Time for the PHILLY MARATHON...

Fall Marathons continue with Philly, Valencia, CIM, Honolulu, and Kiawah

Hello Team!

We’re having so much fun watching all the joyous photos, PRs and glowing messages pour in this weekend. Keep tagging us! Keep messaging us! You’re giving us LIFE back home in NYC. This is the time of the year for road trips that end in races, and home-town marathons with your families cheering you on. Keep on being you, team. You’re doing the Marathon exactly right.

If you’re ran Richmond, Charlotte, or the Savannah Women’s Marathon, you just ran a MARATHON!!!!

Waaahoooooooo!!!!!!! CONGRATS!!! You did the work. You weathered the storms. You showed up to the start line knowing nothing is guaranteed—a brave and daring thing—and you threw yourself in headfirst. You didn’t have to do any of this, and you did. We couldn’t be prouder.

For those of you who ran a PR: Celebrate hard. You must! You ran the fastest race of your LIFE. That’s absurd! We know so many of you are already thinking about the next one, but live in this race a little longer. Your race and your season and YOU deserve to be celebrated. You’ve earned it.

For those of you who completed your first marathon: Celebrate hard. You must! You made a bold leap without a net and you did it. Yesterday morning you weren’t a marathoner, and now you are. You learned so much over those 26.2 miles. Soak it in. Write it down. Take a million photos. You deserve to linger in this.

For those of you who struggled and rallied when you could have thrown in the towel: Celebrate hard. You must! Give yourself so much credit. The PRs are joyous things, but these are the races that transform the runner. Celebrate yourself. Celebrate all the wins within this one marathon, because there are many—doing this will help cement the race’s teachings in your memory. On a kinder day, when everything’s going to plan, you will remember what it felt like to push against your own limitations, and you’ll use that strength again, this time with wings.

For everyone: if you haven’t yet, take some quiet time and write down all your thoughts on the race. How did it feel on the start line? In the first 10 miles, the 2 nd 10, and the last 10k? Where were your most memorable moments? Where were the peaks? The valleys? What were you thinking then? What got you through? How long did they last?

Look at your mile and/or 5k splits—do these reflect how you felt? If your heart rate was recorded, where did it start to climb toward your max? What are you proud of yourself for? Where could you have been a little more on-point in your strategy? Were you good about gels and fluids? Could any rough spots in your race be related to gels or fluids? What would you do differently? What would you do exactly the same?

Let the writing be a landslide. Free-write on everything. Pour it out. Late in a marathon, you’re too exhausted for pretense, and some hard and beautiful truths can emerge. Put in on the page, because no matter how clear they seem now, those memories will fade if you don’t preserve them.

For everyone whose season is over:

Take a break! Maybe no running. Maybe a 10-20 minute run this week just to prance around and stretch the legs—but don’t feel obligated! Eat, sleep, splurge on a massage or do a good rolling and/or yoga session. Most importantly though, take a mental and emotional break. You’ve been so focused this season. You’ve worked so hard. It’s been an incredible time, but you’re also depleted. Unlace the shoes, sleep in, and let yourself unwind. Call you friends who don’t run and remind them you’re alive.

Again (and again and again), you should be SO PROUD!!! 

If you’re running Philly, this is RACE WEEK!

First off, well done. The work is behind you and the training piece of this journey is complete. Clean your hands of it. The only miles you’ll run from here on out will be in service of recovery.

You’re mid-taper. That means your body and mind are feeling weird from the sudden change in activity level, and you’re convinced that if you ask the right person maybe someone will tell you the how-to-run-the-marathon secret. (spoiler: you’ve got everything you need, and you know more than you think you do.) Let’s nail down logistics. Or, as my coach always said to me: “control what you can control.”

1. Mileage: How many miles did you run during “peak week,” when you ran 20 or 18 miles? Your mileage for the 8 days before the Marathon should be at most 50% of your highest mileage week this 16-week season and, you shouldn’t exceed 5 miles on any day this week. If you’ve been following The noname Program mileage plan, you’re covered.

2. Speed: Your Speed Run is listed below, and should be run between 6 and 4 days before your race. 

3. Week’s layout: Refer to The noname Program for sample weekly layouts. You should do a short run the day before the race, which you may not feel like doing but will help you feel better on Race Day. We suggest you take the day before that off, and otherwise set up your day-by-day to reflect a typical week, only with exclusively short easy runs.

