Coaches Corner

I don't know... I didn't know what else to title this entry.  The one I chose is kind of queer, I know.  This is about my first experience coaching adults.  One of biggest things I learned this summer is that no two people adapt to the same method of training.   Everyone walks a fine line between not enough vs. overtraining when marathon training.  But that line is different for everyone.  Finding that line for five very different runners was tricky.  It was a challenge.  It was also a privilege, a headache, very stressful, satisfying and a complete joy.  I guess you could say it was the whole package.  This is about the five runners who graciously agreed to be my guinea pigs over the summer and be coached for a fall marathon.  In exchange, they were to keep documentation of their training, monitor their heart rates and follow specific pace and heart rate ranges in accordance with their goals.  This would be training like no other for each of them.  They were going to have to adopt a higher mileage, slower pace method of training.  The majority of their runs would be easy paced, comfortable mileage, with 1-2 days of speed work to develop speed and fine tune race pace.  All five were experienced runners, although for 3 of them, this would be their first full marathon.  All five have children, jobs and otherwise busy lives.  And since the bulk of training would be in the summer, the day began VERY early for most of them (to beat the heat and avoid having to run after work).  As one can imagine, higher mileage and slower paces meant a lot more time out running.  Time was not on these runners' sides, however they all remained committed and focused on their goals. The runners were not given a 20 week schedule, but rather each week, a new schedule would be emailed to them.  Initially, I would only send out the new week's schedule after being given their training logs from the previous weeks.  This would allow me to analyze signs of overtraining by comparing heart rate/pace changes and make out new schedules accordingly (perhaps someone needed an extra rest day or someone could handle more mileage).  I quickly realized that some of them were much like myself and I just wasn't going to get all their data.... so I settled for some.  Garmin Connect became a very useful evaluative tool and I had access to most of their Garmin data.  Because I was also training for my upcoming 50 miler, I wasn't able to devote the actual running time WITH them as I otherwise would have.  I had to make sure I was getting in the mileage and paces I needed as well as my cross training activities.  In the end,  all completed their training and ran their marathons.  This is the training story of each of them, who all gave me permission to blog about them.

Greg


Greg's marathon was first.  Greg chose to run the Air Force Marathon.  I think he would have preferred Columbus, however Greg had a milestone anniversary coming up and a promised trip to his wife.  One that did NOT revolve around running a marathon.  He'd be the first to tell you his wife Mary is the most supportive person in his running network, but she had a limit.  And her anniversary was her anniversary.  Plain and simple (smart lady!).
I sought Greg out because I just KNEW this program would be so great for him and bring him the PR he wanted so badly.  Greg has been running for roughly 10 years and has done a handful of marathons.  I met him over a year ago when I was training for my second BQ attempt in Columbus and he was training for Marine Corps.  This was in 2010.  Our mutual friend (and Greg's co-worker Kim) told him that there was a group training for the Columbus half and full marathon and he should join us for track work at the high school track.  That is how I met Greg.
Greg did not meet his time goal at Marine Corps.  Again, I was unaware of some of the mental struggles of Greg when it came to marathoning.  He jumped back into training that winter with sights set on 4 hours at the Flying Pig (2011).  Greg was using a training plan of intense speed and medium high weekday mileage, with the longest run being 16 miles.  Greg seemed to do very well on this plan, though I just couldn't get the rationale behind a maximum 16 mile long run for a marathon.  I didn't run with him much (if at all) during this training cycle since for the first few months I was injured and then I was training for the Pig half, however I had heard that he was doing an exceptional job, getting faster and displayed utmost confidence in his ability the night before the Pig at my sister's pre-race party.  Sadly, the week before the Flying Pig, Greg's sister passed away from cancer.  Not knowing how the heck he could even bring himself to the start of the Flying Pig, I marveled at his silent strength.

The Pig did not go as planned for Greg.  Greg finished in over 5 hours.  The reason (per Greg)?  Total mental collapse beginning at mile 3.  Knowing this started so early in the race, I realized Greg was actually way tougher than he credited himself for.  All I could say is that I would not have been able to go much further.

