Love to FART-lek

If you're new to Fartleks, it means "speed play" in Swedish, a type of workout that alternates between slower and faster running or playing around with your speed. If I tell you that you're very farty, you know what I really mean!

By alternating between an active recovery pace and 10k pace, for example, fartleks help build your aerobic capacity or endurance. After some dynamic stretches and an easy warmup, a traditional fartlek workout may involve 1 minute on (i.e. 10k pace) and 1 minute off (i.e. active recovery pace).

One variation I have been incorporating is a 4 minute effort where you start with your marathon pace for 1 minute, increase to your half marathon pace for the next 1 minute, ease back to your marathon pace for 1 minute, and then finish with your 10k pace for the final minute. 2 minutes of active recovery. Repeat 5 times. Play around with that final minute, finishing faster each effort with your 5k, 1 mile, or 400m pace.

I love fartleks because they make you quickly adapt to different speeds and become a more efficient runner. This will condition you to become faster over a longer distance. You train your mind to become stronger and not give up, so you can push through any mental block as you master knowing and varying your various pace zones.

Finally, fartleks are fun! Hence the "play." They can also mimic the intensity of a race, e.g. if you're running in a pack and a few people surge ahead and you want to stay with them or if you want to lead a surge yourself!

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Have Fun

Running Tip #26. Leading up to your race, have confidence in your training and look forward to an exciting & rewarding day! Line up loose, start easy, remember nutrition, go hard late. And get sleep the night before.

Expo Express

Running Tip #25. Take the express lane at the expo - it's easy to spend hours on your feet trying new snacks, apparel, shoes, and so on. You are better off buying gear after a race or on Cyber Monday. Getting the expo out of the way means you can focus on relaxing tomorrow!

Smile!

Running Tip #24. Smile at the crowds, at the funny signs, at other runners. It will relax you and make racing easier and more fun ! Research from Psychology of Sport & Exercise actually found that smiling improves running economy (oxygen use) by 2%, which is more meaningful over longer distances like the marathon. You’ll notice Kipchoge uses this tactic too. Turn that grimace into a smile!

Carbo-Load

Running Tip #23. Make sure carbs are a large (~70%) part of what you eat this week (pasta, potatoes, bread) to fuel you on race day. Don’t simply eat more of everything especially as you are tapering.
A big meal the night before is a myth. Have simple carbs, some protein, avoid too much dairy or high-fiber. Hydrate with electrolytes the day before. Plan your race morning breakfast 2 or 3 hours before to restock glycogen. I like a banana, bagel with almond butter, and water with electrolyte tablets like NuuN!

Why So Serious?

Running Tip #22. Run a race in costume as a reminder to not take running too seriously!

And for the challenge - it can be sweaty and heavy if you’re wearing a superhero suit. The crowd will love it. You’ll get more cheers than ever before. Happy Halloween!

Dress the Part

Running Tip #21. Have the right clothes to train. If it’s very cold, bring extra clothes to stay warm before. Try to run in as few layers - singlet & shorts - bring a thin hat, gloves, & arm warmers that you can throw off or keep if it’s <55F.
A few other tips: Use a visor or nylon cap if it’s raining or very sunny (+ sunglasses). Use vaseline and nip guards to prevent chafing. Practice carrying nutrition in shorts, in hand, or in a belt so it doesn’t fall out. Finally, write your name on your shirt or bib for extra crowd support!

Embrace the Hills

Running Tip #19. Focus on maintaining effort, not pace, when climbing hills. Keep the stride short, torso tall, high knee drive, arms straight forward & back. Look out in front, not down.

And remember, what goes up must come down. Focus on letting go, opening your stride slightly, catching your breath. Learn to love hills - use them as opportunities to prove yourself and gain a competitive advantage.

Conquer the Beast!

Running Tip #18. Look forward to the Beast showing up during a hard training session or race. The Beast takes the form of a stitch, cramp, heavy legs, or a mental block. Get it under control and have a friendly fight to show who's boss. This is often both mental and physical. You can't hate the Beast and expect to conquer it: "The only way to truly conquer something is to love it." (Born to Run).

Patience

Running Tip #17. This is one I need to work on too. Marathons are about patience just as life is about patience. Don’t chase after the person who passed you, regardless of how good-looking the person is.

Race against yourself. Let your body warm up and do negative splits. You won’t achieve your goals in the first few miles of a race, but you can lose any chance of achieving them. I promise you the marathon is more enjoyable if you are patient.

