk to talk about what happened on Wednesday when the bridge collapsed. I am still processing it all. It may not even feel 100% real until I actually see for myself what happended.

My plans that evening were to go for a run, eat dinner with my wife, and blog about socks and the week that was. And then the bridge collapsed, and suddenly the pros and cons of Nike running socks really wasn't on my mind anymore.

I was gathering my dog and his leash, so we could go for our run when my wife called me upstairs to tell me that some bridge collapsed. Like many of you, we could not imagine exactly what this meant until we saw the images.

Each of us will respond to what has happened in his or her own personal way.

This is how I will respond: I will race. No matter what happens, I will finish happy and aware of the blessings I have. It will do nothing to ease the pain and suffering our city is feeling. But if I can savor my blessings, like being able to run every day, it is one small way I can honor those who lost loved ones or their own life on I-35.

So I will be running the TC10 with a heavy heart. But even so, matter what happens with my race, it will be a great day.

Beat the Heat

This post is a complete re-run. I will soon stop typing anything new, go to an old e-mail I wrote to last year's class about tips on hydration, and cut and paste that text onto this blog.

The information is still valid. Hydration is serious stuff, so do take the recommendations here to heart. Okay, now I'm off to cut and paste.

This information is from the Running Times e-mail Newsletter for July 2006.

“Keeping on top of your fluid intake is critical when running during the hot summer months, and RT contributor Suzanne Girard Eberle offers some excellent tips for staying hydrated in the Running Times Guide to Breakthrough Running. According to Eberle:

Many runners fail to monitor the most important nutrient of all—water. One of the quickest and simplest ways to boost your performance is to make sure you are well hydrated. Without proper hydration, you'll feel light-headed, tired, irritable, and headachy. And that's before you start running. Head out for a run in a dehydrated state, or ignore your fluid needs as you exercise, and you can quickly run into trouble. You will find it more difficult to tolerate the heat, and you risk suffering from heat cramps or, worse, heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Your performance will suffer too. Even mild dehydration—a 2 percent drop in body weight due to the loss of fluid 3 pounds for a 150-pound runner)—can decrease by 20 percent your ability to perform mental and physical tasks.

Fill up before you head out the door by drinking at least two cups (16 ounces) of fluid an hour or two before exercise. Drink another cup (8 ounces) 15 minutes before you plan to run. Water, juice, milk, and sports drinks will all do the trick. Alcoholic and caffeinated drinks cause you to urinate and lose fluid, so be sure to match each glass of these beverages with an equal glass of water. Don't wait until you feel thirst to drink—that means you're already dehydrated. Keeping tabs on your urine is an easy way to monitor your hydration. You should be able to produce ample amounts of pale yellow or straw-colored urine. Producing scanty amounts of darkly colored urine indicates that you are dehydrated.

During exercise, plan to drink another 4 to 8 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes depending on what the weather is like and how well you hydrated beforehand. If you run for an hour or less, know where to locate water along your route or carry it with you. For runs lasting over an hour or during intense efforts, such as interval workouts, choose a sports drink, which replaces the water and electrolytes lost through sweating more efficiently than plain water. You'll also get a boost from the carbohydrates these beverages provide.

If you think dehydration may be slowing you down, weigh yourself before and after you run. Replace every pound lost by drinking at least two cups of fluid. Next time you run, try to drink that amount in the few hours before you exercise. Eating salty foods will also help you hold on to fluids you drink. Pay particular attention to your fluid needs on hot and humid days and on low-humidity or windy days when you may not be as conscious of sweating.”

Week Four: Rubber, Meet My Friend the Road

It is time marathoners, one month into the class, where the proverbial rubber of running shoes begins to meet the proverbial road. The absract notion of "Hey I want to run a marathon!" has met the reality "&^%$#@!#@! I am training for a marathon."

Maybe now you get out of bed a little more slowly than you did in May. Perhaps it takes a few minutes of slow easy running to work out all the aches and pains before you can hit your normal easy tempo pace. That nagging pain in your knee is not getting worse, but it's not going away. Do you worry about this?

