Well, this is it.  Our last 1/2 marathon training run; by 10:00 next Saturday morning, all of us will be finished with the Country Music 1/2 Marathon. What are we doing this week?  We are meeting back at Shelby Bottoms at 9 o'clock for a short race pace run.  We'll jog 1-2 miles, run 3-5 miles at goal pace, and then jog 1-2 miles.  While you are running at goal pace, pay close attention to how it feels.  Why?  Because the race is hilly, it always seems like we are going up or down, so during the race we need to run by feel and not by pace.

Your up hill miles will be slower than goal pace, and your down hill miles will be faster.  Working hard up the hills, and then using the down hills to recover, is not a good way to race.  You should run with a pretty steady  effort level nice the whole time.  (Well, until the last 2 miles when you start hammering!) 

If you know how fast you want to run the race, but you don't know what that pace would be, try the MacMillan Running Calculator.  This is a pretty handy site that will instantly calculate your pace - or you can type in a recent race performance and it will give projected times for other distances.  (Try to ignore the cheesy music...)

Finally, what should you run this week?  Not much.  Probably about 40% of what you normally do, and almost all of it should be SLOW.  Here is a sample schedule for next week:

Monday - off

Tuesday - 3 miles

Wednesday (East Nasty) - 4.5

Thursday - 2

Friday - 2

Saturday - 13.1

Block out your schedule for the Saturday night post-race East Nasty party!  Look for details coming soon!  You won't want to miss it!

See you Sunday!

Mark

Nasties - This is the last week where we will  start at Centennial Park and run the course.  This week's run will take us through the first 11 miles of the course, (from the round-about: down Division - to 11th, 11th to Charlotte) then back to Centennial Park via Charlotte.  The entire run will be about 13.1 miles!

The official website and course map has finally been updated.  We won't run the final 2 miles as part of our training, so you may want to get out there and run those on your own.   The race course takes us up from bicennential park and over the Woodland street bridge, so there is one last sneaky uphill in the last 2 miles that you may want to investigate!!

Training note:  It is always better to be a little bit undertrained rather than a little bit overtrained.  Meaning, that you should cut this run short if you are feeling consistently worn-out and fatigued!  Next week is our last long run, and we're running Bongo-to-bongo, which is 14 miles.   So even if you cut this week's run a little bit short, you will have another chance for an overdistance run.  (Meaning a training run that is longer than the race distance.)

Shirts: I am going to place the shirt order on Monday.   Sorry I have had to postpone the order several times, but things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped!  (Do things ever go as smoothly as the plan??!!)

Bracket Update:  Going into the final weekend, here is a list of the folks that are still in the hunt, and their picks that are still capable of winning.  (And once Michigan State and UNC win, it will be down to me and LaMont.)

David Harris - 95 (UNC)

Erick Snyder - 89 (UNC)

Erica Tober - 87 (UNC)

Mary Jane Peck - 87

Mark Miller - 86 (MSU / UNC)

Paul Clayton - 85

Annie Parsons - 82

Christy Maynard - 81 (UNC)

Hunter Lane - 81

Jim Schwan - 80

Josh Gruner - 79 (UCONN / UNC)

Aman Khapoya - 79 (MSU)

Amberlie - 61 (UCONN)

See you Sunday morning, 9:00.

Mark

There are several great things going on this Sunday for the Nasties: 1. We should have some samples of the men's and women's "East Nasty for Life '09" shirts.

The women's shirts will be coral, the men's will be tank green, and they'll be $20 a piece.  Notice the retail price is $35!  Thanks to Fleet Feet and our local Sugoi rep (and fellow East Nasty) Travis Werts for getting us a great deal! (The shirts will have the East Nasty logo on the front and Fleet Feet on the back.  You will be shocked at how many cat-calls you will receive during the race if you are wearing an East Nasty shirt...or if you are running next to LaMont when he's not wearing his East Nasty shirt)

NOTE: We will be ordering shirts on Monday of next week.  If you are not coming this Sunday, contact Drew Jones at Fleet Feet or post a comment here to place your order.

2. We are running the course again.

Here is the plan...Run the course until you get back to the round-about.  (From Belmont, down 16th), go straight through the round-about down 16th to West End.  Turn left on West End and run back to Centennial Park.  11.3 miles total.

3. Bring $2 or $3 this Sunday.

This is a long run.  We will have fluids at Belmont, but Fleet Feet will also provide many different nutritional product for $1 a piece: Gels, Beans or Shots.

What?????

