How to Train for and Run a Marathon: A Non-Exhaustive Shortlist

In training:

1. Stick to the training schedule.
2. Run at times of day similar to the scheduled race time to get used to what might happen on race day e.g. waking up early enough, eating breakfast, prepping gear, getting dressed, stretching and warming up, etc.
3. Run in all kinds of weather - because you never know what you're gonna get on race day.

   

   I was here... and here, and here...

4. Run on the same surface as the race to condition your body for similar impact e.g. concrete or trails versus treadmills.
5. Pay attention to your diet (nutrition is important).
6. Stay hydrated.
7. Get enough sleep.
8. Find someone who knows more than you about running and ask them lots of questions about everything you don't know - but know that not everything works the same or as well for everyone. 
9. Find a good registered massage therapist and visit him/her as often as you can.
10. Find a good physiotherapist and consult him/her as needed.
11. Give yourself lots of encouragement every day.
12. Surround yourself with people who support your goals. 
13. Ignore the "Negative Nancies" and "Downer Dougs".
14. Don't be a douchebag runner to other runners. This includes not being a "Negative Nancy" or "Downer Doug."

Specifically for race day:

1. Get enough sleep leading up to the race (tip: even a good night's sleep two nights before versus the night before the race can be enough - just try and stay well rested as race day approaches).
2. Don't try or do anything new e.g. with clothing (potential chafing), gear (unexpected issues with weight, function), breakfast, gels or other nutrition (avoiding digestive issues), etc.
3. Get to the start line with time to spare.
4. Enjoy the race! You've earned it.

Journal entry 

Today's run: 23 km and technically, the last LSD in the training schedule. Yay for tapering! Weather: overcast and partly sunny this morning, which is why I deliberately went out early (note: it's raining now but at least I'm watching the bad weather from my couch instead of being in it). Feeling: glad to have missed the rain! And looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

...and also here.

Be Kind

When I look back on the four marathons I've already run, I have fond memories. Some were good (Victoria, Kelowna), one was okay (Surrey) and one was unexpected in so many ways (Saint John).

In my personal view, running the marathon itself is the best part. It's the part that's the most fun. It's the climax to 18 weeks or more of intense training - an epitomization, in many ways, of the work one has put in to get ready for a singular moment: crossing that finish line after running 42.2 km.

Training for those marathons, on the other hand, is - and others might disagree with me on this point - well, less fun. It's the work. I mean, who likes to do work, am I right? Yes, it's necessary. Absolutely. But some days, and because it's "necessary", it can feel "mandatory"... which, frankly, can suck the joy right out of running.

Knowing these things, having been in this position before, I've taken a more relaxed approach to training for number five. My overall attitude: work hard but, if certain things don't work out? Ah well! Illness, injury, work, family, busy-ness, overall malaise, life in general... shit happens.

What I've come to know is this: worrying excessively about how well I'm marathon training on top of being stressed over life can be brutal. If I think I'm not doing enough, running enough, not being fast enough, not eating well enough - it makes me feel bad. It makes me think I'm a failure. So guess what? I'm not gonna do it. I'm gonna remind myself that no, I'm not perfect, but I'm trying - really hard. And then I'm gonna take the small wins every day because, really, what else is there? We, as individuals, need to celebrate our own accomplishments and recognize, ourselves, when we've done a good job. We can't rely on others to do that for us; that confidence has to come from within, no?

When I was running number three in Saint John, because it was such a small marathon, there were huge stretches of distance where I would be all by myself. And it wasn't a great race for me as I was undertrained and did not pace well at all. Being alone out there, it would have been so easy to just give up, to stop completely. I only had myself - and my thoughts - to rely on. Long story short, I struggled. But I made it.

My dad had this relaxed way about himself, and living life. I think it irritated my mom sometimes, who has always been a little more high strung (guess that's where my personality comes from). When I get stressed, I ought to think to myself: "What would my dad do?" Probably have a rest. Play some guitar. Watch some TV. And basically, chill the fuck out, a little.

Fans of the TV show This Is Us will certainly remember this conversation between Miguel and Kevin. Also, if you're not watching this show, you totes need to be. (GIF cred: TV Fanatic)

I reflect on this this weekend, as I've not been feeling well the past few days, and woke up this morning to more snow (g*ddamnit, Mother Nature! Bitch got problems), so decided to give myself a break from my long run. Does that worry me? A little bit. But I know I've also got to get over it - pick my battles, and have a better week this week. That's all I can do.

Be kind to yourselves, friends. Enjoy your Sunday.

