Phedippidations

You wouldn’t fill the fuel tank of an airplane with half the fuel needed to land it safely on the ground. You wouldn’t lift off in a spaceship that had a leak in it’s main propulsion rocket, and you certainly wouldn’t fill the gas tank of your car with chocolate pudding if you ever expected to successfully drive our of your parking lot. You need to fuel your body with the correct balance of carbs, fat and protein at a time prior to your race event that benefits your performance without leading you to some destiny with the glycogen wall.

There is just so much to do in this world, so much to experience, and it would be so terribly wrong of us not to do so. As runners, we have an opportunity, every day, to rise above the tedium and experience life to the fullest; and having a list of things to do before you run your last mile is a way to keep yourself focused not on the finish line of your life: but on the joy of your life’s race, while you’re in it.

With three solid hours of sleep, the depressing notion that my beloved Boston Red Sox had lost a crucial game in extra innings, and the understanding that I was about to run my 16th marathon, fellow runner John Ellis and I crossed the chip mat at the starting line of the Bay State Marathon in Lowell Massachusetts, and I ran the best marathon of my life. What happened next was not magic. It wasn’t some kind of impossible stroke of luck, and it wasn’t completely unexpected: to be a runner is to accept the same kind of challenge that a profession ball team accepts when they compete in the World Series. It’s all about overcoming barriers to success and celebrating those successes when the challenge is overcome.

Over 12 hundred fellow runners ran the second annual Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon and Kick the Couch 5K. It was an event that demonstrated the fraternity and fidelity of athletes all over the world, of widely different physical condition and abilities. When we accepted the challenge to run in this event, we accepted the role of becoming a runner. We ran in official events, back country roads, in parks with friends, on military bases, quiet places, and organized races. We ran together though apart, thinking globally yet participating locally, setting an example for those around us who might not understand the significance in running a World Wide event, but will always be invited to join us…on the road. ***WARNING*** this episode ends with an angry, (almost psychotic) rant about accusations made of runners at this years Chicago Marathon.

Today we run all over the world, at the very same time and encourage each other to push ourselves past our physical limitations. We are living for the moment, and nothing else matters. Each of us has an unstoppable power within us, earned through dedicated training, determination and the friendship of fellow runners near and far. Over a thousand of us will run today across 45 countries, 6 continents and one small blue bubble in a lonely vast, cold and empty universe, but we are not alone: Today we think global, and run local.

There is a pace you can run which will get you to the finish line of your race totally spent and with nothing left. There is a pace you are able to run that will have you crossing the finish line knowing that you ran as fast and strong as you possibly could. You need to find that measure of minutes and seconds per mile or kilometer, by testing yourself, reviewing your most recent past performance and making a best guess at what will be your perfect pace.

So where are we going when we lace up our shoes? Where are we going when we head out that door? Where are we running, not why or how…but where? There has to be a purpose to all this…and it’s only logical that that purpose is our direction, and that direction has a name, and that name is “Joy‿.

Fred Lebow was a showman and a promoter who was one of the main reasons why distance running and marathons became so popular as the running boom exploded. He transformed the NYC Marathon from a local event in Central Park with 55 finishers to one of the world’s largest running events with over 25,000 finishers running through all five boroughs of New York City. He lived his life to the fullest, against the dangers and odds of both the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Romania, and although fate handed him a shorten race, with his gall and love of life he turned it into a marathon.

You need to incorporate hard workouts into your training program if you’re looking to extend the duration of your runs, and improve the speed at which you compete. Hard runs are the key to your adaptation as a faster, more efficient runner….they are the only way you can achieve your goals on the road. As a runner you need to experience physical stress with the understanding that when it comes getting your miles in: The harder they come, the harder they fall.

Periodization is a way to incorporate different phases of training through out your athletic life. It’s a system custom fit for you and your running goals, and is a way to remain fresh, focused and motivated throughout the year. You build a base, you prepare for your race, you taper well and you’ll find that on race day, it’s easier to run.