Halloween Halfathon & Training Recap

Haven't written in a while. Time goes by way too fast! Especially in the fall, it seems. Frequent races, busy school schedule, and right now an energetic 2-year old who is growing before my eyes. I can't believe that Boston is almost exactly 5 months away...

My training has been going wonderfully! Mostly, that is. Since my last post, I built up my weekly mileage to around 60 miles/week, with a couple of lighter weeks surrounding the Halloween Halfathon. I've shifted my workouts to be more half-marathon-specific, which is quite a relief for me, since I tend to thrive at long-interval and tempo-paced workouts, not so much the shorter stuff. 

Which brings me to another fun addition - I joined the inaugural group of the McMillan Run Club, a recent development by Greg McMillan's training program. I have read his books and implemented some of his training philosophies into my own program, and am very impressed with his thoroughness, individualization, and openness to other training methodologies. The Run Club is basically a way for runners to connect to the coaches - usually Greg himself - with Q&A, training advice, and specific race preparation plans. 

Anyways...one of the tenants of McMillan's training programs is identifying the type of runner you are: a speedster, an endurance monster, or a combination of both. McMillian describes these types in greater detail in this Runner's World article. If you're a speedster, you respond best to short, fast workouts and tend to perform better in mile up to 10K races. If you're an endurance monster, you respond best to threshold and tempo workouts and tend to perform better in 15K to marathon or longer. If you're pretty balanced across both, you are obviously a combination.

I am most definitely an endurance monster. I feel like a rockstar after tempo runs and a pile of poop after track workouts. Learning this and adjusting my training accordingly has really helped me maximize my training. For example, I do fewer speed workouts, but still some, and give myself longer recovery after them. I use my threshold and tempo runs more strategically, and gradually build up the distances I run at goal race pace during longer runs. The result: I feel faster, less mentally and physically worn down, and more responsive to the training. 

Proof is in the pudding! I ran a big time PR - a 5 minute improvement on my last time - at the Florida Halloween Halfathon, placing 2nd overall female with a time of 1:32:12. I was more cautious in the beginning (see my post about my overzealous start the last time I raced at Ft. DeSoto) and felt strong and steady for the rest of the race. There was a pretty solid headwind during the middle miles, but I didn't slow by much. Held on to about a 7 min/mile average and finished feeling strong. 

Thanks for another great race, Chris Lauber!

The week after this race was really tough on my body. It didn't help that I was sick with a mild flu or cold the day after the halfathon. I took Sunday and Monday completely off, but then jumped back into my training plan without a significant amount of recovery time. This race was not my goal race, which I am currently still training for, and I wanted to get back to progression runs and 800m repeats the following week. It just didn't happen. The progression run turned into a very slow, random tempo, and I made it through 2 of the 800m reps before my pace really took a dive. Bottom line: give yourself more recovery time than you think you will need. Especially as you get older. When we run longer than the half-marathon distance regularly during training, we tend to assume that we don't need much recovery after racing a half-marathon. But races really take it out of you, if you're running faster than your easy pace, that is. I certainly did. Left it all out on the course. And for that, I needed more serious recovery.

Finally did feel fully recovered after about a week, and my training this past week has been fantastic! A nice light fartlek of 12 x 1 min hard / 1 min easy on Tuesday got my fast-twitch fibers re-ignited, and then an awesome workout of 3 x 2 miles @ 15K race pace with Christina, who really pushed me when I felt sluggish towards the end. I plan on doing more workouts with running buddies rather than alone, as it is certainly more effective and less painful to get through. 

Feeling great after a tough workout!

Now here's to hoping that the weather continues to cool off!

One last note: I added a tab at the top of the blog to a list of Favorite Links. Check it out!

Race Fail Recap: Don't Mix Your Race Strategies

A couple of weeks ago, I had a bad race. 

This was the first "bad race" I have had in a long time, so perhaps I was due for one. Not just due; I earned this one. It was the inaugural Ft. DeSoto 15K, a distance that I normally excel at. Weather was good, I had been feeling OK in the days leading up to it. My last 15K was Gasparilla and I ran a PR of 1:05. Leading up to this race, I was much MUCH fitter and faster than I had been back in February, yet I came shuffling in around 1:06. I was crippled by a killer side stitch just after the 10K point, one that I couldn't seem to breathe through or even walk off. So the last 5K was miserable hobbling. What went wrong? Several factors:

1) This was the third weekend in a row of racing for me. The first weekend, I ran a 5K PR of 19:48 at the OneStepCloser 5K downtown. Loved it! Felt fantastic. The next weekend I ran in a miserable afternoon 5K in Dunedin and finished 20:10. The weekend after that was the 15K. During those two weeks between these races, I didn't do much weight lifting and kept my workouts somewhat tame. But nonetheless, I am not as young as I used to be, and perhaps shouldn't pull triple-headers and expect to do well on the 3rd race. 

