This week had one serious low: I crashed on Tuesday really badly. We had flash floods on Monday and on Tuesday morning, I lost control over my bike. It’s pretty bad, mostly in form of whiplash or something of that sort. I am slowly recovering, but it will take time before I’m back to 100%. In the meantime, I have only 4 weeks left until the race! I’m definitely freaked out about that. I have to say though that my Sunday workout made me feel a bit better. Running was a struggle, but I keep reminding myself that I know I can handle the running, even if it’s just a slow jog. I am really working on having some confidence in my ability to finish Ironman 70.3. I really am… But I guess we all get some form of performance anxiety before a big race, right?
I get asked frequently ‘which race is the best?’ Actually, there is no good answer to this question, as it depends on your personal preferences and variety of factors. Here are some main issues to consider:
Distance
Local or destination
Timing
Weather
Terrain
Scenery
Race setup and atmosphere
Distance
First things first: what distance do you want to race? I have heard people say things like ‘oh, I want to run a marathon!’, but after further scrutiny, it turns out that they have no time or desire to put in the training it would require. 26.2 is also not much of a beginner distance (although I’m that weirdo that never raced anything other than participating in a couple of fundraising 5ks before I got to the starting line of my first marathon). Maybe starting with something shorter, like a 10 miler or a half marathon would be better? Not that there is anything wrong with 5k or a 10k – all noble pursuits. So figure out what goal you are pursuing. After all, how are you going to choose a race if you don’t know how far you want to run 😉
Local or destination?
Do you want to race close to home or travel some place cool and run there? Obviously, each has its own perks and drawbacks. When you do a local race, you get to sleep in your own bed, eat food you are used to (home cooked?) and have your friends and family around for support. You can also get the opportunity to check out the route beforehand. You are also already accustomed to the weather and altitude. There really aren’t true drawbacks to racing close to home.
But you can always do better, right? First of all, if you are going for a longer distance or specific type of a race, there may not be one near home. Or none of them work with your schedule. Destination races allow you to choose the exact type of the race you are interested in. You can look for specific features you want, such as flat course or cleaner air (some places have such awful air pollution that running a marathon there isn’t really advisable). Flip side of the coin: you may end up in much higher altitude than you are used to, causing you problems like altitude sickness or racing in weather conditions you are not accustomed to (example: I ran Disney Marathon in over 80F weather in January, when it was snowing back home – literally, I got emails from friends with pictures of them shoveling snow). Another potential benefit of a destination race: if you stay in a recommended hotel, they may have logistics of getting you to the race taken care of and you don’t have to look for parking or anything like that (been there, done that, too). On the other hand, you may be in a place where it’s hard to get. I had that issue twice. Once was in Vermont: apparently cabs and Uber are not really a thing there at 6am on Saturday. The other time was trying to get back to my hotel in Disney Springs in the marathon. I know, some of that was self-inflicted because I didn’t plan right. But hey, my stupidity can serve as a warning for all of you and save you potential headaches 😉.
Timing
This would be the natural next question: when do I want to run the race? It’s particularly relevant for longer races, such as a marathon. If it’s your first race (or coming back from longer break or injury), you should take good stock of your current shape and figure out how long you will need to get to the appropriate shape. Keep in mind that most plans assume that you have been running 20-30 miles per week for a while and then you extend your long runs by about 1 mile per week until you get to 20 miles. You should probably also build in some margin of error into your plan. Life happens: you may get sick, have an unplanned business trip or one of many other obstacles that will prevent you from doing an important workout. Honestly, over the period of 3 months, odds are not really in your favor.
There is one more consideration for timing of the race: what time of the year do you want the race to take place in. And I don’t just mean that you are deciding if you’re going to run in, say, VA in the summer or fall. You also have to keep in mind need to train for the race. For example: if you live in, Alaska, training during winter months may be hard, making a spring race inadvisable. On the other hand, if you live in place that gets insanely hot in the summer, you may prefer to train during winter months, making a spring race easier to train for.