4. Cross training and lifting: Your total physical activity outside of running should be 50% at most of your normal weekly effort and minutes. If you typically lift, bike, or do yoga, or anything else, keep it up, but make it all short and easy. As with your runs, this week is about staying in a rhythm and going through the motions.

5. Food: Eat well, but keep it simple. Nothing new, too salty, too spicy, too decadent, too rich, too adventurous or too….anything. Just keep it pretty boring until after the race! Make sure to include carbs and protein in every meal, with an extra emphasis on carbs in the last 2-3 days before the race.

   If you’re comfortable thinking about carbs, the standard carb-load rule is

6. Hydration: Again, don’t go wild. Keep sipping, and break up the water with juices and electrolyte drinks. You want all the tissues of your body to be lubricated, but you don’t want to wash out all your electrolytes, a condition known as hyponatremia. Just keep hydration on the good side of normal.

7. Time on feet: we want you fresh on the line! It’s completely fine to go out and shake away the cobwebs/nerves with some light marathon-weekend offerings. But, save the big fun for after the race. Splurge on a cab, have a long people-watching lunch, put the feet up, and be lazy.

8. Pre-race jitters: Either you’ve got them now, or you will soon! Nerves are totally normal, and even a good sign. You’ll want that adrenaline on race day! But, for now, keep them at bay with distraction. Conversations with friends, books, movies, music, museums, and long, leisurely meals are your friends and teammates. Don’t sit around fretting your cortisol up!

9. Sleep: get as much as you can, but don’t sweat it. You can trust your training, your adrenaline, your taper, and your well-functioning bodies to deliver on Race Day. Many many many marathon prs have been run on low/weird sleep. Don’t stress.

10. Pick up your race packet: do it as soon as you can! It’s best not to leave this to the last minute.

11. Taper crankiness: they may continue. Remember that this is normal, and evidence that your body is working hard for you to prepare for race day. Feel what you feel, and see the humor in it. You’re doing something incredible and unforgettable and bigger than yourself but you are also a cranky baby and you need a NAP!

12. New aches and pains: first, remember that it’s very normal for these to crop up during race-week, because your body has turned its focus inward. Very rarely does a race-week ache impact a race. Do a good stretch, ice, and rest.

13. Nervous habits: it’s very normal to develop funny race-week behaviors that, in retrospect, are obviously not great. Sipping water every 10 seconds? Cramming an entire season of stretching into 6 days? Trying out a new, better, revolutionary diet/posture/sleep program? Don’t do it! Your race will be good because your season has been good. You’re good. Nothing needs changing. Keep everything on the light/easy/clean side of normal.

You’ve already won, and we can’t wait to celebrate you!  

If you’re running Valencia, you’ve got two weeks to race day.

How’re you feeling? Like a pile of mush? Like your legs are made of wood? Ready to fight the noise coming from your refrigerator? Perfect. If you aren’t feeling the taper crankies yet, you will! If you don’t ever, I don’t believe you!

Here’s what’s happening: Over the first 13 weeks of this program, you trained your body to operate on a very quick adaptive cycle. It was constantly rebuilding itself to accommodate your asks. Because of your big runs and your fast miles, your blood can carry more oxygen, your bones can tolerate more footsteps, and your muscles can propel you faster while producing less waste. You’re different, and the changes all happened really fast.

Now, you’re scaling the miles back. The energy that was previously going toward effort is and will be hanging out inside your body and doing housekeeping: you’re patching up less-urgent cellular damage and rebuilding tissue and filling up glycogen stores. Inside, you’re busy as a bumblebee, which means that you feel exhausted. But, you’re also buzzing inside because you’re used to directing more of that energy outwards towards movement. It’s entropic!? It’s angsty! It’s weird! 

Last week was a shallow dip in mileage—about your typical 20% recovery week decrease. This week will feel like a more significant change—you’ll come down another 10-20% to 30-40% less than your peak mileage. Look to The noname Program manual for more specific mileage guides.

If you’re running CIM or Honolulu, you’ve got three weeks to race day.

Welcome to your taper! You’ve covered so many miles on your way here. Over the last 13 weeks you’ve run though uncountable ups and down. You have stories to share, revelations that defy retelling, and a new level of quiet confidence sitting right next to your heart. Now, with your biggest and hardest miles behind you, it’s time to sharpen the steel.

