Running Tip #13. Train your brain to race your best. Picture yourself overcoming hard parts of the course and crossing the tape. Create positive mental images while training and before sleeping. These triggers will help you relax and feel incredible on race day!
Shoe Dog
Running Tip #12. Many runners buy shoes that are too light, small, or stylish. Distance running requires support. Use lighter shoes only after getting used to them. Feet swell when running so go 0.5 - 1 size up. Replace every 400 miles or based on wear & tear, and use a shoe with 50-100 miles for race day.
Pro tips: Use a parallel lacing technique to increase comfort. And try a pair of toe socks if you get blisters as they eliminate skin-to-skin friction. I always run my marathons in them!
Be Weather-Proof
Running Tip #11. You can’t control the weather so be prepared for anything from sun and heat to rain and thunderstorms or freezing conditions. If it's raining during a key training session, you may use the dread-mill or skip the run but make an effort to get out there so you have confidence if it rains on race day. Training in the heat with proper hydration is also great practice but avoid extreme winds or ice to prioritize safety above all else. And if you really want to guarantee perfect conditions, run an indoor marathon!
Have 2 Goals
Running Tip #10. Set an ambitious goal and a secondary one. It’s hard to predict race day temperature which affects your game plan. Your ambitious goal could be to qualify for Boston, set a personal best or break 4 hours. Your secondary one should keep you motivated during the last 6 miles. It can be just to finish and feel awesome! Or a more achievable time goal. If conditions are rough or you have a bad day, focus on the achievable one - there will be many more races.
Stretch and Roll
Running Tip #9. Stretching should be a big part of training. Ideally every run starts with easy running and dynamic stretching. But it's most important after running.
Here are some of the best static stretches for running and cycling:
-Standing quad stretch
-Seated Pigeon pose to open the hip
-Child pose and cat-cow for the back
-Use a foam roller to fully stretch the IT band, hamstrings, and calves
-Use a hard ball to roll out the glute & under your feet
Proper Form
Running Tip #8. Proper form results in efficient running and faster times. Rather than fixing everything, work on each of these separately:
Torso: Shoulders back & relaxed, arms swinging toward center from closer to waist position than chest, elbows creating 75-90 degree angle, very slight forward lean
Foot strike: Feet strike under your knee. Aim for mid-foot strike vs. toe or heel, landing on balls of feet is good if you've built up the foot strength.
Stride rate: Avoid long, loopy strides and increase your turnover, targeting 180 steps/min. Speed = stride rate x stride length. Higher cadence will naturally help your foot strike too.
Test Your Fitness
Running Tip # 7. Guest tip from Bill Rodgers, also known as "Boston Billy" who won the Boston & NYC marathons each 4 times and is a former American record holder. Bill is now 70 years old, and I had the honor of meeting him last year during the inaugural Shay marathon in Boise, Idaho. Bill says to do a 1/2 marathon about a month before to test your fitness. A good race provides a powerful mental lift.
In addition, with 3 weeks to go before the race, add progressive speed to your final long run, doing the last 7-10 miles slightly faster than your marathon pace . Learning how to increase effort when struggling is huge for the marathon.
Cross-Training
Running Tip #6. Avoid boredom in one sport (e.g. running) by cross-training (e.g. cycling, swimming, strength training). Cross-training improves total body strength and flexibility. At easy/moderate intensity, it can also prevent injury by correcting muscle imbalances caused by running or other activities that you're not aware of.
Cycling is complementary to running by strengthening quads to reduce the risk of knee pain, the most common running injury. But my favorite cross-training activity is swimming, a full-body workout with zero-impact. Swimming builds the cardiorespiratory system by forcing your body into an oxygen-deprived state. To quote Drake, "Michael Phelps with the swim moves!"
Train Faster to Run Faster
Running Tip #5. After building mileage, speedwork or interval training is key to setting a personal best time. My favorite marathon specific workouts are Yasso 800s and mile repeats. Shorter intervals like 400s are good early in the season and during taper.
