Training – What to take away from Georgetown-Idaho Springs:
OK, so the most important question is to ask yourself if you ran Georgetown-Idaho Springs on Saturday is, "what can I take away from this past weekend?" The first thing is to know that this race was a TRAINING RACE, and in particular I built your training schedules specifically to include it that way. If this was your end-all TARGET RACE for the summer/fall, then your training schedules would have been different to allow for a bit longer taper so that you could have peaked perfectly. As it was, coming off of the recovery week last week and then doing a "mini taper", overall the group ran very well. Many of you ran your first half marathon, set a PR (Personal Record), or just ran a very comfortable training run at a slightly faster tempo, which is absolutely fantastic. (Congratulations!!!) But even if you didn't have a great race that's OK, because every race will not be perfect (some will be disasters), and actually those times when you don’t achieve your goals can help you learn MORE for next time. (Be it holding back more at the start, utilizing your gels/energy supplements better, etc.) And, once you make the necessary adjustments, you can look forward to applying what you’ve learned at the next race!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).
Hopefully your results from Saturday also gave you a good idea of where you are at in your training, and if your goals are attainable. If your target race is in the next 6-8 weeks, your result from Georgetown-Idaho Springs is going to be a great indicator of what kind of time you can probably expect. If your target race is more like 8-16 weeks out, your results may not be as accurate of a predictor since you will have more time to train. For full marathoners, the chart in your training manual will give you an idea of how fast your target marathon will be, based on your half marathon results if you ran a good/solid race. (No, you cannot just double your half marathon time - It just doesn't work that way!) These numbers are based on research conducted by Pete Pfitzinger, an exercise physiologist, and winner of the 1984 US Olympic Trials Marathon. (The complete chart is in your online training manual, found on pg. 106 and also includes colums for 5km & 10km times.) Coach Eladio Valdez (the KC Runner's Edge coach), and I have compared notes on members who have qualified for the Boston Marathon and we came up with very similar conclusions. Here's the bottom line though… In order to run faster on marathon day, you must run at least 1 minute slower on your long training runs!! That means you can run in a slower pace group on Saturdays and still achieve your time goal, as many alumni runners in our program can attest. I know it may sound counter-intuitive but it absolutely works. And if this is your first marathon I would recommend you take the slightly more conservative approach and run with a slower pace group to ensure you build the required endurance/stamina. Remember: The marathon is an ENDURANCE TEST of 26.2 miles – Not a race of 20 miles!! (And we’re training you to become marathoners – Not just 20-milers!) So be honest in any adjustments you may make in which pace group you chose to run in for the rest of the session.
ALSO... There were a lot of good pictures during Saturday's race that I’ve already posted to Facebook and will try to have them up on the website soon (after taking care of coaching E-mails and Saturday prep first), so keep your eyes peeled... Click HERE if you are on Facebook. There are some great shots of the Wild West Relay and tri as well, and hopefully we can get those up on the site too.
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