Well, I would. But you have to listen to your own body and make your own decisions. My rule of thumb is the sharper the pain, the more you need to be worried. But no matter how dull an ache may be, if you feel it for more than one run, it is time to take action.

Every savvy veteran marathoner is familiar with R.I.C.E. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevate. Click here for a RICE-based website that has some things you can do at home for your knocks and dings.

So you have your savvy veteran marathoners doing RICE, and you have me, your lazy marathoner who does IRD, which is different than RICE. It is Ice, Recovery Days, and Doctor. Here's how me and my posse of aches and pains roll:

Ice I have many of those crinkly icy packs like they sell at Walgreen's. I have some at work and some at home. Whenever I bust one out, I make my wife or one of my co-workers act like they're Tommy Lee Jones and I'm Harrison Ford and we're in the back of a squad car, like at the end of The Fugitive

Oops. I digress. Anyway, about three times a day at work, I ice a different sore spot on my right leg, depending on the flavor of the day, regarding dull pain. Sure the half-life of my dress socks' elasticity suffers, but it is worth it. After my run, I also do my best to ice at least one sore spot within an hour of running.

Rest or Recovery Days Recovery days are huge. If your pains are particularly sharp, take a day or two off altogether and ice your sorrows away.

But if you can run, do so. But honor the recovery day. Many injuries can be avoided by simply making sure any runs you do on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and/or Sunday are laaaaaaaaaaaaaaid back. You're putting the easy back in easy tempo on this run. Count blades of grass as you go by. See if you can see it grow. Leave your watch at home. Time your run with a sundial.

I could go into the physiology as to why recovery days are vital, but it is kind of boring. So it will be a win-win if you just believe in recovery runs with blind faith. They should be a staple of your training.

Doctor If pain persists after resting and icing, OR if any pain is sharp and accompanied by a sudden onset (think pulled muscle), I go see my doctor. I go to a sports medicine doctor because these folks understand that running is a quality of life variable for me. So they will do their best to get me back to running, rather than simply telling me to stop running so much. Sure, all this running is why my leg hurts, but all this running also keeps me sane. Sports medicine doctors appreciate this.

And of course somewhere in there should be a letter A for ask one of your coaches. None of us are doctors, of course, but we've all experienced our share of injuries. So please remember this: not only do we welcome you to ask questions about your aches and pains, we encourage it. It can be very hard to sort which pains are manageable and which ones are your body telling you to back off. Hopefully we can all work together to sort all that out.

And there is one more way our abstract notion of running a marathon is becoming reality (at least those of you running TCM). All of our long runs will contain portions of the TCM course. We will highlight those at each run.

Happy trails.

-Mike N.

Gear Daddy: A Shorts Is a Shorts, Of Course, Of Course

I'm so glad it's not January and we have to talk about running jackets and pants. I'm also glad we have more choices for running shorts besides cotton Adidas shorts vs. Umbro soccer shorts. Actually, as I think about it, there was a brand of running shorts back in the day. The "New Zealand" brand.

There are two big requirements I have for shorts. They need a pocket that securely closes and they need some length. Actually, the general public requires that shorts that I wear come with length. Few things are more horrifying than a bald, pale Polish guy running around with blindingly white chicken legs.

For some reason I have never bought Nike running shorts, but here the some shorts that I do like (it's a short list):

Brooks

So Brooks shorts are made with a very light material and they have pockets that Velcro shut (which keeps me from stressing out the entire run about losing my keys, chalk, and/or Gu).

Adidas

By far and away my favorite brand of shorts. It's not even close. They come with a pretty deep pocket in the back that zips shut. I never have to worry about my keys falling out. I have fit three Gu packs back there for a marathon. My iPod shuffle and keys go in there easily as well. Plus the shorts themselves come in varying lenghts, meaning no matter how short or tall I grow, I can always find a pair that will cover my knee caps.

