Gary’s Fitness Blog

Derby Festival Half Marathon Schedule - use link to view program.

The above program is designed to get people ready for the Derby Festival Half Marathon (locals call it “the mini”) in Loisville, Kentucky on April 26, 2008. The information posted here is just the number of minutes that an athlete could run on each day. The style and placement of runs is similar to how I design marathon programs (double long weekends), but since this is a half there will be added focus on “speedier” runs on Tuesday and Thursday.

Each phase has specific goals. There are goals related to the distance of the race, but there are also goals based upon the athletes’ experience, ability and durability. (Those of you who just went to AZ with me know that durability is my newest buzz.) I’ll try and blog about the general period goals when I have a chance, but I need to complete my athletes’ workouts for the first phase.

Also, start thinking about what you might use as your “fitness test”. My last post (at sweat365.com) discussed the idea of fitness tests. For more info you can search my blog or look through the tags at delicious.

Hopefully this is of some help to those deciding where to start.

Note: This is an updated post with a better link to the program as the iframe wasn’t working correctly.

I have not started using the logbook too much yet, but I thought it would be nice to start putting in my “fitness tests”. For those of you that are long time readers, you likely have seen me discuss this before. For those of you new to my thoughts around what a fitness test is and where the value is; you can read this:

the importance of Fitness Tests

or you can read how my regular application of fitness tests in 2007 saved me from making mistakes in my build up to Ironman Wisconsin by reading this post:

Einstein, Relativity and Triathlon Training

The concept of using regular fitness tests is something that Gordo and Joe Friel discuss in Going Long and when I began regularly implementing them, I found my training programs becoming more and more beneficial to my current fitness.

The biggest issue I see is that people train at an intensity level and ability based upon where they wished or hoped they were, not where they really are. It is apparent in almost every group run I’ve ever been on.

Garmin 305:

I just received my Garmin as a gift a couple weeks ago, therefore I have not discovered all the potential uses. But one really great benefit of having gps is that I was able to develop a fitness test that included the off the path trails at Veterans Park. Now when I “retest” myself in a few weeks, I won’t be able to recreate the condition of those trails, but that is a small price to pay in order to get some more trail running in. (I saw several times that my pace was around 12min/mile on the trails… no wonder I felt like I was burning it up on the road!)

Brief review of this Fitness Test:

It is a new run so I can’t show a graph of multiple applications, but for this test I decided to have a run that I would just go out and run at an RPE of 7 on a 10 point scale. Many of the tests I have heart rates that I choose to maintain (such as 150bpm on the 3 mile run), so this was nice to get out and run on “feel” and see what occurred.

My average heart rate was 173bpm for the run, which is pretty high for a run of this caliber, but I am not in great shape. Plus 173bpm is lower than my average bpm seen over my last several marathons which have ranged from 178bpm to 182bpm. A good sign that my current lactate threshold is probably not that great.

Let me know if you have any good Fitness Tests designed or questions about how to apply one of your own.

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 01/27/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 1:07:09.00
• Average Heart rate: 173
• Max Heart rate: 192
• Calories: 966
• Distance: 8.37 miles
• Average Pace: 8:01.28/mile
• Max Pace: 5:48.84/mile

Last night Nikki and I, along with Nikki’s running pals and several other Todd’s Road Stumblers went and saw “The Spirit of the Marathon.”

Here’s the trailer from youtube if you haven’t seen it yet.

There are some really good parts of the documentary, but there were also parts that I felt a little bored. I personally liked the triathlon documentary that I just got called, “What it Takes” better. The running documentary put out by the same group called “Showdown” is also more interesting. But there are some key differences that could influence someone’s enjoyment.

Here are some thoughts:

1. SofM doesn’t focus upon the professional or elite athlete, which is kind of nice. They include people like Deena Kastor (who is a top pro) to a grandfather that is running the marathon with his daughter, doing it for, as he says “for the t-shirt”.

2. They follow the runners for a long period before the actual marathon. I liked this part because you were able to follow their training. Although, it appears that all the age group runners were part of the same Chicago training group. It would have been nice to see different stategies.

