Video — After the Marathon – What Next? (Episode 3-7)

running advice bug Video    After the Marathon   What Next? (Episode 3 7)The marathon is over. The confetti is lying in a pile, swept up by the cleaning crew. Your stinky gear is packed in a little plastic bag and ready to be transported home. So what should you do next after your marathon?

On the show this week, Coaches Joe and Dean look at what comes next after a big race. This episode isn’t really about recovery, but rather the decisions that follow a race.

On this week’s episode:
— What should you do next after a marathon?
— How long should you wait to race again?
— What kinds of goals might you consider for your next event?
— How much time should you take between races?

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Racing — Constantina Dita Headlines Rock N Roll Half Marathon

running advice bug Racing    Constantina Dita Headlines Rock N Roll Half MarathonVirginia Beach, VA — Beijing Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Constantina Dita of Romania will lead the field in this weekend’s Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach. Along with her crowning Olympic triumph in 2008, Dita won the 2005 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championship held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and also the 2004 Chicago Marathon. Her personal record (PR) for the half-marathon is 1:08:07, set in Chicago in 2006.

More than 20,000 runners will take to the oceanfront streets of Virginia Beach for the 10th Annual Dodge Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon presented by SunTrust on Sunday, September 5, 2010.

“Many other athletes have told me often that the Virginia Beach race is one of their favorite events of the year, and I am looking forward to my first opportunity to compete there,” said Dita, known as an aggressive front-runner when in form. “It seems every year there is a very deep field of the top runners, so I expect the competition should be great in 2010.”

Chief among her rivals will be fellow Romanian Nuta Olaru, the 2004 Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach champion, and 2009 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon champ. Leading the U.S. contingent in the women’s race is 28-year-old Samir Akbar of Herndon, VA. Akbar earned All-America honors and set eight school records while at American University. This past May she finished second at the USA 25km Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan after winning the Army 10-mile in Washington D.C. on April 11th.
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Training — How Slow Should My Long-Slow Distance Runs be?

running advice bug Training    How Slow Should My Long Slow Distance Runs be?A runner named Gina writes in with a very common question that has to do with pacing in the longest runs in a marathon training plan. Here’s the question and my answer:


I think I’m running too fast on my shorter training runs and I don’t know a) if that’s a problem and b) how to force myself to slow down. According to the McMillan running calculator my tempo runs shouldn’t be faster than an 8:38 and my easy runs should be between 9:36 and 10:06. I pretty much have to force myself to stay at a 9-minute mile for the majority of my runs–even those that get near 11-12 miles. When I run a 10-minute mile I feel like I’m going backwards. Part of this is definitely that I’m pressed for time and part of it is that I just like to run fast (a relative term, but fast for me!).

In fact, many running plans suggest that their runners slow down between 1 to 2 minutes per mile when they doing their longer/slower runs. These runs are usually called the “long/slow distance runs” and this pace may also be used in other “recovery” runs. The idea here is three fold:
1) To maximize the amount of time that you spend out on your runs — because if you can slow the runner down and make what would be a 2 1/2 hour run last 3 hours that’s 30 more minutes logged on the feet. This means that on race day, you will have run closer to the amount of time that you’ll be expecting to run in the race, but with less effort.
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Hood to Coast Relay — Update #2 — Seaside

running advice bug Hood to Coast Relay    Update #2    SeasideOne of the most last memories of this year’s Hood to Coast Relay was watching my van-mates, most of whom are extremely accomplished runners, hop around peg-legged like a bunch of first-time marathon runners. The accompanying sound, “ouch, ouch, ouch”, which each step really drove it home. Hood to Coast puts a special beating on the legs. Three hard running efforts, hours sitting in a van, little sleep, little to eat. The quads freeze up like a pair of rusty old tractor parts. As I write this, I’m sitting with my legs elevated, to help with the pain myself.

RunnerSideFrame500 Hood to Coast Relay    Update #2    Seaside

Runner on Road

The race ran smoothly this year for the most part. One notable exception was the grid-lock of vans that happened at the last major van exchange — exchange 30. I happened to be the runner one our team and as I came running down toward the exchange, I came upon the tail end of the line of vans. There’s always a line of vans coming into this exchange, so that wasn’t surprising. The surprise was that I was more than two miles from the exchange. When I past our team van, I thought, “no biggie”, I would just wait for them to get through the traffic at the bottom because we were done running for the day. When I past our other van (van 2), I thought, “huh, that’s not good.” About a quarter mile further down the road, I recognized two of my teammates running along. They had our iPhone (used to collect split times) and they handed it off to me. When I reached the exchange zone, I stood with a number of other runners waiting alone for someone to hand the baton.