Like the Asics Gel Empire, I worry what I would do if these Adidas shorts were discontinued. What's the skinny on other shorts I missed?

Week Three: Plan for Worst, Hope for the Best

Man what a great week for alibis!

It's not my fault you got lost on Sunday's run, the rain washed away all the chalk.

What's that you say? I should have had the foresight to bring some extra chalk to mark the course as I ran it with the Finns?

Well my family was in town from Texas so I was too distracted hosting to think of details like that. In fact, they were here until this morning, which is why I haven't run since Saturday.

Huh, maybe those alibis are pretty flimsy afterall.

One of the things I love about running is that it is one of the few sports where your butt is entirely on the line. There are no teammates to pull you up or down. It is such a great risk to step up and devote at least four months of your life to a marathon. We all have one main goal, finish the event. And any subsequent goals are equally quantifiable. The results are almost always black and white, and yours alone to claim.

On the morning of October 8, as you limp to work (or through O'Hare Airport), you will reflect on your marathon. If you met all your goals, thank the running gods that it was your day. And if you made it to the starting line healthy but didn't meet all your goals, you still have to tip your cap to the running gods. Acknowledge that it was not your day, evaluate what changes need to be made in your training (if any), and move on.

Easier said than done, I know. I had a hard time moving past the fact that it rained last Friday night. As I drove to Fort Snelling to our run on Saturday, over the Lake Street Bridge, I had only one thing to say, "Where the &*^@*#$! did my chalk markings go?!?!? Sure, my front lawn and I prayed together each morning for rain. And NOW the only time all month you can deliver rain is the six hours before our long run?!?!?!?!?"

Say that reminds me, didn't Alannis Morrisette have some song about rain on a wedding day being ironic? Sure rain on your wedding day is crappy, but it's not ironic unless the bride and groom are farmers getting married in the middle of a ten year dought, and the only time it rains in those 120 months is on their wedding day. Then Alannis could say rain on a wedding day is ironic. She'd be better off singing about an MDRA coach who wants a green lawn and prays for rain all summer only to get it less than 24 hours after chalking a 13 mile course. I'm not sure how all that would fit the meter of her song, and even my sad tale is not true irony. But it is closer to irony than some pop singer getting rain on her wedding day.

But I digress. Back to plan A for Saturday's run being washed away by the rain. Every good runner/coach has a good plan B. And since I am a mediocre runner/coach, I had a mediocre plan B: the Friday before the run I had printed out about 12 maps for eighty people.

But you guys adpated. Remember this come October 7. Everyone looked after one another. We can't pull each other up or down, but we can support one another. But even more important than that is the fact that everyone adpated.

Someone made an arrow out of sticks at the bottom of the Ft. Snelling hill to direct runners back up to the fort (I still don't know who did that, but THANK YOU).

I owe Anne Walztoni beer for a month after she agreed to sweep the back and catch all Kenyans to make sure no one got lost.

I owe Carolyn Fletcher a car (my 88 Accord is hers for the taking) after she found my car keys lying in the middle of the East River Road running path.

And everyone needs to realize that we can adapt. There will be no guarantee the weather will be nice on October 7. Or that you will be 100% healthy. Or that you will feel great at mile five. But I guarantee you this: you do have the ability to adapt. It will up to you and you alone to exercise this adaptability.

The first rule of Fight Club is there are no... Wait, wait, wait, wait. I mean the first guarantee of Marathoning is there are no guarantees (dude that's deep). It is up to each runner to adapt.

After Saturday's run, it looks like we are a group that can do just that.

-Mike N.

Gopher Run Race Series Press Release

It was an exciting week in the Gopher (a) Run Race Series, with everyone running fast times and more importantly everyone having fun. Only 1 person got caught up in the moment and bid faster than he could run on that day—however, a 2 second PR offset the disappoint of not scoring any points in week 1.

