This post is meant to accompany the last one, only this one is a little more positive...
Last week, ending on Sunday (yesterday), I ran 62 miles, spending between 11 and 12 hours on the roads and trails. Yikes! No wonder I have no social life... (Actually, I've recently been making an effort to get one.)
These are some things I've learned about running while training for the 50-miler:
1. Pace yourself. I feel the most tired - and often have heart palpitations - when I go out too hard. This is especially true in races, where the concept of "banking a few minutes" (you know: "I'll run 30 seconds faster than my goal pace so I can slow down at the end") has been debunked over and over. Even in long practice runs, negative splits are the goal.
2. Walking is okay. In my long runs (2.5-5 hours) I walk up every hill and whenever I'm eating, trying to keep the transitions between walking and running smooth. Although I haven't scientifically measured it, my hypothesis is that I'm not going any slower than I would be if I were running the whole time. In fact, I may even be going faster. I'm going to start using walk-breaks in my regular runs, on days when it's very hot or I'm tired.
3. Know when to throw in the towel. Pushing through pain or exhaustion during a 5 mile run may not be smart, but it's also not terrible. Pushing through pain or exhaustion during a 5 hour run is just stupid. I mean, we're talking kidney failure, etc. I don't play around when it comes to my health, despite some evidence to the contrary (ex: my desire to run for 5 hours).
4. A culmination of the first three: be flexible. This is hard for me in all aspects of my life, but I'm working on being better about it. You and everyone around you will be happier if you're more willing to compromise. Right, Dave?
5. Lift weights. I do two 45-minute sessions a week, and it has made a world of difference. While running may seem like a leg sport, carrying 64-ounces of water on my back and 16-ounces in my hand over dozens of miles has really made me see the importance of a strong core and upper-body. The most common question non-runners ask me is, "Don't your knees hurt?" Nope. I tell them it's the good shoes, the soft surfaces, and many, many squats and lunges.
2 comments:
Im all for number five.
and one.
and two.
too early to do number 3.
and leaving the entire 50 miles up to you.
SO IMPRESSED youre giving it a go!
MizFit
In effort to find my "negative splitable pace" I'm trying desperately to finding my "happy pace." It made me smile reading your #1 because it's great re-affirmation that my attention is directed upon a vital aspect of distance running.
It just feels good knowing you do it too :-).
Question - if you "throw in the towel" on a long run... do you make training adjustments to your schedule or do you just keep trucking along with the same plan?
Strength training still scares me. But having the trainer really helps keep me accountable for my neglected upper body. I think my deflating chesticles are actually going to survive without too much trauma - muscles really do solve everything :-). I notice too that back pain has completely diminished and it seems as though I can command a heck of a lot better speed when I really dig into it from the core. Thank you for being my long distance heckler about strength. You were right.
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