Running Tips

The following are running tips that work for me. Hopefully you can use some of these tips to improve your running performance.

Goals

I believe in setting goals, short term and long term, to keep me motivated. Each time I complete a goal it gives me the confidence to set new goals.

Short -term Goal: (Example) Before every training run, I decide on how far I am going to run and what kind of pace I want to maintain. Once I start running, I stick to the plan and complete the run. I do not want to give myself the option of changing the training plan while I run. I want to focus on completing it based on the contract I made with myself. That is why I like to do out and back runs. If I am doing a six mile run, I run three miles away from the start and then tell myself that all I have to do is turn around and run three miles back. It works for me.

Long-term Goal: (Example) Running a Half Marathon. 

Some goals such as running a Half Marathon require multiple short term goals in order to complete the long term goal.

    1.  Select a Half Marathon that is at least eight weeks away.
    2.  Set your race goal. (Is your goal to complete the race, or do you want to set a target finishing time.)
    3. Create a training plan based on your goals. (You can create your own or select a plan from online resources.)
    4. Complete the training plan.
    5. Complete the race.

Pace

   Pace refers to the speed at which you run. If it takes you 13 minutes to run a mile, you were running at a 13 minute per mile pace.

    In running, there are three different paces: Easy, Tempo, and Race Pace.   An easy pace is faster than walking and is your usual pace for a casual run. Tempo is faster than an easy pace but not as fast as race pace. If you are doing a training run at tempo pace, you are working harder than your usual easy run and your goal should be to keep that pace for a defined time or distance.  Tempo runs help you to increase your speed and endurance for races.  At Race Pace, your goal is to give your maximum effort over the entire race distance. You do not want to go out to fast and fade at the end, and you do not want to end the race knowing that you could have gone faster. In order to do this, you need to include pace runs in your training plan.

  Your race pace will differ based on the distance of the race.  5K race pace will be faster than race pace for longer distances. Increasing your race pace requires training.   I found that the best way to do this was with track workouts and better yet, track workouts with a running club.  With a running club, you are working out with other runners that will help to motivate you to run faster and hold the pace.

Listen to your body

    The key to running for a long time (running into your old age, like me) is to listen to your body. You need to understand the difference between sore muscles and a sharp pain. When in doubt, get it checked out before you run again. I have never been a fan of running streaks that mean you have to run on a day when your body is telling you it needs a day off.  I will never have a running streak of 365 days but I hope to still be running into my ninety’s.

Running Shoes

 There are a lot of excellent running shoes on the market. The key is to find the shoes that work for you. My recommendation is to go to a local running store where they carry a number of brands and where the employee’s are runners that can really help you out.  My other reommendation is to replace your running shoes before they lose their cushioning.  A ballpark rule is to replace them every 500-600 miles.  I always listen to my knees and feet. If they start talking to me, I buy new shoes.

 

Hydration and Nutrition

  I am not a nutritionist. You can find some great resources online on hydration and nutrition for runners.

The following are some guidelines I try to follow:

  •     I take a 12 ounce water bottle with gatorade on all runs over 3 miles or if the temperature is above 70 F degrees.
  •     I also take 12 ounce water bottle with me on races to use between water stops if needed. When I am running in a race and I am thirsty, I do not want to start thinking where the next water stop is.  I want to stay in the zone and focus on the race. 
  •     After runs longer than an hour, I drink chocolate milk or cherry juice as soon after the run as I can.
  •      On long runs over an hour, I take one clif blok chew around every 45 minutes along with gatorade.
  •     I do my best to maintain a healthy diet and I do watch my weight.
  •    If I am prepping for a marathon, I will do carbo loading the week before the race. The night before the marathon, I will eat a light meal so that I do not feel bloated before the race.
  •  Typically, before my morning runs, I have a cup of coffee and toast with peanut butter.
  •   I always test out new sports drinks, energy gels, … on training runs, before I use them in a race.

(These are guidelines that work for me. You need to find what works for you. )

   

Safety

   I am sure you heard most if not all of the before, but I believe you can never take safety for granted so please take the time to read this.

  •  Always try to run against the traffic so that you can see what is coming at you. At the same time, take a look around and know what you would do if you had to get out of the way. 
  • Make sure you wear reflective clothing and or lights if you are running at night.
  •   Avoid running on roads that do not have sidewalks or a safe running are on the sides.
  •  Always carry an ID or bracelet that has contact information and any needed medical notes.  
  • Let someone know what your running plans are in case of problems.
  •  If possible, run with a campanion

Race Training

     I use training programs created by Hal Higdon.  Hal Higdon is a Contributing Editor for Runner’s World. Hal’s website ,     halhigdon.com, has free training programs for race distances from 5K to the Marathon. Hal’s Marathon training program helped me to qualify for eight Boston Marathons.  You will also find books and an app to help you with your training.

Racing Stratedgy

First I want to tell you about some mistakes I made early on.

  Just run faster in a race than I ran on training runs. 

       When I tried this, I was ok at the start but quickly ran out of energy and had to drag myself to the finish. I should have included training runs at the pace I hoped to run in the actual race.

  Follow another runner in the race and pace off of them,

       This was not a good idea. The entire race I was adjusting my pace to match theirs. I should have been running at a pace I had trained for.

   Run a race that has both a full and half marathon and decide during the race which one you will do.

In my first attemp at a marathon, I signed up for a marathon that consisted of two 13.1 mile loops. If you were running the full marathon, you ran the second loop.  – I signed up for the full marathon and told myself before the race, if I felt good I would keep going if not I would just do the half. (YOU CANNOT GIVE YOUR MIND THE OPTION TO DECIDE IF IT WANTS TO STOP AFTER RUNNING 13.1 MILES.) I ended up just running the half. (Never did that again.)

Stratedy that works for me now:

Set my goals for each race.

Create a training plan for each race based on the goals and stick to it.

Incorporate speed training, ideally by doing track workouts.

Include training runs at race pace.

Run against myself: Like most runners, I am not running to win the race. However, I do like to try to improve my times. If I am running a race that I ran the prior year, I use savemyresults to look up last year’s time and try to beat that time.  savemyresults also keeps track of your five year PR’s for every event type, 5K,5 mile, 10 mile, marathon…   For each race I run, one of my goals will be to try to set a new 5 year PR for that event type.   The idea of 5 year PR’s is a great motivational tool for older runners like me.