I have been
running for about 4 1/2 years now and my running has progressed
nicely. I have changed my form and
overall have become more injury free by stretching more and training
smarter. When I first started running,
my wife and I just had our twins and I had gained some weight between the lack
of working out and indulging on sweets.
My first run was horrible, barely making it ¼ mile before needing to
walk (and I wasn’t running fast at all).
After a few months, I had picked up the pace a little and decided I
wanted to shoot for a half marathon the following year. The idea was to build my way up to that
distance as to not injure myself. I
still had shin splints and IT Band issues as a result of progressing too
quickly, but I did run my first half marathon in April of 2014.
I have since
run a bunch of half marathons, a few marathons, two 50k’s, and a 12-Hour
Endurance Run where I completed 55.3 miles.
I say this not to brag, but to let you know that even as a newer runner,
I never thought I could do this. Even
the thought of running a 5k was unbelievable (which it is). The more I train, the more research I
do. I look into nutrition, fueling
during runs and races, training plans, running gear, and how to become a
stronger runner. There are so many
resources out there, but the one thing that I find most helpful is barely
spoken about. “I train in the worst to
race at my best.”
I can’t tell
you how many races I’ve been to where the temperature starts out cool, but then
creeps up into the high 70’s or 80’s (or higher). People start to fall apart (I have had this
happen to me as well) because many people train in the morning when it’s cooler
out. I have been to races in the rain or
wind and the same thing happens. People
don’t train in these conditions because “It’s not fun.” Why do I choose to train in the extreme
weather conditions you might ask?
My friends
always look at me weird when a big storm is coming and I get all excited to do
my long run right in the middle of it.
If it is pouring rain and there are 15-20 mph winds, it is the perfect
time to put in some miles. To be honest,
I kind of like the bad weather. There
are a few reasons why I feel this way, and it has paid off in races.
When you
train in the extreme heat or rain, you are preparing yourself to handle
whatever happens on race day. Most of my
training runs are done during the day.
It is not uncommon to run my summer training runs in 95-100 degree
heat. I slow down my pace and take in
more water, but my goal is to acclimate to the heat. It takes about 2-3 weeks for this to occur,
but the results are worth the misery (and I actually began to like training in
the heat). My latest run was in 80
degree heat and I was slower than I was shooting for. I even had to make a few stops because I just
wasn’t feeling it today, but that’s okay.
By training at the extremes, I am getting stronger, both mentally and
physically.
In July, I prepared for my first 12-hour race by running in the heat, even though the race was near the Bay Area (North East of San Francisco) where the temperatures would be lower than where I live. The starting temperatures were nice, but we were running from 7am-7pm and in the middle of the day the temperatures were going to exceed 80 degrees, which did happen. At about 2pm, people started to really slow down because of the heat. Because of all my training, it actually felt somewhat cool to me. I was extremely surprised and honestly was waiting for the heat to get to me (including nausea). I finished strong and captured a 2nd place AG award, which is the best I have ever done in any race.
I do long
road runs and trail runs in the cold and rain for the same reason. While I am not a huge fan of getting really
dirty, running on wet trails prepares me for whatever the future has planned
during upcoming races. That brings us to
the second reason why I train in the extremes.
One of the
most difficult things for runners to overcome is their own brain, that “stinkin’
thinkin’”. It can tell us that the wind
and rain is too difficult and can shake your confidence, which in turn effects
your performance. What if you trained
all year in pristine conditions and the night before your big race, a storm
rolls in? Many times, your mind has
already taken you out of running well.
If you train in the extremes, you might not expect a PR, but you can go
out feeling confident that the weather won’t kill you. You have been there and know what to expect.
I have read
over and over again that ultra runners know that they will more than likely
have to deal with situations during their race whether it is a blister or
nausea. Sometimes the weather turns or
you have a cramp in your calf. The goal
is to evaluate the situation and come up with a plan on how you can overcome
the issue. By planning for the worst,
you are more prepared to make changes (either mentally or physically) on the
fly.
We can do
more than our brains tell us we can. It
doesn’t matter if you are shooting to run a mile without stopping or completing
your first 100 mile race, by training smarter it becomes easier to overcome our
difficulties and reach our goals. Let me
know what goals you want to crush or if you are looking for any specific advice
and I will try to do a blog post about it.
Never stop pushing toward your goals, you may just surprise yourself.