For instance, you see the Hanson Project guys at the start of the marathon leading out the professionals. I was thinking that it would be nice to see one of the age group runners that train with them. Maybe I’m biased, but this movie reinforces the idea that someone training for a marathon needs to build up to a 20 mile run. And most people know how I feel about that! (Maybe that’s why I favorite the Hanson Project theories.)

3. I know I am jaded about some things in life, but the whole Boston Marathon thing just digs at my soul. The movie again has hints of, “to be a really good runner you have to qualify and run in Boston” attitude. I have to be a little subdued about my distaste for this right now because I believe Nikki would like to run in Boston. And I need to support her in that.

I wonder if Matt Carpenter or Scott Jurek have run Boston yet? Maybe they have.

4. I guess the biggest disappointment that I had with the movie was that I’ve heard the same stories a hundred times or more by now. The people in the movie appeared to be great people, they have very similar hobbies and interests that I do, but they are no different than the 25 people that I was with in Arizona to run the Rock N Roll Marathon.

In fact, there are a couple runners there that day that would have more interesting stories to tell. I’m positive about that.

My suggestion would be save the $10 (which is another thing, we had to pay a premium to see this movie) and rent it, maybe even buy it on dvd. If you head to the movies, go see Juno or No Country for Old Men. Two movies I’ve been wanting to see but will have wait now that I had my movie going experience this week.

The movie scores a 13 on the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion.

Our friend Amie running the marathon in Antartica!

Those of you that read my blog have probably seen a few posts where I talk about my desire to run a marathon in every state and DC. Then last year there was the an opportunity to earn a spot in the North Pole Marathon, which I applied for, but didn’t get.

Well, as I got more and more excited about the idea of running a marathon at the North Pole, I found several people that had accomplished the challenge of running a marathon on every continent. Amazing!

Today I got an email from a good friend of mine (Cory) that is worth sharing. Cory’s wife just ran the marathon in Antartica this past weekend. Amie is now a hero to me! Here’s Cory’s recap:

*** email start ***

Gang,

This email is all about Amie,as it should be!

When we left Antarctica, the last time, Amie mentioned that she regretted not running the marathon while down here. She said that if we ever came back (NO, that isn’t why we came back!), she would run the Antarctica Marathon. Well, Sunday was gameday. I volunteered to help support the marathon and Amie of course was going to run it. We drove out there at 0830 to get things started by 0930. Amie and her friend were ready to run so they decided to get to it. The weather was calm and sunny. Not a breeze in the area. Mt. Erebus was smoking and the sun was at high noon (like it usually is during the summer). There were about 30 other participants starting later. Along the route, there were aid stations set up, snow mobiles, and two Piston Bullies (what I was in). They also had participants running the 1/2 marathon and skiing the full and 1/2 marathon. Amie finished in a great time as her goal was to just finish the marathon. No sense hurting yourself down here when you have a month left.

Afterwords, there was a reception where the t-shirts were passed out and cookies were eaten. We treated ourselves to burger bar and mimosas……well, treated Amie as I didn’t work too hard supporting the race.

It was a perfect day for Amie to complete her mission. Now she only has five more marathons on five different continents! Next up…….who knows, maybe the Great Wall Marathon!

Hope all is well.

Next week will be about my new adventure/adventures……

*** email finish ***

Amie, you deserve a huge congratulations!

If you have read some of my blog posts lately than you have seen that I have been digesting some research articles related to patellofemoral pain and strength training.

One question that could be asked is; Why patellofemoral pain? Here are two answers:

1. If you read my review of the article that discussed the benefits of physical therapy then you would know that patellofemoral pain is also known by many other names, such as, chondromalacia patellae, anterior knee pain, patellar malalignment, and patellofemoral arthralgia. Therefore it may seem that the name is a very narrow issue, but it is not.

2. These issues seem to be very common set backs that runners deal with from my experience. While I used to believe that these knee issues (runner’s knee even) were more prevalent with new runners, I am not sure that I can make that general observation anymore. I feel like I get these questions all the time lately, from all sizes, shapes, gender and experience of runners.

