training | Run Luau Run

Posts Tagged ‘training’

I Train While You Sleep

Posted in motivation, training, tagged BQ, disappointment, running, training on April 26, 2011| 10 Comments »

'Nuff Said

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So after taking a week off from running, the alarm went off at 4:30AM this morning, telling me it was time to run again. Time to dust off the shoes, slip on the shorts, put in some miles.

Honestly, I’ve had to force myself NOT to run since Boston. It hasn’t been easy, but I think my body (and my mind and spirit for that matter) needed the time off.

Still, when the alarm went off this morning, a part of me just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. I had gotten used to not waking up so early just to pound out some miles. As I’ve said many times, I am NOT a morning person. I really am not.

But then I thought of a picture I saw (above) on someone’s dailymile page. That was me, all winter. Waking up between 4AM and 4:30AM, running between 5 to 20 miles. And as much as I am not a morning person, I loved the feeling I would have for the rest of the day when I’d managed to drench myself in sweat before most people were waking up.

Now that school vacation is over, the days are going to get busy again – which made me think of this:

If I’m going to be good, I have to work around the busy-ness.

And it’s not about the competition with others…it’s about the competition within.

It’s about the desire to do better, last longer, run faster.

I leave you with a quote from a comment my friend M left me:

DISAPPOINTMENT IS THE HIGH WATER MARK OF EXPECTATION.

Why do you run?

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796.45 Miles

Posted in boston marathon, rest, training, tagged boston marathon, Miles, training on April 16, 2011| 15 Comments »

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So this is it. The training aspect of my 2011 Boston Marathon is done.

This morning I ran an easy 4-miler. All that is left is 48 hours of rest and the 26.2 miles on Marathon Monday.

What will happen?

How will I do?

I don’t know.

It’s weird to think that the nearly 800 miles I have put in since mid-December all come down to one little stretch of road, taking me from Hopkinton to downtown Boston.

If you are running on Monday, may you run the race that you want to run.

Whatever the result, I will see you on the other side.

Why do you run?

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Bounce

Posted in boston marathon, rest, training, tagged boston marathon, taper, training on March 31, 2011| 8 Comments »

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Do you feel that?

That almost rhythmic bounce? A rapid, nervous hammering?

Do you feel it?

Do you know what it is?

It baffles scientists every year around this time. It’s in the air, it’s in the ground, it’s in the pit of our stomachs.

I finally figured out what is causing it.

It’s the up-and-down movement of over 27,000 knees as runners preparing for the Boston Marathon enter their taper*.

***

Despite this being my 6th marathon in 18 months, I can already tell this taper is going to be the hardest yet. I’ve trained harder and run longer than any other training cycle – I just want Boston to get here.

What do you do to deal with the taper?

*For the uninitiated – the taper is the last 2 – 3 weeks of training for a marathon. During this time, runners reduce their weekly miles somewhat dramatically, leading to what many call Taper Madness – an overflow of nervous energy where runner don’t know what to do with themselves and often get a little grumpy.

Why do you run?

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Chicken or Egg

Posted in motivation, training, tagged Chicken, Egg, marathon, running, training on March 29, 2011| 9 Comments »

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Over 15 weeks down, less than 3 weeks to go. I’ve been diligent. I’ve stuck to the program. Whatever Pfitz has told me to do, I’ve pretty much done it.

And you know what? I feel pretty good. Over 700 miles into this training cycle and I’m feeling pretty damned good. Not that I was expecting not to, but after logging more miles in the last 4 month than I ever have in any given 4 month stretch, I wasn’t completely sure that my body was going to hold up. But, knock on wood, it has.

I love my training. I love training for the marathon.

But I wonder, am I training for the marathon or am I running the marathon for the training?

***

I started running two and a half years ago in support of my wife. She had signed up for the Hyannis Half-Marathon, and I just couldn’t let her run it alone. I had never run more than 4 or 5 miles at a time and I knew that 13.1 miles was going to be a long distance (especially in the middle of the winter on the Cape).

In this particular case I was training for the event. I knew that I needed to get in shape to be able to complete that distance. Despite not having a plan, I quickly went from running “0” miles per week to 30. With the half-marathon on the horizon, I kept pushing my distance just little bit with each subsequent run until I finally hit the 10 mile mark in a single run.

That’s when something clicked and I went from being someone who ran every now and then to a runner.

