Nothing new on race day

There are a thousand variables that can alter your performance in a marathon. Fitness (the single most important variable) is completely within your control, so you train hard and smart. However, other variables such as temperature and weather can't be controlled, so you hope for the best.  The "little things" like shoe selection, fueling / hydration strategy, and pre-race logistics really add up, so its wise to start thinking about them far in advance.

The standard pre-race meal

Andrea and I subscribe to the "nothing new on race day" philosophy. We want to simply go out and execute what we have practiced for thousands of miles in training. We've evaluated different pairs of racing flats, worn them on harder workouts, and made the choice for what we will wear a month in advance. We've practiced taking gels on long runs. We've worn several iterations of our racing "outfit" to dial in exactly what we need to wear depending on the temperature. Before the race, we'll eat the same exact breakfast we've eaten for every other race and long run this year. For dinner the night before the race, we'll eat the same thing we always eat... some mac and cheese and some ice cream. This is my segue to carboloading... we don't believe in (the standard application of) it... hear us out...

An anti-carboloading stance is probably a touchy subject for a lot of folks, and understandably so! That's not what we are trying to promote. In my experience, I've seen plenty of inexperienced runners ritually putting down too much extra food in the 24 hours leading up to a race. Lots of them also seem to suffer from GI problems, cramping, and an assortment of other issues during the race itself. That's worse than being hungry! Somewhere in between is where you ideally want to end up... the old "middle ground!"

I'm not advocating cutting out carbs in the days leading up to a big endurance event! That would be stupid and terrible for performance! I just think that the best eating strategy is to simply do what you typically do all the time. When you are a week out from a big race and tapering, eating normal amounts of food is probably enough to top off your glycogen levels, since your activity level is greatly reduced. Going out of your way to plow through a couple extra bowls of spaghetti adds a stress that your body has to deal with. I know the science behind carboloading (its not definitive by any means), and while it definitely might work for some people, in our opinion the risks or a "true carboload" greatly outweigh the potential rewards.

My guess is that most runners probably know these things, and would opt for a larger breakfast/lunch and smaller dinner on the day before a big race. Even websites like the "Endurance Calculator" mention (in the finer print) not to necessarily chow down too much in the 12 hours before the race. It should probably be spread out over a longer period of time. The Sweat Science blog is a good resource on this topic.

In the days leading up to Philly, we'll eat the typical meals that we always do, and our pre-race dinner will be the same thing our bodies have become very accustomed to. We found a hotel with a  kitchen, so we won't have to deal with the hassle of going out to eat any meals on Saturday. By taking in enough carbs all week and not running our usual higher mileage, our glycogen stores will be topped off for several days leading up to Sunday, and we won't have to subject our digestive systems to any additional stress in the 24-48 hours before the marathon.

On race morning, we'll eat the same breakfast that we ate before long runs. Andrea goes with a banana and a powerbar. I usually just go with a powerbar for long runs, but since I'll need a bit more fuel for 26.2, I'll either add in an extra powerbar or eat some sport beans. For whatever reason, these highly processed foods digest very easily for me, and I've never had any GI problems using them.

Stocked up for race day. This is way more than we'll use, but its good to have doubles of everything.

What's in your (shoe) quiver?

In the skiing world, you often hear folks brag about the diversity and size of their "ski quiver" and manufacturers love to refer to their newest models as "one ski quivers" (ie. skis that can handle all kinds of conditions - powder, moguls, hardpack, etc.) without sacrificing anything.

In a VERY organized state, we still have well over a dozen pairs
of running shoes sitting next to the door

Does a true one ski quiver exist? For all intents and purposes, my BD Voodoos with Dynafit TLT vertical bindings handle 95% of the conditions I want to be skiing in, although I wouldn't huck a 15 foot jump on them (mainly because of the cost of the bindings!). I disgress because this post is supposed to be about running (I'm not supposed to be thinking about skiing yet)... Andrea and I both have 3 pairs of downhill/AT skis... but that isn't anything compared to how many running shoes we have!

