One of the benefits of my blog continuing is once in a while I can retrieve a post I have written and use it as a filler on a new post. It this cheating , in a blogging sense, I’m not sure but can justify this practice as a lot of readers to the site are new and would probably have missed the post the first time round. Anyhow the post below describes the feeling all runners go through after successfully completing a ‘goal’ race, the ‘runners low’. After my insights into the runners low I have added an article on goal setting from one of my favourite runners Meb Keflezighi, whose book ‘Meb for mortals’ should be a staple diet for all runners. He is also a big Ellpitigo fan, albeit he is probably well paid to use the product.
I’ve got my Ellpitigo out of the garage for summer as I intend to use this as a new tool in my final push (?) for a sub 2:40 marathon at Perth in June this year. It’ll need to be perfect conditions but with the Elliptigo and a new pair of Nike Vaporflys 4% I hope to be in with a chance, being 51 in a few days this will be my last chance, surely?
Meb on the ‘Go’.
Everybody talks about the runners high, this sense of euphoria one experiences when they cross the line at a major goal event. I’ve discussed what I feel it is, a sudden overwhelming sense of relief, or release, after you achieve something after putting yourself either under pressure or into the ‘pain box’. Anyway, after this ‘runners high’ you can sometimes come a cropper and experience what I term the ‘runners low’.
This feeling is the same in all sports and happens after achieving something you have worked so hard to do. There’s a classic scene (there are so many classic scenes in this movie of course.) in ‘Chariots of Fire’ when Harold Abrahams has just won the 100m gold and everybody else is celebrating while Harold himself is reserved and alone in the changing rooms. What Abrahams is struggling to come to terms with is success after so many years working towards that one 10 second race. All of a sudden he has no purpose, no target, no reason to do what he has been doing for so long. It must be daunting ?
The same can be true for us recreational marathon runners, albeit probably not as severe. Once we have completed the marathon and achieved the ‘runners high’ the next day all of sudden we have no goal. No reason to put in that early morning 5am start, no reason to double up or run a threshold until your lungs feel they are about to explode. There is no purpose after so many months of having something to achieve, a target to overcome. This feeling , coupled with the emotions of the previous few days of finishing a marathon, makes the runners high seem so long ago.
There is hope though and it as easy as getting on the internet and searching for the next goal, the next target, the next reason to structure a long term plan. Before you know it you’ve signed up for another race and it’s back on. Another phase begins towards another goal race which will probably have a target finish time just that little bit quicker than the previous race. Let’s face it we don’t do all this to slow down !
So my advice is to get back on the horse (so to speak, if you actually get on a horse you’ll probably get disqualified, remember this is a running blog!) and set yourself your next goal. It works for me, no off season, the next race is normally a few months away at worst but I know it’s there for me, waiting. Admittedly after a marathon I do feel low for a few days because I love to run marathons and the feeling you get when you finish one is why we do what we do. It has never let me down in 43 runs so far . (and the 20 ultra-marathons have also delivered of course)
Remember we are runners, we need a goal, something to make those 5am alarm calls worthwhile. What else is there to do at 5am in the morning anyway?
Another runner who understands goals is Meb Keflezighi who explains his thoughts in his excellent book ‘ Meb for Mortals’. One of my favourite reads and high recommended. Scott Douglas, from Runners World, has cheery picked some great insights from Meb in the article below.
Goals form your road map to success. You won’t get near your potential without having good goals. We’re wired as humans to dream of what might be and then figure out how to make that dream a reality.
I never would have won the Boston and New York City Marathons, plus an Olympic silver medal, without setting the goals to do so. I might have occasionally run a good race, but I wouldn’t have been able to regularly beat some of the best runners in the world. Everything that I’ve achieved physically in running started psychologically, with the simple thought, “I want to do this.”You might say that you don’t want to be like that with your running—you just want to run to relieve stress, not create more of it, and that the rest of your life is plenty goal oriented. But you might not realize that you probably already set goals in your running.
You don’t head out the door saying, “I’m going to run until I get tired.” You have a route in mind or a general idea of the duration your run will be. You probably also usually run a certain number of times each week, and you probably aren’t happy if something keeps you from getting in that many. So you already have some basic running goals, even if you’ve never stated them as goals. Setting more-formal goals may help you enjoy your running even more.
The best goals have certain elements that make your success more likely. Here’s what I think good goals have in common.
A good goal has personal meaning. Nobody ever told me, “You have to win the 2014 Boston Marathon” or “You have to make the 2012 Olympic team.” Those were goals I set for myself. When I told myself, “I want to win Boston,” it just felt right. I knew that chasing that goal would motivate me to do what was necessary to achieve it and that doing so would require me to do my best.Your goals should have that same pull on you. They should be things you want to achieve for yourself, not to meet someone else’s expectations. Training to reach a goal requires a lot of hard work. When you hit a tough stretch, either physically or mentally, if the goal you’re working toward has deep significance for you, you’ll find a way to persevere. But if someone else thrust the goal upon you, when you hit tough stretches, you’re going to think, “Wait, why am I doing this?”
Most of us have enough areas in our lives where we have to meet others’ expectations. Let your running be about your own hopes and dreams.
A good goal is specific. Notice how specific the goals I set for myself were: I wanted to win the 2014 Boston Marathon. I wanted to make the 2012 Olympic team. There’s no ambiguity there. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and that helped me decide how I should go about doing it.
