Category Archives: Training

I’m Running Madison Marathon this Weekend

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This weekend I’m running Madison Marathon for the third time.  It’s been a good (not great) season of training this spring.  I’m running for World Vision and I would be honored if you joined my team.  Hint: take your Starbucks money from this week and go donate to the Clean Water project at World Vision.

Here’s a few posts from my training this spring:

I’ve also gone on the record to say that one main goal of mine this year is to run my fastest half marathon ever.  I don’t plan on going for that this weekend or next weekend in Iowa, but rather compete this fall towards that goal.

You should consider joining my team and supporting World Vision’s Clean Water Project.  It’s an excellent way to join my efforts as I train for this half marathon and help nearly 1.5 million children who die each year from unsafe water and poor sanitation.

We would love to see you on the course in Madison this Sunday.  Bring your bikes, bring your chairs, bring your kids and cheer us on for a great organization.

Plan, Work, Perform, Succeed 26.2

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A couple years ago I was training for my first full marathon. It was Memorial Day weekend which also happens to be my birthday weekend. So Katie got me this iPod Shuffle with the following engraved on the back:

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"Plan, Work, Perform, Succeed 26.2"

PWPS 26.2

It stands for Plan, Work, Perform, Succeed in training for a full marathon. I absolutely love this iPod as a gift because it holds so much meaning. Training for a marathon is more work than most people know. But it’s also more doable than most people realize. One of the benefits of training for that inaugural marathon was a huge sense of pride as Katie was watching me throughout my training and as I prepared for the competition. The gift brought it all together.

Rewards are an excellent motivation for training. I can justify a new $49 iPod Shuffle because I’m using it 3-4 days per week and it helps me get through so many long runs. Same with apparel and even food – it’s a worthy expense. But these are still simply tools towards the bigger objective: train and succeed. And then repeat.

Sports play a beautiful analogy to life. The lessons of sport have been with me for my entire life. And as I’ve prepared for half and full marathons, I’ve grown into this PWPS mentality.

  • I’ll Plan out my training miles and put it on a calendar.
  • I’ll Work hard at the training and put in the time.
  • I’ll Perform to the best of my abilities based on the training I completed.
  • I’ll Succeed because I planned it out and worked hard.

How might you use PWPS in your life? Is there a project at work that needs a little attention to take to fruition? Are there chores at home that could get lined up and knocked out with this plan? Even relationship – does someone in your life need a little more intentional attention?

Life is a series of projects. And a successful life is full of doing good things for yourself and others. Go Plan, Work, Perform, and Succeed. Then buy yourself an iPod Shuffle as a reward and do it again.

 

Training: Back From Injury and Stronger Than Ever

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I use sport to relate to life.  The analogies are endless, even cliché at times.  But the bottom line is they work.  Sports give us a framework to make sense of other areas of our worlds and provide encouragement when we need it most.

I’ve written lately about my ankle injury as I prepare for Madison Half Marathon and Iowa’s Dam-to-Dam.  Seven weeks out from race day, I tweaked my ankle and had to stay off for almost three weeks.  But now I’ve had two long runs (ten miles each) and I’m feeling stronger each day.  While this situation is far from ideal I cannot be happier with my recovery from injury and recovery of performance.  There are two factors at play here.

Listening to your body

If I wasn’t acutely aware of my body’s warning signs and known limitations, I would have certainly caused more damage than a slightly twisted ankle.  My working knowledge of injuries combined with my perspective of running 13.1 miles on May 29th allowed me to make my adjustments to training (read: stop training) and get my body fixed.

Knowing I’ve been here before

There is a comfort and a learning process with familiarity.  I cannot fully explain how confident I am knowing that I’ve been through this training before so I know exactly what I need to do to get to where I need to be.  I also know how much I can get away with – like I said, this is less than ideal.  But it is what it is.

 

My goals for the year are still in line. My plan is to run the fastest half marathon I’ve ever run by season’s end.  The first hurdle has been this injury.  The next test will be Madison Half Marathon.  And much of my motivation is my decision to run for World Vision.  I invite you to join my story and join my team.

 

Are you training for anything?  How have you managed setbacks that were out of your control?

 

Patience in Training

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I’m up against a wall.  I had a good training program going this spring as Katie and I were getting ready for Madison Marathon on May 29th.  The miles were building on schedule and I went on the record to post some lofty goals.  I’m also running to raise money for World Vision.  Here’s where you can join that team!

But about three weeks ago I suffered a minor injury.  Working in the woods one day I slightly tweaked my ankle.  By slightly I mean I hardly noticed it.  But my ankles are very weak from too many basketball injuries.  When I got home that night I could tell it was more than I’d thought.  I couldn’t run on it.

