Training
June 24: WARM UP SLOWLY
Whether out of bad habits or ignorance, many runners fail to allow their body to warm up properly each workout, thus putting it at a disadvantage for the rest of the run. I know what you're thinking... "But sometimes I only have 40 minutes to cram in my run before leaving for work." And true, we all struggle at times with maintaining balance between our running and hectic jobs, family activities, school, and other curve balls that life throws our way. But always remember that the body is most vulnerable to overuse injuries when it is not given time to warm up, not to mention that your workout will be less enjoyable and your race-day performance may suffer as well. No matter if the length of your run is 2 miles or 20 miles, starting out approximately 60 seconds per mile slower than your training pace will allow your body to properly warm up. The more conservative; the better. Even if you are doing a hard workout on hills or at the track, allow yourself ample time to warm up. With our Runner's Edge of the Rockies Speed workouts on Tuesdays, we may hit it hard but I always factor in a gentle warm up period to ensure that everyone can minimize the risk of injury and maximize the opportunity for a successful workout. And for those of you who run for weight management goals, giving your body time to warm up will help shed those fat stores much better. So the more conservative you can start out, the better. Take pride in knowing that you are respecting your body by allowing it time to catch up to your wishes of having a good workout!
June 17: TRAIN AT THE RIGHT PACE
One of the great things about the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon is that it is a fast race course, especially under good weather conditions. However, just because the course is fast doesn't mean you should always train fast too. The problem with many runners is that they do the majority of their training runs much too hard, innocently thinking that by training at at the pace they want to run on race day they will accomplish their goal. The physics of running faster means that your foot must come down harder to generate more force and forward momentum. Therefore, by training at race pace you can add 25-30% more pounds of force with each foot-strike, which means you will need more time to recover after each workout! So what happens to those runners who train too quickly is that their bodies can't fully recover from the extra pounding produced by training at a faster pace, an d eventually they break down, becoming more and more fatigued with each successive workout. At best, they may still be able to make it to race day, but won't enjoy the success of running strong and achieving their goal. And at worst, they may be setting themselves up for an overuse injury. And as I tell our Runner's Edge of the Rockies members, a good mantra to keep in mind every workout is that you can't have a good race if you can't even make it to the start line! So, for those runners who can stay relaxed during specific workouts -- especially midweek Recovery runs and weekend Long runs -- they create a win-win situation. By using the "talk test" (maintaining a conversation effort), their body stays in endurance-building mode, the workouts feel easier, and they recover much faster and stay healthy. And simply by staying healthy, mo s t of you will line up on race day in the best shape of your life!
June 10: GET ON SCHEDULE
Consistency is the cornerstone for success in any training schedule, be it running, swimming, cycling, yoga or otherwise. Doing the "weekend warrior" gig with distance running is a fast-track route to increased fatigue, overuse injuries, burnout, and at best a poor performance on race day. And with a fast downhill course at the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon, who wants to have a poor race? In order to establish consistency, get on a training schedule. That way you can plan your work, and then work the plan. A schedule that is customized to your background and ability, and that is also targeted specifically to your target race will help you stay on track and peak appropriately for race day. Pragmatically, it's incredibly difficult for most people to get in 100% of the workouts: Work, school, family and getting sick are just a few things that can throw your training into a tailspin. But having a set schedule to follow that lays out your daily runs, cross-training and rest/off days will help you manage and balance your running much better. Not having a training schedule to follow generally leads to inconsistency and what I suggest to our Runner's Edge of the Rockies members is that they value their relationship with their training schedule the same way they would value a friendship with a running partner. That way they can stay accountable to themselves, even if it means bumping a scheduled workout to tomorrow. Does that mean you have to get in 100% of your workouts in order to enjoy a successful race? No; but the more consistent you can follow your plan, the higher the likelihood of success!
June 3: START WITH A BASE
As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day!" Well, your training for the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon shouldn't -- and can't -- be built in one day either. Before you start ramping up your mileage too quickly or add strenuous hill and track workouts to your training, be sure to establish a consistent base of weekly mileage. Physiologically it can take 6-8 weeks for your skeletal and connective tissues to adapt to a given mileage, which is why ramping up your weekly mileage total and long-run distance too quickly can result in overuse injuries. So for beginners or those who are coming back from a layoff, this means starting with short, midweek workouts that you know you can accomplish, and recover from quickly. A plan of 1-3 miles, 2-4 times per week is generally a good start along with a "long" weekend run of 4-8 miles. Obviously depending on your fitness level and previous running background, your mileage may vary. Those brand new to running should follow the low end of those ranges with more experienced runners at the high end (or beyond). If you're unsure of how long your "long" weekend run should be, what I generally recommend to our Runner's Edge of the Rockies members, is that they make their "long" Saturday run with the group no more than 2 miles beyond what their previous long run has been in the last 3 weeks. Keep in mind that most people can safely handle an increase of just 10% in their weekly mileage from one week to the next, so for a beginner that may mean adding only 1 mile to the long weekend run and keeping the midweek workouts the same.
David Manthey
is an RRCA Certified Running Coach and owner of Runner’s
Edge of the Rockies,
a half, full & ultra marathon training program that runs
year-round throughout the