Finishing a 5K PR at the OneStepCloser race ("that clock says what??")

2) I went out way WAY too fast. I hung out with the lead group of 3 other women and did the first mile in 6:17, gradually dropping down to 6:35 pace at the first 5K. After that, we all spread out a bit and I settled into a nice 6:40 pace. This pace felt very good, and I felt as if I could finish the race at this pace no problem. This was true up until the 10K mark, at which point I apparently set a 10K PR, according to my Garmin (woot!) just before the stitch hit.

Going out too fast with the lead pack. Like an idiot.

3) I ate some watermelon before the race. This shouldn't really be a problem - watermelon hasn't given me trouble in the past, but I had never raced after eating watermelon either. Usually I have an orange or a banana before a race, neither of which have ever given me trouble. So while I don't know for sure that the watermelon contributed to my stitch, I can't rule it out either.

Side stitch hell.

Personally, I think this was mostly a combination of #1 and #2. Mostly #2. I didn't feel worn down or fatigued during the race, so while I probably wouldn't have run as fast as I potentially could due to racing two consecutive weekends prior, it didn't cause my stitch. 

Here's the glitch: going out fast usually works for me in 5Ks and 10Ks, which is what I had been training for and racing over the past couple of months. So when that lead group took off, I stayed right with them. This strategy usually pays off. But not in a 15K. That was my fatal error.

Moral of the story: don't mix your racing strategies. Don't try to run a 15K the same way you run a 5K, and vice versa. 

I know I can hang with that lead pack soon....and I likely would have finished much closer to them had I not gone out so damn fast. 

My "Springy Training" Hypothesis

If you're like me, choosing new running shoes is an insane process. You read reviews, you think about what has worked well for you in the past, and you become maddeningly befuddled by a tsunami of information. What amount of drop is best? Is lighter always better? Which type of cushioning is ideal?

I tend to get frustrated and just decide that it all just boils down to what feels good on my feet. But then I wonder if my running economy could be improved and my injury potential reduced even more if I were in shoes with the perfect blend of drop, cushioning, structure, responsiveness...yady yady ya...and back down the rabbit hole I go.

It doesn't help that running shoe manufacturers each have patented super buzz words for their myriad of technologies, each one with its own promises of awesomeness. It can be easy to get lost in the minutia of science, innovation, and marketing, where many of us find ourselves asking what the best type of shoe really is.

The answer is....there is no answer. Everyone is different. That sentence was painfully cliche to type, but its the simple truth. Despite what simple running shoe store gait analyses would suggest, the right type of shoe for an individual depends on many, many factors beyond simply pronation and foot strike. At the end of the day, trial and error is your best bet.

But since that truth won't stop many of us from incessantly researching shoes, I want to first clarify some of the concepts surrounding shoe dynamics, and then propose a hypothesis of my own creation about "training" our takeoff.

The Case For Shoe Rotation

One interesting notion that has emerged in recent years is the idea of rotating running shoe types. Not just keeping two or three pairs of the same running shoe and alternating use so that the foam has time to "recover" and rebound in between runs (not totally convinced that's true anyway). I'm talking about keeping two or three (or more?) pairs of different running shoes that are worn for different types of runs. It wasn't too long ago that only elites really practiced this, though with different shoes within the same brand that was sponsoring them, most likely. They have an everyday high-mileage trainer, an uptempo trainer, road racing flats, and spikes (if they run track distances). Recreational runners might also sport a quiver of shoes like this if they race seriously or do any track competition, but most age-groupers tend to race in their trainers, keeping only one pair of running shoes at a time.

"I have too many running shoes" - no runner ever

I'm sure it could be argued that this advice precipitated down from running shoe manufacturers as a way to get runners to buy more shoes. But that doesn't actually make much sense, since someone with one pair of running shoes will wear them out much faster than someone rotating between three or four pairs, so the mileage on the shoes all comes out in the wash. 

The biggest reason for this advice has to do with injury prevention. The many intricate muscles and tendons in our feet, ankles, legs, knees, thighs, and hips are strained differently in different types of running shoes. By rotating between different shoe types and brands, we essentially train our lower bodies to respond in different ways, reducing overuse on the same muscle and tendon groups from daily overloading. 

What do I mean by different "types" of running shoes? I can start by saying that I do NOT mean switching between motion control and neutral running shoes if you run healthily in one or the other. If you badly overpronate and run well in motion control shoes, then stick with motion control shoes. What I am referring to here are cushioning and heel-to-toe drop. 

For example, if you are currently wearing a motion control shoe with a 12mm heel-to-toe drop that is heavily cushioned, maybe use this show as your everyday trainer and invest in a less-cushioned motion control shoe with an 8mm drop to use as your uptempo or speed shoe. Or if you currently run in a firm neutral shoe with a 4mm drop, perhaps invest in a more cushioned (to your comfort) neutral show with a 10mm drop to use for easy/recovery runs. 

