Boston Marathon Countdown

Don't Forget Vitamin ZZZZZZZ

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:48:43 GMT

The night before a marathon can be a sleepless one for many runners. You're keyed up, worried or excited about the race, wondering what key item you might forget to bring to Hopkinton. You're sleepless for worry... and then worried about not sleeping.

RELAX.

1976 Boston Marathon Champion Jack Fultz, who coaches the Dana Farber Marathon team, says the most important night to sleep is actually the night BEFORE the night before the marathon.

"Actually, the whole week before the marathon, it's important to get to bed early," says Fultz. And, sorry nightowls, but Fultz says sleeping in isn't as recuperative as turning in early. "Think of rest as preparation for the next day. By going to bed earlier, you're better prepared when the alarm goes off."

If you've had a week of good rest, a little sleeplessness the night before the marathon is no big deal.

In case you're wondering, Jack slept "just fine" the night before he won the big race in 1976.

R-E-L-A-X

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:00:00 GMT

"Our bodies are at their strongest and most loose when we are free from tension," says sports psychologist Dave Czesniuk. "Get plenty of rest leading up to the race, and on the day of the race, make a deliberate effort to RELAX. Breathe deeply, keep your muscles loose and warm, and remind yourself of things that bring you a sense of calm – the feeling of accomplishment you will have upon completing the race, all the friends and family that support you, etc. During the race, continue to plan for relaxation. Dedicate certain intervals to deeper breathing. Dedicate other time to telling yourself how loose and fluid your muscles feel. Your mind will react to these statements by sending the appropriate signals to the body to relax and feel the flow."

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: My man Dave knows what he's talking about. The old saying holds the marathon is 10% physical and 90% mental. While that's simplistic, it is amazing what you can talk yourself into believing over 26.2 miles. "My muscles are loose and fluid? Hey wait... they are loose and fluid!"

So, how do you relax?

Plan Your Packing

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:58:36 GMT

So, I’ve been thinking about something. You’re all ten days out from boarding buses to Hopkinton. This is the perfect time to consider what you’ll bring with you. I’m a procrastinator when it comes to packing for a trip or event, and most marathon eves found me scrambling around to find, for example, a very particular flavor of Gatorade, or a shirt I wanted to wear but couldn’t find.

Do you know what you plan to wear for the race? We’ve had temperature swings from bone-chilling to springish this week alone, so you should keep a lot of options in mind. Think about what kind of food you’ll want to eat, as well as fluids and gels. I always wore a different pair of shoes and socks around Hopkinton, then changed into my racing footwear before the race. I also brought extra pins for my number, and an old marathon mylar sheet to lounge on in case the ground was wet. And of course, my iPod (which I never wore during the race.)

What, for you, is essential in your race bag?

Pacing Yourself

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:09:02 GMT

The key to a successful marathon is a good pace plan. Seasoned marathoners have a good sense of what their pace should be, of what kind of minutes per mile speed they need to maintain to reach their goal.

It's not uncommon to see runners with wristband printouts listing what their goal time should be at each mile. Personally, I like to do the time calculation mentally - it gives me a nice distraction along the way.

1976 Boston Marathon Champion Jack Fultz, who coaches the Dana Farber Marathon team, says those mile time wristbands - at least ones that break down the mile times by dividing the goal time by 26.2 - don't always work in Boston.

"The hills, and the positioning of the hills on the course make it difficult to repeat the same speed mile after mile. You don't want runners feeling pressure to go too fast on the downhills to compensate for the speed they lose on the uphills."

Fultz says a better idea is to figure out a goal pace and "sit on it as long as you can. Don't change that pace to compensate for time you might lose at the start or on hills." By sitting on that pace, you may find you have enough left in the tank late in the race to get the time back then.

If you're a first time marathoner, how do you figure out how fast to run? Use your long run pace as a gauge... and remember this bit of advice from Jack Fultz. In the first ten miles of the race, "if it doesn't feel too slow, you're going too fast."

So, what’s your goal pace?

The Ultimate Distraction

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:50:10 GMT

It's a long road, and, according to sports psychologist Dave Czesniuk, "The fact is, distractions of all kind WILL creep in on race day. Outside factors including unexpected terrain, weather, and other racers performance, will stand in your path. Internal factors such as pain, worry, and dehydration may also stand in your way.

“To try and wish these things away or hope that they don’t happen is useless. Something will come up, what are you going to do about it? Have a plan ready for any distractions that confront you during your race. Preset an image or statement in your head that you can refer to as a “reset” button to get you back on track.

“If you know you will come across certain landmarks during the race, use them for support as well. For example, “Stop signs = ‘Relax, re-focus, run your best race’”. After all of your training, your body will pretty much be on autopilot for your marathon. Spend some time planning for how you will control your mind."

MY TWO CENTS: How's this for an unanticipated distraction? In my first marathon (New York, in case you're wondering) I found myself in the company of a runner wearing a large foam cheesehead... and Dutch wooden shoes. Imagine... CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP...EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. I would pull way ahead (because who wants to finish behind a guy with wooden shoes?) only to be haunted miles down the road with CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP gaining on me. It still haunts me. I could have used Dave's plan.

If you’ve encountered a bigger distraction than that, I’d love to hear about it.

