How to Not Train for a Marathon

by Tom O'Reilly

(If there was a forward, it would also be by Tom O'Reilly).

The last few weeks have been less than optimal when it comes to training for anything, much less a marathon. Five runs in 13 days probably won't cut it. So, instead of focusing on the terrible, let's focus on the positive.  I completed my first 20 mile run last Saturday, and raced home Hurricane Irene in the process. I'm happy to report back that I won (although Irene proved revengeful by knocking out our power for the last three days).

While completing the run was an accomplishment, the run itself wasn't exactly memorable. I ran my usual long run route, and added an extra three miles at the beginning. And although my pace slowed considerably throughout the run, I finished with no issues or injuries.

With August close to being complete, I'm looking forward to a successful start in September. I'm planning on increasing my mileage this week, and I may even have the opportunity to break the 50-mile barrier. That would be a great start to the month, and should provide the boost I need to run well in October.

I hope everyone was able to stay safe and dry and these past few days, and the amount of yard work needed to be done this weekend is minimal.

The treadmill lies!

After warming up for eight to ten minutes, I do what any normal treadmill runner does.  I turn it up.  I crank up the speed to 8.0, push the elevation grade to 2%, and I see how long I can hold on for.  I'm pleased.  I'm able to hold on for awhile.  30 minutes to be exact.  The tempo portion of my run ends at 9.3 and 3.5%, respectively.  It leave my legs tight, my sides in a slight cramp, but feeling great because as a result of the impressive workout.  I cool-down for 15 minutes to loosen up, all the while celebrating that I must have knocked out at least 7.5 or 8 miles with that blistering pace, and that I've got an exciting blog entry to share.  I mean, running that fast for that long, I should have been able to easily knock out 7.5 miles, right?

Wrong.  After 55 minutes, it takes me 5 minutes longer, and close to twice the effort, to run the same distance of my regular easy run (6.3 miles).  Why is it so, treadmill?  Running on the treadmill is supposed to be easier than running outside because of the assistance it provides with your leg turnover (the movement of the treadmill assists your legs propel you forward after each step).  This, in turn, should be able to provide the runner with extra speed, and theoretically, enable him/ her to run farther distance than normal in the same amount of time.  However, this by no means seems to be the case.

I could spend the time researching and uncovering the mystery as to why the treadmill leaves me broken hearted (or why it is lying...).  Or, it can motivate me to train outside more, and only train on a treadmill when it is the last option.  The latter sounds like the more appealing and right thing to do.  So with that, I'll have to buck up with the heat and humidity of Dallas for my remaining training runs until Friday.  And regardless of how fast or slow I go, I won't be shocked with the distance I've ran once I'm finished.

R&R

I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve topped off a bad week of training with two strong training runs.  Last week, I was in Dallas, Texas for work, and due to the heat (good reason), my work schedule (bad reason), and laziness (horrible reason), I only managed to fit in one workout between Monday and Friday.  To boot, that workout was on a treadmill.
  
On Saturday morning, Lauren and I headed down the Cape for a day at the beach and a little R&R.  However, in our case, R&R more aptly stood for Run and Relaxation.  When we arrived into Orleans, we parked near the Cape Cod Rail Trail for a run before we hit the beach.  Without any specific plan, we decided to lace up and hit the trail to see what happens. 

To both of our surprises, our runs went very well.  Including our easy warm-up, Lauren and I ran for 2.5 miles before she turned around to cap off a 5 mile run.  At that time, I figured I’d run another 2.5 miles, and then turnaround to finish up with 10 miles for the day.   I ran miles 2.5 to 5.0 at about a 7:30 – 8:00 minute / mile pace.  Once I turned around, I picked it up and ran the next two miles at about a 7:15 – 7:30 minute / mile pace.  I had not run this fast for this long in a while, and it started to show around mile 7.5.  And this is where the Cape Cod Rail Trail saved the day.  In order to keep my tempo going through the end of the run, and not kill myself in the process, I ran at a tempo pace every other tenth of a mile.  I was able to do this because the trail had distance markings on trail every 10th of a mile.  I was able to finish the run right around 80 minutes, and then we set off to start the second of our two R’s.




