A look at the Long Run and marathon training.

The long run is usually viewed as the center piece of a marathon training program. In the current pop running culture, this means that most marathon training programs work towards the "20 miler".

This is a topic that I have discussed many times in the past, with many different people, and I thought now was the time to get all my ideas out there to share with fellow runners.

Why I don't like the "20 mile" Destination for marathon training:

1. I don't like the concept of placing so much importance on a single 20 mile run. Why? In many running programs that I see, runners end up putting so much value on the long run that it ends up taking away from the value and training stimulus they could get by having a solid week of running. (Which means running regularly throughout the week too.)

This doesn't mean that every runner using these programs puts too much emphasis on the long run, but psychologically it can become a trap. If you decide that the weekend long run is the most important workout of the week, it can be tempting when "life happens" to justify missing a couple runs during the week, as long as you "accomplished" the long run.

This is a trap that often leads to, in the worst case - injury, in the best case - less developed fitness due to less overall training stimulus.

This idea becomes even more magnified if a training program leads towards the 20 miler and a runner develops the belief that they are ready to run the marathon, using the 20 miler accomplishment as their only indicator.

I'm not the only one who takes this approach. Jack Daniels, in his book, Daniels' Running Formula suggests that the longest run you do be under 2.5 hours. The risk-to-reward ratio (injury risk/physiological reward) beyond that point is often not worth it. I remember Bobby McGee taking a similar stance.

Solution: as a runner begins a marathon training program, set the initial goal to accomplish "x" number of weeks running 3 days and building to 5 days a week before taking on any run over 2 hours. "x" depends on your timeframe, but a typical 18 or 20 week program should give you at least 6 weeks to build up to 4 runs at 40mins+ or 5 runs at 30mins+.

2. Does it pass the common sense test to do more than 50% of your running in one day? It doesn't, but many marathon runners that I see or read about do just that.

When a runner is doing less than 40 miles per week, that is what they are doing when they build to a 20 mile long run.

Again in Daniel's book he suggests that the long run be no more than 25% of your total weekly mileage. Therefore to have a long run of 20 miles, a runner must be doing a minimum of 80 miles a week. That kind of mileage is not all that common for the average age-grouper hoping to finish a marathon.

An approach that I have reviewed several times that I like a lot (probably because it is how I like to train people too) is the way the the Hansons train their runners (their age-groupers, not their elite... that would destroy all of us).

In their approach, the longest run that a beginner or advanced runner does is 16 miles. (I know your are screaming in revolt as you just read that.) The advanced runner will see more training stimulus throughout the program, but the longest run distances are the same.

What a refreshing display of understanding an average runners needs and ability. Someday I would love to get some closer looks and discussions with the Hanson-Brooks guys, but from the outside looking in, I like what I see.

Solution:

So you are freaking out about not running longer than 16 miles prior to your marathon day - that's normal. But it is normal due to the fact that the 20 miler has become ingrained into every running groups mindset around this country, not because there is a physiological or training stimulus significance to that distance.

I personally don't have a 16 mile limit in many of the programs I help with, I schedule the longest run at 2.5 hours and allow a little more if the runner is running well, consistent and injury free.

So how do we address the psychology behind "being ready"?

The Double Long Run Weekends.

I have to admit this is not my idea originally. It was a style of training that a professor I had at UNL (Nebraska-Lincoln) put me through (in late 2000) when I went to her for a solution to my 2 previous failed attempts at running a quality marathon.

The basic Idea: is to alternate weekends, doing a longer run on week one, then two medium long runs on Saturday / Sunday of week two. Then repeat that pattern throughout your training program. An example might look like this:

week 1 - Saturday: 12 miles / rest
week 2 - Saturday: 8 miles / Sunday: 8 miles
week 3 - Saturday: 14 miles / rest
week 4 - Saturday: 10 miles / Sunday: 10 miles

That is a basic example, it would be changed based upon athlete, scheduling, along with other variables that could impact the schedule, such as races. I personally prefer to use time goals than mileage goals, but the same pattern would apply with either method.

What I found was that this pattern allowed me to be incredibly more consistent in my running. I would spend less time recovering from the mega long runs. I also found I could easily handle more total running stimulus in a week compared to situations when I was trying to stay fresh for the weekend long run.

Those two things improved my running greatly - consistency and greater overall training stimulus.

How to approach the Double Long Weekend?

These weekends can be tough sometimes, but they can also provide a great deal of training stimulus and self-confidence. Here are some tips that I like to share about those weekends:

1. Saturday's run should be relaxed and comfortable. I rarely get excited about how fast or slow the runs are, because the main goal is to feel strong. Many times the Saturday run will be finished with the runner feeling a little anxious about not having done enough. Especially when they have reached a point where 10 mile runs could be done each day they run.

2. Make sure you allow your legs to recover after Saturday's run. Proper post run nutrition, stretching, cold baths are all good ideas.

