I'm sharing 10 of my favorite rules from Mark Remy's everyday and often unspoken rules of running, adding some perspective from my racing and coaching.
1. Expand your Definition of Fun
Fun may include waking up before 6AM to log 6 miles, running up and down a bridge or around 400-meter circles, paying a random organization to run on public roads and blistering your feet, sometimes on back to back days.
2. Have Mercy on the Slow
There will always be someone slower than you and someone faster than you. When running with someone slower, make it a point to remain a half a step behind to avoid pushing the pace too much and showing off.
3. Learn and Love the Farmer's Blow
A process by which you clear your nostril of mucus by pinching shut the opposing nostril and exhaling forcefully, ideally off to the side to avoid your snot rocket exploding on someone else.
4. Acknowledge Fellow Runners in Public, But be Cool about it
A Garmin watch, tan line, race tee, or running shoe are some ways to spot a fellow runner in the wild. An acceptable form of acknowledgement includes brief eye contact and head nod...and that's about it. Runners are dignified and understated, not golfers.
5. Running on the Beach is Overrated
It's never quite as good as you believe and can lead to more issues from annoying sand that can never be removed to attractive sun-bathers that will distract you and cause you to run into a child. Stick to a run around town or on the tread.
6. Running at Night is Underrated
I realized this during my first Reach the Beach relay, running at 3AM with proper reflective gear (try the amazing fyrfly one!) and headlights. There's something about running through the stillness of the dark, along your own path of light, that makes you feel like you are gliding.
7. Be Careful Where and Whom You Ask for Lube
A running specialty store or race expo are fine but Whole Foods or a dive bar may not be.
8. Non-Runners Don't Care That Much About Your Running
I learned pretty quickly after just a few marathons that non-runners don't care about mile splits or wind speed and humidity. Save it for the community.
9. Having a Million Things to Do is an Excuse For Running, Not An Argument Against it
Running will help you clear your mind, organize your thoughts, and return to your tasks with renewed clarity, energy, and even creativity.
10. When You've Finished, Wipe the Track Down for the Next Runner
Just kidding!
How to Train Smarter to Avoid Fatigue
I was catching up with a fellow coach this week who told me she wasn't seeing a step change in her performance and felt burned out. I asked when was her last complete rest day. It took a while for her to remember.
As a marathon runner and triathlete who fears losing fitness with any break, I've experienced this too. My "rest days" often include cross-training like swimming or strength training. Actual rest days, and more importantly intentional rest days, are often forgotten.
But there is growing research that shows extended rest is important to maintain good mental health and optimal performance. How much rest is the tricky part, since our minds and bodies may need different amounts of time to recover.
It turns out that our fitness does not diminish as drastically as we think with an extended period of rest. Our bodies adapt to "defend" our fitness level, keeping older blood cells in circulation for longer to deliver oxygen to our muscles. Indeed, an elite athlete like 5-time Olympian Bernard Lagat, running his first marathon at age 43, has taken five full weeks off running each year since 1999 to recharge mentally and physically.
Of course, the longer and harder your training program, the longer the break you may need. In order to prevent both mental and physical fatigue, here are a few of my guidelines to train smarter:
Don't increase weekly mileage by more than 10% per week, knowing your limits on total weekly mileage
Avoid training programs that are too long (e.g 16+ weeks for a marathon) to prevent fatigue
Find a better balance between running and cross-training, and speed-work and easier effort runs
Approach improving one step at a time, training at your current race fitness until you achieve a new PR
Plan complete rest days or full week, a massage, trip to the spa or float pod, listening to your body and resuming training with renewed strength
Coach Joe Vigil once said, "There is no such thing as over-training, only under-resting." One of my mantras I tell my athletes is rest and recover as hard as you train. Ensure proper sleep and nutrition. Try running without your GPS watch from time to time. No one has ever wondered if an injury was caused by an additional rest day!
Recovering hard in Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The Hardest Part about being an Athlete
The hardest part about being an athlete is the injuries. Not the aches and pains, but the kind of injury that puts you out of commission for a couple of months. I just learned a few days ago from an MRI that I have a stress fracture in the good ole calcaneus (heel bone), perhaps similar to what kept Jordan Hasay out of Boston this year. 5 weeks in a boot. Listen to my heart go ba-dum, boo(t)'d up. 6-8 weeks before running.
