a light run

had a light run out to Smith's Switch Station and back. It really tired me out. I kept up a good pace going out but on the way back I was beat. Saw Jim A. on the bridle path heading the other way.

MCM Today

The Marine Corps Marathon is today. I am dedicating this race (the first I have ever dedicated) to my Dad

Henry Orlando Westcott

Dec 27, 1924 - Oct 23, 2009

See you on the course.
Peter

Update: I had hoped for a 4:30 finish - I finished Baltimore in 5:00, and with all those hills, so I thought that a half hour earlier was possible. I like to start out really slow - 14/15 minute miles until I warm up completely - but I met Tammy and her friend Imelda on the course, and I chose to keep up with them instead. It felt great but it was too fast too early for me I think. The first half of the race, the first 30K, was great, no issues. Then things did not go as well and I crawled in to finish at 5:30. My story is that I didn't rest enough between the two races. Whatever.

Are you eating Oct 23-25?

This post is targeted at runners who are newer to marathoning. Veterans can feel free to skip this post.

A favorite running quote:
"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed." -Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ


Let’s talk about food for marathoners during the last 48 hours before the race: on the one hand there are benefits, and on the other there are potential problems.

A) Food helps fuel your marathon victory (benefit maximization)

1. “Carbo-loading” is the practice of eating a high-carbohydrate diet (carbs) in the days leading up to a race. Much of the information on the internet about carbo-loading is opinion vs science-based fact. Here’s a fact: taking in more carbs as a percentage of your diet in the 24hrs before a marathon can top off your liver and muscle glycogen stores right before the race (glycogen is the preferred raw fuel for human cells including muscles, but especially the brain). This presumably gives a runner an advantage through more readily-available energy (Dr. Timothy Nokes, Lore of Running). Note this does not mean eating more food than normal - it is just that carbs will be a higher percentage of your calorie intake relative to protein and fat
2. Eat breakfast the morning of the race. Be sure to include some protein in every meal including this one. Your mother and Kellogg’s were both right, breakfast is an important meal, especially on race day
3. Consume carbs during the race. Try to consume "quick carbs" that quickly digest: sports drink, bagels, gels, etc. Eat what you have been training with if you can (you have been eating during your training runs, right?)
4. The evidence is still mixed about any benefits of consuming protein during the race, though it is the latest marketing craze. There may be benefits for elite runners; that probably doesn’t include many of us
5. When runners say they “hit the wall”, it means they felt like a car that ran out of gas. Mile 17 is the classic place to “hit the wall” in a standard marathon, and it is because runners do not start consuming fuel early enough. Plan to eat or drink an appropriate amount of calories during the race, and start early. A good rule of thumb is to consume some calories at each water station (the fine print details below*)
6. Consider drinking the sports drink provided on the course. It's convenient and it's free. Many people adopt this drink as part of their running routine leading up to the marathon
   

B) Food is a runner’s worst nightmare (problem avoidance and mitigation)

1. Runners are significantly more prone to gastro-intestinal (GI) distress than athletes in other sports due to the bouncing their guts endure. Whatever is inside those guts during the race can easily make things worse. Let your own experience be your guide, everyone is different; some people really do have iron stomachs (while others only think they have iron stomachs). That said, the following are some things which are widely true for most people
2. New marathoners tend to be anxious at the start of their races and have more nervous stomach issues than veterans. New marathoners should be more cautious about what they eat than veterans. So if you see an experienced marathoner drinking a beer and eating raw eggs before the race, don’t assume it’s a role model you can safely copy
3. Fiber keeps food moving through your system and lowers your cancer risk. However this movement is exactly the opposite of what you want to happen on race day. Many people avoid fiber before a race (lettuce, broccoli, French beans, legumes, lots of carrots, etc.)
4. Trying any new food 48hrs before a race is begging for trouble. I’m just saying it, go ahead and eat the kimchi if you want
5. Avoid big portions of heavy protein with fat (beef, pork) 48hrs before the race. It tends to take longer to digest
6. Avoid unnecessary fat (e.g., Five Guys makes great burgers and fries, go there after the race vs. the night before)
7. Avoid quick-carbs for breakfast on race day. Old fashioned oatmeal with raisins: yes. Fruit Loops or Lucky Charms: no
8. Hopefully you have been eating in order to train your stomach during your long runs. Plan to eat the same thing during the race that you ate in training, it will help avoid tummy troubles
9. For the 24 to 48hrs before a race, when you are presented with interesting, exciting, maybe novel food, ask yourself "Is this thing I'm about to eat going to taste good enough to compensate for having to race between porta-pottys during the marathon?" Then eat accordingly