Grabbing the Pink Jerseys after 1 week of racing are Carolyn Fletcher and Anne Walztoni. Grabbing the Yellow Jerseys were Steve English and Kirk Walztoni

Most Importantly:

There are still plenty of opportunities to pick up points in the race series, beginning this Thursday, when 30 points are up for grabs. In addition, to be determined bonus points will be available due to the unique layout of the course. Please plan to meet us at the start-line (6:15 at the bottom of the hill just north of Franklin Ave on West River Road). For a preview of the course (and a map of where the start is), follow this link--http://www.runningmap.com?id=18384.

Rules for the remaining stages in the race series are below.

Stage 1 Results;

Women’s Division:

Carolyn Fletcher 15 Pts
Anne Walztoni 15 Pts
Deb Schneider 12 Pts

Men’s Division

Steve English 15 Pts
Kirk Walztoni 15 Pts
Mike Nawrocki 12 Pts
Chris Taylor 12 Pts
Marty Humphrey 9 Pts
Paul Mix 9 Pts



2nd Stage
Witches Hat Climb
Course Map Can Be Found at
http://www.runningmap.com?id=18384

Straight out Race
Fastest to the top wins. 30 (1st), 24 (2nd), 19 (3rd), 15 (4th), 12 (5th), 10 (6th), 9 (7th) to 1 pt (15th)
3rd Stage
Witches Hat Climb Handicapped
Handicapped Race
Slowest runners start first, releasing other runners using results from previous weeks run
First to the top wins (same scoring as 2nd stage)
4th Stage
Team Race
5K Race around Pike Island
Average Team Members recent 5K Races
Seed based on average
Run race and reorder based on average team results
Same scoring as 2nd and 3rd stages
5th Stage
Predicted Downhill Mile
No watches allowed
Scoring is; 25 points within 10 sec, 20 (10-19 sec), 15 (20-29), 10 (30-30, 5 (40-49
6th Stage - done immediately after 5th stage is complete
Storm the Fort
Steep / Short Course
No handicap
Scoring is 5 (1st), 3 (2nd), 2 (3rd), and 1 for all who finish
Post Race Dinner / Awards Place TBD
Awards:

Yellow Jersey (Man in the lead)
Pink Jersey (Woman in the lead)

1st Stage;
Guillotine Mile

Guess your time (will have a bidding option directly before the race)
Only Score if you run faster than your bid time
Score is your bid time, not what you ran
Time counts down from highest bid, and each person starts when the time hits their projected time-must finish before clock hits zero
Scoring Based on Sex/Age Group (<30, 30-50, 50+), 15 pts (for 1st), 12 pts (2nd), 9 (3rd), 6 (4th), 3 (all others who finish in time), and 0 pts (for all who don't make the cutoff)

Gear Daddy: Successeries

One part of running that has exploded over the past ten years is the number of marathons out there for folks like us. There has also been a huge spike in the number of running accessories. When I leave my house for a run, or pack my bag for an MDRA run, it never ceases to amaze just how much gear I am toting along for the run. So here are my top five favorite running accessories, in order of least to most vital.

5. Heart Rate Monitor I haven't used a heart rate monitor since college, but it is the best way to guarantee you are letting your body recover on easy tempo days. It will beep when your heart is pumping too fast for a recovery day (I'm guessing, but I think that would be around 120 beats per minute for most people). Click here for more on heart rate training.

In college our coach made use heart rate monitors on our easy days, because he knew it was impossible for a bunch of 20 year-old boys to do any form of a run or jog without turning it into a race. So we still raced, of course, to see who could go the fastest and still keep their heart rate in recovery range. It was a mark of shame to have your monitor beep on you. I'm sure watching this was as exciting as watching an underwater swimming race.

4. iPod Shuffle I love my iPod shuffle. I use it for easy tempo runs to listen to podcasts and new music so that my mental focus is not on running. This keeps me from running too hard on an easy day. It's much less precise than a heart rate monitor but it works for me.


