When set up to prepare for a race, we usually do so with a specific goal in mind. Maybe it is a PR. Maybe we want to go under a certain arbitrary round time like a Sub-4 marathon, a sub-1:45 half or a sub-50 10K. Maybe, given a certain personal issue, just finishing in one piece is the objective. They are all valid goals worth pursuing.
But life can and usually gets on the way of our perfect plans. Stars may not align on race day and then your car breaks down on the way to your race or thereâs a traffic accident that makes you miss the start. Or it was too hot and humid, or you started too fast when you should have known better. It happens. So, what to do?
Sometimes, achieving goals B, C or D can still mean a successful race (Foto: Pexels)
It may sound obvious, but in the midst of the frustration, runners donât know how to react and adjust. So I will spell it out in a direct manner: Set up A, B, C and even D goals for your races. And if your race doesnât go as planned, sometimes it is good to have a back-up race to fall on to.
I follow a sub-elite runner in Instagram, who ran the recent Boston Marathon. In his post-race recap he said how his objectives kept changing throughout the race. His main goal was giving it his all to go sub-2:30, but as the miles went by, he realized this was not going to happen, so he decided to settle for a PR. In the 28th Km (17th mile), he suffered cramps that forced him to slow down. He ran some math in his head and realized he could still go Sub 2:40. At the end, 2:40:31 was his time. His final assessment was that despite not accomplish any of his preset goals, he wasnât upset because he gave it all he had for the day. And he also knows this is not his last race.
This is the epitome of setting up multiple goals and completing a solid race despite facing multiple obstacles throughout. It is about learning to face and overcome those issues on the fly. It is about conquering what we are unable to control and yet, conquering those obstacles.
Just as it happens with the performance in a single competition, there are times that even the best prepared runners, or Goals R, S and T canât cover a disappointment. When that happens, embrace the failure, learn your lessons, and move on to, or set up, your back-up race.
Back Up Races
It is not only a bad race that needs redemption. Sometimes circumstances beyond your control get in the way and derail your plans in a catastrophic manner. A second chance to perform is what will save the time, effort, money, and emotion you have invested in your training.
A few weeks ago, one of my trainees was on the plane to the Berlin Marathon. Door closed. Seatbelt fastened. Pre-flight instructional video played. But then⌠just like that⌠they kicked everyone out of the plane. The flight was cancelled. The only alternative given by the airline would put him in Berlin on Saturday at 5PM, with barely any time to pick up his bib and rest to make it to the starting line.
Make sure you live to race anothe day, by being smart before you tackle the marathon agian, after a debacle. (Photo: Pexels)
This runner was lucky enough that had enter several Marathon Major lotteries and hit two of them. So, despite the frustration, at least he had Chicago, two weeks later. The plan had been to push in Berlin and coast for fun in Chicago. Now, the plan is to push in Chicago, even though the taper was extended to 4 weeks. Notwithstanding the disaster, he was able to put his training to effective use and ran 3:24. Below his expectations but solid enough for his abilities and given the circumstances.
Even though having two marathons lined up worked for this runner, this time, it was circumstantial. Having a marathon to fall onto is not necessarily the best strategy. A marathon requires a level of commitment and effort that for most runners it requites just all youâve got. So, having another marathon in store just in case, in a few weeks, may mess you up subconsciously and may alter your subconsciously because you know you have another race coming up, so you can play it safe, or run too fast and crash.
My recommendation is that if you need to pick another marathon because you missed your goal race, there are plenty or marathons to fall back to. You wonât lack for options, so you donât need to plan ahead. But, if you had a crappy marathon and need to redeem yourself, be smart, recover properly and reassess where you are and where you want to be eventually before doing something foolish and getting hurt.
You can run multiple 5Ks to make up for a bad one. You can run another half marathon or two, or three, to make up for a bad race. The marathon is a different animal.
Not too long ago, a friend forwarded to me a posting of a runnerâs prayer. It was so uplifting. You didnât even have to be Christian or a profoundly or devout follower on any religion to enjoy it and find it inspiring. This is what it read:
Being thankful for the privilege of running is a key component of most runnerâs lives.