For those of you who are new to endurance sports, if you are exercising for over 90 minutes you need to replace fluids and calories.  Since eating is hard to do while running, there are products out there that are easy to consume.  Examples are Jelly Belly sport beans (i.e. jelly beans), cliff shot bloks (i.e. gummy blocks), and Powergels and Gu (i.e. flavored vasoline).  Each of these have 100-200 calories per serving, but the consistency varies.  Since most of us will need to take in some calories during the race, we are going to practice this Sunday.  Drew Jones,(for those who don't know Drew, he is Rod "Fabulicious" Jones' brother) will be bringing a variety of products for $1 a piece, so you can try various ones to see what settles with you the best.

4. Post-Run Yoga.

This one is weather dependent, but post-run, Leah from Kali Yuga Yoga will be leading us through another Yoga session.  It's going to be outside in Centennial Park, and should start about 11:15.

5. Yoga announcement #2.

At 6:30 on Friday, April 3rd there is a yoga for runners class being offered at Kali Yuga Yuga.  They are only asking for a donation, but you will need to call to reserve a spot!  Click on their website above and enjoy the benefits of yoga.

See you on Sunday!

Mark

This Sunday we are back at Shelby doing our second long tempo run.  We will run 5, 6 or 7 miles at a pace that is 35-60 seconds slower than your 3 mile TT.  (Hopefully, we'll all run in the 35-45 seconds per mile slower range...)   Remember: even if you can run faster than this, you shouldn't.  Save those really intense efforts for your races.  Jack Daniels is a great running coach who has an extremely user-friendly training guide called "Jack Daniels Running Formula."   He calls runs outside of your prescribed pace "misplaced quality" .  I think that is a great term because these runs are hard, but they don't accomplish their intended purpose... 

If you want to read more on tempo running read this previous blog   (Or better yet, buy and read Jack Daniels' book...)

Many of you are running races periodically as we prepare for the Country Music 1/2, and are curious about recovery times.  Here is a rule of thumb: take one recovery day for every 3 kilometers of racing.  So: a 5K =  2 recovery days, a 15K =  5 easy days.  A half-marathon is about 21k, so take a full week of recovery running.    What is recovery running?  Like all running, pace is relative to your fitness level, so recovery running is different for different people, but the words "really darn slow" go a long way towards describing the appropriate pace!

See you on Sunday!

Mark

This Sunday we are running three miles hard at Shelby Bottoms.  Be sure to get there on time!  We lose an hour Saturday night, which means longer, warmer days - but it also means that tomorrow 9 o'clock is really 8 o'clock.   Last time we did this workout we ran three miles out at an easy pace, turned around, and ran three miles hard back in.  That's the plan for this week as well. But make sure that your 3 mile warm-up is a warm-up, and that you are not running too fast - or with people that are significantly faster than you.

By the way, how should I warm-up for a race?

Everyone knows that you cannot jump out of bed and run a great 5K.   Especially as you age, your body needs more time to prepare to put out hard efforts.  So before you race, it is essential to get the engine going, but how do you do that?

Warm up basics

1. Shorter Race/Longer Warm-up.  The faster you are going to start a race the longer your warm-up should be.  A mile racer is going to be running fast from the gun, so he needs to approach the line ready to go.  This requires a long warm up.  A marathoner, who will build slowly into his pace over a mile or two does not need to be prepared to sprint at the start, so his warm-up would be significantly shorter.   Also, a miler will finish his race under 5 minutes, so he can afford to "waste" some energy on a warm-up; while a marathoner will be running for hours, so every drop of glycogen used on the warm-up is energy that will not be available at mile 22!

2. Easy Running.  Start running slow.  And keep it there for at least 5-15 minutes.  Then gradually increase the pace over the last 5 minutes.  Run for a total of 10-30 minutes.

3. Stretch lightly.  Before a race is not a good time to begin practicing yoga.  If you don't stretch normally, don't stretch now.  If you do stretch - perform some light stretches.  Everyone one is a little different as to what needs to be stretched: I focus on my back, hip flexors and quads.  Others focus on their calfs and hamstrings.  Focus on whatever you need, but don't do any deep stretches before a race.

4. Bathroom duty.   No explanation needed for those of us who have gotten the trots during a race... When you go to a race, be sure that you give yourself time to hit the bathroom.  The combination of warming-up, pre-race jitters and coffee tends to get things going...

5. One to Two minute surge.  About 8 minutes before the start of a race, you should run  1-2 minutes at your threshold (tempo) pace.  This is the pace that you could run for an hour.  This final step prepares your body to accept the onslaught of lactic acid that you are about it give it.  It is tough for your body to go from rest (heart rate of 70) to racing (heart rate of 170+).  It is better to start a race with your heart in the 100-120 range rather than from resting.  This final surge gets your body to this point.  

