8 Great Reasons to Race Now

1) Most training paces should be based on current fitness.  If you have not raced recently you can take some of the guesswork out of your training by using a current performance.

2) Using an equivalent performance chart you can evaluate your progress towards the bigger goal.  Are you on track or do you need to adjust your goal to a faster or slower or time?

3) High intensity training boosts your running economy and getting a t-shirt and maybe even an award sure is more fun than doing it on your own.

4) Racing with regularity allows you to cash in your hard work more often.  If you wait for just one or two races a year and the variables do not cooperate on the right days you may not have much to show for all your sweat equity.

5) Make a shorter race part of a longer run.  Want to get great long run training effect without running even longer?  Go into a little energy and muscle fatigue debt and add miles of training effect to the same distance long run.

6) Support your local running community by participating in quality races.  No matter how good a race may be it will not last without strong participation.  Volunteering also counts for this one!

7) Many training partners and lasting friendships started by meeting someone at a race.  Running alone or in the same group is fine but occasionally meeting new runners outside of your normal circle can be great, too.

8) Expand your sense of the possibilities.  Be encouraged and motivated by what you see other local runners accomplishing.  If they can do it why can’t you?

IMM Training Plans: % of What?

Math Kid.jpg

Those registered for the Monumental Marathon or Half before July 1 were offered free training plans for their chosen race.  A question I have received from Daniel, Missy and others is in regard to the percentages assigned to the quality workouts.  An example workout is mile repeats at 85%.  The basic question was percentage of what?  The basic answer is percentage of effort.
We know that at specific percentages of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) different training effects occur.  Because oxygen consumption is a very elaborate and equipment intense thing to measure we can rely on heart rate due to the very close correlation.
Now I know I just lost many of you because you tried the heart rate monitor thing and hated it because you felt like you were always running too hard (or too easy).  Without going into more detail than the scope of this post I will bet you were using bad predictive numbers based on a bell curve formula.  If we know your actual maximum heart rate and plug it into the Karvonen formula we can get you some useful numbers.  For example a maximum heart of 185 and resting HR of 45 equals a reserve of 140.  If we multiply this number by 85% we get 119 and by adding back the resting 45 beats per minute we get a target HR of 164 and a target zone of 159-169.
Using the right maximum number and this formula help us arrive at a heart rate correlating to VO2.  It is also worth mentioning that significant dehydration will also drive up heart rate numbers due to the decreased blood volume level requiring more beats per minute to deliver oxygen.
I have used heart rate in my own training since 1988 and in my coaching since 1991 and have a great deal of confidence in the benefits.  However, I like it best as part of my "Effort Dashboard" along with pace, perceived exertion, aerobic pressure, and muscular tension.
Used in this context the issues with each of these measurement tools are overcome by their collective strength.

 

The Irreplaceable Training Benefits of Racing

In a recent post season review meeting, one of my runners expressed their realization that they would race better if they actually practiced racing as part of their training.  Exactly!  I have been amazed at the number of runners who assign no value to racing unless it is a marathon or half marathon goal race.  As this is the time many begin to refocus on preparing for fall it seems like a really good time to lay out the reasons that actually racing may make you a better racer when it matters most.

1) Improving Running Economy, the energy cost of running a given pace, requires work at and above race effort.  I know a t-shirt and a post-race Popsicle make this kind of hard work much more enjoyable than doing it in a workout.  How many times can you really put forth 10 kilometers of maximum race effort in training?  I would bet not many.

2) What happens when you pin on a race number?  Some people lose their minds and do things they know are crazy even when they are doing them and cannot stop themselves.  Learning what silliness may ensue after applying safety pins is a valuable lesson.

3) Learn to quiet the noise.  The ability to quiet the head noise and relax, focus, and push simultaneously takes game day practice and is an irreplaceable tool on the big day.

4) In-race decision making separates the fit and those that cash in their fitness.  You can count on something going awry on race day.  Weather, course, late start, bad pacer, misplaced aid station or mile marker and so many other things can fail to be ideal.  Knowing what works when plan A is no longer in play makes the most of what the day offers.

5) Big races present logistical challenges walking out the door or driving to the park do not.  How much time to allow to get to the race, for packet pick up, warming up, gear check, endless bathroom lines, chaotic starts, cheering fans, hovering helicopters, and the list that goes on requiring some live rehearsal so you can focus on the one thing that matters most -the actual race.

6) Racing tests your nutritional plan by requiring digestion with the added butterflies in the stomach, heavier breathing, magnified dehydration, and the additional energy requirements of maximum effort and increased distance.  The things that work well for lower intensities and shorter durations may need tweaking for your best performance.

7) Racing's purity is about finding your limits.  How fast can you get to the finish?  How hard can you push your competition before one of you breaks?  How hard can you go for how long?  Training prepares you for these challenges but only racing will give you the answers.

So how much should you race to get the full training benefit?  It will certainly vary but a good rule of thumb for an 18 week marathon buildup would be about 5 races (~1/2 Marathon, 15K or 10M, and 3 x 5K-10K).  For a 13 week half marathon buildup 4 races would be good (15K or 10M, and 3 x 5K-10K).  For distances shorter than a half marathon averaging a race every 3 weeks of varying distances would be great preparation.  See you at the races!

Is it Time for a Running Break?

“Running is a sport of passion and enthusiasm and a planned break allows for recovery and rejuvenation.”

Running physiology in its most simple terms is stress + rest = improvement.  Make no mistake that to be your best there must be a great amount of stress in the form of training quality and volume.  However, without the correct balance of rest your body cannot adapt to your work and at best you stop improving and at worst end up physically injured or mentally fried.

Most of your training week will be resting and recovering.  What constitutes rest will vary from runner to runner.    For many, a day off or an easy 3-4 miles will be an ideal recovery day.  On the elite level a low intensity 8-12 miles in the morning and another easy 4-6 miles in the evening for a 12-18 mile day will do the same thing.  Knowing how much recovery you need to get full training benefit from previous work and to be ready for the next hard session or race is very important to know. 

Let’s talk about longer periods of rest that you should consider once or twice a year.  Running is a sport of passion and enthusiasm and without these in abundance running is simply no fun.  A planned break of a week or two once or twice a year can safeguard against physical breakdown but perhaps more importantly allow for emotional and mental recovery and rejuvenation.  Much like the daily recovery ranging from a complete day off to an easy 18 miles these breaks may look a great deal different from person to person.