What I Eat

So runners have asked me what I eat. Some people drive defensively; for 24 to 48 hours before a race, I eat defensively. I go on a "white food" diet. If it's not white I try not to eat it (though I sometimes give in to temptation or simple logistics). I eat white rice (carbs), cottage cheese (protein), bananas (carbs), old-fashioned oatmeal (carbs), milk (carbs + protein), chicken breast (protein), etc. (unfortunately the white food diet doesn't include vanilla ice cream). Folks ask “Why rice?” Because nothing is gentler on the tummy – rice cereal and bananas are what we feed babies, what could be lower-risk? I once brought baggies of cooked rice to an ultramarathon and ate it along the way. It scored a zero for taste, digested quickly and easily, and gave me a good energy supply throughout the race.

Eat defensively and I'll see you at the race.



*The fine-print details for the metabolically inquisitive: a runner's body needs fuel to run. The most common reason for "hitting the wall" is that the runner's blood sugar drops (the runner becomes hypo-glycemic) because they have not eaten enough to supplement the body’s stored fuel they are using up.

Digestion and metabolic facts in 10 letters:
(a) Carbohydrates (carbs), proteins, and fats can all be used by the body as fuel. (b) Carbs are more quickly/readily converted to glycogen (which is the particular carb that muscle cells prefer). (c) 1g of carbs = 4 calories. (d) Runners burn roughly 100 calories or 25g carbs per mile. (e) A runner burns roughly 2,620 calories in a marathon, or 655g carbs. (f) A runner also burns fat stores albeit more slowly and the calculation of this is more complex. (g) A trained runner's liver stores 300g - 400g of glycogen after "carbo-loading". (h) The brain will prevent the runner from depleting their glycogen stores completely; I estimate based on what I have read that a trained runner has around 150g - 300g available to use during the marathon (let’s call that 8.25 miles). (i) A runner’s stomach can absorb about 1g/minute of liquid carbohydrate. (j) Consuming > 60g carbs/hr will slow the stomach's food absorption (Dr. Timothy Nokes, Lore of Running, p 209 and others, sources cited).

Many runners complete marathons without consuming any food. However there is solid scientific evidence that consuming food during exercise improves the exercise outcomes. For runners in a modern big-city marathon, this is usually drinking the race’s sports drink. As a practical example, many sports drinks have 50 calories per 8 oz. If water stations provide about 6oz of sports drink in an 8oz cup (37.5 calories each) and a runner consumes sports drink at each of the 12 MCM water stations, the runner will consume 450 calories during the race. This will certainly help to provide fuel for the muscles and to keep the runner's blood sugar levels up.

One more note: brain cells are very finicky eaters, they dine solely on glycogen. The brain is also very selfish and it appears that, as the body’s stored up glycogen runs low, the brain detects this low level and orders the other body cells “stop” to preserve its fuel supply. Runners likely experience that “stop” as the feeling “exhaustion”, and so runners stop running and burning up glycogen. Practical evidence for this is, after a period of time walking (maybe without even eating any food), runners feel better and can start running again. During this time the body has replenished some of the glycogen by converting body fat or protein and so the brain has cancelled its “stop” order. The stores get depleted rapidly this time and “exhaustion” sets in again. So exhaustion seems to be the brain’s way of preserving its food supply and therefore its ability to function properly. This suggests that humans can "run through" exhaustion as just a state of mind, but with some risk.

Let's play mind games (during the race)

This post is targeted at runners who are newer to marathoning. Veterans can feel free to skip this post.