Running Round-Up: All About That Base (Building) Edition

My small but loyal following from 2012-2014 will likely remember I'd had my heart set on running number five in Vancouver, and I am happy to confirm that this is still the case. I've set my sights on the BMO Vancouver Marathon which happens on May 7, 2017. That means, building up base mileage needs to start... now!

Base Building
Base training or building means "starting from a lower base of infrequent mileage and progressing to more frequent runs including two to three shorter runs and one long run per week" (see: A Runner's Guide to Base Building). Base building can be tough, especially if you're new to running or starting from inactivity. Your level of activity should always be tailored to match your current fitness level. Seems pretty intuitive, right? But this can be really tough, especially if you're raring to go. Don't try to do too much all at once.  

There are great resources out there on base training, including the one mentioned above. If you're looking for additional advice from the experts, give these articles a try:

Build Your Best Training Base
The Basics Of Base Training For Runners 
5 Ways to Build Your Running Base 

The Regulars
While out there today, I recognized two things:

1. Groups of runners: UGH. I've never been a fan. I refer specifically to those people who run in packs on Sundays and always take up the entire path or sidewalk. Very rarely do they move to make room for others and, inevitably, when passing they'll be talking about some shit like split times or nutrition. I get it, but it's just... so... stereotypical.  
2. On the other hand, I crossed paths with another runner whom I recognized from my "old days" of running. I don't actually know her, but we'd pass each other on the same route every weekend. It made me smile to see a familiar face and realize that she's probably been a road warrior this whole time.

Today's run: 8 km. Weather: cool but dry. Feeling: pretty psyched, actually. A little worried about my ankle (which I rolled a teensy bit last week), but not overly. I also feel like this has all happened before, strangely. Guess it's just a little running déjà vu!

 Enjoy the rest of your day, friends. And - here's a little Meaghan
Trainor to end your weekend. She's all about that bass, too. 

Running Round-Up: New Year, New Marathon Edition

Happy New Year, friends! I hope all of you had a chance to wind down, sleep in and de-stress over the holidays. And now, here we are: 2014! I've had a lot on my mind but no single topics that warrant their own blog post, so here's another round-up for you on what I think about when I think about running (or, when I'm actually running). Hopefully my mind will stop wandering all over the place when classes start again on Monday.

Marathon Training
I've signed up for marathon #5 and realized this week that I've never before run a marathon in May. I realized this, when I went to work out my marathon training schedule earlier this week only to discover that I should have started training last weekend. Oooops. No matter... having missed the first two runs in the first week out of 18 total weeks of training is not a big deal. It just made me chuckle, is all.

My last ever marathon training schedule??

What a Difference a Day Makes
As per my schedule for this week, I ran 6 km yesterday and another 6 km today, which is more mileage in one week than I've run since October. And yesterday was a great day to start as well, as it was raining and cold...which most people would find depressing, but I find rather glorious: fewer people around the seawall, that certain aura of mystery that only rain and fog can bring i.e. you know, like X-Files' style. That cool quiet is part of the reason I fell in love with the west coast in the first place. Today was also glorious, but for other reasons. The city started its day enveloped in a thick, pea soup-like fog, but opened up to filtered sunshine and dry weather. Two very different days, but both amazing. Rain or shine, I guess I just have a love affair with this place. 

Vancouver fog: late 2013
© Alexis Birkill

Bit of Worry
Having let my fitness lapse a bit since marathon #4 at the end of September, and likely having put on a little turkey weight over the holidays, I'm definitely feeling a bit sluggish out there. The past few runs have been slow and plodding, and have pretty much taken up my entire morning. Being a slower long-distance runner than most (that's not being humble, it's fact) means that other runners are knocking off higher mileage in less amounts of time. Given that I have to commit more time to training because I'm a slower runner, deciding to train for a May marathon in my last semester of my graduate degree with three months to go before I have to defend my thesis makes me worry whether I've bitten off more than I can chew. I must be nuts, right? At the very least, it will be a good experiment in time management. We'll just have to see.

Slow and Steady
Speaking of plodding, on December 31, John Stanton's page on Facebook posted this status update: "Enjoy your run today...there is someone out there that is more happy than you...running a lot slower." Me being me, I commented with this: "I'm the slow one! No one is slower than me so, you're welcome, everybody!" The nice thing was, I got six likes and a few encouraging replies. Not a bad way to end the year.

Hope 2014 has been good to you all so far! What races are on your list for this year?

It Ain't Natural: Tips for Long Distance Running

A typical view of the weather
over the last few weeks.

Today: cloud.
What the...?

Saturday is typically the day before my long run and so I've always felt a little conflicted about what run to do on Saturdays, given this fact. I'm certainly not going to do a speed workout. I also don't want to run anything longer than 10 km, since I'll be out forever the next day anyway.