Here’s a time example. At the beginning of 2001, one of my goals for the year was to break the American record for 10,000 meters. The time I needed to beat was 27:20.56. It doesn’t get much more specific than knowing to the 100th of a second what I needed to run to meet my goal. That specificity told me exactly what pace I needed to run in the race and what times to hit in workouts. Thanks to the guidance provided by my specific goal, I was able to run 27:13.98 that year, an American record that stood until 2010.
Now consider if I had stated my goals more generally: I want to run well at Boston. I want to run faster in the 10,000 meters. “Run well” is so much more subjective than “win.” How would I know during and after the race if I’d run well? And how would I know what to do in training to meet that goal? Saying simply that I wanted to improve my 10-K personal best is more specific than the Boston example, but it still wouldn’t have been as motivating.
So include an element of specificity: “I want to run 30 seconds faster for 5K” instead of “I want to run faster,” or “I want to run 5 days a week” instead of “I want to run more.”
A good goal is challenging but realistic. Your goals should require you to reach outside your comfort zone while remaining within the realm of possibility. If you’ve run a 2:05 half marathon, then making your next goal to run a 2:05 half marathon won’t be all that compelling. You’ve already done it, so how motivating will it be to do it again?
But you shouldn’t go to the other extreme and say, “I want to lower my half marathon best from 2:05 to 1:30.” Your goal should be attainable within a reasonable time frame. You might eventually get down to 1:30, but it’s most likely going to occur in stages: from 2:05 to 1:58, then 1:48, then 1:43, and so on. Long-distance running is not the sport for people who crave instant gratification.
Making a Boston victory my goal was realistic. In my case, I had finished third and fifth in previous Boston marathons, so winning the race wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Trying to win certainly required reaching, given that the race was held 2 weeks before my 39th birthday and I had the 15th-fastest personal best in the field.
An example of a too-ambitious goal for me would be saying, “I want to break the world record.” That would mean taking more than 5 ½ minutes off my personal best in one race. That’s unlikely at this stage in my career.
A good goal has a time element. It’s human nature to be motivated by a deadline. Having a date by which you want to reach your goal helps you plan how to reach it (“My marathon is in 14 weeks, so I need to come up with a training program to get from today to race day”) and provides urgency (“My marathon is in 14 weeks, so I better get training!”).
When I was training for the 2014 Boston Marathon, I told my wife, Yordanos, that it was my last chance to win the race. If at that stage of my career, I’d said, “I’d like to win the Boston Marathon someday,” it never would have happened.
There’s a sweet spot for how far away your goal should be. If you say, “I want to run this year’s New York City Marathon,” and the race is in 2 weeks and you’ve been running twice a week, well, good luck. But if you say, “I want to run the 2025 New York City Marathon,” that’s so distant that it’s unlikely to motivate you to work toward it.
For most runners, 3 to 6 months is a good range for achieving a main goal. That’s enough time to do the work to achieve it but also close enough to remain motivating on a daily basis.
To work toward that goal, set shorter-term goals. Decide where you should be at the end of each month leading up to your goal, and then break those months into week-by-week progress toward that month-end goal. Every week, evaluate your progress. Are you making the necessary headway toward your goal? Or did you get stuck? If you haven’t progressed enough, then you probably need to postpone your goal. Look at this as a learning experience rather than failure. Ask yourself, “I said I would do this, but it hasn’t been happening, so what do I need to do differently?”
A good goal keeps you motivated. I write down my goals so there’s no question of what I’m aiming for. There it is in black and white: “I want to do this, I want to do that.” If you’re like me, you’ll find that regularly seeing your goals is a way to keep yourself honest.
Tell a few close people your goals. Doing so makes it easier to keep making the right choices to meet a particular goal. If you tell your training partner you’re going to run your first marathon, it will be easier to keep your running dates together. You don’t want your friend to say, “Wait, you’re canceling our run? I thought you were training for a marathon.”
In the months leading up to the 2014 Boston Marathon, Yordanos would say, “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” when she thought I was staying up too late. Family and friends will also support you when you hit the inevitable rough patches. I’m not advocating telling the whole world your goal. Stick with a small group of people who you know will care enough to want to help you reach it.
ADU Course, a thing of beauty when the sun eventually rises.
I’ve raced the Australian Day Ultra the last two years and managed a podium on both occasions. The first year I ran the 50km and nabbed a third place after dropping down from the 100km after a few bad runs in training had drained my confidence. I figured to run 100km I needed confidence in my ability and without this I wasn’t sure I’d complete the distance. As it turned out it was probably the right decision as even on the 50km race I fell off my goal pace early and had to work really hard for a 3 hour 38 minute finish with the T-train (that is Tony Smith) chasing me to the finish, and trust me having the T-train in hot pursuit is not pleasant, the man is relentless ! Last year I stepped up to the main event and off the back of a good training block ran 8 hours 4 minutes and a second place finish. It was a great day and as much as I enjoyed the experience (I use the word ‘enjoy’ loosely) I vowed not to return and retired on the spot !