6. Final strides.  A stride is a 50-100 meter light "sprint".  You will see some racers doing strides instead of the longer surge.  I am not a big fan of strides unless: a) you finished your surge 10 minutes ago and you have been standing at the starting line for a long time waiting for something to happen, or b) the start of the race is going to be extremely fast.

If any of you guys ever have any specific questions about this ask, be sure to ask on Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings!  Or, just ask those folks running next to you.  There is a lot of running experience to tap into out there on Sunday mornings... 

See you guys on Sunday!

Mark

So the weather seems to be a little bit schizophrenic, but I'll trade a 15 degree Tuesday for a 65 degree weekend any day! Tempo Running

A 1/2 marathon is not a dash.  If you're breathing hard after 2 miles, you're in trouble.  Racing 13.1 miles requires a sustained 80-90%-ish effort;  and not just a sustained effort, but an even paced effort.  The most efficient way to run a 1/2 marathon is an even/negative split.  (Meaning that your first mile is the slowest, your last mile is the fastest, and all the rest are about the same.)

Therefore the two most beneficial workouts for a marathoner are the long run and the tempo run.  The long run is beneficial for obvious reasons - and they are fairly straight forward: you run for a long time at a conversational pace.   There is a bit more variety in how you do tempo workouts, but the purpose of all tempo runs is to raise your anaerobic threshold.  Your what?  Basically, in lay terms, tempo runs improve your ability to run at a pace that is "almost really hard" for a long time.   (As a side note: training your body to go "pretty hard " for a long period of time, may actually decrease your ability to go "really hard" for a short period of time.  In other words its hard to be a marathoner and a sprinter at the same time.)

Tempo Intervals

If you are following the workout schedule, you started doing tempo intervals this week.  You ran for 1 mile at a pace that is about 35 seconds per mile slower than your 2 mile time trial, then you rested for 1 minute: (repeat 4-8 times).  These are great workouts becuase you can run faster than you can on a continuous tempo run, but they are not great race simulators because you know that you will have a 1 minute  rest after every mile -and  that's not how races work.

Continuous Tempo Runs

For 1/2 marathoners, a much more applicable type of tempo running is the continuous tempo run.   Physiologically these workouts improve your anaerobic threshold almost as well as tempo intervals, but mentally they refine your pacing skills and concentration.  This is what we are doing this week.

Get to the point, what are we doing this Sunday?

What we are doing this Sunday:

Note: Whenever we do a long tempo run, it will be on the greenway at Shelby because every 1/2 mile is marked.

Take your 3 mile time trial from last week and add 45 seconds per mile.  (This is a fairly conservative pace, so everyone should be able to hit these times.)

Then shuffle at least 1 mile (perferably 2)  to warm up, before hitting the greenway to run 4, 5 or 6 miles at tempo pace.  If you are feeling good, you can speed up the last mile or two.

Then, take in your fluids and calories that you have been bringing ever since you read my previous blog, and head out to get some java.

See you guys on Sunday !

Mark

"What pace should I run during the 1/2 marathon?" "Do you think I can run 8 minutes per mile?"

"How fast should I run during my training runs?"

These are questions that I often receive and the answer is "Who knows??"   These questions are completely abstract ...until that runner can give me a recent running performance by which to make a judgement.   For example, if someone can give me a 5K or 10K race time - then I can estimate (and they are only that - estimates)  their 1/2 marathon ability, and I can tell them how fast to run during their training.  These estimates are not guarantees, but it's much better than just taking a shot in the dark.

That is why we are doing a hard 3 mile run this week.  This run will be a benchmark by which we can plan our future runs, estimate our 1/2 marathon ability  and evaluate our progress. (We'll perform another hard 3-mile run in March.)  

Logistics - all the runs will be on the greenway since every 1/2 mile is marked:

Novice: Warm-up out to the 1 mile marker -  Run hard out to the 2 mile marker and back.  Catch your breath and then jog for about 5 minutes more.

Intermediate: Jog out to the 2 mile marker - Run hard out to the 2.5 - then turn around and head back.  Catch your breath and jog for about 5 minutes more.

Advanced: Jog out to the 3 mile marker - turn around and run hard back.  Cool down for about 10 minutes.

Side Note: Write this time down!  This is one reason I gave you guys training logs.  Keep track of these hard runs, so you can monitor your progress.  We will also use this time to establish a training pace for next week.

