Tag Archives: Marathon Training

Running Strides

1 Reply

One of the new workouts that I’m doing as part of my Surf City Marathon training plan (Pfitzinger’s 18/55 plan) is running strides. Although I have incorporated strides into my taper week runs to keep my legs fresh,  I’ve never really used them throughout a training plan before.

According to runnersconnect.net, “Strides are 20 to 35 second sprints at your mile race pace, or roughly 85 to 95% effort. Typically, they are assigned to a running schedule after an easy recovery run or before a big workout or race.” In Pfitzinger’s plan, strides happen at the end of a recovery or general aerobic run, typically the latter. In the book, his directions basically state that the strides should be done as part of your mileage for the day, but twoard the end. For example, if the plan says 8 miles general aerboic with 10 x 100 m strides, I would run 8 miles and around mile 5 or so, I’ll start adding in short bursts of speed. Since my Garmin tells me distance in miles, not meters, I calculated that since 1 mile is 1600 meters, .06 of a mile is approximately 100 meters.

I was surprised at how tough this workout was the first time I did it. Pfitzinger instructs in the book to build your speed to all out at around 80 meters, then float the final 20 meters. I did as instructed and found that it was more tiring than anticipated. However, it actually feels really good to sprint all out sometimes. It’s odd because 100 meters isn’t long enough for it to hurt while you’re running. Instead, it feels absolutely great. After you slow down is when you realize how hard you were working.

An article on Runner’s World claims, ”Strides also improve your neuromuscular coordination, as the bursts of speed stimulate neural pathways. Just as a pianist’s fingers fly over scales that have been practiced repeatedly, your coordination and form become more fluid from these short but frequent doses of speed tacked onto the ends of easy runs. Result: You become faster.”

Strides aren’t always used for marathons – they actually are a more common exercise when training for 5 and 10ks, but can be a just as beneficial addition to half or full marathon training plan.

There are several ways to do strides. Some websites I found recommended you complete your easy run and then run 100 meters down the street or on the track, stop, turn around and walk back, and repeat. I like incorporating them as part of my run, but I think either way the benefit is there. I’m sure it’s a lot of factors, but the last week or two, I have felt like I’m getting faster. Maybe partially thanks to the strides!

Do you incorporate strides into your marathon or half marathon training? 

Priorities

4 Replies

Celebrating friends, not race finishes

For the year leading up to the Ironman, or honestly, the year and a half leading up to it, fitness was very near the top of my priorities. Starting in January of 2011, my P90X workouts and marathon training runs gave precedence at times over work, friends and family. After the marathon and P90X were complete, it was on to bigger things – triathlons. From July 2011- June 2012 when I crossed the finish line at Ironman Coeur D’Alene, my life was consumed with swim/bike/run. I was often complimented for my dedication and drive toward the accomplishment of my goal.

Now that my goal is complete, I’ve been in kind of a no-man’s land when it comes to running and triathlon. I have been very much enjoying the time to relax, sleep in, catch up with friends and family and go to the group fitness classes I was missing during training. However, I also set up some races and goals for myself for post-Ironman with the intention of dismissing any “post Ironman depression syndrome” that I would encounter due to lack of training goals. I signed up for AFC Half Marathon which I will run this coming weekend, as well as planned to race in the Classic Triathlon in September (Olympic distance) and run the Long Beach Marathon in October. However, now that these events are starting to show up on the horizon, I’m not quite as excited about them as I expected.

First, AFC was intended to be a PR race for me and given my recent runs, I am starting to doubt I will be setting any personal records at it. Second, I am now doubting my desire to do the Olympic distance triathlon - instead I am most likely going to do the sprint which I know I can get away with doing without any serious training. Third, I am now considering moving the marathon down to a half marathon in October. With a very packed social schedule mostly involving weddings (1 down, 6 more to go….), it will be difficult to put in the training required to excel at the Olympic triathlon and the full marathon. I feel that my efforts at these races will be a bit half-assed, so rather than go into them feeling  unprepared, I think it may be better to just go a shorter distance. Although I know I could “make it work” by getting up at 5:30 AM every day and getting my training in, right now I’m enjoying sleeping in most days and taking at least two or three rest days a week. Double workout days, which used to be the norm, are a rare occasion these days and I don’t really want to go back to that lifestyle any time soon.

The competitive, Type A athlete in me is disappointed in my lack of desire to push forward, but the smart athlete in me realizes that I need to listen to what my body and my mind is telling me and give myself a break. I deserve it. I think that in long run I will be a better athlete for taking some time to reduce the intensity of my training.

2011 was the year of the marathon. 2012 was the year of the Ironman. There’s no need to push myself to achieve more goals in 2012. 2013 will be the year of the BQ. But right now I’m enjoying sunset walks and drinking beer and eating chips and guacamole while I cook dinner (been finding lots of new vegan recipes lately and having a lot of fun cooking!),  hitting snooze 3x in the morning, and spending the weekend celebrating the marriage of my best friends.

Limo on the way to the church!

The bride and groom!

Have you ever been in a training funk? Did you find that taking a break made things better? 

