The Hartford Marathon

[drjeff]

Regarding overtraining... the best way I've found to avoid that condition is to keep careful track of your gains! Plateaus are as normal as gains are, from what I've experienced, but it's extremely important to get rest when you feel you're starting a plateau. Beyond that, take a rest day or two when you're tired. I've worked with sore muscles before, but never more than two days of that and then a good rest after that. Cycles of a week work for me, I always try to make sure I'm 100% fully recovered at the start of a new training week.

Great advice Marc! I'm sure you'll agree with the following statement, there are some training days when you just feel like sh$t, and when those happen, you just need to accept that fact and adjust your training accordingly, realizing that on that particular day the best way to help you reach your final goal, maybe to only do 1/3rd of your planned workout that day at a slower pace. Even a smaller workout on a "tough" day has some benefits as usually during the course of an endurance event, you'll have to deal with hitting the dreaded "wall" when your body just doesn't want to do what you want it to do, and learning how to deal with hitting the wall, and that you CAN get through it, helps quite a lot!

 

[severine]

Great advice Marc! I'm sure you'll agree with the following statement, there are some training days when you just feel like sh$t, and when those happen, you just need to accept that fact and adjust your training accordingly, realizing that on that particular day the best way to help you reach your final goal, maybe to only do 1/3rd of your planned workout that day at a slower pace. Even a smaller workout on a "tough" day has some benefits as usually during the course of an endurance event, you'll have to deal with hitting the dreaded "wall" when your body just doesn't want to do what you want it to do, and learning how to deal with hitting the wall, and that you CAN get through it, helps quite a lot!

I had read something one time about doing run training after other cardio to help with this, too. So you're starting out already tired and learning how to work your way through the fatigue to git 'er done anyway. I did some of that over the summer with elliptical for 20 min at a fast pace (fast for me was 6.2 mph, which is faster than I run on the treadmill--5.2 mph) and then doing my running intervals on the treadmill. I think that's a useful tool in the arsenal, too.

My "race" on Sunday was one of those "tough" days. I'm glad I did it anyway but it wasn't what it was supposed to be. I don't want that to happen again.

 

[Marc]

Great advice Marc! I'm sure you'll agree with the following statement, there are some training days when you just feel like sh$t, and when those happen, you just need to accept that fact and adjust your training accordingly, realizing that on that particular day the best way to help you reach your final goal, maybe to only do 1/3rd of your planned workout that day at a slower pace. Even a smaller workout on a "tough" day has some benefits as usually during the course of an endurance event, you'll have to deal with hitting the dreaded "wall" when your body just doesn't want to do what you want it to do, and learning how to deal with hitting the wall, and that you CAN get through it, helps quite a lot!

I definitely agree with that, and I think it's pretty easy to differentiate between when you just feel like crap overall and when your muscles are broken down from hard training.

A true overtraining condition is the result, from what I understand, of several weeks of hard training with no or litte (inadequate) rest time. It takes a lot of obsessive training to get like that. I had days this summer after long, tough rides that it hurt to walk the next day. I knew enough to wait until all that muscle soreness was gone to start a new workout cycle.

Of course, recovery workouts are a great way to avoid that if you want to do something when you're tired. A real easy workout on an eliptical machine (HR less than probably 120ish) would probably be a great way to do a recovery workout from running. Or just taking a walk.

 

[severine]

Another thing I've read is that you have to be careful in the first year of running to not do it too many days a week or you risk injury--stress fractures and the like. I have not been consistently running for a year yet so I hesitate to do back-to-back running days (though I do get the occasional impulse to do so). But you're right, Marc, that the elliptical is a great tool for a recovery workout.

 

[drjeff]

Another thing I've read is that you have to be careful in the first year of running to not do it too many days a week or you risk injury--stress fractures and the like. I have not been consistently running for a year yet so I hesitate to do back-to-back running days (though I do get the occasional impulse to do so). But you're right, Marc, that the elliptical is a great tool for a recovery workout.

I can attest to over training and building mileage too early too quickly and the stress fracture issue What really interested me to see this year, if my wife (who up until late April did little physical activity until the following ski season started) trained for and completed a couple of triathalons(sprints) and while the training schedule was a bit crazy on the time demand side, the variety of her training really seemed to keep things "fresh" for her and with the exception of the occasional sore muscle, injury free. She's now, 6 months later at the point, where she can easily (albeit not that quickly) run 10 miles, ride for a solid 90 min (once again easily) and then swim a 1/2 mile without a problem. I'm jealous, and am seriously thinking about training for a tri next year (just need to figure out the training schedule if both of us are training for one with respect to the kids and work - that would likely be the BIGGEST challenge)

 

[Marc]

Hey Doc, my uncle, when he raced tris, used to put his kids in a rubber raft, strap it to his ankle and then pull them in Webster Lake. Good way to train and keep the kids busy

 

[drjeff]

Hey Doc, my uncle, when he raced tris, used to put his kids in a rubber raft, strap it to his ankle and then pull them in Webster Lake. Good way to train and keep the kids busy

Actually for the both of us, figuring out the swim training is the easiest, since I'm lucky enough to have a business partner who's a nationally ranked Master's swimmer, and he trains a group of 15-20 4 to 5 mornings a week at 6AM at the YMCA in Southbridge, Mass. My wife trained(still does) with the group 2 days a week, so I'd just pick up the other 2 days, and then when the water gets warm and it's time for some open water swims, then maybe that drag the kids in a raft thing just might work

The biggest thing for us would be getting the time to do the mileage on the bike and the feet and keep the kids from spending huge amounts of time with a babysitter, since as much as I enjoy having the kids ride along a bike trail with me at 4 or 5 mph for maybe 2 miles, tri training would require a bit more than that, even if they ride their bikes as we would run.

