Event Day: Applying all these Concepts

If you have applied the principles of good form first, then add distance, and then watched the speed come- then any distance from the 1.5 mile fitness test to the marathon is a breeze. You have fully developed your aerobic system with comfortable and easy running and watched your pace at the easy effort drop. This process takes 2 to 3 months so real preparation begins now. Once the aerobic system is developed it is easy to maintain.

A few tips for the 1.5 Mile Fitness Test

For example if your goal pace for the 1.5 mile is 9 min/mile and your easy fat burning aerobic pace has reduced to about 10 min/mile – you are there. All you need to do now is relax, open your stride behind you, and dial in all gas. This test is short enough you will not run out of gas. You must stay relaxed in the first half to avoid becoming completely anaerobic (usually 1-5 minutes and you are done) and shutting down efficient movement. Again, practice is everything. Every couple weeks do a simulated 1.5 miles and use different focuses along the way to cue efficient movement and relaxation. The book ChiRunning is a great tool for specific instruction in this vital but often ignored component of test success.

...and for the Marathon

If you have trained your body properly with the right mix of aerobic level training and some up tempo stuff in recent weeks, you have built your efficient hybrid engine ready to race the marathon. Many of you have driven in a Prius and watch the subtle shifts between gas and electric on the screen. You do not perceive these shifts. Your engine runs on gas, electric, or a mix- depending on the effort.

You are starting the race with one gallon in the tank- assuming you have eaten a nice meal the night before with a breakfast top off.

• If you are in all gas mode, your engine will run about 1.5 hours at a strong pace….then you are out of gas.
• If you are mostly electric you can run all day, but maybe maybe not so quickly.
• If you are using the proper mix you will go quick and efficient for duration of your event, and you can even do some topping off along the way.

The glucose utilizing pathway is the gas. This is your stored glycogen and blood glucose (pasta meal and breakfast) - easy to access for ready energy. The fat utilizing pathway is the electric. In marathons you must be in hybrid until the last few miles. Hybrid is where your energy (ATP) is coming from both sources.

Many runners are in great “10k shape” (an all gas event), then run their marathon in the gas mode- and usually crash. No glycogen sparing factors apply in races of less than an hour as long as you had a good pre-event meal to fill the tank. In marathons and ultras- top end fitness matters little and can only be applied very near the finish. Glucose gives 36 ATP per molecule, fat 460 ATP per molecule. Now you know how a bird can migrate 7000 miles without a Powerbar.

So how do you know you are running in your best hybrid mode?

This is difficult because the sense is not as profound as aerobic/anaerobic. A slight increase from your optimal pace will switch you from hybrid to all gas without you realizing it, and the effects are felt miles later. Charging up hills early will tap your gas quickly. Maintain >effort not speed.

You must rehearse a bit in training. I focus on relaxation and breathing. If I’m breathing one cycle to 5 steps, then I’m hybrid. Any faster I’m using glucose as sole fuel. Belly breathe- allow lower belly to blow up like a beach ball on inhalation and pull your belly button back to your spine on exhalation. Then you will fill the lower lung areas where oxygen exchange occurs.

Notice the breathing efforts of those around you and many are rapid breathing- they tend to suffer somewhere past half way. Rehearse complete relaxation from the top down- eyes, jaw, shoulders, allow your legs to relax and extend behind you, relax and soften your knees and ankles. Find you own cue for this. If you use the Heart Rate Monitor in training strongly consider one during the event.

In a marathon, the last 3-4 miles you will be all gas to maintain the same speed as fatigue sets in. The breathing is usually on a 3 to 4 step per breath cycle- that is OK. Still stay relaxed and use some relaxation cues that you have rehearsed to keep your form.

Land softly, especially on the early downhills. I use a running method called ChiRunning which focuses on midfoot strike, slight forward lean, and letting gravity do some of the work. A few months after learning this technique I ran a 2:31 here at age 39 and felt none of the usual post Boston soreness. Felt so good I lined up 5 weeks later in Ottawa for another 2:32. I’m never sore after marathons now thanks to good running form and feel I can keep doing them until I enter the retirement home. No pain…thank you.

Your shoes matter too. Not that you are going to change your shoes in the next day based on my advice...but make strong consideration to not running in minimalist racers unless you have trained substantially in them. Your body tunes and adapts to the footwear you use on a daily basis. I suggest learning good form and getting storng and mobile in the right places while transitioning to thinner and flatter shoes for all your training. My favorite road race shoes are the Newton Distance and new MV2, incredible marathon shoes if you are running with a proper midfoot landing. If you relax your lower legs and not push off…these shoes with no heel elevation put you in perfect position to allow natural elastic recoil of plantar fascia, Achilles, calf muscles, and hip flexors. Read Dean Karnazes new book “50-50” (50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days). He has figured this gait efficiency technique  and it has allowed him to accomplish some amazing endurance and durability feats. “Born to Run” also makes the case for running with a more efficient stride and questions modern running footwear. The evolving world of modern sports medicine is going back to the future too and rediscovering what evolution has taught us.

For an in depth review on shoes visit the Natural Running Center

Now a few extra ways to get from start to finish quicker on the same gallon

• If you can add a little gas along the way then you can go more into gas mode. This works a little at best. If running too fast you shunt all blood to working muscles and nothing digests. If you are in hybrid the early going you can continually add fuel- the key is not only the correct fuel, but the right pace. A Powergel every 25 minutes is easy to digest and tops off the tank. Carry them with you at the start. The weight is nothing compared to the benefit you will get. If you do the gels then you can drink water instead of the energy drinks which are often less predictable on the run. Boston has a Powergel station at Mile 17. Carry 4 at the start (one every 4 miles or so) and reload at mile 17.
• Maintain effort on uphill. Your pace will slow. You can easily use all your gas here if your effort increases. Shorten your stride, relax, and use your arms. Then allow gravity to take you down.
• If you are having a “bad patch” – try to refocus on relaxing, fuel a bit (sometimes a blood glucose drop triggers the sense of doom) , and have faith in your training and race plan. Another nice trick is when you hit mile 21 it is not 5 miles to go, it is 4 and change. Mile 22 is 3 and change to go. Just run to the next mile marker.

The fun of the marathon is that we are always learning and enjoying the adventure of it. I’ve done over 50 marathons now with a couple under 2:25 in my younger years. I’ve had one DNF at my first Boston in 1989. I raced the first half in 1:08 in gas mode not realizing it, in really minimal shoes that I’d not trained in, and was done by 20 miles. My worst time of the all the others has been a 2:44 at “run for hoses” Boston on 2005- 90 degrees and sunny. No hybrid here as efforts to cool were overwhelming. Another slow day was a 2:41 in the “run for cover” Boston in 2007. This was year with 30 mph headwind and Nor’easter rain. I was not in hybrid in this race in efforts to fight wind and cold, hit half way in 1:16, and suffered coming home.

We learn from experience, taking chances, and occasional failures. My first marathon in 1988 was 2:34. 22 years later I ran a 2:34 in the 2010 Boston Marathon. In the last 25 years I’ve accumulated 22 years under 2:35 and 24 under 2:40 (no race my medical internship year). In 2011 I won the Air Force Marathon for the sceond time 2 weeks shy of my 45th birthday. I’ve learned a few things in 20 plus years, but still there are uncertainties every time you line up. Relax, taper up, and seize the day.