Next comes Sunday morning.  After a great workout and a full day in the sun, Lauren and I sleep in until 9:00 AM or so (ok, maybe it was just me who slept in THAT late).  After a few cups of coffee, the standard English muffin with PB&J breakfast, and knocking out a few expense reports for work (always fun), I lace up and head out the door for my run.  I was very nervous.  My last long run was as successful as Tim Pawlenty’s Presidential campaign.  I ran 10 miles pretty hard yesterday, which would mean my legs would be tired today.  I hadn’t run on the road at all during the week, which could result in pulling a muscle because of running too much at one time.  Everything was lined up for another disaster of a run, and not only was I nervous that I could wind up walking home the last six miles, but I’d continue my O-fer streak of good long runs.  And there was always that far and away chance of missing my 8:00 PM flight to Dallas (but thanks to American Airlines, they gave me enough time to run an ultra marathon with their second 2+ hour delay in as many weeks.  And yes, that’s bitterness you’re reading).

I don’t know if it was the fact that I knew a bunch of friends running the Falmouth Road Race (Cara B., J D., and Stevie Mo) or Cape Ann Half Marathon (Steve C.).  I’m not sure if it was finally heeding the sage advice of Jim Wadsworth and Lauren by bringing some Gu's with me. It may or may not have been due to recently reading Born to Run.  And I don’t know if it was the overcast afternoon that kept the sun and heat at bay... but I do know that I finally completed a long run without any issues.  And it was awesome!

The plan was to run the same 18 mile route I had already done twice during this training program.  I told myself I would get the better of this route before I moved on to a new long run route.  The first eight miles went well.  About 6 miles (or 50 minutes) into the run, I had my first Gu (strawberry banana is the flavor of choice in the O’Reilly household), which provided an immediate source of energy.  I coasted for the next two miles, arriving at the convenience store in just over 65 minutes (8.25 miles).



Realizing that I was tight on time, and still a little unsure how the next 10 miles were going to turn out, I used the restroom, sucked back some water from the sink (stop judging…), purchased a 12 oz. Gatorade, and headed out on my way back home.  Still somewhat full from the Gu I had 15 minutes ago, I decided to hold off on having the Gatorade until I felt I needed it.  Miles 9, 10, and 11 went by smoothly, and glimmers of hope began to flicker through my pessimistic thoughts of the remaining miles.  Miles 12, 13, and 14 turned into “only 4 miles left…, only 3 miles left…” and so on.  And soon enough, I completed 18 miles in 2 hours and 33 minutes.  My legs felt well (as best they could after running for 2.5 hours), and I was happy and immediately motivated to start my next long run.  I had just run 28 miles in 30 hours, and salvaged what could have been a horrendous training week.



The goals for this week are to run three times in Dallas, and to run my first 20 mile long run for the training program.  If I am able to accomplish these goals, I should be able to run 50 miles this week, and be on my way to a successful Bay State.

Which option would you choose?

A:  Go for a five-mile run on a hotel treadmill.

B:  Go for a six-mile run at 11:00 PM when it's 95 degrees outside.

Can you guess which option I chose?  Tomorrow's high in Dallas, TX is supposed to reach 107 degrees, which means I'll be seeing much more of the treadmill in my near future.

Long Run, Longer Walk

On Saturday, I left for my second long run of my marathon training program.  I left my house with the grand thoughts of running 20 miles.  I left my house envisioning running 30 miles within the next two days.  I left thinking that after this weekend, I'll finally be back in the saddle and on my way to a 3 hour and 10 minute marathon time.

When I finally made it home on Saturday, all of my previous thoughts were just that. Thoughts, and nowhere near reality. 

The frustrating part about Saturday's run is that the first half of the run went surprisingly well.  My plan for my 20-miler would be to run my previous 17 mile route, and then add my regular 3- mile lap at the end of the run to get to the magical 20. 

The first part of the run went from Norfolk to Medfield, which is a little over eight miles.  This is the first part because I usually stop in Medfield to buy a Gatorade, and it is the turnaround point back to my house.  I started out slow for the first three miles to loosen up.  With the music blaring, and the temperature bearable, I sped up a little bit to an 8:00 – 8:15 minutes / mile pace.  I arrived in Medfield just under 70 minutes, and felt very confident about the rest of my run. 

I purchased a 20 or 24 oz. lemon-lime Gatorade, chugged half of it, and then took an extra few minutes to change the playlist on my Ipod, fix my belt, and focus on the second part of my run.  Then I’m off again. 

