Hello Everyon
First off, I have the numbers up to this point in the book. Keep them coming. I really enjoy looking at the sheet at the end of the month, when I see what everyone did across the weeks. The last 10 days of July produced some amazing numbers for the group.
Airtime Steve
Be careful what you ask for. I am copying into this post a very long piece I wrote in January, I looked to see if I could just attach the document for you to open, but I don't see how to do it. It is long, but from the heart, and talks specifically to tempo work, which is always a good idea, at least in my opinion, as if keeps me mentally fresh as well during workouts. Much of it is based on a book, "Run Farther, Run Faster," by Joe Henderson, which was my bible in the 1980's. For the rest of the group who saw it 7 months ago, sorry, just skip over it.
Come on, it's only 2,875 words!
Since there has been an overwhelming number of requests (okay, n=4, but in a political year that could be a plurality) for the guidance and advice Ive given a few folks on the boards over the years, here it is in one very long post. Remember free advice is worth what you pay for it, but Ive learned all this through 26 running years of reading, experimenting, training, successes, and mistakes (lots of these). Much of this is standard advice collected from numerous sources, but a fair amount is specific to adults like us who are trying to stay fit and healthy. A lot of it is specific to training, and some is philosophical, so if you like you can think of this as Zen and the Art of Adult Training for Fitness and Racing. If some of you think this has value, feel free to ask one of our moderators to sticky the thing. May the force be with you.
Starting From Zero? Build Slowly
If you are really new to this, and hoping or committed to run the Disney Half or Full Marathon in January, you have no doubt looked at the calendar and noticed the races are 47 weeks away. If you are coming from zero, and looking at 13 or 26, your first reaction may be one of doubt or fear. My advice to people like you is to not, absolutely not, look all the way to January 10 or 11, 2009. A rational person thinks of having no fitness base, sees 13 or 26 mile races, and concludes it cannot be done. Its hard to argue with this logic when looking long, so dont.
I recommend you look at this as a 47 week game, and take each week as it comes. Dont worry about what you need to do next January 10 or 11, think only about this week. What can I do this week? How many times can I train? Can I stretch this weeks training a few minutes or meters longer than last weeks training? Bike a few more miles? Lift a few more pounds or reps? Can I push the pace and go a little faster? The answer to some of these questions needs to be yes. You dont need for every week to top the previous week, but you do need steady improvement. If you focus week by week, come May youll observe this weeks training was so much longer and better than back in February. As you continue to build throughout the year, come fall youre likely to tell a friend Im only running/walking 8 miles this weekend. When you do this be sure to look back at the 2 mile run/walks you did in February and smile at this revelation.
Dont Get Hurt
As you build week by week, be patient and build slowly. The rule of thumb youll see in training plans and books is dont increase your mileage by more than 10% per week. Im not sure you need to strictly adhere to it, but the general guidance here is important. Building too fast leads to near-certain injury. If you ask any runner they can tell you of times when they ramped up the mileage and training intensity, only to break down. This absolutely has happened to me. The thing is, you feel good, your training is going great, so you put the hammer down for a couple of weeks. Next thing you know, youre on injured reserve. Be smart and healthy here.
If you do get hurt, back off and let it heal. Rest, ice, compression, elevation (RICE) is standard advice. Stretch a lot, and use those Styrofoam rollers (ouch!). If you tough it out and push through the pain, a small ding may turn into a 6 month rehab job. Youll lose little fitness with a few days off, far better than the alternative. Continuing with this thought, the most important thing you can do for race day is to step into the corrals 100% healthy. If youre on the cusp of breaking down, its better to back off and start the race healthy, than be hurt but more fit. Ive broken this rule for 10 and 5 K races, and gotten the results I wanted, but 13 and 26 mile events are completely unforgiving. A small pain at mile 5 wont be so small at mile 19. Make sure you step into the corrals healthy.
Variety is Critical
Its important to vary your training I. At our age running every day isnt necessary, or very smart either. Were older and more susceptible to injury. Mix in other cardio vascular training, whatever you like, be it biking, x-training, swimming, whatever. The key here is to get your heart rate elevated for long periods of time to build CV fitness, and get your legs working to build leg strength. Youll notice that almost everyone here varies their CV exercises to build fitness and reduce the likelihood of injury. My 2006 Goofy, which remains my fastest ever marathon (go figure, faster than when I did marathons alone, but it was cool/cold), was done with 2-3-2 training each week. 2 runs, 3 hard and long bike sessions, and 2 weight sessions per week. And speaking of weight work, do it. It is critically important to strengthen your legs and core. Longer races are about power, and weight work builds power. As we age we need to maintain muscle power, otherwise youre asking for muscle pulls.
