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8 Final Tips for Marathon Day
After months of training, race week is finally here. At this point all the work is done and it’s time to reap the rewards of months of training. Below are eight final tips to increase your chances of race day success. Should I warm up? This depends on your ability level. If you’re a beginner with a goal of finishing the race, then some light dynamic stretching should be enough. If you’re a more experienced runner chasing a personal best, then jogging for five to ten minut
Strategies to Help You Deal With A Training Setback
When you’re training for a race, setbacks are bound to happen. Things like injury, sickness, travel, work or family responsibilities will disrupt your training. While this can be extremely frustrating, more often than not these things are completely unavoidable. Some setbacks may last a day or two, while others may derail your training for weeks. I usually tell my clients that if you can complete at least 90% of the training in a 16-week plan, that’s good. It would be nice i
Practice Makes Perfect: Nail Your Race-day Fueling
Odds are if someone were to ask you how your marathon training was going the conversation would most likely revolve around weekly mileage, tempo runs, long runs and perhaps cross training strength routines. While these aspects of training for a marathon are no doubt most important, there’s another part of marathon training that often gets underemphasized, something renowned sports nutrition scientist, Asker Jeukendrup refers to as training the gut. At its most basic level, t
Three Things Your Paper Training Plan Won’t Tell You About Marathon Training
For those that are following a training plan, the words and numbers outlined week by week rule your life and most likely lead to more questions than answers. If those words and numbers could talk, here are the three things they would tell you about marathon training. What you do between runs can have a bigger impact on your training than you think This may sound a little dramatic, but often times when people think about trying to improve their running, they only think about t
2 Ways To Alter Your Long Run For Better Results
The long run is a staple in all marathon and ½ marathon training. It’s the one run that prepares you physically and mentally to tackle the marathon or ½ marathon. For most runners the only goal is the distance. No plan of attack. Just head out the door and run 16 miles. Having a plan, beyond only completing the run can help you prepare better for the race. Here are two modifications to the normal “go out and just run” long run that will leave better prepared to tackle the
The One Thing Every New Runner Does Wrong. Why Slow Runs Matter
Remember the old saying, “Slow and steady wins the race?” Well, when it comes to running there’s a lot of truth to that statement. If you take that statement at face value then it’s true the faster runner will usually win the race, however when it comes to day-in-day-out training “slow and steady wins the race” is dead-on and I’m about to explain why. One of the biggest mistakes most beginners and perhaps most runners’ make is running too fast, too soon and/or too often.
How to Practice Your Goal Race Pace Before Race Day
Odds are at this point in your Broad Street Training you’ve landed upon a finishing time goal. There’s also a good chance your goal has varied based on your daily training. On good days you may think, “I’m feeling so good, I’m going to crush that goal, while after a rough training run, thoughts of doubt creep into your head. Deciding on a goal race pace can seem much like an intimating guessing game where if you guess wrong you’re headed towards a world of hurt. While there’s
The One Skill to Practice Now for a Stronger Race Day
If I asked you to run six miles, making each mile slightly faster than the previous, could you do it? The truth is, most runners would struggle with this task, failing within the first two or three miles. If you are one of those runners who finds your first few miles or reps are always your fastest, I suggest you think about changing that. Don’t worry: I’ll show you how. One of the most important skills a runner can have is the ability to “run by feel.” Running by feel is the
Why Slow Running Will Help You Faster
Remember the old saying, “Slow and steady wins the race?” Well, when it comes to running, there’s a lot of truth to that statement. I mean, it’s true the faster runner will usually win the race — however when it comes to day-in-day-out training, “slow and steady wins the race” is dead-on, and I’m about to explain why. One of the biggest mistakes most beginners — and perhaps most runners — make is running too fast, too soon and/or too often. I mean, it makes sense, right? Basi
Marathon Training: Are You Eating Enough Carbs?