When planning your break identify how much of your running is for racing preparation, exercise, and mental refreshment from daily life.  Your break may still include some light running to maintain some level of exercise and the mental break from real life you need.  But by getting away from looking at it as training for a little while you will be ready to go back to work after the break.

While the specifics should vary for runners at different levels and psychological make ups, here is a recommendation for your annual or semiannual break. 

Week One:         Very little to no running.  Possibly include some light cross-training for exercise and not to replace your run training.  Take most days completely off.

Week Two:         Some light running but nothing you would consider “training”.

Week Three:      Mostly relaxed running bringing your mileage back up to the low end of your normal range.

Week Four:        Add some quality and get back to business.

You don’t think you need a break?  You may be right, but I encourage you to look at this perspective.  When you run a hard workout most would agree the next day should be easy.  It is not that you could not have run harder or longer but you keep it easy to recover and get the training benefit from the previous day’s work, but also to be ready for what is to come.  The same is true for the planned break.  You may not need it in May, but we want you to be ready for the long buildup to your most important race in the fall.  If that is 18-26 weeks away you may benefit from a break somewhere and now is the ideal time, not when you are building training momentum close to the end of the year goal.

How do you know if you need a break?  This is a good time to evaluate your history.  Do you find during long training periods your enthusiasm for the daily work and the big goal wanes and it begins to feel like a job and you just want to be done with the race?  Do you find you tend to drag little aches and pains around that inhibit consistent healthy training?  Are there people or things that have not gotten the time and attention they deserve?  If so, a break to reset mentally, get completely healthy, and to reestablish life balance is a really good idea.

Take What the Day Offers - Reducing Race Day Stress

With most of the important spring races coming in the next few weeks it may be a good time to simplify your focus to perform your best.  It is normal to think primarily in terms of time or place goals, particularly with races of importance.  The internal and external pressure that affixes to these expectations can be motivating or debilitating depending on your personality.  If you tend to let these goals and accompanying expectations become so heavy they inhibit your performance, I encourage you to simplify what you allow to run through your head during race week. 

By all means prepare your best with your challenging goals in mind but when it comes to race day focus on taking what the day offers.  Let’s take a quick inventory of what you can and cannot control.  This is a worthwhile exercise because the uncontrollable variables are what create most of the havoc in a runner’s mind on race day.

Let’s start with what can you control.  First and foremost you can control effort.  Effectively managing effort and energy expenditure will take care of pace and therefore the finish time.  It works best in this order and not as well in the reverse. 

Also, powerfully, you can control your thoughts and therefore your attitude.  When presented with bad conditions look with a positive attitude how you can make the most of the situation. For example, race day and the first really hot day of the year collide.  By recognizing the effect of these bad conditions you can adjust your expectations and move ahead of those unwilling to capitulate to the reality of the day.  Some of whom you otherwise have no chance to beat.

Lastly, with good planning most logistics are under your control.  Perhaps you know traffic gets crazy close to race time so you can arrive earlier and make sure you can be relaxed and ready for the start.

Variables beyond your control include weather, course, competition, and some logistics.  If the weather report includes words like “unseasonably” or “record” your time goal may be out window and starting on plan “B” or “C” as discussed earlier may save the day.

You can prepare for a challenging course but it is the exception and not the rule that a person has a faster time at the Big Sur Marathon than the Monumental Marathon.   Great preparation may even the courses to some degree but true mountains are hard to move.

If the bus for the Kenyan School for the Gifted pulls up to the start line you might not end up in the same place as if their field trip was at another race.  However, you might get pulled along to a personal best with a better competition level.

If the course cannot really handle the number of people running creating bottlenecks or any other unforeseen or uncontrollable logistical impediment arises your performance may be marred.  Deal with it the best you can on the run and then mark “less than satisfied” on your customer comment card.

With the big race approaching focus on what you can control and adjust for that which you cannot.  When you feel that race day panic creeping in remind yourself to run smart, run hard, and take what the day has to offer.

Increasing Your Training ROI

You are spending valuable time and energy on your training so it is wise to evaluate if it is giving you the best possible return on investment.  We can categorize any workout into one or a combination of four training types.  1) Endurance-The ability to keep going.  2) Stamina-The ability to maintain a pace. 3) Economy-The energy cost of running a given pace. 4) Speed-The ability to run faster than race pace.  I will start with stating the obvious but hang in there with me for a few more sentences and we will get to the less obvious and more valuable.  You can prioritize these in order from 1 to 4 for longer races and from 4 to1 for shorter races.  OK, with that out of the way let’s figure out the type of training or more specifically the right blend of training that will give you the biggest return on the time and energy you spend running.

Begin by taking a look at the requirements for your chosen race distance.  For the purposes of our discussion let’s say it is the half marathon.  The best half marathoners will incorporate and possess all of these training types and benefits on race day.  But let’s get back to you and how we determine your focus in training.  You may be able to evaluate what you already know about yourself or get indications from workouts, but the surest way is to race a variety of distances.  For a half marathon goal race I would like to see a 5K, 8 or 10K, and 15K or 10 mile race leading up to the half.  Plotting these on an equivalent performance chart will show you where the greatest opportunity exists.

If you struggle to make it to the finish without having to slow down very significantly or having to walk then endurance (getting to the finish) needs to be your focus.  This is obviously the primary task for beginners or veterans taking on a new longer distance.  Simply run more and increase the distance of your long runs.  Add another run or two or a few more miles to your week.  Remember the increases must be gradual and progressive.  For this type of training it is OK to run slower in order to run longer.

If you can get to the finish or can run way beyond 13.1 miles but find the last 3-5 miles are slower than the first 8-10 you have displayed either a poor race plan or a need for more stamina.  As soon as finishing is no longer in doubt and time becomes more important to you stamina training becomes key.  This is typically threshold training.  Which threshold you ask?  Pick one (aerobic, anaerobic, ventilatory, lactate, etc…) because they all tend to end up at about the same effort.  They are all in the sweet spot of high end aerobic training.  Longer intervals with relatively short rest or longer sustained steady state or tempo runs will do the trick.