Its important to vary your training II. If your training consists of 4 runs / walks per week, each 8 miles long, youre not going to get to the finish of a half or full. Remember you are training your body and mind for the coming race, and this schedule fails. I guarantee if you train like this, on race day when you pass the 8 mile marker your body and mind will begin to torture you. Hey, arent we done? Were always done here, why not today? You need to mix up your pace and distance. Some short and easy days, some long and easy days, some short and hard days, and very few longish and hardish days. This variety trains your body and mind for different distances and paces, and prepares both for race day. I suspect smart training like this with around 11 miles as your long run will get you in comfortably on half marathon day. For a full marathon you need more like 18-20 miles for a long effort. You dont need to do many, if any, long and hard days, as they increase the chance on injury. Training like this, varying pace and distance, allows you to put it all together on race day. This may sound odd, but your easy and long days combine with your harder and short days, often resulting in a perfect race. Ive had a few of these in my life, and they are pure satisfaction and amazement (where did that come from?).
Strength Matters
Since none of us are going to set age group records, your hard training should be more about strength than speed. In a Half of Full Marathon there will be stretches when you need to dig deep into your reservoir of strength to keep moving. Hills are great for building strength. Weight work (again, sorry) is critical also here. Doing longer runs at a bit quicker pace also builds strength. Hard work on an exercise bike at high resistance builds strength. Muscle conditioning classes help. Here is where you learn a new word, fartlek, meaning speed play. Its Scandinavian or Finnish, Im not sure, and sure sounds cute, but it means throwing in a few bursts of speed in your usual run. Push the pace to that telephone pole, or house, or whatever. All this work makes your body stronger and better able to cope with the stress of a long race.
Rest When Necessary
Your body needs rest throughout your training. I rest 1 or 2 days a week, and rest for me means no workout at all. Others do really gentle stuff. Youll find which alternative works for you. Once you are into your training, after a while, youll feel that youve become a slave to your training plan. Believe me, it happens to all of us. If one day you are supposed to train, but cant face it, take a mental health day. Or two days if necessary. Treat yourself, but not too often. As adults we all face life and work issues which make this training thing a lot harder, so when necessary ease off. But also remember, its called training for a reason. You are training your mind and body. If your training includes lots of unplanned days off, and you stop well short of your plan in many training sessions, you wont succeed on race day. Basically dont be a lunatic, take breaks when necessary, but realize that out there in long races your body and mind will try to trick you into stopping. Training allows you to fight through it.
Pushing the Pace
If pace is an issue, and you are really worried about the sweepers, make sure some of your training sessions are a bit faster than sweep pace. Disney sweeps at 16 minute miles, so make sure your body knows what 15 minute miles feel like, and that you can sustain them for a good distance.
Mathematically, if you can hold 15 minutes per mile for 8 miles, you have built 8 minutes of cushion for yourself for the last 5, which works out to 1:36 per mile of cushion. If your training is consistently at 16 minutes per mile, youll have trouble pushing much faster on race day if required, so be sure to do some training a bit faster so your body wont be surprised.
Speed or tempo work will do amazing things for your body and race results. This means doing some workouts a bit faster than your planned race pace. My immediate goal is a sub-9 mpm pace for the Minnie 15K, so my speed work will be around 8:30 mpm pace this spring. Do a little of your training at this faster-than-race-plan pace, and on race day, that race pace will feel like you are floating. Do not do this very often, once every week or two, as tempo work stresses your body, increasing the chance on injury. But, stressing your body allows your body to learn to run pretty hard, and still stay relaxed. Since Im doing longer races now, my speed work is quarter or half mile surges, with a quarter mile of slow and easy running between the surges. Effectively you surge and recover, and do this a few times. This trains your body to push the pace, and recover from the surge, which is huge in races. The other thing about a workout like this is it can be mentally refreshing if done rarely. If Im doing 6 miles, this translates to an easy half, a hard half, repeated 6 times. Training sessions like this go by quickly, and you are switching back and forth in pace and level of concentration. This is my personal preference for speed work, but lots of people prefer to do their speed work on hills. Just a little more pace on an incline requires more from your body, and also works very well (Mel, that was just for you!).