Of course this was instantly forgotten when the event opened up in July and I must have been one of the first to put my name in the hat, how does that happen ? Anyhow the race was put on the back burner as other events came and went but after the 6 inch ultra in December the ADU suddenly became my next ‘target race’ and one that now demanded my attention. I must admit to not being that enameled with taking on the ADU again as the event got closer. To be prepared for this race you have to train very hard over the Christmas period, which is in the middle of a Perth summer, heat becomes your running partner and this makes all runs that little bit more ‘challenging’. It also comes at the end of the race calendar when you are looking forward to a break pre-Perth marathon in June. It can be very easy to drop the ball on this one , which would be a problem of course come race day.
Training wise I was on a good wicket and managed to put in three solid training weeks after the 6 inch ultra. Weeks of 118k, 130k and 154k had me feeling that training wise I was ready, it was just the mental side that needed work. I hadn’t fully convinced myself running again was such a good idea after a solid debut last year. Would I run as well again and was I risking too much taking on the ADU for a second time? These thoughts stayed with me in my 2 week mini-taper (do you taper for an ultra? I wrote a post on that where the answer was no if I remember correctly? ) and even the night before the event I was still questioning my reasons for racing.
I spoke to my Wife the night before the event, from the hotel room before I treated myself to two hours sleep, and made her promise to never let me run the event again. She asked me to make a video of me proclaiming this which I luckily conveniently forgot to do. Anyhow I digress, needless to say I got my two hours sleep awoke at 10:30pm , had some toast and honey with bananas on top, the breakfast of champions and made my way to the start which was scheduled for midnight. So yet again I found myself in a high visibility vest (council stipulations) wearing a head torch staring into the dark about to set off on another 100km adventure.
There was another carrot dangled in front of me, and probably the main reason for my return to the ADU after retiring last year (?). The Australian Ultra Runners Association M50 age group record was a tantalizing target after my 8 hours and 4 minutes debut 100k time in 2017. Bryan Smith, the current holder of the 50-55 age group, was an Ultra Running Legend who died while competing in the Big Foot Trans-Atlantic footrace in 2001, coincidently enough on my birthday, February 2nd. Bryan still holds the Australian record for 1,000 miles (1609km) which he ran in 11 days, 23 hours, the second fastest time anywhere in the world. Although I never knew Bryan it seems really was a ultra running great and he is considered one of the best ultra runners Australia has ever produced. To beat his time would be a great honour.
Right so off we go into the night, I had persuaded my good friend Jon Pendse to run with me for one lap as the T-train was shying away from our pace and was set to run his own race. Last years winner Richard Avery set off like a scolded cat and I could tell he was aiming for a sub 7 hour finish. So myself and Jon settled down into 4:30 min/k pace and enjoyed the unique atmosphere of running at midnight. Due to logistics and volunteers the course is a 12.5k loop 8 times which sounds boring but due to the night start it actually works quite well. The first four laps you run within yourself but because it’s dark you don’t feel like you’re repeating yourself. There is an aid station at the start, after 3k and at the far end of the out and back , so basically you’re never more than 3k from an aid station, plenty of opportunity to eat and drink on demand, an ultra runners dream course really. As I have always maintained an ultra really is an eating and drinking competition with running between refreshment tables. Basically get your hydration and nutrition right and you’re in with a good chance to finish, get it wrong in an ultra and you have a long way to think about your mistake. This year, like last, I had my esky full of ‘tukka’ at the middle aid station so passed it twice a lap. My plan was to use a 600ml drink bottle of electrolyte and a carbo-shot every lap with banana’s, protein bars and revvies ( http://www.revviesenergy.com ) as backup. (I never used these backup options, just too hard to think about and I never got in a state I really needed them.) This worked well for the first 6 laps but after that I couldn’t stomach any more electrolyte so moved to flat coke at the middle and end aid stations with water as backup.
So I managed to persuade Jon to stay with me to about 48k which was very good of him as we were a lot quicker than his target goal pace and I was worried after I left him he’d be swallowed up by the chasing pack. He actually carried on and finished with a massive PB of 45 minutes, a time of 8 hours 6 minutes. This was way beyond what he expected and again backs up my theory that sometimes you got to put yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve ‘great things’. So thanks Jon, as always I enjoyed your company and it helped the kilometres tick by. After I left Jon I knew I had just over 50k to go and would be alone bar passing other runners (and being passed by the 50k and 25k runners) . It was time to buckle down and get the job done. Time wise I was ahead of schedule and lapping the 12.5km loop consistently under the 60 minutes. I think my first 4 laps were all 57 minutes so everything was looking rosy. At the turn around for lap 5 I went past the race leader drinking at the aid station and his race was obviously run. Richard had set himself a goal ‘A’ deliberately with no Goal ‘B’, it was an ‘all or nothing‘ run and unfortunately this time it was to be nothing. A very brave roll of the dice and one Richard will learn from. I suspect next year he will realise his sub 7 hour dream and I hope to be there to witness it, albeit only as he cruises past me on each lap.
I passed Jon and mentioned to him I was in the lead and he had moved up to second place, all we had to do now was run for another three and a half hours and we’d be podium bound, easy really ? As it was the race panned out as most 100k ultras normally do. The first 50k you should be relaxed and aim to get to halfway feeling good, any other feeling and you are in for a world of pain of course. 50k -70k and things start to get real, 70k – 90k and the race begins in earnest. These 20k or so kilometres is where the race is defined, (similar to the last 10k in a marathon really.) run strong through this part of the race and you set yourself up for success. After running for 90k you can normally find something for the last 10k, ok it may not be pretty but if you get to 90k you are going to finish, eventually. This is what happened, lap 5 was bearable and I started to notice the spring in my step was not as ‘springy’ as in previous laps (is springy a word?) . Lap 6 and 7 is where you dig deep, 25k of pain really and if you can get to lap 8 you are there, after 7 laps you can always find something for the last one, trust me.