The previous two articles have been a review of: a - suggestions to sports physicians on how to address and manage pfp and b - the role that physical therapy interventions have, especially strength exercises.

The article that I reviewed today discussed the question from another angle, Is there a difference in hip strength in females that have patellofemoral pain versus those that don’t?

Here’s the article source:

Ireland ML, Wilson JD, Ballantyne BT and Davis IM. (2003). Hip strength in females with and without patellofemoral pain. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. Vol. 33, No. 11, Pgs. 671 - 676.

The basics of the study is that they matched 15 females subjects with patellofemoral pain to 15 female subjects without patellofemoral pain. They then tested both hip abduction (moving your leg away from your body) and external rotation (rotating your foot in).

They had some interesting findings:

1. isometric hip abduction was 26% weaker in the females with patellofemoral pain
2. external rotation was 36% weaker in females with patellofemoral pain

They do point out in their discussion that b/c of the study design it is not possible to determine a cause/effect relationship, but they do make some observations that I felt were worth mentioning:

1. the results of this study, along with previous studies show that proximal stabilization programs (this means proximal to the knee… thus the stabilization at the hip) may be beneficial for those with patellofemoral pain.

2. strengthening of the hip abduction and external rotators may benefit those with patellofemoral pain (they mention other studies that have focused on strengthening the gluteus medius)

My thoughts:

This observation is essential to my understanding of the patellofemoral pain issue and helping runners. Why? Because most of the articles that I’ve read and found deal with the issue of patellofemoral pain treatment. Which is not what I would ultimately like to do. The desire is to find characteristics of the problem and correct them before they become an injury that needs treatment.

Again, this article does not show a cause / effect relationship. I could not promise someone that if they increased their strength for hip abduction and external rotation, they would not ever develop knee pain. The injury is multifactoral, therefore that idea is too simplistic in my point-of-view.

But it does point to a possible factor that we can control by including some appropriate strength training exercises.

One of the biggest revelations that I’ve had lately is just how oblivious I have been to this issue in the past. I have always had personal training clients strengthen their hips in the different planes, but I have seen the hip abduction weakness and hip stability (glut med) weakness a lot recently. Even in my own hips, which has created other problems (tight psoas muscle and back pain).

Does this mean that doing a hip strengthening routine is appropriate for everyone? I am not sure I can answer that, but I will say that my belief now is that it can’t hurt (while knee pain can), especially for those who are beginning a running/cycling program or are in a period where they are increasing their activity levels by a large percentage.

Hopefully I can find an article that discusses these weakness issues and interventions related to prevention. If I can, that will be the next patellofemoral pain article I review.

Until then… happy abductions.

*note* This is an old race report that I wanted to include in my blog archive. This was my first attempt at doing an Adventure Race. What a great experience and fun way to be introduced to Kentucky. Hard to believe that it was that long ago now. Adventure Racing is probably the most enjoyment that I’ve had doing endurance sports. And some day maybe I’ll find a team that wants a runner, sometime triathlete with weak rowing and climbing skills… you never know. Enjoy. *end note*

Jeep Kentucky Adventure Race - 2002

I made my way to Kentucky after a summer of mowing lawns, little exercise and one triathlon. Athletically it had been a depressive season. To make things worse, my first impression driving into Lexington, Kentucky were not that great. But to my relief, I found two groups of athletes:

A. dedicated triathletes at the University of Kentucky
B. the Todd’s Road Stumblers - a running group that meets on Saturday mornings

With a new scene and the social urging of Tyson Carroll, Eric Atnip and Beth Atnip I started a slow path to fitness. This adventure of fitness took a rather quick turn back into competition.

Team New Balance:
The local New Balance store was looking for a team to put into the Jeep Kentucky Adventure Race. Eric ended up getting in touch with the store manager and began to put together a team. The team needed four members which most likely was not going to include me, but one of the guys ended up not being able to participate. This open space was filled by me! The team members were now: Eric Atnip, Tyson Carroll, Dave Kundig, and myself.

