On Wednesday, June 11, Garmin announced an application programming interface partnership with runcoach. But what does that actually mean for you and how do you take advantage?
You may have been enjoying your runcoach schedule and recording your workouts directly into the log. However, if you use a device to track your actual pace and distance while running, such as a Garmin device, runcoach has made it very simple to load these runs directly into your account.
Sign into runcoach, click on “Training” and select the “Sync Devices” button. You’ll be prompted to enter your Garmin Connect username and password. Your accounts will sync up and begin to communicate when you provide input, allowing you to save time and protect accuracy by loading your actual information into your runcoach log when you upload your Garmin data.
Note: Even if your Garmin device is set to your time zone, your Garmin Connect account might not be. Garmin Connect defaults everyone to Greenwich Mean Time. GMT is 4-7 hours ahead of most of our members so if you do an evening run it might show up on the following day.
Before your initial sync, we recommend checking this setting on the Garmin Connect site. Log on and then go to your Display Preferences: http://connect.garmin.com/settings
Our system works best for you when the information it receives is as accurate as possible. While a convenience for our users, connectivity such as the partnership with Garmin also helps runcoach work more effectively and craft your individual plan even more specifically.
Clicking on the Sync Devices button on your training schedule will also reveal that you can sync your runcoach device with Nike+, RunKeeper, and Fitbit. No matter which of these devices or systems you use to record your activity, runcoach is recognized by these organizations as a tool many of their customers are using to good advantage, just as runcoach understands that our users are enthusiastic customers of these companies and rely on these devices and their data on a daily basis.
Do you need to use one of these devices to make your runcoach schedule serve your needs? No, but as a technology company ourselves, we hope to grow alongside the increasing capability of devices that help our athletes get the most out of their running, and we look forward to similar future developments and progress. Enjoy syncing with Garmin and more importantly, enjoy the runs that create all that data!
For all the athletes we see sign up for races, set goals, follow through with their training and succeed, there are still others who are held back from taking the all important first step. Often, what prevents these individuals are fears that may not be well founded. Don’t let these common fears stand in your way!
I wasn’t an athlete growing up
Mildly traumatic memories of being the last one picked on the playground or sitting on the bench in youth soccer might sting, and leave runners with a sense that they were not cut out for sports. This is not an uncommon road to running. Many competitive runners turned to the sport after realizing their gifts lay elsewhere from ball sports or team games. Furthermore, the fable of the tortoise and the hare is seared into our memory for a reason. Persistence is an indispensable character trait for distance running. Many athletic people with tons of talent have fallen short of their goals as well. Talent and ability aren’t much without persistence. If you already have that grit, you have the biggest variable already on board.
I don’t look like a runner
A generation ago, the demographics of runners were much more homogenous. There were far fewer opportunities for new runners and those who endeavored just to complete the task. This is no longer the case. While Olympians might be somewhat birds of a feather in terms of body types, the millions of others completing races in the US and around the world tell us otherwise. The important thing to focus on is what your body can do rather than what it looks like. You are a functional device, and perhaps a more amazingly functional device than you could ever imagine. Focus on what you can do, and you might even surprise yourself.
I’ve never even run one mile straight
At one point, neither had any of us! Running is a rewarding pursuit for many reasons, but a huge one is that it provides countless opportunities for intermediate goals along your road to your big race. Running is about a positive mindset, and that confidence is a big factor. If you progress sensibly, what seemed long will eventually seem mundane. Integrating walking breaks between a few minutes of running at a time is one time honored way to progress to a longer distance. What was once 1 minute of running alternating with four minutes of walking can become 2 run / 3 walk, 3 run / 2 walk, and 4 run, 1 walk before you know it. Although it might take a little while, if you make incremental progress and give yourself proper recovery, you will eventually make it. You just need the courage to try.
