Racing Archives - Page 5 of 9

Building Your Aerobic Base

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Aug 27, 2024 | Article, Coaching, Reflection, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Let’s start by stating something basic that even veteran runners tend to forget: The Marathon is a 99% aerobic event. Yes, even Ekiud Kipchoge and the East Africans who run around him run the marathon as an aerobic endeavor.

Having a solid aerobic base to sustain continuous action for 26.2 miles is one of the keys to a successful marathon. And when I state “successful,” I don’t mean setting a PR; I mean finish. Sure, we all know someone who has finished a marathon without training, but those are outliers, and most of those go through a sufferfest during their race. So,don’tt take any cues from them.

Race at 100% but only train at 80% (Photo Pexels)

Your aerobic base is the cornerstone of your long-distance running journey. Think of it as a pyramid’s broad, solid foundation, supporting the peak over which speed and performance are built.

Developing an aerobic base requires time, work, and patience. It covers hundreds, if not thousands, of miles and comes from years of engaging in activities that keep your heart rate elevated for long periods. Many runners achieve this base through previous activities in sports like soccer or swimming, while others have honed it just by running over the years. A strong aerobic base is essential to improving your speed and excelling in endurance events.

Running beyond the correct rate of perceived effort, performing all your long runs at race pace every single week or running your repetitions and intervals with all your might are not conducive to developing a solid aerobic base. It is counterproductive and not only won’t make you faster in the long run, it may lead to injury.

The aerobic base can be developed by:
• Running consistently
• Learning where your conversational pace lies
• Accepting you must go slow to run fast
• Trusting the process

As your aerobic base develops, you will:
• Become a more efficient runner
• Become a faster runner
• Improve the rate of lactate removal
• Improve muscle and energy output

Train at 80%, Race at 100%

Running every rep at max effort is not conducive to sustainable running (Photo: Caique Araujo, Pexels)

I firmly believe you shouldn’t go all out on your training runs, drills, and reps. Since your body needs to recover to realize the adaptations of your efforts and still keep the training moving forward, ending a rep or a training session on the verge of collapse is not the best practice. When you do so, you put your body through extreme stress, which will require a longer period of recovery. It would be best if you ended the rep knowing you could have gone even faster. Finish the workout knowing you could have gone an extra rep or two is a better strategy.

When you train for a race, that effort is in the future; you are working towards that goal. This means you train at today’s fitness level, not at the level you expect to be at race time. Focus on the prize.

Once race day is here, after a tapering period during which you are recovered and ready to go, you give it your all on race day. You are not saving anything for tomorrow. You invested your mind, body, and resources through a test of fitness and will. Then, you cross the finish line at the edge of your endurance limit.

In Conclusion

Running slow is counterintuitive. It feels weird when you know you could be running faster. It takes practice to go slow. Anyone can run itself to the ground by sprinting every day and racing their training runs. There is no merit in that. What takes guts is to accept that you must be patient, play the long game, and be willing to defer your gratification so you can enjoy your running for a very long time.

Sure, these are fundamental concepts for most runners, but we all need to be reminded of the obvious at one point or another to remain grounded during a difficult training cycle.

Feel free to like this post or leave a comment in the box below.

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When a Racecourse is Mismeasured

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Feb 27, 2024 | Article, Opinion, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

If you raced during the GPS watch era, you must have experienced the doubt of considering a race was mismeasured. Typically, it is a matter of not taking tangents or weaving around slower runners as you move. Big, established races rarely mess up this, but it does happen occasionally. The 1981 world record by Alberto Salazar was denied because the NYC Marathon proved to be 152.4 meters (500 feet) short when remeasured.

As unsatisfying as it may be, some times race directors make mistakes measuring the course. Even in the NYC Marathon (Pexels)

Let’s get something clear: Your GPS watch is not the authority that certifies a course. Your GPS gives you an approximation, a guideline. No one is going to launch a ballistic missile or set up an oil rig in the North Sea based on the latest Garmin data on your wrist. The technology is amazing, sure, but it is not intended to be military-grade.

No serious race will measure its course with a Garmin. Maybe a local small, local 5k, but nothing beyond that. I once met a runner who just came from the 2022 Berlin Marathon and complained she missed her PR because the course was long. I did not want to get into an argument with someone I barely knew, but if the course is good enough for Eliud Kipchoge to set a world record, it should be ok with you who ran just for fun.

Racecourses can run long or short. I read once that there are acceptable margins of error for them to go long, but not short. Last weekend I participated in a half marathon, and when I got to mile 12.5, with just one kilometer to go, I decided to push. It was the longest kilometer of my life. The course was long, per my GPS, by 0.5 miles. Many runners complained online that their watches were long from 0.4 to 0.7 miles. This is fishy, for sure. A few tenths here or there are normal. Or, if you run through a downtown with a canyon of high-rises, like the start of Chicago or the end of the Miami Marathon, then it is all out of whack. But that was not the case here.