Today, I decided on an unmonitored 6 km. (My definition of unmonitored: without any form of heart rate, pace, or distance measurement device i.e. sans Garmin and heart rate monitor). So I'm out there today, fully meaning to take it easy, and I realize that I'm running pretty fast - or, at least I think I'm running pretty fast. I mean, there's no way to verify this since I'm unmonitored. But it feels fast, anyway.

This got me thinking about a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine. He's one of those guys who is a natural athlete. Like, he may have never really done a sport before but as soon as he gets into it, he just naturally kicks ass at it right away. Basically, one of those really annoying types. 

... so he's just recently taken up running, and is (of course) excelling at it already. But we get to talking about how he finds it challenging to run any slower - or rather, that it's hard to slow from his natural pace. 

Out there today, unmonitored, I was definitely running my natural pace; this is the pace where my running feels really good. But this pace, for me, is also unsustainable. I discovered this back in 2009 when I was training for my first marathon and, as I mentioned in my interview with Running Toward the Prize: "When ramping up my base mileage, I found I was completely exhausted after running distances that I had never before accomplished in training... I'd be tired for days."

This next statement, perhaps, is more a reminder for me than it is for you guys, particularly as I've been known to harp on about not being a speedy runner: I am definitely not slow. I can run a decent pace, and I think I proved that (mostly to myself) at the BMO Vancouver Half last year. However, by pushing my pace in that race I also ended up hurt and unable to run the full I'd planned on running that fall.

Talking recently about natural pace and then having that epiphany on today's run really made me think about how I needed to alter my running when I started to burn out during training for that first marathon. At the time, one of the Team Diabetes trainers provided some really great advice which was vital in salvaging my training plan; without it, I'm not sure I would have successfully finished that race. I wanted to share some of those tips with you here, in case you find yourself struggling to complete longer distances and you're not sure why. Here is what she told me:

• If you want to do heart-rate training first figure out your maximum heart rate. This is equal to 220 minus your age. During your runs, train within 60-80% of your maximum heart rate; long runs should be in the lower end of that range. As your fitness level increases, it will take more exertion on your part to get your heart rate in the zone. Note: fat is burned as energy after about 30 minutes of running and maximum fat burning happens between 55-60 % of maximum heart rate. Work outs above training heart rates burn more glycogen for energy and cause more lactic acid build up and muscle cramping and result in slower recovery.
• It is always best to focus on completing a distance the first time you attempt it. Work with your current fitness level and build from there. By pushing yourself beyond what your body can recover from week to week, you are setting yourself up for injury and disappointment. It takes many years to build a strong base for long distances and to be the person that will be running marathons in their 80s! You should be able to talk comfortably during your long runs. If you are running alone, try singing occasionally to check in with yourself.
• Specifically regarding marathon training for those new to long distance running: Your long run pace should be between 8:30 to 9:30 minutes per kilometre if you are following the "to complete" program. If you are going faster you are stressing your body to the point that it cannot recover by the next quality workout.   
• Walk breaks work! Remember to take walk breaks from the beginning (she's referring here to John Stanton's walk-run method). Do not wait until you think you need them.  If you get close to the end of your workout and want to skip the last walk break, go ahead, but be sure to take them early, even if you are feeling you don't need them. They are built in as mini recovery periods to speed the overall recovery of the stress that endurance running puts on the body.

--

Sidebar: my natural-athlete-newbie-running-friend, after apparently making some snide remark about what a slow runner I am, apologized about it a few days later. I didn't actually notice he'd been a smart ass, but was still grateful that he took the effort to make reparations. Kudos to you for not being a douchebag runner!

Time Dropping - It Should Be A Thing

I was getting a little tired thinking about being injured, so this is me taking a break from blogging about my injury. Although, the fact I'm blogging again this week leads me to believe that I have way too much time on my hands. Guess this is what happens when I can't run.

Runners have a vocabulary that's all their own. There are many posts floating around in e-space on the various jargon used by runners, so I won't bother creating another. But if you're interested to brush up on your running terms, or always wanted to know the meaning of "fartlek", check out some of these online references:

Runner's World, Glossary of Running Terms
Real Buzz Glossary of Running Terms
Run Britain, Running Terminology Defined
Runstreet Glossary

As far as running vocab goes, time dropping is not really a runners' term. But I think it should be. Allow me to expand on this thought.

When I say time dropping, I'm not referring to getting faster. In my mind, it's like name dropping, but instead of bragging about pseudo-celebs or other sort-of important people one might claim to know, it's being a jerk by oversharing your race times. It happens when one runner is comparing him/herself to another runner and the information being provided is largely proffered and often unsolicited.