A Runnerâs Prayer Run by my side; live in my heartbeat; give strength to my steps. As the cold surrounds, as the wind pushes me, I know you surround me. As the sun warms me, as the rain cleanses me, I know you are touching me, challenging me, loving me. And so I give you this run. Thank you for matching my stride. Amen.
Because of my journalistic background, I always want to attribute credit to authors. So, I did a quick Google search and found not only the author for this one, but a slew of inspiring runnerâs prayers.
Originally, I intended to publish something short and uplifting, but with so many good runnerâs prayers out there, I decided to compile a handful of the ones I found most inspiring to me. I hope they touch you, too.
Prayer Before Facing a Race A contemporary prayer for someone preparing for a race or marathon By Tamra Dollin Source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com
Dear God, As I stand here, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, I am filled with gratitude, For You, who have given me life. For my family, who sustains me with their love. For my community, who support me with their warm embrace. For the strength of my body, which I have cared for and prepared to greet this day. For the capacity of my mind, to allow me to reach beyond what I thought possible. For the courage of my soul, to conquer my fears and pursue my dreams. For the spirit You have placed in me that will allow me to prevail.
I humbly ask of You⌠Remove all obstacles from before me. Help me to run swiftly and without impediment. Grant me the courage to persevere in moments of weakness. To see and do acts of loving kindness along the way. And that through this endeavor, I may glorify your Great Name.
As it says in Isaiah 40:13, ââŚFor those who hope in God will renew their strength. They shall soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary.â
A simple prayer may change the outlook of your run.
Another Runnerâs Prayer
Prayers donât need to be too deep or full of theology. The simplest of them can touch us profoundly and rejoice our souls, like this one, I found in RunnersWorld.com:
May the road raise to meet you May the winds be always at your back May the race day temps be between 45 and 55 degrees And when we meet again May you be in another age bracket
Runnerâs Serenity Prayer
The popular âSerenity Prayerâ, written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892â1971) in 1951, has been adapted to many aspects of life. Running is not the exception. I found a couple of them.
I could not find a source for this one:
âGod grant me the strength to travel this distance, The courage to push through pain, And wisdom to know when to pick up the pace. Without your guidance and understanding, I could not be the runner I am. Amenâ
 This next one is authored by Josh Cox, and it goes like this:
âGod grant me the serenity to accept when I cannot run; The Courage to run when I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.â
Before Hitting the Road
And to complete this short sample or runnerâs prayers, there is this one if found in fuelrunning.com, which I find particularly uplifting:
O Strong and Faithful God
Make me swift, today, as I run; give me stamina, courage, and strength. But mainly, O God, give me faith in You and in myself. For you have said: âFor they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength⌠they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint.â
By striding with this faith, my efforts will be crowned, and my spirit rest secure in you, and in the knowledge of a race well run.
I make this prayer in imitation of all the saints who have run to you. O Lord, amen.
It doesnât matter to what God you pray, or to what religion you feel either affinity or affiliation. May it be God, Jehovah, Allah, the Universe, Nature or any other; most of us feel a bigger power guiding our steps. Voicing out our gratitude or putting ourselves in the hands of that superior being, is of great comfort when we are about to participate in our favorite sport. I hope these prayers will help.
This is Marciâs second contribution to the Foultips.run blog. She wrote âThe Journey of the Fat Runnerâ back on March 30th, which is by far, the most read post in the history of this blog.
“It’s not a workout if it’s not at least 3 miles.”
“I have to hit the gym for an hour, at least.”
“I run every single day.”
“If I don’t work out for 30 minutes, it doesn’t count.”
I’m guilty of thinking and doing all these things in the past. How about you?
10,000 steps a day is an arbitrary number set by a marketing ocmpany (Photo: Blue Bird, Pexels.com)
Did you know that 10,000 steps is an arbitrary number picked by a marketing company, not by science? 4,500 steps per day is the number found to make a difference in overall health, and the benefit doesn’t increase much, the higher your step count.
