"I don't expect a perfect performance, just a perfect effort" - Lisa Batchen-Smith, ultrarunner
These holidays just sorta threw me off schedule with my training blog, but I think I'm close to back to normal (ha!). During some spare time, I watched a video of the 1980 USA Hockey Team winning the Olympic Gold medal. A bunch of college misfits that nobody gave a plug nickel to win anything. They wound up beating the almost invincible Soviet Union team and went on to win the Gold Medal.
BUT, they believed in themselves and they believed in each other. I'm a big believer in trying to stay positive during your training. We keep running longer and the body gets tired, but don't expect it to come easy. You have to believe that what you're doing will get you under those finish line balloons. Just understand that's that what training for a marathon is about - tear down, build up, adapt and improve! As a matter of fact, there's a Nike ad I saw in Runners World...It says "Evoloution. It's what happens between runs.". When you train, each run by itself is only a small piece of the whole apple pie, but you want most of them to be sloped towards the positive side of the training hill. It's layer upon layer. When you have a bad run, don't say, "This hurts too much, I want to lie down and die". Say, "Sometime in February, I'll do well because of runs like this". Don't worry AT ALL about your pace, just get through the runs. Look only at what you have to do right now, the rest will take care of itself.
This week, the runners training for the Mercedes Full had 14 miles scheduled and the halfers had 7. Yeah, the prediction was for rain, but this is cold and rain season, so think positive....c'mom folks, you all are doing great and have to be thinking to yourselves "hey, I think I can do this". I know, it still seems like a long way and all I can tell you is that it always seems like a long way. There has to be some fear built in to instill the desire to get out there day after day, cold or not. If it gets too easy, or if you just don't have the spark to succeed, then the handwriting is on the road - the odds of achieving your goal are pretty slim, but if you're confident that you're putting in the effort, that your schedule is built to allow you to climb that mountain, and if you truly believe in yourself, well then, put it in drive and GO!
You know, Yogi Berra once said "Baseball is 50% physical and 90% mental". I think most goals are somewhere around that ratio. When that gun goes off, 99% of us are dueling against ourselves, not the other thousands of competitors. Running is not a team sport. You're out there on your own, so how do you sway the odds in your favor. Well, mentally, you have to eliminate all negative thoughts and try not to be surrounded by folks that just complain all the time about how terrible their running is. Man, I wonder why some of these folks come out. Before they even begin, they've completely talked themselves out of any good effort. Your perception and thoughts lead to a change in feelings which then direct your actions. When your thoughts are negative, either before or during a run, you may become anxious or emotional and your performance starts a downward spiral that looks like one of those World War I bi-planes going down in one of those old war movies.
In training, you need to work on your positive thoughts because it's less of a "pressure" situation - you're running with a group, the run is easy, and if your run goes down the toilet, there's always tomorrow. Talk to yourself in positive ways - in training, you can judge every situation that occurs, whether it be good or bad, in a conscious or subconscious way. Your body learns something from EVERY run you do. Sometimes, it may learn NEVER to do a run like that again, but it learns something! So, if you go out too fast, or eat a Big Mac before you run, or try to do a 17 miler after being out all night, whatever - you take that situation and realize that it was a bad run because of something YOU had control over. Tell yourself "I'm trained to run a good run, I'm strong.". BECAUSE YOU ARE! Mentally program yourself to believe you are ready to achieve your goal NOW. Think in the present, not in the future. When you're running, think of the mile you're in, not the miles ahead. You will improve physically every week, but you have to mentally believe that you are a trained long distance athlete.
Do you believe in miracles (like the USA Hockey Team)? Well, it doesn't matter if you do or not...you finishing means getting your butt out there, training smart, and believing in that person attached to your running shoes. If you're trusting in a miracle without the believing in yourself, let me know how that turns out!