In short, time dropping is bragging about one's race times, in turn, diminishing the accomplishments of another runner, whether intentional or not.  

Here are some time dropping examples. These all actually happened ...

• A novice runner blogs about how his running has improved, not by doing speedwork, but by simply increasing his weekly mileage. A reader comments: "I once ran a 51.29 10 miler off of mileage alone." [really? that's great but he didn't ask how fast you ran]
• A racing event posts on a social media site, asking questions to encourage followers to comment on its page. The question of the day is: "What is your daily running distance?" A reader answers the question, adds a little story, and finishes with: "I squeak out a 3:20-3:30 race and promise myself more consistency and higher mileage next time." [how is this at all relevant to what was originally asked?]

• A runner walks into a gym and recognizes someone who recently ran the same race he did. They strike up a conversation and he shares: "I've never run a half marathon before. I wasn't sure how I was going to do but then I finished in 1:36." [leaving the other person insanely jealous because his own time was not nearly as fast - and it wasn't his first half]

• Prior to race day, a race posts information on its website about the pace bunnies and a runner comments: "I beat the 1:45 bunny back in '05." [and we care because ... ?]

Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: running is an individual sport. When I'm out there, the only person I feel I'm competing with is me. And I'll be honest: I don't give a shit about what time someone else ran, unless I was trying to beat that time myself, or if that person happens to be a friend or running colleague.

I'm not saying I'm perfect. I know I've probably been a time dropper at some point in the last few years. I am aware that runners are a proud species and sometimes want to share their accomplishments with the whole wide world (Exhibit A: a blog about running, perhaps?). But when someone talks about their race times out of context or offers them when unasked, quite frankly, I find it annoying. 

I know there's no getting around it; time dropping will always happen by someone, somewhere. But I can do only what I can. 

Henceforth, a running resolution: from this day forward, I will make a conscious effort to stop time dropping. 'Cuz let's be honest ... it really is a little douche-y. 

A Salute To All Slow Runners

A few years ago, I saw a post on one of the Running Room Forum discussions by a woman who had just started running as a way to improve her health.  She had never run before, and was so proud that she had completed her first 5 km run in about 50 minutes.  

Instead of lauding her accomplishment - her first 5 km run ever! - some jackwipe had the nerve to comment: "That is so slow!  I can walk 5 km faster than that."

Sure.  For any runner, this is a slow time.  But ... so what?  

Runners are a proud bunch, this is true.  And we should be!  We all work really hard to achieve our goals.  I think certain runners, however, just need to shut their traps once in awhile.  This forum post has stuck with me over the years because it clearly shows just how cocky and conceited some runners can be.  

Here's another example.  I recently got into a conversation about running with a woman who had just qualified for the Boston Marathon.  For those who aren't in the know, Boston is kind of a big deal.  Amateur runners have to qualify to even request entry, which means they have to complete a marathon within a specific time (usually pretty fast!) set by age group.  

I casually mentioned to this person how I wouldn't expect to ever be fast enough to qualify and she said to me: "Well, if you're that slow maybe you shouldn't even be a runner."

Excuuuse me?  Bitch, don't even!  I will admit - I kind of had to restrain myself from slapping her right then and there.  

An FYI for the arrogant runners - this is kind of what you sound like. If you stopped with the big head, you'd be much more likeable. (See? I'm trying to do you a favour. I'm so magnanimous.)

My point of all this, is that runners really ought to support each other more.  Instead of putting other runners down, why not work to bring them up?  Running has, and always will be, a sport of individual achievement.  We should be celebrating all of our accomplishments.  Big or small, fast or slow - it shouldn't matter! 

Another great quote by John Stanton (he's coming up with some real gems on Facebook lately): "You can do it.  Don't let someone else's beliefs stop you from being your best!"

Some final words from me on the subject:

If you're a speedy runner ...
Please be kind to your fellow runners who may be not as fast as you.  Being blessed with a natural ability to run is a glorious thing; you're really lucky.  You may not realize it, but slow runners have to possess just a wee bit more self confidence than the average runner because we get passed all the time.  In fact, we get passed by people like you.  And if you're already showing encouragement to your less than speedy friends, on behalf of all slow runners everywhere: I thank you!

If you are reading this post and are disagreeing with everything ...
Well, you obviously don't get it.  You are probably just like the forum basher and the arrogant marathoner, so feel the need to put slow runners down because it makes you feel better about yourself at the expense of someone else's confidence and pride.  You know what?  As far as I'm concerned, you can shove it.

Hail to the slow runners!  
Keep at it, my peeps!  And know that at least one person (me!) appreciates how hard you have to work.