There are A LOT of shoes that are hanging out next to our front door that get rotated through on a daily basis. The Saucony Kinvara has become our favorite daily trainer (see why in this post about minimalism), along with the Tangent (which is now discontinued, although I'm about to try out the Grid Shadow Genesis to see if that might be a decent replacement for the Tangent). On faster workout or race days we'll break out our flats (previous review): A3s, A4s, and the Fastwitch. On the occasional trail run (or on snowy/crummy weather days), I like wearing my Peregrines, which feel very similar to the Kinvara, with a more aggressive bottom. Andrea wears heavier trainers like the Progrid Omni and Progrid Guide when her legs are feeling beat up and need a little extra cushion. I've been wearing the Amp PRO2 Recovery shoes after workouts and just casually as well... they are kind of dorky looking, but feel like supportive slippers, and I'm definitely a fan.

One wall of our "gear room"

We try to rotate which shoes we wear each day... I think if you wear the same shoes every single day, you might be susceptible to those tiny little overuse problems that aren't noticeable at first, but add up over time. By changing things up every day, your feet don't get used to the same thing all the time. Plus, the foam / cushioning in shoes tends to bounce back a little better if you let it "rest" for a day in between runs.

There is definitely no one shoe quiver for running, unless you are wearing the vibram monkey feet, in which case I think you are nuts, anyways.

Then if you take into consideration all the hiking shoes, sandals, and ski boots we have... we really are crazy about footwear!

The extra, unopened shoes hang out
with the ski boots

Turkey Trot Tune-Up 5K

This morning we put on another free 5000m track race to use as a tune-up for the Philadelphia Marathon. We did this before the Long Beach half-marathon about 6 weeks ago (OktoberFast 5K).

The forecast called for rain (and potentially snow), but luckily that held off. Instead we got consistent and gusting wind! It was not a PR type of day, but that wasn't really the objective. We just wanted to get in one last harder effort before the marathon next weekend. We always run a 5K the weekend before a bigger target race, and we have had great results using this strategy. Running a 5K helps us stay sharp during the taper, and makes marathon pace feel a lot easier!

I went out at 5K PR pace, but with the wind and no one close to me after a couple laps, I just decided to ease off the gas pedal a bit and save the big effort for next weekend... I ended up running 15:26. Andrea could probably crush her 17:16 PR right now, but didn't want to risk aggravating her hamstring any further, so her objective was to just run 18 minutes flat. She came in at 17:58. 

Now we just need to make it through another week of the taper, and then go hard after the OTQs in Philly next weekend!

"Official" Results:

Jake  15:26.4
Fritz    16:38.1
James  16:47.5
Andrea  17:58.0
Bryan  18:07.2
Chad  18:58.8
Sandy  19:09.8 

Some photos from this morning below... the full gallery is here. 

Running Recovery

This post was written by Andrea...

In the past year, Jake and I have really gotten serious about recovery. I personally believe that our efforts to stimulate recovery have made a HUGE difference in our abilities to bounce back quickly from hard workouts and increased mileage. The fact that we have made such significant improvements this year is enough proof for me that we are doing something right. Obviously, the actual running/training we are doing is the most important thing (see this post on our training philosophy outline)!!! But none of it would be possible without proper recovery methods.

There are several things we try to do as soon as possible after a workout... it usually goes in the order of: refuel, ice, compression gear, massage, and rest.

Refueling entails an electrolyte drink, protein, and carbs. For an electrolyte drink, we typically drink Hawaiian Punch Singles with Emergen-C as mentioned in our Training Staples post. Neither of us drink much (if at all) when we run, so rehydrating is especially important. Morning workouts are followed by eggs/egg casserole (see our post - Breakfast of Champions) and evening workouts are followed by a dinner of meat and veggies. Our goal is to always eat within 30 minutes of finishing a run to start the recovery process. We often do not include a specific carbohydrate side with meals because we are constantly eating them as snacks throughout the day.

