By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

When it comes to us runners, sometimes experience goes out the window, and we make stupid, rookie mistakes that derail our training, fitness, and/or goal races. Who can forget Daniel Do Nascimento, an Olympian and 2:04 marathoner, going so fast during the 2022 NYC Marathon and collapsing at Mile 21 on a hot and humid day? He also collapsed during the Tokyo Olympics. If he screws up monumentally in the biggest stages, what’s left for us mere aficionados?

Daniel Do Nascimento collapsed in both Tokyo and NYC. Lesson not learned

Failure must be embraced as an opportunity to gain experience, sure, but it doesn\’t make it any easier when we screw up and are forced to learn a lesson at an inconvenient time. So, here are eight areas of your running where you could avoid learning the hard way:

1.    Starting too fast: The equation is straightforward. The faster you go, the less endurance you have. Racing a half marathon at 5K pace will end in disaster. Starting faster than your race plan is not conducive to PRs but to bonking. Don\’t fall for the \”I-feel-awesome\” fallacy at mile 8 of a marathon. You\’d better feel formidable there if you trained for 26. Execute your race plan as designed. The chances of a satisfactory race will multiply exponentially.

 2.    Expecting linear and/or unlimited improvement: Because the curve of progress is so steep at the beginning of a training cycle, especially for beginners with little to no historical reference, it becomes imperative to understand that each body has a performance ceiling. If we didn\’t, we would all eventually be setting world records. The apex of our curve can still move up as we get better, more experienced, and in better shape> But that process may take years, which requires patience. Too much, too fast, too soon is the cardinal sin of running and a sure path to injury.

3.    More mileage is not necessarily better: If you are planning to run long distances, you must run a lot of miles. It is inevitable. Now, what \”a lot of miles\” implies is very personal. It may mean 120 miles for Olympians but just 30 for a newbie looking to finish strong in their first half marathon. If you run beyond your body’s capability, recovery will be affected, and injury, overtraining, cumulative exhaustion and burnout will derail your goal. Figure out what works best for you and apply it.

 4.    Bad races are part of the deal: You may have done everything right. You were dedicated to your training, you slept enough, hydrated properly, strength trained, didn’t miss a day, and rested. And yet, you had a bad race. Well, nobody can guarantee you a solid performance. That\’s why we compete on race day and not just pick up our medals and trophies by showing our training logs. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn\’t. Accept it and don\’t let it be the measurement of your worth as a person.

 5.    Not practicing race strategy during training: The place to figure out you can\’t stomach that 5th gel shouldn’t be mile 20 on marathon day. Discovering that you don\’t have enough pockets to carry all your needs should not be realized on race morning. And so on. Be smart. Go for more than just one dry run during the training cycle.

Not taking care of your rest will inevitably lead to burnout or injury (Photo: Nataliya Vaitkevich, Pexels)

6.    Rest days are an integral part of any plan: Even elites take rest days. At the height of their training for a Marathon Major, it may mean 10 easy miles at a pace that would be a PR for you or me. But we are not training to win Boston or London. So, let\’s put our goals in perspective and understand what we want to carry out. Let’s not compare ourselves to other runners, and make sure we rest properly—enough so our body doesn’t have to choose a rest day for us, which I may bet would come at an inconvenient time.

 7.    Squeezing in one more long run: The body usually takes from 10-14 days to adapt to the stress of a particular training session. This is why we taper. Not much of what we do in the two weeks prior to the race will help us. Yet, it can harm us. So, refrain from squeezing in one more long run or an added speed session in during taper. Follow your plan.

 8.    Trying new things on race day: Is the cardinal sin of racing. This is not the day to find out how these shorts fit, if this brand of gel upsets your stomach, or the responsiveness of this brand-new pair of shoes. You\’ve been training for this day. You have sacrificed sweat, time, money, and emotion into this project. Don\’t screw it up at the time to see it through.

 We would love to hear your advice for fellow runners. Leave a comment below; we appreciate every contribution!