Weather
Oh, I have a lot of feelings on this one… I happen to deal poorly with weather, especially heat and humidity and it shows in my results. The coldest marathon I have done was Philadelphia and it was my PR. My hottest race was Disney and I was fully convinced that I was going to die. It took me weeks to recover after that one!
This is usually a pretty easy question to ask yourself before choosing the race: what weather can I race in? I recall seeing on Kona Marathon website multiple mentions that this is not one to attempt PR because it will be hot and humid, so unless you are used to training in these conditions, take it easy. On the other hand, you may have lived all your life in hot weather and the idea of running in gloves, hat and jacket appears preposterous. Not to mention not owning appropriate gear! So checked the typical weather on race day for the area you are looking at before committing.
Terrain
Terrain can mean a couple of different things when it comes to races. For one thing, you need to choose between trail runs and road races. I happen to be a big fan of paved surfaces, but it’s not for everybody. You also have to keep in mind that asphalt gets hotter than trails, so it may impact your decision when it comes to how hot of a weather you can take on race day.
You may also be a fan of hills. Or be worried that hills will kill your knees (mine hate when I run much on hills). Flat races will give you better paces. Some even end up with overall downhill. Before you look at the overall tendency, check the profile of the run. Otherwise you might end up going up and down rolling hills for 26.2 miles. I have to admit that I underestimated severely hilliness of Baltimore when I ran my first marathon and my knees hurt. I also did Luray triathlon and somebody swore to me beforehand that triathlons are done in flat places. Now I know better… It was definitely not as advertised…
And let’s not forget about road races versus trails. I usually hurt myself when I run on trails, so that’s not an option for me. But many people prefer it. Just keep in mind that trail running is more tiring than road running, so if it’s your first marathon or half marathon, you may want to make sure first that you can do it.
Scenery
I already hinted about it when talking about destination races. Some people like to have nice scenery around when they run for a while and some don’t particularly care. I recently saw some meme online showing runners feet and a tiny bit of a road with caption ‘what I actually see when I run’. They have a point… Before you decide you want to go off and run in some scenic destination, go for several runs and make sure you will actually be looking around and that it is something that you value. It may be. Or you may find out that pretty views don’t do a thing for you when you run.
Race setup and atmosphere
Some races are huge and attract crowds. Some, on the other hand, are small and pretty lonely. To my surprise, I learned that Disney Marathon, for example, doesn’t have many supporters along the route. It may have something to do with the ungodly start hour… On the other hand, they have characters you can take pictures with and that’s pretty cool. I didn’t expect much from Vermont City Marathon, but it turned out that it’s like the biggest event of the year in that town and people are basically stuck wherever they are, so everybody comes out and cheers. There were many bands playing music, residents were out banging on trashcans and playing radios. There was so much energy going on in there! Not everybody is into crowds. Some people genuinely don’t care. But for me, it invigorates me. I also use the crowd noise to help me move.
Setup may have nothing to do with crowds, although probably will. Larger, better established races are more likely to have good logistics. The best logistics I have ever seen goes, without a doubt, to Marine Corps Marathon. They were PREPARED. And I mean they had procedures for everything. Their medic tents had basically sets of first aid kits for issues you may encounter. Dehydration? Here is your bag! Period cramps? There you go! Chafing? We were expecting you! It also helped that there were huge, strong Marines ‘parked’ everywhere ready to carry you off if need be (I saw them jump out of nowhere at the finish line to carry off a runner who started to faint). It’s been a while and I am still in awe. Disney deserves an honorable mention here, too. They had heat wave move in and it was getting worse as the day neared. They increased frequency of water stations from every 3 miles to every 1 mile overnight. That’s something! On the other hand, when I ran in Philadelphia, I wanted an Ibuprofen (old injury flaring up) and I couldn’t find a medic station for a long time and even then, it was basically a table with two elderly ladies just sitting there. Philly did do a lot right, don’t get me wrong. But medics were not one of them. So that others get dissed appropriately as well: Marine Core Marathon had huge issues with port-a-potties. Since the run was along the National Mall, there were huge lines of tourists everywhere. It was really hard to stop and pee when you needed to. Spectators were nice and let runners in, but the port-a-potties quickly got dirty and ran out of toilet paper. Not awesome…
So which race should you choose? Well, make a list of all the factors that matter to you and then you can use page like https://race-find.com. You just plug in your requirements and with enough limitations, choice may get really easy.