American lives are busy. Our culture doesn’t value rest, so we are constantly driven to be productive. We keep our kids in every activity imaginable, we work full time, we are expected to have clean houses and manicured yards, cook “healthy” meals, and, oh! don’t forget self-care! Not to mention, our bodies are held to a physical ideal that most people will never match, no matter how much time we spend in a gym. But we must look like we’re trying, so we add in working out regularly to the list of other productive things we must do each day.
No wonder we’re all exhausted.
As a running coach, there are two questions I get more than any others. One is, “How do I get rid of shin splints?” (not covered in this post). The other is, “How do I stay motivated?”
And it’s no wonder that people feel the need to ask that question, because our lives are so full and so busy that fitting one more hour-long workout into our days can sometimes seem like a herculean task. We forget all the other things we’ve been motivated to do all day and feel worthless and exhausted at the end of the day because that workout just didn’t fit into all of it.
Have you ever considered doing… less?
Fitness isn’t a look, it’s a lifestyle. It’s movement, which our bodies are designed to do naturally. And if you’re one of those people who never has a problem with motivation and gets to the gym or hits the road every day, like clockwork, and never feels a lag in your desire to do so, great! But I’d be willing to bet that something else in that list of societal expectations will suffer sooner or later. Because our bodies need rest, and our societal expectations are waaay too high.
There are a few things I would suggest to help change that.
If you find yourself constantly saying: “The workout doesn’t count if it isn’t ___.â But then you also find yourself skipping workouts because you can’t fit another ___ timeslot into your day, you might consider changing your outlook on fitness. Our bodies are designed to move, but that movement doesn’t have to be in prescribed timeslots or for continuous periods. Fitness should be a lifestyle, which means movement every day WITHIN our days, as a part of our days, naturally.
You can always fit in movement into your office hours if you plan it properly (Photo: Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels.com)
Small bites work. Doing a mobility exercise for two minutes after sitting at your desk for an hour has measurable benefits. Keep a list of easy exercises beside your computer and take 2-5 minute breaks throughout your workday, and you’ll have completed a 30 minute workout by the time you go home. You will feel better in your mind and body, plus you’ll have freed up a 30-minute period to cuddle and read a story with your kiddo.
Other things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking further back in the lot help, as well. Setting a reminder on your phone or watch is helpful. Taking a walk or run on your lunch break can be beneficial, but please, don’t skip the meal if your body is hungry (looking into intuitive eating would be a good thing, too).
All these things help to take motivation out of the equation, because the movement becomes a habit, not a requirement. Even running can be done like this (unless you’re training for longer distances, then please follow your coach’s plan). A 5-minute run is better than no run. And you may find that you feel just as good after a quick loop around the block in the middle of the day as you would after an hour-long run after a busy day.
What I’m saying is, be gentle with yourself. Take small bites. Of life, of fitness, of society’s expectations. Start small. You may find that it leads to larger things, but if it doesn’t, that’s perfectly okay, too. We all have our responsibilities – do what you can to fit fitness into your life in a comfortable way. It should never hurt, and you should always feel good about it at the end of the day.
*Maci is a RRCA Certified running coach, who runs âThe Fat Athleteâ website. If you want more information on her groups, you can request it by emailing coach.thefatathlete@gmail.com; or you can follow her in Instagram @TheÂ_Fat_Athlete.
When I worked for the Florida Marlins in the early 1990s, manager Rene Lachemann often used a phrase that has stuck with me, almost 30 years later. Whenever a reporter asked him about an aspect of the game that was beyond his grasp, such as a pitching change from the opponent or the weather, he would indefectibly respond: âI canât worry about something I canât control.â For me, this has become a life lesson: If you canât control it, donât dwell on it, adjust, and move forward.
This applies perfectly to our running lives.
Crowded racing conditions are beyond our control, so suck it up and move forward (Photo: Pexels)
Just like Lachemann preached, we should only worry about the aspects of our running that we can have under our grasp. Other than that, we adjust to the realities that face us on the asphalt or the trail as soon as possible and then move forward. The obstacles are not going away regardless of how frustrating they may be, regardless of how much you bitch about them, so move on.
