Race Training Errors

Earlier this week, the International Association of Women Runners (IAWR) held a free teleconference called "How to Correct 7 Common Training Errors Committed by Marathoners and Half-Marathoners" It was hosted by Bennett Cohen, the founder of the group.

I listened to the entire call and here's what I took away from it.

"Running is a chance for you to become a hero in your own life." Kathrine Switzer

He seems to indicate that shortness is somehow nonathletic. I don't know if he actually meant it that way, but that's how it sounded to me, a short woman.

Error 1: Too few rest days. Can hit a PR with 3 days running 1-2 days cross training. More than that can eliminate the repair your body needs to get stronger.

Error 2: Quantity over quality. Tempo, interval, race pace and hills should all be part of your training. Don't just keep running long runs.

Error 3: Running long every weekend. There should be a week or two of shorter runs in between the long runs.

Error 4: Failure to include goal pace runs during the long runs. Hard to hit a pace in the race that you've never reached in training.

Error 5: Lack of running specific strength training. Wall squats, bridges, planks and side leg lifts should all be part of your cross-training.

Error 6: Failure to taper properly leading into a race. It can take four weeks from your longest run to fully recover for the actual marathon.

Error 7: Lack of mental preparation. 26.2 is as hard mentally as physically. Practice visualization. Practice eliminating self-doubt and negative thoughts.

The IAWR has individual training programs that take into account age, injury issues and other items that can affect training and racing. They can review and adjust during the training program.

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All of these errors are eliminated when you follow the T2 training program. If you're thinking of running a marathon or a half marathon, you should join Team Twitter.

Trainer

For Christmas, I received a Bell bike trainer. It's one of the best gifts I have ever received. So far this year, I've used it for over five hours. That doesn't even count the two hours that I used it between Christmas and New Year's. Since I unpacked it, I have burned about 4,000 calories on the trainer while watching TV, reading and checking my twitter accounts. It has also improved my aerobic capacity during the winter when I usually see a drop in all of my physical fitness. I believe the reason I'm already running 5Ks at the same pace I ran last April is because of the time I've put in on the trainer. It makes me feel better on the days that I just can't get up the motivation to go outside and run. I know that I'm not losing a day of activity, I'm cross-training. I will continue to use the trainer over the next few months and will continue to run a 5K every week or so to see if my time improves, slows down or remains the same. I really hope that it helps it to improve, because that will give me a great workout option for days when I don't want to leave the house.

Day 58C--Off Days

I have been horrible about my cross-training. I didn't do anything on Sunday except some really light gardening and some cleaning. That's actually more than I did yesterday. I will be squeezing in a run this afternoon, even if it does rain. I have so many things planned this week that I feel like my fitness has to be shoe-horned in. I know my schedule is much better next week, so maybe I can get more cross-training in then.

I still have tight calves from Saturdays run. That seems to be a continuous problem for me. They get sore on Saturday, I stretch and stretch, but they don't feel better until I get a longer run in. I was told to try an ice bath after my long runs, and I will try that on Saturday after I run 12 miles.

Day 48C--Training

My cross-training on Wednesday was softball practice. Some sprinting, lots of throwing and batting. I don't know if that's enough to qualify as cross-training, but it takes up most of the evening, so that's all that gets done.

Yesterday, I ran just over 3 miles. My time was a bit faster than my normal pacing, but I think that's because I ran 1 1/2 miles, took a break, and then ran the other 1 1/2 miles. It made running faster than normal pretty easy.

Tomorrow I run 7 miles, which is the longest I've ever run in one stretch in my life. I'm really excited to start setting new personal records (PR). Almost every Saturday going forward is going to be a PR. I do need to get to a health food/sporting goods store today to buy some race fuel for tomorrow. Time to start trying some different kinds. Also need to get used to Gatorade.

Day 46C--Running

Saturday was my six mile official training run and I went into it a bit worried. I hadn't run at all during the week and had neglected my cross-training, too. I had done softball practice, but that was basically the extent of all my physical exertion over the entire week. Luckily, I was worried for nothing. The run went just as well as the five mile run from the prior week. Even though I was ok this week without doing my training, I will try to do a lot better on my Sunday through Thursday activities than I did last week. I already got in my cross training for today, which is a big step above last week.

Next week's run is seven miles, longer by almost 1/2 mile than I've ever run in my entire life. I'm really looking forward to most future training runs being the longest I've ever run. I know that I've taken on a big goal, but it will make it seem so much easier if I know that every week is some new goal for me, just like the marathon is.

Next week is also the first time they want us to start trying mid-run energy food. That actually has me more concerned than the running. Many of them seem to be gummy and chewy, something I really don't like. I haven't enjoyed chewy candy at any point in my life. I have always wondered why anyone would ever eat a Tootsie Roll. I will try some of them to see which ones are actually palatable to me, though.