Good luck! And I hope you enjoy races you choose 😊
Long weekend meant some fun travels 😊. I went with my daughter to the Great Wolf Lodge and had so much fun! In case you think I just relaxed and lounged around: I did like 20k steps per day! And being in a water park with a kid like mine is not all about sitting around. We had some intense fun! But next week is all about going back to solid, regular training. As much as I love the regular training, those breaks with alternative physical activity are a fun, necessary change, which allows me to resume regular training with renewed motivation 😊
I visited the US for the first time 25 years ago. I spent that 4th of July with my sister, my grandmother and my uncle in Albany, NY. As we were watching the fireworks, I decided that one day, I will have my own American Dream one day. Since then, many things have changed. I am older and wiser (it’s hard to be less wise than you are at 13 😉). Everything has changed for me since then, including my idea of what I want in life. But one this stuck and I did deliver on that promise to myself from a quarter of a century ago: I am living the American Dream 😊.
Word ‘pre-fatigued muscle’ is still my favorite new word… That stretch of training between Thursday and Sunday was definitely quite something, especially with the sun, heat and humidity! I have fewer than 6 weeks left until the race and doubts whether I can do the Ironman 70.3 are getting worse every day. I looked at my training schedule and there is definitely a session that confuses me. It has a training ride that’s more than twice as long as IM70.3 distance and is supposed to be followed by a run. I honestly can’t imagine myself being able to complete it any time soon. The schedule is making an amazing job convincing me that I can’t do the race 😢 Hopefully, I will feel better about this endeavor soon…
I think most cyclists have the same gut reaction to indoor biking as runners have to treadmills. After all, what can beat the feel of wind on your face and seeing all those beautiful views? Well, not getting rained on, not slipping on ice, not getting hit by a car… 😉 So yes, indoor trainers and spin bikes can have a place in your training routine as well.
Whether you are talking about a bike trainer or an indoor bike, you can rely on it to keep you safe from cars or bad weather. For most of us, at least one of these is an issue. Since I ride mostly on bike trails, cars tend to be lower level problem for me, but they are a concern. If you are a beginning cyclist, getting on the road may be intimidating. Indoor trainers and stationary bikes can be a great place to start. The weather can be a whole another thing. It’s been windy in here for the past few months and the heat is going off the charts. There are also: monsoon storms, ice, snow, fog… Well, you get the idea: mother nature may make it severely unpleasant, if not impossible, to go outside for a ride. Indoor cycling to the rescue!
That’s the main benefit you can read about online. There is a couple of additional benefits I can see to being able to hop on a bike at home any time. Top one: it’s easier on your schedule, especially when family responsibilities keep you at home. I tend to enjoy my indoor trainer while my daughter is asleep. It also keeps you close to home in case of problems and emergencies. Sometimes, I worry that if I get on a bike, I won’t be able to get back in time for a meeting or what if I have a problem (like a broken seat, which happened earlier this season or a flat). You can’t always afford that time-wise, so indoor trainer would be your go-to.
Another consideration for stationary bikes: when you are travelling, the hotel gym (or gym you have membership to) will most likely have a stationary bike. Traveling with your own bike may not always be an option, so alternatives are welcome.
In short: indoor trainer or stationary bike make for a great back-up plan!
