- Off Days - I don't make a habit
of scheduling them; they just
happen...once or twice a
week. It's not the end of the
world, ya know. Hopefully
running isn't your life; it's an
enhancement of your life.
Relax and have a stronger,
faster run tomorrow.
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- Training Partners - It's 5:30AM
and there's no way I'm getting
out of my warm bed, EXCEPT
for that commitment I made
with a buddy. Turns out it was
worth it. It's hard to stay
motivated all by yourself. Find
some runners that are at your
same level and agree to do
some training together.
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- Training Run Speed - 7:00 to
7:30 is generally good for runs
of 5 to 10 miles. If you're only
going to get in 3 or 4 miles,
you're probably short on time
anyway, so pick up the pace.
It's generally called a tempo
run; I call it common sense.
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- Music - I'm from the Sony Walkman era...and I'm not proud of it. Sure
the thing served a purpose, but not for my running. I've always been
anti-music for running, but thanks to Steve Jobs, I've changed my
'tune.' I find it hard to live without my new Ipod Shuffle on my track
workouts. And my IPhone 3G; because it has built in speakers and
can put it in an Amphipod Rapid Access Pouch, you can carry it on
long road runs without headphones (if you need so safe company).
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- Training Run Speed - 7:00 to
7:30 is generally good for runs
of 5 to 10 miles. If you're only
going to get in 3 or 4 miles,
you're probably short on time
anyway, so pick up the pace.
It's generally called a tempo
run; I call it common sense.
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- Nutrition - Because of my wife
Shannon focus on quality
cooking, I'm eating the
healthiest I ever have. Beer
and chips are still a
weakness, but healthy eating
is paying off for me...and it
shows in a stabilized, light
weight.
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- Heart Rate Monitors - HR monitors are fine for less than 1 hour
workouts, but beyond that, if you're running hard, your core
temperature is on the rise, sweat is draining your fluid levels and the
only way for your heart rate to go is UP. At that point I don't know what
real value you gain from the numbers. HR monitors are good tools
for determining your working rate at a certain pace and that's
important. On a daily basis though, it's overkill to log in all the
numbers unless you have a way to efficiently do it...like with the new
Garmin Forerunner 301. Tie it in to your MotionBased account and in
about a minute everything goes straight to your log...and that's my
kind of log book!
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- Massage - Hey Laura...she's
my 'therapist.' I'd give you her
number, but her schedule
stays jammed and I don't want
to lose my spot. Find a
trained professional and
preferably one that
understands runners and
common running ailments,
then go once in a while,
whether you think you need to
or not. Your body is good at
making adjustments for the
good of the moment, but
you're preparation goes way
beyond today or tomorrow.
The only way to maximize the
strength and power you're
building in those legs of yours
is to make sure each muscle
is functioning and firing at its
best.
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- Stretching and Warming Up -
These are different. I'm all for
flexibility work (the stretching
part) and strongly recommend
yoga. Warming up though; I
don't really get it. There's no
need to take off in a dead
sprint straight from the car, but
there's also no need to waste
precious training time running
at a slower-than-planned
pace for 15 or 20 minutes.
Start out a little easy (like you'll
be doing in the marathon);
that's all it takes. And no, I'm
not much on cooling down
either...unless walking back to
the car counts. Some light
stretching and ice after a hard
workout won't hurt though.
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- Da Track - Learn to love it.
Come on, you're running 26.2
miles; you can run a few
circles once or twice a week
without dreading it can't you.
It's the controlled environment
you need to tweak and study
your fitness level and pace.
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- Hard/Easy - If you do an easy
run just because you did a
hard run the day before, that's
wrong in my book. If you need
an easy run, go do an easy
run or take the day off, but if
you feel good and you know
there's some chance you
might not get in all the hard
work you want for the week,
then do another solid workout.
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- Trails vs Road - No question...TRAILS...but if you're like most folks, you have easier access to pavement.
Whatever you do, don't spend time on concrete...it's just too dense. Asphalt is fine, but it pounds the legs
harder than softer surfaces like dirt or grass. You need some training time on the surface you'll be racing
your marathon on (most likely asphalt), but don't do everything on it. Nothing works all your leg components,
provides great scenery and leaves the feet and legs fresher than trail work. Spider webs in your face; a bit of
a down side. Turning your ankle; the biggest fear. My worst ankle sprain though came on a paved road, so it
can happen anywhere. Just don't make your first trail run through a cypress bottom, OK.
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- Marathon Frequency - This is
a developmental thing with no
one right answer. My body
rebounds in two or three days
and is ready to go again the
next weekend, but it wasn't
always that way. The only
thing I want to drive home is
you've put in too much training
to bet it all on one day. You
may feel bad, the weather may
be bad, whatever...and the
result is not what you wanted.
Sign up for another one...
training is work; racing is fun!
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- Frequent Racing - I think it's
good mentally, physically and
strategically. What distance?
Assuming you're not running
ultras, nothing but a marathon
will prepare you for a
marathon, but the marathon
will prepare you for any other
lesser distance. All shorter-
than-marathon races basically
fulfill the components of a
core workout or two while
providing variety and that's
good, but do you have to run
shorter distance races for
successful sub 3
marathoning...NO.
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- Mileage - If you look at the
core workouts and apply
some math, you'll probably
have a hard time getting to 75
miles. Your long run is 16 to
20; your next longest is 12 to
14...that's hardly 30 miles. If
you average 8 miles for the
other 5 days that's 74 miles. If
you put in the core work, it's
OK if your mileage is only 60
some weeks.
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- Cross Training - I've recently
become a huge fan of
spinning. From weight control
to leg strength, it's an
awesome way to spend a non-
impact hour...just don't let it
take the place of your running.
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