A favorite running quote:
"Once you're beat mentally, you might was well not even go to the starting line." -Todd Williams


It’s All In Your Head

You may hear someone say that running a marathon is 80% mental and 20% physical. I’m not sure of the exact percentages, but it is completely true that your mind is the limiting factor on your race-day performance. If you believe you can do it then you actually can do it. If you let that little negative voice in your head convince you that you really can’t do it, you are finished (the “it” in this case is an objectively achievable goal given your level of fitness and not a miracle. For example, “finish the marathon” vs. “run a 2 hour marathon”).

Two years ago I was in a 50-mile ultramarathon and I was about half-way through the course. I was very tired but kept on chugging away, one step at a time. I came upon a teammate. His head was down and his stride was shuffling and short. I walked next to him and asked him how he was. “I’m tired” he said. “Well, let’s jog a moment together and maybe you’ll feel better. What do you say, jog to that tree up there?” Without looking up he said “I can’t, I’m done.” He had trained more than I did and was in better shape than I was. And he really was done, too, the moment he believed that he could not.


A Mantra is a Saying that Says It All

That year I had hardly trained at all for the race due to various injuries (dropped a minivan bench seat on my foot) and work commitments. I had completed this race three times before and I was sure I could complete it this time if I just kept at it. I chose a mantra for the race based on The Little Engine That Could. You might remember this classic children’s book where the little blue engine chugs up the mountain hauling a heavy load and saves the day by saying “I think I can, I think I can”. And that was my mantra for the race. At the first inkling of a negative thought, I said to myself “I think I can, I think I can” and began jogging along. It turns out that “I think I can, I think I can” will get you pretty far, I finished within the time limit.

A mantra can help you to focus your mind. It can be any saying that sticks in your mind and will help you to move forward. Runner’s World has an article on the topic http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--11776-0,00.html with Todd Utz’s mantra: “chug-a-lug” and Sarah Reinertsen’s mantra: "show them that you're tougher than the rest".


Mind Games

The little negative voice in your mind will want you to stop. It will say “I am tired” or “this is too hard” or it may get personal: “I never should have signed up for this in the first place” and worse. Here are some mind games I have found that work to subdue that little negative voice when you are really very tired.
1. Pass the next runner. If you are competitive, passing the runner immediately ahead of you can be a big emotional boost and keep you moving forward. It is one more person who will finish with a slower time than you. Many times I have found myself battling with another exhausted runner as we each try to get and stay ahead of the other. It can be very gratifying to feel that you have won this mini-race. Do a victory woo-hoo! Then shift your focus to the next runner.
2. Submit to the clock. If you have an interval timer on your sports watch, set the timer to a run-walk interval of 1 min run:1 min walk (assuming you are exhausted and walking), and then just become a slave to it. The clock beeps “go”, you go; the clock beeps “walk”, you walk. Tell yourself that you must obey the clock, there is nothing else you can do. I’ve found this effective in situations where I was essentially alone on the course.
3. Start a conversation. Talking with someone else about anything at all gives many runners a second wind. Their spirits perk up and their energy returns and they feel much, much better (and it suggests that “exhausted” is, again, a state of mind). This is especially true if the person is a pacer or a race crew member, someone who isn’t just as tired as you are.
4. Pass the next landmark. Similar to Pass the next runner, this game involves trees, light posts, cars, bridges, anything at all that is close enough to be achievable but far enough ahead to be actual progress.
5. Start singing. It is amazing that singing to one’s self gets many runner’s minds off how they are feeling and enables them to continue to move forward. I’ve had people pass me by happily singing TV theme songs (The Brady Bunch), movie songs (The Sound of Music), religious hymns, Gregorian chants, and lots of other music. I think it just drowns out the negative voice.

So think positively and I'll see you at the race.

We're running in the rain!

This post is targeted at runners who are newer to marathoning. Veterans can feel free to skip this post.

A favorite running quote:
“Only think of two things - the gun and the tape. When you hear the one, just run like hell until you break the other.” -Sam Mussabini

You've probably seen that classic movie "Singin' in the Rain" with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, where Gene Kelly is singing and dancing in a downpour by a lamp post. Every time I see that movie I wonder "Did he ruin his shoes getting them soaked like that?" and "I bet his clothes chafed when they got wet" and "I wonder how cold he got standing around in wet clothes while they shot that scene". Sometimes runners think about those same things when they consider rain and other inclement weather.