I'll see you all on the roads - AL
"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Running With a Little Walking Thrown In
"When you say you're slow, do you mean compared to the people who never exercise or the vast majority of people who can't run a mile without stopping? You're a runner. There is no such thing as slow!" - good quote, but I forgot to write down who said it
Years ago, when I was coaching Team-in-Training, Ken Harkless was coaching the run/walkers. I was the big, tough Run Coach and when he first starting doing run/walking, I would kid him before the race and ask if he was going to do "the girlie thing". Well, he would set off running for 10 minutes and walking for one. After the first 10', I would say "bye, see you in the parking lot" and off I'd go. Well, I'll be darned, at about 24 miles here I am staring at "girlie thing's" butt, as he motors by. One time, in San Diego, we ran/walked together and I couldn't believe we did a 3:45. It really does work, and if Mercedes, or any other marathon, is your first marathon, or if you're nursing an ache or pain, or just not wanting to beat yourself up, it's the perfect way to prevent the fatigue that WILL hit you late in the race. Doesn't matter if you're doing the full or half or just out there training, give it a try. Now, if you're super-stubborn, like me, there is this HUGE mental block that prevents you from walking until you're forced to. I mean I KNOW it would help me, but 90% of my brain cells are screaming "DON'T WALK, DON'T WALK" until I'm ready to collapse late in the race and then the the signal clears the tower "OK, YOU CAN WALK NOW!".
You should start your walk portion before your running muscles get too tired, from the start of the run. This will allow your muscles to recover instantly, which extends the time and distance that you can cover. If you wait until you're very fatigued, you'll end up walking slowly and it will be difficult to start running again. For the walk portions, make sure you're not taking a leisurely stroll.
Here's a pearl - if you're worried about your pace, don't. If you walk briskly for one minute every mile, you'll only lose about 15 seconds/mile. Even if you walk slowly, you'll ONLY lose about 20 seconds - yes, only 5 seconds more!! Remember, you're still moving forward. It comes to about 8-9 minutes difference in time over the course of a full 26.2 mile marathon! In other words, if you set out at 10'/mile pace, and keep it up, that will get you in about 4:22. If you still run that pace, but walk for one minute at each mile marker, you'll come under the balloons in about 4:31. That's definitely not a big price to pay to prevent beating yourself up.
I actually found a pretty cool run/walk calculator where you plug in all the variables and it will tell you how fast your run segments should be to reach your goal. It can be found HERE
Now, for those of you interested in training with a group to really make it easier, I heartily recommend you join the BTC Saturday Long Run Group. They run at 6am and have pacers for your training run for everything up to 12 minutes per mile. Now, you're talking my language. For more info, call Jeff down at the Trak Shak. They are scheduling 2 runs on the Mercedes course on January 9th, and January 30th. They'll be plenty more info on that before the runs, so stay alert! I plan to be there and will do the (very slow) run/walk. Anybody wanna join me?
Have a great week training and I'll see you all on the roads...walking or running - AL
Years ago, when I was coaching Team-in-Training, Ken Harkless was coaching the run/walkers. I was the big, tough Run Coach and when he first starting doing run/walking, I would kid him before the race and ask if he was going to do "the girlie thing". Well, he would set off running for 10 minutes and walking for one. After the first 10', I would say "bye, see you in the parking lot" and off I'd go. Well, I'll be darned, at about 24 miles here I am staring at "girlie thing's" butt, as he motors by. One time, in San Diego, we ran/walked together and I couldn't believe we did a 3:45. It really does work, and if Mercedes, or any other marathon, is your first marathon, or if you're nursing an ache or pain, or just not wanting to beat yourself up, it's the perfect way to prevent the fatigue that WILL hit you late in the race. Doesn't matter if you're doing the full or half or just out there training, give it a try. Now, if you're super-stubborn, like me, there is this HUGE mental block that prevents you from walking until you're forced to. I mean I KNOW it would help me, but 90% of my brain cells are screaming "DON'T WALK, DON'T WALK" until I'm ready to collapse late in the race and then the the signal clears the tower "OK, YOU CAN WALK NOW!".