Over the past 10 years and 80+ races, I've been blessed to be healthy for almost the entire time. I had a tibial stress fracture in 2008, before my first marathon, and a broken jaw in 2012, before my first full Ironman. Both were setbacks that kept me out for a few months. I have had minor aches and pains, from mild Achilles tendinitis to a literal pain in the butt (sciatic nerve related) but have managed to train, race, strengthen, and recover through them.
When you know you can't run for an extended period of time, it is crushing - mentally, emotionally, physically. You no longer have your daily runner's high, that training run to catch up with a friend, or the upcoming race to push your limits. But as a friend and Olympic-caliber marathoner recently told me, the opportunity to reset brings its own value.
If I can't run, I can still coach. If I'm not coaching, I'm cheering. I will also use the time off my feet to work on other areas of my fitness. In addition to abiding by doctor's orders with physical therapy, nutrition (supplemental calcium & vitamin D), and recovery, I can focus on building more total body strength. I can improve my swim and bike fitness without any impact. And I can reunite with my old friend - the erg machine - or that fancy water rower these days!
It is important I don't rush back into running and listen to my body, taking extra time for the heel...heal! This will help me avoid imbalances that occur if I try to compensate due to a lingering injury and reduce the risk of future injuries.
There will always be a comeback from injury. And it will be epic.
Your Running Sole Mate
Making sure you have the right running shoes will help you run longer and prevent injury. Choosing a shoe is not just about picking the coolest pair of Nike's or your school colors but also about understanding your gait, pronation type, and foot strength. Take advantage of free gait analyses from running stores like JackRabbit, Marathon Sports, or Fleet Feet or running coaches like myself who can record you in action and observe your pronation, foot strike, and toe off. Buying the right pair of new shoes won't make you a better runner, but running in them will!
In short, pronation refers to the way your foot rolls upon striking the ground, with under-pronators landing on the outside of their feet and over-pronators landing on the inside of their feet. Runners with high arches typically under-pronate and those with low arches or flat feet tend to over-pronate. As a result, the shoes of under-pronators will show the most wear on the outside while those of over-pronators will show more wear on the inside part of the heel and big toe.
Normal pronators, or those who push off evenly and have less distinct rolling of the feet, have a similar amount of wear along their heels and forefeet. You should know that pronation is OK! It is a natural movement of the body but it should directly influence your running shoe selection.
Under-pronators need a "neutral" shoe with cushioning along the outside to encourage a more natural foot motion and avoid strong impact. Over-pronators need a "stability" shoe and motion-control to distribute the impact more effectively. Normal pronators do best in stability shoes that offer moderate pronation control. Foot strength will also be a factor to help determine the level of cushioning; for example, lighter shoes may require you to start with low mileage and only gradually increase to get used to lower levels of support.
When I tested the 6.5 oz Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% shoes, a big deviation in many ways from my Brooks 10 oz stability shoes, I noticed considerable wear and tear after 100 miles! As beautifully engineered and designed as they are, I needed more stability and regretfully returned them to the lab.
According to Strava, over the past 4.5 years, I've run just over 11k miles across 29 different shoes, with the most common being 6 pairs of Brooks Ravennas and 5 pairs of Brooks Adrenalines, both being medium-arch stability shoes that support my fairly normal pronation, which has allowed me to also experiment with more neutral shoes like the Brooks Launch and Brooks Ghost.
My top three other shoe tips:
- Feet swell when running, especially running distance, so go at least 0.5 to 1 size up. I go a full 1 size up from my dress shoe size. I learned my lesson the hard way when I raced shorter distances and developed a tibial stress fracture, very likely the result of a snug shoe!
- Replace shoes every 300 to 500 miles based on both the wear and cushioning of the shoe. Use a fairly new but broken-in shoe (~50 miles) for races. For beginner runners, wear your new shoes everywhere - it will increase your odds of running!
- Use a parallel or different lacing technique to increase comfort and relieve pressure from the top of the foot by not allowing the laces to cross over the middle of the metatarsals. Combine this with a pair of toe socks to help eliminate skin-to-skin friction and you are well on your way to being a shoe dog.