Ironman Training Week 5 – Started Off Shaky but Finished Strong!

3 Replies

I started this week of training with a terrible sore throat. I woke up around 3 a.m. on New Years Day with a sore throat so fierce I was convinced I had strep. It seemed to be concentrated on one side which is a sure sign of strep. However, after looking at my tonsils the next morning and feeling my lymph nodes, I decided it probably wasn’t but I should get plenty of rest. 11 hours of sleep that night combined with a nap helped a lot and after another day of rest on Tuesday, I was feeling good enough to get on the bike that evening for an easy spin. I know I only took 1.75 days off but I can’t help it – I’m addicted to sweat! Plus I’ve read that you’re ok to do an easy workout if you are feeling ok from  your neck down (i.e. no aches or chest congestion).

Below were my workouts this week. This week was luckily scheduled as “recovery” week meaning that I would have no speed work, which worked out well with my illness. The long run wasn’t that short this week though due to the fact that we skipped our long run the week of Christmas (I did a 10 mile run which unfortunately in marathon world is really not a “long run” although it does sound long…).  Also, after this week we have one more 20 miler and then we begin marathon taper.

  • Monday: Rest
  • Tuesday: 50 minute easy spin
  • Wednesday: 5 mile easy run on treadmill,  15 minutes of core/abs (3 sets of holding low plank, 30 plank mountain climbers, 20 plank punches, 10 push-ups, and 30 Mason Twists), plus 1,500 meter swim (200 warm-up then 16 x 50 of alternating closed fist drill, breathing every 3rd stroke, catch-up drill and focusing on the pull, then 3 x 100 hard effort, then 200 cool-down). It was nice to get all my workouts done before work at the gym and have the evening free!
  • Thursday: 9 mile mid-week long run AM; 60 minute “Fight Club” Sufferfest workout – medium intensity, focusing on staying in aero bars for all 6.5 minute intervals.
  • Friday: 45 minute easy spin on trainer plus Ab Ripper X.
  • Saturday: 18 mile run
  • Sunday: 40 mile bike plus 3 mile run

Totals:

  • # of Miles Run: 35
  • # of Minutes Biked: 335
  • # of Yards Swam: 1,500
  • Total Hours: 12

Despite being sick, I ended up completing nearly all my workouts. The only workouts skipped were 2 swims (I PROMISE I’m going to swim 3 times next week!!!) and yoga. My main goal this week was to get 4 bike sessions in and my key runs (ie mid-week long run and long run) and that was achieved! This week was probably the highest volume week of my life with a total of 12 hours spent training (not even including warm-ups or stretching or bathroom breaks on the bike/run – this is just time I spent actually moving).

Highlights of the Week

The weekend was by far the highlight of the week. On Saturday Asia and I had an amazing 18 mile run – coming in with an average pace of 8:58. This is by far the fastest long run (over a half marathon) that I’ve ever done. At the end of our marathon training for Rock n Roll we ran 17 miles at 9:15 and that was the fastest run we did. It was very encouraging to run a sub 9 minute mile for 18 miles because I’m pretty sure that at the very least I could maintain that pace for 8 more miles during the marathon (on rested legs).  And then of course there’s the hope that we’ll run even faster!

Another highlight was riding my new Cervelo P2 for the first time! I rode it on the trainer 3 times but the real highlight was riding it out on the road today. We did a 40 mile ride up the coast and then out and back on a 9 mile bike path in Oceanside. Although there was a lot of traffic at parts, I could tell a significant difference in my speed on the P2. I have been riding my dad’s aluminum frame Cannondale that doesn’t quite fit me correctly and switching to the P2 was like a whole new world. It feels much more smooth and it’s much easier to shift gears. I was even able to practice getting aero on the bike path and it was surprisingly comfortable. I think my new bike is going to pay huge dividends not only during the Ironman and 70.3, but in training as well.

Nutrition

Nutrition was good this week. We didn’t eat out on the weekdays and had healthy salads or sandwiches for lunch every day. I cooked healthy meals each night as well. The weekend wasn’t quite as healthy but we find it hard to satisfy our immense hunger with home cooking after long runs and rides, mostly because we don’t have a lot of high calorie foods in our house.I felt SO much better getting back into the routine of 90% healthy 10% treats this week.

Nutrition on the run went well. I’ve started the practice of taking in 1 Gu every 40 minutes and it seems work well for both me and Asia, despite our size difference. I plan to continue this strategy during the marathon. On the bike, however, I got really hungry toward the end of the ride and finished the brick workout completely ravenous. I took in more calories/hour during the bike than on the previous days run but I was still ravenous. I’m sure it had something to do with residual hunger from the run.

I started a log this week that includes lots of valuable information about each of my workouts, including a lot of information on nutrition. I need to figure out what kind of nutrition and how much I need on both the bike and the run prior to the 70.3 on March 31.

Week 6 is a BIG week for me. Luckily it starts with rest tomorrow morning and a techinque focused swim tomorrow night.