Knowing Greg had some disappointing performances given the amount of time and energy he devoted to training made me want badly to coach him with this different type of training.  One thing about Greg is he is a hard knocked gadget NUT JOB.  I mean, if you could see the charts, graphs and tables he has created around his running, your mind would spin.  Greg is overly meticulous with his training data.  I believe he analyzes every run very carefully.  After explaining the scientific premise of this training to Greg, he agreed to come aboard.  He willingly hopped on board with HR training and was happy to get started.  Slowing down was NOT easy for him to do as evidenced by some of his training data.  I had to really reign him in.  After all, how can comfortable training really work?  I mean, isn't this supposed to suck?  Aren't you supposed to be breathless and spent after each run?  NO!  I kept telling him the goal was to train optimally, not maximally (Greg McMillan's words).  Two days a week, Greg did speed work.  One was usually in the form of a tempo run, with specific pace ranges, and the other track work.  I would get to the track at 5 am some mornings and Greg was midway through his repeats.  The guy was hard core at training.  He also slept very little, which was a huge concern of mine given the mileage he was running and the life he led outside of running.  I began hearing from some of the gals that ran with him regularly that Greg liked to throw in extra mileage or run a bit, shall we say, over paced.  Now Greg blamed them at first, but he was definitely the culprit.  However, after a few blasting e-mails, Greg did settle down.  His HR (won't even get into the fiasco his Garmin monitor created in the beginning) was well within his aerobic range even at his race pace.  This was awesome!  He asked me if we should re-evaluate the goal because race pace for him, was truly a comfortable and easy pace.  Uh, NO!  I wanted him to get the 4 hour time, regardless that his training and HR indicated he is a sub 4 hour marathoner.  Once he was able to get through a marathon comfortably with a nice PR, he could go for what he is capable of.  So he continued as planned.

As race day approached, Greg appeared confident and excited.  I sent him information on carb loading and tapering.  I'm sure the taper was very difficult for Greg, who peaked at roughly 65 miles a week in training.  We joked often about his obsession and precision to detail when racing... such as how many times he would re-evaluate his wardrobe and how often he'd re-pin his bib number on.  He also "joked" at one point that he was busy lining up and counting shot bloks.  I kind of think he wasn't kidding!

On the morning of the marathon, Greg was calm, chatty and ready.  Our trusty friend Suttan was going to run with him and keep him on pace.  His goal pace was a 9:09.  My advice to Greg was start slower than pace and then bring it down slowly.  I knew there would be miles that dipped below race pace after he was good and warmed up, with rested muscles and carb loaded (or so I thought he'd loaded... he recently confided that he fuels as well as he sleeps... holy shit, Greg, sounds like you may have been running on empty.  Literally.).  At 7:30, we were off!  I quickly lost sight of Greg and Suttan.  I saw them at around mile 10 when they had turned around and were running in the opposite direction.  Right on pace with a huge smile, I snapped a picture of the two of them.  A huge wave of relief washed over me.  It was all going to be fine.  I had no doubts the Greg would finally hit his goal, perhaps even below.  I knew I would not see him until he greeted John and me at the finish.

When will I learn that you just never know what can happen in this god forsaken distance of 26.2 miles? When?

At mile 18, I chatted on the phone with Sarah.  At mile 20, my sister Maggie.  At mile 21, John says to me "Is that Suttan and Greg?"  My heart dropped.  John and I were running roughly a 4:20 paced marathon.  If we were approaching Greg, something had gone terribly wrong.  I came up to him, put my hand on his back and said "Greg, what's going on?"  I'll never forget the look on his face or the tone of his voice as he said "I'm so sorry, Kate."  Sorry?  For me?  You can't be serious. This was his race, his goal, his dream.  Not mine.  I could definitely empathize with his crushing disappointment.  No doubt I could, but at that moment, it was Greg's heartbreak that mattered.  I knew how hard he'd worked.  I knew how much he wanted this.  I knew everything he was feeling.  It was the Flying Pig all over again for him.  I don't think you can possibly get it unless you've been there.  I've been there.

We walked/jogged with Greg for 2 miles.  Something was going on with his right hip and he seemed to be in pain with every step.  I knew he'd gone to the start uninjured so I didn't get it.  I thought maybe he didn't disclose something.  That would certainly be like Greg :).  Greg urged us to go on.  It was as if he just wanted to be alone to finish.  I understood.  Sometimes being alone is what is needed.  I am a lot like that when I am struggling.  I realized that there was nothing I could say or do.  Everything I said sounded stupid and pointless.  Encouraging him was no longer effective or helpful.  Greg needed to be alone.

Greg finished in 5 hrs and 3 minutes after running 16 miles on pace for a 4 hour marathon.  I worried about his hip.  He later told me it was his mind.  I'll call them his racing demons.  He was running again that Thursday (I knew he couldn't wait a full week like he said!).