Though someday I would like to, I never did end up running the Hyannis Half. What I did take away from that stretch of time though was having a goal race on the calendar helped keep me motivated to get up and run every day. A few weeks before Hyannis, I ran my first 10K. A few months later I finally ran my first half-marathon. I immediately set my sites on a full and signed up for a fall marathon. The following year, 2010, was filled with almost a race per month. With each of these races I found motivation to keep putting in miles even when neither my body nor my mind wanted to.

As exhausting as the training could be, my soul was happy…full.

My training reached a high point last summer when I became hyper-focused on doing well at the Inaugural Smuttynose Marathon in New Hampshire. It was BQ or bust.

Even though my ultimate goal was to run a BQ at Smutty, I look back and wonder, was I training for the marathon? or had I signed up for the marathon so I would train hard?

In the end, it doesn’t really matter, right? The end result is the same. Whether you sign up for an event as motivation or are motivated to do well at an event, the goal is to do the best you can.

This winter I’m back at it. Training with a vengeance – looking to improve on my time at Boston. Still, I’m not sure whether it’s the goal or the training that’s driving me.

Do you train for marathons? Or do you run marathons for the training?

Why do you run?

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Brad Pitt

Posted in boston marathon, Odd Ball, other, training, tagged boston marathon, Brad Pitt, running, training on March 23, 2011| 17 Comments »

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It’s less than 4 weeks away. It looms larger and larger with each passing day. The Boston Marathon will be here before we know it, and to be honest, I’m starting to get the butterflies.

But I’ve been training hard. Once or twice a week I’ve taken to running parts of the Boston Marathon course. The hills coming into Newton, especially after 17 miles, can be brutal whether in the race or on a training run. But I’ve stuck to what I said back in November – I have been trying to live by the mantra – Train for the Terrain. Hills have been part of my training.

What the hell does this have to do with Brad Pitt?

I want you to look at something:

What do you see?

Yes, yes, it’s Brad Pitt. Yes, it’s Brad Pitt with his past girlfriends. But take a closer look. In each of these pictures, you will see that Pitt has adapted himself to take on the look of his main squeeze of the moment.

Uh, right Luau. Been reading a little too much US Magazine lately? What the frak does this have to do with running and the Boston Marathon???

Well, it has less to do with the Boston Marathon specifically and more to do with Marathon Training in general, as in training for the terrain – adapting to the current situation. My hope is that I have managed to “Brad Pitt” my training and will be perfectly matched up for Boston – downhills early, uphills late, more downhill near the end.

My stated goal at the beginning of the cycle was 3:15 or better. That still remains the goal, though I’m gonna take a long, hard look at 3:10.

How’s your Spring Marathon training going? Have you Brad Pitted it? I wonder if you can work the verb “Brad Pitt” into a conversation today?

I guess the burning question now is – Is the Boston Marathon Juliette, Gwyneth, Jennifer or Angelina?

Why do you run?

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The Seed

Posted in motivation, training, tagged beginning running, running, the seed, training on March 10, 2011| 11 Comments »

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Being the parent of a child with autism has taught me that success breeds success.

One of the therapies many children like Brooke receive is called ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis). In the simplest layman’s terms, an instructor teaches a child how to do a task by breaking the task down to its most rudimentary components. What you and I take for granted as one, single task, is often a lot more complicated than you think. Even simple games like memory or putting toothpaste on a toothbrush have to be taught step by step, each step building on the previous one. The key is providing a child like Brooke an opportunity to succeed with each step before moving on to the next one. When done properly, children like Brooke can succeed, even thrive, in their environment. The downside is that if done improperly or without caution, a child like Brooke can fail miserably at the task and refuse to go forward or learn the wrong way to do the task, leading to further frustration down the line. Once something is learned for these very rule-based children, it is extremely difficult to un-learn it.

The same can be said about running.

Confidence and belief start small. At birth, just like us, they come in many different forms (loud, quiet), but early on, they are fragile, easily shattered. That confidence, that belief, has to be cultivated, nurtured, cared for.

I have seen many people declare that they are going to start running – it will be part of their new exercise regimen, and this time dammit they’re gonna stick to it.

Three weeks later they haven’t run in a week and a half. The excuses will be there (-oh, I’ve been crazy busy. -oh, I just haven’t been feeling well. -oh, I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately) and I will do my best not to roll my eyes.