You have found you can run forever and maintain a solid pace for a long time.  The problem is that at half marathon goal pace you find it becomes very serious business quickly enough you know you cannot carry that effort for 13 miles.  You now can either adjust your goal or keep working towards goal pace with an increased emphasis on economy training.  This is real work and much of it is done in that uncomfortable spot above the aforementioned threshold varieties.  This is typically done in intervals or shorter sustained runs at race pace or faster.  A great way to do this training is to run shorter races.  Something about a t-shirt and a cookie at the end makes this type of training more enjoyable.

You now have checked off the first three training types and everything is going great until someone in the pack throws in a surge and you are already in top gear and cannot cover the move.  Or worse, everything is going great and the finish line is in sight and then the train comes roaring past and you lose a few spots within meters of the finish.  You now have, yes, the need for speed.  Running at speeds you cannot maintain more than 15 to 90 seconds will improve biomechanical efficiency, recruit fast twitch fibers, and in most cases help learn to buffer lactic acid.  You may find that your genetic code will only allow so much improvement in this area and you need to spend a little time sharpening what you have but go back and increase your stamina and economy even more to minimize this weakness.

You will need to keep all four training types in the mix.  It is just that mix that can be adjusted for better results.  You can use the feedback from regular racing and evaluation of your training to compare your current endurance, stamina, economy, and speed with the demands of the most important race on the horizon to adjust your training for the greatest return on investment.

February Matters - Make It Count

Aziz Atmani, Indy's & PBT's 1st Mini Finisher in 2014

Aziz Atmani, Indy's & PBT's 1st Mini Finisher in 2014

Thinking about racing this spring?  If so, be sure to make February count.  If you recall last winter and all the cold days with bad footing due to the inordinate snowfall and slow melts you know it was a very trying period to train.  Fast forward to a beautiful day in early May and you would find me a bit surprised how much faster the times were at the Mini versus one year prior.  The weather in 2014 on race day was 55 at the start and 57 at the 2:00:00 mark compared to 60 and 65 the prior year, but that did not seem like enough to counter the earlier prolonged training conditions.  You can see the comparative numbers below but to highlight what happened was that up front the race was much faster.  It took 30 seconds per mile faster to make the top 20.  I sent the numbers for the top finishers to a few of my runners including Dan Ball my de facto statistician for Personal Best Training.  As usual he looked into the trend a bit further and we saw that the much faster race at the top quickly transitioned to a much slower race towards the middle and back.  You can take a look at the numbers and draw your own conclusions but these are mine.

To those that running is very important the weather was aggravating but something to be dealt with and overcome.  Therefore they were able to take advantage of better race day conditions and a more competitive elite field.  As we work through the finishers the importance of running begins to fade and common sense increases keeping many people from what they would have done with a more mild winter.

We know that consistency in training is one of the most unglamorous yet most effective predictors of success.  The struggle with bad weather highlighted this importance.

While one may be able to get “in shape” in 2 months, to be race ready or actually improve from previous years in 60 days is much less likely.  Already being in shape with 60 days to go and being able to train at a high level for that period is a whole different ballgame.

A longer training period allows for a gentler yet still progressive buildup.  This keeps training more fun and greatly reduces the injury risk of trying to compress 3-4 months of training into 2.

If you fall into the category of those that reduce or stop running at some point in November or December and combine it with a sporadic January & February you end up with more time off than time training since your last race in the fall.  This is rarely a recipe for personal bests.

With a much milder winter this year I hope your training is way ahead of 2014.  If not, start now.  Begin with consistency even if that requires indoor training on track or treadmill or even something else that is aerobic, uses your legs, and causes sweating and heavy breathing.  Get started now and enjoy the payoff when the spring racing season has sprung.

Here are the numbers for the top finishers from the 2 years.

Place/2014/2013

10th/1:04:34/1:09:18 2014 was faster by 4:44/21 seconds per mile

20th/1:07:40/1:14:07 2014 was faster by 6:27/30 seconds per mile

50th/1:16:09/1:18:33 2014 was faster by 2:24/11seconds per mile

100th/1:20:32/1:21:43 2014 was faster by 1:11/5 seconds per mile

500th/1:32:01/1:31:16 2014 was SLOWER by 45 seconds/3 seconds per mile

1,000/1:38:03/1:37:03 2014 was slower by 60 seconds/5 seconds per mile

(112 places or 11% in that 60 seconds)

2,500/1:47:33/1:45:35 2014 was slower by 1:58/9 seconds per mile

5,000/1:56:53/1:54:41 2014 was slower by 2:12/10 seconds per mile

10,000/2:12:35/2:07:36 2014 was slower by 4:59/23 seconds per mile

20,000/3:00:41/2:40:26 2014 was slower by 20:15/1 minute 33 seconds per mile

8 Questions about Your Training Program

Collin Trent wrapping up a marathon PR with the Capitol building in view.

Collin Trent wrapping up a marathon PR with the Capitol building in view.

It’s January and the hardcore runners and resolution runners alike are planning their goals for the new year.  Most are preparing to follow some form of training program or join a group either virtual or live.  The following are 8 questions to ask if you find yourself in this situation.  Your answers will be very telling about your likelihood of success.

Is the starting level appropriate for your current fitness?  Your body could not care less about your goals.  It cares that you stress and rest it properly.  If you are over optimistic about what you can handle at the start of training your body has a number of ways to let you know.  When in doubt do less in the beginning and let your body tell you that it is ready for more.

Is there built in flexibility if you progress faster or slower than expected?  There may be points you need to back off and allow full adaptation and others where you can go full speed ahead longer than planned.  It is hard to tell weeks, let alone months in advance how you will be responding to the training.  Being able to adjust at the time is a great feature.

Do all of the components have gradual progression?  Mileage, long runs, quality workouts, and supplemental training all have to be gradual for full adaptation but must be progressive for improvement to continue.  A good test is to look day to day and week to week and nothing looks to intimidating.  However, if you jump ahead a few weeks or months it should look very challenging.

Does the program fit your life?  Motivation is the thing that gets us started, but if it does not fit your life you will struggle to develop the habits to make it work long term.

If you are not sure about the last answer have you identified the hurdles you need to get over or around?  Life will get in the way from time to time but any ongoing conflicts with preparing to meet your goal must be adequately addressed to best ensure success.