Greg is running Indy's Monumental Marathon on November 4th.... FOR FUN!!!   He is not letting all that training go to waste but he is also not after a time goal.  We are going to go for a long run.  His long runs are much faster than his races (his 24 miler smoked his marathon!).  We'll take walk breaks (or wine and cheese parties as he and Jen like to call our long fuel stops), and for 13 miles or so of it, I will make him fuel and slow him down (I'm officially tapering as of Sunday so I will not be running all of it).  I will be that very annoying person.  Greg "says" he has no expectations for this marathon.  I am trying to believe him, yet when I suggested leaving the Garmin at home and just running, he replied "I will NEVER run without my Garmin...."  SO... Greg, I am going to try and believe you are without a goal, but forgive me if I'm skeptical.  November 4th is a long run in which you will be given a medal at the end.  It is an awesome way to enjoy something you love to do!  No stress, no expectations, no pressure.  Just running.  Just like our summer long runs.  I think you'll be happy with the clock time when you are really able to run that way :)

Since I am never at a loss for words, I am going to blog about each runner separately.  I should have known I could not do it in one entry!

Well, if nothing else goes as planned for the rest of my training, I can at least say the idea of marathon training runs did.  And that is huge.  I think the victory for me after this weekend was ignoring the voices of reason that time after time popped up and questioned my sanity.  When I signed up for both Air Force and Chicago, I was a bit nervous.  Then I added Indianapolis and I was really wondering.  I have never run a marathon without a taper, let alone 3 very close together.  I purposely sought out articles and training plans that had how to run consecutive marathons within 2 weeks, three, and 4 weeks, but they all had an element of rest in between.  But resting big for each marathon defeated the purpose of training fatigued muscles.  So I essentially closed my eyes, held my breath, jumped in and hoped for the best.  I took a huge risk, not knowing how the end would play out.  Even though I did not race these marathons, slower long runs of this distance, even in the most aggressive of marathon training plans, are often spaced farther apart.  I did that between Air Force and Chicago.  But Chicago and Indy were in the same week with 2 days of running and an elliptical workout in between (that would have been a run but I was dealing with some weird muscle and nerve pain that I'd never experienced.... piriformis?  Never knew I had that muscle... as always, stretching and ice were the key.. the pain is gone!).  My multiple marathons are not impressive by an ultra-runners standard and I realize that.  But when you slowly begin to test your limits (or what you thought were your limits) and enter into new territory, it's a big deal.  I'm learning a lot about the science of running.  The one thing I have done is stayed so keenly aware of my heart rate.  Sometimes this reduces me to a very slow pace (by my standards... I realize this is incredibly individualized... and this also pertains to road running as trail running is much slower)  On days I am very tired, it doesn't take much to reach my aerobic limit.  This is when I have to ignore pace and respect what my body is telling me.  On those days I may reach the highest range of my aerobic training zone at a 10:30 or 11:00 min/mile pace.  I go with it, even if I feel like I can go faster.  On days my body is well rested, that is now a high 8 min/mile range.  I believe wholeheartedly that it is why I'm not injured and why I'm recovering so quickly.  I've had to push my ego aside on many runs and slow it down.  Yesterday I just kept it on HR and sure 'nuff, my pace avg'd an 11 min mile.  Today I did TRX without trouble.  My legs feel rested and ready for spinning and trail running tomorrow.  I'm so happy that this seems to be all coming together.

 I believe paying attention to heart rate continues to allow proper conditioning, strengthening and preparation of our bodies for the next big challenge.  It allows us to adequately rest and recover so we are ready for the next big workout, be it speed or distance or both.   You can't push hard all the time.  No matter who you are, it will catch up and there will be consequences.

The other factor that has been key in my maintenance of the mileage is fueling.  After following proper fueling guidelines during these longer back to back runs, I am experiencing no wall hitting or delayed onset muscle soreness.  No, I'm not going as fast as I once did, but I am trading off for time spent running.  In other words, when you slow down, you are out there longer and still need to fuel adequately in order to stay strong during and expedite recovery afterward.

I continue to do yoga once a week, occasionally having to use my home video if I can't get to class.  I ice after long runs or when something hurts.  The only time I have taken ibuprofen in the past 6 months was last week to reduce the inflammation of that weird muscle.  I use compression sleeves for my problematic calves, which have not been giving me any trouble (knock on wood) and used compression tights after Chicago and Indy to help recovery as well.  I am usually asleep before 9:30 every night.. Sometimes (last night), before 8:30.  I also seek out sources of reading to help strengthen me mentally for those times when it gets rough.  I have read a lot and I am stronger.  I told Sarah that during the Columbus half marathon, I felt very weak and kind of depleted after mile 2.  I stopped to use the bathroom and sat there for a minute.  I told myself I have felt much worse and just because I did a marathon the day before, I still wasn't THAT bad that I couldn't suck it up and finish this strongly.  I took off after my port o let epiphany and ran a rather strong, though not speedy, half marathon.