Speed improves running economy, makes marathon pace feel easy peasy, and spices up your training routine. No pain, no gain!
Rest is Good
Running Tip #4. Running is high-impact and endurance training can be taxing both mentally and physically, so it's important to know when to let your body recover especially after hard workouts or races. In the last few weeks before a race, listening to your body and resting helps aid injury prevention and muscle regeneration. There is little incremental benefit a training session provides during a taper period. Finally, the more you train, the more sleep you need. Try sleeping early and waking up early more often, since that will be needed for race day!
Eat Right
Running Tip #3. Poor nutrition is the largest cause of "hitting the wall" or glycogen depletion. Focus on good foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, and grass-fed meat and avoid refined grains, fatty meat, excess sweets or added sugar, and fried food that deplete glycogen faster and lead to weight gain. 1 extra lb = 1 extra second / mile! I love plenty of good carbs, but they should be proportional to training load, i.e less carbs with less miles during taper. Make sure to get protein within 30 minutes of finishing a hard workout or race.
Pace Yourself!
Running Tip #2. "Pace yourself" is easy to say but difficult to do! Set a realistic goal pace based on training, and start at least 5 seconds / mile slower. Force yourself to check your pace despite adrenaline and ability to run faster. Ease in to your goal pace after the first 10k, control through the next 20k, knowing you can pick it up the last 10k and finish strong.
I have learned to improve pacing both by trial and error as well as volunteering as a coach, guide, and pacer with Achilles International, where I have helped pace several of my athletes to beat their goal times at the NYC Marathon.
Know the Course
Running Tip #1. You should adapt your training based on the race course. If there are hills, eat hill repeats for breakfast with a side of gels. Increase your cadence and shorten your stride as you climb. Let your body loose on downhills while catching your breath. If there are turns, run tangents better than Pythagoras would.
The NYC marathon is deceptively hilly with 4 bridges and a gradual but grueling climb up 5th Ave before you hit Central Park. Make an effort to train the course for mental and physical confidence on race day!
15 Marathon Tips
Here's a list of many marathon tips I have shared with athletes. I will be elaborating on them during 26 days of running tips leading up to the NYC marathon this year!
- Don't overeat the day before. A big meal is a myth. Have simple food & avoid too much dairy and fiber.
- Stick to your nutrition plan. Water + Power Gel (more salt) / 4-5 miles. Use caffeine strategically.
- Use parallel lacing on shoes to reduce pressure & prevent stress fractures.
- Get your body and mind ready with a few "strides" or 100 meter pickups before the race.
- Have a phrase like "Easy, Light, Smooth" or "Smile :)" to recall each mile.
- Avoid long, loopy strides to prevent fatigue & injury. Improve your cadence to at least 180 steps/min.
- Pain is inevitable. Run to overcome pain & replace it with something wonderful. Suffering is optional.
- Start slow & finish strong. Easy to say but difficult to do!
- Exerting yourself to the fullest within individual limits: essence of running & metaphor for life.
- Keep moving after the race. Continue to hydrate and make sure to get some protein within 30min of finishing.
- Make running a habit- have a "reward" in mind (chocolate milkshake) and isolate the "cue" (time of day).
- Run a race in costume. For the fans & the challenge. A reminder not to take things too seriously.
- Rest is a good thing. Running is high-impact, know when to let your body recover, esp. after a big race.
- The only way to run faster is to train faster. Find a track & do 800s, w/ 400 easy jog after each.
- Run YOUR pace. Don't chase the person who passes you if it's not part of your plan.
23.5 Hours
I really like this video, cleverly illustrated with an important message.
This is something we all can incorporate in our day and should encourage others too as well, from as early an age as possible. Build it into school curriculums, in one form or another, from pre-K through college.
This is one thing we should all be required to do, just like reading & writing.
This has tremendous benefits, primarily for ourselves but also quite visibly for those we frequently interact with.
I'll let the video do the rest of the coaching!
