For those of you who don’t know, Ed Whitlock was one of the most impressive runners in the past few decades. Despite finishing far back in the pack, he obliterated age-group records by running under three hours in the marathon at age 73 with a phenomenal 2:54:49, and still ran under four hours at age 85. Sadly, he passed away yesterday after fighting prostate cancer. There are many, many memorials that are written about him, Read more…
Odd-numbered years are bad for me, apparently. Two years ago I suffered a bout of hamstring tendinopathy that sidelined me for almost the entire year. I was able to come back in 2016 and race a good marathon in December, but shortly thereafter hit another bump. While running on the slippery sidewalks, I aggravated my hip flexor, which made running painful. Being mindful of how minor injuries can turn chronic, I prudently took a few Read more…
This isn’t so much a race report as a race analysis. If you want a really great race report, please check out Brett Long’s or Martha Doody’s fantastic reports. Brett Long and I trained together a fair amount leading up to this race and both were in similar shape and going for the same approximate time goal (under 2:40). I went into the Rehoboth Beach Marathon with these specific goals: Run with Brett Long for Read more…
These days, it seems like everyone is looking for a quick fix, or the next get rich quick scheme. This is true not only with finances, but with fitness as well. Step into a running store, or read the articles about the latest and greatest must-have gadgets, and you will see all manners of products, foods, and services guaranteed to make you fitter, faster, and better. The real question is though: how much do they Read more…
One of the most important things I tell my athletes that I coach is to “trust your training.” It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind and feel like you’re not improving fast enough. But, as the saying goes, “good things come to those who wait.” Patience is one of the most important characteristics an athlete can have, as results do not occur overnight, and only through consistent, focused training can one achieve Read more…
I am a data nerd. Because of that, I love my GPS and all the wonderful information it provides me. On every single run, I can know my distance, pace, elevation, mile splits, fastest pace, slowest pace, and more. It is a wealth of information and I love having that readily available for me to dissect and devour. But a few weeks ago, disaster struck. I lost my charging cord for my GPS, and so Read more…
In my last post, I described why mere mortals such as you and I should not strive to train like an elite runner. This time, I want to explain why there are some cases and ways that you should train like elite! We are lucky enough to live in a time when almost the entire world is connected via the internet, and ideas can be shared with a huge audience in real-time. Tools such as Read more…
We’re all guilty of it. We read an article about an elite athlete, find some new workouts, and think “well if it worked for them, surely it will work for me.” Unfortunately this frequently does more harm than good. The reason comes down to physiology. Your body doesn’t understand distance and pace. When you exercise, your body knows two things: your perceived effort, and the duration of the workout. In other words, an easy run Read more…
I am not a fan of end-of-year, new year posts. The beginning of a new year is completely arbitrary, and I personally think that starting a new year in the middle of winter is silly. Plus, deciding to wait until January 1st to start working towards goals is counter-productive. The best time to start trying to achieve your goals is right now, no matter when that is. Why put it off for a period of Read more…
This year has been very frustrating for me, from a running standpoint. I started off the year running more miles than I have ever done in the winter, then ended up taking five weeks off in the spring due to a hamstring injury. Since then, I have been nursing that injury as hamstrings don’t really like to heal, it seems. Instead of running under 16 minutes in a 5K like I had planned, my goals Read more…