In both examples, prior to acquiring a second pair of shoes, your tendons (particularly your achilles tendons) were accustomed to extending to a certain length during your stride under normal conditions. But when your running shoes start to wear out, or when you are in the last miles of a marathon and your form begins to suffer, that length changes, and injury can result. If your tendons are accustomed to extending to varied lengths during your training, they become more resilient under stressed conditions and you are less likely to suffer injuries in those tendons. 

Switching up cushioning is a similar concept. The muscles, tendons, and sensory reflexes of your feet also become accustomed to the level of shock absorption your everyday trainers provide. Switching immediately into a very firm shoe can result in injuries simply because your feet, knees, etc have to now respond very differently to higher impact than they might be prepared to handle, hence the slough of injuries that followed the barefoot running fad. But say you train it two different pairs of shoes, one highly cushioned and one moderately or lightly cushioned, and you rotate between the two on a weekly basis, your musculoskeletal system can gradually adapt to these differences in cushioning, and actually make this system stronger.

Here is an excellent take on shoe rotation: Why You Should Have A Quiver Of Running Shoes

Train Soft, Race Hard

Let's sink into cushioning just a little deeper (see what I did there?), with respect to running economy and responsiveness. Generally, more soft and cushioned shoes are considered less "responsive" or "snappy", meaning the energy you push into the ground at takeoff does not rebound as strongly as a more firm shoe. This makes sense when you consider what cushioning does: absorb shock. True, in the long run this can reduce forces exerted on your joints, hence the recent popularity of Hoka One One shoes among longer-distance runners and older runners (many running physiologists would argue that this level of cushioning is not necessary to protect joints if your form is efficient, but that is for another post).



The reduced impact comes at a cost, though, in the form of running economy. When energy is absorbed by soft cushioning, it does not return in the takeoff phase of the stride, meaning it takes more energy to achieve a strong takeoff, and is thus less economical. It's the same reason why you have to exert more energy running on sand to achieve a given pace than you do running on pavement: too much energy is absorbed in the sand and not returned.

The type of cushioning does matter in this. Some materials return energy more than others. Gel cushioning, which is the trademark of Asics shoes, returns very little energy. Foam cushioning, as seen most notably in Adidas and Saucony brands, can return more energy depending on the density of the foam. These brands and others have, most recently, been working to develop ideal differential densities in their cushioning to optimize energy return for takeoff (Adidas Energy Boost series, in particular) yet still provide a soft landing. There are other creative ways of achieving this, as Mizuno has developed with its "wave plate", a thin plastic plate embedded in the midsole among foam cushioning, making a firmer-feeling shoe with high responsiveness on takeoff but the foam still cushions the landing.

   
Adidas "Energy Boost" foam                                  Saucony Kinvara 7s with new EverFoam             Mizuno Wave Rider with the embedded wave plate

Okay, back to the main point here: if you wear very soft trainers, your muscles and tendons become accustomed to that level of responsiveness by working harder to push off the ground in the take-off phase.

Many runners do wear soft, more cushioned shoes for recovery and long runs, on which they are not as concerned with responsiveness or energy return but appreciate the softness on their joints, and then wear a more firm shoe for fast workouts and racing.

This is a good idea for the reasons mentioned above, and possibly for another reason, which brings me to my hypothesis...

Training in a soft cushioned shoe for recovery, easy, or long runs can train your musculoskeletal system for a stronger takeoff when you switch into firm, responsive shoes for workouts and racing. 

This may sound pretty obvious, but I am honing in on a specific mechanism at work here: the "spring" achieved during the stance phase, between absorption and propulsion, ending in toe-off.

In a softer shoe, energy is absorbed on impact but less is returned in toe-off. In a firmer shoe, especially on firm surfaces, energy absorbed on impact "bounces back" in toe-off. If you train in a softer shoe, making your feet, ankles, and shins accustomed to working harder to toe-off, you can create a "springier" toe-off when you then slip into a more firm shoe. 

Many people do this already, but for a different reason: the difference in weight between a heavy, cushioned shoe and a light, firm shoe. This certainly can make your stride feel lighter during workouts and races, kind of like how Tennessee Walker horses are trained. But my hypothesis isn't about the shoe's weight, it's about responsiveness. Think of it like getting used to bouncing on a pogo stick with a loose-coil (soft cushiony shoes) and then switching to a pogo stick with a tight, firm coil (firm, responsive shoes) and feeling like it suddenly takes much less energy to get the same amount of bounce.

I'm calling this hypothesis "Springy Training", since you are essentially training your takeoff to be more "springy". 

Thoughts???

My Book: AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

It's here!

Faster After Baby is now live on Amazon, both as a Kindle book and in paperback.

