If I knew then, what I know now!

Runner's Lounge "take it and run Thursday"

This is the list of the top 5 things I wish I knew back then that I know now.

1. REST! I would have rested more often. In my early years of running, I really didn't understand the fine line between training to improve and over training. I became obsessed with my weekly mileage and taking to many days off. I even ran over a year without a rest day! I felt that I was a machine. Guess what? We aren't machines. We need rest. One of the most over looked aspect of training is rest. Training breaks our bodies down. In order to get stronger and to improve our performance we need to allow for recovery. I now follow the plan of 2 weeks with higher mileage or effort followed by 1 week down. In my down week, I allow for more rest, decrease quality, cross training and I lower my mileage. This allows my body to recover from the previous 2 weeks of training. A rest day is not a cross training day!

2. I would have competed in shorter race distances when I was younger rather than the half marathon and marathon.
Please refer to our posts on 2-8-08. http://inmotion2.blogspot.com/2008/02/half-marathon.html

3. I would have worked on functional strength and mobility and avoided aggressive stretching. See previous posts of 1-20-08 and 1-22-08. http://inmotion2.blogspot.com/2008/01/got-strength.html
http://inmotion2.blogspot.com/2008/01/you-dont-have-squat.html

4. PLAN AHEAD for the day before a race. Plan ahead on how much time you spend at the expo. Plan ahead and make a early reservation for dinner. If you have to share a hotel room, make sure they share similar views about running. I made all of the mistakes before the 1996 (100th) Boston Marathon. I spent too much time at a crowded expo trying to get all the cool gear. I didn't make plans for dinner and settled for a really lousy meal. I shared a hotel room with non-runners who insisted on staying up late and reading. Needless to say, I woke up tired and ran a poor race with GI issues.

5. I would have gone out slower in the first half of the 1983, 1984 and the 1996 Boston Marathon! The first several miles are cumulatively downhill, it is easy to get tricked into a pace that is faster than you would normally attempt. At Boston, this is a much more costly mistake. The wall will hit much earlier which makes for a miserable last 6-8 miles.

Half Marathon

It sure was nice of Lou to point out that I'm a seasoned veteran (see the previous post). I have completed 44 half marathons, 26 of which have been the Indy Mini marathon. I'm not sure Lou was even born when I ran my first one. This is a great distance for a long challenge but not so long that it will zap your legs for several weeks of recovery as with a full marathon. This is not a good race distance for kids and even high schoolers if they are also planning on running track and cross country. I made this mistake in my youth. I was never blessed with wicked fast track speed and I never, as a youth, appreciated track. So, I started running long races at a fairly early age. I raced my first half at the age of 15, my first full marathon at 18 and my first Boston at 19 (2:38). I now know this is not the best plan for our young runners. I try to encourage my daughters to stick to short races. The early years of running are the prime time for developing leg speed. They then need to gradually build their ability to carry that speed. So, again if kids are interested in track and cross country, encourage them to stick to the shorter races. High schoolers and middle schoolers should learn to run fast in the shorter race distances (5Ks and shorter). This will only help them if they choose to move up in later years. Bob Kennedy didn't race longer than 12K until near the end of his competitive career. Many of the great Marathoners were very successful on the track and in shorter races before they moved up to the marathon later in their careers.

As I said earlier, for older runners (high school & up) who don't need to worry about competing in school sports the half marathon is a wonderful challenge. Just follow what Lou said in his post and you should be fine.

Other than the Indy Mini, my favorite Half is the Ludington Lakestride.
This small Ludington, Michigan race is held in mid June. It starts near the channel next to the Lake Michigan shoreline and goes north into the Ludington State Park for about 2.5 miles on a nice hard sand trail. The course gradually climbs to exit the trails over a large sand dune and then rejoins the road for the last half along the Lake back to the start. It is a hard course to run quick times but you can't beat the scenery.

The Mini

It's that time of year again. Here in the great state of Indiana, i think people are surprised to hear that there are other half marathons on this earth besides the famous "Indy One America Mini Marathon". You'll see what i'm talking about while you're waiting the 20 minutes to actually cross the start-finish line after the gun goes off. Personally, the indy mini is the only half-marathon i've ever done. I need to get out more i guess. John has completed many, many more and i'll let him give his own colorful commentary on those (wink, wink...he's been around a little longer than i have). The first time i ran a half marathon, i did it as a challenge to myself. Now that i've finally decided to up the ante and train for a full marathon, i'm beginning to think the half-marathon is the perfect distance for a race. It's not too long and it's not too short. It doesn't require a PDA to schedule 20 mile training runs. I don't need a GPS to actually figure out where i'm going to run 20 straight miles! I don't have to EAT while i run. More on this topic later as i continue with quest for 26.2.

Now for the good stuff:

There are several things to watch out for when training for the half-marathon. Like others have stated, just because it's a "half", doesn't mean it's going to somehow be easier to train for or that it can't cause injury if one doesn't train properly. We see many, many runners this time of year and it always seems to be the result of the same issues. In no particular order:

TOO MUCH TOO FAST
IMPROPER SHOE CHOICE
NOT LISTENING TO YOUR BODY (just because you can, doesn't mean you should)
NOT ESTABLISHING A GOOD BASE (cardiovascular base and strength/core base)

As a fellow runner, i have been guilty of all of these things at one point or another. I really have problems with number 3 eventhough i see the results of it on a daily basis (For a good real-life example see the excellent post by Frayed Laces). Hopefully, in the weeks to come, we'll be able to post some more examples, ideas, questions, and opinions on those issues and more. In the meantime, we encourage your comments and questions whether you agree or disagree. We love reading, learning, and discussing new ideas! Now Hit the Road!

Retro Shoes (part 3) / Firm Midsole & Crash pad

Read the post Retro shoes and Retro shoes part 2.
This video shows me in a neutral shoe with a more firm mid sole and crash pad. Again watch the ankle, foot and knee during all the phases of the running gait cycle. We think when you compare this with the previous video, you will see that there is less compression of the crash pad/ mid sole and thus a much more efficient gait cycle.

Look for the following:
Less toe out during swing/ Foot straighter during gait
More narrow gait cycle (feet landing in front of each other)
Normal amount of pronation

In our opinion, this "retro style" of neutral shoes will be a better choice for most neutral runners who weigh more than a 115 pounds. This type of shoe is also a great choice for runners who wear orthotics. These shoes should last longer and help to prevent injury. So again be careful when you try on those soft running shoes. Give a firm shoe a chance. Compare your shoe in the same way we did these two shoes. If your mechanics look better then you will probably feel better when you run in them.
Good luck and happy searching!