The first two minutes seem slow, but I assure myself that I’ll pick it up in a little bit.  After finishing mile nine, my legs are still unresponsive, and I felt very full from the Gatorade I just demolished.  I figured I’d sweat it out in the next few minutes, so I charged onward.  After five more minutes of struggling to maintain an easy tempo, I decided to start walking for a little bit.  I rationalize that there is no reason to push it when I still have at least 7.5 miles to go (only 17.5 miles if I decided not to run the last 3-mile lap).

During my walk, fatigue starts to set in, and I sensed that the rest of this run is not going to be as fun and easy as the first hour.  I walk a little more than a half mile, and then I start to run again.  My pace now has dropped considerably and hovers around 9:00 minutes / mile.  After another hour and a half of this long run / longer walk, I arrive home walking the last 3 of the remaining 8 miles.  The second half of the run lasted 35 minutes longer than the first half.  Sheepishly, I even cheated my normal route and cut out a half mile of my run and finish the day run / walking 16.5 miles just under 2 hours and 38 minutes. 
 
So, what went wrong?  Could it have been the cocktail and glass of wine I had the night before?  Could it have been the fact that I had not run in the prior two days?  Did I have too much Gatorade at one time during my run?  Did I attempt to bite off more than I can chew with another long run without running 13- or 15-mile runs first?  Or perhaps it’s because I didn’t bring anything to eat on the run.  I’m sure the answer is some combination of all of the above.    

On the bright side, I was on my feet for 2 hours and 38 minutes, which is training in and of itself.  I did finish (please note I’m using a very loose interpretation of the word) a 16.5 mile run.  I did manage to make it out of the house today to run my regular 6.3 mile run, and I made it back home in one piece.  And I did complete my third week of training.

Up next, I’ll be working on the fourth week of my training plan, and I’ll do most of the training in Dallas, Texas (I’m in Dallas for work through Friday).  My focus this week is to get my “legs” in gear and start turning my running thoughts into reality. 

Question

Really busy week this week.  I squeezed in a 76 minute run in some great weather.  Now, I'll knock back some dinner, and then its back to work.

With that being said, does anyone have any secrets or success stories of ensuring they get their workouts in while managing a busy schedule?  If so, I'd love to hear them.

Some Early Warning Signs

Shockingly, I was not able to squeeze in any runs on my trip to Montreal this weekend.  I did, however, manage to get in another six miles today.  I took it easy on today's run, and knocked it back at a 7:55 minute / mile pace.  I'd like to believe I took it easy because I've got a longer run coming up tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I was still shaking away some cobwebs from the past three days.  Nonetheless, today's run is in the books, and tomorrow's run is being planned for now.

There were a few instances during today's run that left me with some concerns.  My left hamstring "warned" me a few times that if I kept up the pace I was running at, it would cramp up without any additional notice.  This warning usually comes in the guise of a very small cramp or twinge in my hamstring, and when this happens, I slow down immediately.  When my hamstring has locked up during a run, it has been one of the worst pains I've ever experienced, and it wiped out any hopes that I had of running a good race.

My hamstrings have locked up two of the three times I've run the Boston marathon, and both times it made me seriously question why I would ever run again.  In both instances, one leg would cramp up and require me to hop over to the side of the road to get not trampled by the rest of the racers.  I'd lean over to rub the back of my leg in hopes of trying to loosen up the muscle.  Then as soon as I leaned over, my other hamstring would cramp up and pain would engulf my entire body.  Now I'm standing there, not moving, fighting off tears, and getting jeered by some semi-drunk Boston College students watching the marathon because I'm not running.  After five to six minutes of not moving, I'd start this ridiculous walk / hop hybrid of running in fear that any other running form would result in my hamstrings locking up again.

So what can I do to prevent this from happening again?  There is really only one answer, and that is to stretch.  I need to start stretching more after all of my runs, and I need to do it for longer than two minutes.  If anyone has any recommendations on stretching exercises that work for you, I'd love to hear them.  I'll be trying some different exercises over the next couple of weeks and hope that I'll find a few that work well for me.

Tomorrow I have a nine mile general aerobic run.  Hopefully I can keep it in the 8:00 - 8:10 minute / mile pace, and without my legs giving me any "warnings".  And if there are, I'll promise you that I'll slow down, and that you'll be the first to know.