How I train: Q and A

Thanks for all your questions and comments on my "How I train" series. Here are some I didn't get to:

Vanesssa asked:
What was your typical weekly mileage training for your first marathon vs. now?
I mentioned that I used to run about 20 miles a week (first marathon) and now I run about 45 miles a week (need to increase!) but what I didn't mention was the standard deviation. I am much more consistent now - before I'd have weeks with just 6 miles total followed by weeks with 12 or 28. Now I might dip to 30 after a race or peak as high as 65 on a race week, but generally I'm in the 40 to 50 range.

Nelly said: Not sure if this is the case, but you look way more powerful now than you do in that picture above from your first marathon. Not sure if you feel the same way.
One thing I didn't talk about what weight training. I do try to do weights at the gym once a week for just that reason: increased power. I think speed work might help, too, although hill sprints would be better. All I need is a hill...

Ali Mc asked:
I really want to know how someone like me (a relatively new runner) could train for their first marathon differently. Everyone says train to just finish but I'd love to BQ on my first one ....do you think that's possible??

Oh gosh. I don't know, I guess it depends on your base. I really think a runner shouldn't attempt a marathon until he or she has been running for several years. Not that finishing a marathon is insanely difficult; just doing one too soon can be disappointing. A young runner may get injured and will probably have a worse finish time than if they had waited until they had a very good base. I think if you have been running at least 30 miles a week for at least 6 months, and you regularly run in the double digits, and you've completed several half-marathons, and your half marathon pace is BQ pace or better, you will probably BQ at your first marathon. But that is total conjecture. 

Kyria asked:

So, you said you never really did taper before, but do you follow a training "schedule" at all? Or just wing it? You seem kind of like a wing it kind of girl. Do you do speed work? Pace work? Hills?

Where do you find the time? Do you run in the dark?

While I use a training schedule as a guide, I mostly wing it. The training schedule just helps me plan when my long runs should be. I only do speed work on Monday nights with the Varsity Sports group, so if my training plan has additional speed work I just do a regular run. I almost never wear a watch, so I don't do any tempo runs or marathon pace runs or all that jazz. 

Now that I work a set schedule, I run in the mornings before work. I get up at 6:00, and try to be out the door by 6:30.That still gives me time to get a ten-miler in, shower, get ready for work, eat breakfast, and get to work before 9:00. Sometimes it is dark, but that's ok; I live in New Orleans so you know there is NO crime. 

Mickiruns asked:

Would you mind including a "I wish I knew ____ when I was training for my first marathon"? 

Don't wear different underwear on race day! Ow, chaffing! 

Sassy Molassy said:

I usually run 5-6 days per week and for me, reducing my mileage has actually been more effective. 45-50 miles per week are usually my max during marathon training. That being said, it could have been the combination of doing more comprehensive workouts (gym, yoga, lifeforce) that has improved my muscle imbalances so I'm not injured like I was before. 

Well said, I think cross-training for muscle strength is a great way to prevent injury while increasing all-around fitness. Too bad I suck at everything except running (I wish you could see me attempting soccer as a kid, it was tragic).

Christy asked:

My question is how do you stay injury free with the increase in miles?

Ah-hah! Great question! Mileage increase should be snail's pace slow. But once you are up there, you're golden. Stay where you can tolerate it. It's the changes that put you in danger, not the actual higher mileage. For me, after I ran a marathon in fall of 2010, I had built up to around 40 mpw and stayed there by simply adding on races incessantly. I have gradually increased that to 45 or so over the course of almost an entire year. The key is to maintain mileage so you don't have to build back up.

Kinza said:

I would love to hear details about your eating habits.

I eat fairly well. Besides three square meals, I snack a lot, mostly on mixed nuts, fruit,  or crackers and cheese. I don't have the most ideal diet, but I keep junk food to a minimum and I'm a healthy cook. Our most damaging meals come from eating out, which we do about once a week, but since my hubby and I both love food - and live in New Orleans - we aren't about to give that up! I don't drink soda or any sweet beverage at all, and I have raw fruit or veggies with every meal. I drink red wine several times a week and I'm a coffee addict, but I drink a lot of water, too. I could be more careful with my diet, but I'm fairly content with it.

Char said:

I don't get how you think you suck at distances over 16 miles and yet run a 3:09 marathon. Clearly you don't actually suck - is it that you don't like going so far.

