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The Road To Boston Begins Here! 3.15.08

My Training Regiment

I think everyone has their own way of preparing for a marathon. When I was preparing for my 1st marathon last fall I found a wealth of information on the Internet, on forums and in talking to friends that had run marathons as well as talking to running coaches and trainers.

What I found is that no one way is right or wrong. I found my fortay to be long distance running. I enjoy putting in at least an hour a day into running, roughly averaging 35 - 40 miles per week on the road for my base miles. Generally I will run 5 days out of the week. This time of the year I run 7 to 8.5 miles each morning. My limitation is really weighted on when sunrise occurs and what time I have to get on the road for work in the morning (to be on time) as I commute 42 miles up route 128 to work each day. So I only have a maximum of 1.5 hours in the morning in which to use for warm up, running and cooldown. So I have a narrow window of opportunity each day. As the year goes on and daybreak occurs earlier and earlier I will increase my daily mileage to 10 - 11 miles per day. I usually take Saturdays off and run a longer run on Sundays especially if I am training for a race.

Why do I like to run in the morning? This is a great question that many people ask me as I discuss my general training. First of all I like to run on an extremely empty stomach. This way cramps are one less thing to worry about or fight during long endurace runs. Secondly, it clears my mind for the entire day ahead. Almost like a soothing massage. Lastly, there is less traffic on the road in the early morning hours and I like to believe no drunks on the road for safety sake. I usually get up at 4 AM and begin preparing with fluid hydration. This is extremely improtant and I cannot stress it enough. Usually just OJ and water but I do play around with other mixes depending on the length of the planned run and the time of the year. Citric acid affects some folks adversely when taken on an empty stomach but it never seems to affect me. Minor stretching and walking prior to the run just to lossen up a bit.

I am not a big proponent of stretching prior to a run. My feeling is that the looser you get the more flexible you get the more lateral movement that can occur and result in injury. The only injuries that I have ever incurred in my running world were a knee contusion from tripping on a wire left on the road and a wrist injury from colliding with a car and getting hung up on the passenger side mirror. Stretching after a run is mandatory for me and I usually begin stretching during my cool down lap around the block.

That pretty much covers the running portion of my conditioning with the exception of weighing in. When I run long especially in the spring and summer warm humid months I will weigh myself before and after any run over 1 hour as I tend to sweat quite a bit and it is not uncommon for me to drop 5 -8 lbs during a run. It is essential that this weight be reconsumed by way of electrolytes, salt and minerals. I use Hammer products such as Recoverite and Heed. Don't drown yourself in water alone as this will bring on headaches.

Working out in the gym is also a big part of training for me. When I first started running, I was not keen on adding the muscle weight as I thought it would cause me to slow down. In reality, the muscle actually enhanced the longer runs and kept me injury free.

I hit the gym 5 days a week in addition to running. I usually start out with 35 minutes of intense cardio (eliptical machine). For me this is isolated hill training which I hope will pay off when I reach heartbreak hill on April 21st. I follow this up with weight training. My normal schedule on weights is chest and triceps on Monday. Back and biceps on Tuesday. Shoulders on Wednesday. Either circuit training on Thursday or I repeat with chest and triceps on Thursday. Last Thursday I started taking a Pilates class with will replace weights on Thursday. On Friday I am working back and biceps or circuit training. Saturday and Sunday I stay away from the gym and usually do nothing on Saturday but run long on Sunday. Abs are pretty much an everyday thing as I believe that all of our energy comes from the core. It all starts with a firm strong core. I do abs on the ball every other day. Abs on the floor every other day and now Pilates once a week.

There you have it. My workout in a nutshell. I will update this page as I evolve. I do have a plan to work weights into the lower body but it is too soon before the marathon to incorporate that into the foray at this time. I kind of feel obligated to lay down the disclaimer that I am in no way an expert in this field and each person is different and therefore should consult a personal trainer and physician before taking on anything physically challenging. I am just sharing what works for me. Thanks.