You should start your walk portion before your running muscles get too tired, from the start of the run. This will allow your muscles to recover instantly, which extends the time and distance that you can cover. If you wait until you're very fatigued, you'll end up walking slowly and it will be difficult to start running again. For the walk portions, make sure you're not taking a leisurely stroll.
Here's a pearl - if you're worried about your pace, don't. If you walk briskly for one minute every mile, you'll only lose about 15 seconds/mile. Even if you walk slowly, you'll ONLY lose about 20 seconds - yes, only 5 seconds more!! Remember, you're still moving forward. It comes to about 8-9 minutes difference in time over the course of a full 26.2 mile marathon! In other words, if you set out at 10'/mile pace, and keep it up, that will get you in about 4:22. If you still run that pace, but walk for one minute at each mile marker, you'll come under the balloons in about 4:31. That's definitely not a big price to pay to prevent beating yourself up.
I actually found a pretty cool run/walk calculator where you plug in all the variables and it will tell you how fast your run segments should be to reach your goal. It can be found HERE
Now, for those of you interested in training with a group to really make it easier, I heartily recommend you join the BTC Saturday Long Run Group. They run at 6am and have pacers for your training run for everything up to 12 minutes per mile. Now, you're talking my language. For more info, call Jeff down at the Trak Shak. They are scheduling 2 runs on the Mercedes course on January 9th, and January 30th. They'll be plenty more info on that before the runs, so stay alert! I plan to be there and will do the (very slow) run/walk. Anybody wanna join me?
Have a great week training and I'll see you all on the roads...walking or running - AL
Thursday, December 10, 2015
How Training Is Changing You
"There's a hell of a difference between doing it almost right and doing it right. The outcome of games is far more a result of mistakes than great plays" - Bobby Knight, basketball coach
Well, this week marks 11 weeks since you all began training for the Mercedes Marathon and Half Marathon. Why do I mention this? If you're following the schedule, this past Saturday you did 15 miles and this week you do 16. At this point, you're not just getting used to going longer distances, but your body has actually started to physiologically change the way you get from point A to point B.
Whatever event you're training for, the base layer of training is improving your aerobic system so that it burns fuel more efficiently. The first choice of fuel to burn is the high octane carbohydrates. When you eat carbs, they're broken down into a lot of "oses" (sugars) - glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, etc - and then mishmoshed (my grandmother's word) together to come out with glycogen, which is what your body stores in the muscles, liver, or blood to be ready when you need it. But these precious guys are limited and your body has to go to plan B to spare the glycogen so you don't burn them up before you get halfway down the road. Plan B is to burn fat. Now, don't take this personally, but you have a figurative ton of fat, but here's the problem - fat can't be burned except in the presence of oxygen and this is a much slower process than burning carbohydrates, so as we train, the body learns to burn fat better and the ratio of fuel it has to throw in the oven is more fat and less glycogen. This spares the limited glycogen and TA-DA, you won't hit the wall at 20 miles because you won't run out of glycogen!!! If you do drain the tanks, the ol' body has to rely on Plan B almost entirely and you HAVE TO SLOW DOWN. No gritting your teeth on this one buckeroo - your body is the one and only boss. The brain is cooked (afterall, it can ONLY burn glycogen, so it's hacked at you in the first place for doing this crazy thing and stealing it's fuel).
At about 8-12 weeks of training, there are many physiological benefits...You'll increase the blood flow to your muscle fibers by 40% (that's how the oxygen gets to those muscle powercells - the mitochondria). And speaking of mitochondria - you'll increase their number in the muscle cells by 5% per week and you'll increase their size by 35%. Your muscles will store up to 250% more carbohydrates (and carbs are your friend, despite what those diet whackos say). Man, I'm getting fired up - I love this stuff...but the absolute number one change that pertains to this monologue is that your leg muscles can now burn fat 700% more efficiently. That's a huge advantage to where you were two months ago (assuming you're doing the training). It may not feel 700% better, but you're as tired now at 15 miles as you were 2 months ago at 6 miles, and you now know you could go further. If I said tomorrow that the printed schedule was wrong and you had to do 4 more miles than was on the schedule this Saturday, you would say "aw crap, this coach sucks", but you would do it and not be completely wiped out. This is a process even I can't screw up for you. Do the scheduled training and your running engine will try it's hardest to keep your bow aimed towards the shore and not floating aimlessly in the sea of confusion (Man, what a picture I can paint).