3. Sunday's run should be done at an intensity slightly higher than Saturday's run (but much less than the Tuesday,Thursday runs during the week.) Ideally, the runs would be completed at a pace that is 45 seconds to 1:15 per mile slower than the goal marathon pace.

This depends upon the runner's current fitness though! Don't run those times if they are picked out of the air, know that your fitness is prepared for them.*

4. Make the back half of the Sunday run the most intense of all the weekends efforts. Often this will happen naturally as the legs fatigue, but a very fit runner may need to push that portion of the run in order get the training effort up. (Still should be around 45 seconds off marathon pace.)

Using these double long runs in this manner, especially approaching the Sunday run this way should give the runner confidence in their ability to run the marathon's 26.2 mile distance. It can also be a huge learning experience to feel the legs achy and tired prior to Sunday's run and still being able to finish the distance or duration.

As mentioned, this structure also allows recovery to occur faster and decreases the risk of injury when compared to the single long run days.

Expanding this concept (even to triathlon).

This idea can be taken one step further for the more advanced runner. An example that I can share is my approach to our (Nikki and my) run programs leading up to Ironman Wisconsin last September.

Knowing that putting in a long run didn't fit the schedule or our ability to maintain regular workouts in the other sports, we built up to a "broken marathon". This was different for the two of us as we were different in our running needs.

My program built to this series: 12.6 am run / 6.8 pm run (included some tempo) / 6.4 am run. That got me to 25.8 miles with a little tempo built into it within a 30 hour period.

Nikki's program built to this series: day 1: 10miles, day 2: 10miles, day 3: 6miles. That got her to 26 miles within a 48ish hour time period as the day one run was an evening run and the day 3 run was a morning run.

Keep in mind that this isn't a prescription to copy, just an example as to how the idea of stacking runs in a 24/36/48 hour time period could be done. This method was easy enough on my body that I was able to get in an hour recovery swim during the evening of the second day.

(As a sidenote, the longest run I did in the Ironman build was 15 miles.)

Final Thoughts on Approaching your Long Run.

The long run is an important piece to any marathon program, but don't be fooled into the dogma that the long run has to follow the staircase to 20 miles. It might just be the worst thing you could do for your training, because training and racing become difficult if not impossible when you are nursing an injury.

Try a double long weekend... you just might see your running improve like I did.


* This deserves another post that I hope to get to soon, but for now you can read Daniels' Running Formula or search google for "VDot running".

Sometimes fear can be a good thing!

So here I am, it is at the beginning of March in 2008. I have held true to this idea that I'm going to just workout and train throughout the year, no periodization, no "A" races, etc. My idea was to just drop in a race when I felt like it.

That brings me to next weekend. Next weekend I am going to run my first ultra run! It is a 60k run in the Land between the Lakes area of Western Kentucky. I am pretty excited about this race, but I am getting an enormous dose of fear.

The longest run that I've had since the Ironman last September has been the Rock-N-Roll Marathon in Arizona. It was a good day to experience what it would be like on my feet for a very long time, as I coached all the athletes from Kentucky to the finish line. But to be honest, I didn't feel like I was in great shape at that race and I am not in better shape now.

The truth is that I have less long runs than a person normally puts in getting ready for a marathon. I ran 15.5 miles last weekend and then this weekend I ran 13.5 yesterday and 19.4 today. Last night a friend of Nikki's asked her "Is that his taper"?

The thing with this style of training and racing is that it doesn't have a taper period. And I'm getting nervous enough about knowing if I can finish this distance that I wanted to put in a double long weekend to see what would happen. It didn't go super well. I am hurting pretty bad right now. I can move (and actually jogged a half mile with a client after) but by the end of today's run, I was hurting enough that I started having some second thoughts.

Fear. Sometimes we have fear about what is about to happen. I am thinking that at times it might be wise to have a little dose of fear before we get ourselves into a situation like this.

I'll let you know how it goes. I went and bought a digital voice recorder and a lapel mic, I plan on doing some updates during the run. I'll share them with you if there is anything interesting, funny or ridiculous.

Marathon Training : Lessons Learned and Mistakes Made at Derby Festival Marathon

[note] This is a reflection I had after the 2006 Derby Festival Marathon. I am adding it to my blog making sure I have it archived somewhere. As the 2008 Derby Marathon is approaching, maybe there are some ideas worth looking at? [end note]


Marathon Training : lessons learned and mistakes made

“It seems that many endurance athletes view overperformances / underperformances in relation to the acute circumstances. For instance, hot and humid weather, too cold or didn't eat properly. I do it with most races too. (re: just ask me about my Buffalo Lake Springs Triathlon experience. I've got lots of reasons for my poor performance. Including the hitchhiker I picked up in Oklahoma... it has to be his fault!) So, it is good to hear about how training programs could have changed for the better from other endurance athletes.”

Predicting Running Performances - Feb 24th, 2006.

After making a statement like that, it only seems honest that I would try and figure out what occurred during the training period leading to the Derby Marathon that resulted in a performance 9 minutes slower than my expectations.