Why are you doing this?  This might have all started as a dare or a bet but at some point you will need to take ownership of the goal and do it for yourself.  Find the sometimes not so obvious reasons why this challenge appeals to you and use those to stay on track when it gets tough.

Who is your support team?  It can be so easy to quit even after significant investment of time and energy if nobody knows or cares about what you are trying to do.  A friend, training partner, or significant other that knows how important this is to you can help keep your head in the game when you are struggling.

Who is your coach or mentor?  There are so many running lessons that can be learned the hard way.  But why learn that way when those that have gone before you can help you identify the warning signs and faulty thinking that led them to make the same mistakes.  If you are new to this you don’t know what you don’t know.  If you have done this before the voice of reason can stop you from making the same mistake twice.  Find somebody either smarter or more objective or both.

If you can pass this 8 question test your chances are looking great you will be rewarded for you effort at the end of the road.  Run smart & run hard!

Trouble Shooting Your Marathon

Congratulations on your recent marathon!  What?  You say the race did not go as well as you hoped or expected?  Well, let’s do a little trouble shooting and see if we can figure out why.  Many of the common “marathon gone wrong” complaints can have multiple or overlapping causes but our trouble shooting should point you in the right direction of the usual suspects to be examined and remedied if found guilty.

I felt bad from the start.  I never got into a rhythm or felt quite right and never felt energetic. Not feeling like yourself from the start and struggling to find your rhythm often points to an extreme taper.  In an attempt to save energy for race day it is logical to really cut back on mileage and intensity for a week or two.  However, not enough running can be just as bad as too much running leading into a marathon.  A general rule, people will vary, is to decrease your training by about 25%.  A greater training reduction may be the cause.

A similar culprit may be to blame for a lack of energy from the start.  Not eating enough the days before the race can leave you a little depleted at the start line and severely depleted long before the finish line.  Try to stray very little from your nutrition plan used before your long runs when you felt really good.  You can tweak your diet for race day but don’t look for a magic overhaul.

Somewhere over the last 10 miles my pace started to slow and I was able to fight through it to finish but could not stop the slide. Let’s set aside the obvious possible issues of mileage, long runs, and pacing and look for another cause.  When the pace slows in this manner beyond what is reasonable given your training, dehydration becomes very likely.  Dehydration comes on slowly, about as slowly as you are losing water through your sweating.  Reevaluate your hydration plan including prerace and on the course.  This should take into account conditions and your sweat rate.  You will be dehydrated at the finish of such a long race.  It is about limiting your losses to minimize the effect on your performance.  Just like the rest of running, this is something that can be trained.

I went from feeling really good to slowing down to survival mode in a matter of 10 to 20 minutes.  Much like our last issue we will eliminate training causes for now and focus on the single most likely cause of going from feast to literally famine in such a quick timeframe.  Glycogen depletion comes on in a hurry.  Think of your car and how it will run great with an almost empty tank of gas and not so much a few minutes later when it is really empty.  At some point your body just cannot find enough fuel to maintain race pace.  It can burn other much less efficient sources of energy to get to the finish but it is not a photo you will hang on your wall.  Reevaluate your prerace diet which should get you happily to 20-22 miles at a reasonable pace and learn to take in the extra 400-600 calories during the race to make sure you can maintain that pace to the finish.

I did plenty of long runs and my mileage was good but my legs still cramped over the last 4-6 miles and really slowed me down and ruined the great race I had going.  Let’s take your word for it that you had plenty of mileage and long runs going into the race.  We can simplify marathon racing or pacing to two factors, speed and distance.  I know, very simple and obvious, but follow me on this.  You can have plenty of mileage of the weekly and long run variety making 26.2 no big deal but without the proper balance of quality you cannot get there at goal pace.  Conversely, if the training quality is fantastic but you are lacking the necessary mileage volume you will not be able to sustain the pace and your splits posted online for the world to see will indict you for your mileage omission.

I am actually very happy with my performance but I got really tired and the race got really hard at the end.  It’s a marathon it’s not supposed to be easy and that my friend is why it is a big deal and they gave you a t-shirt and a medal for finishing!  Congratulations!

Race Busters - 10 Proven Ways to Ruin Your Race

Rest Wrong.  Cutting back too much in the final weeks or pushing too hard right up to race day will leave you like bad toast, stale or burnt.  Back off enough to be rested and ready but stay in your normal training rhythm and not some magical taper mode or trying to squeeze in more workouts.

Confuse a goal and a wish.  Without evidence from training or even better, from racing, that your goal pace is reasonable it is just a wish.  Who doesn't want to break that next barrier or qualify for Boston?  But what indicates you can do it?  Starting out on “wish pace” usually has you wishing you didn't.

Try too hard or too often to prove fitness.  Continually overrunning workouts or running too many races to prove fitness is an equally attractive trap.  To use Stewart’s phrase, “Flexing Muscles” too often in workouts usually ends in injury or your best races are in a workout and not on race day when it matters.

Try some race day research.  No matter the claim of the nutritional product, shoe, or clothing item, race day is not the time for testing.  Yes, the mystical miracle gel would have fueled you for days if you could have kept it down and the shorts looked fabulous but should have come with a family size container of sport shield for the chafing.

Ignore plan B.  Review race day factors such as how you feel, temperature, wind, and course to adjust as needed.  You will run slower on an 80 degree day than when it is 30 degrees cooler.  The option is to do so voluntarily or involuntarily.  Voluntarily is much more pleasant.  The conditions may also align for the perfect PR storm.  Don’t waste golden opportunities.

Put time in the bank.  I cannot think of a better self-fulfilling prophecy than those that tell me that they are going to start faster to bank time for when they slow down at the end.  If you choose to employ this strategy I guarantee you will need all the time you banked and more.

Catch up too quickly.  Found yourself too far back at the start or caught in slower traffic?  Don’t multiply this mistake by trying to catch up to where you should be too quickly.  Burning two miles of fuel in the first mile will not help the end result.  Bring it back a little at a time.

Run someone else’s race.  Going with the pack, pace group, training partner or random stranger and letting them dictate your effort and not how you feel and sticking to your plan may help them have a good race.  However, it’s not real likely both of you will be happy at the end.  The surest way to get beat by somebody slower than you is to start with someone faster than you.