Taper Time

Running Tip #16. A guest tip from Meb Keflezighi who was an Olympic silver medalist in the marathon in 2004 and won both the NYC marathon in 2009 and the Boston Marathon in 2014. I had the pleasure of meeting Meb twice in NYC, after the UAE Health & Kidney 10k race in Central Park as well as after the screening of the Boston Marathon documentary in Union Square.

Meb tapers 11 days before a race maintaining normal training until then. His last hard run is a 5 - 6 mile tempo run one week out, incorporating strides - fast 100m bursts - at the end of most easy runs . He also reminds us to get to the start healthy. Stay hydrated, take Vitamins and carry hand sanitizer.

Break it Down

Running Tip #15. Don’t get caught up counting each mile. Break down a long run or a marathon race distance into segments like every 4 miles when you have a gel. This will help you win the mental game.

For tough, shorter segments during a race, like the Queensborough Bridge or the 5th Avenue climb in the NYC marathon, break those down too and power through. They will go by in a flash!

Nutrition Plan

Running Tip #14. Gel + water + salt: have a nutrition plan and stick to it. Gel + water every 4-5 miles or 30-45 minutes. Sports drink every 2 miles after the first gel. Salt tablets at miles 13 & 20. Practice nutrition during training even if you feel like you don't need it. If you sweat a lot or it's over 70 degrees, be more liberal.

For Gels, try PowerGel as it has 3x sodium than Gu. SaltStick caps are good for electrolyte replacement and preventing cramping. Finally, avoid caffeine a few weeks before the race and then use it on race day for an extra boost!

Visualize Success

Running Tip #13. Train your brain to race your best. Picture yourself overcoming hard parts of the course and crossing the tape. Create positive mental images while training and before sleeping. These triggers will help you relax and feel incredible on race day!

Have 2 Goals

Running Tip #10. Set an ambitious goal and a secondary one. It’s hard to predict race day temperature which affects your game plan. Your ambitious goal could be to qualify for Boston, set a personal best or break 4 hours. Your secondary one should keep you motivated during the last 6 miles. It can be just to finish and feel awesome! Or a more achievable time goal. If conditions are rough or you have a bad day, focus on the achievable one - there will be many more races.

Proper Form

Running Tip #8. Proper form results in efficient running and faster times. Rather than fixing everything, work on each of these separately:

Torso: Shoulders back & relaxed, arms swinging toward center from closer to waist position than chest, elbows creating 75-90 degree angle, very slight forward lean

Foot strike: Feet strike under your knee. Aim for mid-foot strike vs. toe or heel, landing on balls of feet is good if you've built up the foot strength.

Stride rate: Avoid long, loopy strides and increase your turnover, targeting 180 steps/min. Speed = stride rate x stride length. Higher cadence will naturally help your foot strike too.

Test Your Fitness

Running Tip # 7. Guest tip from Bill Rodgers, also known as "Boston Billy" who won the Boston & NYC marathons each 4 times and is a former American record holder. Bill is now 70 years old, and I had the honor of meeting him last year during the inaugural Shay marathon in Boise, Idaho. Bill says to do a 1/2 marathon about a month before to test your fitness. A good race provides a powerful mental lift.

In addition, with 3 weeks to go before the race, add progressive speed to your final long run, doing the last 7-10 miles slightly faster than your marathon pace . Learning how to increase effort when struggling is huge for the marathon.

Train Faster to Run Faster

Running Tip #5. After building mileage, speedwork or interval training is key to setting a personal best time. My favorite marathon specific workouts are Yasso 800s and mile repeats. Shorter intervals like 400s are good early in the season and during taper.

Speed improves running economy, makes marathon pace feel easy peasy, and spices up your training routine. No pain, no gain!

Pace Yourself!

Running Tip #2. "Pace yourself" is easy to say but difficult to do! Set a realistic goal pace based on training, and start at least 5 seconds / mile slower. Force yourself to check your pace despite adrenaline and ability to run faster. Ease in to your goal pace after the first 10k, control through the next 20k, knowing you can pick it up the last 10k and finish strong.

I have learned to improve pacing both by trial and error as well as volunteering as a coach, guide, and pacer with Achilles International, where I have helped pace several of my athletes to beat their goal times at the NYC Marathon.

Know the Course

Running Tip #1. You should adapt your training based on the race course. If there are hills, eat hill repeats for breakfast with a side of gels. Increase your cadence and shorten your stride as you climb. Let your body loose on downhills while catching your breath. If there are turns, run tangents better than Pythagoras would.

The NYC marathon is deceptively hilly with 4 bridges and a gradual but grueling climb up 5th Ave before you hit Central Park. Make an effort to train the course for mental and physical confidence on race day!