Well, that's kind of you to say, but I actually do suck. I have just had to persuade myself that crappy long runs don't equate to crappy marathons, or I'd be perpetually worried about my performance. I routinely hit the wall, fall off pace, get sick, or quit early during long runs! 

In fact, in all my ten races, I've only had one good twenty. Read about it here. 


Thanks for reading all my training posts and for your comments! Of course, it turns out that the week that I put up posts all about running and training I ran fever and had a cold and missed running for three days - plus skipped a long run for my next race. Not an auspicious start to training. 

How I train: the mental part

The last part of How I Train is kind of a catch-all of things I didn't put elsewhere, but it concludes with one of the most important parts: the mental aspect! If I could credit one thing with taking me from a 4:15 to a 3:09 marathon, it's thinking I could do it.
But first some bits and pieces I forgot...

The mental aspect comes into play when one realizes one has run 27.2 miles instead of 26.2. Yes, I actually did that. 

Injuries: At first (marathon #1), I was a big ball of injury - I was not in the shape to attempt a marathon and training hurt. This is why I'm not a proponent of the "You, too, can run a marathon" kind of plan. Sure, anyone can run a marathon. But first you need to build up a decent base, or the mileage increase will injure you!
My biggest injury was excruciating runner's knee that plagued me for months and lead to other, responsive injuries. I fixed that in 2 weeks by throwing out my motion control shoes and going neutral. Bam, just like that, no more pain. My only injury after that was a mild fracture sustained from a hard landing on a rough surface...playing chicken with a train. I know. Sorry. I do dumb stuff sometimes. It serves me right. It healed in a month and has been 100% pain free since then.
Edited in 2013: Since the time I wrote this, I developed a chronic condition (osteitis pubis) and then lost over 7 months to a stress fracture: what was initially diagnosed as a hamstring tear turned out to be a femoral stress fracture. I'm not sure how it happened to begin with, but running on it for 5 months certainly made it worse. I'll re-edit later if I find out more info on what could have prevented this injury!
Gear: I'm not really into fancy running stuff. I got a Garmin for Christmas a year ago, but I only wear it for speed workouts, long runs when I don't know my route distance, and races. I wear an ipod for long runs and races, too, but not for everyday running.
I buy my socks and jog bras from Walmart. They are cheap cotton. I buy shorts off Ebay or Nike clearance. I got tights at Target last year for $1.99. I have only purchased a running top ONCE, since I wear mostly race T's. I snap up clearance shoes and try to spend less than $39.99 per pair.
To me, the appeal of running is that anyone can do it with very, very little stuff. I don't want to lose that feeling of fun and freedom, so I keep things low tech.
Right now, I wear Saucony Kinvaras - men's, since I have wide feet - and I love them. I wear them for long runs, track, races, and every day. I also have a pair of Karhu Fulcrum Fast, which I rotate in about once a week. I love my Karhu's, too, but lately I've been having trouble with fit. I think I'm between sizes in a women's shoe - men's shoes just fit better.
The best thing I ever did for my running was to switch to a neutral shoe. I'm a believer in letting your body, not an external device, correct for any imbalance or anomaly. If you think about it, you've been alive and kicking with that darned pronation or funny gait for 20+ years and it never hurt you before. When you do natural activities like walking, lifting, or sitting, you didn't need special shoes to prevent a catastrophe. So why do you need them for running, which should also be a natural activity? I'm not saying go totally minimalist, which didn't work for me (I tried it, I felt too much impact); I'm just saying, let your body do its thing. If you aren't having problems, don't let some running shoe store sell you a stability shoe to "fix' something.

Fuel: Before I run I have half a cup of coffee - full cup for a race - but I generally do not eat. I eat lightly before a marathon but no other distance. While running, I eat gels or oatmeal or white rice. Yeah, I bring teeny bags of cooked and salted rice and oatmeal with me. It's cheaper than gels.
For long runs, I only fuel for 18 miles and over. I bring two servings of fuel (2 gels, 2 bags of rince, etc).
For races, I usually bring a gel or two for a half marathon, although I rarely will take more than one.
When I race a marathon, I need fuel. I drink Gatorade at about every other water stop, and I bring about 4 gels.
I take my gels in halves since it's easier to get enough liquid down with them that way. I try to stay on a schedule of miles 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 - half a Gu at each. Obviously I will adjust this based on location of water stations.
For the rest of the time, my normal diet is just ok. I drink lots of coffee and have red wine at least 5 times a week. Hey, it keeps my cholesterol in check! I am lucky that I generally like healthy foods, especially fruits, veggies, and legumes, but I eat plenty of treats, too. That's why I'm medium-weight instead of pro-runner skinny. I like eating and food makes me happy.


