'Quality' Over 'Quantity'

As marathon day approaches, now officially less than 40 days away (no, I’m not counting), I’ve been doing my share of research on the race, the course, and of course the hills. To be honest, I’ve also been doing some virtual “spying” on my competitors…well, the ones who have blogs anyway. I’ve been looking at their runs, their schedules and their races, and trying to gauge where I’m at in training in comparison to them. (Oh, don’t turn your noses up at me…you know you all do it too!) Although for the most part it seems as if I’m up to par with everyone else, there does seem to be a glaring difference in my training schedule as compared to theirs. While almost everyone who’s training at the same paces as me are already running 60, 70, and even 80 miles a week consistently, I have yet to push a single mile over 46 for the week. And despite feeling bad sometimes that I train at such low mileage whenever one of my running friend/teammates asks and starts comparing my marathon training plan to theirs, I’m confident that “Quality over Quantity” is really the best training strategy for me and will deliver a good time for me in Boston.

In case there are some cynics who still quite don’t believe, here are a few reasons why ‘quality’ is such a better training approach than ‘quantity’…for me anyway.

1. Quantity requires more mileage on the road, which increases the risk of injury.
2. Quantity requires more mileage on the road, which takes heck of a longer time to run. Because I have a full professional and social life outside of running which I have to attend to, the less time I have to spend in training to achieve my goals, the better the life for me.
3. Because you’re running less miles, you can train faster with quality than you would with quantity. For me, I find the faster I train, the faster I tend to race too!
4. Rest is a major component of quality, not so with quantity. I’ve found that running 3 and 4 days consecutively no matter how slow, drains me down physically and mentally. Running back-to-back days is a rarity on the quality plan.
5. Running short and fast quality boosts and builds confidence more than long and slow quantity. The evidence for this comes from the fact that the last meaningful session before a race always include some element of speedwork at around goal pace as preparation for a race.

I’m not sure if anyone in blogland agrees with this approach. After all, it is somewhat contrary to what all the great books (Daniels, Pfizinger, Rodgers, etc) would recommend. But because I’ve had progressive incremental success training under this paradigm (and besides, it’s a little too late to change anyways) while avoiding injury, I’m sticking with this strategy until it or I break down.

How does the rest of you train for marathons? Do you tend to suffer the long miles or run them fast to get them over with? Let the great debate begin.

Boston Marathon Training Update - Week 11

After several straight weeks of increasing mileage and increasing speed, it was time for a step down this week. It came at a good time too because honestly, I’ve been feeling a little mentally fatigued training so hard for this marathon. On the one hand, I feel as if I’m peaking physically and yet Boston is still so far away. On the other hand, I look at my training calendar and realize that there’s just four more good training weeks left before the taper. It is so weird, but it seems like the fewer miles I run, which I know is the right thing for me physically, the more questions and doubts I have about my training, which isn’t so good for me mentally. Right now, I’m just trying to hold on to my current fitness and my sanity before I hit the big race.

Week #11 (3/2-3/8)
What I Planned:

Tempo Run: 10 total miles with 8 tempo miles at 6:33 pace

General Aerobic Run: 12 miles at 7:10 min/mi pace

Weekend Long Run: 15 miles at long run pace

Total week 11 distance planned: 37.0 miles

What I Ran:

Tues - TM Tempo Run: 10.0 miles with 8 tempo miles at 6:22 pace

Thurs - Midweek Long Run: 16.2 miles at 7:02 pace

Sat – General Aerobic Run: 6.2 miles at 6:54 pace

Sat – Slow Recovery/Coaching Run: 6.9 miles at 9:32 pace

Total week 11 distance: 39.3 miles; avg pace – 7:20 min/mi

How I Ran:

Cut back week began with a long tempo run on the treadmill. I had wanted to do this outdoors but because it had snowed heavily the day before, I didn’t want to risk injury by running too fast on slippery roads. I adjusted the ‘mill to a random setting at a level 5 incline to mimic the up and down terrain of a natural road course. The run itself went pretty well, except that I was sweating bullets and seriously dragging it by the end of mile 6. I held on though and completed the last tempo mile at 6:24 to finish my run averaging 10 seconds better than I had planned for this distance.

Thursday was a 12 mile GA run that for some reason turned to a 16 mile long run. As I had mentioned in a previous post, I had serious doubts about my sanity after that impromptu adventure.

Luckily, Saturday’s run turned out a bit better than I had hoped for. In retrospect, the unexpected great weather probably had more to do with it than anything conscious I could take credit for. I did one loop at a relatively easy pace around the park (I still can’t believe that easy pace is sub 7 min for me now…) and then I “recovered” by running with my friend who I am coaching for her first half marathon. It was so fun to run slow, enjoy the sunshine, and talk running that the pace felt easier on my legs than I thought it would. Because my friend is relatively new to distance running and was unfamiliar with the difference between going for a 7 miler vs a 3 or 4 miler, I was advising her with little tidbits on what to pay attention to and what to buy in preparation for higher mileage training. I had so much to say that I forgot to shut up as we were running up on Harlem Hill until I heard her huffing and puffing in between her single word responses. Woops! After that, I hung back and allowed her to determine the pace of conversation as well as the running for the rest of the loop. I enjoyed that social run more than any I’ve done recently as it forced me not only to run slower and focus on someone/something other than me and my marathon training, but it also allowed me to perform my coaching responsibilities, which I love with a passion almost as much as running itself. In the end, we did 7 miles all together which gave me 13.1 miles for the day and about 39 miles for the week. That’s not too shabby for a stepdown week if you ask me. I should now be ready to tackle my last training mesocycle of 3 straight 50+ mile weeks. I’m anxious because I’ve yet to complete even one 50 mile week at any point during any previous cycle of marathon training, yet I’m intrigued to find out if I’m capable of breaking that distance barrier.