When it is time to run, workout or race, being cold, hot, humid, raining, too many people in the gym or the Garmin is not hitting the satellites, are irrelevant. No one expects you to run in the middle of an electric storm or run by a pack of stray dogs just because you carry mace. But you can always hit the treadmill if you have access to one, regardless of how boring it may be. You can run with a bottle of water if it is too hot and/or humid. You can dress up in layers for the chilly weather. You can run by feel if you forgot your watch. You can change your route if something doesnât feel right. You get the point.
Also beyond our control are racing conditions. A bottleneck in the first curve, having to weave around slower runners, headwinds, inconsiderate people walking five side-by-side when they should have started at the back, people who abruptly stop at a water station, etc. Unless you always run in the front, you must have experienced most of these circumstances.
An uncharged running watch is not a valid excuse for skipping a workout
There are also issues that should have been under our control that just pop up unexpectedly. Iâm referring to shoelaces getting undone, dropping off your phone, not carrying enough gels or chafing, just to name few. When these things occur, is there a solution? Yes, there is: Own your mistake. Do what you must do, get over the obstacle and keep moving forward. Donât let it ruin your race. No amount of kicking and screaming will fix it. So suck it up!
Instead, concentrate on the aspects of your training and racing that are 100 percent under your domain. Those for which you canât make excuses. Those where, if something happens, it is all on you. I am referring to, among others:
– Following your training plan
– Following your racing strategy
– Sticking to your fueling and hydration plan
– Dressing appropriately for the weather
– Inspecting your running gear to avoid forgetting something or malfunctions
– Making sure your shoes are tied up properly
– Charging your running watch
– Developing a personal mantra that will keep you strong during the inevitable challenging times
– Preparing mentally for the workout or race you are about to undergo
– Choosing a training course or race that suits what you are trying to accomplish
– Hydrating and fueling properly before your run/race to ensure optimal results
Of course, this is not a comprehensive list of items that are under your control, just a handful of them to enlighten you on how much actually is in your hands when you set up for a training session or you stand on a starting line.
So letâs be diligent on what we can control and letâs make sure we can endure what we canât, and then move forward.
Note from the Editor: I am subscribed to the âRunning and Schmidtâ blog by Coach Shelby. A few weeks ago she wrote a funny post. It was funny only because it was real, and somehow reflected the true nature of every morning runner out there. Every runner will be able to find a little bit of him/herself in these random thoughts. I am publishing her post with her permission.
Feel free to contribute with your own thoughts in the comments section. Enjoy!
There are countless tihngs that go through the mind of morning runners. Some, funnier than others (Picture by libreshot.com)
If you wake up at ungodly hours to run countless miles, you can safely fall into the category of \”crazy morning runner\”. You know them, you see them, you are them: we are the ones with headlights, neon vests, half opened eye lids and enough coffee in us to fuel a small rocket.
Most of us don\’t run with headphones at that time of the morning, for safety, so we have A LOT of time to think. Have you ever run more than three miles without headphones? I donât love it. It allows me to have WAY too much time to think and my mind is like black hole with no end in sight.
While my endless thoughts just wonât stop, every once in a while, I come up with some gems that I canât help but share.
So, with that being said, I present you:
Internal Morning Running Thoughts
WHY am I up this early!?!?
When does the time change for it to be brighter earlier? (Then repeats âspring forward fall backâ and try to do math at 5am to what time it would actually be).
Passing the same house you did earlier but now they have lights on: âOhhhh look whoâs awake now.â
 Seeing someoneâs garbage/recycle full to the top: âDamn! did someone have a party?â
 When you see another runner like you crazy enough to give up sleep: âDid we just become best friends?â
 Seeing a dark object that I canât fully make out: âIs that a human/dog/ wild animal.â
 When a car seems to be slowly coasting along past every house: âWhat is that car doing? Iâm gonna break out my ninja movesâwatch out!!!!! Oh itâs just paper delivery l, carry on.â
 Literally, every time I bump my pepper spray against myself: âPlease donât let me pepper spray myself.â
 Passing houses with lights on: âDoesnât anyone sleep around here!?!â
 When there is a mound of tree clippings taking up half the sidewalk or road: âDo they have any trees left?!?â
 When anyone comes around a corner, otherwise of the street or basically into existence remotely near me: âStay awayyyy!â
 I know I canât be the only one to have these thoughts and Iâm sure that everyone has their own!