How to Fuel your Running
One of the most common questions I receive is about nutrition. While I am not a nutritionist, I will share insights from my years of running and coaching experience, so take this with a grain of sea salt (pun intended!). Poor nutrition is the largest cause of "hitting the wall" - when your glycogen, or storage of carbohydrates, is depleted. The amount of glycogen you have in your muscles has been shown to be directly correlated with how long you'll last on a treadmill test to exhaustion. Good running nutrition should keep you healthy and fuel your training!
Your ideal running diet should focus on foods like organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats like nuts and avocados, fish, and grass-fed (whenever possible!) meat and limit or avoid refined grains, fatty meat, highly processed sweets or added sugar, and fried food that deplete glycogen faster and can lead to weight gain. I love plenty of good carbs (60-70% target of your diet), and the absolute amount should also be proportional to training load; more/less carbs with more/less miles during your peak/taper periods. Make sure to get protein within 30 minutes of finishing a workout or race as protein helps your muscles heal faster and accelerate growth.
On the question of being vegetarian or "pescetarian", I have experimented with both and found it hard to get sufficient protein from tofu, beans, and eggs or sufficient iron from spinach and lentils. Iron builds the red blood cells that carry oxygen which muscles require, especially as you increase the intensity or distance of your runs. You should also be aware that the ideal diet I described often produces gas in the GI track. It can't stay there forever, and the runner's code allows you to pass gas freely when you run! Pretend the gas is propelling you forward like a booster rocket.
For race day nutrition, I almost always have a bagel with Justin's almond butter and a banana, ideally 1.5 - 2 hours before the race. Before a training run, my stomach has become accustomed to eating as soon as 15 minutes before, but it's usually something small and delicious - a Honey Stinger waffle, UNREAL peanut butter cup, or piece of fruit like Marathon Mangos (wink!). Avoid experimenting with anything you're not used to. A lot of dairy doesn't sit well prior to running. The most important ritual is to hydrate as early as 48 hours before a race, water plus electrolytes like Maurten, NuuN, or Zym, to prevent dehydration, cramping, and heat-related conditions.
Have a nutrition plan during the race and stick to it: a gel like PowerGel plus water every 5 miles or 30-45 minutes. Sports drink every 2 miles after the first gel. Electrolyte salts like SaltStick at miles 12 and 18. I ran my first 8 marathons with gels that had half the sodium and without any additional salt and felt I was about to cramp or did cramp by miles 18-20. Switching to gels with more sodium and supplemental electrolytes has eliminated that feeling!
Finally, try using caffeine strategically, by avoiding it a few weeks before a race and then using it on race day for an extra kick. You will discover the right amount of caffeine to suit you and your stomach. Academics believe caffeine lowers perceived effort by shutting down brain receptors that detect adenosine, a molecule associated with mental fatigue. Some also say caffeine enhances muscle contraction while others say it enhances fat oxidation to give you more energy. To me, the mental effects are enough!
Practice your nutrition plan during training, even if you feel like you don't need it. If you sweat a lot or if it's warmer, be more liberal. You'll find what works for you, but only if you train your nutrition too!
Why You Should Have a Goal...or Two!
Setting goals will help you get the most out of your training. You should have a goal for each workout, which can be as simple as an escape from life or as specific as hitting certain paces during intervals. But more importantly, you should also have longer-term goals that you work towards with each workout. My advice for these longer-term goals: have 2 goals - an ambitious one and a more achievable one!
Your ambitious goal could be a certain time or distance goal. Your achievable goal could be a more realistic time or just to finish! Having 2 goals allows you to manage uncontrollable factors that make your ambitious one nearly impossible so you can still hit that achievable one.
There is ample research by psychologist Edwin Locke that goal-setting increases motivation and improves performance. More specific and ambitious goals (sub 4 hour marathon) leads to more performance improvement than easy or general goals ("try your best") do. Your short-term goals give you the opportunity for immediate reinforcement and feedback whereas long-term goals provide an outcome for you to work for.
My contrarian advice with your goals is also to embrace the power of negative thoughts and anticipate obstacles from having a bad day or brutally hot weather. Plan ways around these obstacles ahead of time so when they come at you, and they certainly will, you'll be ready!