A Book Recommendation for Runners
A great snippet from the NY Times on the evolution of the runner's high:
"Liking to run, it seems, may have helped to make humans what they are...our evolutionary history appears to have included this kind of endurance activity and rewarded it. And as a result, we continue to have a biological imperative to move."
This reminded me of the book Why We Run, an easy-to-read, fascinating biological perspective of how humans have survived and evolved because of running. Our ancestors were able to hunt by out-running animals who have fewer sweat glands and as a result, significantly less endurance capacity. Humans also evolved with physiological traits to enable efficient running, such as the stretchy nuchal ligament in our neck, long Achilles tendon and plantar arch in our foot.
Before a Race
Tapering is common practice. This consists of reduced mileage and calories but still a few anaerobic workouts. Similar to the belief in easy jogging the day after a marathon, it can be good to do light running or exercise, one or two days before a race, for mental and physical confidence.
Avoid experimenting with meaty, gassy, spicy or hard-to-digest foods. Stick to carbs (pasta!), veggies and some good fats and protein for a normal size meal. A lot of dairy generally doesn't sit well prior to racing.
The most obvious and important ritual is to hydrate as early as 48 hours before, mainly water plus electrolytes, to help prevent dehydration, cramping, and any heat-related conditions.
Double check race logistics, gear and transport. Finally, sleep early for 7+ hours but don't stress if you end up getting less...adrenaline and a little caffeine will make up for it!
Cycling Tip from a Pro
I got a chance to connect with Heather Jackson, former Princeton varsity hockey player turned professional triathlete and Ironman. Only in her 4th full season, she has been on several Ironman podiums including wins at the inaugural Princeton 70.3 and on the hilly Wildflower 70.3 course. Heather was recently featured on the cover of Lava Magazine.
Heather's advice: go ice skating and get into the weight room. In particular, "lots of high reps and low weights for exercises like squats." And by "high" she means 100 reps until failure to really mimic pedaling on the bike.
Why is Everyone Running a Marathon?
In 2003, it took over 8 months for the Chicago marathon to sell out. In 2011, that time length was down to 31 days. And In 2012, it sold out in only 6 days. Perhaps it's not with surprise that the Chicago Marathon sold out in just a few hours in 2013, accompanied by technical problems that suspended registration for 2 days. The race has since moved to a lottery system, along with a few others including the Berlin Marathon.
Chicago was established in 1977 and one of the 5 world marathon majors, among Boston, London, NY and Berlin. The marathon as a race has been around for centuries.
So why all of a sudden are we seeing huge increases in registrations and sell-out rates?
Surely with improvements in health research and awareness, there is more emphasis on healthier lifestyles and daily exercise, but national obesity rates continue to creep up (~30% of the US). As you can see from the chart below, the # marathon finishers has steadily increased over the past 30 years, as running grows in popularity and new races are launched.
I speculate that the rise is largely due to social networks and the ability to easily share intent with family and friends. The event itself can efficiently market to today's tech-savvy runners as advertising moves away from TV & print to online channels.
A few other interesting stats about the Chicago marathon: it creates $150million of economic activity, ~1k jobs and $70million+ for charities. Maybe it shouldn't happen only once a year!
Chrissie Wellington
Chrissie Wellington is quite possibly the greatest triathlete to have graced the sport: holder of all Ironman world and championship records, undefeated in 13/13 Ironman-distance races, and 4-time Kona winner, with the first being less than a year after turning pro in 2007. She never thought of becoming a professional triathlete, and instead focused on succeeding academically and pursuing international development as a career.
After her first marathon at the age of 25 and her first triathlon a couple of years later, Chrissie trained "obsessively and compulsively" to reach where she is today. Chrissie's determination, inspiring smile and remarkable class remind us why we love the sport.
Some of Chrissie's advice:
"On my race wristband, and on all my water bottles, I write some simple words. One is 'smile' and the other 'never give up'. I always say that Ironman is 50% physical and 50% mental. To plunder the words of Mohammed Ali, 'the will must be stronger than the skill."