What are some of the thoughts you have?
 *Shelby Schmidt is a running coach certified by RRCA. You can follow her in Instagram at @runningschmidt, and read her blog at https://www.runningandschmidt.com/
 When I started running marathons in the early-1980s, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, guzzling carbs indiscriminately was the way of life. The more carbs you ate, the more energy you would have stored for your long run the next day. It didnât matter if they came from a pizza, your sixth bowl of pasta or a handful of cookies. The point was to ingest in as much as you could.
Regardless of how much pasta you eat the night before, your body canât store beyond its capabilities (Photo by Anna Tis, from Pexels)
The thought process was that if carbs were good for endurance, more carbs would be better. And many, many more carbs would the way better. I recently heard an interview with Dr. Tim Noakes, the influential South African sports scientist and author of several books on exercise and diet, where he regretted his role in the popularization of the carbo-loading myth. He said that if you had an earlier edition of his groundbreaking book The Lore of Running, published in 1985, you should rip off the entire chapter on nutrition, where he champs this topic. He now preaches a low carb, high fat diet.
Now that there is money to be made, running has gone through tons of research in the last couple of decades. Nutrition is one of the subjects with most studies and scientific papers. Therefore hydration and gel options have grown exponentially in the last few years. Same with pre and post-workout powders and supplements. None of this was available way-back-when. We still call âwater stationsâ by this name because when they started, that is all they offered. Gatorade came later. Earlier runs didnât even have water. But I digress.
The science on glycogen is a bit complex to get into it in this post, plus, this is not a peer-reviewed paper for publication. There are plenty of resources available to explain what glycogen is and how it is metabolized to produce the energy that will push you forward. What is important to know is the new, science-based approach, about how to practice the proverbial carbo-loading.
Most runners are well familiarized with the term glycogen, the most immediate source of energy while we run. Anecdotally, I must have heard that word for the first time about 15 years ago, even though glycogen was discovered in 1857, four years before Abraham Lincoln became President.
In the early eighties there was this theory that if you depleted your body from carbohydrates the week of the marathon and about 3 days prior you started consuming carbs indiscriminately, your body would absorb more and thus have a bigger reserve. Despite the fact this silly theory has been disproven, it is still practiced by some marathoners today, to atrocious results. The amount your body can store is finite. So, regardless of how much pasta you swallow the night before, you wonât be able to collect more than what your bodyâs capacity allows.
Carbs are very important for a runner, thus the carbo-load. We do so to restore the glycogen stores in our muscles and liver. Just by being alive, our body burns through its glycogen. They deplete faster with activity. We need to replenish them to provide our body with quick fuel to burn during our runs. You could train your body to burn fat instead of glycogen as its primary source of fuel but that is beyond the scope of this post.
It is not just about carbs. They have to be the right carbs (Photo by Dana Tentis, from Pexels)
Assuming you are well hydrated, appropriately fed and in good health, your body has all the resources it may need to run from a 5K to a half marathon. Thereâs no need to overthink those aspects of your race unless it is an extremely hot or humid (or both) day. Beyond that, each mile is pushing your body closer to its reserve limits. And when the reserves get depleted, you hit the no-longer-so-mythical wall. Therefore, for longer races a hydration and fueling strategy is imperative.
Now, the other important point to consider is that not all carbs are created equal. Stuffing yourself with Oreos, Doritos and donuts is not carbo-loading. Those are simple carbohydrates that are broken down immediately and enter the bloodstream as sugars. They do not get stored for later use in your muscles or liver, thus, contributing nothing to what you should be trying to accomplish. This is the reason most sports drinks and gels are packed with sugars and simple carbs. So they can be tapped immediately by your system to produce energy. You wouldnât carbo load with those.
What youâd rather be doing is consuming complex carbohydrates, such as brown rice, quinoa, oats, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and whole grain pastas. They take longer to break down and get stored in your muscles so they can be used later, like when you are running/racing. All this works better if you prepare your system, so these products become a compliment to your body resources and not the only source of energy production for long distance running.
Time has come to change our view on the old science. Time has come to adopt what the new research has shown to work. Letâs move forward, then.
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