Training

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

This is going to be a short post. I’m busy getting myself and Team HillRunner.com ready for Al’s Run and with a few other projects. I do have a longer post in the works but it’s not ready for today. Hopefully, I’ll have it ready for next week. It’s one I’m excited about.

This week, though, I came across this interesting article about mindfulness training.

While I haven’t always thought of it in this term, I’ve always been a fan of what is described there. The idea as I view it essentially boils down to being in the moment and remaining calm no matter what is going on. On race day, this means be fully aware of what’s happening right now and being ready to respond thoughtfully, not reflexively, to what goes on. If someone passes you, do you surge to get back ahead, do you try to go with them and attempt the pass later or do you let them go with the hopes you can pass them back later or the understanding that you just can’t hold that pace?

Of course, practicing listening to your body will help you naturally be more mindful on race day. Listening to your body is part of being mindful but it’s also more. It’s learning to not overreact, to remain calm no matter what happens. It’s remaining positive even in the face of a setback.

So practice being mindful, then put it to practice in your next race. I’m planning to put it to practice Saturday.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Ed ran a 52 second PR in a 5K this past weekend! 52 seconds in a 5K, that’s insane! Over 15 seconds per mile improvement off a respectable time for a runner of his age and background.

How did he do it? Well, a lot went into it.

However, I’d like to point out one factor right now. He didn’t limit himself. To be honest, I would have had him running with even fewer limits if it were up to me. I wanted him to run watchless and suggested before the race doing so. He wanted to wear his watch to keep himself from going out too fast.

It’s true, we can’t run with reckless abandon. Ed would have been foolish to go out in 5:00 for the first mile. That said, if I recall, he set a target of 6:07/mile to start. He did tell me, I think to reassure me, that he was only going to pay attention to his pace early.

It’s a good thing he did. Had he paid attention to his pace throughout and stuck with that 6:07/mile target, he would have run only a 22 second PR. The artificial limit he placed on himself would have left him 30 seconds short of what he obviously was capable of.

I see people do this a lot. They get the idea that they are "only" capable of some given performance and they don’t let themselves just run. As a result, they finish feeling good and questioning how well they may have run.

Don’t do this to yourself. Learn how a race effort should feel through practice, then run by effort. If you’re ready for something special, something that might even surprise yourself, this is how you’re going to get it done. You’re not going to get it done by placing artificial limits on yourself, then only running to those limits.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Back in 2002, a local runner told me with pride how he finishes all his marathons weighing more than what he did at the start. He was incredibly proud of this and insisted that I would be far better off if I followed his fueling plan. The idea was simple: the more hydrated you are, the better you run.

At the time, though, that idea bothered me. If you’re starting well hydrated or even slightly over hydrated as most runners do, why do you want to be even more hydrated at the finish line?

As it turns out, I was on to something. Since that time, we’ve seen a major change in opinions on hydration. Hyponatremia caused by overhydration has become a major concern and research has shown that moderate dehydration does not affect health or performance. In fact, some research has shown that the fastest marathoners finish fairly significantly dehydrated.

Now, the problem is creeping into other sports. It’s the same problem, people being told they must "get ahead of" dehydration and drink before they are thirsty.

The fact is we now know thirst is a very good indicator. You don’t need to get ahead of thirst. In fact, if you get too far ahead of thirst, the consequences can actually be far greater than if you fall behind.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make sure you’re staying well hydrated. Just be careful to not overhydrate. And, while you’re running, there’s no problem with drinking to thirst.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

If you rely on your GPS device to determine your race pace and don’t build in a buffer, you will almost certainly fall slightly short of your goal.

Do you run races with a GPS device? Have you noticed that your GPS usually measures the races as longer than the advertised distance? Your last 5K was 3.2 or 3.3 miles, your last 10K was maybe 6.4 miles? Heck, your last marathon was probably at least 26.5 miles, very possibly 27 miles.

Don’t go yell at the race director before you read on. There’s a reason for this.

Proper race course measurement takes the shortest possible route. Because they need to make sure nobody can complete a race in anything short of the advertised distance, they need to measure the shortest possible route.

However, virtually nobody actually runs the shortest possible route. You simply can’t run in the very inner line of every turn, take perfect tangents between all turns and actually turn on a dime at race pace at every hairpin turn. Other runners may get in the way, your momentum at race pace may prevent you from turning sharp enough to take the shortest possible route. Many things can happen.

In addition, GPS devices aren’t perfect. Earlier this year, I covered why they often measure short on tracks. On a race course, they may measure short or long. It’s hard to say and a lot might have to do with the layout of the course.

In the end, expect to run longer than the advertised distance. I would recommend for most people aiming for a goal time and pacing by a GPS device to aim for about 5 seconds per mile faster than goal pace.

This means you also have to train that way. Are you running race pace workouts and making sure you stay on target by using a GPS device? If so, make sure you’re accounting for the faster pace you need to run on race day.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

The runners I have coached for some time can probably think of times where I said something like feel free to challenge yourself because next week is a cutback week. I don’t say it often and I’ve been saying it even less often recently (maybe I should increase my frequency again).

One of the runners who I know I’ve told this to sent me this link that does a nice job of explaining the concept behind what I was getting at with the idea of challenging yourself with the cutback week coming up.

I might write more on this later but, for now, I thought this was a good primer on the topic. Consider adding some "push" weeks to your training. Just make sure you are using them sparingly.