Icing. This is definitely a challenge. Who wants to get in a tub of freezing water? I can't say that we have taken many ice baths, not nearly as many as we should. However, we use ice packs and an ice bucket a lot. Mueller ice packs are the best. You can wrap them around any part of your body that needs extra attention and pull it as tight as you need. These have been a life-saver with my injury "scares" - shin splints, back pain, tendonitis, etc. We will also fill up a garbage can full of freezing water (aka ice bucket) to ice the entire lower legs when necessary.

Mueller ice packs are very useful and convenient.

We are strong believers in compression gear. We wear compression socks/sleeves every day. Right after our morning runs, we put them on and wear them all day at our desk jobs. It seems to really prevent that "flatness" from sitting all day. I especially benefit from them after really long runs when I feel like all the blood is pooling in my lower legs.

Saucony Compression Sleeves

Saucony compression socks

I consider using "The Stick" as massage. I have had mine since I was a freshman in high school and love it. It helps to loosen up muscles before running, increase circulation, and reduce muscle soreness. I never go to any race without it. Occasionally, I will go to a massage therapist but I have yet to find someone that can do a good sports massage in Salt Lake. Suggestions would be appreciated. Jake is a baby when it comes to massaging and refuses to let anyone touch him.

The Stick

I cannot stress how important SLEEP is for athletes. There are a million excuses for why people don't get enough sleep, but the bottom line is that they don't make it a priority. Jake and I get 9-10 hours of sleep a night. I love sleeping - my body does not function well off less than 8 hours a night, even when I'm not training hard. We both go to bed around 8:30-9 at night. My thoughts are that they more sleep you get, the more recovery. Nothing good happens after 9pm anyways!

We try to take advantage of our recovery between runs, but we are nowhere near perfect. There is definitely room for improvement!

Does anyone have additional recovery suggestions?

Blast from the Past - July 28, 2008

Discussion on my training log about the potential addition of a discus throw to our track races inspired me to pull some classic photos out of the archives. Lets travel back in time to July 26, 2008. I was living in Washington DC for the summer (before moving to Vail CO a few weeks later). The district has a great series of summer track meets that my friends and I were competing in.

On the morning of the 26th, my friend Tony and I went to the PVTC all-comers meet to run the mile. I won in 4:36, he took third...

Then we had a GREAT idea... lets throw the javelin! Back in my younger years, I was a pretty good basketball player. Since I got into running, however, my skills at other sports have greatly diminished (I can't explain how I am an expert skier... its a miracle I guess... although it did take 2 concussions and a sprained MCL to get to where I am currently at as a skier).

Anyways, we threw the javelin and no surprise -  I SUCKED AT IT!!! Look at how bad my form is...

Now here is the best part... I GOT BEAT BY A 9 YEAR OLD BOY AND A 71 YEAR OLD WOMAN!!!

In the spirit of redemption, that same night I ran the Crystal City Twilighter 5K, finishing in 15:40, which was my fastest 5K road race until this year. I think I raced two more times that summer, then proceeded to take a hiatus from competition for almost 3 years.

Crystal City Twilighter 5K

So, to summarize... yes we should definitely start having informal track meets with field events!

Classic javelin form - point it straight down!

"BIG" workouts and training philosophy for the marathon

The essential ingredients of our training plan are pretty simple: consistent mileage, long runs, short reps, long reps, and tempo runs. Nothing groundbreaking there!

The harder part is taking all these pieces of the puzzle and putting them together in a way that makes sense. No single workout alone is going to take you to a higher realm of fitness. However, if you assemble all the building blocks in the right fashion, you can make that jump to the next level. That part is a lot easier said than done.

I'm not really sure what the "foundation" of my training philosophy is based upon... I would say its based on everything and nothing. I've read lots of books about running as well as countless magazine / internet articles since I started running about 10 years ago. There is a ton of great information out there, as well as a lot of junk. The key, when coaching yourself, is to filter it down to the essential ingredients and find out what works for you. Luckily, the concepts that I have found that work well for me also seem to work well for Andrea, so we are able to do a lot of the same things in training. Rather than follow a strict Lydiard/Daniels/Canova/Hansons/etc schedule, I've taken bits and pieces from lots of places and tried to create something that is tailored to Andrea and I.