So I’ve been patiently waiting for recovery.  Knowing the miles required for this race has made it difficult to stay off the ankle and wait.  I could go out tomorrow and run 13.1 but it would be slow and not enjoyable.  I need these miles to have a good race but the ankle was preventing that training.  Patience was essential.  Hurry up…. and wait.

Last week I got out for a couple short runs to test out the ankle.  Things went well, but I could still feel the ankle’s tendency to favor a certain motion.  Still, I knew I had recovered and I knew the limitations of my body.  I decided to join Katie for her 10-mile run on Saturday.  It went better than I expected for not having run for almost 20 days.  Then I’ve been out twice this week and I can already feel myself getting stronger.

It’s absolutely essential to listen to your body and be smart in your training.  It helps you grow more mature as an athlete and it makes the quality of your training better.  And true test of will and skill often arise in the face of adversity.

One of my goals this summer is to run the fastest half marathon I’ve ever run.  That won’t happen at the Madison Half Marathon, but I have a few more opportunities later this year.  Still, I’m running the race and asking team members to join me and donate to World Vision, a world-class organization.  Please consider joining my team.

Who Is Pushing You?

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We all work really hard.  But sometimes we just need that extra source of motivation to take things to the next level.  I’ve done a few things this season to take my training for races to the next level.  I wrote about one of them just last week.  I’m forming a team to support me as I run Madison Half Marathon and the money will go to World Vision.  Here’s where you can join my team.

But sometimes the motivation needs to come in the form of small picture execution.  “How can I do better today?”  I usually train alone so I know that it’s really easy to get in a routine of going through the motions on my runs.  Well over the weekend a friend on Facebook (who is training for Madison full marathon) ran 8 miles in under 64 minutes.  That means he average under 8 minutes per mile, for 8 miles!  I was pretty impressed.  So I tucked that one away and brought it out for my next run.

I’m not fast enough or strong enough to keep up with my friend, and I knew that going into the run.  But his splits (“8 under 8” he called it) were repeating in my head during my entire run.  It helped me stay aggressive.  I ended up running 8:11 minute miles.  And I’m very happy with that.

Do you ever need motivation to take things to the next level?  Do you look for these sources or talk to others about taking things up a notch?  Successful people find ways to challenge the status quo and push the limits.

Running at the Next Level: Squats and Lunges

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Everyone has a “next level.”  I love working with people whose next level is running two days a week.  Or starting a push-ups and sit-ups routine three days a week.  But many of the people I know are runners or bikers who have a few competitions under their belt and now they’re starting to compete with themselves.  And they want to take their competition to the next level.

The first thing I recommend is strength training.  As a runner, I know what I’m going to get out of my runs.  I know how all the long runs build up over the 12-week training period and I know how the mid-week runs all support that increase in mileage.  But cardio strength is different than muscular strength.

Last summer I started to do a little more strength training with two exercises for the legs: squats and lunges.   These two exercises are great for a few reasons.  First, they don’t require any equipment.  And if you did want to add some resistance, anyone can find 30-50 lbs of gear around your house or garage to up the ante.  Second, they’re whole-body exercises, so not only are your legs benefiting but you’ll see results elsewhere.  In fact, these two exercises are half of my Faithful Four routine I use for my Sports Conditioning clients.

I’m not going to go over technique.  You should be able to figure that out yourself.  Contact me in the comments section or shoot me an email if you’d like to talk about this one-on-one.  If you’re looking to take your running to the next level, try three sets of 8-12 reps of squats and lunges during your week.  Do this for two weeks and share your results with me.

Training Tool: Calendar

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We’ve moved past January where everyone has their new resolutions and goals for the new year.  Now we’re back into the swing of things where everything is back to normal.  But is it really?

Here in Wisconsin the winter is not too popular for most people.  That’s a topic for another post, but what I’m trying to say is that there’s a sense of excitement for the rest of the year, and more specifically for the arrival of spring.  Then summer!  And if you wait until that warm weather to start getting into shape or to start training for your first half marathon, it will be too late or too stressful.

What if… What if you put some goals on to the calendar this week and started to work backwards with your training to start your foundation now!

A close friend has approached me to become his personal trainer for an event this spring.  The time to start training is now.  Our plan is to put a detailed calendar together full of benchmarks and goals.  Isn’t this how all other industries work?  Goals for sales, scores in the classroom, votes, articles written, or audience approval rating.  Effective leaders and producers work off a schedule organized on a calendar.