Grab a snack to eat, and then we are all invited to head over to Kali Yuga Yoga for the intro to yoga class.  Here are the details from Leah:

"After the time trials on Sunday, Feb 1st all runners are welcome to join Leah, owner and director of East Nashville's Kali Yuga Yoga, for a short but thorough yoga session. This 30 minute practice is designed to aid in the recovery and healing process of hard working muscles utilized in intense race training. In addition, through these simple but specific poses runners will improve the condition of their muscles, reduce their risk of injury, explore efficient ways to improve breathing and increase the longevity of their sport. Our session will include some of the most popular asanas and ways to safely and effectively execute them. All levels are welcome but the practice will be geared towards beginners. For any questions yoga related or otherwise feel free to contact Leah: leah@kaliyugayoga.com

TIME: 11:00

LOCATION: Kali Yuga Yoga"

See you Sunday!

Mark

Nasties- This is going to be our longest run yet.  Check your training program for the duration of your run.  (Note: look at how I am making you check your own training program rather than telling you how far you are running this week. Links to the training programs are at the bottom of this page.)

This week, we will have a chance to buy some Sugoi clothing.   Sugoi is a brand of cycling and running apparel, and the local rep will be at our run selling some of his samples for half price!  He is bringing both cycling and running clothes, and most of them are men's large or women's medium.

Starting Slow

Every single running world record (except the 800 meters) has been negative split.  Meaning that the second half of the race was run faster than the first half of the race.  So you might be thinking, "Wow, those runners are amazing, they start fast and end even faster!"  They are amazing, this is true - but they don't necessarily start fast.  Sure it's fast for us, but for them it's completely under control.  And after running the first part of the race under control, then they finish at speeds that I can't even comprehend.  (Kenenisa Bekele ran 53 seconds for his final lap when he set the world record for the 10K)

"Well, I'm not setting any world records so what's the bottom line for me."

The bottom line for you:  The idea of starting slow, and speeding up should be incorporated into pretty much every run.  The first mile of your runs should be little more than a shuffle, and then allow the pace to naturally increase itself.  (This is especially true on morning runs - when you are still half asleep when you start running.)  Now, this doesn't mean that you should shuffle the entire time, nor does it mean that you should finish every run as fast as you can; just allow your body to slowly work its way into your pace, rather than being a slave to your watch - or at the mercy of the pace of those runners around you.

Just for fun - here are some world records:

                              Men                                           Women

Mile                     3:43.13                                        4:12.56

5K                        12:37.35                                      14:11.15

10K                     26:17.53                                      29:31.78

Marathon          2:03:59                                       2:15:25

If you are interested in more, check out athletics world records.

See you Sunday.  Remember to bring fluids, calories, and cash for coffee and clothes.

Mark

Week three.  1/2 Training. 50, 60 or 80 minutes at Shelby. Recovery Nutrition

Our runs are getting longer, and as they get longer I want to get you guys thinking about nutrition and recovery.  It is vital that you replenish your energy stores after you finish running, espeically after long runs.  We will learn about refueling during long runs later (your body stores enough energy to run for about 90 minutes - so at this point we should all be fine...)  In fact, we will practice taking in calories during a run later in the training cycle.  Today I want to talk about nutrition after the run.

When to Eat

Everyone knows that you have to refill the gas tank after you finish working out, but what has come to light recently (or at least fairly recently...), is that you need to refill the tank ASAP.  It's not a good idea to go home after your run and take a 2 hour nap before you have a meal.  After you stop exercising, your body has the ability to easily take in calories and convert them to glycogen (fuel for your muscles); but after about 60 minutes, that ability drastically descreases.  So if you wait to eat for too long, it will take your body much longer to recover from a workout becuase your muscles won't accept glycogen as readily.

What to Eat

Not only should you consume calories shortly after you finish exercising, but a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein was found to be the optimal mix of a recovery meal/drink.  Lots protein is bad, and only carbs is bad.  This fact was discovered by Ed Burke, the inventor of  Endurox recovery drink.  About 10 years ago (wow, time flies...), Outside magazine had a great article about Ed and recovery nutrition in general.   This article gives lots of suggestions of things to eat outside of the manufactured nutrition realm.  You don't need to go out and buy $200 worth of nutritional supplements, for example, chocolate milk is the perfect recovery drink.  (Carbs, protein and fluids...everything an East Nasty needs.)

Application:

BAD IDEA:  You're meeting a friend for brunch at noon.  Great.  So you'll go for a run, and you'll be nice and hungry for your meal at 12.  So instead of eating after the run, you just drink a bunch of water and wait for your brunch.  Boo.  The whole point of Ed Burke's research was that calories taken in immediately after a run, are significantly more effective than calories taken in later on.  (Even eating more calories later on doesn't help.)