Now there are also some additional benefits to both. For example, you can do one leg exercises to gain some strength. It’s a lot safer when your bike stays upright regardless of what you do! You can also set up your training the way you want, hills, flats, whatever. When you ride outside, ‘you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit’, as kindergartner’s mantra says. Sometimes you need to work on something specific and it’s easier to have a targeted workout on an indoor trainer or a stationary bike. Oh, and you get more of a workout, since you don’t get breaks on downhills or anything like that!
Now there are some clear disadvantages to biking inside. You don’t get to experience the weather and the terrain, which can be quite a disadvantage when you go riding outside. Sun beating on you is really not something you can simulate at home. However, stationary bikes tend to be plagued by lack of air flow. I have seen plenty of Instagram pictures of people surrounding themselves with fans. Personally, I put mine next to the AC vent. Either way, make sure you have air to breathe! Oh, and water. Apparently many people forget to bring water to those workouts. I’m not one of them, so I can’t really relate. But yes, always make sure you are hydrating properly.
Another issue: BOREDOM. It’s easy to get bored peddling alone, staring at the wall. Personally, I enjoy watching movies when I’m on my indoor trainer, so in a way, I’m turning lack of visual stimulation of the road into an advantage: I reward myself with something to watch, which can keep me in the seat for longer than I would otherwise want, since I have to know how this ends! (like you don’t know the feeling!)
It’s easy to cheat when you bike at home: you can make all the settings so easy on yourself and think you are getting great workout, while in reality, you wouldn’t have gone more than a block. I guess that’s what makes using an indoor trainer with your regular bike great: you will know what your effort is and you can adjust based on that. Here is one way that an actual stationary bike may be better than an indoor trainer: you can set up a specific course or manipulate settings, adding variety to your training. I don’t know too much about various indoor trainers, but the only variations I can get while I’m riding, I am limited to gear changes. So that’s one for the stationary bike over the trainer!
Although it’s not like the stationary bike is all the way better than an indoor trainer. For one thing: do you have room to always keep a stationary bike right there? Personally, I don’t. Indoor trainers are lighter and easier to put away. They are also cheaper. The expensive part, after all, is the bike. And that you already had. It also doesn’t require going to the gym (in case you are opting for somebody else owning the stationary bike 😉). Indoor trainer allows you to train on your own bike, with all the correct settings and measurements and your bike shoes properly clipped in. On the other hand, indoor bikes may be of the reclined type, which helps if you are having back problems. I also used to find the wider seats easier on my butt.
There is one more thing to say for stationary bikes that most websites refer to: spin classes. A lot of people think of those when they are discussing advantages of stationary bikes. Those have some advantages, such as company of other people and they tend to be on a schedule, which may help you stay on top of it. On the other hand, I have never cared for the noise and being stuck in a room full of sweating people (regardless of how well ventilated the room is).
So should I use an indoor trainer? A stationary bike? Yes! Even a short, easy workout at home when circumstances won’t allow you to ride outside is better than nothing. There are also specific things you can focus on during those workouts. But at the end of the day, nothing can beat hitting the road!
Monday was busy with work stuff, so I didn’t get a chance for a workout. I was also still pretty hurt from the fall last Sunday. I still wasn’t up to running on Tuesday or Wednesday, but by Thursday, I was back at it. That 1 mile run was actually two half mile runs to the outdoor pool and back. I decided to try out my wetsuit. Lesson for the future: it gets really hot in it. I overheated badly, but I did get a nice swim in. I think I will also have to practice breathing in it – a bit tight around my chest (which I am pretty sure it’s supposed to be).
The weekend was nice – my daughter had birthday parties to go to both days, so I was able to get a ride and a run done. They were pretty challenging workouts – it’s getting hot around here and when I went was dictated by when the parties were. Which, as usual, was during very hot part of days. But I felt accomplished after 😊.
When you decide to become more serious about running and look for a training plan or advice on how to improve, you get bombarded by terms you never heard of or that you don’t know what to do with.