Personally when I run a race this long I break it down into smaller manageable chunks or goals. The ADU is easy as it’s an eight lap course (I typed in ‘course’ wrong and the spellchecker changed it to ‘curse‘, interesting?) so straight away you have eight smaller races, for me each 12.5k loop needed to be less than 60 minutes. Add in a halfway split and you have two 50km races. Trust me running 100k takes a long time, surprising that, and you need to be patient. The first 50k really is a jog to the start of the race which starts in earnest after halfway. On both occasions I’ve had great company for the first 50k of the ADU so it becomes more of a ‘Sunday long run with friends’ before morphing into a race. When you initially start the thought of running for eight hours is frightening so you need to just concentrate on enjoying the run and interacting with company, in a similar vein to a Sunday long run. Trying to get into ‘race mode’ for eight hours would be difficult and I admire runners who race from the first kilometre to the last, personally it’s too long mentally for me and I save my racing for laps 6 and 7 when its time to enter the pain box. I remember thinking on a number of occasions will this race ever end ! Eventually though it does…..
I finished in 7 hours 47 minutes and 29 seconds which was an AURA record and good enough for a maiden victory at this distance. (Ignore the clock in the photo below, that is the time of day I’m assuming because the other side showed the race net time? I’ll mention this rookie error to the race directors!) ) Jon came home in second place with my training buddy Tony ‘T-Train’ Smith completing the male podium places. It really was a perfect day. Other notable times for the day was the two first female runners setting times good enough for Australian Ultra Team qualification and the women’s winner, Bernadatte Benson, setting another Canadian record for her age group, beating her time she set in 2015, this was also another course record. Margie Hadley, who ran a strong second place, is one of my favourite runners as she probably runs more than me and certainly more times a day than me. I admire hard work when it comes to running and I don’t think many people work as hard as Margie, there is more to come from this young lady mark my words.
One happy runner, smiling on the inside, not so much on the outside?
After finishing I did the obligatory ‘I’m retired’ speech again to all who would listen but I feel they don’t believe me as they’ve heard it twice before and each year I keep returning. I must admit it doesn’t take long for me to forget about all the pain of the previous 8 hours after a few minutes and if I see a camera I’m smiling instantly and show boating with my medal, funny that ? I think the photo below shows this.
Two minutes after finishing and I’m all smiles, funny that. Different story three minutes previous….Adam Scott looking on in ‘awe.
Best thing after finishing an ultra is the ‘I can eat what I want‘ feeling you can give yourself for a few days after the event. Traditionally for me and Jon this starts at the Dome cafe about an hour after we finish. Pancakes, bacon, berries and maple syrup is the order of the day as we sit down and dissect the race, blow by blow. The last few years it’s always been ‘we ain’t doing that again‘ but this year was different, I think we both knew we’d be back but this was unspoken for the moment. As you can see from the photo below we are two very happy ultra runners in all our splendour with fresh medals proudly displayed for all to see.
My favourite part of the ADU, the post race debrief with Jon.
All that was to do now was return to the event for the presentations and also to encourage the last few runners on their way. The event started just after midnight but there were still runners on the course when the presentations started just after midday, some with multiple laps to complete. This is Ultra running , where the runners at the back of the pack work so hard just to finish. Running can be a cruel sport but as we are in awe of their determination they seem to be equally in awe of the leaders pace. Both sets of runners appreciate the other and that’s what makes the whole community feel of ultras running. It really is a special type of event where you make great friends and meet great people, as well as getting to run for a long time, it really is the event that just keeps on giving
Finally to quote Dean Karnazes, who knows a thing or two about ultra running, “If you want to run a mile, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon. If you want to talk to God, run an Ultra.”
With Ron and Shaun, two of the best Race Directors anywhere on this planet. (I think they’re actually holding me up at this point?)
I asked this question this time last year just before the Australia Day Ultra ( http://australiadayultra.com ) . A year later I can report I ran a good first 100k ultra and finished just over 8 hours with a constant pace throughout. It seems my ‘no tapering for an ultra’ strategy worked. This year I’ve ran 118k / 130k / 154k and 100k this week , since the 6 inch ultra in late December. The 100k this week was my ‘taper’ week before the final week where I’ll probably run 10k a day similar to last year. Is this a guarantee of success come the race ? In an Ultra unfortunately not. For any race, upto and including the marathon, I can probably predict my finishing time to within 1-2 minutes, with an ultra there are just too many variables to be really confident of a predicted finishing time.
In a marathon it’s all over in less than 3 hours so the time period for things to go wrong is small, assuming you have experience at the distance of course. I’m talking personally here and with 43 marathon finishes to me it is a fast long run, one I have completed many times. With this experience comes confidence, confidence to go out at a pace I know I can maintain and confidence to know that at 32k when most people are worried about ‘hitting the wall’ I mentally switch over to finish mode. There have been no unpleasant marathon experiences since 2014 when I was defending my Bunbury title and mentally fell apart at 15k. I learned from that mistake and its all been good since. (Note. the distance still hurts but ‘been good since’ really means as good as any marathon can be. Sorry people but if you race marathons you are gong to spend serious time in the pain box, there is no sugar coating this.)