One term that we've been throwing around a lot lately is "BIG" workouts. The terminology is influenced by the folks who use it on the Fast Running Blog, and their influence comes from Tom "Tinman" Schwartz. I would just as easily call them "Race Specific Workouts." While his definition for them is a little different, I label them as the most important workouts of the marathon training cycle, and the best indicators of whether you are ready to run 26.2 miles at your goal pace. I don't really know much about Tinman, but I find it interesting that a lot of the workouts he prescribes are the same ones that I ended up coming up with when I was writing out our training calendar for the fall. I guess this really isn't too complicated of a sport after all. The basic concepts are going to work for a majority of athletes if followed consistently.

During September we did a mix of workouts to build strength for the marathon (5-8 mile tempos and long runs), but there was a bigger focus on hitting faster intervals (like 6 x 1 Mile, 400m-1000m repeats) to prepare for the Long Beach Half Marathon. After that race, the focus really shifted towards marathon-specific workouts. All our workouts in this cycle are summarized in the calendar at the bottom of this post. The "big" days have been starred:

• Long runs are usually big days. You are on your feet for a long time, and I almost always finish with 1-2 miles at 5K-10K effort. On one of our long runs, Andrea closed the last 5 miles at close to half-marathon pace, while I did the second half of a 22 miler at marathon pace. That day doubled as a long run and tempo run.
• 10 Mile and 13.1 Mile tempo runs. The 13.1 is an especially good indicator. I think that if you can hit your goal marathon pace for a half-marathon, at altitude, during peak mileage, you can run that pace for the full marathon at sea level when tapered. Long tempos can take a lot out of you, so I wouldn't recommend doing them all the time, but you need to include a couple of big ones in your final buildup to the marathon if you are serious about running fast.
• 4mi-3mi-2mi-1mi and 2 x 5 miles start off at marathon pace and then the pace drops to half-marathon pace or faster. These workouts have a great physiological and mental stimulus. As Andrea wrote in this post, it is important to do workouts that you are good at. When I'm close to peak shape, these are workouts that I am good at, and build a lot of confidence.

In between big workout days, we've been doing shorter tempo runs at marathon pace (to continually train the neuromuscular system and legs what the pace will feel like) and shorter reps to maintain turnover and speed. Some weeks I will add in one more "moderate" workout day than Andrea, because of my ability to bounce back from workouts relatively quickly.

This is Andrea's debut at the distance, and my first time really training very specifically for the marathon. Yes, I ran well at Utah Valley in June, but did not do nearly the same amount of marathon specific work for that race. I sort of just built a huge base and then raced myself into shape over a 6 week period before that race. This time around, we've taken a more structured approach. To this point all of our workouts have gone very well, so in a little over a week we'll find out how this approach works. I have a lot of confidence that our training will have us prepared to run to the best of our capabilities on November 20.

Some words of caution... most runners shouldn't jump right into a schedule like this. It took a year to build up to the point where we could train like this, hit or exceed our target paces, and stay healthy doing it. In mid-November 2010, Andrea and I both started increasing our mileage with the goal of returning to racing in 2011. For me, it really wasn't until June/July that I could have even envisioned training like this, and for Andrea, it wasn't until after the TOU 1/2 Marathon that she felt ready to tackle the marathon. So if there is one message I want to get across in this post, its that its good to read about what works for other people... but after you absorb that knowledge, you need to be smart (and realistic) about applying it to your own running and racing goals.

200m reps for the marathon?

Last night (in the dark, now that all our afternoon daylight is gone) we ran one of our last little token track sessions before the upcoming marathon. We are less than two weeks out, and now are tapering in earnest. Here's some  photos that we shot while playing around with the "high speed flash" mode on the camera, but more importantly, the reasons why we run such short reps while preparing for a 26.2 mile race...

Andrea and I have logged a lot of time on the track during our preparations for the Philadelphia Marathon, and a decent chunk of that time has been spent doing short repeats of 200-300 meters. No, we aren't trying to crank out a fast 1500m time (for now at least... next summer will be a different story!)... but we feel that the shorter, faster running is an overlooked and very important part of marathon training.

