Today's Sunday Blog topic: 2005 training, the Grand Slam, and multiple marathoning. Over yesterday and today I transfered my Polar training for 2005 to the Blog. 2005 was a breakthrough year for me, in that I finally utilized smart training, and finally figured out how to run a marathon properly. Both of those accomplishments were greatly influenced by me reading "Advanced Marathoning" by Pfitzinger and Douglas. The ideas in the book help me formulate a good training plan that employed a lot more tempo and marathon-pace running, and less VO2Max. It also helped me with proper tapering, hydrating, and fueling, which are crucial (and often underestimated) for the marathon. This was also the year I ran the Grand Slam. Why did I do the Slam? I was so jaded from the TOU Marathon in 2004, when I put all my marbles in the one race and lost big. So I decided to do the opposite in 2005: run a bunch of marathons until I got it right. Also, there would be no pressure on me (from myself) to perform really well at any of them, which would allow me to loosen up and RUN MY OWN RACE. Well, to make a long story short, I ended up doing really well in ALL of them, and came out with some nice PR's, and a lot of valuable experience. So in order to run fast, I had to try to run slow. What this meant was that in all my previous marathons, I tried to run a pace beyond my training, and ended up running slower than I should have because of those improper race-day tactics. The downside of doing the Slam was that I got injured (knee and lower back). I chose to abuse ibuprofin and just run through it, and did so "sucessfully", but I ended up taking October-December completely off in order to rehab and recover. And when I started running again in January, I developed similar injuries again. Either my biomechanics changed or my body's ability to heal and/or absorb shock had been compromised. I hadn't had an injury before the Slam for the previous 10 years of competitive running. I do not blame the Slam itself, but rather me running it too hard with TOO LITTLE BASE. People often ask me about the Slam and for tips. Here are my tips, ideas that I did use or SHOULD HAVE used. 1) Build a big base during the 4 months preceding the first race (Ogden). 70+ miles/week for at least couple months is optimal. Once the Slam starts, you will be forced to drop mileage due to constant recovery. 2) Pick 1 or 2 races as your focus races. Run the others as "workouts" -- ie do not "race" them. For me, my focus races were Des News and St. George. 3)Negative or even-split every race. Do not hit the wall. I found that races that I negative or even-splitted, my recovery was an order of magnitude faster than races where I hit the wall and ran a slower 2nd half. 4) How do you not hit the wall? Run your race, not someone else's race. Ignore "the pack" and run a pace that seems too slow at first. You have 26 miles to get your PR. Going out hard the first few miles can ruin the last half of your race. But going out easy can make the last half a dream. I ended up passing a lot of people that are normally faster than me in the last miles of races using this strategy, and even unintentially won money by winning the "war of attrition". Pfitzinger says that running a negative split means that you could have ran faster, but that's what we want in the non-focus Grand Slam races. 5) Run for "active recovery". Hydrate and fuel EVERY aid station, even if you are not thirsty or tired. Walk through, if needed. I actually walk through aid stations now to get more fluid, and I don't believe it nets me any loss in time, because I "get it back" later. Take liquid and fuel after Mile 20, even though it will not help you for the current race, it will help you recover from the race faster, which is key for the Slam. 6) Do not taper heavily for your non-focus marathons. Since you just did a marathon a few weeks ago, your mileage will probably not be that high to begin with, and your fitness can not afford a big taper. One week with 20% reduction should do it, and then the marathon itself will add 26 miles for the week, so on paper, there will not be any drop in mileage at all! 7) Monitor your body, and think long-term rather than short term. If you are injured, suck it up and drop out of the circuit. Some injuries will go away on there own, but others will not, and continuing to run will make things worse and have long-term consequences. I've had a rough year since the Slam because I did not listen to my body and tried to mask my pain with NSAIDs. Don't do it! 8) Enjoy it! Running the Slam takes you to a lot of great courses and beautiful areas in Utah. Relax and admire the scenery during your race. Be inspired. I think that the Grand Slam in 2007 will "only" consist of 4 races rather than 5. This should make the circuit more achievable, and allow for faster times. I found that despite relatively low mileage, I built a tremendous amount of fitness through doing the Grand Slam. Why is that? Well, my theory is that Slammers do tons of marathon-specific workouts...what is a better marathon workout than 26.2 miles at MP pace? Fewer long training runs are needed, as the marathons themselves build a lot of fitness and train the body to burn fuel efficiently. Even my general speed was pretty good by September, as demonstrated by a strong Peruvian Dash finish. Finishers of the 2006 Slam had a lot of PR's and remarkable performances as well. This leads me to believe that multiple marathons are a good way to go. Of course, doing 5 in 6 months is little extreme, but if you train for months and months and do your marathon...why not do another in a month or two? You've worked very hard over several months to build your marathon fitness, and if your recovery from the first marahon goes well, why not jump in another? You have already done the work, so the second marathon is "free", and I believe the probability of a PR in a second marathon (if spaced far enough apart) is good. Those are my Sunday Blog thoughts. As usual, other people's experiences and comments are welcome. | 