If you are interested in the procedures to measure and certify a racecourse, you can check the certifications procedure manual by USA Track and Field (USTAF) by clicking here.

So, what happens to my PR?

As far as I know, there are no established rules to govern this anomaly. I only speak by what, based on my experience of 100+ races, I would, and do:

If I know the course is short, I will not take it as a PR. It is lying to myself. The first time I won my age group in a 5K was on a short course. As soon as I finished, I realized I lowered my previous mark by 1+ minute. I knew it was not possible. I took my age group win and gladly display my medal at home, but I won’t consider it my PR. I haven’t even gotten close to that one again.

If a race is long, then too bad! I do not adjust my PR. I would take it if I established one despite the extra distance, but I won’t adjust it to where I crossed the half-marathon mark, or to the best 10K during my 10.5K run. The official records won’t adjust. If I am 100% sure the course was long, then I would try again.

The leading peloton at the 2017 Venice Marathon realized they’ve screwed up and the local wins.

Additional considerations

This may be a stretch for this blog post, but, since we are talking about racecourses, there is another point to consider. As a runner, it is my responsibility to know the path of my race. If you make a wrong turn, there is no time adjustment. If you cut the course (hopefully unintentionally), then it is for you to own the mistake and certainly not adjust a PR based on what it could have been.

Most of my readers won’t be leading the pack in a race, but if you do, make sure you pay attention to your course. In 1994, German Silva was leading the NYC Marathon with half a mile to go when he followed the TV truck leaving the course. He turned around and was able to save the victory. Not so lucky were six runners in the leading peloton of the 2017 Venice Marathon, who followed the lead motorcycle after it made a wrong turn, opening the door for an Italian winner and a conspiracy theory.

I would like to know what your experiences with mismeasured racecourses and screwed PRs are. Let me know in the box below.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Between the time this article was written and the time it was published, the organization of the mismeasured race that prompted this post sent an email acknowledging the error, apologizing, and vowing it won’t happen again.

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Running Resolutions for 2024

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Jan 2, 2024 | Article, List, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

May 2024 bring you countless injury-free miles and PRs in all your distances.

As a brand new year appears into our calendars, with 52 weekends primed for long runs with friends, six Abbott Marathon Majors to be completed by some of the runners we know, if not ourselves, and countless races in all distances anticipating for us to register; it comes that time to figure out what we want to paint on that virgin canvas so 10 or 12 months from now, we are not regretting a wasted running year.

Improving your sleep will help you in more ways than a PR or a BQ (Photo: Ketut Subiyanto, Pexels)

Your 2024 running goals should be set in an individual and feasible fashion. It is about what Is realistic for you and what you alone are willing and able to do. Running a sub-3 marathon if you’ve never gone sub-4 is not impossible but it may be a recipe for disappointment or injury for most runners. Improving 10 minutes in your half marathon or 5K PR may be achievable but depending on where you stand. Going from a 2:40 half to a 2:30 one is one thing. Improving the same 10 minutes in 5K if your PR is 22 would make you a world-record holder. So, let’s be realistic about our goals.

If you haven’t thought about it yet, here are eight quick ideas for you to consider before we get too deep into the year. This way you can hit the ground running:

1. 1000 Miles: A feasible distance for any consistent runner. It only requires 4.8 miles a day, four times a week during 50 of the 52 weeks of the year. If you already run 1000 every year, then set your sights on 1500, or 2000.

2. Choose your goal race, now: Not just select it, register for it, and let everybody know. Set up a road map so you’ll know how to get from where you are to where you want to be and to be there in time. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll succeed, but it will put success within your reach.

3. Pick up one PR to set: Sure, we want them all, but a 5K and a marathon are two different animals and requires separate training plans. So, pick one distance where to focus and make sure everything you do is in service of that specific goal.

4. Upgrade your sleep: Sleep is better for restoration than your entire recovery toolkit multiplied by three. Be initiative-taking and intentional about it. Make sleeping a priority in your everyday life. Its benefits will go beyond a PR or a BQ.

Don’t let streght training be the neglected aspect of your running (Photo Andrea Piaquadio, Pexels)

5. Strength training: For every mile you run, you’re pounding your musculoskeletal system with 3-5 times your weight, about 800-900 times per leg. If you don’t prepare your bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments for such a vicious workload, they will inevitably break down. Translation: You will get injured.

6. Don’t just run: The constant percussion this sport places on our bodies requires us scheduling time to repair and restore, more of it as we age. Incorporating one or two days a week of yoga, swimming, Pilates, biking, elliptical or any other non-impact exercise will make you a more resilient runner.

7. Keep a running log: Beyond Garmin, Runkeeper or Strava and the slew worthless or irrelevant parameters they measure for us, writing down your daily activity either by hand or on a spreadsheet will noticeably improve your understanding of what you are doing. Give it a shot.

8. Learn about running: Knowledge is always an advantage. You can delve into the history of the sport, the science of what happens to your body when you run, or biographies of its greatest icons. Pick up one book or two and make sure you finish them before December 31st.

