Runner's Edge of the Rockies Blog

Preparing for this Saturday's training run in Golden and the next three weeks of building mileage:


Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as we prepare for the next few weeks. FIRST: If you ran at race pace on Saturday, you put approximately 30% more pounding on your legs than during your training pace! (If you took a more conservative approach and ran Saturday at goal pace or training pace, you will not feel as much soreness and should rebound faster.) SECOND: As I mentioned above, because Georgetown is a downhill grade, that means your legs sustained even more pounding than on a flat (or uphill) course, which will lead to more soreness too. On Friday I ran 17 downhill miles (in prep for the St. George Marathon), and I can tell you that I was a bit more sore than after a “normal” 17 mile run. The physics of downhill running mean that if your stride is a certain length (say, length of "x"), then by adding a decline to the road (say, a drop in length of "y"), then your actual stride length is really "x + y" which means that you had more of a "fall" from one foot strike to the next. (I’m not a physics major and it’s not automatically that simple, but you get the picture.) That also means that with that added distance you also added more pounding on your body. Yes, downhill running produces faster times but also can produce more soreness!

So prepare accordingly this week to fight the "DOMS" (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). Get plenty of rest, follow your training schedules as closely as possible, hydrate and eat well, don't forget your stretching routines (twice a day if need be), and also consider getting a massage. (But no massages on Friday as that will make you MORE sore for Saturday.) This weekend, most of you are going long, so that you can continue to build endurance. But that also means there is a premium on nutrition, hydration, rest, sleep, etc... And make sure that you’re putting a premium on recovering from your runs and cross-training workouts as we will have three “On” weeks before another Recovery week. So make sure to treat this Saturday’s group run seriously, leave your egos at home and keep it SLOW. Because for many of you, this Saturday will be the longest training run of the session. I will be preaching it big-time this week that everyone needs to take the next two long runs nice and easy, and really just focus on training slow and building endurance! (And if you didn’t run Georgetown-Idaho Springs, you’ll still want to use the same preparation and pacing strategies to advance your training!)

Have a great week, and we'll see you all Saturday morning in Golden for our long run, which is another “Rocky Mountain Ice Bath” run as we’ll be Starting/Finishing right along the Clear Creek (river), where you can have a nice post-run soak! :-)

If you didn’t have an ideal race, here are a few things to think about that will help you put it all into perspective…

• It was a TRAINING race. (Did I mention that already?) J
• We were a half-mile above Denver, and that higher altitude means less oxygen AND a propensity to dehydrate slightly faster.
• Although it’s downhill (which usually means faster), that also means “harder on the legs”, and if you’re not accustomed to running races downhill, you’re probably a bit more sore than normal. (i.e., For people who struggle at Boston, many times they say it was the DOWNS and not the mythical ups that beat them up!) So if you found yourself becoming very sore and being forced to slow down 8-10 miles into the race, that’s probably the reason.
• The temps were good but things did heat up after about 75 minutes into the race and there were a few periods without any cloud cover. Some of you fare better in the heat than others, which is natural. But if you felt really zapped by the heat and sun, maybe you need to increase your fluid intake, carry a bottle if you needed fluids more often than the aid station locations, or make adjustments/additions to your gear (amazingly, I saw a lot of you without hats/visors/shades).

Looking forward, here's how you should use your results in your training. First-time distance runners, now you know what the excitement of the start line is all about, how to hold back in the first half even if you feel great, and what your body starts to feel like towards the finish. The final 3.1 miles of the half marathon is a good sample of what your body may feel like in the final 6.2 miles of the full marathon. For those of you training for another fall half or full marathon as your target race, you will want to continue your training as normal and build towards your fall race. Saturday's race should have provided you with a good test and feel for how to pace out in the first 3-4 miles, as that is the MOST important part of the race. (Because if you go out too quickly you can blow through 70% of your glycogen/energy stores right away, setting you up for a huge bonk.)