Running In The Rain – what’s not to love?

Running is an all-weather sport. Races are rarely cancelled due to bad weather. The winds at the 2007 Boston Marathon were strong enough to blow the cups of sports drink off the tables. A thunderstorm cell at the 2008 Disneyworld Marathon closed the course for the last half hour due to lightning strikes in the area. Runners should be prepared for the forecasted weather (especially since the October 25 forecast shows rain likely).

Here is some free advice, worth twice what you paid for it:

1. Running in the rain is a lot like running without rain, only wetter. The same overall rules apply - pace yourself, run your plan, think positive, etc.

2. Water makes most fabrics chafe more than they do when dry. In fact, most wet fabrics will abrade skin a lot when rubbed repeatedly over 26 miles, including modern wicking fabrics. If a runner has a particular place on their body that tends to get chafed, a little prevention is a good idea. Different runners swear by Band-aids, Body Glide, Vaseline, duck tape, and sports tape. I often have chafing around the arm holes in my shirts from moving my arms back and forth, so I use a little Body Glide to minimize this.

3. Training note: sometimes people are surprised at how it feels the first time they run in the rain. Their shoes squeak and squish, underwear and sports bras feel uncomfortable, and there's water running down their face. This mental distraction is not helpful during a marathon. It's a good idea for a runner to have at least one training run in the rain so they are familiar with how they and their running gear perform in the rain. For instance, I think rain is forecast for this weekend...

4. Dressing for race weather can be tricky. No one wants to freeze before the race starts, but runners will quickly overheat once they start running if they have warm clothing on. When I know it will be below 55F, I wear gloves or mittens. A hat is also a good idea in chilly weather. Shorts help get rid of excess heat from leg muscles, so most runners prefer them to running tights unless it is cold. See the "Galloway Clothing Thermometer" for a clothing-to-temperature benchmark: http://jeffgalloway.com/resources/news_archives/nov05.html

5. I hate getting wet before the race. Few things appeal to me less than standing around, waiting for a race to start while I get soaked and chilled to the bone. I've seen people with umbrellas (not very useful in stronger rain) and I've seen people in good quality rain wear (what do they do with the clothes once the race starts?). I wear a black plastic trash bag with a hole in the "bottom" for my head. It is inexpensive, completely disposable, very portable, 100% waterproof, and 100% windproof. It does not look stylish.

6. Where there is rain there will be puddles. Some will be muddier than others, and some will be more mud than puddle. Runners should learn to plow right through them at their stride. Runners will get splashed, but they've probably been splashed by others already (or will be soon). That's what soap is for after the race. Runners who stop and try to gingerly pick their way through the puddles will slow their pace down, could get knocked over by another runner, and could slip and fall as they do gymnastics avoiding the puddles.

7. Sometimes when it rains it is also cold. At the Frederick Marathon this year it rained most of the time and the temperature was around 43F. This is not a big deal as long as runners are chugging along because they will generate more than enough heat to keep themselves warm. When runners get tired and slow down or walk, the risk of hypothermia (dangerously lowered body temperature) becomes greater. When I know that it is likely to rain and likely to be cold, I bring a long-sleeve shirt made of wicking material and gloves to the race. I'll roll the shirt up and tie it around my waist if I don't need it so that it is handy.

8. Rain makes many surfaces slippery for running shoes. Metal manhole covers, water meter covers, grates, metal plates for road repairs, and other metal objects are the slipperiest things I have found while running. Also, the rain may make some street-embedded objects more difficult to see, whether through the surrounding ground being darker or being under water or through the lack of a reflection.