I’m going to state the obvious here, but running a marathon and half marathon are very different then running a 5K or 10K. I’m not talking about the difference in distance — I’m talking about the difference in nutrition needs. For the most part, nutrition isn’t a limiting factor to performance for the 5K and 10K, but once you get over two-hour mark in racing, nutrition play a vital role in how well you perform. As a runner, if you want to perform at your best, you need to sta
How to Tweak Your Long Run for Better Results on Race Day
The long run is a staple in all marathon and ½ marathon training. It’s the one run that prepares you physically and mentally to tackle the race-day mileage. For most runners, the only goal is the distance. No plan of attack— just head out the door and run 16 miles. Having a plan, beyond only completing the run in one piece, can help you prepare better for the race. Here are two tweaks you can make to the “just go out and run” approach to long runs that will leave you better p
This Is the Best Day to Do a Long Run
The weekly long run, the most important single run of the week and probably the one run you think about most: What route will I take? Is the weather going to cooperate? How will I feel? Can I finish it? For most, the long run is a Sunday morning ritual. It’s set in stone, like some unspoken rule. I mean why not run long on Sunday? It seems perfect: Sunday is the last day of the week and last day of the weekend; You can relax and get loose Friday night after a long workweek an
Heat & Humidity: Why it's Harder to Run & How to Survive It
Aren’t summers great? Weekends spent at the beach, pop-up parks, street festivals and outdoor dining galore make it a great place to be. Enjoying the outdoors is just plain easier in warm weather. Except, perhaps, if you’re running. Summer for the average runner, means overheated runs, dripping sweat, and the constant desire for water. And, as if that’s not enough to deal with, odds are you may find yourself struggling to keep a pace or finish runs that seemed easy just two m
Two Rules Elite Runners Follow That You Should Follow, Too
At face value, running seems like a very simple sport. All you need is a pair of shoes and the will to exhaust yourself and that’s it: You’re a runner. At the beginning, getting better is pretty simple, right? Just keep running. For the most part, the more you run, the better you’ll become. However, at some point, the novelty of being a beginner wears off and you may find yourself struggling to improve. Then you’ll probably spend hours upon hours searching the Internet for an
It’s Injury Season — Here’s How to Avoid Being Sidelined
We’re fast approaching what I call injury season, the time of year runners ramp up their training and are more likely to get injured. Here’s the thing: In most cases, running injuries are completely avoidable — you just need to train smarter. Winter is brutal for training. It’s dark, cold and snowy. Most of us have been cooped up inside on the treadmill for three months; the intrepid few have been outside, bundled up dodging ice and snow patches. Now that the weather is getti
Everything A Runner Needs to Know About Cross Training
Wait, you’re telling me I have to do more then just run? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. If you want to be the best runner you can be, you need to add activities other than running to your training. You need to cross-train. At its most basic level, cross-training is engaging in two or more sports or activities in order to improve fitness and performance, especially in a main sport, which in our case is running. As with any exercise, cross-training must have a purpose, a
10 Weeks to Broad Street: Your Broad Street Run Training Plan
So, you got into the Broad Street Run — congrats! Now only 10 weeks of training stand between you and the finish line in Navy Yard. The average runner will invest over 72 hours pounding the pavement training for Broad Street. While those 72 hours will greatly determine what the finish-line clock will read, there is perhaps one determinant of your success that most people ignore. It doesn’t include running, lifting weights or even getting off the couch, but rather a pen and pa
I'm Sick! Should I Run or Rest?
It’s bound to happen. Training has been going so well then bam; you’re hit with an illness. Now the internal battle starts, should I try and run or should I rest? If I run will it make it worst? Here are some guidelines to help make that decision on whether to run or to rest. A lot of doctors will recommend the neck test. If symptoms are above the neck such as sore throat, sneezing, nasal congestion and tearing eyes it’s most likely OK to run. If your symptoms are below
3 Strategies To Train Your Brain to Run Faster and Longer
Running through the discomfort of exhaustion is often more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Slowing down is either the result of a conscious decision to slow/stop or your body starting to shut down. Therefore, having tactics to push through the discomfort of exhaustion is a valuable skill for all runners, especially if you want to approach your physical limits. Think of your brain as your body’s command center. Once your cardiovascular and muscular systems start app
Don't Run To Get Faster
That’s right I said, “Don’t run to get faster.” Have you ever considered that running isn’t the most effective way to get faster? Does running less and getting faster sound appealing? Read on… Recently numerous developments have confirmed that including a progressive strength-training program involving running specific exercises can have a dramatic effect on running performance. If executed properly, a strength routine can be much more effective then running in increasing spe
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