Here are the lessons that I feel I can continue to learn, as I move forward towards my next adventure. Some of the lessons are positive, others are mistakes that I will try and correct the next time I decide to perform during a marathon. When it is possible, I provided a link to an entry in my blog that I felt supported (in real-time) the conclusions I came to.

Lesson # 1:
Consistency is everything.

• Two major problems I saw as people trained for the spring marathons were lost periods of training due to injury or illness. The injuries and illnesses were likely resulting from too much intensity or too much volume in their training programs. (see: Training through injuries)


• I built a base fitness in October, November and December, with the plan to build upon that base starting in February. The nine weeks of exercise after the December 3rd marathon, inconsistent in nature, didn’t allow the base to be realized with a 12 week marathon training program.


• Consistently doing races allows for better development of “racing consciousness,” thus allowing you to perform with a less hectic mind. It also creates a deeper understanding and experiential knowledge of pain. - Derby Festival Marathon Report (re: The Pain)

Lesson # 2:
Inserting “test races” or “fitness evaluation races” are valuable when you create a race strategy, but they also provide confidence in your training and provide intensity into a program based around aerobic development.

• Changing a perspective of training and physiology - 2/17/06


• Predicting Running Performance - 2/24/06


• Week and Rodes City Review - 3/27/06


• Recovery week review – taper importance - 3/30/06


• Papa John’s 10 mile review - 4/17/06

Lesson # 3:
Nutrition, flexibility and core strength are as important as training paces. Ironically, I said this several time throughout the training period, but I never gave it 100% attention, especially nutrition. (And the reason I’m dedicated to it right now.)

• Magee’s bakery and my lactate threshold - 2/14/06


• I’m tired. My legs, my mind and my mood. - 2/17/06


• period one review - 3/6/06

Lesson # 4:
There needs to be a solid development of aerobic base or fitness before a person begins inserting cruise intervals, thresholds or any higher intensity workouts. In this 12 week training cycle, I used Tuesday’s as my “higher intensity” runs, but began those workouts before I had realized the fitness level I needed to reach my goals.

• Marathon training in T minus - 2/3/06


• Initial testing and focuses - 2/9/06

Conclusion:

Reviewing the lessons that I learned, it is humbling to realize that I didn’t follow my own basic philosophy of training, “Health, Fitness, Performance.” I was caught in a mind-set that focused on performance and the variables that create performance. What I have learned again is that without a deep level of fitness, there will be no break through performance, and without health, it is very difficult to develop that fitness.

I don’t want people to think that I am completely unsatisfied with the race. The fun for me is the journey of improving over time. And I have more improvements to make in my fitness and the resulting performance. I have a lot more fun ahead of me. Plus, I take some pride in the fact that I have transformed from a 3:54 – 4:00 marathoner into a 3:04 – 3:08 marathoner. I just know that there is more time to take back!

“Everybody wants to get fast, hardly anyone wants to get fit.” - Gordo Byrn

garyd - 5/23/06

Tues / Thursday Workouts for Half Marathon Program.

I posted a program for the Derby Festival Half Marathon a couple posts ago. You can find that post here:

Derby Festival Half Marathon Program

If you viewed the program (the google spreadsheet) you see that the program is divided up into four three-week phases. The phases allow for different focuses in the training and what we are trying to accomplish with the running that we are doing.

As some of you readers may have noticed (and due to response I know you have) I am a big believer in developing your fitness at a "steady state" level. This has mainly developed out of my experiences as a runner/triathlete and the philosophies of people I respect such as Arthur Lydiard and Gordo Byrn.

When you coach people though, you have to recognize your biases and make sure you are not allowing them to influence what is best for your athletes. Just because you hold a strong belief shouldn't influence the best interest of your athletes.

With that reasoning in mind, I realize that for a half marathon there are runners that will need to run faster, harder or more intense than I normally "allow" my athletes to run. That is the reason that I have structured the half marathon program to include some specific "quality" runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Below is a description of how those workouts are planned. For reference, it may be beneficial to review the complete program shown on the google spreadsheet again.

Tuesday Workouts:

(phase one)
Week 12: easy run
Week 11: easy run
Week 10: fitness test

(phase two)
Week 9: 6 x 30sec strides
Week 8: 6 x 30sec strides
Week 7: fitness test

strides are just 30 seconds of running fast, focus on using perfect form as you do these, think quick feet

(phase three)
Week 6: 10min warm up, Main Set: 4min at 5k pace, 2min walk, 2min jog, repeat main set three times, 6min cool down

Week 5: same as week six
Week 4: fitness test

(phase four)
Week 3: run at 1/2 marathon goal pace
Week 2: fitness test
Week 1: rest (race week)

Thursday Workouts:

(phase one)
Week 12: easy run
Week 11: easy run
Week 10: easy run

(phase two)
Week 9: Tempo Run - 5min warm up, 3 x 12min at 10k pace, 2min walk between sets, 5min cool down

Week 8: same as week 9

Week 7: Tempo Run - warm up, 4 x 10min at 10k pace, 2min walk between sets, cool down

(phase three)
Week 6: same as week 7
Week 5: same as week 7

Week 4: Tempo Run - warm up, 4 x 12min at 10k pace, 2mn walk between sets, cool down

(phase four)
Week 3: run at half marathon goal pace
Week 2: run at half marathon goal pace
Week 1: rest (race week)

I hope you find the workouts fun and challenging. They should be enough to pick your speed up to run the half marathon well.

