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?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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."
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."
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
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!!!!!
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!!!!!
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