Ok, I was planning to just watch all the traffic, but I've decided I can't just draft off this team (I'm finding inspiration in it so far). I need to chime in on certain topics.
First off, I am merely contemplating the Chicago Marathon. I intend to run the Ascent again this year, but I haven't figured out if a marathon makes sense for me.
I am not a serious/competitive runner, but I do find that setting a goal is essential to my motivation. It's too easy to let conditioning be outranked on the daily list of activities if a goal doesn't make it a priority.
In a nutshell, here is why I run:
* general health (physical, mental, and spiritual)
* efficiency of effort (lots of payback in just a few minutes)
* independent activity (no need to organize teams and set specific times)
* virtually free (compared to, say, skiing or golf)
In a nutshell, here is not why I run:
* to win (like Angi, avoiding the ambulance is a goal)
* to identify with being a "runner"
Now, for my contributions to recent and new topics.
Diet - I have found that good, old-fashioned "three squares" works well for training at my level. I'm always worried about anything too extreme. I'm not a guru on race day carb loading, etc.
Ramping - I ramped too fast the last time I trained for the Ascent. It set me back a lot. I wasn't sure I'd make my race. I won't do that again. Matt Carpenter recommends never increasing long runs more than 10% in a session/week. This is probably sound advice.
Planning Runs of a Given Distance - Being a geek, I use the Tools->Ruler->Path function in Google Earth to map out a new run. I like to establish a couple 2-, 3-, or 5-mile paths near my house for those daily runs.
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2 comments:
Scott,
Great comments - all and all I think I can relate most with you. My training for a marathon started in 2004 when I decided not to be a pile anymore and loose some wieght. Little did I know at that time that it would naturally progress to a marathon. I run because 1) it is spiritual time for me and God in my busy life as a working professional, spouse, and father of three 2) health benefits 3) it challenges a big man to be small.
I am also a geek and love to track progress and have precise routes, etc. See the post I made on some tips and resources.
I also made the mistake of doing too much too quickly. I found that training to train for a marathon was an important concept for me. I knew I had to be able to run at least 10 miles (first long run) consistantly before I could begin training. So my marathon training was essentially a 8 month process (started in February of '07).
As a competitive person, I have found goals to be a motivator for me (they are not for everyone though). I've always found if I tell a lot of people and write it down, I'll probably do it or at least attempt it.
Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in your training (not sure I can offer anything but sympathy as a fellow Clydesdale runnner). Talk to you soon, brother!
I'm a bit confused in what Scott called 'ramping'. Steve illuminates that he, "knew I had to be able to run at least 10 miles" before beginning a marathon regiment. Here is my basic question:
I am a little ahead of the 'Novice Supreme' 30 week training guide from Hal Higgdon. I am currently running 3-4.5 miles each run - roughly 10min. miles. The 30 week Higgdon guide has me starting next week at 2-3 miles with a long run of 4-5. (I think, I'm not currently looking at it, but the specifics are not essential to the question at this point) What I'm asking, is should I jump backward in the amount of time/miles I am currently running in order to work consistently with the training guide, or should I just 'maintain' my current status until the guide catches up, OR should I keep ahead of the guide until the guide catches up?
I was wondering about this in my head and then caught Scott's post.
I'm assuming that if i reach my final long run (20 miles) too early, I will be hurting my marathon time. Could i not have two long runs? or perhaps a race AND a long run close to the Marathon?
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