Finally, find a way to share your goals. At Mile High Run Club, I encourage our runners to put their goals out into the universe and write them on the wall. Tell your goals to your coach, your friend, or your pet, so you can be held accountable and barked at!
My ambitious goal is to run back-to-back sub 3 hour marathons in a single weekend. I came close a few years ago, breaking 3 on Saturday but finishing a few minutes over on Sunday. I may try again this September but the races I'm considering are both hilly! My realistic goal is to run a Boston Qualifying time minus 5 minutes at least once each year. Although these are both time goals, I make sure to set other goals at the start of the year too.
What are your goals? Let me know so I can help you achieve them!
Staying Cool in the Heat
As we face the peak summer heat, it's important to stay cool to get the most out of your training. When the temps warm up, let your body adapt to the heat by focusing on your rate of perceived effort. During your first week of running in warmer weather, listen to your body and adapt gradually over the ensuing couple of weeks. It's ok, and arguably more beneficial, if you run a slower pace to maintain the same effort as you did in cooler weather. When heat spikes even post-acclimatization, perceived effort should be your guiding principle!
Here are my 5 tips on running strong during heat:
1. Nutrition: Electrolyte intake is crucial given we lose more electrolytes, and at a faster rate, in the heat. Before, during, and after runs, try having an electrolyte sports drink instead of just water. NuuN/Zym tablets and SaltStick are worth first experimenting with and then using routinely. Ample hydration and electrolytes will prevent the common occurrence of "cardiac drift" in the heat, where your heart rate increases over the course of a run even when your effort is the same. Dehydration causes your heart to work harder to pump your blood and deliver oxygen to muscles.
In the heat, I almost always carry a bottle with an electrolyte drink. While carrying a bottle adds extra weight, I alternate between my right and left hands and use the bottle to reinforce good form, holding it by my hips instead of chest and driving up and down instead of side to side.
2. Sun protection: Don't forget sunscreen for those hot and sunny days. A light cap or visor will help keep your head cool and prevent your body from overheating. I often also wear sunglasses to avoid squinting and using extra energy. Like the bottle, sunglasses can also help reinforce good form - your head should be steady and your shoulders back and relaxed to keep your sunglasses secure. My favorite brands include Lululemon and Tracksmith for a light hat and Goodr for sunglasses.
3. Apparel: Keep your clothing to a minimum, e.g. a singlet and split shorts. Your kit should be light in color, lightweight, and ideally have vents or mesh. You'll notice many pros cut holes in their singlets for races in the heat! Use nip guards and a healthy amount of vaseline in areas where you experience chafing.
4. Speed work: Do your best to accommodate speed work at the lowest temps of the day, ideally pre-sunrise or post-sunset. You put extra strain on your heart and body and can risk heat illness when running hard intervals in the heat, so be smart and feel free to even take your speed work indoors on the tread.
5. Mental & Physical strength: You will most likely not be racing a marathon in the heat, but even if you do, you'll be mentally and physically prepared. Use the heat to build your mental strength. Your body will also experience physiological changes to sweat faster and pump blood more easily, becoming more efficient at cooling itself. The improved blood circulation delivers more oxygen to your muscles, building your aerobic capacity and physical strength.
Just Breathe
Controlling your breathing is an important part of running, since deep breaths get more oxygen in your bloodstream and muscles, giving you more energy and endurance. While I rarely think about my breathing when I run, I do intentionally focus on it when my breath is shallow, when I experience fatigue, or when I feel a stitch.
Our diaphragm is a muscle that we need to train and use for deeper, more controlled breaths from the belly rather than shallower breaths from our chest. Deeper breaths send oxygen into the bottom of the lungs, increasing the amount of oxygen we can consume and our VO2 max. You can test this by seeing your belly rise and fall when you take deep breaths and your belly remain mostly still when you take shallow breaths. You should also inhale and exhale from your mouth to maximize oxygen intake (or both your mouth and nose). Using just your nose will result in shallower breaths.