Nobody I know runs
If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it, right? Running toward an endurance goal is not easy, but when you follow through and complete your goal, you set an invaluable example for family members or friends who may have thought you crazy for even trying. Running can be a great social activity if you have others to run with, and if you think you might enjoy that, try your local running store. Many stores have weekly informal training runs which fit well into your runcoach schedule. Meeting others training for a big goal can help you feel as though you aren’t alone with your body’s quirks, nervousness, or occasionally wavering confidence. Likewise, if you are the only one in the house who runs, flip the script and consider not how little people share your experience, but how you can share it with them. Encouraging others to run with you makes you accountable for how your training is going and can often help spur an athlete to take greater ownership over the road to success. More importantly, it can often make a crucial difference for a loved one who could benefit from improved fitness.
In short, none of us look or feel that great in the 25th mile of a marathon. After 26.2, the feeling of elation and the amazement about what the human body can accomplish wash over us in a much more indelible way and the memory of the difficult 25th mile begins to recede. When we focus on what we can do, what we can accomplish, what we have the ability to accomplish based on our insides rather than our outsides, we get farther. Take a chance on yourself and seize the opportunity to enjoy a finishing feeling of your very own.
If Meb Keflezighi’s victory at Boston taught us one thing, it is that we shouldn’t limit our belief in ourselves. After winning the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, Meb was injured in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic trials and was unable to even make the team. Responding from that enormous disappointment, he bounced back in spectacular fashion, becoming the first American to win the New York Marathon in 2009. Despite this superlative triumph, challenges again loomed as he parted with his primary sponsor, Nike, in 2010. Sponsor-less and with a young family, Meb began to build a stable of small partners, some of which were very new to the elite running market. Skechers, for one, known previously for building shoes that they professed would tone the backside, banked on Meb to help their brand translate to the running masses, and became his footwear and uniform sponsor. Meb responded by winning the 2012 marathon trials and finishing just out of the London medals in fourth. Again riding high but facing training challenges leading in, Meb entered New York in 2013 as the favorite son, only to have the type of difficult day that would cause most in his position to drop out rather than post a result much lower than expectations. Instead, he persisted at a much slower pace for the last several miles, even befriending and finishing hand in hand with a local athlete, inspired by the tragedy of Boston. And then, of course, there was Monday.
Entering a half or full marathon can be intimidating when the pictures we see and the stories we follow are often at the front of the pack. However, one of the most positive changes over the past generation has been the way so many millions of people have been able to personalize the challenge of the race to their own level.
At runcoach we train many walkers and first time runners with a simple goal, to finish the race. For many, that accomplishment is the culmination of a lifetime of doubt and the gateway to a new era of self-confidence and belief. Although it may seem like Meb’s performances are as far away as the sea is wide, there are several ways in which his race and career translate directly to our hopes for these athletes.
He is not the fastest, but he gets the most out of himself every time.
One of the many ways in which Meb’s story hits a nerve with many of us is that his times aren’t the fastest of his cohort. Despite his Olympic medal, his New York and Boston victories, his personal best, set Monday, is a full five minutes behind the world record and several minutes slower than many of the competitors he faced on each of those days. In fact, his time on Monday is equivalent to only the 77th best time run in 2013. If he is concerned with this, it hasn’t shown. Meb trains and races to the best of his ability each time out. As his career has shown, that approach is often more than good enough.
He is persistent despite setbacks.
Meb has had bad days (2008 Olympic Trials, 2013 New York Marathon), but he has memorably chosen to finish rather than give up. He has had times when he could have fallen back on his UCLA degree and quit, rather than persist in a running career when he didn’t have a primary sponsor and many felt he was over the hill. Somehow, he found the belief to persist and his persistence has paid off.
He has modified his training to do what is right for him, not the masses.