The short reps we do are often sessions in the range of 6-12 x 200m, 6-8 x 300m, etc. It usually adds up to 1-2 miles of faster paced running, with 100-200m of easier running in between the repetitions. The sessions are either done at the end of a tempo run, or after a recovery run. They are not meant to replace the other important workouts (like tempo runs and long intervals) but instead to supplement those workouts.

There are a couple of reasons we like doing these workouts...

• Running at 1500m/3000m race pace makes marathon pace feel A LOT easier!
• Running fast with good form (especially when you are already a bit tired) is good practice for the latter stages of the marathon - we are training ourselves to not let our form break down.
• These workouts are pretty easy, but they provide a solid neuromuscular benefit without being too physically taxing - they "bridge the gap" between longer, harder workouts.
• They break up the monotony of training - sometimes logging lots and lots of miles can be a bit boring (even for those of us who LOVE running)... running some short reps at the end of a run gets you mentally engaged and a bit more focused.
• The physiological stimulus of the short reps often makes us feel sharper for the next harder workout

In terms of what pace these reps should be run at, I like to say "fast but relaxed." What this means, exactly, usually depends on how we are feeling on that specific day, and what we've already done that day. Somewhere in the range of 1500m to 5000m pace is usually in the right ballpark. Some days if I'm fresh I'll hit my 200s in 31-32 seconds, other days when fatigued I'm in the 33-34 second range. Andrea tends to run her 200s in the 40 second range, plus/minus a few seconds. I think the key is to not force the pace on these sessions. The whole idea is just to continually practice running fast, while saving your bigger efforts for the more important workouts.

Sometimes after running 200s, you get FroYo!
But the reason I'm posting this picture is to point out that yes, we
have a bag labeled "GU" and yes, its full of GU.

Footwear and the Middle Ground

During the buildup to last week's NYC Marathon, Born to Run author Chris McDougal wrote an article for the NY Times called The Once and Future Way to Run. In the piece he describes a basic form drill that most high school coaches have all of their runners do as some new "breakthrough" to faster running. Its a nice story, but taken way out of context... just like many of the quotes and stories in Born to Run were taken out of context.

I wrote some of my comments on this latest article on my fast running blog, and got some excellent responses and discussion from other members of the FRB community. If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend that you read these blog posts from Alex Hutchinson and Pete Larson. These guys do an excellent job of presenting the case for the "middle ground," which is where the vast majority of us can be found.

I'm by no means anti-minimalism. I just think its crazy that McDougal accuses the running shoe companies of conspiring to get us hurt via their supposed "one size fits all, everyone needs super cushioned anti-pronation shoes" marketing... but then he essentially advocates barefoot or ultra-minimal running as the "cure" for all running injuries. Isn't he essentially doing the same thing (ie. prescribing a one size fits all solution)?

I think trying to learn to run with good form is important for all runners. But that being said, we are all unique and will find different things that work for us. For a lot of recreational runners, its not necessarily the shoes that are causing the problem, lack or proper recovery between workouts, lack of strength in their stabilizing muscles, or even something simple like packing an extra ten pounds around the midsection that might actually be the culprit.

I'm admittedly not a fan of McDougal and I shudder when I see people running barefoot on the sidewalks, but I will say that I am very happy that he wrote the book. The fallout (due to its popularity) was that many of the major running shoe companies began to think more about the products they were making, and how to make them better. They innovated and cut some of the fat out of their shoes. Saucony introduced models like the Kinvara, and slightly altered the geometry of some of their flagship models. These were major improvements that many runners are very happy about, myself included, and I love running in lightweight, flexible shoes. There are a lot of benefits (in my opinion) to this new generation of minimalist-inspired running shoes. They encourage midfoot striking, which is a more efficient and less abusive (on the joints) method of running. As a somewhat natural midfoot striker, shoes like the Kinvara feel very natural on my feet. For someone like Andrea, they have helped her convert to being more of a midfoot runner over the past year.