Getting to Know Kentucky and Mountain Biking:
Everyone on the team had spent the summer competing in triathlons. This meant we needed to practice off road riding and riding as a team. While I originally had low expectations for Kentucky, these practices allowed me to experience Kentucky. I soon discovered that the outdoors in Kentucky are B-E-A-UTIFUL! There seems to be limitless possibilities of outdoor activity within a short drive of Lexington. To practice for the race we made frequent trips to Capital View Park (Frankfort), Carter Caves and Cave Run. These trips were for training purposes, but they became my weekly escape and rejuvenation. It is amazing how beautiful scenery, exercise and a few friends can change a person’s attitude.

Our Introduction to Adventure Racing:
For the four members of Team New Balance, this would be our first adventure race. We felt confident that we had the physical ability to be competitive, Tyson and Eric coming off Ironman Wisconsin, Dave returning from a summer at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and I, well that has been discussed. The areas we felt a little uncertain were: paddle sports, caving, team cohesiveness and navigation. What we discovered was some of these things work together.

The Race:
The start of the race went well as a short run lead into the mountain bike. The biking went fairly well considering the rough course due to the rain, the race the day before and Tyson using a brand new bike. The special challenges also gave little hindrance because the climbing was easily set up and Eric can pull a jeep without much help (got to love those big guys!). It was after the special challenges where our race truly began.

Navigation, Directions and Teamwork?
Wanting to make up time off the bikes we decided to use our finish and close some gaps. We took off running, gear on our backs but heads in the clouds. Running through the course, it became somewhat difficult to keep the team together (mistake #1). Moving quickly through check points we knew we had the caves just ahead. At one point we came to a junction where we took a left without too much thought or reference to our passport (mistake #2). The thing that got my attention were two guys just below the junction in a river bed, unfortunately I didn’t say anything. This was mistake #3 because you should never assume someone just happens to be in a river bed washing off?

As we continued up the other side of the river bed we quickly lost our way (we were way off course). This is where adventure racing and team competition really takes on its life. Wrong turn after wrong turn ultimately put us nowhere near our course. It also started damaging our team morale. As Tyson tried to put us back on course, Dave and I proceeded in frustration and Eric kept things as civil as the occasion allowed. Eventually we made our way back to our missed junction and passed the check point. Then we made another wrong turn (mistake #25 by this point)?! This time we were a little smarter and turned around making our way back to the caves. All said and done, 50 to 55 minutes passed from the time we first missed the cave entrance check point until the time we entered the caves.

Our Finished Adventure:
We used the caves to catch our breath and regain composure. At the exit of the caving section, Team New Balance began to shine. Check point after check point we found ourselves passing teams and gaining on the lead team. By the time we made the canoeing section we found ourselves back in first place, with the canoeing and a short rock scramble left.

Team New Balance did cross the finish line in first place, but it was a bitter-sweat feeling. We knew that a better race could have been run and there were two person teams and individuals that crossed that line before us.

Lessons Learned:
The sport of adventure racing is not a triathlon. Skills are needed, fitness is essential but so is knowledge of topo maps and team cohesiveness. There are also times in a race, even a sprint adventure race where you need to stop and evaluate the next move.

Thanks!! None of this would have been possible without the help of the New Balance Store-Lexington, Kentucky and the New Balance Company.

*note* This is an older race report that I wanted to be included in my blog archive. It has been fun to go back and read my thoughts about this race, which was my first half-ironman distance race. And a very hot day that we still talk about with grand disillusions. (And good reason for people to write race reports.) *end note*

Pigman Half Ironman Distance Race, 2003
At the start of the 2003, I had two main goals:

one - to put out a solid marathon qualifying for Boston
two - to race a half-ironman and to race it well

You can read my Flying Pig report to analyze goal number one. (It was the year of the pigs.)

Pre-Race:
I didn’t get much sleep the night before, but I felt rested. I had my normal breakfast:

* 2 cans of Purify (Kroger style Ensure)
* 1 bagel
* some Gatorade
* with 1 cliff bar 40 minutes before the race

Due to poor planning, I had to find an adapter for my CO2 cartridges right before the race. After a little running around, some borrowed cash and help from the guys at Gear West, I got the adapter a couple minutes before the pre-race meeting.