Walking my way to faster races?

In December of 2006, I made a commitment to use a run/walk method for my races in 2007. There is always a lot of discussion and opinions around this idea amongst runners. Here are the two biggest things that I see:

1. Those runners that believe that a "true" runner wouldn't walk during a race
2. Those runners/sports scientists that believe there is no validity to the method.

I originally came to the idea after listening to Bobby McGee speak during the training clinic at the Olympic Training Center. While I wasn't sure if I was convinced, I thought that I'd give it a try.

Here's the link again to my previous post: Does Slow Down mean Walk for me?

My Experience:

The commitment I had was to run/walk every run I did. And looking back, I don't remember doing a single run in '07 that I didn't walk some. There were quite a few benefits that I derived from this experience. I'll skip the physiology of it for now (maybe I'll get to it at another time), but the two things I noticed were:

1. It allowed me to recover easier, which allowed me to run more often (I actually ran every single day in Feb. of '07)

2. Emotionally, it allowed me to relax and have peace with the idea of walking, which allowed me to use those lessons during races.

I used the method in 3 key races during the '07 year:

1. Derby Half Marathon
2. Mountainer Half Ironman
3. Ironman Wisconsin

To be honest, I believe it helped in all three races. I had some doubts about the idea of walking during the half marathon, but here is what it did: It slowed me down at a time during the race when I was getting caught up in the race and running way too fast. Therefore, it forced discipline into my race when it would have likely been lacking. While 1:25 is not really fast for a half marathon, it was as much as I could have expected considering the training I had leading up to that race.

The biggest benefit that I had during the year using this method was during the Ironman. It was hugely beneficial going into that race knowing I would have to walk, because when I started walking that first mile, I was able to say to myself "this is part of the plan." That was more empowering than getting to 15 or 16 and saying, "I have to walk because I don't know if I can run anymore."

The difference between those two psychological states are worth many minutes during a race. I had hoped that I could go under 3:30 for my marathon split, I didn't make it as I went 3:35. But I'm convinced that I would have been closer to 4:00 had I not started walking from mile 1.

Who benefits the most?

The athletes that benefit the most from using this strategy, in my opinion, are those that are still challenged by their endurance. I tell athletes that you'd benefit if you are planning on going over 3:30 for the marathon. (There's no science to that number.)

That being said, I will use this method the next time I try to go under 3 hours. And as Bobby McGee said, he has had a 2:30 marathoner use this method.

The key is determining where your pacing begins to drop. Maintaining a consistent pace is likely the largest performance boost that many runners will see by using a walk/run strategy.

I would be interested to hear others experience using a run/walk stategy and how they felt it helped or did not help them.

Derby 1/2 Marathon Running Program

Derby Festival Half Marathon Schedule - use link to view program.

The above program is designed to get people ready for the Derby Festival Half Marathon (locals call it "the mini") in Loisville, Kentucky on April 26, 2008. The information posted here is just the number of minutes that an athlete could run on each day. The style and placement of runs is similar to how I design marathon programs (double long weekends), but since this is a half there will be added focus on "speedier" runs on Tuesday and Thursday.

Each phase has specific goals. There are goals related to the distance of the race, but there are also goals based upon the athletes' experience, ability and durability. (Those of you who just went to AZ with me know that durability is my newest buzz.) I'll try and blog about the general period goals when I have a chance, but I need to complete my athletes' workouts for the first phase.

Also, start thinking about what you might use as your "fitness test". My last post (at sweat365.com) discussed the idea of fitness tests. For more info you can search my blog or look through the tags at delicious.

Hopefully this is of some help to those deciding where to start.

Note: This is an updated post with a better link to the program as the iframe wasn't working correctly.

Spirit of the Marathon Review.

Last night Nikki and I, along with Nikki's running pals and several other Todd's Road Stumblers went and saw "The Spirit of the Marathon."

Here's the trailer from youtube if you haven't seen it yet.



There are some really good parts of the documentary, but there were also parts that I felt a little bored. I personally liked the triathlon documentary that I just got called, "What it Takes" better. The running documentary put out by the same group called "Showdown" is also more interesting. But there are some key differences that could influence someone's enjoyment.

Here are some thoughts:

1. SofM doesn't focus upon the professional or elite athlete, which is kind of nice. They include people like Deena Kastor (who is a top pro) to a grandfather that is running the marathon with his daughter, doing it for, as he says "for the t-shirt".

2. They follow the runners for a long period before the actual marathon. I liked this part because you were able to follow their training. Although, it appears that all the age group runners were part of the same Chicago training group. It would have been nice to see different stategies.

