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(this article was written for the May/June 2001 issue of The Miami Runners
Club 'Big Kick' publication, reprinted with permission)
Though many of you know me in the community as Ms.
Macrobiotics, this is not a piece about diet and nutrition. It is,
however, about smart training and how I've taken an hour-plus off my
marathon time!
I began running in May 1996 with the Footworks Team in
Training program. I consistently had the distinct honor of coming in last
in the slowest group on all the Saturday long runs. I completed my first
marathon in October 1996 in 6:30. In 1997 I completed two more marathons
following Galloway's run/walk/run program. My times were not improving. I
was getting frustrated. I continued to run but did not train for any more
marathons in 1998.
July 1998, I attended Roy Benson's running camp in
Asheville, NC. There I learned how to run with a Polar heart monitor. I
used the heart rate monitor as my training device and gradually weaned
myself off the walk breaks. I was beginning to learn how to pace myself by
monitoring my heart rate. Some days depending on the distance were to be
run at 80-85% effort, other days slower. It was Benson's philosophy that
it is better to run the whole distance at 75% effort, that to take walk
breaks. The next two marathons showed some improvement but I was still
hovering around 6:00.
After reading about Bruce Wilk's tri-athlete training in
the Big Kick where he made reference to his coach in Broward County. I
thought maybe that's what I need, a personal coach to give me specific
instructions even if it's over the county line. I 'yahoo'ed' on the
internet by entering the key words 'long distance running coach.' That's
how I found my coach. Coach GP (Gerard Pearlberg) lives*
in Santa Cruz, CA. We've yet to meet but since October 2000 we have had
daily email communications and weekly phone conversations. The logistics
are very simple - he lays out a weekly plan for me - I do whatever he says
to do - I email him back that day - he emails me back feedback. As it got
closer to our target marathon the instructions became more race specific
down to details about what to eat and drink and most importantly how to
pace myself. In February 2001, I ran the Las Vegas Marathon in 5:08.
My weekly routine includes three 'quality' days,
'post-long run' secondary run, a couple 'bread & butter' days, & an
off-running, cross training day. My quality runs are the Saturday long run
and two intense speed days. On these days, I don't socialize, I'm all
business - focusing on breathing, posture and pacing. I'm learning
control. GP emphasizes control a lot in his instructions. The track
workouts are varied and challenging. GP seems to know just how high to set
the bar so that I work hard but not to the point of disappointment or
injury. When I'm not doing a tempo run, I do hillwork on the second
speed day. The secondary 'post-long run' is usually half the distance of
the long run. Much to my surprise the secondary run is very often at a
faster pace than my long run.
And then there are the 'Bread and Butter' runs. These
are my recovery runs, the ones I love to find a running buddy and just
chatter away non-stop. These are my social runs, the runs that remind me
of how much fun running friends are. Some people refer to these slower
runs as junk miles, but to me that's bunk. These runs help the body get
rid of lactic acid buildup from the speed workouts. If I'm running solo on
a B & B day, I do the meditation thing or create lesson plans in my head.
I listen to my favorite music and just run for the sheer pleasure of
running. The main benefit of the B & B run, is that if reminds me of the
pace from whence I came. I used to be a "one speed woman" - slow all time
- now it's only slow when I want or need it to be slow. I know I'm not
"fast" (yet) but at least I'm consistently placing in my age division as a
middle of the pack runner no matter the race distance.
It's all about the progress. I'd like to think it's
those Bread and Butter runs sandwiched in between some very serious
training that's making the difference!
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* Coach GP has since moved to Manasquan,
NJ. His original website as an online coach was coachgp.com