In recent years, Meb has cross trained by using the ElliptiGO (elliptical bike), moved from altitude Mammoth Lakes to San Diego, and made other adjustments that have allowed him to stretch his world class athletic career to this pinnacle at age 38,. These are not the changes that would have been dictated by conventional wisdom on world class distance running. Many of our athletes are tempted to chase arbitrary standards about how much a person should run per week, what pace is “really running,” and more. Our plans are personalized to you for a reason – we want you to be healthy and successful on race day. We don’t believe in templates, because we know each athlete has different strengths and challenges in their schedule, injury history, and athletic experience (or maybe they have none at all). Our plans intend to help you progress toward your goals, and then help set new ones. These are personal to you, just like Meb has been able to find a successful formula specific to him.
His goals are to get to the starting line healthy, THEN run his best time. In that order. Sound familiar?
Reflecting on the events of the last week, it is amazing to take a look at his blog from last year at this time. One little known aspect of this story is that Meb was actually forced to withdraw from last year’s race due to a freak injury sustained when encountering a dog on a run. We can all relate to that type of inadvertent event in our own lives, and like us, he knows it is not always subject to his control whether or not he is successful in that first goal. His second goal is to set a personal best. Setting a personal best means doing something you have not done in the past. For many of us, that is no different than making it farther than we have before. “Personal best” does not necessarily mean running fast – it means doing your best. It also requires the confidence to do it at the right time, not pushing so hard every day leading up to the big one that you have nothing left to give. Your plan is crafted to set you up the same way.
Of course, one significant difference from most of us is that Meb’s third goal was to WIN the race, a goal made probably so much more resonant in its accomplishment when he had to miss last year, not to mention for all the other reasons mentioned above. Completing a race for a world class athlete can have reverberations felt far beyond themselves, and they know it. Their families benefit, their communities may benefit, others like ourselves may be inspired to do something audacious. Like these athletes, even as walkers and first-timers, our efforts make a difference. While we may not have a platform affecting millions, our efforts to persist, do our best, and accomplish new challenges can reverberate to those we care about, and to those they care about. Meb’s win at Boston sprung from a series of challenging times and goals set and stuck to. His victory, while amazing, is also just a simple testament to the power of belief and commitment to continue getting out the door each day. Like all of us, there have been days where that was more difficult than others, days when those around him thought he didn’t have the ability to be successful in his task, days when he may have even doubted it himself. We may not be able to run as fast as Meb, but we should never discount the power of that belief in ourselves, and regardless of the finishing time, the elation of passing under the finishing banner.
Recovery doesn’t begin when you finally tuck into bed the night following your workout. Recovery begins as you unwind your body from the hard work just accomplished minutes before. Busy schedules may tempt us to skip a cool down jog, but it’s important to reserve some time for this last piece of your workout. Even a couple easy laps after your last hard interval or pace run can help unwind your body and your mind.
The cool down provides an often crucial transition period for your body and mind as it goes from high intensity requirements to preparedness for the next activity of your day. The cool down does not have a huge amount of science proving its necessity, but it’s important that you don’t stop completely and immediately after long, hard exercise,or take your heart rate from extremely high to extremely low in moments (this is why many marathons and half marathons automatically build in lengthy post-finish straightaways to walk and collect fuel). Let your body temperature drop gradually instead of getting straight into the car sopping wet with sweat. Giving yourself a moment to jog, roll, and stretch before getting into that same car can prepare your tired muscles for the commute and prevent the onset of post-workout tightness. A week later, that post-workout tightness can resurface as IT band or low back tightness, from which it may be just a stone’s throw to an injury as workout loads increase.
Stretching has been discussed in the running media a great deal lately, with the once familiar pre and post-run routines now discarded as outdated and not a necessary precursor to injury prevention or better performance. While we encourage dynamic exercise as a part of our Active Warm-up, we also encourage athletes to be knowledgeable about post-run foam (or other tool) rolling and stretching (even if you only have those precious few minutes). Even if you don’t practice both or each every single day, it is wise to keep those tools in your arsenal. They help the body transition from the tension of the hard workout to post-run life.