Base run
Those are your bread-and-butter runs. I call them ‘just mileage’. They are meant to be on the shorter end of your range, up to mid-range and ran at your natural pace. I will admit it: these are my favorite and before I started marathon training, it was pretty much all I ever did. These days, those are mostly my commute runs. Main purpose of the base runs is to build your aerobic capacity. You also develop your endurance and running economy through your base runs. They are also your starting point for undertaking training plan.
Recovery run
Yes, I chose a picture of me running with my daughter (aka mini-me). I think it’s a pretty fair representation of recovery runs, since she keeps my pace slower and distance limited. When I am left to my own devices, I will get too ambitious and that recovery run will turn into more of a base run. These training runs usually follow particularly hard/long workouts and they are meant to be short and slow.
Most of us were led to believe that recovery runs help us recover faster by getting rid of lactic acid and accelerating muscle repair. However, it turns out that’s not how these workouts help. You are running in ‘pre-fatigued’ state, which promotes fitness gains. I actually just learned this. Good to know – I may actually start doing recovery runs on Monday after my long runs rather than just phoning it in.
Long run
If you are planning on an endurance race, hopefully you enjoy these. Long runs are meant to bring you to endurance level that will allow you to complete your race without running out of steam. For most races, you will probably want to get close or even over the distance you are planning to race. There is one notable exception to this: commonly, you don’t run more than 20 miles at a time, even when you are training for a marathon. To my surprise, when I was looking at Ironman training plans, they also capped running at 20 miles and even said you should not be doing actual marathons before your Ironman race. I am sure that for pros and people who do these all the time this may differ, but for us mere mortals, this is the rule. The reason behind the cap is relatively simple: running is a high impact sport and these kinds of distances take a toll on your body. You should not wear your body out before the race.
How to go about your long runs: they are meant to stretch your endurance, so naturally, you will be gradually increasing the distance (or pace). Once you have a solid base, you can start increasing distance by about a mile every week or two. Depending on your fitness level, your pace will be similar to that of your base runs or a bit slower. I have seen large number of variations on the long runs, with some including intervals, progressions and a number of other special elements. But the premise remains unchanged: not to run out of steam before you cross the finish line.
Progression run
I know this picture seems to have little to do with the progression runs, at least to majority of other people. But it is related to me, I swear. Progression runs are done usually over a distance you are comfortable with (although that’s not a requirement – it can be a part of your long run; I have been thinking about doing that actually). Your goal is to have negative splits, aka pick up pace in later stages of the run. This is a run with a main purpose of improving your stamina. It helps with getting faster without making you looks like you got run over by a truck. I can do these before work. Running intervals before work, on the other hand, tends too tired to be at my best all day.
How this picture relates: I struggle with it, but I always try to keep a steady pace until I hit the bridge over the Potomac and then go faster. It doesn’t always work well for me, since it’s when I hit uphills, but at the very least it’s an aspiration. And trying our best is all we can ask for, isn’t it?
Tempo run
I have a bizarre love for these workouts… If left to my own devices, I would probably do these only. I don’t do it, since I know perfectly well that we require variety in training for best results, but it doesn’t mean I can’t have my favorite workouts.
Tempo runs are about increasing your fatigue threshold and developing ability to run faster for extended periods of time. For a tempo run, you run at your lactate threshold, which is the hardest sustainable pace for you. If you are a fit runner, it’s a pace you can sustain for an hour, while for less fit runners, it’s for 20 minutes. The idea is to prolong time you can sustain higher pace. Yes, you may look like what I do on the above picture afterwards. But I do find those runs extremely satisfying and I will replace base and progression runs with these any time if nobody’s watching. I might end up there when I set out for a recovery run, too 😉
Fartlek
Another surprising picture? And yet again, it seems like it’s strangely appropriate to this type of a run to me. Fartlek is a speed workout, but not as structured as intervals. You mix some faster intervals into your run, with intention of building up your threshold. What differentiates fartlek from regular intervals is that the faster parts are not nicely planned and measured. And why running through DC and the National Mall comes to mind to me? Simple: because I run from a street crossing to street crossing, getting a rest at red lights. Since I know I will have to just stand there like a dummy, I sprint when I do get to run.
