Five years ago I ran the 2010 Morris Broadband DuPont Forest half marathon. In many ways this was the race that really started my journey into endurance sports. My race report for that event was my 1st real SBS blog post. It’s still up on the site. It was my 1st half marathon and my 1st race longer 10K. It was also very nearly a disaster.
I made more mistakes than would seem possible for a single race. I stuck to my training plan even though I was clearly and severely over trained. I remember pausing to stretch my quads during one training run and not being able to lift my foot high enough grab it. After the long weekend runs around Salem Lake I would drive home and it would take me 10 minutes to walk from my driveway into my house. I used to place ice packs on my legs during lunch at work and hope my coworkers wouldn’t stare.
I picked this particular half marathon because the DuPont Forrest near Brevard, NC is beautiful, and I like trails better than roads. I never looked at a course map or elevation profile. In short I made no attempt to find out any information about the event other than location, distance, date and start time. So I trained on a fairly flat lakeside trail for a mountain half marathon. Dumber than a box of rocks. On race day, after four miles on the hilly, dirt and gravel roads, I realized that I had made a gigantic mistake and came close to giving up. Walking up one particularly steep hill I rethought my race plan, refocused my attention and pushed on. Somehow I pulled it off.
DuPont Forest Half Marathon Map/Elevation Profile
I will never forget that epic struggle or the elation I felt crossing the finish line. I let out a war cry that came from somewhere deep inside. My daughter to this day claims that my “spirit shout” caused three EMTs to reflexively grab their gear and that a small dog fled the area. I’ll tell you what I told her: A victory cry is supposed to get people’s attention.
That hard-won victory was five years ago. It seems like a such long time ago and such a short time ago. Looking back it was a turning point. It forced me to reassess my priorities and my training methods. So what do I think I’ve learned, and how have I changed after five years, two more half marathons, two trail marathons, two ultras, a dozen sprint triathlons and more 5K races than I can recall? I came up with the 10 lesson below. One caveat: my motto is be flexible based on the evidence. I try to be willing to change my opinions and training based on new information. Future lists may vary.
10. Run Your Own Race
You have to run your own race. Your pace, strategy and training methods must reflect you as an individual. You can learn a lot from books, watching the pros and training with your local triathlon or running club but it all has to be filtered through the lens of your abilities and temperament. You will figure this out through trial and error, mostly error.
9. Trust the Taper
Usually the week or two before my big fall event I’m riddled with doubt and wondering if I’ll make it. I’m almost always healthier and faster than I would have predicted. If you taper properly before the race, the rest will mend your muscles and your mind.
8. Rethinking Long Runs
In both of our trail marathons Frank concentrated more on weekly mileage than long runs. I concentrated more on long runs than weekly mileage. Interesting our total miles run in preparation were darn pretty close. Yet Frank did much better in the first race and was hot on my heels in the second. When I train for my next marathon I’m breaking the weekend long run in half. I’ll cover about 60% of the distance on Saturday and 40% on Sunday. So I’m a heretic. I’m a large heretic, and the long runs really seem to set me up for injury.
Marathon Rethinking the Long Run Active.com
7. Don’t Train at One Speed
Early on this is the mistake I made the most. Sometimes I still get into a rut and just grind the miles out.
I’ve managed make the single speed mistake in all three sports I’m a bit of an overachiever that way. Now early season and post season running is about the only time I find myself stuck in single speed, slow mode.
6. The Run-Walk Plan
I would have never gone past the 10K barrier if I hadn’t discovered Jeff Galloway and his run/walk/run method. I’ve built most of my long runs and long races on this concept. I’ve yet to find a better way. Thanks Jeff, you rock!
5. You Can Find a Way to Go Long
I’m slow, epically, chronically, painfully slow. To me a five-hour marathon is still a fantasy. There are many races where I would be pulled from the course or have to continue unsupported. I found that trail marathons have much longer cutoffs than road marathons. I also found races like the Crooked Road 24 Hour Ultra. It’s a ultra on a one-mile loop. You could sign up and run almost any distance (5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, 50K, 40 miles, …) without worrying about time.
4. You Can’t Outrun Calories
It doesn’t matter how far you swim, bike or run, you will never be able to eat anything you want in any quantity you want. Yeah that sucks. It is none the less true.
3. You Must Prevent Not Treat Injuries
I fought a running battle with shin splints for years. I tried icing. I tried stretches. I tried exercises. I changed shoes. Nothing really helped until I changed my running form. If you are constantly injuring yourself, you probably need to change how you swim, bike or run.
2. You Can’t Get There Alone and You Don’t Want to
I am a loner by nature. In addition many times I’m too slow to go on group runs or rides. I used to do races, passing and being passed by strangers. Everything changed once I met, trained with and raced with other runners and triathletes. Now I know the names of the people passing me. Believe it or not, it’s a better experience when you know them.
1. You Need Help (Seriously)
You won’t last long in endurance sports without a supportive spouse, significant other or family. Remember that’s it’s a two-way street. You have to be there for them too. You might have to miss a training session or a race. You might wind up taking your bike trainer to your kid’s soccer practice. In the off season you may have to paint something. It never hurts to clean something.
Epilogue
So five years later where has this journey taken me? I still struggle with my weight. I still struggle with being slow. Yet I still sign up for and complete epic races. The people I’ve met, places I’ve seen and things I’ve learned about myself have made this journey worth every yard, mile, ache and effort. I’m still on a mission to find the middle of the pack. I ended my DuPont Forest race report with the sentence “I have succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.” Now I guess I get to add “more than once.” Keep learning, keep going, keep your focus and despite the hills, despite the odds, despite the mistakes, stumble on!
