Use your Brain 12 ideas 1 of 12

1. Managing your expectations
Odds are very very very very very high; you are going to fail at holding race pace.

Lets start at the single most important aspect of your mental game. Start here to maximize your performance, lower your times and keep injuries at bay.

In some of the bigger city marathons, there may be upwards of 20 to 30 thousand runners. One runner each, male and female, will "win" it, the rest of us behind them. Lets just accept that we are not 118lbs, genetically superior, and deeply motivated to commit our lives exclusively to a running career.

Even if you are a pro, odds are you will not win, not execute the race you might desire.
Additionally, at a typical road marathon, you would need to finish in about the top 8 to 10 percent of your age division to achieve a Boston Qualifier. The BAA is even tightening the requirements starting in 2013! If you have read my previous blogs, you know I feel that the vast majority of runners are over trained on race day, and compound the error by then almost always running a positive split by going out way WAY to fast.

Yet despite all the advice, all the writing, all the examples runners receive on this subject, they over train and then go out too fast. Psychologist can probably explain it better, but basically runners live in denial about their pace times, and even defend their bad training and pace decisions AFTER the clock irrefutably confirms the exam score tells them they have failed.( it even happens to ME, and I know better!!) If only this, if only that, if only if only. If only!


Rules to manage your expectations:
1. You are not special in regards to pace time. The rules of physics and biology will not suspend for you on race day.
2. You can't overcome physical realities by being mentally "tough". Being mentally tough means at best you EXECUTE your pre determined proper race pace for 26.2 miles. THAT'S tough!!
3.Violate the speed limit, and you will crash! Speed workouts, 10k race times, and 1/2 marathon race times will almost always tell you exactly the pace you need to run at the start and the finish of a marathon. It works up and down the distance ladder. Run 800's to figure out pace for 5k's to figure out optimal 10k times, to figure out 1/2 marathon times. Unfortunately, many runners don't want to do these workouts. Without this history, you are sure to have training and pace difficulties. USE YOUR BRAIN, DO THESE WORKOUTS AND TIME THEM!!!
4. Nobody Cares! Really, they don't. Your family, your friends, co workers. They know you RUN marathons, but your speed means nothing to them. Maybe a TAD to fellow runners, but all this dream race pace stuff is all self generated. Drop the knapsack full of unrealistic expectations 3 weeks before the race date by reviewing your running data. I will talk further on general pace rules later.
From a mental point of view, don't let your ego trick you into a race you can't possibly execute.
5. Prove you can hold a slower pace Then go for it harder next time. Simple....see?

Your Greatest Asset Your Brain 12 steps to Psychological Running

I've been remiss at posts, but my manic meds ran out, so here we go again.....

This starts a new blog on my favorite subject, and the one that separates the men from the boys, and the women from the girls. I recently ran a marathon in which I ran over two much better runners, I am sad to say. They are both very gifted and skilled, a bit younger, train more miles by a lot, and don't have metal in their knees. Yet, at mile 14, there they were, struggling as I passed them. I am sad because I love 'em both, but was able to catch them, and it shouldn't be so. But I just don't run. I THINK and run. I think of how to squeeze more out of my poor,old, bowlegged and reconstructed body. I struggle to keep my expectations in check, and often win on that point.
I am an athlete, who happens to currently be a runner.

I reject dogma unless scientifically proven, and I try (not always successfully)to subordinate my ego to a well thought out game plan. In other sports, like football, basketball, even tennis and mountain climbing, many many hours are spent planning the course of action. Plays are repeated over and over until rote. Muscle memory is drilled into form. Strategies developed and adhered to. Game plans executed.

But in running, the attitude seems to be "let it rip, and lets see how much guts I got!".
But we can't all be Pre, and look what it got him anyways.
I am not of that particular mettle.

Being a wussie, I hate pain, and try to avoid it often, and where feasible. So I actually spend a lot of time using my grey matter to optimize my workouts and my races. I often fail, but less often and in less pain than many others.

So lets talk PSYCH!!!!