Now you may think that I’m being a little harsh with the eye-rolling. Let’s get this straight right now before the comments start flying – I am NOT rolling my eyes at the person. I am rolling my eyes at the way the person went about this new regimen. I am rolling my eyes because I went through the exact same thing – I did not respect running.

I was an on again, off again runner for a long time. My “on’s” would last about a week. My “off’s” would last about a year. Every time I would start again, I would do the exact same thing as the time before. I would put on an old pair of sneakers, I would run 4 or 5 miles and then I would be in pain. The learned experience (the bad form, the lack of pacing) from the first time I went running as an adult (if you could call me that at 22) stuck with me, not as a learning experience, but as one that got repeated over an over again.

I thought I could just go out there and run. It’s just running, right? And to a degree that is true. However, if you aren’t athletically gifted (which despite what the wife says, I am not), your body can do some really weird things the first couple of times you go out there. Fortunately for me, out of complete dumb luck, this last time around I accidentally did things the right way. I started with low mileage (2-3 miles per run, 3 times per week) and built up from there. True, I probably built up too quickly over the course of the following few weeks, but the point is, I started slowly and let my body experience “success” at running before moving up to the next level.

Now some people may feel uncomfortable with this “babying” of oneself to breed success, but I draw a line of distinction from the “everybody wins-nobody loses” philosophy in that running is not primarily about competition. Yes, I run races. YES, I get competitive with those of equal ability. But running to me is about feeling good. It’s about that rush of blood coursing through my body, my focused energy, or chi as those who follow Chinese martial arts will know it. It’s about the endorphins carrying me through the day with a smile on my face. These are the fruits one harvests by taking care of the seed when one starts running.

That’s the thing though – you have to take care of the seed early. Pay attention and listen to your body. The best thing I did early on in my latest attempt at running was pay attention to my form. I am still a work-in-progress. My form is far from perfect. I still strike with my heel. I still bounce up and down when I run. However, I do both to a much lesser degree than I once did. As my form gets better and more efficient, the nagging aches and pains diminish. I haven’t had a serious injury in quite a while.

I find that I am enjoying my runs more and more, despite the fact that they are getting longer , harder and faster. Just when my body should be feeling like it’s taking a beating, it feels great…

…all because, I took care of the seed.

Why do you run?

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Competitive

Posted in boston marathon, log, motivation, training, tagged competitive, mainerunnah, running, training, una runner on February 8, 2011| 7 Comments »

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Last October I ran a marathon with my friend Brendan. We had the same goal, a BQ. We both felt good going into the race. In the end however, he fell off the pace a little bit and missed qualifying for Boston by a mere 33 seconds. A heart breaker. That’s enough to crush a guy, especially after putting in hours upon hours of sweat and pain.

In November, another friend of mine, Logan, ran a marathon in Georgia, hoping to make his way to Boston in his first marathon. Through 13 miles he was on pace to hit 3:12, a BQ with room to spare, but part way through the second half, the wheels came off the bus and he had to settle for a 3:54 marathon debut. Having had the exact same devastating experience, I could relate.

Over the past 3-4 months, I’ve watched both of these guys transform themselves. They are different, stronger, faster. I recognize their change because I went through it myself after what I perceived were failures as a runner. Sure, I may still have a BQ on both of them, but at this point, I think that they may both be better and faster runners than I am.

***

Running is not necessarily about competition. A lot of people do it simply for the health benefits, both mental and physical. But when you enter a race, or follow friends who are runners, there is always a part of you that is comparing what you are doing to what they are. In a race, the comparison is glaring (you are passing or getting passed, leading or following). On social networks like dailymile, it’s a little more subtle, but it’s still there.

As I’ve watched both Brendan and Logan evolve, I’ve felt the urge to tweak my training, go a little faster, train a little harder. They are in a different category than I am when it comes to mileage (I’ve been doing 40 – 55 miles per week, they are in the 50 – 70 range). The temptation to take it to their level is, well, tempting, BUT I know that although we compare ourselves to each other and each other’s accomplishments, ultimately, we are only racing against one person – ourselves.

Even if your name is Ryan Hall or Kara Goucher, you are still competing with the runner that you want to be.

***

And so, somewhat begrudgingly, I stick with my plan, following the program that is laid before me. I have a goal for Boston 2011, and that personal goal takes precedent over all other running goals. If I start chasing the likes of Brendan and Logan, I am likely to crash and burn.