Another key aspect of recovery is rehydration and refueling. If running longer than an hour, consuming about 1/3 of your calories burned per hour through sports drink or food can help ensure success. Making sure to get at least that much food down the hatch in the first 15-30 minutes after working out (even if you don’t feel hungry), can make a significant difference in how quickly your body will begin to prepare itself for the next hard task. Waiting 2 hours and then eating a huge meal or a pitcher of beer is an absolute no-no! This will delay your recovery and adaptation for your next workout. Bring a snack and a low sugar sports drink to your workout and consume them when you are done. You’ll take the edge off the hunger (and avoid a need for a ridiculously huge meal later). You will feel stronger for the rest of the day and more importantly for your running, eliminate needless time where you body is hunting around for fuel sources in vain.
When you do get to hit the hay, an evening workout may leave you wide awake. While this may be unavoidable, morning or midday runners should feel nice and tired when bedtime comes. Resist the temptation to let a post-hard workout or race day act as a reward to not worry about sleep. In fact, those nights are most crucial. This is your body’s time to repair and prepare for the running ahead. Do your level best to get good sleep the night after a hard day and give yourself the best chance possible for future success and injury free running.
Human nature, the demands of every day life, and other unpredictable aspects of modern living may intervene and prevent you from always executing a perfect recovery routine. Do your best, try to chalk up small wins each day, and integrate good habits as much as you can. Your body will respond with more good days, and hopefully your future successes will encourage you to continue treating yourself well post-run.
Your weekly schedule has just appeared in your email inbox and it is time to sit down to consider the week’s training tasks. What track workout or tempo run is planned? When and where will that workout take place?
We know that the actual intervals of the workout will require our greatest expenditure of energy, so naturally we psych ourselves up for those. Far less often do we consider the importance of the warm up. This month, we will shed some light on this crucial aspect of your training and give the warm up its due.
Most workouts include varying amounts and variations on four very important aspects: Easy running, LIGHT stretching, running drills, and strides.
Easy running
It is not uncommon for an easy warm-up jog to be described as a way to “get the blood flowing.” Although that phrase is often uttered with a figurative meaning, the reality is, the easy jogging at the beginning of your warm up does exactly that. Easy running provides a bridge for your body to move from a static situation (sleeping in bed, driving the car, watching TV), to a place where your core body temperature has been raised. This prepares your muscles to accommodate increased blood flow, allows for more strenuous contractions as required by a hard workout, and starts the processes you’ll need to use your body’s stored energy effectively throughout the session.
Light stretching
The purpose of the warm up is to execute a string of activities that will conclude when your body is prepared to begin the hard work at hand. Taking a timeout to stretch for 20 minutes will certainly disrupt the progression of that process. However, taking a few moments to check in with the major muscle groups after (and only after) you have been able to light the fire with easy running can provide a helpful transition to the increasingly dynamic activities in the warm up routine. Hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, glutes, and iliotibial (IT) bands can be lightly stretched (finding a cozy position for 2x8-10 seconds without any strain or hint of pain) from a standing or supine position without taking more than 5-7 minutes away from the remainder of activities on tap.
Running drills
Running drills are exercises that mimic or closely resemble some of the types of repetitive demands harder running will make on your body. The intention of running drills are to help ensure your body has been prepared to handle these, and to also reinforce the type of angles and form habits practiced by efficient runners. Runcoach has outlined and created short videos for a basic canon of seven running drills. Each drill is meant to be practiced for the distance indicated immediately after which the athlete should run with good form at 1500 meter pace effort for the balance of 100 meters.
Strides
Consider the last time you observed the start line of a competitive road race or track race. Many times the athletes involved take complete repeated short running bouts of 30, 50, or even 100 meters just before the competition begins. These final preparations are called strides. These strides listed on your warm up are most definitely related (as their lower-key cousin) to these pre race sprints. A chance to concentrate on good form for 20-30 seconds and provide the body a few more sustained efforts that keep the body warm and prepared to work hard are the final touches on your warm up routine. If you have ever done a workout with a short warm up and felt rusty on the first effort, only to find yourself feeling markedly better on the second bout, then you know firsthand the importance of strides. Please see our video description of strides here.