What a wonderful, fun, emotional, and enlightening process this has been. I feel such gratitude and humility for what I have learned while writing, especially while reading the stories of my incredible Mighty Mamas who contributed some of their thoughts and experiences:

Deena Kastor
Michelle Baxter
Lisa Valentine
Susan Empey
Stephanie Rothstein Bruce
Pila Cadena
Christa Benton Stephens
Sue Iverson Casaway
Nancy Smith

Running is powerful. It takes us to a different world and introduces us to a different part of ourselves, often in unexpected ways. For me, the most unexpected joy I have realized as a runner was born out of the frustration of injury and recovery following childbirth. That challenge was a gift. It forced me to better understand my body, dig deeper into my mental process as an athlete, and best of all, approach other life challenges as opportunities for growth rather than burdensome annoyances.

I hope that my book effectively conveys this feeling, and can bring as much hope and joy to other mother runners out there as writing it did for me.

Happy Running!!

My Morning Habitat

One of the best things about running [outside] is being able to create a world for yourself that exists independently of your other day-to-day activities. It's entirely your own, even if you share it with other runners. Mine is in the early morning, though others may have an evening or afternoon world.

I think we all look forward to spending time in this world, even if we are battling an injury or sleeping poorly or otherwise aren't necessarily looking forward to the running itself.

So for this post, I just want to reflect on my happy place, my running world.

Some images from my early morning "world" in lovely St Petersburg:

Incredibly Inspiring Inclusion

Today, I want to celebrate the power of inclusion in our running community.

Today is exactly one month before my book is launched on Amazon (gulp!).

Today is also a day that Oiselle opens up its Volée Team to new members.

It's obvious why I am so excited about the former. I've been pouring myself into this book, and am thoroughly enjoying the editing and revision process, going back through my own thoughts and the contributions of other incredible, strong runners. It has been an absolute blast! I am both excited in anticipation of the book's launch and lamenting the fact that this process will come to a close. Maybe soon, more opportunities will arise.

As for the Oiselle team openings, I feel what I can only really describe as that same excitement I felt that day I first arrived at my freshmen-year college dorm, meeting my roommate and dorm-mates for the first time. Such excitement in anticipation of future memories, friendships, and growth experiences for all of us.

Too much of the time, we only realize how important and special some experiences are after the fact. You know what they say about hindsight. For most of us, there are few times that we know how special something is in "real time". That we appreciate and understand its significance while it happens, or even before it happens. This is when we feel the most centered and enlightened in our lives, secure in the knowledge that "right now" is so good for us, its where we are supposed to be.

With fellow local Oiselle bird,
Mary Margaret Malone, at a February 5K

Being a part of the Oiselle Team, connecting with local runners here in St Pete, listening to podcasts such as Runners Connect and Marathon Training Academy, and most of all, writing my book, has been such a powerfully special inclusion of running joy in my life. As someone who has always been kind of a "lone wolf" athlete, I never expected this degree of connection to be so important to me. Yet it has not only strengthened my own running, it has also cultivated my experiences for the betterment of others, hence my book. I have never met most of my fellow Oiselle teammates, yet here I am giddy with excitement as the team opens up further, including more wonderful, strong women.

The bigger our broad community of runners, the bigger my heart swells with joy, pride, and excitement for all that we can achieve. We are a tribe, we are always connected, and we are better athletes because of it.

Short & Long Distance Predisposition

It's been too long since I've blogged!

Since recovering from the Tomoka Marathon, I have been turning my focus towards shorter distances, as many runners do following marathon training, certainly in the heat of the summer. My PR in the 5K is 19:56 and was run in 2010. Now, 20 months post-pregnancy, I am much, much fitter now than I have ever been. The steady increase in training volume and intensity over the past few years, even with the hiatus from pregnancy and then injury, has dramatically improved my times in the 15K up to the marathon. 

I've had many friends tell me how they have banked on their marathon fitness by racing a 5K about 4-6 weeks post-marathon, and wound up with a nice PR. Given how much my fitness has improved since my last 5K PR, by all accounts, I figured I should be able to hit a new PR after working some speed back into my routine. Using Jack Daniel's & Greg McMillan's equivalent race times calculators, given that my marathon time was 3:18:23, I should be able to run a 20:22 5K. Though I am skeptical of equivalent race time calculators; they assume equal and significant training consistency across all distances, and don't necessarily work both ways. When I ran a 19:56 5K, I was in no way ready to race a 3:14 marathon, even had I followed the same training plan I most recently used to run a 3:18. Fitness is cumulative. So take equivalent race times with a grain of salt. I did figure, though, at the very least, I should be able to run in the 20:30-ish range for a 5K.

Wrong. 

After adding about 3 weeks worth of speed work back into my routine, while working mileage back to around 35 miles/week (I was doing around 55 for the marathon), I ran a 21:03 5K. Not bad, by any means, but not as fast as I would have liked or expected.