3. Running Hats Hey did you hear the news! MDRA running hats are on sale for $20.00!!! But I'm not just putting running hats on the list because MDRA is selling them. See, it turns out I'm bald. I used to just wear any old baseball cap to keep the sun off my head and the sweat out of my eyes. But those running hats are clearly superior. They are more comfortable and have that wicking quality.

2. Running Leashes Pancho would should put this #1 on his list, barely nosing out sticks and stray tennis balls he finds on the run. I used to run with a traditional leash, but now I have one of those leashes that loops around your waist.



The only reasons this dog likes me is because I feed him, exercise him, and sneak beer into his water bowl when Emily's not looking.

I was hesitant to try out these running leashes because I didn't think I'd be able to keep Pancho right next to me, like I can with a regular leash. But Pancho is highly malleable, so it didn't take long to train him. So I recommend the leash to anyone who runs with a dog. You can keep your regular running form, reducing the chance of injury.

1. Body Glide The only thing worse than seeing a guy with bloody nipples post-marathon is being the guy with bloody nipples post-marathon. With Body Glide, chafing and bleeding are things of the past, right there with the Fuller brush man and the dinosaur. Available at fine running stores everywhere.

Apply liberally before every long run on ANYWHERE that friction may occur. That is: any place where skin contacts other skin ot clothing. I have had freaking chafing where the neckline of my shirt rubbed my neck, my armpits rub, my waist meets the waistline of my shorts... You get the idea. And with that being said, it should be obvious why you don't really want to borrow someone else's Body Glide.

And beware: Body Glide comes in a container that looks a lot like a deodorant stick. I have been known to put Body Glide under my armpits and deodorant everywhere else because I wasn't paying attention.

Anyone have a list, or one or two must-have accessories?

Week Two: The Smart Car and the Not-So-Smart Driver

So this week I learned something new about my car and ten gallons of water. I loaded up my car with all the water jugs I had for the "M stop" for Saturday's run. I put the biggest jug, which holds ten gallons, in the passenger seat. Apparently the car sensed that anything as heavy as a jug filled with ten gallons of water, sitting shotgun, HAD to be a human. So as I'm driving down Lake Street, the car kept beeping at me because the passenger seat belt wasn't buckled.

I figured it would stop beeping after awhile. But I was wrong. It turns out cars don't have brains, so they can't get bored. The freaking car had no reason to stop beeping, no matter how much I tried to ignore it, until I actually fastened the water jug's seat belt.

It turns out cars aren't too bright.

The irony here is that I ended up buckling the seat belt, in the name of water safety, while I was driving, which is not so safe. By the time I had the freaking seat belt secured, I was veering towards the center line and was close to driving like I was in England. But the stakes were pretty low. Lake Street is pretty quiet at 6:20 am on Saturday morning, so I had both directions of traffic open to me.

But as I think about it. Maybe that car is closer to KITT (of Knight Rider fame) than I originally thought. Maybe it is actually KITT Jr. Given how freaking hot it ended up being on Saturday, that water I was transporting to Dean Parkway was clear gold, and KITT Jr. knew that.

If I had been driving the real KITT, it could have talked to me. "What are you doing Michael? That water could spill if you come to a sudden stop. Runners will get thirsty if you don't deliver this water safely to them. You need to buckle the water jug in." But of course, my car can't talk. So all it could do is beep at me annoyingly and incessantly.

Cripes. It reminds me of my cat who meows just the same way. And coinicdentally, my wife and I named that *&^%%$#@#!! cat after the old Saturday Night Live charachter, "Toonces the Driving Cat" who, like me on Saturday morning, could not drive very well.


Our cat Toonces can't drive (but I know should would love to try), can't help me look for my keys, and wouldn't want to even if she could. It turns out cats aren't too bright.

And now I am slowly realizing my car might be smarter than Toonces and, sadly, me. At the end of the run, there was some complicated logistics Marty, Deb, and I had to work out. The details are even less interesting than this blog, but in the end I had traded vehicles with Marty, and he drove my car to Marathon Sports, and I drove his to break down the M water stop.