‘Do you find that your nutrition needs on the bike changes workout to workout? Do you follow a certain plan or do you eat more or less depending on how you feel that day?

Ironman Training Week 4 Recap – A LONG Run and a New Bike!

3 Replies

Well, my 4th week of Ironnman training did NOT go as planned! As I mentioned in my Week 3 post, I was planning on having a big volume week this week since I was off of work. Well I discovered that when you don’t plan your workouts in advance like I usually am forced to since I work 40-45 hours a week, you put them off and sometimes don’t even do them at all! Here’s how my week went:

  • Monday: 5 mile easy run plus push-ups and core work  (as planned)
  • Tuesday: V02 Max Test plus 8 x 800 Yassos Speedwork (swim as also planned – fail)
  • Wednesday: Sufferfest “Angels” cycling workout on trainer (plus 3 mile run/brick and Ab Ripper planned – fail)
  • Thursday: P90X2 Yoga (plus 2 hour easy ride down the coast planned – didn’t happen due to the fact that a 2 hour trip to the local zoo turned into a 7 hour Sea World trip with family)
  • Friday: 21 mile run from my old house in Pacific Beach along the coast up to my new house in Encinitas. I felt ok for most of this run but bonked big time during the last 2 miles. Asia and I ran to her house and I walked the 0.30 miles back to my house and it was pretty torturous. I thought I felt so crappy because I nutritioned wrong but turns out that I was getting sick. I do think that I didn’t nutrition right – I had 3 Gus and 1 scoop of Cytomax (400 calories) over the course of the 3 hour 30 minute run. Definitely not enough.
  • Saturday: 2 hour easy bike ride down the coast. Felt pretty good on this ride and didn’t take in any fuel, as directed by Ken from FitStop who did my V02Max test. I’m trying to get my body to rely on fat stores instead of carbs. I felt good during the whole ride. Saturday afternoon I started to feel the onset of illness but tried to pretend like it wasn’t happening and still went out and partied for New Years.
  • Sunday: Rest. Was planning another easy ride plus hopefully Ab Ripper but woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible sore throat. Rested all day.

Totals:

  • Miles Run – 33
  • Minutes Biked – 195
  • Yards Swam – 0
  • Core Workouts – 2
  • Total Hours: 9.8

Highlights of the Week

Although this week didn’t turn out as planned, there were definitely some highlights. Mike and I found a track at a local high school and did our Yasso 800s outdoors. Usually I do these on the treadmill and just push the incline to 1% to simulate being outdoors and then set the speed on the treadmill to dictate my pace. Doing these outdoors is much harder because you have to work at maintaining your pace the entire time. I was happy to find that I felt very fresh after a day off on Christmas plus just an easy 5 mile run on Monday. My splits for the 8 intervals were: 3:42, 3:46, 3:44, 3:47, 3:48, 3:45, 3:41. My goal was for them to all be under 3:50, which is my goal time for the marathon, and they were. In fact, my average time for the 800 intervals was 3:44, which if I could maintain for 2 more Yassos, would indicate that I can run a 3:44 marathon. Although it was mentally tough to do these intervals on the track, overall I felt really fresh and good while I ran them.

Another highlight was the V02 Max test which I already blogged about.

Although I felt pretty crappy for the last 2 miles, I was proud of myself for running 21 miles from my old house to my new house. It was a really fun run and Asia and I hadn’t seen each other in over a week so we had a lot to talk about as we ran. Our route also included a huge hill which we ran the entire way. At the end of the run I was pretty ruined and I even wondered how I would manage to run a marathon again, let alone a marathon after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike. It reminded me that I need to work on my nutrition and also served as a good reminder that an Ironman isn’t something to take lightly. I’ll be able to do the marathon after the swim and bike in 6 months because I will have trained hard to get my body to a point that it can handle it.

The biggest highlight of the week was shopping for my NEW BIKE! There will be a whole blog post on that coming soon, but I purchased a Cervelo P2 this week!

My New Bike!

Nutrition

Nutrition wise, this was another bad week. I was with family on Monday celebrating my birthday with a big lunch at PF Changs (plus free birthday dessert of course!) and Tuesday night Mike took me out to a wonderful Peruvian place in Encinitas for my birthday where we stuffed ourselves and drank amazing wine. I’ve been making my way through my abundance of Christmas candy (mmm See’s…) and polished off a burger and french fries after my 21 mile run and then ate an obscene amount of pizza 4 hours later on a double date with a good friend and her fiance. No wonder they say you don’t lose weight training for an Ironman… it’s hard not to justify eating whatever you want when you work out for nearly 4 hours.

On that note however, I know that it’s time to get back on the wagon. I’m currently reading Chris McCormick’s book “I’m Here to Win” and just last night was reminded by the 2 time Kona Champion himself that you should eat healthy 90% of the time and splurge 10%. For the last month I’ve had it reversed, but starting this week I’ll be going back to my good habits and having lots of homemade meals full of yummy fruits and veggies. I’m not going to be under-eating by any means – just preparing wholesome food that will fuel my body and help me recover faster. In fact, MIke just got back from Costco with a ton of fruits and veggies for fuel! We got a juicer for Christmas so we’ll be making lots of nutritious juices while we train too.