Intervals (sometimes called HIIT)
You will not catch me doing these on a track… They are usually done on a track, since it’s a flat, easy surface. However, I absolutely despise running on a track. At best, I will do my intervals on the road. That may increase my potential for injuries, but I just can’t run in circles… I’d rather do them on a treadmill (and even then only because I can watch movies on my phone).
But I digress. Intervals are bursts of speed over a pre-determined distance, alternating with slower periods. These workouts are what will make you faster by improving your running efficiency, giving you higher fatigue threshold and just making you able to move faster. They are indispensable to making you a faster runner. I would be interested though in hearing from somebody who genuinely enjoys these workouts.
Trail run
These are technically not usually listed, but I wanted to include them, since Meb was telling me how great it is to switch to running on trails. You can run most of your other workouts on trails, although intervals and fartlek probably wouldn’t be advisable. However, running on trails has a unique training benefit that makes me believe that it should be included in this list. They make your legs stronger by exposing them to quickly changing terrain. Your brain also needs to remain engaged, so you don’t hurt yourself by stepping wrong. Meb told me that trail practices make running in a road race appear easier and, therefore, you end up faster.
Hills repeats
Pictures never quite capture steepness of a hill, do they… Believe me, this is actually a good training hill on my run.
So here is how this work: find a serious hill, start at the bottom and run to the top. Turn around, make your way down at a slower pace and then back up that hill. Rinse and repeat… It will build up your aerobic power, endurance and pain threshold (because there will be pain if you do it right). Also, if you choose a hilly marathon, like me (Baltimore – no huge climbs, but a lot of short uphill bursts), it will help you make it to the end of the race. And if for no other reason: they will add some variety to your training. I can’t see people loving it any more than intervals, but hill repeats will provide you at least with a sense of pride when you are on top of that hill. I know it’s a small consolation, but sometimes we don’t need much to keep going…
Conclusion
I hope this introduction to running training lingo will be helpful. At the very least, it should help you sound like a member of the in crowd when talking to other runners over drinks. And, of course, understand what training plans (either found online or given to you by a coach or a friend) mean. Just my little contribution to making you feel like the insider in the world of amateur athletes 😉 Now go and conquer the world! The road is waiting for you and your shoes!
Last week started well and ended badly… I had a fabulous ride on Skyline Drive on Saturday, although I still don’t feel confident about biking on hills. Or that I will successfully finish my Ironman 70.3 in August for that matter. I am getting really stressed about that and I think I overdid it on training my legs. And as you can probably guess from this week’s calendar, it all came crashing on Sunday. I was planning on running 20 miles on Sunday. Or at least 13 miles. Sadly, on mile 6, I stepped wrong and fell. My pants ended up torn and my knee scraped. I chose to take it as a hint from my body it’s time to go home. Sadly, over 5 miles of walking home takes forever. I jogged a little bit on and off, but it was definitely not much of a training. After I rested a bit, I found out that I rolled my foot as part of the fall and it feels exactly as it did when I injured it last winter. Good news: I know how to fix it. Bad news: I will have to take a few days off from legs workouts.
Last week, somebody told me that for most people, spirit gives up before their body gives up. Clearly, I am not most people… My legs gave up on my running before I was done with my workout and I had every intention of finishing it (even if I was not overly happy about it).
Running with my daughter was so much fun! It involves a lot of walking, but it’s nice to help her become a runner. She made her first mile in 12:37 and I’m proud of her 😊! Other than that, it was a rather uneventful week of training. I just get out there every day and try my best. I promise next week will be more interesting!