1. Managing your expectations
2. Adding periodization to your schedule
3. Preventing overtraining
4. Proper Pace and Negative Splits
5. Don't go OC
6. Irrefutable Signposts for setting pace
7. Course Management
8. Gear preparation
9. Tapering Correctly
10. Body Fuel
11. THE schedule and its components
12. Repositioning Running in your life.

So, there a dozen aspects of running faster, better races, and you haven't left the couch!
My suggestion; extrapolate other activities in your life, where you are already successful, whether sports, business or whatever, and apply them to your running under YOUR terms, not some GGGS (genetically gifted, genetically sifted) run weenie.

As you may know from reading my blogs, I think most training schedules and books are a bit out to lunch, over reaching with too many long runs, and dated in the information presented. Release your preconceived notions, go more with your gut and believe in the counter intuitive methods preached here..... That takes BRAINS, not brawn....Try Speed work, tempo, easy long runs. Then add your brain power to optimize your potential UNDER THE CONDITIONS FOR WHICH YOU CURRENTLY LIVE.

My next posts will elucidate the above dozen topics, or feel free to comment and ask for something additional. Enjoy the day!
Fasteddie

Your older SO WHAT???? According to the New York Times....

As a kid, I'd watch my hero, Jack LaLanne go at it every single day. He knew he was mortal. None of us is getting out alive. But his attitude was/is exemplary.
You don't get old if you can do today what you did yesterday. Thanks Jack. read on.....and remove the excuse
"I am too old" and READ THE LINK AT THE BOTTOM over and over again.

Older runners lose muscle mass at the rate of 1-2% yearly after 30, depending on whose stats you look at. Not a good thing. What to do?

A. Lift weights 2 times a week, 3 at certain times in your training cycle, if you can squeeze it it. I will blog separately on this subject. Runners or not, weightlifting is the single core activity all adults should do, all the time, balanced with cardio workouts. Everything else is gravy.

B. Shorten longer runs, increase speed and intensity to lessen the effect of converting to protein(muscle)for energy when glycogen stores become depleted. This hopefully will leave more muscle mass on your emaciated frame. Also,harder shorter runs will demand a muscle building response. Exactly what you need.

C. Stress Your system. Oxygen processsing also drops. See #2 above. There's nothing like stressing lung capacity to increase oxygen processing. Offset or delay this loss due to age by small hard workouts, close to or at maximum heart rate. Of course, see your doc first for clearance. But this is as close to a magic bullet as there is.

D. Crosstrain. Everyone has favorites, but some are mo betta than others. The best for translating to running appears to be biking, with an out of the saddle component. Somehow, it seems to mimic the muscle specificity necessary for translation into running benefit. My guess is it's a combo of cardio, muscle, and turnover. Out of saddle has always helped my heels come up for running. Note that the maximal benefit I've read about is with interval training OUT OF THE SADDLE for a portion of the workout on the harder bike days. I will speak more to crosstraining in the future, including recommended weight training routine. You want "fast" in your stride? Weight train with a taper. Other "best of" crosstraing, besides biking (my fav is mountain biking... cars can't kill you, and out of saddle grinds are a necessity for hill climbs)are cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

E. Eat better, rest more. Protien and carb shakes may work. As we get older, ALL runners get an extra inch or so at the waist. Get over it, add muscle mass to your overall body frame, and don't obsess about it by starving.

F.Use Periodization training schedules. Everyone should do this, but it becomes more important for older runners to make sure they get the rest cycle every fourth week. OC 's (obsessive compulsives)can and will ignore this and plateau out and live in misery and self deprecation.

G.Accept aging, but make it a game to achieve your best performance under your specific conditions. I'd like to get back to sub 4 hour marathons. Surgery and age may make it impossible, but it's worth a try. Sub 3 or 4 hour goals may be irrational for YOU!

What is probably more reasonable is to IMPROVE your ranking on a local race every year. There can only be one FIRST PLACE in your division. So stop agonizing and just try to beat someone at YOUR OWN LEVEL. You'll both have a great time and a sense of accomplishment. Maybe you can both run over a 3rd runner! Make it fun! Life is short. And ALWAYS congratulate those who beat you. :>)

PLEASE READ THIS GREAT NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/aging-well-through-exercise/