I am good at breaking down water stops because it is an activity that really does not really involve my frontal lobes. What I'm not good at is things that require things like multi-tasking and memory. And now that Marty was driving KITT Jr. no one was around to save me from myself. After I loaded up his SUV with all the water coolers, tables, and trash, I breahted a sigh of relief, and looked forward to getting some coffee at Marathon Sports.

Except, uh, where did I put the keys? Remember what I said about being bad with multi-tasking and remembering things?

It turns out I'm not too bright.

When I was a kid I had this dirt bike, the SX-2000. I never ever had a wreck on it. And let me tell you, I did a lot of daring things on that bike. It doesn't matter if David Hasselhoff was the driver or Toonces, it's a miracle I never got hit by a car doing some of the dumb things I did on that bike. So I credit the magic of the SX-2000 to the fact that I never once got in a bike accident. Well, except one time, when I traded bikes with my friend and ended up riding his bike right into a parked car, while he crusied pass me on the divine SX-2000.

You see where I'm going here? I drive KITT Jr. and I can safely transport liquid gold through the heart of the city, while driving like Toonces. I swap vehicles with Marty, and I can't even figure out what I did with the keys once I cut the engine off.

Now if I can find a way to bottle the magic of the SX-2000 and KITT Jr. and pour it into my shoes, I will never have to think for myself while running a marathon again. Success will be mine! If a big pack of people passes me at mile two and I go with them, my shoes could suddenly become very heavy and slow me down. They would say, "What are you doing Michael? You know you are supposed to run your own pace and race in a marathon."

When I turn up Summit and my legs turn to goo and my body starts shutting down, my shoes can say, "Don't worry Michael. You relax for the next five miles. We will do the running for you."

I think I may have to ammend my top five lists of favorite shoes if Knight Rider ever becomes a brand.

So let's see. What lengths would I go to improve my marathon performance? Following the logic of this post, I can't drive any better than my cat, my shoes and car talk to me, and they're smarter than me. But, I do get to run a good marathon. Seems like a good trade-off to me.

Gear Daddy: Shoes Make the Runner Part II

Like oops. Those that know me are aware that I am obsessed with arranging top five lists. So I meant to add a top five list to this morning's post, but ran out of time because I had to go that real job I have that takes up all my time.

So here we go...

TOP FIVE FAVORITE RUNNING SHOES

5. Nike Waffle Racer Okay so this is technically not a distance training shoe, and definitely not a marathoner's shoe. And I've never actually owned a pair of these. But I have to give a nod to Bill Bowerman, one of our founding fathers of distance running in the United States. He invented the waffle racer by pouring rubber into his wife's waffle iron and using that for the sole of his shoe. It's not altogether this simple, but in some ways, one could say this moment was part of the birth of Nike.

4. Adidas Marathon Trainers The first pair of running shoes I ever owned. The rubber sole was textured with the Adidas logo. Not a lot of ventilation or cushion with these shoes. I bought them as a freshman in high school because they had the retro 70s vibe to them. It turns out they still are retro and cool. Now they're fashion shoes, but in no way are they meant for running anymore.

3. Converse Running Shoes I can't even find a picture of these bad boys on the interwebs. But I promise, Converse used to make a running shoe. I wore them through most of high school for training. They were big, silver (or were they tan?), and absurdly supportive. This was back in the late 1980s. Converse got out of the running shoe scene, which is how I eventually ended up wearing Asics.

2. Asics 2100/2000 From the early 1990s to 2005, I wore this series. Definitely for over ten years. That is a heck of a run.

1. Asics Gel Empire I could probably still run in the 2100 series, but feet my wouldn't like it. Well, in the Empires my feet tolerate running, even if they aren't thrilled about it on occasion. Thanks to this switch in shoes I'm able to look like I'm only twice my age when I limp out of bed each morning, instead of three times my age.

Well enough about me. Anyone bold enough to submit a list?