For instance, you see the Hanson Project guys at the start of the marathon leading out the professionals. I was thinking that it would be nice to see one of the age group runners that train with them. Maybe I'm biased, but this movie reinforces the idea that someone training for a marathon needs to build up to a 20 mile run. And most people know how I feel about that! (Maybe that's why I favorite the Hanson Project theories.)

3. I know I am jaded about some things in life, but the whole Boston Marathon thing just digs at my soul. The movie again has hints of, "to be a really good runner you have to qualify and run in Boston" attitude. I have to be a little subdued about my distaste for this right now because I believe Nikki would like to run in Boston. And I need to support her in that.

I wonder if Matt Carpenter or Scott Jurek have run Boston yet? Maybe they have.

4. I guess the biggest disappointment that I had with the movie was that I've heard the same stories a hundred times or more by now. The people in the movie appeared to be great people, they have very similar hobbies and interests that I do, but they are no different than the 25 people that I was with in Arizona to run the Rock N Roll Marathon.

In fact, there are a couple runners there that day that would have more interesting stories to tell. I'm positive about that.

My suggestion would be save the $10 (which is another thing, we had to pay a premium to see this movie) and rent it, maybe even buy it on dvd. If you head to the movies, go see Juno or No Country for Old Men. Two movies I've been wanting to see but will have wait now that I had my movie going experience this week.

The movie scores a 13 on the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion.

Antartica Marathon Finished!

Our friend Amie running the marathon in Antartica!

Those of you that read my blog have probably seen a few posts where I talk about my desire to run a marathon in every state and DC. Then last year there was the an opportunity to earn a spot in the North Pole Marathon, which I applied for, but didn't get.

Well, as I got more and more excited about the idea of running a marathon at the North Pole, I found several people that had accomplished the challenge of running a marathon on every continent. Amazing!

Today I got an email from a good friend of mine (Cory) that is worth sharing. Cory's wife just ran the marathon in Antartica this past weekend. Amie is now a hero to me! Here's Cory's recap:

*** email start ***

Gang,

This email is all about Amie,as it should be!

When we left Antarctica, the last time, Amie mentioned that she regretted not running the marathon while down here. She said that if we ever came back (NO, that isn't why we came back!), she would run the Antarctica Marathon. Well, Sunday was gameday. I volunteered to help support the marathon and Amie of course was going to run it. We drove out there at 0830 to get things started by 0930. Amie and her friend were ready to run so they decided to get to it. The weather was calm and sunny. Not a breeze in the area. Mt. Erebus was smoking and the sun was at high noon (like it usually is during the summer). There were about 30 other participants starting later. Along the route, there were aid stations set up, snow mobiles, and two Piston Bullies (what I was in). They also had participants running the 1/2 marathon and skiing the full and 1/2 marathon. Amie finished in a great time as her goal was to just finish the marathon. No sense hurting yourself down here when you have a month left.

Afterwords, there was a reception where the t-shirts were passed out and cookies were eaten. We treated ourselves to burger bar and mimosas......well, treated Amie as I didn't work too hard supporting the race.

It was a perfect day for Amie to complete her mission. Now she only has five more marathons on five different continents! Next up.......who knows, maybe the Great Wall Marathon!

Hope all is well.

Next week will be about my new adventure/adventures......

*** email finish ***

Amie, you deserve a huge congratulations!

2005 Tecumseh Trail Marathon - Race Report

*note* This is an old race report that I'm adding. It currently sits on my website and I wanted it included in my blog archive. If you haven't read it, then go ahead. This was Nikki's first marathon! *end note*

Tecumseh Trail Marathon

Pre-Race: - The start time for this race is 10:00am, which is one of the nice things about this race. Even though you have to board the bus at 8:45am, the later start time allowed us to wake up a little bit later and not worry about getting our breakfast in. So Nikki and I woke up around 6:30am and started to drink our Ensure. We got ready and headed to the finish line to board the bus at 7:30am (which is later than many races start times!).

We boarded the bus at 8:45am and took the hour long bus ride to the start line. This is the first point-to-point race I’ve done. I liked it because the bus trip allowed me to meet a few runners, which is always nice. One thing I didn’t know what to think about were the stories that past runners of the race were telling us. One of the guys told us to add an hour to our slowest marathon time to estimate our finish time for the race. Since this was Nikki’s first marathon, we didn’t know what to do? We had hoped that we could do 6 hours, but with that knowledge, I thought maybe 6:30 would be expected?

At the start we had to wait a little because three of the buses hadn’t shown up, but the race only started several minutes late.

The Start: - The start was exciting as they always are, so I kept in mind that this was Nikki’s first marathon. I also kept in mind our walk/run race strategy that I had used to develop Nikki’s training plan. This was difficult at the start for both of us. At 10minutes I looked at Nikki and said “It’s time to walk.” She kind of looked funny and said, “already.” “Yep,” I said. So we started walking.

