Easy running

Yesterday I ran an easy 6 miles for my long run, which is right in line with my Houston Marathon training schedule that you see below. Theses long runs are very important as they establish your distance threshold. Don't look that term up. "Distance threshold" sounds made up, and it is. But, the term characterizes the distance your leg and lungs can carry you safely for a certain distance.

You may be very healthy and active, but if your muscles haven't endured the equivalent pounding of a long run, they won't be prepared for the distance. Moreover, if your muscles aren't conditioned to go the full marathon distance, all hell will break loose as your legs will rebel against you.

PERSONAL EXAMPLE 1: After hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1999 - which is a looong, steady hike - and for which I spent months climbing stairs and running hills - I returned home believing I could easily run 12 miles with now problem. There was a problem. The outside of my knee hurt and felt like my leg would disassemble. After 8 miles, I walked the rest of the way home.  (By the way, did you like the not so subtle way I casually mentioned that I hiked Kilimanjaro. Is that like name dropping?)

PERSONAL EXAMPLE 2: I ran the 2000 Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving Day (my family were pretty annoyed with me for that, especially when there was no chance I would even place in my age category). I so poorly trained for Atlanta, it ended up being by far my worst race ever. I did not run the long runs; rather, I assumed that I was in good enough shape from my regular exercising that the marathon would be no problem.

Again, the knees protested somewhere around mile 12, which was right near where my family waited for me to run by. My limping and hobbling further annoyed them. I literally limped and walked from mile 12 to the finish. Gloriously, I passed a fellow runner wearing jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and no shoes. He was featured in the paper the next day, not me, as the shoeless septuagenarian who I think was actually homeless.

Later that night, and for the next 4 days, I was in such pain from my lower back to my pinkie toe that I could barely amble. I walked around like Fred Sanford.

All because, in both instances, I didn't properly condition my body for the truly long run. The long runs are major stepping stones to finishing the marathon. If the marathon is your goal, the long runs are your smaller goals.

For more on long runs, see THE LONG RUN tab to the right or refer to these articles:

Making Your Long Runs Count (Runner's World)

Jeff Galloway's Long Run Training for the Marathon

ATLANTA MARATHON

By the way, if you're running the October 30th Atlanta Marathon, you should be in the tapering phase now and preparing to carbo load. Tapering and carbo loading are the equivalent to a fourth quarter offense for a team that is 50 points ahead: Stay in shape, keep preparing, but more importantly stay safe for the actual big game.

Atlanta is a good race, and I would probably have fonder memories of it had it not been on a blustery cold Thanksgiving Day in 2000. Also, my family were a little put off by my preference to run a Marathon instead of watching the the Macy's Parade on television. Begrudgingly, my dad drove me the great distance to Centennial Park before sunrise. Charitably, he gave me $5 to take the subway home. Also, as I described above, I hadn't trained properly, so my performance was lacklaster to say the least.

Now that I think about it, the whole experience was pretty miserable, but I can't blame that on the marathon. Running downtown and along Peachtree was pretty cool. I love Atlanta. Running the marathon ill-prepared: not so much.