Episode 4-395 – Karen - From the Brink to Boston

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-395 – Karen - From the Brink to Boston (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4395.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hello and welcome to the RunRunLive Podcast episode 4-395.  Today’s show is about endurance. Hopefully it will be available for you folks who are stepping into the Chicago marathon this weekend. Not that you would need a podcast to listen to at Chicago.  I mean, you’ve got 45,000 other runners to talk to.  You probably won’t catch Galen Rupp or Mo Farah.  You might be able to catch Joan Benoit Samuelsson, she’s going for the age group record as a 61 year old, but that’s doubtful as well.  Amy Cragg is out there with the elites as well.  I hear the weather is going to be bad.  High winds and maybe some rain.  I remember joking after Boston this year that if they had that kind of weather in Chicago it would be the apocalypse.  Hopefully it won’t be too bad and it will give everyone something epic to talk about.  Endurance is the theme today.  I talk with Karen who is a prime example of not giving up.  This is the second person this year who I have talked to with one of these incredible stories of rebirth.  In section one I’ll give you a primer on Achilles tendinitis (I made a video for this one as well because the stretches are hard to explain without a visual) and in section two I’ll wax poetically about endurance.  Since we last talked my training has run the gamut between horrible and wonderful.  Right after our last show I had to walk away from a long tempo run because I was just shot.   I was pretty down about it.  I don’t like giving up on workouts.  But I couldn’t hold the paces and my form was shot so I walked away 2 hours into a 3-hour workout.  But since then I have had a couple really good workouts.  I’ve been doing a lot of speed work and my tempo paces have come down to encouraging levels.  I have been consistently holding paces in the 7:30’s on my long tempo and that bodes well for the upcoming marathon. Some of you may have heard that you would have needed to beat your qualifying time by over 4 minutes this year to get into Boston.  As registration closed the BAA announced that for the 2020 race they are lowering all the standards by another 5 minutes.  For me that means I now need to run a 3:35 to make the standard, which is a hair over 8-minute miles.  … You may have gotten used to hearing my dog Buddy the border collie in the background of these recordings.  I had him into the vet last week for a check up.  He’s doing fine. He’ll be 15 in December. With the cooler fall weather he comes back to life and gets agitated.  He can’t really run anymore.  His hips are pretty shot. He can still move well and isn’t in any discomfort.  He’s in great shape for his age, but, like me, he doesn’t realize how old he is.  Living an active life has probably given him an extra 2 years with us to enjoy.  When I was walking down the sidewalk with him on the leash towards the vet a guy was unloading an old standard collie.  He had a ramp that he unfolded so the old collie could totter down out of his van.  This poor old thing could barely move. When he got the collie into the vet’s office he said ‘Don’t let him lie down or he won’t be able to get up.’ I asked the guy ‘How old?’.  Thinking this museum piece of a collie must be really old compared to Buddy.  The answer was 12.  Buddy was 2 years older than this poor old collie and trotting around like he owned the place, ready to go.  So – there ya go – lead an active life and you’ll have a much higher quality of life in the later innings. On with the Show. … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported.  What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to.  I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway.   “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit.  So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills. M … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported.  We do this by offering a membership option where members get Access to Exclusive Members Only audio and articles. Member only race reports, essays and other bits just for you! Links are in the show notes and at RunRunLive.com … Section one – Achilles- http://runrunlive.com/achilles-primer Voices of reason – the conversation Karen Moore – From the Brink to Boston ‎ to   ·  Everyone has a story. I have been a runner most of my adult life. Have done marathons all through the years. Two and a half years ago while out for my run I got hit by a hit and run driver. I was found along the road side by a amazing man. I was unconscious, major head trauma, leg broken in three places, multiple cuts, bruises. After a very long 8 months I started walking to get strong. Soon I was doing a limp like shuffle jog. It was ugly but it was a start. My daughter always wanted to run a marathon with me. I was not going to let this person who hit me take this from us. Lots of stubborn runners strength kept me going. Never would have guessed it but two years after I ran a marathon with my daughter and almost qualified. Two months later in Philly I did it. What the power of love can do. Can not believe it is real. Scared, proud. My daughter will be my cheer leader. Her goal is to qualify this year in philly. Someone wake me.  —  feeling blessed. Section two – Endurance - Outro You know what I’m going to say, right?  Yup.  That’s it you have endured another episode of the RunRunLive Podcast.  That was number 4-395.   Episode 4-395 of the RunRunLive Podcast.  I’m in my taper for Baystate.  It’s on the 21st.  I seem to have gotten enough speed back and am confident that I have an opportunity to beat that new 3:35 standard.  We’ll see.  All you can do is put yourself in position to race.  You get to the starting line and the universe takes care of the rest, right? I have a tip for you.  When I first started running seriously I used to rely on a lot of sports drinks.  I used to power my runs with Gatorade and Power Bars.  But over the years I’ve come to find it easier, and heathier, to condition my body to run off its own fat stores with minimal intervention.  I still use fuel in races but only enough to keep the fire lit, so to speak.  Regardless of the fueling product you are using what I have found is that the recommended dosage from the manufacturers is always too strong, at least for me.  This goes all the way back to when I ran on Gatorade.  Full strength Gatorade gave me stomach issues.  My tip for you is to practice cutting what ever you’re using by half.  What ever it is.  If it says a scoop per bottle, just put in a ½ scoop.  This way it won’t impact your stomach.  You get used to it and you can meter your intake just as well with a lighter dose.  … Speaking of Buddy’s visit to the vet, I myself went to get a checkup.  I try to get in every year for a physical because I’m in that age group that gets some of those top ten diseases like prostate cancer and colon cancer.  It’s just good practice. I hadn’t been in for a couple years because of different urgencies in my life so I figured I should. No surprise I am boringly healthy.  My blood pressure is excellent.  My prostate is lovely.  It’s all good.  I joke to my doctor that I am an exceedingly uninteresting patient, and he tells me that I make his job easy.  Did you know that 75-80% of medical issues are lifestyle related?  The top 3 contributing lifestyle factors are of course diet, exercise and smoking.  Pretty simple.  It’s a game where you know the rules and have an 80% chance of winning.  What are you going to do with all that extra quality of life now that you know the secret? Shal we find out together? I’ll see you out there. MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.