What I don't do: I do not ice, I do not wear compression, I do not race without drinking water, I do not drink chocolate milk, I do not have mantras, I do not run barefoot, I do not diet, I do not take supplements, I do not bandit,  I do not cross train, I do not stretch, I do not carb-load, I do not buy expensive accessories, I do not raise money for charity, I do not negative-split, I do not mid-foot strike, I do not do Yasso 800's, I do not run on treadmills, I do not run ultras, I do not use sunscreen. I do what I can, want, like, and afford...in other words, I keep running a hobby, not a lifestyle. Only you know just the mix of dos and don'ts that work for you! Some things I should do to improve but I'm not willing to sacrifice for them. Some things would be fun to do, but would cut into time and money I should spend on other things. You just have to pick and choose what works for you. 


When the going gets hairy: So here's the thing. I don't like quitting or copping out. I don't usually make excuses for myself. I'm not silly enough to not allow myself a pass if I'm sick or injured, but I don't like going easy on myself. I'm not a perfectionist, just pushy.
I'm not built to be a runner. I'm a stocky, muscular build that doesn't promise long smooth strides. I'm heavier than most runners running my same speed. I have terribly damaged feet from wearing too-small shoes growing up, and I heel strike. But I do not give up and I don't make excuses. I think that's helped me more than any natural ability or training plan.

What's helped YOU more than anything else?

How I train: Racing

Day three of how I train...
Today let's talk about races. After all, they're kind of why I run.


Races: I run a lot of races because they give me a goal to work for. Who cares if that makes me a moron. I like to schedule them close enough together that I don't have to start training all over again and I've always run better at my second race.
I feel like full marathons are my best distance, but I don't know if that is really true since I almost never run any other distances. I will do the occasional half, but short distances don't appeal to me. I know I am definitely a distance type because I generally underperform at short distances. For example, I have never run a 5k under 21 minutes! (Edit - have run under 20 now). And not for lack of trying, either! I've noticed that if I use the Mcmillan calculator to estimate my race times, I will always outperform at the marathon distance and underperform at shorter distances.  Meanwhile, if I attempt to do speed work at my extrapolated "5k pace" or "2 mile pace" I struggle to complete the workouts.

Training plans: I am not good at following training plans. I prefer, instead, to stay at half-marathon shape all the time, and build up to a marathon over the course of 4 to 6 weeks. However, I do usually use a training plan as a general guide, although I often jump in half-way through. I used training plans for my first two marathons, and they were not tough enough. They didn't challenge me, and they didn't have enough long runs or mid-distance runs. This is probably because they were beginner's plans and just had too much time off.

Sorry. I doodle a lot.

This is a plan I downloaded for the Louisiana marathon and sorry, I don't remember where from. As you can see, this one I started at week 7, since it actually included THREE marathons - two of my three 20+ milers were replaced by marathons. I did a lot of hand-correcting, and I was very liberal with this plan - it called for very high mileage (including a 28 mile run) and I cut almost every week down. Then I lost it completely around Christmas, when my husband took over my desk to put up my new computer, and it just resurfaced in a stack of files yesterday. Lot of good that did.

Recovery: After a long or hot run, I love love love club soda. Club soda and eggs are all I want. I actually rarely have carbs after a race or run - unless it is race beer, which is a good club soda substitute - but sometimes I will make toast to soak up egg yolks or put scrambled eggs in a tortilla. I don't do anything specific for my muscles to recover; I do like to walk around a lot the same day to shake out any stiffness. I am rarely sore after a race - or ever, really. I don't take days off after a race - I get out and run the next day. Like I said, not a fan of days off.
When I was a jogger I ate what people told me to eat (carbs), but now I eat what I crave.