While warm up is a crucial physical preparation process, it can also be an invaluable time to review the mental elements you’ll need to employ during the workout and distance yourself from the everyday cares that will be waiting when you return through your front door. Let your warm up free you of the world’s gravity and transport you to the weightless state of focus on your workout. Complete each step with care and you’ll find your workouts will benefit.
A little more than a month from now, you’ll have the chance to consider some potential New Year’s resolutions. Where you will start from on January 1 will have a lot to do with how the next few weeks go.
While the holiday season can provide some of the happiest moments of the year, it can also wreak havoc on your running goals. Here are some ideas for how you can make the most of the season and keep your motor running before hitting the ground full speed on January 1.
Even if your schedule doesn’t normally include morning running, consider scheduling your runs for the early hours.
The first few weeks of December often include more events outside of your control than potentially any other time of the year. Office functions or extra hours / shifts at work, recitals, school events, and holiday obligations for school aged kids, other civic, religious, or social events and obligations –the calendar can get pretty crowded.
That run you already scheduled after work can quickly get pushed to the wayside when you find out from your spouse at 4 that you need to be somewhere you had forgotten about at 6:30, dressed neatly and with a bottle of wine for the hosts. Maybe your mom needs you to drive her across town for that special ingredient she wants to put in the pie she is making tomorrow and aren’t you just the one to take her this evening after work but before they close at eight? There goes the run.
Late in the month, family meals (in addition to food shopping and preparation), odd schedules, the irresistible pull of a bowl game or the warm couch (and the inevitable snooze), can successfully thwart the most stalwart runner in their efforts to stay on track. If you are able to run in the morning, even if it is not the best series of workouts you have had all year, you at least ensure that you don’t put yourself in a gapingly large training hole. At this point, it is dark in the morning AND in the evening, so you probably won’t miss much there. You will however, be able to give yourself a silent high five every day, even when the rest of your schedule may leave you scrambling. So, block it in now!
Stay hydrated
Yes, you should drink water because you are training and you want to stay hydrated. But, the holiday time is also a key hydration zone in many ways that will also help you feel more like yourself when you do get a chance to hit the road or the treadmill. Maybe travel is in your plans. As we have mentioned before in Personal Best, you should aim to drink a cup of water for every time zone you cross while flying in the dry air-conditioned atmosphere of an airplane. If mountains or other dry, snowy climates are in your future, this is also important as high altitudes and dry air can leave you under-hydrated before you realize it. You may already be out of your element or preferred weather conditions for a time during the holidays, so everything you can do to at least keep your body working well will be key to move from just salvaging a situation to a place where you get some quality running accomplished despite the challenges.
Even if your holiday plans do not include travel, proper hydration remains crucial to staying on track. It can assist with digestion when faced with a gauntlet of rich foods and a never-ending stream of chocolates in the break room. It can also help combat the dehydrating effects of holiday related alcohol consumption and give your family feast some welcome company in your stomach so you are not as likely to go overboard for the fifth time this week.
Include the family in some running
Find a Turkey Trot, or Jingle Bell Jog 5K /10K the family can walk or jog together while you get in a tempo run. Pick an outing or two where others can walk or hike while you and whomever is up for it can run. Plan a run during someone else’s shopping or errands, so they can go crazy in the stores while you take off for a few miles down a nearby bike path before meeting them back at the car. Think in advance of ways you can meld your run seamlessly into another’s schedule so that you can avoid missing a quality hour with family when everybody is finally home and you’ve just decided to head out on the trail.
Enjoy what you do get done, and don’t worry about what you can’t fit in
If you are unable to perfectly complete every single day’s training from now until the end of the year, you are probably not alone. The holidays are special because you do often have the time to travel or to visit with friends and family in ways your schedule wouldn’t normally permit. It is important to enjoy these times and maintain a balance that keeps running in perspective. If you have a choice in days of the week to get certain things accomplished or can recalculate your schedule in advance to account for certain problem dates coming up, try to prioritize the hard workouts and long runs, so if you don’t get everything in, you will at least have tackled the most challenging days. However, even if you are stymied in this effort, the important thing is that you don’t fall completely out of touch with your goals, that you don’t let guilt over two or three days missed keep you from getting back to the schedule next time out, and that you stay healthy.