• Be mindful of where your feet are landing when it is wet
• Try to steer yourself around things in your path by looking a little further ahead than you typically do
• Avoid wet leaves if possible. Wet leaves make a wonderful slip-n-slide
• Avoid making sudden lateral (sideways or diagonal) movements while running on wet surfaces. These movements cause a momentary differential between a runner's inertia and their direction of travel, increasing the possibility of slipping/falling
• Avoid changing speed suddenly; for example, when going downhill on Spout Run
• Avoid going too fast on down hills - it may take you much longer to stop than on dry ground

9. Running shoes are not typically ruined by running in the rain, mud, etc. Runners should do the following: As soon as they can after they get home, take the insoles out and put the shoes under a hose or bathtub faucet to get the worst of the dirt off. A sponge or scrub brush may be useful here. Then, with a bucket of warm soapy water and a scrub brush, dip the brush in the soapy water and rub on the shoe. Repeat until the whole shoe has been scrubbed. Rinse off under a hose or bathtub faucet. Then place the shoes in front of a fan and leave the fan on overnight. The shoes will be dry by the morning. This will not affect the glue holding the shoe together or any other part of the shoe as long as the water is not HOT.

Keep a song handy in case it rains and I'll see you at the race.

This post is targeted at runners who are newer to marathoning. Veterans can feel free to skip it.

A favorite running quote:
"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is the little voice in your head that wants you to quit." George Sheehan

For those who haven’t seen it already, here’s the elevation profile for the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon:

http://www.marinemarathon.com/Assets/Elevation+Chart+2009.pdf

The Hills of Arlington

The first thing many people notice about this chart are the hills peaking at miles 3 and 8. Ok, maybe it's the only thing.

• From mile 1 to mile 2 the race goes the wrong way up Lee Hwy and through Arlington, relatively steep in places, and can be hard on the quads
• From mile 2.75 to mile 3.5 the race is down Spout Run from Arlington to the George Washington Parkway. It’s a steep downhill that is hard on the knees and calves
• Mile 5 through mile 8 is up to the Georgetown Reservoir and back down. As I recall, this was new in 2008 and replaced several miles on the Rock Creek Parkway. Again, hard on the quads (up) and knees and calves (down)
• After mile 10 it is smooth sailing to the finish line

There is a key to mastering those Arlington Hills. First, start with some realities:

• A runner has the fitness level they have – isn’t going to change between now and race day – so plan accordingly
• On race day, each runner has a certain amount of energy they can expend before having to walk/jog or just walk - again, plan for it
• It takes a lot more energy to run up a hill than it does to run on flat ground
• It’s not realistically possible to make up any significant amount of time (> 10 minutes) if someone falls behind their run plan

Given those realities, a runner has to decide how much of their limited energy they want to spend on those hills (which will reduce their energy available for the rest of the race) and adjust their pace accordingly.

Running Plan

The mantra of my employer's IT delivery projects is “Plan the work, work the plan.” And so it is with marathons – “Plan the run, run the plan.” If a runner is new to marathons, they may find it very helpful to create a running plan before the race. A well-thought-out plan can help ease a runner’s mind through challenging parts of the race. A run plan should include the pace and the elapsed time at various points along the race based on the runner’s training and fitness level so the runner knows what to expect when they reach that point in the race. For example on the MCM:

• An unprepared runner might be alarmed to see how much time he has actually spent on the initial hills, maybe panic a little, and try to make up some time. Mental distress, wasted energy, and going faster than pace will keep him from a strong finish.
• A runner with a realistic run plan will have planned on a slower ascent and descent on the initial hills and will have prepared her mind to expect a commensurate time. When she sees that time at mile 5 or mile 9, she thinks “right on plan” and continues to run a relaxed and confident race with a strong finish.

For me, I use Excel to create a mile-by-mile run plan and set my pace according to the elevation and the race duration.

Plan thoughtfully, and see you all before the race.

Do you know the secret to finishing your Marine Corps Marathon?

This post is targeted at runners who are newer to marathoning. Veterans can feel free to skip this message.

A favorite running quote:
"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." -Winston Churchill to the Harrow School, 1941


Preparing for a Marathon

Preparing for a marathon involves a proper training plan, a good diet, sufficient rest, and diligence in doing the work. A marathoner in training has read countless internet pages about running, learned about running shoes, and has become educated on the latest hydration facts. A runner has done all of these things and is as prepared for the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon as they can be.

Since you are well-prepared and in good physical condition, nothing can keep you from finishing the race!
Well, there is one small little thing – not starting the race.