In our case, it was only a delay of about four or five minutes. But I’m sure other teams spent much more time waiting there. Grid lock does happen at Hood to Coast sometimes and this year it happened at the last major van exchange.

I have to say that something about the race was a little low-key this year. Most of my favorites were there. Teams like the Go NADS (for North American Distance Sprinters) and the Hot Tamales. But there seemed to be a little less festive mood in the exchange zones. There was more sleeping and less dancing going on.

Be sure to click the READ MORE button for to see photos from the race. See also Update #1 which has more photos from the Hood to Coast Relay.

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Hood to Coast — Update #1 — Midnight 2010

running advice bug Hood to Coast    Update #1    Midnight 2010There’s something special about the Hood to Coast Relay. It’s more than running. It’s the little things. Like the smell of the brakes overheating on the vans as the descend from Mt. Hood. Or the smell inside the vans of the musty clothes, soaked runners, left-over food and a hundred other smelly things that cloud the inside of the space. Hood to Coast pummels the senses with contrasts. As a runner, you move from loud to silent, light to utter darkness, exuberance to exhaustion, all within a matter of hours.

AtlantaTrackClubStart500 300x199 Hood to Coast    Update #1    Midnight 2010

Pondering the Start of Hood to Coast 2010

Our team has made its way down from Mt. Hood and my teammates are sleeping in a friends house as I type this message. Thousands of runners out are out on the road right now and we’ll rejoin them shortly — at about 2:00AM — as we start our next set of legs from Portland onward.

Van 1 is always a challenge for the runners, as they try their hardest not to get caught up in the urge to race too hard and try not to compare themselves to their teammates — efforts that most often fail. The first runner goes out too fast and everyone else wants to “beat” their estimated time. One after the other, the legs become time-trials with the unfortunate effect of making the next two legs so much more difficult. The most experienced runners try to keep things from getting out of hand, taking it a bit conservatively, because they know that it will come back later to them as they blow past their peers, many of whom are walking, later in the race.

There are so many familiar sights and sounds to me as I take on this 11th Hood To Coast. Many of the team names are the same. Many of the runners are even familiar. A woman named Jeanie from the Atlanta Track Club came over and re-introduced herself — we had talked a year ago at the race. There is a comfort to Hood To Coast after you’ve done it many times, but a large number of runners are experiencing it for their first time — right now!

See also Update #2 which has more photos from the Hood to Coast Relay.

Click the READ MORE button below to see some photos from the race.
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Hood to Coast — Coach Joe’s Last Minute HTC Tips

running advice bug Hood to Coast    Coach Joes Last Minute HTC TipsWith the Hood to Coast Relay this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to share some final tips that might help make your weekend racing experience a little better. The Hood to Coast Relay is one of my favorite races, but the excitement of the event and the duration can make it really fatiguing on the body. As you head out for the course, keep these simple tips in mind:

[For more tips, see the links at the bottom of this article.]

Coach Dean Hebert at Hood to Coast 2008

Coach Dean Hebert at Hood to Coast 2008

Take a Load Off — It is very easy to find yourself standing and cheering for your team and other runners for hours on end. You don’t have to be anti-social, but sitting down while cheering will definitely save your legs. After 18 hours of standing, clapping and cheering, you may find yourself more in need of a sofa than another 10K run, so grab the bumper of the van, a rock, or a piece of grass and cheer seated.

Eat! – Make sure to eat right after you run. You want to be eating within 30-45 minutes of each of your first two running legs to help with your recovery from your run and with preparation for the next run. This means that you should carry some foods with you that are at your fingertips, rather than at the next grocery store you happen to come upon. You want to be able to reach into your bag and pop something in you mouth right after you run. There are usually tons of energy bars, gels and other things around, so I’d suggest savory foods that don’t require preparation, such as foil packs of tuna, beef jerky, peanut butter sandwiches and the like.
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Video — Hitting the Wall (Episode 3-6)

running advice bug Video    Hitting the Wall (Episode 3 6)Any marathon runner, or prospective marathon runner at that, has heard the term “hitting the wall”. Despite popular belief there is not physically a brick wall somewhere along marathon courses however. But even the best of us have “hit the wall” in a marathon. Today we look at what causes the wall and how it can be avoided.