An Ultra though does not give you the benefit of confidence because of all the variables that come into play. Last year was a great year for me and it all fell into place beautifully. I even managed to grab a second place finish when two runners in-front of me dropped out, the lead runner (who shall remain nameless) even pulled a hammy while going for an unscheduled call of nature, how lucky is that ? (for me of course , not the lead runner.) My nutrition and hydration strategy was spot on, again more luck than judgement, and the conditions were perfect. Because it was my first time I wasn’t under any real pressure (bar the video shot by Rob where I mentioned a 8hr 30min target time.) and truth be told actually enjoyed the whole experience bar lap 6 and 7 (it’s a 8 lap 12.5k course) Who is going to enjoy laps 6 and 7 though, this is when you are settled in the corner of the pain box in the foetal position asking yourself some serious questions? (the joy of running an ultra?) Lap 8 is bearable because it is the last one and every step you take you know you won’t repeat it, it’s one step closer to finishing rather than starting a new lap.
So in a few days I come out of my retirement (I retired as soon as I finished last year !) and take on the ADU again. Can I run a sub 8 hour 100k and grab an AURU age group record ? We’ll have a good crack but with so many variables you can never tell and the Piper may come a-calling this year and ask for payment. If he does , that’s cool, it’ll give me something to blog about when I eventually crawl over the line, after my pancakes, bacon and maple syrup of course, somethings will be constant in a world of variables.
Do you taper for an ultra ?
Being mainly a marathon runner I’m not as confident or sure of the taper period for an ultra. For the 6 inch ultra marathon in December last year I experimented by not tapering nearly as much as I would for a marathon. On the week of the event I actually ran twice a day Monday through Thursday and only had 48 hours rest before the race. Admittedly all runs on race week were slow and easy but I still managed over 80km’s pre-race. On the day I felt great and ran a good race for a 7th place finish but more importantly I was 4th quickest over the second half of the race. I actually ran my first negative split for an ultra. The week before the ultra I had ran 140k so there really wasn’t a taper period to talk off. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com )
Could this work for a marathon ? I don’t think so. The ultra is normally ran at a more subdued pace and although longer I feel not as testing as ‘racing’ a marathon. (Well ultras less than 100k, when you get above 100k I’m sure it becomes a tad more testing that a marathon. Once I run further than 100k I’ll confirm?) In an ultra the race pace normally decreases brings your overall cardio fitness in to play more than resting the legs a few weeks before. If you haven’t got the fitness a two week taper will not help, you’ll still be underdone. With a marathon, as the distance is less, you normally have the fitness required to finish the event, the tapering helps more by letting tired muscles recovery.
Also I feel running a good ultra is more dependant on the nutrition and hydration plan, get this right will benefit you so much more than a taper period. Again get this plan wrong and the taper will not save you. In an ultra any mistakes will be paid for, that is a certainty. In an ultra there is no where to hide.
Researching tapering and ultras on the web and there are stories advocating no tapering and setting PB’s while others advocate a 3 week steep taper and lean more towards relaxing rather than stressing about the event. All have their pro’s and con’s and as with all things running there’s no one shoe fits all. It really depends on the runner and also their experience and fitness. The more experienced runner with a good foundation of distance training under their belt will be more likely to be able to go into an event without tapering. They will not need the confidence boost that comes from a good taper as much as someone with less experience. Remember a good taper will also aid confidence and going into any race this is important, anything that helps put you in a positive mindset is welcome and needs to be embraced,
Of course if you have any niggling injuries an enforced taper may be called for. When this happens there is nothing you can do about it, just sit back and smell the roses concentrating on things you can influence like carboloading. Now carboloading, that is a whole new post and one I shall tackle next. Until then enjoy this article below by Ian Torrence which highlights ‘peaking’ rather than tapering as a benefit, pre-ultra. Ian is part of the Greg McMillan stable of writers so has a wealth of knowledge and experience to call upon. (Please note I do not advocate the Joe Kulak method of peaking described below but as you can see in the photo below my friend Jon is convinced it works… ?)
Jon practicing the Joe Kulak method of peaking !
The final weeks before an event are the toughest to get right. The common notion that all hard work must cease and inactivity must ensue is incorrect. It’s also foolhardy to continue amassing mileage and tough workouts as race day nears in hopes of improving fitness. Depending on your approach to this all-important time period, you may be left feeling lethargic or simply exhausted. A runner with the proper peak will feel rejuvenated and ready to go on race day.
Greg McMillan, my mentor, has devised a set of rules to live by as race day approaches. Greg explains, “By studying peak performance research – both physiological as well as psychological – as opposed to just the tapering research, I’ve been able to dial in how to truly peak on race day. It works for all athletes no matter where you find yourself in the pack come race day.” By placing Greg’s simple and effective system into context, let’s get you prepared for your next ultra.
1. Do not drop running volume drastically
Though there are some that prefer three weeks to peak, two weeks seems to be the most popular choice. During the first week of a peak, drop the length of each run by 10 to 20 minutes. The week before your event, drop volume by 20 to 30 minutes per run. I recommend that ultrarunners limit their last long run(s), done a week before the key event, to 90 easy minutes (regardless of the distance of the event). This is enough to give you that long run feeling, but short enough that muscle recovery and glycogen-storage continue. Light, non-impact cross training can be done in lieu of runs, but only if you are used to those forms of exercise.