Woody Allen once said 80% of success is just showing up. This is the big leagues folks. A 5K will get you from here to there, but a marathon will get you from here to way over there!! Consistency, both mentally and physically, is the key to any endurance event.
I'll see you on the roads - AL
Well, this week marks 11 weeks since you all began training for the Mercedes Marathon and Half Marathon. Why do I mention this? If you're following the schedule, this past Saturday you did 15 miles and this week you do 16. At this point, you're not just getting used to going longer distances, but your body has actually started to physiologically change the way you get from point A to point B.
Whatever event you're training for, the base layer of training is improving your aerobic system so that it burns fuel more efficiently. The first choice of fuel to burn is the high octane carbohydrates. When you eat carbs, they're broken down into a lot of "oses" (sugars) - glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, etc - and then mishmoshed (my grandmother's word) together to come out with glycogen, which is what your body stores in the muscles, liver, or blood to be ready when you need it. But these precious guys are limited and your body has to go to plan B to spare the glycogen so you don't burn them up before you get halfway down the road. Plan B is to burn fat. Now, don't take this personally, but you have a figurative ton of fat, but here's the problem - fat can't be burned except in the presence of oxygen and this is a much slower process than burning carbohydrates, so as we train, the body learns to burn fat better and the ratio of fuel it has to throw in the oven is more fat and less glycogen. This spares the limited glycogen and TA-DA, you won't hit the wall at 20 miles because you won't run out of glycogen!!! If you do drain the tanks, the ol' body has to rely on Plan B almost entirely and you HAVE TO SLOW DOWN. No gritting your teeth on this one buckeroo - your body is the one and only boss. The brain is cooked (afterall, it can ONLY burn glycogen, so it's hacked at you in the first place for doing this crazy thing and stealing it's fuel).
At about 8-12 weeks of training, there are many physiological benefits...You'll increase the blood flow to your muscle fibers by 40% (that's how the oxygen gets to those muscle powercells - the mitochondria). And speaking of mitochondria - you'll increase their number in the muscle cells by 5% per week and you'll increase their size by 35%. Your muscles will store up to 250% more carbohydrates (and carbs are your friend, despite what those diet whackos say). Man, I'm getting fired up - I love this stuff...but the absolute number one change that pertains to this monologue is that your leg muscles can now burn fat 700% more efficiently. That's a huge advantage to where you were two months ago (assuming you're doing the training). It may not feel 700% better, but you're as tired now at 15 miles as you were 2 months ago at 6 miles, and you now know you could go further. If I said tomorrow that the printed schedule was wrong and you had to do 4 more miles than was on the schedule this Saturday, you would say "aw crap, this coach sucks", but you would do it and not be completely wiped out. This is a process even I can't screw up for you. Do the scheduled training and your running engine will try it's hardest to keep your bow aimed towards the shore and not floating aimlessly in the sea of confusion (Man, what a picture I can paint).
Woody Allen once said 80% of success is just showing up. This is the big leagues folks. A 5K will get you from here to there, but a marathon will get you from here to way over there!! Consistency, both mentally and physically, is the key to any endurance event.
I'll see you on the roads - AL
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Eating Before the Long Run
"Eat No Evil"
One of the questions I get asked most often is if I eat before I run. It almost amazes me that most new runners, and some veterans, are afraid to eat before running because they're afraid of getting sick. If you're training for a marathon (like Mercedes), then early in your training, it is OK to skip breakfast, but as you progress deeper into your training and your runs start approaching 2 hours, you better start fueling like a marathoner so you can train like a marathoner. If you skip breakfast, realize that you've probably gone 12 hours without food, so you're in partial glycogen (stored energy) depletion. When your training goes more than about 90 minutes, then you need to start addressing the "fuel in your muscles" problem with Gu's, drinks, chews, etc., but before that 90 minutes you want to be sure there's some fuel in the tanks to get going. Now, you don't want to have King Henry's feast before a run, but there are two general ways to get a good blood sugar level and provide carbohydrates to the system to delay the draining of the muscle glycogen.
