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Marathons+Moderation: Guest Post #14

Hi, I’m Amber from Girl with the Red Hair and @AmberYake on Twitter! I’m so excited to be guest posting for Ashley’s awesome Marathons + Moderation series!

amber_-_photo_4 (640x480)I started running in 2009 and I’ve ran one full marathon, four half-marathons and a handful of other races including several trail races. My first (and only so far) marathon experience was not the greatest and I think it’s because I did not take the "moderation" part of training seriously enough.I was too stuck to my training plan and ended up over training.

 
During my first training cycle when I got an injury in my back/hip/side I continued training through it for six months before finally seeking help! This ultimately resulted in me getting a torn tendon in my foot at mile 24 of my marathon (I still finished, but barely!)
 
I’m strongly considering doing my second marathon in the spring of 2012 and here are a few ways I plan on training differently:
amber_-_photo_1 (368x550)What I did: Stuck to the plan, 100%. If something got in the way of a planned run I would freak out and figure out some way to make it up even if it meant burning myself out by doing a 10-mile run, 18-mile run and then a 20-mile run all within 10 days of each other (oh yes, I stupidly did this!)

What I plan to do:Be flexible! A plan is there to guide me. It’s not the be all, end all of the world. During my next marathon training cycle I’m going to take each week in stride. If I don’t feel well I will listen to my body. I’ve learned that getting a few quality workouts in each week is better than doing several junk runs.

What I did: Ignored the signs my body was sending me. I ended up having a chronic pain in my side (the hip/back/side issue I mentioned above) from over training for SIX MONTHS before I finally got it checked out. I literally would have pain in my side CONSTANTLY and I ran through it. Stupid. This ultimately resulted in me taking six weeks off from running.

What I plan to do: Listen to my body and what it tells me, back off and seek treatment at the first sign of injury or pain.
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What I did: Ran too high of mileage. Even though 40 miles per week is really low mileage for some it was too high for my injury-prone body and the week I hit my highest mileage (40 miles) was also the week all the injuries started popping up during my training cycle.

What I plan to do: Run lower mileage and cross-train like crazy. I will be running 3-4 times per week maximum and will likely max out at 35-37 miles during my next cycle. I plan to balance all the running with lots of swimming, yoga and strength training (something I definitely did NOT do last time). I know that yoga has kept me injury-free so far in 2011 while I trained for two half-marathons, a 25K trail race and my first sprint triathlon, so I know it will be a key part of my next marathon training cycle!

What I did: Trained alone. Well, I was training "with" my blog friend Lisa(who I ran the marathon with – we split off at mile 2 though) but since she lives 1,500 miles away I did every single training run alone. It became hard to motivate myself near the end of the cycle and I was doing a lot of negative thinking!

What I plan to do: Train with a group. If I do the marathon I’m thinking of doing in 2012 I’ll be joining a marathon training clinic that my local Running Room is putting on.

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What I did:It wasn’t the best day out there during my marathon (think pouring rain the entire time) and I was so focused on a time goal that I didn’t truly appreciate the fact that I was running A MARATHON. When I crossed the finish line I immediately burst into tears because I was in pain, cold and wet and felt completely defeated. I also missed my time goal by 15 minutes.

What I plan to do:Enjoy the day. Smile. High-five people who are cheering. Cross the finish line with a HUGE smile on my face even if it’s an hour slower than my last marathon time! Finishing happy = a PR in my books 🙂

If you’ve ran more than one marathon what kinds of things did you learn from your first training cycle that allowed you to apply more "moderation" to your next one?

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Marathons+Moderation: Guest Post #13

 

Helloooo Healthy Happier readers! My name is Christine and I blog at These Happy Miles. When Ashley e-mailed me about guest posting for this series, I jumped at the chance because I’ve been following the series each week.

Helloooo Healthy Happier readers! My name is Christine and I blog at These Happy Miles. When Ashley e-mailed me about guest posting for this series, I jumped at the chance because I’ve been following the series each week.

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nice to meet you! here i am on a sweaty summer run in central park

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bling bling from a half marathon

I also LOVE to talk about, ponder, and discuss strategies for still having a life while marathon training. Striving to balance out training with a full-time job, a long commute, family obligations, a social life, and other things like blogging, eating well, and sleeping is NOT easy.

But, like running itself, I’ve come to find out that it’s not supposed to be.

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It’s this chase to fit in running and everything else you need to do each day that makes life interesting and fun and keeps you on your toes (no pun intended).

One thing’s for sure: I know I’ll never be bored.

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I’m training for my second and third marathons at the moment (Chicago and Philly this Fall!) and I happily take on the life balance challenge because I just love to run and I’m obsessed with racing.