From here on out, your goal isn’t building strength. Your goal is easing into recovery mode in a way that maintains strength, reveals speed and encourages recovery. This week, you should decrease mileage by about 20% and maintain intensity. Next week, we’ll bring both down. The week of the Marathon, you’ll sit back and feel your body vibrating with readiness. Just wait.

If you’re running Kiawah, you’ve got four weeks to race day.

This is your PEAK WEEK. You’ll run your longest long run and your highest weekly mileage, and as soon as you finish you’ll begin a shallow tapered slope all the way down to Marathon Morning. You won’t stop working during that taper—shutting down mileage too quickly will slow down your body’s internal rate and leave your legs stale and low-energy on race day. But, by methodically de-loading your legs, you’ll arrive at the start line healed up, rebuilt from the cells up, stocked with glycogen and feeling sharp. A well-timed taper feels magic.

But not yet! Now, you’re in the last week of this season’s heaviest, hardest block of training. Stay the course. Care for yourself with food and drink and rest. Refer back to our recovery notes. Appreciate your body for working so hard and never ever forget that it’s trying its best, just like you. (You’re trying your best too.) Go for B+ efforts. After she set her American Record in the Marathon, Deena Kastor told me that consistent B+ training produces A+ marathons. Take her advice.

Fall Marathoners, this week you will run 3-6 times:

The runs may be done on any days, with two caveats: 1) Run the Speed Run earlier in the week than the Long Run, and 2) if you’re running 3-4 days a week, try not to run them all back-to-back-to-back. Your efforts will be safer and more effective if separated by rest. 

Philly’s Speed Run: 2 x 1 mile @ Marathon Pace with 2:00 rest. 4 x 400 @ 10k pace with 2:00 rest.

1.    Run 5-20 minutes of easy warmup running.

2.    Do 5-10 optional minutes of dynamic warmups + strides.

3.    Run 1 mile @ Marathon Goal Pace. Take 2:00 of stand/walk/jog recovery. Repeat. Take 2 more minutes of recovery, then run 4 x 400 @ your 10k pace with 2:00 recovery.

This pre-race workout is designed to freshen up the legs by increasing blood flow and breaking up any lingering byproduct that might be hanging out in your muscles or joints. Think of it as an internal massage and a little neurological tune-up. You might feel a little stale here, and that’s 100% ok. This work will help you feel much less creaky tomorrow.

If you feel great today, stick to the pace. If you feel awful, stick to the pace on the miles, and feel out the 400s with no obligation to hit the times. Whatever you do don’t run any faster than your assigned pace; doing so will only detract from your race. You body is transforming right now and you are butterfly goo—it is irrelevant how you feel. Get the run done, check it off, and think nothing else of it.

4.    5-20 minutes easy cooldown running + dynamic cooldown, just like at the start.

Regular Season Speed Run: 20-30:00 in-and-out Tempo

Last week we visited all our paces, fine-tunes pace variation, and let our body pick the specifics. This week we’re returning to Tempo pace, a cornerstone in any good marathon program. To refresh: Tempo, aka Anaerobic Threshold, Threshold, or Lactic Threshold, is the pace right before your body becomes overwhelmed by muscular byproduct. Any slower, it’s running primarily on clean-burning oxygen (aerobically) and can clear out trickles of muscular byproduct. Any faster, you’re relying heavily on dirty-burning (anaerobic) chemical reactions within the muscles, which will produce byproducts that force you to slow.

The exact pace at which your body “switches” from an aerobic to an anaerobic “zone” is very unique to you, and you’d only be able to get a precise number with a finger prick test that measures blood lactate accumulation. Look to The noname Program manual for a good estimate, based on your marathon pace. A word of caution: I suggest not using your watch’s estimate of your Threshold/Tempo pace unless you are a very experienced runner running at least 5 days a week. Those zones are created through a broad scaling from runners who’ve spent years developing their zones using a high amount of aerobic/anaerobic work. If that’s not you, take the zones with a grain of salt! When I was running 100 miles a week and training for the Olympics, my watch measured my zones well. Now that I’m running much less, they are extremely off on all brands!