The technique of rhythmic breathing coordinates your foot strike with inhalation and exhalation in an odd/even pattern, so you land alternately on your right and left foot at the beginning of every exhalation, when your diaphragm relaxes and you have less stability in the core. This is done to balance the impact stress of running on both sides of your body. Always exhaling on the same foot is similar to carrying a backpack on only one shoulder. In short, instead of an even inhale on 2 breaths and exhale on 2 breaths, try inhaling for 3 breaths ("in-2-3") and exhaling for 2 ("out-2"). Try this while resting, then walking, then running.
Some research also suggests that intentionally holding your breath - for example, during short sprints, can simulate altitude training and allow your body to adapt to lower levels of oxygen. As a result, your muscles become more efficient at extracting oxygen from the bloodstream. If you want to experience this challenge, do 2 sets of 8 sprints of about 5 seconds holding your breath, every 30 seconds. It will be mentally challenging, and you should certainly avoid this if you have any heart, lung, or high blood pressure condition.
Finally, a tip when you do have a side stitch while running: when inhaling, tighten your abs on the side where you feel the stitch for a couple of seconds and then exhale and relax your abs. This will feel like holding your breath then letting go. Repeat this 5-10 times to make your stitch disappear and get your breath back under control!
In TRAILS We Trust
I learned a lot about myself and trail running this past weekend at the XTERRA Big Elk Trail Marathon outside Baltimore in the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area.
In short, in all my prior marathons, I had never come as close to a DNF as I did in this race. It was a 2 loop 13.1 trail course, and after just a few miles of ankle-twisting switchbacks, steep inclines and declines, log jumping, stream crossing, and rock hopping, I was ready to downgrade to the half marathon when I finished the first loop.
As I crossed the line to complete the half, I pulled into the aid station for a few cups of Gatorade. Before I could find the race director to state my downgrade or DNF, a volunteer told me: "You're in 3rd, keep going!" There were at least 5 people ahead of me running the half marathon but I didn't realize only 2 people ahead of me doing the full. I pulled it together, mentally and physically, and kept going, reminding myself that I could keep a steady pace and be stronger the 2nd time through the technical course.
Here are 3 reasons why you should try trail running:
1) The Escape: Immersing myself in nature by running through oxygen-rich, shaded woods made me feel raw, energized, and connected to something bigger - Mother Earth. It's extremely humbling to escape the bustling city life and find yourself sidestepping rocks and running through mud. The constant variety of trail running has actually been shown to increase endurance, strengthen the core, and burn more calories than a comparable road run.
2) Lower Impact: While the obstacles will be challenging, the surfaces of trails are softer than typical asphalt or concrete on daily runs. I created less impact on my body while building more strength in muscles to stabilize the core and legs. Your connective tissue becomes stronger with each step and less prone to injury.
3) Better Technique: All the dodging forced me to shorten my stride and increase my turnover. Even though my pace was a bit slower than an open road marathon, my cadence was about the same, and I felt myself landing more on the forefoot than the heel. Shorter and faster strides and mid-/fore-foot landing require less energy and result in more efficient running.
The Benefits of Cross-Training
Cross-Training can benefit your running, especially in the base and build periods of a training plan. You'll find in the peak and taper phases, you'll have less time and energy to cross-train, but it can still help keep you strong and fit.
It includes anything from swimming (my favorite) and biking to rowing, stairmaster (my 2nd favorite), elliptical and more. We cross-train to improve our total body strength and flexibility. Running causes some muscle imbalances that you may or may not be aware of and cross-training helps correct these and prevent injury.
Incorporate cross-training to keep your exercise routine fresh. Swimming is a full-body workout with zero-impact, improving your cardio-respiratory system by imitating that oxygen-deprived state. Biking is a perfect complement by strengthening quads to reduce the risk of knee pain, one of the most common injuries. Maybe even sign up for a triathlon! And bonus if it includes an escape swim from Alcatraz in San Francisco!
Make your Warm-Ups Dynamic
Dynamic warm-ups allow you to activate and warm up the muscles you will use for running, whether an easy run or an interval workout. They increase blood flow which in turn increases mobility. The common analogy of your muscles to a rubber band is accurate - a cold and brittle rubber band snaps whereas one that is warm and flexible can be used repetitively. Research has shown that static stretching of cold muscles is more likely to lead to injury than if the muscles are warm and more elastic.