It boils down to which training element has the biggest impact on improvement at the 5K distance: mileage or speed. I certainly had a great deal of mileage under my belt, so endurance was my strength. But even my interval and tempo runs had been, leading up to my marathon, specific for the marathon. So its possible that only three weeks of 5K-specific speed work left me lacking a bit.

Individual predisposition towards longer or shorter distances varies. Some runners are more pre-disposed to the longer race distances and some towards the shorter. While someone can certainly change their fitness for different race distances after several cycles of training, genetic and "fixed factors" such as body stature and max heart rate can definitely lend themselves more towards one type of running intensity than another, hence making someone more predisposed for some distances over others.

Coach Mark Hadley's Elite Marathoning website has some really excellent resources on this subject, and he even has charts showing differences in training paces and equivalent race times for "long distance predispositions" vs "short distance predispositions".

Check it out! Elite Marathoning Workouts

Tomoka Marathon FTW! Post-Race Review and Nutrition Analysis

I raced the Tomoka Marathon on Sunday March 29th...

At the finish with my biggest fan!

Synopsis:

3:18:23 (chip time), a BQ and PR by more than 16 minutes

3rd overall female, 1st in my age group (F 30-35)

Going into the race, I had the following goals:

Primary: Run sub 3:20
Secondary: Run sub 3:30
Tertiary: Run a BQ, sub 3:35

In other words, I killed it!!

Happy finish!

Pacing:

The thing I am most proud of is how I held my pace. Solid 7:25-7:30 for the first 16 miles, and slowed up just slightly during the portion on soft dirt, miles 19-21. But I resumed 7:30 pace for the entirety of the race, and actually picked up to a 6:50 pace for the last mile.

The other thing I came to realize during and following this race is that I think I could have held an even faster pace. I felt consistently good during the race, and pushed myself to the edge of my "safe zone" that I knew I could hold. But perhaps it was too safe. Perhaps I felt too good in the last 10K of the race. Perhaps I could have pushed it beyond and succeeded! This idea is hanging with me as I move into the next phase of my training for the year: getting back to shorter distances and speed. I want to test myself at faster paces held for longer intervals. I feel like I have a mental barrier on how fast I think I can run, and I want to push that barrier down.

Nutrition:

I stuck with my fueling plan and it seemed to work flawlessly. For the first time, I did not hit the wall in a marathon. There was no bonking whatsoever. Even as I began to feel fatigue, I did not feel total energy depletion, and my intake of fuel was spaced perfectly for my stomach to handle.

Here is what I did in the days leading up to the race, race day, and during the race:

10 days out: Switched to 65% of calories from fat

3 days out:  Switched to 70% of calories from carbs (approx 500g carbs/day)

2 days out: Last big meal for dinner, consumed more electrolytes

1 day out: Continue complex carbs, even more electrolytes

18 hours out: Small meals every 2-3 hours. After lunch, cut out: red meat, fried foods, dairy, fats, & fiber

3 hours out: Breakfast of low-fiber carbs, small amount of protein (bagel, banana, peanut butter)

2 hours out: 12-16 oz sports drink (Gatorade)

1 hour out: Black coffee and Hammer Perpetuum

30 min out: Edurolytes, Tylenol

2-1 min out: Gel + 4 oz water

During the race: 

• 4 oz Gatorade at 4.5 miles
• 4 oz water + Hammer Gel at mile 8.3
• 4 oz Gatorade at mile 12.9
• 4 oz water + Hammer Gel at mile 16
• 4 oz Gatorade at mile 19
• 4 oz water + Hammer Gel at mile 23

I generally followed the Marathon Blueprint plan from Runners Connect, which really helped me realize how I had been under-fueling for pretty much all of my past marathons. The only thing I adjusted was the volume of fluid intake. The Blueprint suggested 8 oz of water/Gatorade at each stop, based upon my calculated sweat loss rate. But when I tried this on my "dress rehearsal" run of 13.1 miles at marathon race pace, I got a bit sloshy. So instead of taking two cups at each aid station, I took one, and never felt sloshy or thirsty during the run. While I really like the Marathon Blueprint, that is one adjustment I would make to it: it assumes that all sweat lost must be replaced, but everything else I have read, and experienced, suggests that drinking by thirst is the best way to go.

All in all, everyone's nutrition plan is going to be different and it is mostly a matter of trial and error. I can do bananas before races, some people can't. So by NO MEANS should anyone mimic my nutrition strategy with precision! I'm just documenting what worked well for me...extremely well, in fact!

Post-race fueling is a must.

It is also important to note that post-race, within 10 minutes of finishing, I took down two scoops of Endurox R4 (Pacific Health Labs), which has been my choice of carb/protein recovery drink.


My body:

My hips and hamstrings held up just fine, much to my relief. I didn't even feel the little nagging hip pain that had been sitting there for a couple of weeks. I held my form pretty well, judging by my husbands pictures and video, and my achilles never gave me a problem. Tapering definitely helped get rid of those little issues that started to hit towards the end of training. Big thanks to Dr Matt Maggio for his incredible help keeping me structurally sound!