On this week’s episode:
— What is “the wall” in a marathon?
— What causes us to run out of gas when running?
— What does it feel like to “hit the wall”?
— What is the secret to avoiding hitting the wall in a marathon?

And much, much more. 12 full minutes of delightful banter by Coaches Joe and Dean, on this very important topic.

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Season 1 Video Page

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Short-answer Monday: Coach Joe on Treadmills and Cross-training

running advice bug Short answer Monday: Coach Joe on Treadmills and Cross trainingIt’s time for our bi-monthly feature that I write for the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. This week we have two running related questions for the column. Keep those questions coming!

Question 1: To cross-train or not to cross-train

Amy writes in the with the following question:


Crosstraining? Seriously? Do I have to? Look, I’m just a fat girl who loves to run. I’m not training for a marathon or anything, maybe I’ll do a 5K or 10K in the fall. I run to help me lose weight (80lbs down 30 or so to go!).I know strength training is important so I’m trying to get more of that in. But the idea of “crosstraining” sort of mystifies me. What exactly is crosstraining? Does a yoga or pilates class at the gym count as crosstraining? Or one of those total body workout class thingies, does that count? I would really rather not sit on a bike for a half hour when I could have fun running. And the elliptical just feels unnatural, and don’t get me started on the StairMasterOfDoom. I could happily run 7 days a week if my schedule would let me. So, do I have to crosstrain? what are acceptable crosstraining activities? And what is an appropriate crosstraining schedule? And what can I do to make it fun?

Good question Amy. I’ll answer this in two parts. The first part has to do with what we call “pleateauing” and the second has to do with the benefits of cross-training itself.

One of the most important things to realize about exercise is that the way that you improve your fitness is to place a load on your body that is difficult for the body to handle. This creates a response, forcing the body to adjust, grow stronger and adapt. This means is that you get better when you push yourself. And, the opposite is also true – you will stop getting better once you are become accustomed to what you’re doing.
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Video — Running After Kids (Episode 3-5)

running advice bug Video    Running After Kids (Episode 3 5)We’re joined on the program by one of Coach Joe’s athletes this week, Kirsten Mitchell of Nevada. Kirsten joins us to talk about a vexing topic for many women runners, including many at the top of the sport — how do you come back to running after having kids?

On this week’s episode:
– Getting back into training after having children
– Balancing life, kids and running
– Dealing with fatigue
– Taking the kids with you on your runs

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Season 1 Video Page

Season 2 Video Page

Running Advice and News
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Triathlon — Berard, Kanute Claim Second Junior Elite National Titles

running advice bug Triathlon    Berard, Kanute Claim Second Junior Elite National TitlesSAN DIEGO, Calif. – Past champions Tanelle Berard and Ben Kanute captured the junior elite national titles, and Tamara Gorman and Eli Hemming brought home the youth elite championships Saturday to highlight day one of USA Triathlon’s Junior Triathlon Festival at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

TanlleBerard2010JunionNationals 212x300 Triathlon    Berard, Kanute Claim Second Junior Elite National Titles

Tanelle Berrard wins 2010 USAT Junior Nationals

After winning last year’s event in Colorado Springs, Colo., Berard (Clive, Iowa) repeated as female junior elite champion, while Kanute (Geneva, Ill.) claimed his second junior elite title in the last three years. The 16- to 19-year-old junior elites covered a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike and a 5-kilometer run.

Berard took the first race of the day in 1 hour, 3 minutes, 25 seconds. She paired with Jennifer Clay (South Elgin, Ill.) to pace the competitors out of the water, and the duo led for most of the bike before a group of five rode together for the final one-half lap entering T2.

From there, Berard pulled away on the first lap of the run. She closed with a 17:46 run split to earn the victory by 44 seconds over runner up Johanna Gartman (Chattanooga, Tenn.), who finished in 1:04:09. “On the run, I knew I had to give it my all so I made sure I was hydrated … and I just gave it all I had,” said Berard.

Abigail Levene (Dublin, Neb.) posted a blistering run split of 16:42 to grab third and round out the podium in 1:04:22.
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