"It's often said that the race is won or lost in the last few miles.

Although the natural instinct is to run faster early in the race for insurance, that strategy can leave you fatigued and unable to push when it counts.

A strong finish is the outcome of a wise start. Learn how to plot your strategy to push through the final few miles..." so notes coach Jenny Hadfield in active.com.

She goes on to say:

"...Whether you're running your first 5K or your fifth marathon, the key to finishing strong is in controlling your effort level early in the race. Line up according to your realistic planned pace at the start area to avoid getting caught up with faster runners.

Cut the race in half and aim to run the second half slightly faster than the first half (negative split). Conserving your energy early on will leave you with enough gas to push through the most demanding part of the race--the end..."

(Read complete article)

image from Falmouth road race by ClaraS

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"It's been 27 years since an American man or woman has won the New York City marathon, and the streak is unlikely to be broken this Sunday. (Read the NYT article by Cameron Stracher.) Indeed, since Alberto Salazar’s victories in 1981 and 1982, only one American-born man, Ryan Hall, has managed to run faster than Salazar’s 1981 finish of 2:08:13. While Salazar’s time was a world record when he ran it, Hall’s time (set in 2008 on a faster course at London, where he finished fifth) places him 36th on the list of top marathoners.

Some have blamed performance-enhancing drugs for the loss of American dominance on the roads; others have criticized United States training methods; still others see a shifting of interest to other sports, like lacrosse and soccer. But the real reason for the decline is a failure of narrative.From the mid-’70s to the early ’80s the United States was blessed with three great runners: Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar. Each held the No. 1 ranking at the marathon distance during that period. Their duels were legendary not only for their frequency and intensity, but also for the ink spilled about them..."  (read whole article)

 photo by totalAldo  

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With temperatures climbing into the 80’s today, I’ve been thinking about tonight’s big 5K road race and the potential dangers to runners who overheat.  Heat exhaustion and heat stroke cause hospitalizations and sometimes deaths each year -- so spring races in hot/humid conditions are thus something to be careful with.

I thought of this yesterday on a long walk in warm conditions with my dog.  Now she didn’t tank up beforehand, like I did, because she didn’t know if it was a walk down to get the mail or a full-fledged hike.  As we tramped up and down wooded hills, I watched her drink whenever she could -- a sip from a little stream, a slug from a green-looking puddle.  The hotter she got, the more frequently she seemed to stop for a quick drink.  I thought, “she’s smarter about this that most runners.”

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends, in addition to good diet and hydration in the proceeding days, that you drink about 500 ml (17 ounces) about two hours before exercise.  They go on to suggest that you hydrate just before and then about every 15 minutes or so.  It’s often a balancing act between drinking and standing in the Porta-Potty lines but it’s good, especially on hot days, to err on the side of a little too much fluid.

Water is all you need for most exercise although the calories from sports drinks can help in long duration events like marathons.  Be careful about not trying something new that you haven’t used before in training -- and stick to water if there’s any question.  I’ve been in races where both sports drinks and water are given out -- with volunteers sounding like sideshow barkers hawking their trade.  Once, in the fog of the last miles of a marathon, I dumped a cup of “water” over my head to cool off -- to realize that it was Gatorade.  Didn’t help my finish much.

Usually, the first symptoms of heat problems are heat cramps.  Heat exhaustion is a very serious event which can lead to heat stroke.  There is a great deal written on avoidance, first aid, and recovery.  The key to me is:  hydrate well before and during an event, back off on performance if it’s hot and humid, and listen to your body.  Drop out, find some shade and replacement fluids, and try it again on a better day.

In marathon canoe racing, we take hydration seriously because they are long events in warm conditions.  Paddlers set up elaborate drinking systems with jugs, plastic lines, and innovative attachments to get the drinking tube ready to use. (like Camelback systems)  One canoe triathlon in upstate New York, I had run a 10K, biked about 15 miles, and then hopped in the racing canoe for a four mile finish.  I was paddling, hydrating away, when an overtaking canoe team yelled, “Your tube!  Your tube!”  I finally figured it out -- in my haste to launch, I’d pulled the drinking tube out of the water jug -- it was now hanging over the side of the canoe and I was sucking up Erie Barge Canal water.  I guess a little algae added some calories -- but stick with tap water.

Drink early and often on these hot days.

top photo by Rene     lower photo from Canoe Racing

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All that remains from Dad’s running are several old medals, a few clippings from that era, and a canvas race bib from the Proctor to Rutland road race -- which he probably ran in 1936. (That race originated from a challenge between Clarence DeMar, a seven-time Boston Marathon winner, and Rutland’s Frank Crowley - in 1928 or 1929.  They challenged one another to race from Proctor to Rutland -- about seven miles.  Crowley, a NCAA All-American distance runner at Manhattan College and on the United States 1932 Olympic team, won. The Crowley Brother's Memorial 10K, in its 33rd year, will be held on June 14th.  Register by June 4th.)

But the most valuable legacy is the love of running that Dad left us that I’ve often thought of over the years.  I didn’t start running until I was in my late thirties, but even decades later, I can see Dad standing along the race course in Brattleboro, bent and aged, waving a small flag and proud of his middle-of-the-pack son.

Our adult children run and race some -- and I’ve had the privilege of being in races with both of our sons and our daughter.  Our grandkids have some Mansfield lankiness and we’ll see down the road if they turn into runners.

After World War II and five kids, Dad worked too long and hard to do any more running.  (He did amaze us with his swimming ability -- something which none of us ever came close to emulating.)  His early success at running, which he never boasted about, certainly has been an influence in my love of the sport -- especially here on the back roads and trails of my home state.  When I strap on a $125 pair of Asics and head out for a slow jog with the dog, it’s neat to think of that hungry skinny city kid, with no running gear, taking on his CCC peers on the back roads of Vermont.  I just wish I had inherited more of his fast twitch genes -- perhaps the grandkids have.

Over the years, one of my best exercise motivators is to look ahead and pre-register for a road race.  Even though I’m pretty far back in the pack these days, looking forward to a race definitely improves the quality of my training.  I work a little harder, perhaps a little longer.  It’s probably the frugal Vermonter in me – “I sent my money in and damn it, I’m going to do that race.”

The roads and sidewalks in upstate Vermont have just recently got cleared and runners are out in force.  (Of course, die-hard folks training for Boston have been running in snow, sleet, and freezing rain all winter.)  As I start to get my legs accustomed to the pounding of running once again, I began to look ahead.  We are going to Massachusetts after Easter and perhaps I can coax my daughter into running a race with me.  (One of my joys is to be able to run in races with all three of our kids -- and hopefully before long, with our grandkids.)

I go to Cool Running for race schedules but also check local running clubs like the Merrimack Striders in MA.  I found a race that sounds too interesting to miss, a 5K in Ipswich called: Chase the Gorilla Down Argilla.  I’ve checked it out online and it may be my next race.

As an aside, one of the coolest races I ever did was a 5K in rural Gillett, Pennsylvania called “Monkey Run Down.”  It was all downhill on a road called Monkey Run Road.  There was a school bus ride to the start -- or you could jog up -- and it was by far, the fastest race I ever did.  The hand carved award has been lost in moves, but the memory of flying down the race course is a fond one.  We’ll see about the Gorilla course, somehow I think it will be tougher.

Of course, goals don’t have to be road races or don’t have to involve competition or money.  It can be “let’s hike to Lost Pond next month” or a walkathon, a charity bike tour, or a xc ski tourathon.   It’s good for most of us to have some sort of target up ahead to motivate us.  What works for you?

Finding Time for Fitness:   priority & planning      with a dog      keep a log

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