Gear:

I don't have too much to note about gear, except that my Oiselle Mac Roga shorts were PERFECT. Didn't ride up, didn't chaffe. First time I finished a marathon without raw inner thighs!

As I noted in a previous post, I ran in my Saucony Zealots and they worked flawlessly. Exactly the right combination of low weight and forefoot cushioning for my taste. Toes splayed out in the toebox, and I still have all of my toenails!

I ran in Zensah calf sleeves, as I always do during marathons. No calf soreness or cramping, but I have no way of directly linking that to the calf sleeves.

Everything held up wonderfully!

Race Review:

The Tomoka Marathon was very well organized and set in an ideal location. The start/finish area was at Rockefeller Gardens in Ormond Beach, which was easily accessible and a beautiful setting. My family had no problem parking and finding me. The course itself is absolutely gorgeous - flat, shaded most of the way, and very scenic, especially in the latter half of the race. The first half was through residential areas mostly, after which it snaked through Tomoka Park. The beautiful, old Florida cypress and oak trees shaded the roadways. The only part of the course that I disliked was the short jaunt into a soft-dirt trail around miles 19-21. My pace slowed then, naturally, but I did regain it when we got back on paved road. The only "hill" of the race was the bridge crossing in the final mile. It actually didn't feel as bad as I had feared, especially the nice downhill side.

A beautiful course!

The only thing about the race that I would change:

They started the half-marathon about 30 mins after the start of the full marathon, and the half course was went the opposite direction of the full marathon, then doubled back to the same finish line. So the last 6 miles of the marathon was quite congested with the latter group of half-marathoners - many walking - and the lead group of full marathon runners. Maybe in the future, they could either start the half an hour before the full, or have the half go the same direction as the full and then double back.

The final stretch to the finish, having just come over the bridge.

All in all, I am SO happy with this race and how my preparation paid off! As we all know, marathons can be hit or miss, and often random factors can turn a very well-prepared-for race go south. This time the stars aligned for me, and I am grateful!

Marathon Taper Nutrition: Fat First, Then Carbs

As previously mentioned, I've been studying Matt Fitzgerald's book, New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutrition, and implementing his methods throughout my own training in combination with the Runners Connect Marathon Nutrition Blueprint. The philosophies are generally in alignment, with the Blueprint more specific for race day fueling strategy and New Rules informing most of my general training nutrition approach.

An excellent training resource, Runners Connect

A very worthwhile read, The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition

With the Tomoka Marathon nine days away, I am now five days into my marathon taper! During past marathons, I had not taken my taper nutrition as seriously as I should have. Sure, added in more carbs in the three or four days before the race, but no other real strategy or method there. How I did in those races varied somewhat, but even in my most successful, BQ-ing race, I hit the wall, every time. This time I am dedicated to pushing that wall away, and feel very confident in my ability to properly fuel during the race thanks to Runners Connect's Blueprint. As for the taper diet, I am now on Day 5 of Fitzgerald's recommended approach: 65% of calories from fat for 10 days (on a 2-week taper), then switching to 70% of calories from carbohydrates for 3 days prior to competition.

The idea is that by cutting carbs and cuing fat, the body switches into a zone of higher fat utilization as primary fuel, priming the athlete's system to burn fat more effectively before switching over to carbs. Marathon runners would sustain their activity for a longer period of time before becoming glycogen depleted, aka "hitting the wall." The 3-day carb loading period ensures that the runner is then fully glycogen loaded before their race. In essence, it provides the best of both worlds: capacity to burn mostly fat, but also turbo-loaded with carbs.

Fats and then Carbs! from TheFitFork.com

The approach is also grounded in some practice, namely one particular study, described here on Competitor.com:

"In 2001, Vicki Labert, and exercise scientist at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, tested the effects of 10 days of fat loading followed by three days of carbo loading on endurance performance in cyclists. After warming up with two hours of moderate-intensity cycling, Lambert's subjects were able to complete a 20K time trial 4.5 percent faster after using this protocol than they did when carb loading was preceded by their normal diet." - Matt Fitzgerald, Competitor.com, Nov 22 2013

My understanding of the human body's adaptability to metabolic changes such as these leads me to believe that a runner on a high fat / low carb diet would have to be doing so for quite some time during training to stimulate such an adaptation, not just for 10 days prior to competition. But Fitzgerald's nutritional approach already somewhat addresses this, with "fasting workouts" during training. As I described in a previous post, this method involves fasting for all shorter, slower runs, about half of all moderate intensity / moderate distance runs, and fueling with carbohydrates for all high-intensity workouts and all runs lasting longer than 2 hours. This ensures that your body is able to perform at its best during key training runs, yet also allows your body to adapt to a low-glycogen scenario, forcing it to burn fat as the primary source. Again, the best of both worlds.