2. Keep the routine
Run, eat, sleep, work, and socialize when you do normally. Your body and mind have achieved stasis over the past few months of training. Keep them both happy and the keel even. Now is not the time to experiment with new workouts, forms of exercise, foods, and social events. Use the extra time not spent running for sleeping and sticking to “safe” hobbies.
3. Keep the intensity and build confidence
Before the 2007 JFK 50 Mile, I had an exchange with fellow competitor Andy Mason. Nine days before the race, he completed a round of very quick mile repeats on the track; his last quality workout before the race. I knew he was fit and feeling confident. That year, Andy finished in the top ten.
Though most ultrarunners do not need to perform a tough round of mile repeats before their next race, they might consider doing some sort of confidence-building workout 10 days to two weeks out from their event. This workout, however, should be in tune with recent training. Running a 30-mile training run or time trialing up and down Hope Pass (like the author) a few days before a race is neither smart nor beneficial. A moderate length workout that you’re familiar with, that is aerobically challenging, allows for adequate recovery before race day, and demonstrates your fitness should be the order of the day. If you don’t routinely perform hard hill, stamina-building, fartlek, or fast finish workouts then this is not the time to start. Maintain your current training and follow the guidelines for reduction in mileage as mentioned above.
Now is also the time to reflect on all of the training you’ve done thus far. Remember that you’ve done the work necessary to get you to the finish line.
4. Stick to the original race plan and have fun
No one starts a race without a goal. Whether it be to keep your Grand Slam hopes alive, finish your first ultra, or win the event outright, don’t lose sight of why you’re out there. Be deliberate in your actions and calculate each move you make on the race course. Run your own race and enjoy the time you’re having on the trail or road. Greg McMillan sums this up perfectly, “Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t going for an Olympic gold medal here. We are simply enjoying the challenge of doing our best. There is no real pressure, so quit putting so much on yourself. We run for fun, and you should remember that. Have fun!”
PEAKING FOR MULTIPLE RACES
What if you’re gearing up for several important races that are separated by a few weeks or less? The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, as well as others of that genre, and several race series like the NorCal and SoCal Ultra Grand Prix are perfect examples. In essence, you are recovering and peaking in unison between events. There are two ways to approach situations like this:
1. Reverse taper
This is like returning from injury. Gradually and slowly increase the length of your post-race easy runs and avoid fast and difficult workouts. You won’t reach your normal training level, but you’ll satisfy the need for a few runs before your next event.
2. The Joe Kulak Method
When I asked Joe Kulak what he did between each of his four 2003 Grand Slam record- setting 100-mile races, he quipped, “I sat on the couch and drank beer.” If beer is not your drink of choice, water works just as well. The reality is that you can’t gain fitness in the two or three weeks between long ultras. Recovery will be your best “workout” while preparing for your next event.
I’m a big believer in trusting in your training, put in the hard work and you’ll be rewarded. I have said it many times on this blog running is an honest sport, this of course is a two edged sword with very few examples of running faster than expected times off poor or no training. Of course returning from injury can sometimes be a blessing in disguise because you are forced to take some time off and this, combined with good training before and after the injury, can surprise you with better than expected times. Which leads me to the point of this post, predicted finishing times for longer races from shorter races. The main example I use is my current half time times two and add 10 minutes, this will normally be pretty close to my marathon time. e.g. if I’m running 1:20 for the half my marathon time is around 2:50 (1:20 * 2 + 10 minutes)
My current half PB is 1:15:00 but this hasn’t translated to a 2:40 marathon ( I managed 2:41:41 ) mainly due to the half time being one of those races when ‘the magic happens‘ and you out perform what you thought you were capable of. Saying that to get to within 2 minutes is pretty accurate. When I ran my marathon PB , 2:41:14 my half time was 1:16:24 which was closer. You can use a 10k or even a 5k time as an indicator but of curse the margin for error is probably larger as you are multiplying the finishing time by either 4 (10k) or 8 (5k). There are various websites where you can ply in your predictor race and your goal race and get an estimated finish time. A good example is the McMillan website ( https://www.mcmillanrunning.com ) or Runners World ( https://www.runnersworld.com/marathon-training/heres-a-better-marathon-time-predictor )
The Runners World race time predictor has bee rebuilt apparently (see below) It seems most race predictors are overall generous with their predictions and the work by Andrew Vickers paints a gloomier picture by also adding in weekly mileage. Common sense really as those runners running higher mileage would be better prepared , cardio-wise if nothing else, for the longer races. Most, if not all, race predictors never ask for weekly training mileage, strange this has been over looked.
As always I have an amusing story reference race predictors. My good friend Mike Kowal wasn’t running as much as he should have been due to injury (we use to call him ‘sick note’ as he was injured so much. There was the amusing story where he got injured at the sports massage clinic because the physio left the heat pack on and told Mike to call out if it got to hot. Not wanting to seem a wimp Mike kept quiet and ended up with second degree burns ! You get the picture…) Anyhow because Mike hadn’t run a half , 10k or even a 5k he started to predict his marathon finishing times off even shorter distances, At one point I’m sure he had it down to a 10 metre sprint. This is not to be recommend for predicting a marathon finish not matter what magic he used, it is to be noted Mike is an Engineer and probably developed some devilish formula to show a sub3 prediction of a 4 paces sprint. Funnily enough he did go sub3 on his first marathon but has yet to repeat the magic on subsequent outings.