Starting 2012 Off Right!

Although Week 4 didn’t go as planned, I still got in my key run workouts as well as did some core work, so that is a success. I definitely didn’t get in the bike or swim mileage I had hoped for, but maybe my new bike will make up for the couple of bike sessions I missed ;)

Week 5 is already off to a rough start with this cold, but if I’ve learned anything about my body after training so hard for the last year, it’s that I need to listen to it and REST when I’m sick. So hopefully I’ll come back from this cold with fresh legs and ready to make some real progress. Luckily Week 5 is recovery week so I’m not missing any speed work this week.

Marathon Training Round 1 vs. Round 2

3 Replies

Training Buddies From Marathon #1

There are 7 weeks until the Surf City Marathon (and Super Bowl Sunday if you’re counting)! This is my second round of marathon training and it’s very different from the first.  Asia and I ran 18.5 miles together through Mission Bay on Saturday and at about mile 16.5 we spotted our former running coaches from our Vavi Running Group. Vavi is currently training for the Carlsbad half marathon, and on Saturday after their 11 mile run, they had a potluck. We stopped to say hello, although nearly everyone had gone home already. It was nice to catch up with our old coaches (and see their shock when we told them that we were training for an Ironman). Seeing the old group really made me miss our group runs, running topic clinics and potlucks.

It has definitely been a bit more mentally challenging to train for a marathon without the support of a training group. Although we have Team WODS to support us in our Ironman journey, Asia and I are training for the marathon pretty much on our own. Jeremy isn’t going to run the marathon due to the fact that he injured his hip running the last one and doesn’t want to risk aggravating it before the Ironman, and Mike has kind of been on his own marathon training schedule since he got sick a few times since we started.

Here’s a list of differences between the first time I trained for a marathon and this time:

  1. Supported Group Long Runs vs. Unsupported Couple Runs. Being a part of a running group not only provided plenty of people to chat with before, during and after Saturday long runs, but Vavi also provided aid stations throughout the course with both water and sports drink. During marathon training round 1, we’d run with a group of 4-6 girls and swap stories and chit-chat. During marathon training round 2, Asia and I swap stories and chit-chat while we carry our water bottles and fill them up at public restrooms along the way.
  2. P90X vs. Triathlon While Marathon Training.Last time we trained for a marathon, we also completed our first round of P90X. This time, we’re training for an Ironman. The first half of marathon training actually also included the tail end of Insanity. So basically the first time I trained for a marathon I supplemented with weight lifting and the second time I’m supplementing with more cardio. Apparently I can’t just run.  I need more to occupy me.
  3. Saturday Morning 7:30 a.m. Long Runs vs. When It Works. Last time I trained for a marathon, I took the long runs much more seriously. Mike and I typically would have a quiet night on Friday nights, eat a low-fiber, high carbohydrate dinner, and be in bed early. We usually had to drive about 30 minutes to the start of the run, so we typically had a 6:30 wake-up call. Now, Asia and I kind of squeeze in the long run when we can. Although, as of late, we’ve moved our long runs to Saturday, in the beginning of training we were running 10-15 miles on Sundays, sometimes even in the afternoon, to accommodate our social lives. We go to dinner parties, Thanksgiving/Christmas parties and birthday parties the night before long runs. We usually have a few drinks and we don’t really regulate if our dinner has a low fiber and fat content. Needless to say, this discretion has led to a few quite uncomfortable long runs, notably our 15 miler which we ran late Sunday morning after a 45 mile challenging bike ride and also after a dinner party with plenty of imbibing the previous day. It was a pretty miserable run. After that long run we learned our lesson and shifted all future long runs to Saturday mornings and have cut back on the booze the night before. Things have been going better for us on our runs since the switch.
  4. Sporadic Group Speedwork vs. Scheduled Yasso 800s. I didn’t put a lot of emphasis on a speed work plan during our first round of marathon training. It was incorporated into our Vavi running group’s Tuesday night workouts on occasion and I would usually participate. Vavi is actually where I learned about the Yasso 800s, but we only did them for one week. This round, I’ve been diligently completing my Yasso 800s each week, starting with 4 sets back in October and working my way up to the 8 sets I have scheduled this week. By January I’ll be up to 10 sets of these intense intervals. Hopefully they will help me achieve my A goal of a sub 4 hour marathon.
  5. Coach-Prepared Training Plan vs. Self-Made Training Plan. For my first two half marathons, I followed Hal Higdon’s online training plans. For my second and third half and my first full marathon, I followed my Vavi Running Club training plan. For my fourth half marathon, I winged it, and for this marathon, I’ve created my own plan. So far, I’ve PRed in every race I’ve run which is most likely because I have been a fairly novice runner with plenty of room for improvement. I hope that despite my self created plan, the same holds true for the marathon on February 5! I basically made by plan using 4 week blocks – 3 weeks on, 1 week of recovery. I increased mileage for long runs by 1-2 miles per week and backed off in the 4th week. I only complete my Yassos in the build weeks and try to get at least 2 other runs in on top of the long run and speed work. Oftentimes, the 4th run of the week is part of a brick session and I’m running only 3-4 miles off the bike. One good thing about biking is that is has been proved to improve your run economy. Unfortunately, the reverse is not true and running won’t improve your cycling speed.