And one more thing. Well trained runners / walkers are able to get up to 1 mpm more in pace in a race than in training. Race day means you are rested from your taper, you are excited the event is finally here, and you are running with others all around. You cannot overestimate the value of having someone on your shoulder every step in a race. If on race day you are with someone and you are straining to hold onto them, ease off and let them go. On the other hand if you feel like pushing the pace, politely tell them goodbye and take off. Especially at the Disney races, there is always someone to run with. And if your great delight is to take every step with a dear friend, then do this and enjoy the ride (for my friends Rhonda and Cam).
Bodily Functions
This is more problematic for ladies than we males, but if the sweep pace is an issue for you, dont waste time in bathrooms or bathroom lines during the race (yes, I know, any tree does fine for us, its great to be male). There are port-a-potties on the course, but the lines can be long. People do get swept when the buses pass them on a bathroom break. Be careful with fluid in the early am of the race, no 6 cups of coffee. If you have to go, have a plan. For the half, there are bathrooms in the Magic Kingdom in tomorrowland (first so often crowded) and frontierland (later and never crowded). For the full there are bathrooms in EPCOT, MK, AK, and later (I must admit, by the AK during the full, Im so dehydrated I couldnt give 1 cc if asked). If you gotta go you gotta go, but dont get swept while in the bathroom. Plus, if totally necessary, using the close by woods is fine. Youll see this a few times in every race, its part of race etiquette. You are allowed to hoot at the relieving party, but not stare.
Dress Rehearsal
Be sure to do a few races before the Disney Half or Full. Like anything else, a race has its own unique flow and processes, and by doing a few in advance youll be a veteran for January of 2009. Once you feel 5K or 10K are within your grasp, get out there and do a local event. Dont feel youll be treated badly, in fact, expect the opposite. If you think youll finish in the back of the pack be sure to line up in the rear area of the starting corral, and jump off with the gun (this is one area where a new competitor can get in trouble, if you are shooting for 15 minutes per mile dont step into the front of the starting area, youll likely to get run over and called nasty names). I honestly can say Ive never been at a race when the last finisher wasnt applauded by the folks remaining in the finish area. Okay, many finishers may be gone, but those remaining will recognize your accomplishment. As the shirt says DLF>DNF>>DNS, and its true, and we all know it. I have run some pretty fast races in my life (long ago, in a galaxy far, far away), and I have never commented even to myself that the last finisher shouldnt be out here. My comments are always vocal and something like, way to go, bring it in. I always smile when I see someone who has obviously stretched to start and finish, as they earned that finish, and likely worked much harder than most finishers.
Race Day is your Reward
At times the training is so hard mentally and physically, but the race is more fun than the law allows (at least here in New England where those darn puritans always worried that somewhere someone was having fun). The nervous shifting in the start (ask Martha about my shoelaces), the gun (and fireworks at Disney), the sights and sounds of the course, being with friends and strangers, struggling, and finishing. Plus you get to wear really sharp and colorful gear. When you finish be sure to think back on what you accomplished to get there. If youve had a good day, crushed your likely time, youre free to poof out like a peacock. If things havent gone according to plan, recover a bit and celebrate what you just did.
The past 2 Disney Halfs and Fulls have been tough, run in difficult conditions of humidity and increasing heat as the race went on. Most of us didnt come close to hitting our time goals, and as we met in the finish area the talk was all about disappointment, including several vows (Craig to Colleen, Colleen to Craig) to never do this dumb thing again. But after the initial disappointment wore off, we celebrated among ourselves for being there, starting, and finishing. Basically for being alive and doing something challenging and rewarding. Hundreds of hugs and handshakes were exchanged. No matter what happened out there to you on race day, feel good about all the work you did to get there. You did it, and you did it yourself. You may have had help, and people may have paced you or stayed with you in difficult patches, but you covered the distance with your own strides. I repeat, you did the distance with your own strides.
Congratulations.
Sorry about the length of this thing, but after writing this thesis I am so ready for January 10 and 11, 2009. Luckily I have a few races planned between now and then to maintain my sanity.
My best to all of you
Craig
That is 30+ miles the last two weeks. 
Happy August to everyone! 
) that we have all the pictures saved on and I am still trying to figure it out. Once I learn how to resize pics and copy and paste from the Mac, I will post new pictures. He is already starting to change and looks different from when he was first born. He's still Stephen's mini me, but he does look a little different. 