I hope these ideas assist you in shaping the running year to be. This way, come December, you can brag about your victories, PRs and improvements, instead of setting up for a 2025 in which to redeem yourself.

What are your running goals for 2024?

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End of a Challenging Running Year

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 26, 2023 | Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

As 2024 approaches (or it is already here depending on when you are reading this post) and we look forward to a blank canvas to fill out with new goals, challenges, and adventures, we quickly turn our heads back to the year that was, to reminisce and reflect on our running year.

We saw marathon world records fall to the point where it seems feasible that 2024 will give us the first sub-2 marathon for men and first sub-2:10 for women. We are just 36 and 114 seconds away from such feats. We saw the 6-star finisher list growing to 8,143 and it is a matter of time before a 7th Major is included. Many of our friends set PRs in their marathons, shorter distances or just lost their 26.2 virginities. But, for many of us, 2023 was a challenging year. One that tested our core as runner beings. I was in that latter group.

Winning my Age Group at the Plantation F*ck Cancer 5K was one of the few highlight of my 2023 running season.

I completed the 1000-mile challenge with just three days to spare. And sure, it is a nice achievement, but it doesn’t tell the whole story of my 2023. At least I did not get any injury and beyond the normal aches and pains, was able to run throughout the year with no interruption. That alone is a win. Still, it was far from what I expected it to be 12 months ago.

For some reason, it was very difficult to get into the running groove during the year. In my two half marathons early in the season, I was forced to walk after mile 10, finishing in unimpressive times that are embarrassing for me, when compared to what I have done in the recent past. I also had to withdraw from the Marine Corps Marathon because my body could not adjust to the heat and humidity of summer training in South Florida. It was impossible for me to complete more than 8 miles in one run, so I focused on 5 and 10K races until the end of the year. Those are not my favorite distances, as I prefer to go longer, but this was the adjustment that was required, and I am OK with it. I even won my age group in a local 5K, a rare occurrence.

For the first time in the last 15 years if felt little motivation to lace up and run. For the first time in recent memory, I dreaded waking up early on a weekend to go run long. Anxiety from my professional life, which was at an all-time high during the year, crept into my running life and affected me negatively. I gained weight, slowed down and lost the will to dig deep when a run got tough.

My lowest point was one day around September when for the first time ever, or at least that I can recall, I went out for a run and before the first minute was through, I decided I did not want to do this, so I stopped and drove home. Not before stopping at a gas station and stuffing up on cookies and chips. I still look back and can’t believe this happened.

Yet, I kept running. After more than 40 years of being active, I know how you will feel after a good run. The support of my two running groups kept me accountable and sometimes I just forced myself to go out despite not feeling it.

I completed a handful of races with not many results to brag about.

I have tried to pinpoint where the problem lies but I haven’t been able to do so. Maybe it is because I am approaching 60. Maybe two and a half years after my open-heart surgery I must accept I won’t be able to run the same as before. Maybe the anxiety my work life has put me through for the last 18 months is taking a toll on me. Maybe my peak running years are behind me. Maybe it is a combination of everything.

But this difficult year has been an opportunity to analyze life from a different perspective and realize I am still very blessed. My running life is not my life, it is just part of it. My value as a husband, as a father, as a friend, as a son, as a coach or as a professional, is not tied to my marathon PR or my medal rack display at home. I still have a healthy marriage with a wife I adore, a healthy and successful son, both my parents are alive in their eighties and living independently, I have a thriving coaching business, I am part of a phenomenal running community with true friends, and I am injury free. At this stage in my life this is more valuable than running sub-2 in the half once again, or setting up another PR. I call this maturity.

This does not mean I have given up on improvement. I still want to go over 1000 miles in 2024. I still want to run at least 4 or 5 halves and be part of one marathon cycle. I want to get rid of the source of anxiety and lose the extra pounds I added in 2023. I thank God that He is providing me with 12 brand-new, crisp, months to achieve it all.

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Coach Adolfo Featured in a Runner’s World Article

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | May 2, 2023 | Announcement, Coaching, Personal

Runner’s World Magazine, the reference media outlet for the running community for over 50 years, ran an article on April 27, titled “How to Pace a 5K So You Can Hit Your PR”. It was written by Stephen Sheehan. The expert quoted throughout the narrative was Coach Adolfo Salgueiro, head coach at Foultips.Run.

“I have been a Runner’s World reader since the early 1980s,” Stated Coach Salgueiro. “Being able to contribute to one of their articles is a dream come true. The fact they wanted my expertise on the subject is a statement to the value of the decades of experience and preparation I’ve put into this passion of mine.”

This is the second time Coach Adolfo has been in Runner’s World. A summary on his running career ran back in March 2021.

To read the full Runner’s World article you may click here.

Be aware that Runner’s World has a limit on the number of free articles non-members can read a month. If you have exceeded such a number, you may have to come back next month to read it. Or contact me and I will send you a PDF version.

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