Walk The Water Stops

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:41:15 GMT

On my short list of tips for running a marathon is this: unless you're in contention to win the race or qualify for the Olympic trials, walk the water stops.

Usually it's first timers who consult me, and typically, they can't believe this is good advice. But it is, and don't just take it from me.

1976 Boston Marathon Champion Jack Fultz, who coaches the Dana Farber Marathon team, agrees it's good advice.

"You need to actually consume water and/or sports drink along the course," says Fultz, "and if you're running while trying to drink, in the end, you often don't swallow much, or you choke on the liquid you manage to get into your mouth. You're better off walking a couple of steps and actually drinking the liquid."

Additionally, it gives you a mental break, allows you to refocus, and allows you to move ahead with the knowledge you're adequately fueled, says Fultz.

If you still don't believe me, try this neat experiment at home: Pour some red wine or grape juice into a paper cup. Find the lightest-colored rug in your house. Now, run across that rug while trying to drink the wine/grape juice. Examine your clothing and said rug, noting how much of the nasty, staining liquid did not end up in your mouth.

It's All Downhill

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:07:59 GMT

The Boston Marathon course is best known for the steep series of uphills through Newton that culminates at Heartbreak Hill, arguably the race's most famous feature, and perhaps the most renowned topographical spike in all of racing.

The downhills don't get much pub... but they should. Take a look at the course profile, and you'll notice the first ten miles are generally downhill.

If that sounds appealing, consider this.

"The first ten miles seduce you into running too fast," says 1976 Boston Marathon Champion Jack Fultz, who coaches the Dana Farber Marathon team. "If you don't feel like you're going too slow, you're going too fast." And, Fultz says, going too fast early will absolutely slow you down

later. Make no mistake, says Fultz, you will pay.

There's another set of downhills I personally find to be the toughest part of the course. (Sorry, Heartbreak.) The steep drop that takes you past Boston College, through Cleveland Circle and down into Boston is downright punishing.

Says Fultz, "Your quads are already fatigued, and if they're not, they're going to be." Running on steep downhills is tough because of the pounding with each footstrike, and because your tired legs have to accelerate AND brake. "At this point, you need to try to preserve what you have left," says Fultz. "Try shortening your stride. This reduces the pounding, while allowing you to sustain your speed by increasing your leg turnover."

So - do any of you Boston veterans have the same trouble I have with that long steep downhill into Boston?

What the Hill!

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:31:36 GMT

Even if you're about to run your very first Boston, even if you won't see the course with your own eyes until race day, you know this: you're in for some hills.

The Boston Marathon's best known feature, after all, is a little incline in Newton with a daunting nickname-- Heartbreak Hill.

It's a tough hill not just because of its grade, but because of its place on the course-- 20 miles in, after three other tough hills beginning in Newton Lower Falls.

So, how best to tackle them?

1976 Boston Marathon Champion Jack Fultz, who coaches the Dana Farber Marathon team, says, "You want to get over the hills while doing the least amount of damage to your body. Use effort as a guide, rather than speed or your watch. If you're a slower runner, it might actually be more efficient to power walk up the hills."

Also, Fultz says, you might be more efficient if you shorten your stride, taking smaller, quicker steps.

Here's something else to think about. Fultz advises runners to not think of Newton as five miles of steep uphills. "It's actually five miles with four steep hills. Between the hills, however, it's flat, which means runners have ample time to recover and regain speed.”

That is, if they haven’t wasted energy on the uphills.

I would add this tip: I never look at the top of the hill until I'm there.

So, do you love or hate the hills?

17 Is The New 13.1

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:37:43 GMT

1976 Boston Marathon Champion Jack Fultz tells the runners he coaches on the Dana Farber Marathon team, "When you make the turn at the firehouse, you're halfway there."

HUH? The famous firehouse turn is in Newton... around the 17-mile mark. Halfway would be the 13.1-mile marker in Wellesley. Right?

As a measurement of distance, yes. But not as a measurement of effort, according to Fultz.

What this means, says Fultz, is runners will burn as much energy in the last nine miles of the course as they do in the first 17. After the Newton firehouse, the terrain becomes much more demanding. Think, steep uphills through Newton, steep downhills on the backside into Boston. And regardless of terrain, running becomes harder later in the race, so, says Fultz, runners are working harder and burning a lot more energy per mile.

This is a great bit of advice as you think about how to pace yourself and ration your energy during the race.

Be Sure To Run A 'Fuel Rehearsal'

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:49:36 GMT

If the marathon is your goal, it's not just running that takes practice. It's eating and drinking. "You need to think of food as fuel," says Nancy Clark, a sports nutritionist and author of "Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions." (available at www.nancyclarkrd.com). Clark advises runners to use this weekend's long training run as a kind of fuel rehearsal for race day.

This means eating the same pre-race dinner the night before. It means eating the breakfast you plan to eat on Marathon Monday, the same amount of time before your run. It means taking water and sports drink at the same intervals as you would on the course. And it means using the same energy foods (energy bars and gels, bananas, animal crackers, pretzels, for example) you plan to use between Hopkinton and Boston.

"Check the BAA website to see which brands of sports drink and gel will be available on the course," suggests Clark.

She says it's crucial to know the food you plan to eat will settle well with your body. Race day is not the time to try anything new.

So, what do you like to eat before you run?