Running Buddy for Marathon #2

I wouldn’t say that I’m not taking this second marathon as seriously, but rather I think that I just have a better idea of what I’m doing. The first marathon was scary because I didn’t know if I could do it. Each time we ramped up our long run mileage, I’d be nervous. I always erred on the side of caution. Now, I’ve run 16, 18 and even 20 miles more than once and it’s not as daunting. I think I probably didn’t quite respect the long run quite enough in the beginning of training by allowing my social calendar to rule by long run schedule, but  in the end I think it’ll be OK. I can’t let marathon training rule my life completely, especially during the happiest month of the year.

Next week we’re already up to 20 miles. Marathon #2 will be here before we know it!

Did you make any big changes in training strategy after your first marathon? Did you improve on your second attempt? 

3 Weeks Hard, 1 Week Easy

Leave a reply

The first time that I trained for a race – a half marathon to be exact- I didn’t know much about what it took to significantly increase fitness, despite having played sports and worked out regularly for pretty much my entire life. I wasn’t sure how to train my body to run 13.1 miles without stopping or how to fuel it while I did so. I learned much along the way, but I didn’t begin seriously researching how to train and more specifically, how to improve, until I set out to run a half marathon in less than 2 hours.

During my first attempt, I  failed to achieve this goal. At the time I was self-training and for my next attempt I decided to join a training group to step up my game. The running group was through a local San Diego organization called Vavi and we met Tuesdays and Saturdays. Included in the program was not only group runs complete with aid stations and a pre-determined route, but also a training plan, two live coaches and free clinics on all things running.

While I trained for my first two half marathons, I kept things pretty much the same week to week, except that I gradually increased mileage. If my training plan were plotted on a graph, it would have been very linear – a nice line that gradually got higher and higher, peaking at a final 10 mile long run.

However, my training plan with Vavi introduced me to a new concept – train three weeks hard and then take a week to “recover” with lower intensity workouts and a shorter long run. After the recovery weeks, I always noticed that I’d come back refreshed and even stronger. After my first season with Vavi I finally broke that 2 hour mark and a few months later after using this same methodology while completing P90X and I shattered my PR again on a notoriously difficult course. Ever since, I have incorporated this pattern into my training plans, including my recently completed Ironman training plan.

Why Take a Week Easy?

As someone who has a harder time taking it easy than not, the concept of taking a easy week is sometimes difficult for me. However, research proves that recovery is essential for improvement. According to RunningTimes.com, “Recovery weeks are vital to your progress because they allow your body to adapt to the key workouts you put in during hard training weeks. A rule of thumb for recovery weeks is to run 60-70 percent of your previous week’s mileage.”

Basically, a recovery week gives you both a physical and a mental break. All speed workouts are dropped and mileage is reduced. You can use your extra time to catch up on sleep or catch up with friends. By the time the week is over, you are refreshed and ready to dominate the next three weeks. It’s also encouraging to remind yourself while you are busting your butt during those three weeks that rest is coming.

This Week is Recovery Week!

Although today is my first official day of Ironman training, I didn’t work out at all. Starting yesterday, I’m on recovery week. I’ve been training hard for the last 4 weeks (longer than I would have liked but Insanity dictated 4 weeks on, 1 week off) and I’m more than happy to sit back and relax. No Yassos this week (sorry Bart!). As for mileage, Asia and I have been following a steady plan of +2 miles per week on our long runs and this week we backed it down 4 mile, for a 12 mile run yesterday. It sounds crazy to call 12 miles a recovery run but it honestly felt great to get out there and run easy. By the end of this week I’ll be eagerly anticipating my scheduled 16 mile run (ok maybe with not quite that much enthusiasm)!

Do You Train 3 Weeks Hard and 1 Week Easy?

The McMillan Pace Calculator

3 Replies

One of the biggest questions that runners have is “How fast should I be running?” Obviously a 5 mile recovery run requires a different pace than 1/2 mile intervals, a 20 mile long run or a 200 meter sprint. Most of the time people just adjust their pace based on perceieved exertion. You run your long run “easy” and you run your intervals “hard.” The McMillan Running Company came up with a handy online calculator that helps take the guesswork out both your training pace an your race pace.

If you have a recent race time, you can enter it into the McMillan Pace Calculator and it will tell you what your pace should be at various distances, including training runs and races. For example, if you recently ran a 45 minute 10k, McMillan estimates that you could run a 6:15.2 mile, a 21:40 5k, a 1:40:08 half marathon and a 3:31.11 marathon. Obviously if you aren’t training for a marathon you couldn’t go out and suddenly bust out a a 3:31 marathon without having run more than 6 miles, but hypothetically if you were to train for marathon, you could expect a 3:31.11.

