The Miami Marathon and Half Marathon were run last Sunday, February 9th, in Downtown and its surrounding areas. Despite more than a few personal bumps in the road during last year, I was able to keep my streak alive and completed my 9th consecutive Miami half in an irrelevant time. But I still had one of the best days of my running life, as the two runners I trained for the full marathon not only set, but crushed, their PRs by 10 ½ and 11 minutes.
Jhon H, 49, trained very hard to bring his PR down to 3:36:42, an 11-minute improvement from his best previous result, set in this same race back in 2018 (3:47:42). His main issue in his previous marathons had always been the last few miles. Cramping, exhaustion and doubts were creeping in as the dreaded wall approached. So, we set a different program for him. We used the Hansons Brothers method so he could be stronger at the end. After working diligently on his program, he got stronger as he progressed and not only had a negative split but his last 10K were the fastest in the entire race. As he turns 50 next year, I am sure a 3:25 BQ is perfectly achievable.
Yolmer G (42) also set a massive PR with a 3:43:36. Despite an irregular last month of training when life got on the way, not only he improved 10:30 from his New York 2019 finish (3:54:06), but he also bettered his register from his first marathon, which was this same Miami, just last year by 32:55 (4:16:31). And his best race is yet to come. A BQ of 3:15 for his age group is attainable.
As a coach, you can’t ask for better than these two athletes, which in the process have also become close friends. I can’t wait to see what is next for them. I look forward to working with them.
If you want to take your running to the next level, make sure to contact me via foultips.running@gmail.com to asses your goals and get going.
“I ended up with a massive new PR and a finish time of 3:36:42. I was so full of emotion as I crossed the finish line that I could not contain my tears of joy and accomplishment.”
On November 18, 2019, I started training with coach [Adolfo] Salgueiro. I approached him expressing my desire to train with the goal of increasing my running speed and try to qualify to the Boston Marathon. His response was, “yes, we can increase your speed, absolutely. But we don’t have much time to train because the Miami marathon is very close.” He prepared a 12-week training plan with the Hansons Method, which I had never heard of before. I was skeptical because I was accustomed to running at a 9:00 to 9:30 minute/mile pace, and I said to myself, “I will not be able to reach that speed because I am too old and my knee will not respond.”
When I received my training plan for the first 4 weeks, I saw the speed metrics that Coach Salgueiro prepared for me, and immediately my self-doubt kicked in and said this was too fast for my ability. But I also decided to do my best to meet Coach’s speed targets for me, to trust the Coach and embrace the training program that he designed for me.
Tuesdays soon became my favorite training day because I did track, with speed goals from 7:30 pace to 8:00 pace. Since I don’t have access to a track where I live, I improvised a 400-meter training loop in a local parking lot. Coach was always aware of my training, monitoring my progress through Strava, and he was very willing to correct me and happy to answer any questions so I could reach my full training potential. With this plan, my long-distance runs were set for two consecutive days, teaching me to run on tired legs and keeping me on pace for the marathon. I found this new training style perfect for me.
But with just 2 weeks before the marathon (February 9, 2020), I had a problem with the back of my left knee. I don’t know what it was, but it was painful, and it prevented me from continuing with my training. I felt frustrated and defeated. I talked to Coach, and he suggested resting days with care at home, raising my knee, putting ice on it and using the foam roller. We also talked about what other options I might have and whether I should postpone running the marathon. After more than a week of rest, ice and rolling, I tried running again, a mere five days before the marathon. Thank God I felt no pain! I felt strong, and so we continued to plan for my marathon.
On the day of the marathon, Coach gave me his final training instructions: take it slow at the start, do not weave around runners, and if you feel strong enough keep on going, pick up the pace. Since I wanted to try to do negative splits to conserve my energy at the start and to comply with Coach’s race plan, I was especially thankful for my friend Ray, who traveled from Minnesota to Miami to be able to run the marathon with me. Ray helped me a lot in the first 8 miles, monitoring my pacing, keeping me focused on not going out too fast, and staying confident. Together, we did so, and it was a fantastic experience for me because all the hard work that I put in following Coach’s training worked just as it was designed to do.
Taking Coach’s instructions and conserving my energy for the last miles of the marathon was exactly the right race plan for me. And to my great surprise and delight, I ended up with a massive new PR and a finish time of 3:36:42. I was so full of emotion as I crossed the finish line that I could not contain my tears of joy and accomplishment. Yay! I fully trusted coach Salgueiro, and now I can’t wait to train with him again to help me attain that now much closer BQ time.