The Swim:
My strategy was to take the swim very, very easy. When my heat started, I saw everyone run into the water and dive. I jogged behind and kind of fell into the water. By doing this, I was able to make sure I didn’t lose my goggles. I also was able to make a point to myself that I wanted to take it easy.

The first buoy came after what felt like forever, but I wanted to stick to my game plan. I turned the corner and found someone swimming about the same pace so I dropped back and drafted for several minutes. At the last buoy I felt like I had yet to begin swimming so I picked up the effort just a bit during the last stretch.

Coming into the transition I saw my time was 38 minutes, which was about 5 minutes slower than I anticipated. I was a little disappointed but I knew the day would be long.

Analyzing the times after the race, I saw that all the times were a little slow. Even the better athletes that raced last year had times 3 minutes or more slower.

The Bike:
The biggest thing for me going into the bike was pacing and nutrition. I knew the climbs and demands of the course would not be too much because of the daily rides we do in central Kentucky. It was hard to hold back the first half hour but I kept repeating to myself that finishing strong meant more then starting fast. The pace allowed me to take in all the food and nutrition that I needed. I mixed the intake of water, Gatorade and GU’s just as I during training.

During the middle of the ride, I think I may have let my ego get to me? While going up hills I would ride by what felt like 10 to 15 riders, but on the flats there was a pelaton of 4 to 6 bikes that would fly by. My mind made a choice that my body should not have followed. I decided to step up the pace for the next 10 miles. I rode up the hills and pushed the flats. The pacing was not in line with my plan of easy riding the first half, pick it up during the middle and use the end of the ride only for preparation for the run.

Going into the second transition, I still felt really good! I spent the last 6 miles making sure I had every bit of liquid in me I could get. I had also planned on eating a cliff bar, but I couldn’t get it down. So I finished off my last gel. I finished the bike with a pace of 21.4 mph. This was exciting because I felt good and I had only anticipated a 20 - 20.5 mph pace.

The Run:
In one word - Miserable. I felt like I had prepared for everything correctly, used the proper nutrition, but I had not been subjected to that kind of heat in training. The temperature was in the low to mid 90’s by the time we were on the run. And one thing about running on the roads in Iowa, there is NO shade.

I knew immediately that I would not be running a sub 1:30, which is what I felt prepared to do. I quickly slowed my pace down to what felt very comfortable and decided that my goals were to:

a - not walk during the run
b - finish as close to 5 hours as possible

By the time I reached the 3 mile marker, I figured out that the run was going to be rough. There were a lot of people walking through the aid stations and for periods before, after and during. I was taking a glass of water, Gatorade and ice at every aid station (Although I missed ice at one aid station because I didn’t want to start walking).

At this point I believe that my dedication to the mental training during the summer paid dividends. Here is what I did:

* I focused on my foot cadence, upper body position and foot strike
* I moved my focus only to my breathing pattern
* I moved my mind to the mantras that I had been using in my practices and meditations

Psalm 23, for my meditations I had been spending a lot of time in this Psalm so I started repeating it twice

“I belong here, my body has done the training” - this is a phrase that I took from Gordo Byrn’s Book.

During my training runs I had practiced using this phrase as a guide for focus and imagery. I would repeat this to myself 4 or 5 times then I would go back to the Psalms

Finishing The Run:
I believe it was the 9 mile aid station that I decided that I needed to really be careful or I may not finish. I made the decision to walk through the remaining aid stations. It was a little disappointing but I knew it was necessary. I finished the run in 1:50:43, which was 20 minutes slower than I had hoped. My final time was 5:10:12. I had hoped to finish at or under 5 hours.

Post Race:
I felt great until we got in the van to leave. I had to make Eric, Beth and Jeff suffer through a couple stops so that I could deal with sickness. Motion sickness from the van or heat exhaustion, I do not know? But I bet a little of both.