Here are my 8 tips for trying to make it all work.

  1. Be OK with making sacrifices. I can’t tell you how many things I’ve turned down and invites I’ve declined because I had a long run or a race in the morning. I hate missing anything fun and my family and friends may not completely understand, but sacrificing for the bigger picture (crossing the finish line with a smile after a feel-good race) is WORTH it. Other things that may be sacrificed on any given day: a good night’s sleep, a well-written blog post, a dinner that is not a PB&J sandwich.
  2. Open up to family, friends, bosses, and co-workers. After all, they may wonder why you’re always scooting out the door at 6PM or passing up invitations. Explain to them why you’ve made a commitment to marathon training. Also, keeping people in the know about your training holds you accountable too!
  3. Capitalize on gaps of time. Morning person? Set your alarm a little earlier and get in your run for the day before work. Have a gym nearby work? Do a cross training workout on your lunch hour. Night owl? Jump into your workout clothes and run right after work. Seize each and every day! And warning: don’t let yourself sit on the couch "just for 5 minutes." Just 5 minutes on the couch is never 5 minutes.
  4. Plan out the week. If possible, it helps to figure out which days will be obligation-heavy or late nights at work. Or, realize that’s there’s NO WAY you’ll be able to do a long run on a Saturday when you have tickets to Countryfest and will. not. miss. the pre-concert tailgate (long run successfully completed on Friday instead). Knowing in advance that you can’t run at your regular time on a particular day is key to scheduling a time when you are able to run. Prioritize your life and shift around runs on your training schedule if necessary.
  5. Think about regrets. I have honestly never regretted getting my bum out the door to go for a run. But I have regretted dark times when something plagued me from running (most likely just plain laziness). When you’re on that starting line with 26.2 miles ahead of you, it’s a comforting thought to know that you hit the majority of your runs and gave the training your all. Which brings me to…
  6. Don’t beat yourself up. Sure, there are some days during the 3-4 months of a training cycle when missing a training run is inevitable. And that’s OK. Don’t let it bring you down and just get out there again tomorrow.
  7. See your run time as "me" time. Running is the cheapest therapy. It gives me time to think about the day, make to do lists in my head for the next day, plan what I’ll do with the rest of the day/night, and to chill out to some good music.
  8. Have fun. Whether that means seeking out fellow runnerds in your area to carb load and watch a movie on a Friday night or going out to dance/dance on tables/replace all of the calories you lost during a long run that day through beer consumption on a Saturday night. I RUN for my Saturday nights and swear they are more fun after a nice, long sweat session.

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And… if you’re doing it right… marathon training should be fun too.

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Marathons+Moderation: Guest Post #12

Hi Healthy Happier Readers! I’m Jess from JessRuns.com.

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I’m super excited Ashley asked me to write a post in her Marathons and Moderation series. Fall is always the hardest part of the year for me to train because I have to balance my weekend long runs with my Saturday tailgating habit.

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Spending six hours every weekend at a tailgate hanging out with friends, eating bad-for-you food and not getting nearly enough sleep doesn’t tend to mesh so well with long-distance training. Some of my tailgates start at 6 a.m., which means I can’t exactly fit long runs in before the tailgate.

But after almost five seasons of somehow managing to balance both training and tailgating, I have some fine-tuned tips to share so you can make it work too!

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I hope you’re ready for some planning.

Step 1. Before the season starts, pull out the football schedule and figure out which weekend your team has a bye and when your team is on the road. Take advantage of those weekends to fit in your longest and most demanding workouts because you won’t have to stress out about getting to a game or a tailgate in time.

 DSC04287Step 2.  Identify the most important games. For me, this is always homecoming and a few other big conference games. Plan your short runs or recovery runs on those days.

Step 3. Build your training plan with flexibility in mind. There may be a weekend where one of the biggest games of the season conflicts with your 20 mile long run. Since you can’t move the game, I recommend moving the run. Shift it to the other weekend day, wake up extra early before work and get it done on Friday. Don’t stress so much about the day you get it done, just focus on getting the mileage in. 634283786414717012

Step 4. Embrace the weekdays as part of your training. In the beginning of your training plan you can probably fit your longest runs in on Fridays. That way you can save your shorter runs for the weekends when you’ll be busy tailgating.

Step 5. Back off the booze at the tailgates. Yes, it is possible to tailgate without going overboard. If you have a big run planned for the next day, keep yourself in check.

It’s totally possible to balance tailgating with your friends and training for a race. The key to making it all work is to plan around the biggest games and build enough flexibility into your training plan that you can move your long runs around.

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