Save aid stations until you are thirsty or hungry.  When you are feeling great and rolling along with a pack on pace it is hard to purposefully slow down to drink or take a gel and have to catch back up.  Most early race nutrition is for the later miles.  Once you fall behind in this part of the race you will not catch back up.

Stick with goal pace no matter what.  Your body may be telling you that today is not the day you can maintain goal pace.  Refusal to adjust usually ends in running significantly slower than your goal rather than just a little off pace.  The worst is when you realize after the race everyone ran slower than expected and you would have placed well by dialing it back just a bit.

Race Day Final Exam

Study now and smile on race day!

Study now and smile on race day!

The Questions You should be able to Answer before Race Day

How Much Runway do You Need?  My friend Kevin refers to tapering as landing the plane.  If you drop mileage too much you will not make it to the runway and feel flat, fat and out of shape.  If you keep it too high you hit the terminal and run on tired legs.  Looking at your training log to see how much rest you took before workouts and races where you felt great are valuable clues.

What’s Your Fitness Level?  No matter the goal time in your head it is time to have a reality check and determine what are you currently capable of running.  You may be able to do this from workouts that you have a long history of running, but most likely this will come from race times.  You can use a prediction chart but look at several and realize some are more optimistic than others.

What’s Your Race Plan?  Starting with your current fitness level you can plan your race.  Here are some things to include in your plan.  How do you want to feel at points throughout the race?  How does this match up to the splits on your watch?  You may be hitting the splits for your goal time but if it feels way too easy it may be your day and you can dare to go a little faster.  If it feels too hard you might slow down while you can still do so voluntarily.  How are you going to deal with weather and the course?  What is your nutrition/hydration plan (see below)?  A few mental rehearsals can be a valuable use of time.

What are the Logistics?  Determine not only what race weekend logistics are but which ones can you control and which ones simply require addressing?  Race day surprises are rarely good things.  Talk to people that have run the race in previous years and ask questions, especially what surprised them about the event?  How long does it take to get parked or from the hotel to the start line, gear check, best places for dinner, it all matters.  The less mental energy you burn dealing with details the more you will have when the race gets down to business and you need it most!

What’s for Breakfast?  You should know from your long run days what, how much, and when you can eat breakfast and feel fueled but not full.  Race day butterflies may require a little extra digestion time but you should be very habitual about breakfast by race day.  As a matter of fact having the day before down to a science is not a bad idea either.

What’s in Your IV?  Though this is a part of your race plan it is important enough to have its’ own section.  I like to think of race nutrition as an IV drip.  We know the goal is to essentially keep your water, sugar, and sodium levels as constant as possible.  They will drop by the end of the race but your task is to limit your losses to an amount that does not adversely affect your performance.  Finding your formula here is just as important as your long runs.  Many great races have been ruined by lack of attention to these details.

Many of these answers are individual so use your time between now and race day to find what works for you and helps you cash in all of your hard work.  I will be conducting a Race Readiness clinic in the Indianapolis area addressing all of these issues.  Stay tuned for details.

The Problems of Goal Pace Running

Runners have been doing goal pace runs as long as there have been timers with watches so it is probably a good idea to sprinkle a few into your training plan.  However, there are a few problems to be addressed to make the most of your goal pace running.

In keeping with the “Goal Pace” name this should be your goal pace and not your dream pace.  Using a recent or projected performance for the distance to determine your goal pace is a good starting point.  There are many charts out there and some are more generous than others.  My most trusted prediction chart is the Comparative Performance Table by J. Gerry Purdy.

I prefer you land on the aggressive side of determining goal pace as you begin your training buildup and fine tune your expectations as race day gets closer.  Conversely, I encourage you to be conservative on race day itself and fine tune by speeding up as the finish line gets closer.  This prepares you for best case scenario and helps avoid worst case scenario (hailing a cab to the finish!).

The difference between training and racing conditions is one of the factors that necessitate an acceptable range of pace.  A fair amount of goal pace running for a spring race will be done in challenging winter and early spring weather and for an ideal fall marathon you will be battling heat.  Either less than ideal condition will make goal pace feel much different than it should on race day.

Temperature is only one of the factors that may not match up to race day conditions.  How does your training run compare with the wind, elevation, and company you will have on final exam day?  You must adjust for these factors for your pace to match up to your fitness level.

The faster you get the less likely goal pace will feel easy.  Early when a distance is new the limiting factors are usually endurance (the ability to get to point B) and stamina (the ability to maintain a pace).  As you get faster your limiting factors shift to stamina and economy (the energy cost of running goal pace).  One of my runners, Jesse Davis, recently pulled the plug at 8 miles on a 10M goal pace run as he was struggling to stay at pace.  11 days later he ran 26.2 miles less than 2 seconds a mile slower than his 8M run that day.  Keep in mind you will be carrying training fatigue into your goal pace runs so do not think it will feel effortless and that you could run it all day long.  Embrace this fact or you will have some frustrating workouts.    

When I help a runner set up a race plan we discuss time but more importantly we talk about how it should feel.  If they feel like we planned at a given point in the race and the pace is too fast or too slow, so be it.  Pace is the cart and not the horse.  Pace is only one way to measure effort and if it is too heavily relied on it usually ends bad.

Ideally, in long races, I would like to have mile splits for the first few miles and then at 3-5M intervals until close to the end and then back to every mile.  This would help reduce the reliance and focus on splits shifting to feel.  One of the two surest ways for a well-trained runner to blow up is to focus on splits forgoing all other feedback (the other is banking time).

There are many ways to incorporate goal pace running in addition to the obvious.  Running intervals in long runs at target pace or starting shorter races at goal pace before switching to racing effort at some point are a few.   Being creative will help accumulate goal pace mileage without become tedious.

Two of the things rarely heard in a marathon recovery area are “I started too slow” and “I did too much goal pace running”.  That might be a clue that doing both will help your chances for success.

 

 

It Begins with the First Mile

The first thing to be done before beginning work towards you next running goal is to recover from the last one.  Whether the last goal was met successfully or not, you put a great deal of physical and emotional energy into the pursuit.  Without proper recovery you are beginning your next quest at a deficit.  