Marathons: I have done ten marathons, and I don't claim to be an expert. But here's a general idea of how I run a marathon.
For training, like I said, I jump in in the middle. I stay ready to do 13 on any given day, so generally my first long run will be 16 miles. I might do one, two, or three 20's and kind of decrease mileage the week leading up to the race.
I have the very worst race preparation ever known to man and I've pretty much just assumed that something will go wrong pre-race. I will have a dinner of hot wings and wine, have the busiest 9-hour work day of my life the day before, stay overnight with friends who never go to sleep, be late to the start, have a dead ipod or watch, whatever. Not one single race has started out well, and that's just my life. Like I said, it's complicated.
Race morning I give myself two hours to get up, have a little oatmeal, get ready, go to the bathroom, and make it to the start. I don't warm up before the race because I just don't know how. I heard someone last week say they were going to "stride it out" before the race and I had no idea what she was talking about.  I bring music since I think having a beat helps me in later miles, although I'm happy to talk to other runners until I start feeling like a pile of crap.
I would love to say that I pace well and negative-split, but I'll be honest here. I've never negative split in my life. I start too fast and those last miles hurt! (Oddly, miles 20 - 26 are my favorites. I feel like I'm almost home and it's mentally easier for me than, say, mile 16 or 18). Once in awhile I hit the wall - twice this season - but I am ok with that. As long as I started adding glucose early enough, I can push through it.
I am a big fan of cheering others on the course. Anyone out there is working hard and could use the encouragement, and it distracts me a little! So I'm pretty generous with the clapping, high-fives, and shouted encouragement. I always talk to people I pass, too, if it's a spread-out race: I'll tell them they look good, hold the pace, etc. I feel kind of mean and guilty passing people! Is that normal?!
Another distractor, besides cheering others on, is running tangents. I am a very good tangent runner and rarely go much over the race distance by Garmin (even in large RnR races I will be at 26.3 max). Tangents are like a game: I will think, "See that corner up there? Run a straight line to it". Then I reach the corner and pick the next object to make the shortest line.
When I get to mile 25 I always tell myself I will sprint and I never do. I am too exhausted. But those last fractions I'll hit it!


So what tricks do I have for successful marathons? 
- Well, the biggest change I've made is having confidence going in. I literally cried after my first marathon, I was so miserable. I was slow, injured, and in agony. That didn't help me much going into marathon number two! But as time goes on and I have more races under my belt, I know what's coming and I can judge my own fitness for the distance. I am a very reasonably confident person. That is, I'm good at knowing what I can and can't do and being quite confident about it. I usually call my races like pool: I can tell you the night before that I will run a 3:15 or a 3:30. When I hit the tough later miles, I remind myself that I am in the shape to run a 3:30 marathon, and it is well within my ability. I reason myself out of the low-glucose panic that can set it around mile 18.
- I've gotten better at fueling. This is entirely a personal thing, so do what you have to do to stay fueled! But I will tell you two things that have helped me:
1. I underfuel for regular long runs. This is partly because I'm cheap and Gu is pricey, and partly to encourage my body to convert fat to fuel in an attempt to go longer on a tank of energy on race day. And to get rid of my Armenian butt (it's not working).
2. I follow a set-in-stone fueling rule during races: If I'm between miles 13 and 22 and I feel a surge of energy, I immediately take some fuel. I know that this is a sign that I've moved from blood glucose to secondary sources of fuel like muscle glycogen, and while I feel good now, I'll crash soon if I don't supplement. This usually hits at mile 16 or 18 for me. Last race I couldn't stomach the gel I took at this point - it nauseated me immensely - and sure enough, I hit the wall.
- I start in the right corral. Like I said, I have a lot of confidence in both what I can and what I can't do, and one thing I can't do is conserve energy while passing slower runners. I get caught up in bunny-hopping and the next thing you know, my first mile was a 6:42 and I ran a good bit over 1 mile to get around people. All my bad races were ones in which I started too far back. The corrals are there for a reason, and being correctly corralled at the start is safer, faster, smarter, and more polite to other runners.
- I set a general finish time or pace goal. No more of this, "I just want to finish" crap. And you know what? It is crap. If you set that as your goal, well, then you can do better than that. You trained hard for your marathon, and you know how you're doing. Set a reasonable goal and work for it. ANYONE can "just finish" a marathon. Challenge yourself to a goal, work for it, and beat it at your next race!