All joking aside can you use a race predictor and rely on the predicted time to set your pace for a marathon ? Remember the marathon runner who slows the least normally wins (or achieves their goal). Predicted time and the resulting race pace is pivotal to success when it comes to running a marathon so get the predicted time wrong and the race pace will also be wrong, which equates to failure. I like the idea of entering two previous results in the Runners World predictor because it adds in experience which is so important to race finish times. I can predict to within +/- 90 seconds my marathon time these days and this is all down to experience. With over 60 marathons and ultra’s under my belt I can predict my race pace very accurately and have only hit the wall twice, once in my first marathon by not preparing and running a time beyond me and once when I was struggling mentally and talked myself into failure. (I have covered the mental part of marathon running in various posts, so important and so under estimated.) With experience and good quality training comes consistency.
I used the Running World Race Time Predictor and added in my best 10k and 5k times and adjusted the weekly mileage until I got a sub 2:40 marathon time. I had to get two 160 km a week (100 miles) to get my predicted time under 2hrs 40 minutes for the full marathon. Probably about right truth be told but it never asked for my age which would surely be another factor that would be pivotal to the accuracy ? I’m 51 in a few weeks and assuming all the variables where the same I would expect a 35 year old runner, for example, with the same race times to out perform me. Maybe I’ll try and run a 2:38:30 in June this year, hell the computer says ‘Yes’ so what could possibly go wrong ?
160km a week, piece of cake.
Runner’s World has updated its Race Time Predictor to give you a more accurate assessment of your likely marathon finish time. What’s changed? For starters, when predicting a marathon time, you can now input the results of two races you recently completed, instead of just one. Because past finishing times are helpful in determining future finishing times, this info will produce a more accurate result. In addition, the new Predictor allows you to get a result adjusted for your average weekly training miles. If you ran 50 miles a week in training, you will get a faster predicted time than if you ran 20 miles a week. This is a breakthrough approach not available from other calculators.
The new Predictor is derived from data-driven research just published at Bio Med Central. The paper, titled “An empirical study of race times in recreational endurance runners,” is available as free, full text. Lead author Andrew Vickers, a sub-3-hour marathoner and cancer statistician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, found that most pace calculators underestimate correct marathon finish times by 5 to 20 minutes. As a result, runners using the calculators to pace themselves might start too fast in their marathons—a sure recipe for failure.
A smarter method: Have a more accurate appraisal of your marathon time from the start, and plan your pace accordingly. That’s what the new Predictor is designed to help you do. (Keep in mind predictions can be moot without the right plan to get you to the starting line. Find the perfect Runner’s World training plan for your goal right here.)
Many previous online calculators are based on innovative work done by American runner and course-measurement expert Pete Riegel. Only Riegel faced a severe limitation: When he created his first “equivalent time calculator” in 1977, he had little data to work with, so he based his calculator on the performances of world-record holders, fully realizing that his formula might not apply to mid-pack and back-of-the-pack runners.
Once unleashed, Riegel’s formula became so popular that it took on a life on its own. Many websites adopted it, while few questioned its limitations.
Other calculators were based on aerobic fitness, a key component of marathon success, but far from the only one. (See more below.)
To devise a calculator based on the performances of more typical runners (non world-record-holders), Vickers collected training and race-results data via web survey from 1,022 recreational marathoners. His subjects had an average marathon finish time of 3:28 (men) and 3:54 (women), roughly 50 minutes faster than average national times collected by Running USA, but still far from elite status. And, the Vickers data set included 150 runners with marathon times over 4:30. “That’s a reasonably large number for statistical analysis,” he says, “and much larger than many other studies.”
When Vickers ran the numbers, he discovered a discrepancy between his results and other marathon predictors. Here’s an example: Let’s assume you have run a half marathon in 2 hours and want to estimate your marathon time. While many online calculators will give you a prediction from 4:07 to 4:12, Vickers finds that 4:17 to 4:30 is more accurate.
Runner’s World continues to use the Riegel formula for race time predictions up through the half marathon. Both Vickers and others have found that it works well for 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons—all the common distances shorter than the marathon.
When it comes to the marathon, however, many factors beyond pure aerobic fitness come into play. These include: training volume, fueling (pre-marathon and during-the-marathon), hydration, thermoregulation, and more. All these factors tend to slow your marathon pace, which is exactly what Vickers found in his data analysis.
Because of this, the Runner’s World Race Time Predictor was rebuilt to incorporate the more accurate formula developed by Vickers when predicting marathon times.
Of course, a lot depends on your training mileage. And the Vickers formula, unlike the others, allows you to input your weekly mileage along with your prior race times. You won’t be surprised to learn that the more you train, the faster your predicted marathon time. (Not only does it allow for training mileage, it actually requires it. So, if training mileage isn’t included, the Predictor falls back to the Riegel formula.)
Vickers’s analysis also reached other potentially useful conclusions counter to conventional wisdom. These include:
Training mileage affects all race results equally. In other words, your training mileage is just as important for 5Ks as it is for marathons.
Tempo training has a greater impact, correlating with faster times, on 5K and 10K race results than on marathon results. Also, tempo training is slightly more effective in general than interval training. Interval training has the same impact on all race results; it’s not more important for the 5K and 10K than it is for the marathon.