For many runners the physical recovery is easier and quicker than the emotional.  It is not only the physical demands of the last race but the preceding training buildup that require recovery.  In most situations a week of very limited or no running followed by a very light week of easy running will take care of your body's need for recovery.  After those two weeks easing back into a normal training level should have your body again ready to respond to training.

A properly challenging goal requires an ongoing state of enthusiasm, motivation, and emotional investment.  This is what may require a little extra recovery.  To return to this state and to be able to maintain it for the next training cycle can only be done with thorough recovery.  If you short change yourself here there will be a point in the next cycle where training begins to feel like a job and your enthusiasm begins to wane and your body will no longer willingly follow the mind's orders.  If you need a little extra time then take it now before at an inopportune time your body and mind demand more recovery.  When this is complete you can begin your gradual and progressive training leading to the accomplishment of your next goal.

If Yogi Berra was a running coach he would tell you that every run and every running goal begins with the first mile.  If your recovery is complete and you are looking forward to preparing for your next great thing then I invite you to join us on Thursday, June 5th for that first mile.  We will be racing down Meridian Street at the inaugural Monumental Mile.

First Call - Mile Run

The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is launching training for the November 1 marathon, half marathon and 5K with the classic track distance, the mile run, on Thursday night, June 5th.  The IMM Mile will be run straight down Meridian Street finishing at Monument Circle.  For some this is a chance to return to the first distance they ever raced, for others a chance to try the other end of the spectrum they may have never experienced.  If you have never raced the mile or it has been longer than you care to recall here are a few things you can add to your training to have you better prepared to find an extra gear or two to color the mile golden.

Aerobic Intervals

These are the best ever workouts because you get to run fast, impress passersby, and feel good doing it.  A great way to do this is to run a pace you could maintain at an all-out effort for a half to full mile but for only 20 or 30 seconds.  Before you leave the comfort of aerobic running crossing into the anaerobic world of borrowed time you get to stop and jog for twice the duration and get fully recovered.  Does this sound too good to be true or at least to good to be beneficial?  This fun workout fires up your neuromuscular system recruiting fast twitch fibers and raises the knees and lengthens the stride overcoming the biomechanically harmful effects of slow running.  All with a smile on your face!  This is also a great gateway workout to faster and less fun but equally beneficial workouts.

Anaerobic Intervals

This is what gives running a bad reputation.  There is little smiling going on during these workouts.  You may have flashbacks to middle school track but the reason these workouts are still being run is very simple – they work.  You can go longer or shorter but a typical distance is 400 meters (quarter mile or the proverbial one lap of your high school track).  Run 6 to 12 of these with a 200 meter recovery jog.  The recovery will probably be close to the same time you spent running twice as far (there is no extra credit for being the fastest jogger!).  This helps you learn to buffer and run through a shocking accumulation of lactic acid and lowers the energy cost of running race pace.  A little of this kind of work goes a long way. 

Hill Repeats

Running uphill at a reasonable speed has a way of taxing your legs and lungs equally, much like a mile race.  In the marathon the legs will always go before the lungs.  In the mile and with hill repeats they both waive the white flag at the same time.  There is no more specific strength training to running than running uphill.  If you find the right hill (not too steep) you can also recover at the top and run down much faster than you would on flat ground firing fast twitch fibers and increasing stride length and frequency.

Time Trials

If this is a new distance or a return to the distance of yesteryear, it is a good idea to practice racing a mile.  There is not much margin for error or time to work into race pace.  Learning how to run a 4 lap race is surprisingly challenging because there is no recovery once you have wandered too far over the red line in such a short distance.  A good way to approach the mile is think of the first quarter as fast but controlled and you are looking for even splits and if things go well the last lap will be the fastest.  By lap two there is recognition that this distance is serious business and focus is required on the current quarter and not how far you have to go.  Ironically, the third quarter is closer to the finish but it feels further away than either of the first two quarters.  This is the quarter where the race is often lost.  You almost have to run this 3rd quarter as if it is the last to prevent the pace from slowing too much.  On the 4th quarter it is important to be able to measure the remaining fuel and make sure you have enough to finish, but with a dry tank.  It takes some faith and experience but usually there is a little more left than expected because any oxygen debt incurred over the closing stages of the mile does not have to be repaid until the race is over.  If you go into the same debt during the first 3 quarters of the race you will pay the gorilla riding along on your back long before the finish.  For reference the world record mile splits are 55.6, 56.0, 56.3, 55.2 = 3:43.14.  Even pacing seemed to work well for Hicham El Guerrouj that day in 1999.

But I’m a Marathoner

Keep in mind there are reciprocal training benefits of this type of running and longer distances.  The higher you raise the limits on your speed and economy, benefits of mile training, the faster your longer training will be and the easier those race paces will become.  Improving the volume and duration of your running will also allow you do the more quality training.  It is a pretty simple concept that the better runner you become the better marathoner you can be.

Join us on June 5th

If you are looking to take on a new challenge or just an interesting way to kick off training for a great fall consider yourself invited to join us on June 5th for the Inaugural Monumental Mile and the fun and festive atmosphere of the event.  Imagine how much fun an after party can be after a one mile race instead of after a fatiguing half or marathon.  Did I mention live TV?

10 Reasons to Race Before the Big One

Whether you are motivated by collecting a finisher's medal, running a goal time, or winning prize money I would like to offer you 10 reasons to race before the day of your big event.

1.  Know how you react to pinning on a race number.  Some people get an upset stomach and lose their mind the first time they race or even if it has just been awhile.  Familiarity with the process will sooth the stomach and steady the nerves.

2.  If this will be your first race or the first of its' kind in terms of size, distance, or course do you really want to find out what you don't know you don't know when you are all in for the final exam?  A few races before then will serve as pop quizzes before the big day.  Reducing the number of surprises on the day of your goal race usually results in a better experience and chance of success.

3.  Avoid experimenting on race day.  By definition experimenting means you are not sure of the outcome.   The fewer unpredictable factors you have on race day usually indicates a more favorable finish line photo.

4.  Learn to discern between controllable and uncontrollable variables.  Running smart and running your best effort are controllable.  Weather, crowd, competition, and many more are uncontrollable.

5.  Focus on doing your best with the controllable and adjusting to the uncontrollable.  For example, you will not run as fast in 90 degrees and you would in 60 degrees.  Adjusting your plan for the tough weather conditions will allow you to do your best.  Ignoring them will ensure all your training effort is wasted.