Day 41C--Cross Training

I didn't really do anything different yesterday than the same core workout on the Wii. I am noticing that my balance is really improving. I can do the Tree Pose (pictured) without swaying the entire time. Holding the plank for 30 seconds is just starting to tap into my limits. The first time I was doing it, I was straining at 15 seconds.

I did do a couple of extra things before my workout, though. I did the plank challenge and the push-up challenge. The "challenge" on the Wii Fit Plus allow you to go as long as you can, rather than having some predetermined number of reps. I was able to hold the plank for 43 seconds and do 19 push-ups. They're still girl push-ups, but I can do more than a few, so I'm good with them.

Day 39C--Cross training

I've made Mondays my cross training day, even though my schedule says it's supposed to be a running day. I spent 35 minutes trying to find all the flags on the Wii island bicycle ride. I will never be able to find the 20th flag. I've tried so many times, but have never actually found it. The ride is actually more of a marching/calf raise on the Wii balance board and steering over the on-screen island course and finding the flags. There are 20, but I can't ever find or reach the last one. I also did some Wii hula-hooping. It's much, much harder than it sounds. It's also really funny to watch. My abs are a bit sore, but not too bad. I also did 30 minutes of free step on the Wii. I just stepped up and back for 30 minutes while watching "How I Met Your Mother" My calves are a bit tight today, but I feel really good for having done so much yesterday.

Day 38C--Cross Training

Saturday was my official run, but I also ran an additional 1.5 miles later that day. I honestly thought it would only be a mile, but miscalculated how far east it was, in addition to the mile south. It was a good run though. I had started to stiffen up from the morning run and this short run warmed up my muscles before I was able to get in a really good stretch. I wasn't stiff or sore at all on Sunday, which was nice.

Sunday was my cross-training day. That usually ends up being my softball game, but that was canceled due to soggy fields. Instead, I woke up and did my core workout on the Wii. That may have eliminated any possible soreness that I would have had from Saturday. I really enjoy the core work that I'm doing on the Wii, but may need to step it up a bit with some yoga workouts from Comcast onDemand or Netflix Streaming. I don't think I need to make that step right away, but I think it's coming soon.

Day 36C--Running

Blogger has been down off and on since Wednesday, so I have a few days of activity to catch up on.

Tuesday night's run: I ran a very, very slow two miles. I had been asking for warmer weather and finally got it. Then it was too sudden and too hot and humid for me. It was not good at all.

Wednesday night's cross training: Softball practice. The weather was threatening, so only a few of us showed up. We threw the ball around, practicing grounders and fly balls, then we batted a bit. We ended up practicing for about 70 minutes, and there was no sitting or standing around because there were only five of us to cover the entire field. It ended up being a lot of running after errant balls.

Thursday's night circuit run: I joined a T2EA drill run at Foster Beach. The run was only two miles total, but with strength training every 1/2 mile. We did planks, side planks, push-ups, burpees, jumping jacks, squats and other exercises to work our core and upper body. The run itself was great. We covered the 1/2 mile runs at about 4:40 each. Having a group of people running faster than my normal pace pushed me to run faster.

Tomorrow is my 4 mile training run with the full group. I should have a better understanding of the run/walk pacing after that. I bought a watch with intervals and memory for 100 laps. I should know how to use that after tomorrow, too.

Day 34C--Cross Training

Technically, Monday is supposed to be a run day, but that makes Wednesday a run day and that's softball practice. I have decided to move my runs to Tuesday and Thursday to fit my schedule better. That made last night a cross training night. I went back to the Wii for 36 minutes of core work. It was a lot of standing on one leg and moving around while trying not to fall over. I didn't do too badly, either. I'm getting much better at my core exercises. I keep practicing in the elevator at work. I just bring up one leg and try to maintain my balance. It seems to be helping. Although the last exercise I did last night was so hard that my abs were shaking with exhaustion. I was amazed that my body actually did that. Much of my core work is yoga and I'm also doing some stretching yoga poses and feel like I'm getting more flexible. I can actually touch my toes, something with which I've always struggled.

Tonight, I will be running for 30-45 minutes. I may hit the track that's a couple of blocks from home so I can do a little bit of speed work. Track work seems boring, but I haven't run on a track since high school, so it may be a nice change of pace. Plus, the park with the track gets a lot of kids and dogs so there will be a ton of people watching.

Day 31C--Cross Training

Yesterday was supposed to be a run day, but I had softball practice so I bumped my run to today. Practice involved a lot of running after balls and around the bases, so I don't feel like I slacked. We started with many of the stretches that were given to me by NovaCare, the official sports therapists for my marathon training group. That and throwing a ball in from the outfield involves more than just arm muscles. I probably should have done some yoga when I got home, but after 1 1/2 hours of practice, stopping at Target and eating dinner, it was time to get some sleep. Of all the keys to training that I'm supposed to be hitting, sleep seems to be the hardest to get right. To get a full 8 hours, I would need to fall asleep by 10:30 and sleep through the night. I usually wake up for a few minutes once or twice a night, so I need to be asleep by at least 10:00. Looks like I should start going to bed at 9.