Post Race Thoughts:
No excuses needed, I do feel a little disappointed. I have went back and forth about the heat and how I should react to that, but I think that my final analysis is that I do need to take into consideration the heat and should not have expected to be able to push myself the way I wanted. The bike pacing? Even though I felt good coming into T2, I know that I may have pushed it harder than I should have and trained for. I have second guessed myself a bit, thinking that if I would have stuck with the 20 mph pace I could have run better. I will never know! The final view is that it was a great experience. I now know that I have another couple years before I make it to the Ironman. I also know that I am still improving. And I still want to do more triathlons….!

*note* This is an old race report that I’m adding. It currently sits on my website and I wanted it included in my blog archive. If you haven’t read it, then go ahead. This was Nikki’s first marathon! *end note*

Tecumseh Trail Marathon

Pre-Race: - The start time for this race is 10:00am, which is one of the nice things about this race. Even though you have to board the bus at 8:45am, the later start time allowed us to wake up a little bit later and not worry about getting our breakfast in. So Nikki and I woke up around 6:30am and started to drink our Ensure. We got ready and headed to the finish line to board the bus at 7:30am (which is later than many races start times!).

We boarded the bus at 8:45am and took the hour long bus ride to the start line. This is the first point-to-point race I’ve done. I liked it because the bus trip allowed me to meet a few runners, which is always nice. One thing I didn’t know what to think about were the stories that past runners of the race were telling us. One of the guys told us to add an hour to our slowest marathon time to estimate our finish time for the race. Since this was Nikki’s first marathon, we didn’t know what to do? We had hoped that we could do 6 hours, but with that knowledge, I thought maybe 6:30 would be expected?

At the start we had to wait a little because three of the buses hadn’t shown up, but the race only started several minutes late.

The Start: - The start was exciting as they always are, so I kept in mind that this was Nikki’s first marathon. I also kept in mind our walk/run race strategy that I had used to develop Nikki’s training plan. This was difficult at the start for both of us. At 10minutes I looked at Nikki and said “It’s time to walk.” She kind of looked funny and said, “already.” “Yep,” I said. So we started walking.

The discipline to walk at that point was tough because the trail was just starting and it was still flat terrain. I kept saying to myself that running the last 8 miles is more important today than running the first 8. Nikki looked at me and said “18 more to go,” which is a saying we developed in training that meant no matter how far we have run, always approach it like you have 18 more miles to run. I smiled and said, “not quite yet.”

The race was advertised as a tough race. The hills were said to be something you wouldn’t think of when you think of Indiana. There were reports we read about lots of stream crossings and log crossings; the runners we talked to on the bus ride to the start confirmed those reports. It is also December and the weather report called for rain or snow. Even with the mental preparation for these conditions, I will admit that this race was A LOT more difficult than I anticipated, even if the weather never turned awful. (Nikki said that she mentally prepared for the worst and that it wasn’t as bad as what she thought it was going to be. I guess mental preparation and perception can change everything.)

Mile 13 “The Hill”: - As we went through the aid station around mile 12, I began looking for the “gigantic hill” at the half-way point. Coming from Kentucky, I couldn’t imagine that it would be worse than what Nikki and I trained on when we looked for hilly runs at home. I WAS WRONG! As we came around the bend, we caught a glance at a long line of runners snaking their way up this incline. The lady that we had been running with said, “I’d like to see you run up that.” The challenge was very tempting, especially because not a single person was jogging. Everyone was walking. But wisdom prevailed and we walked too. We took a look back from the top and the line of runners continued to stop and walk. It was pretty awesome to see what we had just accomplished and then realize we had 13 miles to go!

Mile 18: - There was an aid station around mile 18. Nikki and I stopped to get some Gatorade and food, plus I looked at my watch. It read approximately 3:40! “Nikki,” I said, “we can make it in 5 hours!” She responded, “We would have to run 10 minutes miles, I don’t want to think about it.” “You’re right. That’s pretty quick, especially on the trails here. Let’s see where we are at when we get to mile 24.”