Method:

1.    Run 5-20 minutes of easy warmup running.

2.    Do 5-10 optional minutes of dynamic warmups + strides.

3.    CIM, Honolulu, and Kiawah — 30:00 in-and-out Tempo

This is a continuous 30 minute run with no stopping. Use the chart on page 19 of The noname Program manual to identify your Tempo Pace. Start with 5 minutes @ :05-:10 slower than Tempo Pace. Then, transition smoothly to 5 minutes @ :05-:10 faster than Tempo pace. Alternate paces for the length of the 30:00 workout.

If your Tempo pace is 10:00, you might run 5:00 @ 10:10 pace, then 5:00 @ 9:55, 5:00 @ 10:05, 5:00 @ 9:55, 5:00 @ 10:10, 5:00 @ 9:50. Like a sine wave. Got it?

This Tempo variation helps “tease” down your Threshold by introducing your body to brief periods of slight overwhelm and relief. Moving back and forth between these adjacent paces will also train your feel of pace and cultivate a closer relationship with effort.

Finish with 4 very easy :15 strides with complete recovery. These are just short periods of slightly faster running, which will force a larger range of motion and create a sort of internal massage. Take as much rest between them as you like.

Valencia — 25:00 in-and-out Tempo + 8 x :30 strides with 1:00 rest

You need a slight variation on the day to help induce a peak!

You’ll run the exact workout above, but cut it short 5:00. Then, take 2-3 minutes to recover and run 8 loose strides @ 5k-mile pace.

These should be fun! Big arms! Chase! Keep a lid on it to protect the legs, but also GO! The goal is to get a quick hit of muscular power, larger range of motion, and a POP POP POP neurological hit. Your body will come out of this workout knowing SOMETHING’S COMING.

This is also your last day to pick up fitness! After today, the purpose of every run will be to aid recovery and keep your body in metabolic rhythm and moving with fluency. This is a perfect last workout, so work hard and then SHUT IT DOWN!

Do this sometime between 10 and 13 days before your marathon—Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday are ideal and Thursday morning if you have to (because I’d rather you give yourself a margin!) This amount of time will give your body enough time to repair cellular damage and convert that stress to fitness.

Indianapolis, Athens, Istanbul, and NYC Marathoners who are running another marathon this season, I want you to make two alterations to the workout: run this workout :30-1:00 slower per mile than you typically would—so, if you ran a 4:00 marathon, run it like a 4:15-4:30 marathoner. AND you should do 20:00 instead of 30:00. This is a “bridge” workout. I hesitate to even call it a workout! It shouldn’t stress the system and it’s not meant to build fitness. It’s only purpose it to help speed your recovery with increased blood flow and larger range of motion. Just put in the time, stay patient, and you’ll finish this run feeling much better than when you started it!

Anyone who ran an earlier marathon + has another marathon this season, throw your watch out the window! If I surveyed a dozen marathoners of the same pace, I’d find no consistent day (or week!) that they all felt recovered. The rate at which your body recovers from an all-out effort is just very personal. It has to do with your experience level, the way your foot hits the ground, the force of impact, and how hard you’ve learned to push yourself. Make no judgement on how to feel 2, 3, or 4 weeks following your race.

For this workout, run on feel using the paces assigned as a loose frame. Take what your body has today without judgements or distress and keep in mind that recovery isn’t linear. Maybe you run 20:00. Maybe it’s :30 slower per mile. Maybe both. You may experience peaks and valleys over the month following the Marathon. Trust that you’ll run fastest in your upcoming marathon if you let your body call the shots during the in-between.

4.    5-20 minutes easy cooldown running + dynamic cooldown, just like at the start.

Aerobic Runs: 1-4 easy runs for aerobic development 

Find your aerobic pace on page 19 in the noname manual. This wide pace range is determined by your prospective Marathon pace, and is the pace at which your system is fueled almost exclusively by aerobic metabolism. That means at this pace your energy comes an oxygen-based system; any faster and it start to rely on chemical reactions within your muscles, which produce byproducts like lactate. The majority of your training miles should be run in this pace window in order to develop your body's reliance on oxygen-based metabolism and limit the production of leg-burning muscular byproduct.

Put a different way, at this pace your body can both recover from your hard runs and develop your endurance at the same time. Some people refer to these days as recovery runs or easy runs. We like to use the technical term: aerobic—adj, relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen, to remind ourselves that even though these miles are easy, they are just as purposeful and scientifically-informed as any speed day.