So if you have already trained with "fasting workouts" consistently during training, your metabolism is already somewhat primed to use fuel efficiently during the marathon. This 10-day fat-loading time provides that extra push at the end of training....and you still get the carbs for the last 3 days, to top off your glycogen stores.

Incidentally, due to a cut back in mileage, Fitzgerald and Runners Connect both remind runners to cut calories somewhat during taper. This is common sense: running less + eating the same amount of calories as when you're high-mileage training = possible weight gain just before your race. At the same time, you definitely don't want to under-eat during taper period either. To figure out how many calories to cut from your daily intake, Fitzgerald recommends multiplying [your weight] x [the number of miles per day LESS than you normally run] x [0.63]. So for, say a 135 lb runner who usually runs 8 miles in a day, but during taper runs 4 miles:

135 x 4 x 0.63 = 340 calories to subtract from your daily intake.

**Important note: Do NOT worry that switching to fat will cause you to gain weight. Assuming your total calorie intake is appropriate to your activity level, you should not gain weight aside from a couple pounds of water weight when you carbo load (which is to be expected). Dietary fats do not automatically equate to storing body fat. In fact, pretty much all research now shows that sugar is the weight-gain culprit, not fat.**

Competitor.com gave a great summary of Fitzgerald's nutrition method. Check it out of you like what you've read here and want to implement these strategies into your training and racing.

Now for my experience.

Again, I am on Day 5/10 of fat loading. This has been a major adjustment for me, not only as a runner, but also as a breastfeeding mother. I have actually been hitting about 55-60% fats, not the full 65%, most days (I am trying to maintain a SLIGHTLY more balanced ratio for the sake of lactating, and because I have actually been slowly losing weight over the last couple of months.) Getting 65% of your calories from fat is HARD WORK, let me tell you, especially if you are typically a carb hound like me. It means two pieces of bread and a mandarin orange, and BOOM, you've had all the carbs you can have for the day (assuming you're consuming around 2500 calories / day) and need to fill up on nuts, cheese, olive oil, salmon, whole milk, cheese, peanut butter, eggs, cheese, and cheese. If you crave these foods, then you will be one happy camper for 10 days. I, however, have not been, but am just now kind of getting used to it.

One drawback - you will feel fatigued and weak on your runs during fat-loading. DO NOT DESPAIR! I know it is a bit of a mind-warp what with everything else you feel and think during tapering. It is discouraging to feel slow, heavy, and weak, when you already might be a paranoid nervous wreck during taper. But fear not - as soon as you switch over to carbs, you will feel like a hypercharged rocket booster, and might bounce off some walls. That will be a good feeling to have just before your race.

I will touch base again after a couple of days of carbo loading and just before my race, if I will have the capacity to sit down long enough to blog whilst turning into a carbo-surging superhuman beast.

So far, I am confident in this approach and am building excitement for my race! Also, a BIG thanks to the staff at Runners Connect for their help and support during my training. Excellent advice, a caring team, an awesome podcast, and the Marathon Blueprint is a fantastic tool. I will be writing about how that has worked out after my race.

Saucony Zealot Review

Shoe review time! I haven't written a running shoe review before, but with the new Zealot release, I definitely wanted to weigh in.

About the Zealot

Saucony released it's new model, the Zealot, on February 1st as the third member of its ISO Series following the neutral daily trainer, Triumph ISO, and the stability trainer, Hurricane ISO. Zealot was also meant as a replacement for the prior Cortana, and as a lightweight but cushioned neutral trainer. It has a 4mm heel-toe drop, same as the Kinvara and Mirage. It retains the characteristically light PWRGRID+ and Ibr+ sole technologies of other Saucony models, but the ISOFIT upper is new to the series. You can read up on the Zealot specs here.

About me

Since the running shoe experience is a very individualized thing, I thought it useful to provide some information on the reviewer.

I am currently marathon training and maxing out at 55 miles / week, averaging about 8:30/mile easy pace and a 7:30/mile marathon race pace. I train in Brooks Glycerin 12's as my daily trainer and Saucony Kinvara 5 as speed trainer & racers. Though I do overpronate slightly, I tend to wear neutral shoes, as I am a mid to forefoot striker and prefer moderate to high cushioning in the midfoot region. I wear an 8 to 8.5 and my feet run a tad wide, but I don't necessarily wear wide sizes - both the Glycerin and Kinvara have inherently wider toe boxes than their predecessor models, as many manufacturers are making more room up front for toe splay.

Why did I buy the Zealots? (And yes, I bought them...alas Saucony did not send me a free pair for review). 