So if all this happy go lucky wonderfulness is producing a lot of eye rolling and thoughts of "Well isn't she special", let me say this... Doing the right things is inconvenient and quite honestly, a time consuming pain in the ass.  Who has time to put on compression tights when you are pressed for times, much less, sit in a tub of ice?  SOOO often I want to bag it and just run and get on with it.  I don't want to dump spinach or chia seeds into my morning shakes.  I don't even WANT a shake after a workout, much less one filled with a bunch of healthy things.  I don't particularly WANT to wear that stupid HR monitor.  Nor do I have the time to go to yoga at 6 pm on a Monday night.  But I do all of these things because I love running so much and want to preserve it's longevity and be good at it.  I don't want time off for an injury or to feel like crap when I'm doing it (although sometimes it's just a given on certain runs).  Like everything, it's a trade off.  And the funny thing is, I will never be at elite status or get paid for doing this.  But if I am going to turn myself into the best runner that I can be, then I'm at the point where I am willing to make every sacrifice it requires.  Who knows if it's one of the above factors making me feel so good, or all of them combined.  I believe it is the whole package and therefore, will continue to do them all.  I'm sure I'll add things and tweak a thousand times over again.  I have a LOT to learn still.  Different things work for some, but not for others.  I'm finding what works for me.  To make the blanket statement that EVERYONE should do all of the above wouldn't be right, as some research shows that yoga can actually adversely affect running performance and increase likelihood of injury.  That is not the case for me and for many others, however.  For now all I want to do is run my ultra well (which is *GULP* four weeks from Saturday).

Then I want to run a marathon which qualifies me for Boston... over and over and over again :)

26.2 mile training run number two- CHICAGO

Here's a funny story (that some reading already know).  I last blogged about some of the things I was afraid of in regard to the JFK 50.  I believe top of the list was "injury".  But what I meant was "running injury", not "slam your knee into the kitchen counter after behind freaked out by the sight of a raccoon at your garage doorstep" injury.  Ironically enough, that is exactly what happened the day after I posted my last entry.  A raccoon was helping himself to the dog's food and when I opened the garage door from the kitchen to put a full garbage bag out there, I was greeted by his beady, sneaky little eyes.  Well I don't like surprises like that and I don't really care for raccoons (or rather, I'm afraid they'll bite me), so I screamed, slammed the door, ran back inside, hopped onto the kitchen island (you know, because the raccoon could open the door and get me) and in the process, slammed my left knee into the edge of the island counter.  So how about that!  By the time I went to bed, climbing the stairs was painful.  I shook my head in disbelief as I pictured taking time off of training due to a raccoon scare.  I was scheduled to do my longest trail run yet with Jack the next morning and at bedtime, was really unsure I was going to be able to do that.  Fortunately, some ice and ibuprofen helped and my knee was unaffected by the woods of Mt. Airy.  We had a great run.  I think I simply bruised the knee cap because in the morning, there was no swelling... just tenderness right on top of the knee cap.  So all is well!  But isn't it funny that you can be so careful and diligent but still have no guarantee.  Ever.  It is good to be reminded every once in a while that in the grand scheme of things, we control very little.

On Sunday I ran the Chicago Marathon.  I went into the race with the idea of a paced, "easy" long run.  A training run for my ultra.  A means to a medal and another marathon notch on my belt.  A way to continue familiarizing myself with the marathon start atmosphere in a relaxed way in an attempt to make things easier when I race again in 2012.  The marathon was a success.  I did everything I said I would do and it unfolded beautifully, as planned and on schedule.  I needed that to happen, because just 1 week prior, I once again began toying with the idea of racing it.  And I believe had I raced, the results would have been disasterous (not sure if that's a word or I'm spelling it wrong since spell check has it underlined.  Totally going with it, though).  Not only would I not have run what I was aiming for (way too little taper and a little warm for the marathon time I wanted... oh yeah and not nearly enough speed work this year), but I'd have completely ruined my ability to run the Indianapolis Marathon this weekend if I went all out on Sunday.  But for awhile, I had stars in my eyes.  Visions of nailing the time I wanted on a whim, without worry or pressure.  It doesn't help that I am currently obsessed with the stories of ultra-gods, such as Marshall Ulrich and now, Scott Jurek and try to submerge myself in there mindsets.  Reading Ulrich's book gave me a chilling look into what happens mentally and physically when you push beyond your perceived limits and enter into unknown territory.  I've read most of Dean's books, and I love the guy, but this was way more raw than anything Karnazes has ever described.  To be able to mentally "disown" your foot because you have tendonitis so severely that every step sends jolts of pain up your entire body, is something I am trying to process.  That is what Ulrich did on his run across America.  He told himself "this is not my foot.  It does not belong to me.  It is getting in the way of my goal" and so he continued running with over 1,500 miles still left to cover.  Obviously that takes years of dealing with mucho discomfort on countless runs for hundreds of miles.  Likewise, there is a discription of Scott Jurek's experience with running Badwater for the first time (135 mile run across Death Valley, where temps reach the 130s at times).