6.  Nail down your diet for race weekend.  There might be plenty of great foods you include in your normal diet that don't lend themselves to a great prerace dinner.  Finding that out in training or a less important race is valuable information.

7.  Practice your race day nutrition in action.  Lot's of gels, bars, bites, and drinks go down great in training but at a higher effort, speed, and level of dehydration maybe not so much.  Find out now.

8.  Test run your race plan.  It might not be for the same exact distance or pace as on goal race day, but learning that going out hard and banking time may not be your best approach is better to find out in a 10K than a half marathon.

9.  Reward yourself for all of your training.  There is great reward to training, but having some memorable performances to show for your training time and effort is a great reward.  You will find you can do things on race day that just don't happen on a training run.

10.  Take more shots at great performances.  If you are fit and ready to race and save it for just a few races you gamble that the uncontrollable variables will be in your favor on those few days each year.  The more times you line up rested and ready the better your chances of being able to cash in training deposits for a great day at the races.

Not According to Plan

At some point the shock wore off and you realized life will happen regardless of your plans or permission.  The same will happen with your running.  No matter how neat and detailed your training and racing plans may be they will be interrupted.  The challenge is to handle these interruptions as smoothly as possible and keep moving towards your goal.  The three biggest culprits are injury, illness, and real life.  Let me offer a few thoughts to keep in mind when your best intentions are derailed.

Injury

It makes sense to start with prevention.  Just because you have gotten away with not stretching, strengthening, warming up and cooling down, and overrunning easy days does not mean your luck will last.  Your good or bad habits will rule you.

Pay attention to your body and listen when it talks to you with little aches and pains.  If something hangs around for a few days most likely the clock is ticking until it becomes a real problem.  A little ice, backing off, new shoes, or maybe a day or two of cross training might be enough to head off a real problem.

Cry wolf to your coach.  The sooner I know about a problem the more likely we can solve it before it becomes costly.

Don't hurry your body.  You won't win.  Inconvenient as it may be your body has it's own time table.  Your body does not care about your plan and it will heal when it heals.  Fighting it just extends the problem.

Be a detective and try to learn why something happened.  That sure helps avoid repeating mistakes.

Know when to gamble.  If your next meaningful race is months away there is no reason to gamble.  If tomorrow is the Olympic final, shake the dice and see what happens.

Illness

Do anything your mom and the CDC both tell you to do to prevent illness.

Athletes learn to ignore pain and discomfort so when that little alarm in your head goes off you better listen.  By the time the alarm goes off you might not be able to avoid illness but you have a really good chance at greatly diminishing the cost of it.

As with injury listen to your body because it is working on its' own timetable with complete disregard for you plans.

There is great value to medicinal mileage.  You might be surprised of the healing power of jogging a few miles.  If you are not sure if you should jog it is probably too soon.

Wait a little longer to run hard.  You can feel good for daily activity and even running easy, but the demands of running hard are much higher and can set you back quickly.

There are two points to adjust your plan.  One is when you feel you can run easy and the other is when you are ready to run hard.  A good time to talk to your coach!

The same holds true for taking risk as it does for injury.  Most of the time there is no point in rushing things by a day or two though I have been amazed what people have done coming off illness straight into the big race.

Real Life

Know your priorities and stick to them.  Don't let anything you value less than your running get in the way, but you sure better not let running get in the way of anything you value more.  One of the biggest aspects of my job is helping people figure out how to maximize the time and energy they have remaining after the higher priorities get their allocation.

Stick to good training principles and recognize what to reschedule and what to let go when real life does interrupt.  If interruptions are more common that stretches of good training then it is time to reevaluate your priorities and goals and do a better job of matching them.

Compromising may be the best thing you can do to set yourself up for future success.  Runners tend to be all or nothing and it just may not be realistic to do what you think you should be doing but maintaining consistency through a challenging period will go a long way to maintaining your fitness and have you hungry and ready when your time opens up for more running.

Discuss and involve the important people in your life in your running.  Find ways for them to benefit from the time and energy you give to running.  Plan races in places they want to visit, be more attentive when you are at home or work, support their activities as you want them to support you, and listen to them talk about what they think about your running and how it affects them.

There is no question that injury, illness, and real life happen.  The question is what are you going to do about it?

Adidas adistar Boost

Adidas Then & Now
adistar Boost & Country circa 1970
The first runner I knew was my grandfather Jack Saylor and he ran in the Adidas Country in the early 1970's.  The first pair of "real" running shoes I ever owned was the Adidas Squire* and my first pair of spikes was the Adidas Interval.  This history always lends a little nostalgia when it comes to Adidas.

Since that first pair I have seen a few Adidas running shoes and their technologies come and go.  Do you remember any of these; Tuning Pegs, Computer Chip (Take 1), Dellinger Web, Torsion, Pods, Feet You Wear, or Computer Chip (Take 2)?  With each technology comes more knowledge.  Sometimes it is a stepping stone to the next thing or what not to do or something helpful in the manufacturing process.

The not so latest thing from Adidas is "Boost".  This was introduced a year ago with limited distribution because the new manufacturing process of melting together pea sized thermoplastic polyurethane capsules into a midsole could not be done at the same rate as EVA based midsoles.  The price tag of the Boost line shoes was also a little limiting.

So why now?  Because the holy grail in running shoe development is a midsole that is lighter, better cushioned with better energy return, and more durable.  That is what Boost promises and with my aging legs and the fact that Adidas has opened up distribution and progressing with Boost in more shoes I wanted to give it a try so I went to see my friend Jesse Davis who set me up with a pair.

My wear test of the adistar Boost will focus on their comfort, cushioning, durability, and how my legs feel compared to other shoes.  This may take a while because I now run very modest mileage and like to rotate shoes but I will give periodic updates on the Personal Best Running Club Facebook page.

*The shoe was named after the Greater Boston Track Club coach Bill Squires and in 1980 sold for the retail price of $22.95.

How Does Your Plan Fit?

Carin & Coach after a
successful 26.2 debut!
From my years in the running shoe business I know there is no such thing as the "best shoe".  The best shoe for your friend may not work for you unless you have the same foot type and mechanics.  The same holds true for a training plan.  Unless your needs and talents are the same as someone else an otherwise great plan may or may not work for you.