Its funny, but of course not surprising, to me that all the media attention goes to the extreme and radical ideas, out on the fringes... the barefoot runners, or on the other end of the spectrum - the "Hoka" crowd with their super-cushioned cloud running shoes. There is no doubt that for certain folks, Vibrams or Hokas are exactly what they need to run healthy. But for the vast majority of us, who live somewhere in between those two worlds, this is actually a really exciting time to be a runner as the shoe companies have come out lots of new options for fast, light, flexible footwear that still some cushion and the support many of us want (and need).

One end of the spectrum... monkey feet!...

The other end of the spectrum... running on a cloud!

The Saucony Kinvara is my favorite day-to-day trainer.
I think its the perfect introduction to minimalism for most runners.

Confidence Mood Swings

This post was written by Andrea...

Logging some summer miles at 9K feet
in Mammoth Lakes, CA

One of the most challenging aspects of training for a race is dialing in your mental attitude. Having confidence in yourself and your abilities is so crucial. Not only is it important when toeing the line in a race, but it is just as important during training - speed workouts, tempo runs, and even easy days on tired legs.

Marathon training has so many ups and downs. One day I’ll feel like I am on top of the world and there is no way I will fail. Then the next day I am full of doubts that I will be able physically and mentally push myself to the limit. I call these my "confidence mood swings." The key is to keep those down swings to a minimum and allow the up swings to carry you through.

Jake and I are both inexperienced marathon runners. I have never run a marathon before and Jake has only run one (Utah Valley). So to go into the marathon feeling confident is no easy task, and we are working diligently at this task.

Here are some of the things we have done to boost our confidence and convince ourselves that we will CRUSH the marathon:

1) Smart training. My favorite running quote is “Believe in your training”. If you don’t believe in your training, why would you expect to believe in your abilities to race? Develop a plan that will make you both mentally and physically stronger. Although I do believe in setting ambitious goals, it is important to set realistic paces in workouts that are a challenge but also don’t encourage “going to the well.” That’s what races are for. If I am hitting my workouts right where I want to be at that time in the training cycle, there is no doubt my confidence goes up.

2) As the race approaches, focus on workouts you enjoy most and are the best at. Once you are only three weeks out, doing workouts that target your weakness will only serve to bring your confidence down. If there is one workout that makes you feel strong every time you do it, that will keep you mentally strong. For me right now, the confidence-boosting workouts are a 5k tuneup race the week before the target race, and a short marathon-paced tempo combined with 200m repeats on the track.

3) Looking back on how far you've come. We have made tremendous progress this past year in our running. Looking at the progression of strong workouts, the big mileage, and excellent race results is a huge confidence boost.

Andrea's 2011 weekly mileage - Jan to Oct

Jake's 2011 weekly mileage - Jan to Oct

4) Mental preparation. Throughout the training, Jake and I have both envisioned almost every scenario that could happen during the marathon and how we would handle it. We talk about and visualize hitting a tough patch, running solo, feeling tired, running one of the miles too fast or too slow, etc. To sum up how we would handle it - suck it up and keep running hard :-). This mental preparation is something that will most likely come into play in the actual race. We will be stronger during any rough patches because we will have expected it and will know how to respond. There will be no surprises on race day.

Andrea winning the TOU 1/2 Marathon

5) Envision how awesome it will be to hit that goal. Jake often practices his dance at the end of the race when he wins it (quite a spectacle) and typically puts a few Rocky punches in throughout his runs. To have a goal that means so much to you and would be so rewarding helps to push you through all that hard training and especially the race.

We are more than open to more ideas to boost that confidence!

Happy Birthday Andrea!!!

Today's is Andrea's 25th birthday! 

I've put together a little slideshow of some highlights of the past 12 months... no wonder she says that she is tired! :-)



A couple of my favorites from this gallery...

Halloween on the track

Last night Andrea brought the "good" camera to the track and shot some higher-speed video while I was running my workout (5K Tempo + 8x200m). It wasn't until very recently that we realized the camera that gave us so many excellent skiing photos also shoots some very nice slow motion video. This will be especially nice for ski season, but its pretty cool for running, too!

Here's what she shot last night... I think this proves I am a midfoot striker...