It occurred to me during one of my mind-altering long runs that I never actually discuss what or how I train for races or any of that crap. Guess I’m too busy complaining about something or discussing the weather in some race I just finished.
Part of the reason I don’t discuss that part of my life is, well, I don’t always think it’s particularly interesting reading for those of you furtively blog-surfing at work or those of you at home, neglecting some preferred leisure activity (like running). Well, I’ll fess up a little about what I do to get from Point A to Point B, but I gotta say there’s nothing better than getting out there and finding out what works best for you. That’s not a disclaimer per se, just my way of saying what works for me may not work for you… though I’ve run enough damn races to have strong opinions, some of which are spot-on correct if I say so myself. So here goes with some random thoughts about training…
Hmm, where am I at, that’s a good starting point… I’m training for the Chicago Marathon, six weeks from last Sunday. In Marathon Preparation Land, I’m at the ‘holy-shit-I-better-be-ready-for-this-thing’ part of the training. And I’ll begin the taper in just under four weeks, scary as that is. Anyway, here we go, you decide if any of this makes sense enough for you to consider, or to perhaps nod your head in agreement…
I keep a running base all year. Good news: I’m ready to train for a marathon about 12 to 16 weeks out instead of 24 weeks out. Bad news: I’m always getting ready for another damn marathon. No rest for the wicked.
I am not a slave to any particular marathon schedule. Put a nicer way, I’m always flexible about which days are ‘workout’ days (two a week), but I still make sure I get one long run in on either Saturday or Sunday. I am very, very lucky in that it doesn’t matter to me whether I run 18 miles or 21, my legs gave up complaining a long time ago. Oh, they have bad days, and they aren’t happy sometimes, but whether or not I run a set mileage or not is not as important as the time put in.
That said, this year I’ve been using Jack Daniels’ training program with VDOT charts and the like. So I’ve been training based on my ability to manage lactic acid buildup and aerobic capacity, while maintaining long-run easy pacing. If you’re looking for a bit of a scientific approach, this is a good one, though I think any marathon training program works, especially if it’s your first. You have to just get out there and do your time. And of course, I was long ago attracted to a training program with the name ‘Jack Daniels’ because it’s somehow fitting, right? If anybody knows of a running coach named Tom Collins or Glen Fidditch, just let me know…
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I like races. You will get better at races if you do more of them. And they are perfect substitutes for #$%&% 800 meter workouts at the track. Plus the race organizers feed you and give you something to wear later, which is more than you’ll get for your trouble at the track.
Stretching. Hmm. I do a little before, but mostly I stretch after a run. I have extremely tight hamstrings, it’s something I constantly have to work at. If you are in the same boat, believe me, you’re not alone. I know I will never, ever be a yoga instructor.
I have, unfortunately, trained my body to be somewhat dehydrated during a run, so I don’t carry gallons of water with me if I can rely on sips from water fountains. However, after long runs (2-3 hours) in the morning I find that I have to drink water all afternoon, or else I start to get sleepy and feel grumpy, to name a dwarf or two. So keep drinking water after you run, sometimes there’s a delayed reaction to that earlier drought.
I’m not a big fan of gu or gel, so I don’t bring much with me, but if I’m running longer than two and a half hours, I’ll bring a packet. I’ve read that you should eat gel every 45 minutes during the marathon, but I’ve never managed to eat more than two during that distance. The stuff is kind of gross, actually. Pretzels are a bit better for me, I get some salt with a little bit of carb, and the taste is bland enough so I don’t feel sick. On occasion, I have brought a packet of table salt with me, and downed it with a cup of water; yes, it’s awful, but at least it helps a little with water retention if that’s an issue.
And I’ll admit it, I’m a bad taperer. I do take it easy during the two weeks before a marathon, but I don’t cut my mileage drastically, just enough to feel like I haven’t ‘lost’ it, and to give my legs a small vacation. So I might run a 16- or 17-miler the week before, which is high depending on which training schedule you’re looking at. I do take the day off before the race, though. All this works for me because it has in the past.
So now I’m running a bit on the high mileage side, 60+ miles per week, with 1-2 tempo/speed workouts each week on Tuesday and Thursday (or thereabouts), followed by a mind-numbing 3-hour(ish) long run sometime over the weekend. My long runs have been going well lately because I generally run more during the week. By ‘well’ I mean ‘not having the desire to stop after 18 miles and murder innocent bystanders’.