***

The reason I write this post is for those just getting into this marathon thing. Don’t go comparing yourselves to others. You are racing against you and what you are capable of. Hopefully you have a few road races under your belt. If you do, I would suggest going —>>>HERE<<<— to find out what the numbers say. It is a pretty accurate measure of where you are and what you are capable of. From here, come up with a plan (I’m happy to help) and then stick with it.

***

I am looking forward to seeing how Brendan and Logan do in their Marathons this Spring. I have no doubt that they will not just BQ (like I did, by a mere 1:40), but will smash through to the other side. I’ll see you guys in Hopkington in 2012!

And at that point, it’s ON!!!

***UPDATE 02/19/11*** Today Logan smashed his previous marathon PR by 45 minutes, completing the Myrtle Beach Marathon in a scorching 3:09:19 (exactly 10 minutes faster than my BQ at Smuttynose). A well deserved BQ! I’ll see you in 2012! Congrats Logan! Brendan, you are on the clock!

***UPDATE 02/20/11***Today Brendan ran the Hampton Half-Marathon in a blazing 1:29:34, nearly 4 minutes faster than my fastest half-mary. Now true this does not automatically qualify him for Boston, but it does get him into a race that is even harder to qualify for – New York City, Brother! I also checked the McMillan’ Race Calculator – his half-marathon time puts him at a 3:08:54, 11+ ahead of a BQ. Way to rock it today Brendan!

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Go!

Posted in boston marathon, training, tagged boston marathon, BQ, Newton Hills, Pfitz 18/55, running, training, training program on December 13, 2010| 9 Comments »

You’ve put in the work…now it’s time for your victory lap!

–My buddy Doug right before the Smuttynose Marathon

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18 weeks until the Boston Marathon. My training starts today! Well, kind of anyway. Day 1 of my 18 week training program starts with a Rest/Cross-training Day. So, technically training starts today, but my first run isn’t until tomorrow. I am excited to start. The 5 weeks since New York have consisted of free form training, and to a degree I’ve been feeling a bit at sea. It will be nice to be able to look at the schedule and know what to expect for the coming week.

I will be following the Pfitz 18/55 program (for 18 weeks/maxing out at 55 miles per week) from his book, Advanced Marathoning. I used his 12/55 program in my BQ at Smuttynose, and I think that the 18 week program can advance my marathoning even further. I highly recommend his book. You don’t need to be an advanced marathoner to use it. I used it to great success and by no means am I an advanced marathoner. It is chock full of useful advice and has programs ranging for those willing to run a max of 55 mile/week (starts with 33 miles/week) to those crazy enough to run over 105 miles/week. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around that one. 105 Frakking Miles? Along with advice on marathon training, Pfitz also outlines some core exercises, strength training and a good stretching regimen. I plan on using them all as I train for my assault on the Newton Hills (my downfall last year).

Anyway, so here I am – the first day of my Boston Marathon training and I don’t get to run. I guess it’s a perfect time to start the core and strength training, right?

For those of you running Boston this year, when do you start your training? Have you already started? What program are you going with? And for those running other Spring marathons, what programs do you use? Or are you like my hero, the British Bulldog, Steve Spiers (he recently defended his Cayman Islands Marathon Title…Rock Star!), who just kind of makes it up as he goes?

People…or at least I…want to know!

Why do you run?

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Thirsty

Posted in health, training, tagged Gatorade, Honey, Honey-Water™, Hydration, nuun, running, training, Water on November 29, 2010| 20 Comments »

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I’m mad.

Okay, maybe I’m just a bit on the miffed side right now.

But the more I think about it, the madder I get.

Over the last year or so I’ve oscillated in my hydration between Nuun Water and my home-made Honey-Water™. Both drinks do exactly what they are meant to do, they hydrate without overwhelming you with sweetness and sugar.

Part of what makes Nuun Water great is that it comes in little tablets. “Portable Hydration” is what they call it, and that’s exactly what it is. You carry the tablets with you so you don’t have to carry bottles and bottles of the stuff; simply fill your bottle with water and drop in a tablet. It’s that easy. The only drawbacks are if you lack a source of water on your run.

My secret formula Honey-Water™ may not be as convenient (I don’t really see myself carrying a little honey bear with me on my runs), but when mixed just right, with my added secret ingredient, the flavor is light and refreshing, and the sugar gives you an extra boost of glucose to keep running hard. I also find that I don’t have to drink as much per mile as I usually do with plain, old water.

Both are great.