Long Run: find your Marathon Below

10 miles @ Aerobic pace — Valencia

At LAST! Now you’re really in taper. The only instruction for today is to KEEP IT SLOW. Trying to run anywhere close to Marathon pace today for any amount of time will only detract from your Marathon. Why would you do that!?

Friends, runners, comrades—take it easy. Take gels and water at your typical intervals. If you haven’t yet, wear your race kit (minus the shoes if you’re wearing super shoes.) Eat a snack within 20 minutes and a meal within 90. Then have a nap.

13 miles @ Aerobic base pace, with last the 4-10 miles @ Marathon pace — CIM and Honolulu

*Warning* This isn’t going to feel like taper yet. This week will feel more like a typical recovery week—stiff and sluggish—and this long run will feel hard. You’ve still got the 20 unrecovered in your legs, which gives us one last excellent opportunity to run Marathon Pace in conditions that simulate the. Wake up to What’s My Name and get. it. done. 

Even if you feel tired and like your legs aren’t quite cooperating, really go for it. Bring out the Mantras and remind yourself of what brought you here. If you can’t quite hit the paces, get close. Practice staying cool during hard miles is at least as valuable as running a perfectly on-pace day. You’re gonna feel very different on race morning than you do today, so don’t fret when the paces are hard. Just get it done. 

This is both one last chance to feel Race Pace in every circumstance, and by working hard today you’ll encourage your body to keep pouring energy into repairing microdamage and restocking stores. You’re just far enough out that we’re not worried about this fatigue showing up on race day. Next week, we’ll run easy all the way.

This is also your last chance to try out new Race Shoes! If you’ve been thinking about changing it up, this is the day! It’s a great day to test out any other race gear—tops, bottoms, vests, bottles, etc—and it’s your last chance to practice gels, hydration, and pre run meal in any meaningful way, so NAIL IT! Full dress rehearsal! Bring in the orchestra! 

Lastly, it’s very important to take post-run nutrition seriously from here on out. Bring a quick-digest snack to the run and eat it within 20 minutes, and get in a good protein-rich meal within 90 minutes.

20 miles! @ Aerobic pace — Kiawah

Let’s gooooooo!!!!! Bring out the gangster rap or the glitter—whatever gets you hyped. It’s peak week and it’s time for THE LONGEST RUN.

Here’s a secret: Your body doesn’t know the difference between 18 and 20 miles. You’re using the same energy systems and the same movement patterns. As long as you stay fueled and hydrated, you’re not doing anything significantly different than you did 2 weeks ago. 2 miles. 2 measly miles. You’ve know how to do this.

You are, however, coming into this run at the end of the biggest 3-week training block of the season. You’re tired, but you have the advantage of experience. This time, correct all the little mistakes in fueling and hydration and clothing and pace that you may have made in your 18 miler. Stay cool. Don’t be surprised when you’re dragging a little at the start. You know how to read the signs of your body and wait out the tough miles. 

This run and next week’s long run will be your last chances to accurately try out all the gels and gear and timing and etc of Marathon Morning, so take advantage of today. Hydrate and fuel well all week. Do something fun and relaxing the night before. Pack your bag and lay out your clothes before you go to bed. Get a good night’s sleep. Wake up with plenty of extra time. Test out your pre-race breakfast. Be diligent with your gels. Replicate Marathon Morning in every way possible.

This will be an adventure. It’s going to be hard and you’re ready for it. You’re nervous. That’s good. Feel what you’re feeling. It’s evidence that you care, and it’s excellent practice for feeling and handling nerves on race day. From now until the Marathon (and forever), everything you do is practice, and an experiment: the music you wake up to, the clothes on your back, what you eat and drink, and the things you tell yourself.

Ideally, you’ll take 2-4 cups of water, 60-90 grams of carbs, and 600-1000mg of salt EVERY HOUR. Get out the calculator, turn your gels/chews/drinks over to the nutrition label, and add up those #s. Many marathoners take in less than is ideal, which leads to the dreaded “bonk” at mile 20. Don’t let that be you! Practice now to help train your system (ie tummy) to take in fuel on the run!

Take full advantage of this opportunity: mimic every element you can in terms of food, water, music, mantras, feelings, timing, etc, etc, etc. and take notes on what works and what isn’t. Then, recognize that there will be elements you can’t control, both this week and in the race—that’s when you’ll practice gracefully letting them roll off your back. You’re prepared.