Scott Jurek with the family.  Meeting Ulrich and Jurek was the highlight of my weekend.

By mile 60, Scott was vomiting and shaky.  His hands dropped to his knees, then his knees dropped to the pavement.  He collapsed by the side of the road, lying in his own sweat and spittle.  Leah and his friends didn't bother trying to help him up; they knew there was no voice in the world more persuasive than the one inside Scott's own mind.  Scott lay there, thinking about how hopeless it all was, he wasn't even halfway done, and Sweeney was already too far ahead for him to see.  Ferg Hawke was halfway up to the Father Crowley lookout, and Scott hadn't even started the climb yet.  And the wind!  It was like running into the blast of a jet engine.  A couple of miles back, Scott had tried to cool off by sinking his entire head and torso into a giant cooler full of ice and holding himself underwater until his lungs were screaming.  As soon as he got out, he was roasting again.  "There is no way", Scott told himself.  "You're done.  You'd have to do something totally sick to win this thing now.  Sick like what?  Sick like pretending you just woke up from a great night's sleep and the race hasn't even started yet.  You'd have to run the next eighty miles as fast as you've ever run eighty miles in your life.  No chance, Jerker.  Yeah, I know."  For ten minutes, Scott lay like a corpse.  Then he got up and did it, shattering the Badwater record with a time of 24:36.  (Born to Run)

Marshall Ulrich, ultrarunner and author of "Running on Empty"

WHEW!  Ok, read stuff like that and then try to talk yourself out of racing a measly 26.2 mile run on the flat streets of Chicago.  It's not easy.  John had Scott sign the above excerpt in my book at the marathon expo.  He followed his signature with the words "DIG DEEP!"  Big thrill to meet him.  You get so fascinated by the physical extremes these guys overcome with mental mojo that you begin to believe that you can do that.... THAT VERY DAY.  Eventually the reality did hit me that I am neither Scott Jurek nor Marshall Ulrich and that I really should stick to the plan and go after my short term ultra goal with adequate training and common sense.  My mental strength has grown and will continue to grow gradually when it comes to distance running.  I told John that a couple of times during the marathon I found myself getting irritated with how warm I felt.  Remembering the conditions of my brother's race in July, as well as Scott Jurek's description of running through Death Valley was all I needed to be suddenly "cooled off".  I remember thinking "this isn't bad at all.  I ran in hotter weather in the summer.  For God sakes, just stop bitching!"  By God, it worked!  I found more power in my stride, my posture straightened and I began to feel pretty darn good.  Never mind that I had to tell myself that like 15 times over and over :).  I was also taking a constant assessment of how I felt, realizing I'd run faster and more difficult training runs than this.  There were points where all of the endless chatter in my head just ceased and I just ran, enjoying the crowds cheering and the entertainment along the way.  I stopped thinking so much and just ran.  And it was the best.  Sometimes I really do make things so much harder by my thinking.  And I am CERTAIN that people who read this have figured that out.  Running is so simple.  Just put one foot in front of the other and keep going.  Physically, that is all there is too it.  I sometimes regret the fact that I make it so hard.  I become obsessed with distance and splits and fueling and recovery.  I focus on minute details.  I am very grateful for the advice of Kathleen who told me to just go out and enjoy the day on November 19.  That I have all day to complete that distance and I should notice the scenery, take pictures and just have a good time.  I think that is fantastic advice!

As for becoming mentally bulletproof like the ultrarunners I've described, well, again, I'll focus on meeting smaller,  more realistic and achievable goals, such as running up every hill on my trail run yesterday, the day after running a marathon.  I was pretty impressed with myself, and John, who hit the trails with me for the first time.  Some of those hills were mental climbs for sure.  I came home, submerged myself in an ice bath and put on some compression tights for a few hours.  Just for good measure.  In case my legs got super mad at me after two days of hard running.  And I'll be happy with these small, encouraging victories in the world of mental toughness.  I won't try to be Scott Jurek or Marshall Ulrich.  I'll be happy with who I am and what I've done.