The discipline to walk at that point was tough because the trail was just starting and it was still flat terrain. I kept saying to myself that running the last 8 miles is more important today than running the first 8. Nikki looked at me and said “18 more to go,” which is a saying we developed in training that meant no matter how far we have run, always approach it like you have 18 more miles to run. I smiled and said, “not quite yet.”

The race was advertised as a tough race. The hills were said to be something you wouldn’t think of when you think of Indiana. There were reports we read about lots of stream crossings and log crossings; the runners we talked to on the bus ride to the start confirmed those reports. It is also December and the weather report called for rain or snow. Even with the mental preparation for these conditions, I will admit that this race was A LOT more difficult than I anticipated, even if the weather never turned awful. (Nikki said that she mentally prepared for the worst and that it wasn’t as bad as what she thought it was going to be. I guess mental preparation and perception can change everything.)

Mile 13 “The Hill”: - As we went through the aid station around mile 12, I began looking for the “gigantic hill” at the half-way point. Coming from Kentucky, I couldn’t imagine that it would be worse than what Nikki and I trained on when we looked for hilly runs at home. I WAS WRONG! As we came around the bend, we caught a glance at a long line of runners snaking their way up this incline. The lady that we had been running with said, “I’d like to see you run up that.” The challenge was very tempting, especially because not a single person was jogging. Everyone was walking. But wisdom prevailed and we walked too. We took a look back from the top and the line of runners continued to stop and walk. It was pretty awesome to see what we had just accomplished and then realize we had 13 miles to go!

Mile 18: - There was an aid station around mile 18. Nikki and I stopped to get some Gatorade and food, plus I looked at my watch. It read approximately 3:40! “Nikki,” I said, “we can make it in 5 hours!” She responded, “We would have to run 10 minutes miles, I don’t want to think about it.” “You’re right. That’s pretty quick, especially on the trails here. Let’s see where we are at when we get to mile 24.”

Mile 22: - We came to another aid station and Nikki kept saying she was feeling good, so we were not walking as much. I looked at my watch again and it read 4:20. I was hesitant to say anything to her again about time, but we had a continuous dialog at this point about how we felt running. The truth is that I think she was stronger at this point then I was…. But I was not about to tell her that!

Mile 25: - To be honest, I had given up on the time by this point because I thought the aid station was supposed to be at mile 24. And if we hadn’t reach mile 24 by that point in time we were not even close to making 5 hours any more. As we ran down the hill towards the last aid station, the volunteer said “Mile 25, one more mile to go!” I looked at my watch, 3:49. “Nikki, we have 11 minutes.” She looked at me and said, “Let’s do it!” Then she took off running like she had just started a track meet. I grunted and begged, “This is way too fast!” She smiled, “You’re right, we could slow down.”

The Finish: - At 4:55 we started to run up the last hill, which hurt quite a bit with the effort we were putting in. But it also felt good because we were passing people pretty quickly and one of the other runners yelled out, “You are going for 5 hours.” “We are trying” I responded, trying to smile. I lost almost all hope by the time we got to the top of the hill though. We had less than 3 minutes to finish and the turn to the finish line was still quite a-ways-ahead. Running down the last stretch, I saw we had 30seconds to 5 hours. I wasn’t into the sprint finish, knowing we were too far away, but as we got closer it seemed more and more possible. I grabbed Nikki’s hand and said, “We can do it!” We sprinted down the gravel road into the finisher’s lane and crossed at approximately 5:00:04! I haven’t seen the official times yet, but Nikki did remind me later that because we started in the back of the starting pack, that by the time she started her watch at the start line we would have been under 5 hours. (Too bad they didn’t have chip timing. Smile.)

It really doesn’t matter to me, because we expected 6 to 6:30 anyway. Plus it was a great experience to complete this very challenging race, side-by-side with my wife. What a good experience for any newly married couple! I am also inspired by the dedication that Nikki had to the training program I developed. She admitted later that she was nervous that the longest she had run was 15 miles. It meant a lot to me that she trusted me as a husband and “coach” and didn’t listen to all the nay-sayers that thought she should be running more.

She also asked me later that night, “so does that mean I could have run 4 hours at a normal marathon.” I smiled.

2008 - Rock N Roll Marathon Experience.

I have been spending the past few days in Arizona at the Rock N Roll Marathon. I came as the Team in Training coach for the Kentucky and Southern Indiana Chapter. For those of you who have not done the marathon, I believe that this may be one of the better courses to PR on than any course I've been on. Here are a couple reasons why:

1. The course is beyond flat. The elevation change is minimal and even when it does change, it is welcomed after all the flat running that you've done.

2. The number of runners isn't too many to be able to actually run. Chicago is flat too, but anyone who has done that race knows that there are way too many people to get going from the start.

3. The time of year is perfect, if you live in an area where winter training is possible (and in KY, I believe winter running is the ideal.)