The same should be measured for fitness goals.  I’m excited to put this calendar together for him, and I’ll be doing one for myself pretty soon also.  This year I’ll be running at least two races this spring and probably one in the fall.  And although I’m an experience runner in both the half and the full marathon, I want to take my training to a new level like I did last year.  The calendar of my training goals and training log will help me to that end.

What will it look like?  Stay tuned.

What about you?  What kind of calendar could you produce and hang in your office that would move you towards achieving some worthy goals?  For example:

  • number of books to read this year
  • number of hiking trials to finish
  • different restaurants to try
  • different blog posts to write
  • hand written letters to friends and family
  • number of dates with your spouse

CHALLENGE: Pick one area of your life where you want to see some significant progress this year.  Create a calendar that will track your goals and your accomplishments and let us know how you’re making your calendar work for you.

Power in Numbers

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Just because I talk about fitness, do a lot of fitness, and know a lot about fitness doesn’t mean I always like to workout. We all have these times, right? We’re in our area of passion, our area of expertise. But we have those days (or even seasons) when we lack that motivation to take it to the next level. Maybe we don’t even want to show up.

I’ve found that a lot of my motivation comes from the desire to compete against a goal or even compete against someone else. I’m not talking about necessarily training harder or finishing faster than the person. The key here is having others in your Inner Circle to compare training stories.

Right now it’s the start of February and it’s really cold here in Madison, WI. And I love the cold. (I really do.) But the idea of going out for a 4-mile run sounds as appealing as preparing my taxes. My motivation is 90 miles away, and he’s keeping me honest if not spurring me on.

My brother-in-law, Grant, is having a great start to his training season. He’s signed up for the Dam-to-Dam in Iowa in June and it looks like I’ll be joining him. The competitor in me is getting motivation when I hear about his workouts and the mileage he’s up to. Remember, I’m not saying I want to run more or faster than him (“resist the urge to trash talk, resist the urge…”). The competitor in me won’t accept the fact that he’s working out and I’m not. That’s gotten motivated this last week.

Community is essential in exercise and fitness. There’s not many people that I know who can sustain workouts and competitions all by themselves. Training partners make a huge difference, even if you’re not actually training with them. It gives you good conversation topics with that person and it stretches you to think about your training.

Do you find community anywhere in your workouts?

Preparing for Winter Training

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I am the exception to the rule:  I actually enjoy outdoor running throughout the winter.  But what about you?  Do your workouts diminish proportional to the temperature outside?

Last year I bought shoes that are more weather resistant than my typical running shoes.  This was in reaction to the previous winter when I cam home after numerous runs with damp if not wet feet.  That was no fun.  So I made and adjustment.  I bought the shoes.  I made a plan.  Do you have a plan?

Sometimes when I’m at the gym where I work, I look at my clients (current and former) and monitor their attendance to see if they’re still working out here.  This week I noticed three (former) clients hadn’t been to the club in three weeks.  I think there’s a lull in the season where workouts fall off our priority lists.  Then of course the holidays hit and then our attendance is hindered even more.

Take control.  Make a plan. If it’s not outdoor running, make arrangements for a different form of cardio.  Focus on strength and core for the winter.  Whatever it is, don’t allow Mother Nature to determine your plans for working out.

Weekly Butt-Kicking on the Track

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Part of growing stronger in fitness is breaking down your muscles so that they grow back stronger.  In a wonderful way, our bodies adjust to the stress that we impose through physical exercise.  Working at the gym, I see many people each day imposing the same stresses on their bodies.  Sure, they may be practicing the principle of overload.  But a realistic limitation unless someone is really pushing you.

Enter Todd.

Each week I teach a Sports Conditioning class on Wednesday mornings from 6:30-7:15.  It’s very similar to the ever-popular boot camps you see everywhere.  But my focus is more on cardiovascular training and functional interval work rather than a random variety of core exercise of boot camps.  My clientele has evolved into a group of attendees that are looking for performance increases, which comes from a high level of challenge.

I can challenge every person in that class on a performance level because I’m faster and stronger than them.  Actually, I can challenge every person except Todd.  Todd is a two-time Ironman finisher and he continually kicks my butt on the track.  To be honest, it gets pretty frustrating.  Todd just has a motor that operates at one notch above mine.  So as an instructor, I’m planning and executing my class with the understanding that my performance will challenge the participants, and Todd’s performance will challenge me.

I’m used to being the best at athletics, or at least at the top.  Having Todd push me each Wednesday when we’re on the track has certainly improved my performance.  Some days it’s hard to gear myself up knowing that I can’t beat him.  But that challenge is essential for my training to continue and improve.

Do you have anyone that challenges you on a regular basis?  Do you need someone to kick your butt on the track or in the weight room?  With the right attitude, coming in second place will do more for you than always being on top.