One thing you can take away from all this is: after so many marathons, many of the same issues that you encounter training for the first one come back to, well, haunt you. However, you learn to deal with them better because you’ve already been through most of them. They may not be any easier to deal with, but you learn to adapt yourself to any circumstance or issue, be it weather, injuries, fatigue, etc. It does get better, though sometimes depressingly familiar.
So that’s pretty much it for me.
Hey, why are you reading this crap? Either get out there now and get on with the training, or get mentally prepared for that next training session, whatever it is. You heard me!
With Alliterative Love,
Stern Sergeant Satan
5 comments:
Very nice. It's good to be able to run a marathon at the drop of a hat. You never know when you are going to need to flee on foot and for some reason don't have enough adrenaline to do it. (This joke gets less funny with every year I live in NYC and there are fewer big incidents when one would have to flee on foot but more small ones where it's like "RUN!")
I am working on NYRR to get them to hold more races that start at my house. I don't know how you motivate to get your ass there so many weekends, but it's true, the more I race the better I get at it. But the more I take the subway, the more likely I am to commit homicide.
Cruel, cruel world.
Ineresting, and thanks for the insight. We're all such nerds, I'm sure most of us read this post with eyes open wide...behind thick glasses that slide down our noses as we inhale our asthma medication.
I was most amazed by your lack of need for nutrition - one gel ever 2-3 hours? Holy crap, I eat sandwiches and sh*t during 3-4 hour runs!
You must never run out of Clif Bars.
Marathons at the drop of a hat.. I can do that... oh, you didn't mean in my car. :) Impressive miles you pack on. You comment about the 800s cracked me up - I guess I should have scheduled a race... I have 800 repeats tomorrow.
What do you do to help with your hamstring (says the girl about to go ice hers). This is a fairly new thing for me (the knot at the top of the leg all the time).
About how many marathons do you tend to run each year? Don't mean to quiz you, just find it interesting. I haven't had the guts to do one yet.
Renee, I realy am very lucky races are held nearby, I agree with your subway comment (actually, it's weekend subway service that sucks, weekday service is OK). Going by subway to a borough I don't live in is fine, but not a great race motivator. The Queens half marathon is coming up, and I'd have to catch a 5:30 bus along with everybody else just to get there. We've all had it worse, it's just with so many races going on already, you tend to bag the far-flung stuff. Yes, we'll have to get some races starts in your 'hood.
Russ, yeah, that is odd I don't get too hungry, running keeps my appetite under wraps. But I do have a bagel or toast or power bar an hour or half hour before I run. A good cup of coffee helps, too, but as you probably know, gotta watch that.
Dusty... marathons 'at the drop of a hat'... well not quite, but I know what you mean. I did some hill repeats on Tuesday night, and I was STILL sore all night, I would've much preferred getting a race dinner and a t-shirt for my trouble. Hang in there with the 800s, even though they're evil.
As for my hamstrings, I just stretch them after runs, and I make sure I'm alone since it's kind of embarrassing to not (and never) be able to touch my toes. I don't ice them, though maybe I should think about it. A little self-massage late in the day helps me feel better, but that's about it.
I usually run 2-3 marathons a year. Best case scenario: one in the spring and two in the fall. Lately, it's been more like two in the fall, because I hate winter training in the northeast. If your weather is a little warmer than most places, you might consider a spring marathon (April/May), they tend to be a little less crowded than the fall ones. Of course, crowds may not matter so much to you, especially on a first, but marathons keep getting bigger and bigger, and I think keeping the best races are those that are smaller and more personalized. Oh, and you'd be fine in a marathon, because it's all about the training, that takes more 'guts' than the actual race. And you know how to train, so no big deal there (see how I got the nickname 'Satan'?)
NYRR races are the best road races! I loved hating all of them - in a good way. But that's just how road races are >brutal! The cruelest race I did was the Continental 5th Avenue 1-mile race. 50k's are so much easier. I agree with you: gels are horrible; they make me gag. Also I don't believe that for a marathon you need that much food intake.
It's been nice reading more about your training - you won't believe it but I enjoyed it:-)
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