My experience here was different than any marathon I have done before, other than possibly the Tecumseh Trail Marathon when Nikki and I ran the race together. There were 16 runners from the chapter out on the full marathon course, so my only goal was to get each one across the finish line. And they were all successful! As a coach it was a little challenging at times over the weekend, primarily due to the fact that I had only met the walking group from Lexington a couple times and had never met the group of runners from Louisville at all. That makes it difficult to provide guidance leading up to the race, especially when they have trained differetly in many ways.

It might be hard to give a honest assessment of the Rock N Roll Marathon because of the Team in Training involvement, because at times it is hard to remember that all the participants are not receiving all the support, guidance and celebrations that the TNT group does. The one thing I have to compare the TNT experience to would be Ironman athlete support and celebration. They have:

1. Pre-race pasta parties and celebration
2. Race Morning support
3. Lots of support during race day on the course
4. Post-race victory party

In addition to that, TNT takes care of travel arrangements, hotel arrangements and transportation while at the site. As an athlete you really don't have to do anything other than show up and do the race.

Plus, you get to use your involvement to support an organization that is making a huge difference in blood cancers by raising money for research and patient support. It was inspiring to see all the ribbons and pictures pinned on the racers jerseys. But then again, as one runner reminded me, it also is not a good thing because it means there are lots of people out there still battling blood cancers and lymphomas.

Some day that may not be true!

So my run was a great experience. I'm not sure how much I ended up running? I estimate >30 miles but <34 miles. Too bad I didn't have my new Garmin ready to go. I was a little bummed to see that this won't count towards my 50 marathons in 50 states goal. The one thing as a coach that was a bummer was that I didn't end up as an official participant, i.e. no number, no chip therefore no result. So after reading the 50 states rules again, I'm left still needing Arizona. I did find out thought that Ironman races do count, along with ironman-distance races. So I guess I have Wisconsin done!

If you are thinking about trying a marathon for the first time, I would suggest thinking about going the Team in Training route. It is a great experience.

What to wear for a marathon? race day attire suggestions

So I'm heading to Arizona tomorrow morning with approximately 25 people to participate in the Rock N Roll Marathon. I've been sending an email each day to the group to help ease their anxiety as they begin to think about all the things that could go wrong.

I had a question about how to manage race day clothing. Here was that email:

**** email starts ****

Today I would like to address the question about race day attire and specifically discuss layering.

As I type this, weather.com has the Sunday forecast at 69 degree high and 41 degree low. Including a 20% chance of precipitation.

Since the race starts first thing in the morning, you can probably count on the fact that you'll see temps towards the lower end of the range. One thing that I like to stress to people is that you do not want to be too cold prior to the start. It can be pretty difficult on the body to be standing at the start and dealing with the cold and then immediately asking it to start performing. The blood flow issues involved in managing the cold are not favorable to exercise.

Suggestion #1: wear clothing you have worn and are comfortable in as a base layer... the layer of clothing you would be running in if the temperature was in the 60's.

Suggestion #2: if you follow suggestion #1, then you will not be warm enough at the start line, so you need to build at least one layer of warmer attire above your base layer.

I usually like to wear an old sweatshirt that I wouldn't mind throwing off to the side and letting someone take home or letting the Salvation Army pick up. I also wear a stocking hat and pair of cheap gardening gloves (I might wear my pink John Deere gloves this weekend.. but I'm getting attached) that I can toss.

Personal Story: In 1999, I ran the Chicago Marathon. I remember the weather being in the low 50's. Warm enough I thought to just wear a long sleeve running shirt and running shorts. I warmed up that way and stood waiting for the start. I never warmed back up! It felt like the sun was never shining on us b/c of buildings,etc. I remember being really cold for a majority of the race... never comfortable. So in 2001, I ran a Feb marathon in Austin, Texas. "It's Texas I was told, it will be warm enough". It was but I needed to wear my throw away sweatshirt for about 8 miles!

Suggestion #3: Be ready for a little rain before the race. There is rarely cover and it is not fun to stand and get soaked before you start your day. Take a trash bad and put a couple holes in it for your head and arms. Then you can "trash" it right before the gun goes off. And don't think you'll be able to run to the start line once the gun goes off.

Personal Story: Nikki and I were at the 2004 Country Music Marathon. Prior to the race it started pouring and we were trying to find cover... we found a little but there wasn't enough for all the runners. About the time the race was to start runners headed to the start line... only to be held there for 35 to 45 minutes. Because of lightening they had everyone waiting at the start (in the rain anyway?) and people were getting soaked. Luckily, I had leaned my lesson and had a trash bag on... but I still was a little wet... just not as bad as most.

Here's a recap:

1. Base layer of comfortable clothing that you are used to running in.
2. Warm clothing you can keep on or throw out if you want.
3. Trash bag to stay dry.

Hope that helps. Please ask if you have questions!

*** end email ***

To all the blog readers out there, I hope that information can also help you out. I know that there are other issues to consider, like what shoes to wear and what material the clothing is made from.

But to be honest, race week is not the time to be finding those answers out. The base layer should be a set of clothing that you have tested and know won't cause chaffing and is comfortable. That's a question that should be answered during your long runs.