The Secret to Finishing

The last secret which will help you to finish your marathon is really not very secret at all. It is

Don’t Get Hurt!

This sounds so very simple that runners roll their eyes when they hear it. Yet every year many runners don’t even make it to the starting line because they were injured in the last few weeks before the marathon. The reason is, after training all summer, runners are in great physical shape and they typically feel pretty powerful even a little arrogant now that running 10 miles is ordinary. And it doesn’t take a natural disaster either – simple everyday accidents such as these are perfectly capable of ruining marathon dreams:

• Playing basketball (muscle / joint strain)
• Hurrying down the stairs (twisted ankle)
• Cleaning the house gutters (all sorts of damage is possible)
• Running on uneven ground (muscle / joint strain, twisted ankle, soft tissue damage)
• Dancing at a club (muscle / joint strain)
• Stepping off a curb (my personal favorite for stealth, simplicity, and impact: damage to foot, ankles, knees, and/or lower leg soft tissue)

Runners must remember that they invested a huge amount of time in building this physical fitness towards their marathon goal. How important is hurrying down the stairs compared to the investment and reaching that goal?

To keep from getting hurt: Be mindful of what you are doing with your feet and legs as you move through the day.

So tread carefully and let’s meet before the race.

Are you Tapering?

Congratulations on your training and hard work. You are in the home stretch towards a Marine Corps Marathon finish. In this home stretch, Tapering comes to mind.

Tapering

Tapering is the practice of greatly reducing your training load prior to the marathon. With less than two weeks to go before your marathon, you should already be tapering. Any run longer than 10 miles will most likely work against you at this point.

Tapering allows your muscles and soft tissue to fully recover before they have to propel you through your marathon at the best pace possible. There is scientific evidence showing that tapering yields large gains in performance, in addition to much anecdotal evidence. This is not to say someone should stop training altogether.

Cut the training load (distance and intensity) by at least half on the first week, and then cut it again the second week. When you do train, make them short sessions of high intensity. For example, a 2 to 5 mile run at a notch above your target marathon pace. This maintains the heart and leg muscle conditioning and does not create new muscle injuries from longer distances.

The biggest obstacle to tapering is going to be the mind. The mind of a runner screams at not running. And this makes runners grumpy. Still, tapering is well worth the sacrifice.

My favorite source for information on the science of running is Dr. Tim Noke’s Lore of Running. This Google Books link shows the book; search on Tapering for more information.

http://books.google.com/books?id=wAa9qq9kbncC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Try Runner’s World for other information about tapering: http://www.runnersworld.com/

Run less, and I'll see you at the race!

Baltimore Marathon

I had a great time at the Baltimore Marathon. Last year I had run the race as one of four people in the relay. I had the second leg, which was mostly flat around the harbor. This year I got to see the sections that the others had done.

The course elevation is essentially a big "U": lots of downhill at the start, flat in the middle, then uphill at the end. The net elevation gain/loss should be zero because it starts/ends in pretty much the same place. But you'd never know it by looking at the course profile.

Starting line was crowded and had a fun atmosphere. People joking and chatting, not a lot of serious runner faces which was nice.

I started off very slow to get warmed up. Saw some fellow maniacs and chatted with them. After the first mile I was warmed up so I picked up the pace. I felt great! I kept up the pace and kept on going.

Almost half-way through, I came upto two gals with shirts that had check boxes on their backs, and labels: 5K (check), 10K (check), half marathon (check), marathon (unchecked). I commented that they will need to add a 50M checkbox next. They laughed and in turning I landed a little funny and it really hurt my knee. I nursed it along at a slower pace and it eventually settled down, but that was another reminder to focus on my run and not screw around being clever.

I was going fine until the mile 20 mark or so. The saying I've heard "anyone can do 20 miles, it's the next six that count" really came home to me then. I had been keeping up with the 4:45 Geico pace group and I lost them on these hills. I had an extra rice krispy bar in my pouch and decided this was the time it was needed. When the 5:00 pace group came up, I said "no way am I losing them" and I found some extra gas inside and kept with them up those last hills.

It was a welcome break to come to the final downhill stretch. I kept on picking 'em up and putting 'em down and I finished in 4:59:20.