Are you surprised by how many people offer you advice once they learn that you’re running the Boston Marathon? People that haven’t even run the marathon seem to have words of wisdom for you. They can range from diet, shoes, avoiding injuries, managing the course and the list continues. It can be so confusing and overwhelming because, aside from [...]
Archive for February, 2012
“Imperfect preparation gives rise to the thousand-fold forms that express physical and mental inferiority and insecurity!” -Alfred Adler It’s never too early to begin planning for Marathon weekend and beyond. Here are my recommendations that will hopefully provide some basic guidelines to ensure you’re as prepared as possible for the marathon. This checklist has been developed over 15 [...]
Developing good habits provides many benefits to your running. Starting each week on a positive note is critical to a productive week. Sunday’s are typically a rest and family day for most runners following their long Saturday run. But you can’t completely disengage from the training mindset. You still need to prepare for your upcoming [...]
Several runners have contacted me recently expressing concern that they felt unusual pain after running in a new pair of shoes. It’s very common for runners to think that a new pair of shoes is the solution to all their aches and pains. However, in every instance the problems were not a result of the new [...]
It has been difficult to convince runners they can actually run faster marathon times by incorporating walking into their race strategy. Many of the more experienced runners that I coach feel that walking is a sign of weakness or failure. They have resisted adopting this running strategy but, because of my insistence, have given it [...]
Balancing fluid intake is very important in marathon training and on race day. It is essential in maintaining good health and enhancing performance in any endurance event. Until around the last decade, people concentrated primarily on preventing dehydration. However, drinking too much fluid can be very dangerous and lead to hyponatremia, a life-threatening condition in which the blood sodium [...]
I had the pleasure of working with one of my Marathon Coalition runners at the MIT track recently. He’s unable to attend our Saturday training so I wanted to comprehensively cover every aspect of preparing for the Boston Marathon. My session with Ed was an important reminder of the importance of time…of being completely in the moment. [...]
One of the greatest benefits of coaching marathoners is witnessing their many transformations leading up to and beyond the marathon. I met Trish Reske at an information session for Team In Training several years ago. She never considered herself an athlete but has become one of the most dedicated runners I’ve ever coached. Her determination is testament to the [...]
Everything in life will seem easier after completing the Boston Marathon…but only the complacent will find any comfort in this. Most runners, particularly charity runners, will be inspired by the experience and will embark on even greater challenges and accomplishments. I’ve never understood having a bucket list for the sake of simply checking things off to [...]
I didn’t run with the Marathon Coalition TEAM yesterday because I wanted to take pictures of all the runners. Lori creates a wonderful presentation for our pasta party each year and it’s largely comprised of training pictures. Taking pictures allows me to also spend more time with each runner. I was joined by John Ryan [...]