North Pole Marathon Application. Vote for the Underdog!

A little while back I mentioned that Brad Feld and Yourrunning.com is giving away an entry to the North Pole Marathon. Actually Brad is sponsoring the entry and Yourrunning.com is taking care of the travel (if I read all the information correctly).

Well, Today I completed my application. According to the website there are 25 other runners that have put in their application to have a chance at running around the North Pole. Does this mean I have a 1 in 26 chance? If it was a "lottery" then I probably would have a 1 in 26 chance, but it is not. The application is just that - an application. The most qualified, based upon their qualifications gets the opportunity.

So what are my chances? Well, I looked at some of the other applicants and they are pretty strong applicants. That being said, I don't know to many athletes that toe the line that don't have a desire, belief or even a dream that they could win. (I admit that many of the races I race in I understand that coming in first isn't a strong reality, but who lets reality influence them.)

My request: I need some way to show the people at yourrunning.com that I am a good candidate to run this race, besides my application pleas. So can help me out by letting them know that you think I would be a good candidate? How? Well, one way would be to use their Feedback page and leave them a message saying that I (Gary Ditsch) would be a good candidate. Another possibility would be to wait until my application gets posted (it will be posted here) and then vote through their voting system or leave a comment in the comments section.

The biggest effort may come from you telling at least 1 or 2 other people (that I may or may not know) to help me out too. Any little step or help to set my application apart would be appreciated.

Here are two questions I answered in the application:

Why should we pick you to go to the North Pole?

I believe that there are times in most people’s lives that they look back and say, "What in the world is my life about?" There are people who come to this realization when they wake up one day and find out they haven't paid attention to their bodies in decades, so they decide to exercise or lose weight. There are people that look at their child walk across a stage to grab a college diploma only to wonder just who that child is, so they vow to spend more time with their family and less time at a job. I am no different than those people, yet I am only twenty-eight years old.

The one thing that I have found in those moments that I have questioned myself and who I was is that there was one constant - running. As a child growing up in Nebraska, I found myself running the gravel roads or by the bean fields to find peace. In college, I began running again in order to have an excuse to drink less on the "party" nights. I also found a major of study in college that allowed me to learn about exercise and still get a degree. It also propelled me to a place where I could get a graduate degree. After college I found myself stuck in an emotionally bankrupt job, contacts that I made with fellow runners and triathletes lead me to a more fulfilling job. The combination of all these choices and situations have lead me to a place where I hope to make running and helping others run (and swim, bike and exercise) a full-time, life-long mission.

Running is essentially who I am and the best way that I have to express myself. (Picture Robby Benson at the end of "Running Brave".) Why should you pick me? By choosing me you would be assisting me in this continuous search I have in finding out who I am, but yourrunning.com would also be able to use the passion I have to reach out to new runners that want to share their journey too. Yourrunning.com might just discover things about itself that it has not noticed before.

Offer some evidence that you can complete a marathon in harsh, sub-zero conditions at the North Pole.

Every runner has a story about how they completed a race in terrible conditions. These stories are often the only type of story a runner has to tell. I like to equate them to the fisherman's tale. "You should have seen the one I threw back!"

The best tale that I have happened in September of 2006. Prepared to complete my first Ironman distance triathlon, my wife and I headed to Lake Barkley, Kentucky. The weather was predicting a rainy day, but I was more worried about the race than the weather. The night before the race was to take place there was an athletes meeting where the discussion of weather came up, primarily because it was getting bad enough that flooding was becoming a possibility.

That night was full of thunder, lightening and heavy rains. Still I loaded my bike up in the morning and headed to the start line. The race was cancelled due to the many floods and constantly heavy rains. The race director held a meeting to decide what would happen. Many of the people went home and called it a weekend. But there were 6 of us full distance athletes that chose to stay and see what it would take to finish an iron-distance triathlon. The water was filled with debris, the bouys were washed out of place, the volunteers didn't come to give support along the course and once again I found myself in a place where I was all alone trying to find out what I was made of.

I finished! The lessons from that race keep revealing themselves to me still today. The biggest one that I have taken home to date is that I don't need to race others in order to feel accomplishment. Racing yourself is more of a challenge to win anyway.

Challenge? On the north pole!

Today I checked my bloglines headlines and saw a post by Brad Feld titled - "Update on my North Pole attempt". I read awhile back that he was going to run a marathon at the North Pole. At the time I was thinking, "wow, that's amazing. but a little crazy!"

If you went and read his post today you saw that he has decided to not run the marathon himself but to sponsor an athlete (along with yourrunning.com) to go and run the race.

I talked to Nikki about it this afternoon and of course she is completely supportive if it is something I would want to do. So I'll be putting together my application soon. Here's to a little luck.

If anyone has any great ideas for things to include in my application, I'd be willing to accept ideas. I also know that there are some other "crazy" people out there that see this idea as completely exciting and not foolish. Send in your applications too!