Turkey Trotting to a Sub 3:50 Marathon?

I personally have found the McMillan Pace Calculator to be pretty freakishly accurate at estimating my times. For example, after I ran the La Jolla Half Marathon in April with a time of 1:52:21, McMillan guessed I’d run a 4:01:10 marathon. I ran a 4:02:00 marathon in June.

As I’ve mentioned before, my “A” goal for the Surf City Marathon in February is to crack 4 hours. My “B”goal has been to aim for a 3:50:00 marathon. I’ve been using this goal to calculate my Yasso 800s intervals. According to the running gurus of McMillan, my Thanksgiving Day 5k time of 23:55 predicts that I will run a 3:53:09 marathon (and that I can run a 1:50:33 half marathon). Certainly the marathon prediction using my half marathon time was a better indicator since it is a race that is closer in distance, but I’m still looking at this as a indicator that my Sub-4 dreams can become a reality and that I may even come close to my 3:50 goal.

Using McMillan to Train

McMillan’s pace calculator is good for more than giving you hope that you can achieve a certain race time (or crushing your dreams that it isn’t possible). It can also give you a guide for paces during speed workouts, long runs, and more. Here’s a sample of some of my key workout paces:

  • Long Run Pace: 9:24 – 10:24 (recently most long runs have been in the mid-low 9s)
  • Easy Run Pace: 9:24 – 9:54
  • Tempo Run Pace: 8:27-8:41
  • 800 Meter Speed Workout: 3:39-3:49 minutes (right on target for my Yasso 800s which I do in 3:50 intervals)
  • 100 Meter Sprint: 22.2 – 24.2 seconds

Another way to use the McMillan Pace Calculator is to input your desired race time and use the paces it spits out to train. However, this is not recommended if your race goal is unrealistic. If you currently run a 4 hour marathon and then input a marathon time of 3 hours as your goal, it probably won’t feel easy to run at the “easy run” pace and therefore it will be ineffective to train at this level. Since my goal marathon time of 3:49:59 is fairly close to my predicted marathon time of 3:53:09, when I entered 3:50:00 as my actual time, it revises some of my training times, but not by much:

  • Long Run Pace: 9:17 – 10:17
  • Easy Run Pace: 9:17-9:47
  • Tempo Run Pace: 7:59-8:20
  • 800 Meter Speed Workout: 3:36-3:46 minutes (this contradicts the Yasso philosophy that my race goal time of 3:50 means I should be running 3 minute 50 second 800 intervals)
  • 100 Meter Sprint: 21.9 – 24.1 seconds

It seems to me that I’m right on track with my training. Asia and I have consistently been doing our long runs in the 9:20-9:30 range and soon we will add tempo runs to the end of our long runs. I’ve also been doing my Yasso 800s each week (except recovery week) at 3:40 intervals (this week I’ll be up to 7 of them!). Considering that Half Ironman training starts next week and the marathon will not be my “A” race of the year, I think that this is a good effort to tackle my sub 3:50 goal. If it doesn’t happen at this race, I have plenty of time to make it happen AFTER the Ironman.

Have you found that the McMillan Pace Calculator is accurate for you? How do you determine your pace for your workouts?

Carbs – A Runner’s Best Friend Before a Marathon

Leave a reply

My Favorite Carb!

I’m running a marathon in 2 days! What does that mean? I get to eat a ton of carbs!

Sounds amazing right? Well actually it’s more complicated that you think. I’ve always “carbo-loaded” before half marathons. Basically, I just tried to eat a lot of bread, rice, pasta and fruit the few days before the race. I never actually calculated what percentage of my diet was coming from carbs or how many grams of carbs I’m eating.

Why We Carbo-load

While carboloading is beneficial for half marathons, it is critical for marathons. Most people won’t hit the dreaded “Wall” during a half marathon, but it’s pretty common during a marathon. The “wall” is the point where your glycogen levels are so depleted that your body literally shuts down and it starts to feel like you are running through quick sand – ie you have no energy left. The best way to avoid hitting the wall is to properly nutrition before and during the race.

According to an article I found on Powerbar.com, typically, if you are exercising at a steady pace and intensity, carbohydrate loading will increase your endurance by about 20%. For example, if you typically can run 20 miles before exhaustion gets the better of you, with supercompensated glycogen stores you may be able to extend that to 24 miles. Or, if your event calls for you to cover a specific distance, such as is the case with a cycling race or a marathon, carbohydrate loading may improve your time by 2-3%. For a four-hour race, that equates to about 5-7 minutes faster. Carbs could make the difference between bonking at 23 mile marker or not bonking at all!

History and Theories on Carboloading

According to Active.com, the practice of carbo-loading dates back to the late 1960s. The first carbo-loading protocol was developed by a Swedish physiologist named Gunvar Ahlborg after he discovered a positive relationship between the amount of glycogen (carbs stored in the muscles and liver) in the body and endurance performance. Ahlborg believed that the only way to efficiently carbo-load was to first deplete the body of carbs by exercising very hard and eating very few carbs. Then the body would be primed for carb intake. Later, however, other research showed that you can increase the glycogen stores without depleting it first. This method is called the No Depletion Method. The most recent research on carbo-loading is called the Western Australia Method, includes a single, very high intensity short workout the day before the race which creates a powerful demand for glycogen storage in both the slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers of the muscles. They hypothesized that following such a workout with heavy carbohydrate intake could result in a high level of glycogen supercompensation without a lot of fuss.