BETTER IDEA:  Bring 16 ounces of gatorade and a Lemon Zest Luna bar (mmmmmm..... Lemon Zest Luna Bar), consume those immediately after your run.  Believe me, your body will thank you for it, and you will still be ready to eat at noon!

If you want more details check out the article above.  It's great.  But if you are thinking: Mark, what's the bottom line for Sunday mornings....

Bottom Line for Sunday mornings: Immediately after you run drink 16-32 ounces of fluids, and take in 200-400 calories.  Water + balance bar, recovery drink,  chocolate milk, whatever - just grab your fluids and/or snack and consume those during  your post-run stretch.  Then head over to Ugly Mugs (and/or home) to finish your meal!

See you on Sunday!

Mark

Can you believe that it is 2009?  Crazy.  That's all I have to say about that. This Sunday is out first official East Nasty 1/2 marathon training session.  We meet at 9:00 am every Sunday at a variety of locations.  This week is at Shelby Park, under the train bridge.   I will remind you each week where we are meeting, but look at the bottom of this blog:  I have links to the three training plans.  Each of the plans tells you where we will be meeting each Sunday morning...

Watch the weather channel and be prepared to run rain or shine.   Bring a change of clothes to get warm and dry after the run, and bring some $$ to grab some coffee after the run.  After we finish, we usually head over to a local coffee shop to grab a bagel and a cup of joe.  This week we are going to invade Ugly Mugs (across from Rosepepper) where fellow East Nasty Dave Coleman brews some fantastic espresso drinks.

I have no idea what the weather will be like, but I'm sure it will be cold for at least one of our Sunday runs, so here are a couple of cold weather tips:

1) Your lungs will not freeze..this is a myth, but cold air is very dry -  you may not feel dehydrated but you are.  So be sure that you are drinking lots of fluids.

2) Dress as if you are going for a walk in weather that is 15-20 degrees warmer than the current temp.  So if it is 40 degrees, dress as if you were going to a walk in 60 degree weather.

3) Wind can make things seem really cold. If it is cold and windy, wear a light weight windbreaker and you'll be nice and toasty.

4) Keep your head and hands warm.  

5) Bring dry clothes to change in to after your run, and change ASAP.  I always keep a fresh pair of socks, and a towel in my car; and on Sunday mornings, I bring a complete change of clothes, (especially because we usually head over to a coffee shop after our run.)

6) If your shoes get wet, take the insoles out, and cram them full of newspaper.  (I am always excited when people get to take advantage of this little trick because it's amazing!  It works incredibly well.)

7) Always bring some sort of fluid for after the run. Water, gatorade, whatever...just drink a good 16-32 ounces of fluids immediately after you run.

I'm sure I'll have lots more tips over the next couple of months.  See you this Sunday!

Mark

Nasties - The shirts are in!  If you ordered a long-sleeve East Nasty t-shirt, they have arrived. You can pick up the shirt at Fleet Feet - or -  you will have to wait until our first Wednesday night run in January to pick them up.  They're $25.

Winter speed sessions:  If track workouts seem intimidating, or if you need a group to keep you accountable, then try winter speed sessions through Fleet Feet. (Coached by yours truly)  They are $50, meet on Tuesdays (mornings or evenings) from January 27 - April 14  and will improve your running by leaps and bounds!    If you are new to track workouts, this is a great way to learn how to do them.  More questions, shoot me an email, or read below. 

http://www.fleetfeetnashville.com/training-programs-0

Stay running over the holidays, be prepared to start on January 4th with a 40, 50 or 60 minute run.  

See you in a couple of weeks!

Mark

Our kick-off meeting went great yesterday.  It looks like we will have a good mix of Novice, Intermediate and Advanced runners.  There are even a couple of run/walkers who are going to join the East Nasty crew! If you did not get a training plan, they are posted here - (you can print them using your browser's print function):

Advanced:  http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgbh8mj9_23hmkw66cm

Intermediate: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgbh8mj9_24cjh43dsd

Novice:  http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgbh8mj9_25dpk6g2gn

(Thanks Polly for posting these!)

NOTE:  The 1/2 marathon is expensive this year, and come January 1 it gets even more expansive!  Right now it's $80.  January 1 it goes to $90 and at the expo it's $125.  Sign up soon!

http://www.cmmarathon.com

PS  You'll notice there are some categories at the bottom of this web site.  I will categorize all of these in the 1/2 marathon category - and all the Wednesday night runs will be their own category.