Everyone, from world class athletes to beginners, will find the holidays to be a time requiring flexibility and variation in their typical routine. You are not alone. Look ahead as best you can, stay relaxed, and see if you can arrive on January 1st with only minor adjustments needed instead of a complete overhaul. Perhaps you will have even learned some tips that will make the next holiday season even better.
At runcoach, we love celebrating the great race results that roll in after each weekend. Although sensible training and belief can ensure that many race days proceed well, occasionally an off day or an unexpected turn of events affects us all.
One of the best ways to recover from a tough race is to have a short memory. In every race, there are many things a runner can control: clothing choices, food choices, pacing choices, fueling choices, and more. Likewise, there are several factors that are beyond the control of the athlete: the weather that may prove those clothing choices to be wise, the digestive system that may repudiate those food choices, the topography or wind that may prove those pacing choices to be miscalculated and events like an unexpected bathroom need or unseasonably humid weather which may show the fueling choices to be inadequate. Because we really do not control quite as much on race day as we believe we do, it is unproductive to dwell on a disappointing result when it was significantly affected by one of these factors.
Certainly, we also know there are times when we weren’t quite as tough as we had envisioned, when the effort given seemed monumental at the time, but retrospect asks the question, “Was there more in the tank?” In these times just as well, we need to avoid miring ourselves in what could have been and focus on what we plan to do next time out.
Because running is a singular pursuit, requires such strong task commitment both over the long training cycle as well as during a race effort, and the sense of accomplishment is so great when done well, runners often have a hard time divorcing our overall confidence from one or two tough days out of many. But, we should. Difficult things by definition would be easy if everyone could do them, and running long distance is most definitely a difficult thing. Without minimizing the value of finishing a large goal or glamorizing the somewhat sanitized notion that the victory is only in attempting to begin, if you have trained well for a goal race, you have should have satisfaction for what you have learned about yourself along that journey. A race completed, but not as fast as expected, is a race where the spirit of perseverance yielded a finishing result, which on a better day would be the type of commitment that will indeed lead to a PR. If Murphy’s Law prevailed on a particular day, you have a great story and a lesson of resilience in the face of a gauntlet of unexpected difficulties.
Sometimes, the tough day has definite antecedents in choices we have made or training that trended less positively than we would have hoped leading in. This is where the running log enters into the conversation. When the dust is settled, an examination of any correctable factors is well in order, but always in the context of fact versus feelings. Beating oneself up over situations that can neither be redone nor controlled next time is not productive. Preparing to do battle with more training, a mellowed sense of humor, and a renewed sense of hope is crucial. Carrying the burdens of a previous tough race is a heavy load. If you are able to leave that load and focus on the opportunity ahead rather than the unrealized promise of a previous race, you have the opportunity for a much more positive experience. Running toward a goal is always more productive than running away from a fear. Daily, practice focusing on the run at hand, the potential of the present day, and the joy or challenge of the experience presently underway. Have a short memory, and in doing so, you’ll leave more room for new ones!
When post-goal race elation subsides and the physical recovery period is well underway, many runners have a difficult time turning the corner toward the next horizon. Some athletes come away from a goal race so hungry for the next one that they over-enthusiastically barrel down the road toward the next goal without giving their bodies ample time to rest. Instead, for many runners, a huge bucket list item is a hard act to follow, even if we know that goal setting has finally allowed us to move the needle on long sought hopes.