Now is a good time to evaluate your plan and make sure it is the one that will leave you satisfied when the races have been run and the results recorded.  I understand that people are looking for different things from running.  Some run for the social and health benefits and are most concerned with enjoying the time they spend running.  Others want to be better than they were last year or have a goal time on their mind.  A few not only want to run fast but want to beat others while doing it.  No matter which category fits you most of the criteria below should be considered when choosing your running plan.

Let's start with inescapable principles that must cornerstone any training plan.  It must be gradual and progressive.  If it is not gradual it is highly likely you will end up cheer leading from the sidelines.  That does not mean you cannot make well reasoned jumps in training but they are the exceptions and not the rule.  I know that many coaches, including me, get credit for coaching brilliance when all they did was allow someone to run consistently.  Without the gradual principle the wonders of consistent running will never be known.

Without some level of progression you will become frustrated with the corresponding lack of improvement.  It is a dark and evil secret that if you keep doing the same thing eventually it will result in a reduction of fitness because your body no longer needs to adapt to a sufficient training stimulus.  How much progression and in what balance of volume and quality are the large questions to be answered.

This is where the science and art of coaching often diverge.  This is where the do-it-yourself-coaches like to offer a come one, come all formula.  Some of these formulas are solid and can be very helpful for many.  As you will see on the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon website I have even offered some half marathon training plans based on the "formula" of the experience of coaching thousands of runners.  I encourage you to take a look and use these plans or others like them as long as they are working for you.

If you reach the point where your improvement curve flattens or begins to head south it is time for further investigation the plan it will take to get you going back in the right direction.  Returning to inescapable principles, the first rule of running physiology and training is that your body responds to effort.  Your muscles and blood cells, legs and lungs do not care about pace or mileage or numbers on a page.  Your body just knows how much stress is being placed on its' structures and components.  Being able to dial in the numbers on a page to find the sweet spot of stress and rest is the art of coaching.

This stress and rest balance must take into consideration things within your body like current fitness, injury history, strengths, weaknesses, and imbalances but also those outside of your body like your training and racing interests, time commitment, and real life situation.  All of these are hard to effectively fit into a formula.

How do you judge a training program or coach?  Ask yourself the following questions. Are you healthy? Are you realizing your goals? Are you having fun?  Injuries will happen and they are an occupational hazard for the highly competitive, but you should not be stuck in an ongoing injury cycle.  Remember the wonders of consistent running!  If you are not reaching your goals evaluate them and if they are not reasonable then set new ones that fit your time and talent.  If they are reasonable then find a new path to success.  OK, fun is a tricky word when it comes to running.  Let's face it running is hard work.  Are you enjoying the process?  If not, the process needs to be changed.

If you feel changes need to be made then look at other plans for elements missing in your plan or that avoid things you do not like in your current program.  If you have a coach make sure the mind reading you want them to do is as effective as telling them what you are thinking.

Here's to health, speed, and happiness!

What's Next? Recovery & Goal Setting

Brian Kremer - "I got this!"
Part II – Goal Setting

Now that you have recovered and are hungry for the next challenge it is wise to make sure you have set a good goal.  I have a few guidelines to setting and pursuing goals.

The goal must get you excited and simultaneously stir up a mix of enthusiasm and nervousness.  This literally has to be something that will get you out of bed or off the couch into any kind of weather and be worth the effort and struggle you will invest to convert the challenge into an accomplishment.

The end goal must require growth and your best effort.  If it is not a big enough challenge it will fail to motivate you and will feel empty when you get there.  For example crossing the half marathon finish line was rewarding the first few times but after building your collection of finisher’s t-shirts it begins to lose the thrill it once had and then you start thinking about time goals or longer distances to up the challenge ante. 

Mark the road to the big goal with smaller and more attainable and more immediate goals to reward you for your forward progress and to keep you going.  Success is a great motivator and leads us to a greater sense of what is possible.

Developing the necessary habits is crucial to long term accomplishment.  Motivation and grand plans get us started but we are ruled by our habits for better or worse.  Motivation is a fickle thing and will abandon you when you need it most.  Being able to fall back on strong productive habits will keep you moving forward into the next wave o
f motivation.


Support your goal by surrounding yourself with knowledgeable and encouraging people.  Challenges are more easily summited with a great plan and others to help you up.   With a detailed and proven plan the work becomes a step by step map to success.  Surrounding yourself with like-minded people with similar goals will enable you to feed off of each other’s encouragement and energy.  Yes, this is where the right coach and training group can become an invaluable asset in your quest.

What's Next? Recovery & Goal Setting

Lisa & Rebecca post Monumental
Part I - Recovery

So you find yourself in the pleasant valley between your Monumental race and your next big thing.  As nice as it is in this valley you know if you stay too long it will become uncomfortable. 

Make sure you stay here long enough to recover and to be ready for your next climb but start planning your next ascent now.  As Frank Shorter, owner of an Olympic Marathon Gold and Silver medal, once famously quipped, "You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming."

After a race that was the focus of your training and maybe a good slice of your real life for a string of months you will need recovery time.  You will need to recover and recharge both physically and emotionally.  The two cannot be separated and many times the emotional recovery takes a bit longer.

Typically, runners fall into two categories after a big goal race.  Some are so ready for a break that the days turn into weeks and then into months until they have let themselves go so far they have an uphill battle to lose the potato chip weight before they can start actually training again.  Others are searching race calendars before the weekend is out looking for the next challenge.  As with most things in training and life there is a nice balance in between.

This is a great time to drop the physical and mental stress a few notches from the recent pre-race level.  For the week or two following a long goal race I like my runners to take time off or run very casually.  The running during this time should just be for gentle exercise and mental therapy.  I do not want them to think about training.  After this break they will begin to work their way back into training with a gradual increase of mileage and intensity back to their normal level.


In most cases they are back to real training in a month but I like to take this on a runner by runner basis.  Of course some are ready sooner and others need a little more time.  The key is to make sure once we start building and the mileage and intensity is brought back to a boil, they will not need another break until the new training cycle has been completed.  A good litmus test is that you should be excited about getting back to it.  If not, take some time to examine the reasons why your enthusiasm has abandoned you before forcing yourself back to work.