Mile 22: - We came to another aid station and Nikki kept saying she was feeling good, so we were not walking as much. I looked at my watch again and it read 4:20. I was hesitant to say anything to her again about time, but we had a continuous dialog at this point about how we felt running. The truth is that I think she was stronger at this point then I was…. But I was not about to tell her that!

Mile 25: - To be honest, I had given up on the time by this point because I thought the aid station was supposed to be at mile 24. And if we hadn’t reach mile 24 by that point in time we were not even close to making 5 hours any more. As we ran down the hill towards the last aid station, the volunteer said “Mile 25, one more mile to go!” I looked at my watch, 3:49. “Nikki, we have 11 minutes.” She looked at me and said, “Let’s do it!” Then she took off running like she had just started a track meet. I grunted and begged, “This is way too fast!” She smiled, “You’re right, we could slow down.”

The Finish: - At 4:55 we started to run up the last hill, which hurt quite a bit with the effort we were putting in. But it also felt good because we were passing people pretty quickly and one of the other runners yelled out, “You are going for 5 hours.” “We are trying” I responded, trying to smile. I lost almost all hope by the time we got to the top of the hill though. We had less than 3 minutes to finish and the turn to the finish line was still quite a-ways-ahead. Running down the last stretch, I saw we had 30seconds to 5 hours. I wasn’t into the sprint finish, knowing we were too far away, but as we got closer it seemed more and more possible. I grabbed Nikki’s hand and said, “We can do it!” We sprinted down the gravel road into the finisher’s lane and crossed at approximately 5:00:04! I haven’t seen the official times yet, but Nikki did remind me later that because we started in the back of the starting pack, that by the time she started her watch at the start line we would have been under 5 hours. (Too bad they didn’t have chip timing. Smile.)

It really doesn’t matter to me, because we expected 6 to 6:30 anyway. Plus it was a great experience to complete this very challenging race, side-by-side with my wife. What a good experience for any newly married couple! I am also inspired by the dedication that Nikki had to the training program I developed. She admitted later that she was nervous that the longest she had run was 15 miles. It meant a lot to me that she trusted me as a husband and “coach” and didn’t listen to all the nay-sayers that thought she should be running more.

She also asked me later that night, “so does that mean I could have run 4 hours at a normal marathon.” I smiled.

I have been spending the past few days in Arizona at the Rock N Roll Marathon. I came as the Team in Training coach for the Kentucky and Southern Indiana Chapter. For those of you who have not done the marathon, I believe that this may be one of the better courses to PR on than any course I’ve been on. Here are a couple reasons why:

1. The course is beyond flat. The elevation change is minimal and even when it does change, it is welcomed after all the flat running that you’ve done.

2. The number of runners isn’t too many to be able to actually run. Chicago is flat too, but anyone who has done that race knows that there are way too many people to get going from the start.

3. The time of year is perfect, if you live in an area where winter training is possible (and in KY, I believe winter running is the ideal.)

My experience here was different than any marathon I have done before, other than possibly the Tecumseh Trail Marathon when Nikki and I ran the race together. There were 16 runners from the chapter out on the full marathon course, so my only goal was to get each one across the finish line. And they were all successful! As a coach it was a little challenging at times over the weekend, primarily due to the fact that I had only met the walking group from Lexington a couple times and had never met the group of runners from Louisville at all. That makes it difficult to provide guidance leading up to the race, especially when they have trained differetly in many ways.

It might be hard to give a honest assessment of the Rock N Roll Marathon because of the Team in Training involvement, because at times it is hard to remember that all the participants are not receiving all the support, guidance and celebrations that the TNT group does. The one thing I have to compare the TNT experience to would be Ironman athlete support and celebration. They have:

1. Pre-race pasta parties and celebration
2. Race Morning support
3. Lots of support during race day on the course
4. Post-race victory party

In addition to that, TNT takes care of travel arrangements, hotel arrangements and transportation while at the site. As an athlete you really don’t have to do anything other than show up and do the race.