Aging affects all distances equally. It doesn’t have more impact on shorter distances than on longer distances.
And, in support of conventional wisdom, Vickers found that women come closer to men in the marathon (running about 10 percent slower) than in the 5K (about 20 percent slower). And, of course, more training miles lead to faster race results for everyone. Check out the new Runner’s World Race Time Predictor.
A Mike Kowal 10metre marathon predictor run with the man himself. I think he predicted a sub 2hour marathon off this one?
I was looking back in my Excel spreadsheet training journal recently at my PB’s (PR’s for our American cousins. (You need a manual record just in case Strava ( http://www.strava.com ) gets taken out by North Korea, that funny looking leader of theirs doesn’t look like a runner, just saying.) All my PB’s have come at the end of a high mileage training week(s) and on all occasions I have ran with runners who I had no right running with, truth be told. In most cases I have been dropped but not before I was deposited into a situation where a PB became a reality. If I had ran to a set pace I would have not ran as fast. So it seems we all have the ability to run faster than we think we can but we rarely put this theory to the test as we are worried about ‘blowing up’ or failure.
For my 10k PB of 34:18 I raced this new young runner I had not seen before as I thought initially he was running the 5k option. When the 5k runners turned we both moved to the 10k course. As it turns out this young runner became a good friend of mine who I train with weekly. Zac has turned into a very accomplished runner who is currently training with Raf and targeting a sub 2:30 marathon. Needless to say I don’t race in the same league as Zac anymore and this was brought home to me recently at the Fremantle half where I placed third in the 10k and ran with Zac for the first 3k , unfortunately Zac was running the half and then dropped me on the way to a 72 minute time and the victory. I couldn’t even keep up for 4k. I digress of course, the first time I met Zac I decided to try and run with him for as long as possible as he was running quicker than my PB pace. Any thought of a predetermined race pace went out the window and I just ran to see how long I could keep up with this new face on the Perth running scene. As it turned out Zac was also outside his comfort zone and I managed to sneak home for the win and a new PB. I feel without my ‘gun-ho’ approach I would have achieved neither.
Racing with Zac at the Darlington half this year. This was as close as I got as he grabbed a podium and I was a few minutes behind him. (He is number 11912 to my right)
It is a similar story for my 5k PB. This time Chris O’Neil turned up at my local park run (a very accomplished ultra runner and marathon runner with a marathon PB of 2:25 ) and I was again at the end of a long training week with double-up days all the previous 5 days. I wasn’t expecting much truth be told but thought I’d try and keep Chris honest for at least the first kilometre, it was my local park run after all. So off I went like a scolded cat running 800m pace from the start. I did manage to get to the first kilometre marker before Chris but after that he was off and I managed to maintain a pace quick enough to run a 16:40 which was a time that myself and Dan ‘the man with a plan’ Macey had often talked about achieving. I had been close on many occasions but this time I had given myself the extra few seconds I needed by running the first kilometre at suicide pace and then hanging on.
Rottnest Marathon Start line. Chris is number 287 and he won by a margin of over 10 minutes if my memory serves me right.
My half marathon PB was achieved in similar circumstances when I again decided to try and run with the lead group for a long as possible as see where it took me. It actually took me to the lead at 18k feeling great and I started to think about a winners speech, ( do I thank all my extended family first and then the Marathon Club for hosting the event, marshalls, God, the list soon became quite large ? ) The Fremantle Half is quite a large event and for some reason this year a lot of quality runners had decided to run elsewhere. I was left leading Gerry Hill and Tom Bakowski, two runners outside my pay grade but both had not been running at the top of their game and I dared to dream, briefly. At 19k they both decided to stop playing with me, like a cat plays with a mouse, and both put on the afterburners consigning me to third place but a massive PB of 75 minutes dead. Yep, that’s right, a rookie error finishing dead on 1hour 15 minutes. One step quicker and I would have been a 1:14;xx half runner, albeit the xx would have been 59 seconds, not important it’s all about the minutes when it comes to half PB’s. As with the other two PB’s this one came at the end of a massive training week and I remember sitting in the car before the event actually contemplating pulling out as I was so fatigued from the weeks training and I didn’t want to embarrass myself.
So to sum up this little gem of a post it seems if you really want to grab a PB you need to run more and then on race day hook up with someone you know is quicker, than your current PB, and hang on for dear life. Don’t worry about the time as they’ll take care of it, all you need to do is hang on for as long as you can and they will sling-shot you to a PB, simple really. Perfectly summed up by the late, great Steve Prefontaine below.
A Steve Prefontaine classic quote.
Note: I must stress this can also work with longer distances like the marathon but a certain amount of self restraint needs to be shown. I wouldn’t recommend slotting in behind the lead Kenyan at a marathon hoping to take the ‘gung-ho, nothing ventured, nothing gained ‘ approach because unfortunately this will end in failure and normally pretty quickly. By all means find someone who normally runs a few minutes quicker but running a marathon at suicide pace normally results in just that. Young Mr. Prefontaine never ran a marathon and was a specialist 5k runner, for 5k you can run at suicide pace and sometimes survive, for a marathon there is no finishing if you start at 5k pace. No one ever said at the end of a marathon ‘that was easy, I shaved off 30 minutes off my PB with no training’, sorry but that’s running for you……