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Later that evening during dinner, a non-running friend asked if I was training for the Boston Marathon once she found out I was running that historical race. I mumbled a nonspecific answer (about training being the same as running) at the time, but thought of the perfect response only much later. If anyone should ever ask again, I’d say the only difference between running and training is a race to prepare for and a plan. Other than that, there is no difference really! (Agree or disagree?)

Anyway, have a good week everyone!

“Beyond The Epic Run” – The Review

As most of you know, the NYC running community was treated to a free movie screening of “Beyond The Epic Run” earlier this week, and although the city was caught in the midst of a snowstorm earlier that day (as if to mimic some of the sultry conditions featured in the film), we still managed a packed house that night which just in itself was somewhat inspirational to see. Before the feature, I hung out a bit with some local Flyer teammates and a few blogger friends from the outer boroughs. All the spirited conversations on training, racing, and blogging was not only fun, but also served as the perfect warmup for watching a running movie.

As for the movie itself, in a way it was exactly what I was expecting, but in another way, it was entirely not. For those who haven’t yet seen the film (which I suppose will be most of you, since the movie isn’t due for national release in selected theaters until the end of May), this is a reality documentary film about a Swiss couple, Serge and Nicole Roetheli, who left their lives, their kids, and their families for five years to run more than 25,000 miles around the world. [For a more detailed description of the film as well as the trailer, go to my original post on this movie or visit www.beyondtheepicrunblog.com]

Coming into the film, I was expecting to witness the thrilling adventure story of the ultimate ultramarathon. In that respect, the movie did not disappoint as it gave vivid accounts of Serge battling through dehydration in the Sahara [clip], running amidst the Pyramids in Egypt, climbing the Himalayan mountain ranges in Nepal, and fighting through the humidity of Southeast Asia. All the while, we hear about the blisters, the tenditis, and other injuries and illnesses that threatened his physical condition during his 49,000 kilometer, 47 country journey. The demonstration of his indomitable spirit was obvious to all who witnessed it.

But what I didn’t expect to see, and what really touched me about the film, was the transformation of the film from a simple running documentary to a movie about love, sacrifice and passion. For as much as the story revolved around Serge and his quest to run around the world, it was also about Nicole, his wife, who rode beside him in a motorcycle every step of the way. As Serge said himself, his wife served as his coach, nutritionist, therapist, nurse, doctor, pacer, supporter, manager, accountant, cheerleader, and confidant, all rolled into one. It was as obvious to us as it was to him that his epic run would not and could not have been possible without her. Perhaps that is best exemplified by the detour the couple had to take when Nicole suffered a life-threatened form of malaria and had to fly back to Sweden for treatment. [clip] I was struck by how well they both worked together as a team; each knowing their own role and responsibility even as they were truly dependent on each other. It was a testament to the meaning of true love and devotion (as Dr. Joy Browne points out in her interview with the couple).

Finally, I was inspired by the passion and dedication they showed to the project despite all the trials and tribulations they had to suffer throughout their travels. Without going into too much detail (so as not to ruin the movie for you all), I was impressed by the sacrifices they had made and the faith they showed in themselves, in each other, and in the project as a whole to see the epic run to its conclusion. As I imagined myself going through some of the experiences they had to go through, I am not sure I could’ve lasted more than a month or two out there, much less five years. It was truly an amazing story, and a very inspirational one at that.

My overall assessment of this movie is most definitely a positive one. Although I have some small gripes about the movie, i.e. I wanted to hear a little more about his general training and running history prior to embarking on this epic adventure. I also would have liked to know how he got involved in ultramarathoning and if his diet and training differed from that of an average trail runner or even a trail marathoner. Still, I felt the film delivered a very strong message, which is that if you have faith, passion, and a strong support team, you can pretty much achieve any goal you set for yourself.

Because of Serge and Nicole, I left the theater that night full of energy and excitement , as if I too could run forever and conquer the world. If only I can remember and reiterate such sentiments when I’m at the start of the Boston Marathon next month. My own epic journey will be set to begin in 7 short weeks. Yikes! I’m anxious but intrigued to find out how that story will turn out. Only time will tell!

Thanks for reading my review of “Beyond The Epic Run”. I highly recommend checking out the film when it comes out nationally in your neck of the woods at the end of May. It is safe to say that you will NOT be disappointed.

Have a great weekend, everyone! (Don't forget to turn the clocks forward Saturday night...Daylight Savings, here we come. Wahoo!)