Plus, you get to use your involvement to support an organization that is making a huge difference in blood cancers by raising money for research and patient support. It was inspiring to see all the ribbons and pictures pinned on the racers jerseys. But then again, as one runner reminded me, it also is not a good thing because it means there are lots of people out there still battling blood cancers and lymphomas.

Some day that may not be true!

So my run was a great experience. I’m not sure how much I ended up running? I estimate >30 miles but <34 miles. Too bad I didn't have my new Garmin ready to go. I was a little bummed to see that this won't count towards my 50 marathons in 50 states goal. The one thing as a coach that was a bummer was that I didn’t end up as an official participant, i.e. no number, no chip therefore no result. So after reading the 50 states rules again, I’m left still needing Arizona. I did find out thought that Ironman races do count, along with ironman-distance races. So I guess I have Wisconsin done!

If you are thinking about trying a marathon for the first time, I would suggest thinking about going the Team in Training route. It is a great experience.

So I’m heading to Arizona tomorrow morning with approximately 25 people to participate in the Rock N Roll Marathon. I’ve been sending an email each day to the group to help ease their anxiety as they begin to think about all the things that could go wrong.

I had a question about how to manage race day clothing. Here was that email:

**** email starts ****

Today I would like to address the question about race day attire and specifically discuss layering.

As I type this, weather.com has the Sunday forecast at 69 degree high and 41 degree low. Including a 20% chance of precipitation.

Since the race starts first thing in the morning, you can probably count on the fact that you’ll see temps towards the lower end of the range. One thing that I like to stress to people is that you do not want to be too cold prior to the start. It can be pretty difficult on the body to be standing at the start and dealing with the cold and then immediately asking it to start performing. The blood flow issues involved in managing the cold are not favorable to exercise.

Suggestion #1: wear clothing you have worn and are comfortable in as a base layer… the layer of clothing you would be running in if the temperature was in the 60’s.

Suggestion #2: if you follow suggestion #1, then you will not be warm enough at the start line, so you need to build at least one layer of warmer attire above your base layer.

I usually like to wear an old sweatshirt that I wouldn’t mind throwing off to the side and letting someone take home or letting the Salvation Army pick up. I also wear a stocking hat and pair of cheap gardening gloves (I might wear my pink John Deere gloves this weekend.. but I’m getting attached) that I can toss.

Personal Story: In 1999, I ran the Chicago Marathon. I remember the weather being in the low 50’s. Warm enough I thought to just wear a long sleeve running shirt and running shorts. I warmed up that way and stood waiting for the start. I never warmed back up! It felt like the sun was never shining on us b/c of buildings,etc. I remember being really cold for a majority of the race… never comfortable. So in 2001, I ran a Feb marathon in Austin, Texas. “It’s Texas I was told, it will be warm enough”. It was but I needed to wear my throw away sweatshirt for about 8 miles!

Suggestion #3: Be ready for a little rain before the race. There is rarely cover and it is not fun to stand and get soaked before you start your day. Take a trash bad and put a couple holes in it for your head and arms. Then you can “trash” it right before the gun goes off. And don’t think you’ll be able to run to the start line once the gun goes off.

Personal Story: Nikki and I were at the 2004 Country Music Marathon. Prior to the race it started pouring and we were trying to find cover… we found a little but there wasn’t enough for all the runners. About the time the race was to start runners headed to the start line… only to be held there for 35 to 45 minutes. Because of lightening they had everyone waiting at the start (in the rain anyway?) and people were getting soaked. Luckily, I had leaned my lesson and had a trash bag on… but I still was a little wet… just not as bad as most.

Here’s a recap:

1. Base layer of comfortable clothing that you are used to running in.
2. Warm clothing you can keep on or throw out if you want.
3. Trash bag to stay dry.

Hope that helps. Please ask if you have questions!

*** end email ***

To all the blog readers out there, I hope that information can also help you out. I know that there are other issues to consider, like what shoes to wear and what material the clothing is made from.

But to be honest, race week is not the time to be finding those answers out. The base layer should be a set of clothing that you have tested and know won’t cause chaffing and is comfortable. That’s a question that should be answered during your long runs.