How to Carbo-load

Although there are several theories as mentioned above, the general protocol for carbo-loading is this:

  1. 1-2 weeks prior to the race, begin to reduce the length and intensity of workouts but don’t decrease the frequency. (i.e. run 5 miles easy instead of 6 miles with intervals).
  2. About 1 week before the race, increase carbohydrate intake so that you are eating about 50-55% of your calories from carbohydrates.
  3. 3-4 days before the event, increase carbohydrate intake to about 70% of your total calories. More specifically, smaller athletes should eat about 4.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight and larger athletes should consume about 3.5 grams. So a small woman at 120 lbs should eat about 540 grams of carbs and a man at 200 pounds should eat about 700 grams of carbs each day. The key to achieving these levels is to cut back significantly on fats and proteins. You should still include protein, but for example, have two plain rolls for a total of 200 calories rather than 1 roll with butter, for a total of 200 calories.

The problem with this plan is that 1 gram of carbs has about 4 calories. That means that little 120 lb woman should be eating 2,160 calories from carbs alone (if you use the 70% ratio this mean she’ll be eating 3,085 calories total that day).  The average woman that weighs 110 lbs probably eats less than 2,00 calories a day total, let alone from carbs.  To put it into even more perspective, one bagel has about 40 grams of carbs. That means she’d need to eat 13.5 bagels in one day to properly carboload. When I discovered this info (I weigh more than 120 so I will have to eat more than 13 bagels!), I was a little disheartened. I decided to do some further research on carboloading specific to women.  

Carboloading for Women – There is a difference!

Now this was one of the most interesting things I found in my research on carboloading. According to Powerbar.com, on average, female athletes consume fewer calories than their male counterparts. So, even though you may be boosting your carbohydrate intake compared to what you normally consume in order to carbohydrate load, because your total calorie intake is low relative to your male training buddies, you may not actually be getting enough carbohydrates to achieve supercompensation of muscle glycogen stores. For women, carbohydrate loading days are definitely not the time to cut calories, In fact, over consuming calories for the few days that you’re carbohydrate loading may be necessary. And of course, make sure all those extra calories come from carbohydrates. For example, instead of consuming 2,000 calories, you may need to consume 2,600 calories for a few days. Those 600 bonus calories equate to 150 extra grams of carbohydrates.

The menstrual cycle also is a factor for women. Researchers have observed that glycogen storage is likely to be more efficient in the two weeks before menstruation as compared to the week during and after a woman’s period. So although you can’t do much to control your menstrual cycle – women go out and eat before your race!

My Carboloading Routine

Once I discovered how many carbs were really necessary to properly fuel, I researched the carb content of the foods I was planning on eating that day. I counted them up and they only equaled 350 grams of carbs even though I was eating 2,300 calories (which is more than I usually eat). I discovered that things like pita chips, protein bars and fruit don’t’ have nearly as many carbohydrates as I thought. The food items with the most carbohydrate bang for their buck are cereal, rice, pasta and bread (surprise surprise). So I adjusted my diet accordingly and cut out some of the veggies, fat and protein to make way for those lovely carbs. Another suggestion some of the websites I found had was to drink your carbs so that you can get more calories in without filling up (Gatorade and even soda were suggested). I plan to indulge in a beer two nights before the race and drink some sports drink on the day before the race. I also plan to eat quite a few calories over my normal 1,800-2,000 in order to fill my muscles up with carbs. I’m sure it won’t be so hard with the pasta buffet my running group is holding tonight! :)

You know that you carbo-loaded properly if you gain weight. Each ounce of carbs stored in your body you also hold three ounces of water. That means that a properly carbo-loaded runner should gain about 3 lbs on race day. Fortunately this weight will fall off during the 26.2 miles you run on race day.

To all my running friends – carb up and enjoy it! We need it!

Sources:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carbohydrate-loading/MY00223

http://www.powerbar.com/articles/224/carbohydrate-loading.aspx

Race Day Gear – Look Like a Winner!

2 Replies

Race Day Gear!