I love them both and it pisses me off to no end.

Although I have run every marathon initially carrying my hydration (two with Nuun and two with Honey-Water™), the truth is eventually I run out before the end of the race. The simple solution would be to carry more, but that means more weight, which means more work. That doesn’t sit well with me, especially when I’m running for time. Carrying 48 ounces of hydration is one thing on a LSD 20 miler, but it’s a completely different thing when you are racing a marathon.

The reason I’m mad is that Gatorade has cornered the market on hydration stations at just about every half and full marathon I’ve been too; if it isn’t Gatorade, it’s the ugly step-brother Powerade. Both drinks are heavy on sweetness and hit my stomach like a round of buckshot. I’m not a huge fan of either and I generally don’t drink the stuff. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that I am going to have to start. They don’t hand out cups of Nuun or cups of my Honey-Water™ at races.

I think that one of the contributing factors to my physical breakdown in New York was due to last minute nutritional changes – that included switching to Gatorade mid-race when I realized that I was going to have to find an alternate source of carbohydrates when I was unable to stomach the banana flavored honey stingers I was trying for the first time. Though I don’t blame Gatorade completely, I’m sure that my stressed system didn’t take to it too kindly.

So what’s the solution?

Unless I can come up with a better plan, I am going to have to train my body to accept Gatorade. Plain old water is not a practical choice. When I run for distance, I sweat like a LeBron James before a Celtics game. I need the nutrients and minerals that water alone can’t replace.

Honestly, it would be nice to not have to carry anything in a long race other than a few Gu’s or Honey Stingers (just not that damned banana flavor though!), but I wonder if Gatorade is really the answer.

What’s your hydration strategy at the half- and full-marathon distances?

Why do you run?

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Itchy

Posted in health, motivation, rest, training, tagged itchy, marathon, recovery, running, time off, training on November 15, 2010| 7 Comments »

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I took the entirety of last week off from running. My body didn’t fight it. In fact, during the first 5 days after New York I never had a strong urge to put the running shoes on. This is quite unusual for me. In the four previous marathons I’ve run, I have been eager to get right back out there on the pavement the next day, whether I am physically able or not.

I don’t know if it was just the beating I took running the five boroughs or the cumulative effect of running 5 marathons and 3 Half-Marathons in 53 weeks, but physically I just didn’t want to run. I think after what I’ve put it through though, I owed it to my body to listen.

A full eight days out now, however, and I’m starting to get itchy. I woke up yesterday morning and seriously thought of jumping in as a bandit in a local half-marathon that goes right by my house. I chose to be smart, knowing I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to let the throttle out. I could have paced a friend of mine as well, but at that distance, at some point I wonder if I might not have felt the need to just go.

Yes, I am getting itchy. My shoes (both my Bikilas and my Kinvaras) are calling to me; or maybe it’s my feet that are calling to them. Either way, before this day is through, there will be miles run. It is time.

What’s my point in all of this?

Just that after beating your body into the ground, maybe it is best to listen to it when it is asking for a break. Recovery and rest are no joke.

Like I mentioned earlier, in the past four marathons I have been eager to get back out running as quickly as possible. I wonder if it that urge has more to do with fear than desire. I wonder if some small part of me was afraid if I didn’t get out there as soon as possible, I simply wouldn’t. Some runners (and I know I have been guilty of this) also have this irrational fear that if they don’t run as often as possible they will lose fitness*. It can sometimes border on the edge of compulsion. And seriously, aside from maybe flushing out some built up lactate, I can’t imagine just how productive those post-marathon runs really are.

So this week, I’m taking a new approach. Mentally I know I’m ready to run. My plan for my assault on Heartbreak Hill is coming together. Boston is only (only?) 5 months away. I may not PR at Boston, but I know I’ll improve on last year’s performance. My official training cycle doesn’t start until mid-December (or mid-January, depending on whether I follow an 18-week or 12-week program). Until that training cycle starts, I’m gonna listen to the legs and let them lead the way.

This last week has been luxurious, surprisingly pleasant really. This coming week I will take it slow and easy. And if my legs are ready? Next week it’s back to some real mileage…but only if my legs (and the rest of my body) tell me so.

***

How long do you take to recover after a marathon?

***

*I don’t mean the “oh my God I’m gonna gain weight!” fitness. I mean the “oh my God, I’m gonna lose the ability to run a certain distance at a certain pace” fitness.

Why do you run?