 

[severine]

Juggling the kids while training is definitely a challenge. As it is, I now have to get up at 5:15AM for the gym or go at 9:30PM after class. Not ideal but it's all I have. I can't imagine training for a tri with this schedule since my current gym does not have a pool--and I'm not comfortable running/biking in our city after dark. I still have hopes of completing the women's tri at Winding Trails eventually, and maybe it's a possibility in that I'd have the summer months off from school so I'd have a little more flexibility in time to train, but the swimming is a challenge for me. That irritates my knee more than anything right now.

From experience, pushing your kids while running or pulling them on the trailer does get old fast. Love my kids--but that's my time for my thoughts! Though it is cute when my daughter cheers me on.

 

[severine]

Up to 3 miles now. I have a 5K at the end of the month and then the Quarter Marathon in April. If all goes well, the plan is to do the Hartford Half Marathon next October.

 

[Marc]

Up to 3 miles now. I have a 5K at the end of the month and then the Quarter Marathon in April. If all goes well, the plan is to do the Hartford Half Marathon next October.

Nice, keep after it! I think you're probably getting close the threshold where it becomes an addiction.

 

[severine]

Nice, keep after it! I think you're probably getting close the threshold where it becomes an addiction.

You say that like it's a bad thing!

 

[Marc]

Nevar! Not unless you hate feeling great and being in great shape.

 

[severine]

Nevar! Not unless you hate feeling great and being in great shape.

Well, I'm certainly in a shape. Not the one I'd choose, but it's a shape alright. Let's hope the running whittles it down a bit.

:lol:

You just never know. I met a woman while volunteering for the Women's Tri in September who blew me away. Looking at her, she looked like your typical middle-aged woman with a bit of a belly pooch. Lo and behold, she had run 26 miles the day prior as a training run and runs full marathons across the country multiple times per year. Never judge a book by its cover!

 

[tarponhead]

Love my kids--but that's my time for my thoughts!

yepper. Thats the way it should be. Hubby and kids will like you better for it too. Do you need to go to the gym to run though? Save you some time if you can do it from your house. Also, have you found a training partner? It will help get you out the door when motivation is low.

FWIW, I used to race a lot so I know some "tricks" to training. If you can swing it, I highly recommend this approach;

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/He...-Compleat-Idiot/John-L-Parker/e/9781891369841

The most critical take home message is to run very very easy on your easy days, and to train hard on your hard days. Not rocket science but you would be surprised how stupid hard people train and never give themselves a break. Never train hard more then 2x/week unless your putting in a lot of miles.

I ran the race of my life at the 2006 Boston marathon using Parker's methods. (Finished in the top 2k. Not a big deal but for a hacker like me I was thrilled.) Now, I don't want to mislead you, I trained a LOT. I regularly ran over 75 mpw leading up to Boston. But I stuck to the core of parkers techniques and was able to stay healthy.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

 

[Marc]

Good God. I don't think I've run 75 miles total, in my entire life.

On easy days though... it's so true. It's the same for cycling... like one of my buddies who races all the time says about recovery rides... "you have to ride slow to ride fast."

 

[severine]

yepper. Thats the way it should be. Hubby and kids will like you better for it too. Do you need to go to the gym to run though? Save you some time if you can do it from your house. Also, have you found a training partner? It will help get you out the door when motivation is low.

FWIW, I used to race a lot so I know some "tricks" to training. If you can swing it, I highly recommend this approach;

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/He...-Compleat-Idiot/John-L-Parker/e/9781891369841

The most critical take home message is to run very very easy on your easy days, and to train hard on your hard days. Not rocket science but you would be surprised how stupid hard people train and never give themselves a break. Never train hard more then 2x/week unless your putting in a lot of miles.

I ran the race of my life at the 2006 Boston marathon using Parker's methods. (Finished in the top 2k. Not a big deal but for a hacker like me I was thrilled.) Now, I don't want to mislead you, I trained a LOT. I regularly ran over 75 mpw leading up to Boston. But I stuck to the core of parkers techniques and was able to stay healthy.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for the tips! I'll have to check that book out sometime. I think I still need to get in a little better shape before I can do heart rate training (it's still relatively high for any running, but it's coming down). And this week I start incorporating easy runs since I have enough mileage to start varying.

Congrats on the 2006 Boston Marathon finish! That's significant!!! I can't imagine running over 75 mpw to train either! WOW!!