The knowledge that the physical challenge of a long race can be described as a “how” rather than the “if” it was the first time is a powerful tool. Addressing the “how” requires a bit of work above the shoulders, both before and during the races ahead. We’ve written about a few of these topics on the blog, including the areas listed below:
At runcoach, we love to see runners break through and achieve their goals week after week, but we know sometimes the immediate road ahead has a focus on general fitness rather than a big goal race. We are here for you either way, and your individualized program can adjust to meet your needs for the run tomorrow as well as your destination goal race in 2014!
Race day is almost here! Remember to lay low and stay off your feet the days before the race. Your reward is race day itself and the challenge of running. . . .
Arrival
Make sure you get outside and feel the air. Go for at least a 20 minute walk or jog on either the day before, or two days before (or whatever is on your schedule).
Think about what you did, not what you didn’t do in your training. When you go to pick up your race number and run into old friends, family etc. everyone will want to ask about your training so they can tell you about theirs. Forget about theirs and don’t compare yourself to anyone. You followed a terrific training schedule and are well prepared.
Night Before, Morning Of
Have a full meal the night before. Try and consume some complex carbohydrates (pasta). Do not over eat, but make sure you fill up.
On race day eat a light breakfast of 200-300 Kcal of carbohydrates including the sports fluid you drink. If you have a normal pre-race breakfast then stick with it. Don't try any new foods before the race. Drink gatorade (or any sports drink that doesn’t include protein) and/or water frequently to assure you are hydrated (clear urine is a good sign). You should stay well-hydrated throughout the morning before the race. At some point prior to the race stop drinking so you can empty your bladder before the start. It is important to refrain from over-consumption of water alone, as that will drain your body of needed electrolytes.
I suggest you take some throw away warmups to the start especially if it rains or will be cold. This could be an old t-shirt or old sweat pants. Also old socks will keep your hands warm. Some runners will even wear a t-shirt for the first couple miles of the race until they warm up and then pull it off and throw it away. This is a good strategy to prepare for all temperatures.
Take a bottle with gatorade/sports drink to the start with you and right before (less than 5 mins) the gun goes off drink 4-8 ounces. This is your first water stop. If you drink close enough to the start you shouldn’t have to pee – the fluid should only drip through your kidneys because most of your resources (blood) will be in your legs and out of your gut as soon as the gun goes off.
Early Miles
I suggest that you start 5-10 seconds per mile slower than your goal pace. By the 2nd mile you should be running at around goal pace while listening to your body. I recommend this approach as it may activate (and utilize) a higher percentage of fat fuel over the first couple miles. Remember we are trying to conserve glycogen and muscle for as long as possible.
Stay on top of hydration. Fluid stations will be located at 4 stations throughout the course. Take note of these opportunities to rehydrate and plan to drink 4-8 ounces every 20 minutes. It is better to consume enough fluid early and sacrifice the later stops if necessary.
Remember the 3 ‘C’s’
Confidence: Have confidence in your ability and your training. Remember all those hard workouts you did. Remember those early mornings, late nights, sore calves, tight hamstrings etc. - they weren’t in jest.
Control: You must relax yourself early in the race. You absolutely must go out under control for the first half of the race. We want to save a little bit for the final miles.
Collection: Keep your thoughts collected and on your objective. There will always be lots of distractions on race day. The further you get in this race the more you need to focus on yourself, goals and race strategy. Don’t let the fans and competitors into your zone.
The Ebb and Flow
I said before that I can’t guarantee anything about the training or the race itself. Well, I can guarantee this: you will feel good at some point and you will feel bad at some point within the race.
Races usually ebb and flow, runners rarely feel terrific the entire way. We always hit little walls. If you hit one just focus on the next mile, don’t think about the end of the race. If you take each difficult moment one mile at a time you will usually feel better at some point. It always comes back because. . .
You Always Have One Cup Left
That’s right – you always have one cup of energy left. The difference is that some people find it and some don’t. Remember what normal, untrained people do when they feel discomfort – they slow down and feel better. You are not a normal un-trained person.
You are a runnining machine!
You are programmed to give your personal best so. . .
Go get that last cup!