I was looking for a shoe that is ideal for the marathon race distance. While I love the supportive, soft, "hugging" feel of the Glycerin, it is too heavy for racing. While I love the light, nimble feeling of the Kinvara, and have enjoyed PRs in them from the 5K through the half marathon, they aren't quite enough shoe for me on longer distances. I prefer a wide toe box but with a snug, secure fit in the heel and midfoot. I wanted a lightweight shoe, comparable to a racer but with more cushioning underfoot.

Fit and Feel

The Zealot fit this bill perfectly, and continues to impress me with each run. My first impression was the wonderfully secure feeling of the ISOFIT upper. The mesh really does conform to the top of the foot, flexible yet snug, without any of the bunching from overlays (which can sometimes happen when there is that much fabric on the upper). And yet the shoe is fairly breathable in hot weather; remember, I live in Florida. The toebox is perfect for me - though I do prefer wide, and those with narrower feet might find it a little too roomy in the front. But, ISOFIT definitely allows for a custom feel on the midfoot. Best of all, the heel is soft feeling and very secure - I don't have to put runner's loops in my laces to keep my heels from sliding up.

Performance 

The PWRGRID+ midsole and Ibr+ outsole allows for this shoe to be exceptionally light (7.4 oz women's / 8.3 oz men's) yet provide a substantial amount of cushioning. I felt a nice spring in the midfoot at the toe-off - a similar feeling as the Triumph Iso, but less spongy. Initially, it feels similarly cushioned as Kinvara, but the more substantial midsole becomes evident over longer runs. I had also previously tried the Mirage 4 as well, which was too firm for my liking. Zealot is truly more cushioned than either Kinvara or Mirage. It feels like a standard neutral cushioned trainer at easy / conversational pace, but responsiveness really takes off the faster you go. At tempo and interval paces, the shoe performed beautifully, with great pep and snap, yet still cushioned on landing in the midfoot. I can't comment too much on how it would feel for heel-strikers, but the outsole seems to provide a very smooth transition across the entire stride. I recently did a 22 mile run with the last 10 miles done at my marathon race pace (7:30/mile) and the shoes held up flawlessly. They definitely fit the bill for my needs. My marathon is at the end of March, after which time I will update my review if need be.

Summary and Recommendations

The Zealot ISO is a wonderful neutral, daily or uptempo trainer, that could also serve as a long-distance racer. It continues the comfort of the ISO series, but is lighter and more responsive than Triumph or Hurricane. It would be an ideal choice for mid to forefoot strikers looking for a fast but smooth ride on longer runs, without sacrificing cushioning. It is likely to be more comfortable on normal to wide feet that on narrower feet, but that is definitely for each to decide. So far, I am loving these shoes and cannot wait to race in them soon!

Optimum Carbohydrate Fueling for Marathon Training

As I enter the "meat and potatoes" phase of my marathon training - ramping up the weekly mileage to peak (55 miles/week in my case), long runs of 18 + miles, moving from 15k pace runs to VO2 max - it is also time to start fuel training.

Most studies of marathon runners have shown that training the body to utilize fat as the primary fuel source for as long into the race as possible is optimum for avoiding "the wall". The longer your body can burn fat, the longer it can put off burning carbohydrates, and thus the longer you last before glycogen depletion cramps your style (literally). This is accomplished two ways: high volume of training at the edge of your fat-burning zone, and the strategic intake of carbohydrates during training runs. This article gives great perspective and research on this topic.

Many of us are early morning runners, be it by necessity or preference. Unless you are getting up around 4am to eat a meal before your run, you start your run on an empty tank. This isn't too big of a deal for runs less than 45 minutes, or maybe a little longer at low intensity. We certainly have plenty of reserves for such runs, and are staying in the fat-burning zone anyways. But for longer runs or high-intensity training, some pre-run fuel is necessary to attain optimum training performance. Without it, you don't hit your goal paces and won't see the progress in your training that you need for optimum race performance.

The key is to hit the perfect balance of fat utilization training and sustaining goal pace intensities during hard workouts. In Matt Fitzgerald's most recent book on nutrition, he outlines a plan for achieving this balance in what he calls "hi / low" nutrition training, fueling during some runs and fasting during others.

Here is my plan based off of his philosophies, and examples of fuel:

Carbohydrate consumption:

• 45-60 min easy runs - no carbs
• 45-60 min hard workouts - 30 g / hour (one GU + 8-10 oz of sports drink, or 1/2 a bag of GU chomps)
• 1-2 hour easy runs - 30 g / hour on half of all type (same as above)
• Races or hard runs longer than 2 hours - 60 g / hour (two GU + a bag of GU chomps or 10-16 oz sports drink)

I have also been watching this free 4-part video series on Marathon Nutrition from Runners Connect, which is a fantastic resource. They have training and coaching plans, but also a wealth of resources in their blog. You can also purchase their Marathon Nutrition Blueprint, which is an incredible tool for calculating your specific nutrition and hydration needs for the marathon. I may be trying this out, and will post more about it as I use it.