Tomorrow we wrap up with some odds and ends and the mental aspect of training.
And then this weekend I will get to some questions!

How I train: Running volume

A quick note - Thanks for the questions. If I don't answer your questions here, I will do a Q and A post at the end and answer everything I miss.


 Day one of How I Train: 
Ah, volume. I know it's important, but so is having enough free time to re-read all the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
Want to know a dirty little secreet? Part of the reason I got faster is because I didn't want to have to dedicate so much of my time to running. Faster = more miles, less time commitment.

Mileage: I run about 45 miles a week. To get faster, I added 15 to 20 miles a week. I think more would be better - probably 70 - but I simply don't want to commit the time. After a race I cut it down to about 30 for a recovery week.
If I averaged out miles for marathon #1, I did about 20 a week. Now I generally stay around 45, but I go over that on weeks that I race or do a 20 miler.
I know mileage has made a huge difference in my running, and I really would improve if I could buckle down and increase that number. Last year when I went from a 4:15 to a 3:27 marathon, I didn't do any speedwork - I just increased my miles. It's that important. If I could make just one change in my training it would be to increase mileage. In fact, I think ANY runner with the time and inclination to build up to and maintain 70 miles per week could meet or beat my marathon time. You just don't get good at anything without practice.
In the future I would like to add miles, so if you are friends with me on Dailymile and see me slacking off, send me a "Get off your tush" motivation.*

Days a week of running: I feel best with six or seven - six on weeks I remember to go to the gym and get my puny muscles pumping. I don't like taking days off. If I do, the fronts of my calves hurt the next day!
This is another change I made that improved my time - running just 4 or 5 days a week, like I used to, gave me fewer quality runs because I felt stiff and out of shape after off days.

Days off: Rarely am I off from running and the gym - probably two or three times a month. If I'm sick I take off, unless I feel like a run would do me good. I prefer to limit the excuses that I'll allow for a day off. When I was 4-hour marathoner, I took days off whenever anything hurt, believing that I was preventing injury. Not only was I injured anyway, I was just hurting my fitness, which in turn led me to more injury. I went into my first marathon with low levels of fitness and low confidence in my running.
This brings me to a point I meant to make: To a certain extent, running will hurt. That's ok. If you maintain a certain level of fitness all the time, you will know if the hurt you are feeling is normal and will go away (ie, sore knees from old shoes, pain from bruised nail bed, stiffness post-race, side cramps during a fast run) or if you are heading for an injury like a sprain, tear, or fracture. So it sounds paradoxical, but more running can actually help prevent injury.


Next up: How I run - the types of running, speed, and distances I do.
Questions? Ask below. If I don't know the answer I will make one up that sounds plausible. 
*You aren't friends with me on Dailymile? Why not, you don't like me?

A week of how I train!

Well, you asked for it...
So this week I am going to do several posts on exactly how I train.
As an introduction, a few years ago, I was one of those casual joggers who got bitten by the marathon bug. I ran my first marathon in 2010, poorly trained, injured, and miserable. My official time was 4:12.

My very first marathon! Feb 2010.

It was a bad enough experience that I laid off running for awhile, but I picked it back up 8 months later. I qualified for Boston at marathon #3 in November, 2010.

The beautiful Harrisburg marathon course, a great BQ course

A year after my first marathon, I ran a 3:27, agin at RnR Mardi Gras, and felt great doing it. Again, I took a little break - this time an injury combined with the hot weather kept me from running as much. I'm getting back into the swing of things this winter - my current best marathon is 3:09:36 (read about it here)  - Edit: Now it is 3:06:17 - and I ran a 3:24 in hot, windy weather with no Garmin or watch. My half marathons have improved, too, with a current PR of 1:30 from last month. That's down from the 2:03 I ran for my very first half.
Do I still have a long way to go? Of course!
While I can't claim to be fast, I CAN claim to have improved drastically. 
I don't have a coach and I have no background in running, so a lot of what I do is just what seems to work for me. Take this as my personal story, not what will necessarily work for you!


Coming up this week:
- Running volume and mileage
- What kind of running I do
- Racing
- The mental aspect 

Now ask me questions! If you have any specific questions on how I went from a 4:15 marathon to a 3:09 marathon in less than two years, ask away. I will do my best to provide helpful information!