What you wear on race day is nearly as important as how much you train. Not because you need to look stylish and cute on race day (although of course that is a consideration given how many pictures we’ll be taking!), but because the wrong race clothes can potentially cause a lot of pain and the right race clothes can get you to the finish line faster. Here’s what I look for in my race gear:

  1. Comfortable – Avoid shorts that ride up when you run, tank tops that pull at your shoulders and heavy fuel belts. I ran my first half marathon in a pair of shorts that rode up my butt when I ran more than a few minutes so I spent the entire race adjusting them.
  2. Dri-Fit – I also ran a few of my first races in a cotton tank top. Although it didn’t necessarily bother me, dri-fit clothing is much more practical, especially if the race is on a hot day. Dri-fit clothing wicks moisture off of your skin so that you stay cool and dry. I also wear dri-fit socks which are probably more important than a dri-fit shirt because these socks reduce blistering and keep your feet nice and cool.
  3. Worn-In- This is probably the most important thing to consider– don’t wear new clothes on race day! Never purchase and wear running shoes that you bought just a week or two before the race (my running coach always tells the story of the guy who wore new running shoes on race day and had to drop out due to blisters). Test out your complete marathon day outfit on  one of your long runs – from your tank top to your sports bra to your underwear to your socks!
  4. Useful – Any race over an hour requires some sort of fuel to be consumed on the race course. I plan to be on the marathon course for at least 4 hours. I will need 150-200 calories per hour after the first 45 minutes of running, meaning that I’ll need to carry at least 5 Gus with me on race day. During half marathons the pockets in my shorts and/or tank top will suffice, but for a race like a marathon, I had to purchase a small pouch that I strap around my waist (no it is NOT a fanny pack).
  5. Helpful –This is similar to useful. I have been using a Garmin GPS watch to help me train for races for about a year now. I LOVE having something to track my pace, mile splits and overall time (I admit I’m a little addicted). It also is helpful to race with a Garmin because you know your exact pace at all times and don’t have to do difficult math at each mile marker (race inner dialogue: let’s see, the race clock says it’s been 28 minutes 30 seconds and I’m at mile 3, so that’d be a 9:30 pace, but I also didn’t start at the gun time so subtract 2 minutes…. what pace is that?!)
  6. Practical – I always wear a hat on my day time runs. Why? Because I don’t want to end up a wrinkly old woman when I’m 50 years old – or worse, a dead 50 year old because I contracted skin cancer. Hats protect your face from the sun better than sunscreen can. Although I do wear SPF 50 on my face as well. Sunscreen is yet another practical race-gear must-have. I slather my entire body with SPF 30 or more before every run, even if it’s 6:30 a.m. and gloomy.
  7. Attractive – Make sure you actually like your race gear. You’re going to be taking a lot of pictures and we all want to look good! Plus, you’ll be more confident while you run if you know you look fabulous! This doesn’t apply for running shoes – always buy the most comfortable running shoes, never the ones that are the cutest. I made this mistake once and ended up wearing very old shoes on race day because my “cute” shoes didn’t fit right.

My Race Day Gear:

Storage:
Nathan Shadow Pack

Shoes:

Nike Zoom Equalon +4 - My Running Shoe of Choice

Fuel:
 

Vanilla Bean Gu - My Favorite Fuel

 Shorts:

NIke Pacer Shorts - In Orange to Stand Out In the Crowd

 Watch:

Garmin Forerunner 405

 
I’m running 26.2 miles in less than 3 days and I know this gear will get me to the finish line in one piece! Stay tuned for a race report! I can’t wait to accomplish this life goal!!! 
 
 
 

10 Days til the Marathon and I’m Sick

3 Replies

Yep, you read right. After one and a half years without a sniffle (I got some weird fever in January that lasted 2 days but that doesn’t count), I came down with a sore throat and runny nose just 10 days before the marathon. It started last night when I had a terrible group run. It was an easy 6 miles but it felt like eternity. Had I not been running with my friends, it would have been torture, and I definitely wouldn’t have lasted 6 miles. After the run, a couple of friends were talking about how scared they are to get injured or hurt. I thought to myself, ‘we’re so close, that’s not going to happen now!’  Besides, it’s been so long since I was sick that I was starting to think all this exercise had made my immune system impenetrable. Wrong.

So, here I am with a 8 mile run scheduled tomorrow morning (and I had scheduled P90X Chest Shoulders and Tris for myself today but decided to sleep in after I felt the tickle last night) and I’m sick. This topic has come up during the announcements at some of our group runs, and our coach has expressed this simple rule: if you’re sick from the neck up, you’re ok to run. If you’re sick from the neck down, rest. Well, at this point I’m only sick from the neck up. I have a slight sore throat and a slight runny nose. Luckily I’ve been sleeping quite a bit lately so I think that is helping, but I usually wake up at 5 a.m for my mid-week runs, so I think at this point the extra rest tonight is worth it. I decided if I’m feeling ok, I’ll go for a short run tomorrow night. Or, I’ll take the whole day off again. I don’t want to push it!

I seriously can’t even believe this is happening. I’m trying to think positive thoughts and tell myself that if I sleep, drink a ton of water, drink Emergen-C (who knows if it really works but it tastes good) and eat healthy food, I’ll fight this bad boy off within a few days. That’s my hope. I’d really like to make it to our last long run this Saturday. Luckily we only have 12 miles scheduled. If I’m feeling better, I’ll go for it. IT also happens to be Memorial Day weekend coming up and I have a jam packed schedule. This cold couldn’t have come at a worse time! My only blessing is that it’s not very busy at work this week so sleeping in is a viable option.  

Anyone out there have any tips for training with the sniffles?