The first is to have a light breakfast. Donuts and a coke are not a good idea! Eggs and sausage are not a good idea! We have to be a little smart about this. We need some carbohydrates that can be digested easily. I usually have a cup of coffee with whole wheat toast and jelly. If I'm going be going pretty long (or before a marathon) I'll add peanut butter and maybe a banana. So with this "Al Special", we have both simple carbohydrates (jelly), complex carbohydrates (toast & banana), and some fats & protein (peanut butter). The coffee provides caffeine which has been shown to improve endurance and free fatty acids into the bloodstream which can be used as fuel before the stored glycogen.
If the thought of food still gets you gagging, try a pre-run energy drink. Something like boost or ensure will get you a bundle of carbs, fats and protein (about 300 calories total) and is very easily digested. Another good pre-run breakfast is Powerade (or Gatorade) and a couple of fig newtons. Several studies have shown that Fig Newtons provide almost the same nutritional value of Powerbars! Plus, they don't have the consistency of shoe leather. Plus, they're a ton cheaper. The Powerade will also hydrate you. Learn to read nutrition labels and you'll find you don't have to spend pumped-up prices to get the same things as you can in advertised "energy" or "recovery" foods. Anyway, the point is that you don't have to eat a whole lot to get you off to a good fueled start for your morning run. Be sure to try these methods during training - don't wait till race day!
I'll see you on the roads - AL
"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"
One of the questions I get asked most often is if I eat before I run. It almost amazes me that most new runners, and some veterans, are afraid to eat before running because they're afraid of getting sick. If you're training for a marathon (like Mercedes), then early in your training, it is OK to skip breakfast, but as you progress deeper into your training and your runs start approaching 2 hours, you better start fueling like a marathoner so you can train like a marathoner. If you skip breakfast, realize that you've probably gone 12 hours without food, so you're in partial glycogen (stored energy) depletion. When your training goes more than about 90 minutes, then you need to start addressing the "fuel in your muscles" problem with Gu's, drinks, chews, etc., but before that 90 minutes you want to be sure there's some fuel in the tanks to get going. Now, you don't want to have King Henry's feast before a run, but there are two general ways to get a good blood sugar level and provide carbohydrates to the system to delay the draining of the muscle glycogen.
The first is to have a light breakfast. Donuts and a coke are not a good idea! Eggs and sausage are not a good idea! We have to be a little smart about this. We need some carbohydrates that can be digested easily. I usually have a cup of coffee with whole wheat toast and jelly. If I'm going be going pretty long (or before a marathon) I'll add peanut butter and maybe a banana. So with this "Al Special", we have both simple carbohydrates (jelly), complex carbohydrates (toast & banana), and some fats & protein (peanut butter). The coffee provides caffeine which has been shown to improve endurance and free fatty acids into the bloodstream which can be used as fuel before the stored glycogen.
If the thought of food still gets you gagging, try a pre-run energy drink. Something like boost or ensure will get you a bundle of carbs, fats and protein (about 300 calories total) and is very easily digested. Another good pre-run breakfast is Powerade (or Gatorade) and a couple of fig newtons. Several studies have shown that Fig Newtons provide almost the same nutritional value of Powerbars! Plus, they don't have the consistency of shoe leather. Plus, they're a ton cheaper. The Powerade will also hydrate you. Learn to read nutrition labels and you'll find you don't have to spend pumped-up prices to get the same things as you can in advertised "energy" or "recovery" foods. Anyway, the point is that you don't have to eat a whole lot to get you off to a good fueled start for your morning run. Be sure to try these methods during training - don't wait till race day!
I'll see you on the roads - AL
"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)