Here are a few of my favorite dynamic stretches that mimic more functional motions, improve flexibility, and keep your muscles warm and elastic.
1. Squats: Feet hip width apart, toes angled out 10-15 degrees. Lower your body as far as you can, sink your hips back and bend your knees. Inhale down, exhale up. Add a small jump if you’re feeling it. Objective of squats is to activate your quad and glute muscles and strengthen your core.
2. March --> High Knees: Lift the opposite arm and leg. Knees drive straight up, elbows drive straight back. This motion builds endurance of hip flexors, muscles that lift knees and open up your running stride. Increase the pace of your arms and legs to transition into high knees, and just like that, you're running.
3. Reverse Lunges: Step one leg halfway back, allow your hips and knees to flex to lower your body. Let your front leg pull you forward and alternate. Inhale back, exhale as you stand up tall. Lunges engage your hamstrings, glutes, and calves, which are all needed to climb hills.
4. Butt Kicks: Kick your heels up toward your glutes as high as you can. Don’t be afraid of contact. Keep your torso tall, head steady. This running movement helps increase your cadence.
Have Fun
Running Tip #26. Leading up to your race, have confidence in your training and look forward to an exciting & rewarding day! Line up loose, start easy, remember nutrition, go hard late. And get sleep the night before.
Expo Express
Running Tip #25. Take the express lane at the expo - it's easy to spend hours on your feet trying new snacks, apparel, shoes, and so on. You are better off buying gear after a race or on Cyber Monday. Getting the expo out of the way means you can focus on relaxing tomorrow!
Smile!
Running Tip #24. Smile at the crowds, at the funny signs, at other runners. It will relax you and make racing easier and more fun ! Research from Psychology of Sport & Exercise actually found that smiling improves running economy (oxygen use) by 2%, which is more meaningful over longer distances like the marathon. You’ll notice Kipchoge uses this tactic too. Turn that grimace into a smile!
Carbo-Load
Running Tip #23. Make sure carbs are a large (~70%) part of what you eat this week (pasta, potatoes, bread) to fuel you on race day. Don’t simply eat more of everything especially as you are tapering.
A big meal the night before is a myth. Have simple carbs, some protein, avoid too much dairy or high-fiber. Hydrate with electrolytes the day before. Plan your race morning breakfast 2 or 3 hours before to restock glycogen. I like a banana, bagel with almond butter, and water with electrolyte tablets like NuuN!
Why So Serious?
Running Tip #22. Run a race in costume as a reminder to not take running too seriously!
And for the challenge - it can be sweaty and heavy if you’re wearing a superhero suit. The crowd will love it. You’ll get more cheers than ever before. Happy Halloween!
Dress the Part
Running Tip #21. Have the right clothes to train. If it’s very cold, bring extra clothes to stay warm before. Try to run in as few layers - singlet & shorts - bring a thin hat, gloves, & arm warmers that you can throw off or keep if it’s <55F.
A few other tips: Use a visor or nylon cap if it’s raining or very sunny (+ sunglasses). Use vaseline and nip guards to prevent chafing. Practice carrying nutrition in shorts, in hand, or in a belt so it doesn’t fall out. Finally, write your name on your shirt or bib for extra crowd support!
Use a Habit Loop
Running Tip #20. Use a habit loop, cue -> routine -> reward, to make habits last. Associate a cue with a routine and a reward. I even use this mental track during a race, using a mile marker as a cue, increasing effort, then seeing a fan or having a gel as a reward. Over time, running and racing will become automatic.
Conquer the Beast!
Running Tip #18. Look forward to the Beast showing up during a hard training session or race. The Beast takes the form of a stitch, cramp, heavy legs, or a mental block. Get it under control and have a friendly fight to show who's boss. This is often both mental and physical. You can't hate the Beast and expect to conquer it: "The only way to truly conquer something is to love it." (Born to Run).
Patience
Running Tip #17. This is one I need to work on too. Marathons are about patience just as life is about patience. Don’t chase after the person who passed you, regardless of how good-looking the person is.
Race against yourself. Let your body warm up and do negative splits. You won’t achieve your goals in the first few miles of a race, but you can lose any chance of achieving them. I promise you the marathon is more enjoyable if you are patient.