I’ve done this same warmup before every race since I first started running. My muscles welcome the ritual, and they move through it with surprising ease even at this early hour.

Someone takes the microphone. It’s time for the runners to enter the corrals. I shake out briefly, then make my way toward my pace group.

The corrals are packed. I had no idea there would be so many runners.

There’s a palpable anxiety in the crowd, everyone waiting for the race to start. The tension rises to a crescendo. The crowd suddenly falls silent. Then…

Bang!

The gun goes off and we’re out of the gate.

I pass the first mile marker without so much as a passing thought. Everything seems to be going perfectly until…

Wait! Did that sign just say You’re almost there! Only 25.2 to go? I thought I signed up for a 5k. I haven’t trained for a marathon!

I try to turn back, but there are too many people behind me. They keep pushing me forward.

I’m exhausted. Why won’t they stop pushing me? I try to maintain my form, but I stumble and fall. It seems certain that I’ll be trampled to death.

The Anxiety of the Long Distance Runner

That’s where I always wake up.

I’ve had the same nightmare before every race for as long as I’ve been a runner. But, these dreams aren’t exclusive to runners.

Before I ran, it was a test I had forgotten to study for or a play for which I hadn’t memorized my lines.

Dreams of being unprepared are part of our collective unconscious, experiences so common even across cultures that they can only be said to be part of some basic human instinct. And, when it comes to these types of dreams, the message is clear.

We doubt our own adequacy.

Most runners feel that way before a big race.

We wonder if we trained hard enough. We feel as though we could’ve done more, that we should’ve done more. We’re worried that in spite of our preparation and training, we’ll still fail.

I know because I’m right there with you.

I’m still very much in the preseason. My training for October’s Amica Marathon won’t start in earnest until mid-June. But I’m already having the nightmare again.

“What if”, we think to ourselves, “Luck isn’t on my side.”

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity

Luck is nothing more than a phantasm conjured by cowards to justify inaction.

You’re not a coward are you?

Of course you’re not!

You are the arbiter of your own success, so start acting like it.

Through the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter, you put in the miles.

Even when you thought you might fall over, you ran that extra lap.

You followed your training plan. You listened to your coach. Now it’s time to tell the coward in your head to shut up.

“You may be scared,” you’ll say, “but I’m prepared for this, and I won’t have anyone along who doesn’t believe in me.”

Stop couching your success or failure on the notion of luck, and start learning to trust your training.

Are you ready to kick your fear to the curb? What do you tell your inner coward when he rears his ugly head? Help us learn from your experience and leave a comment.

P.S. Running Recipes Winner!

While we’re on the subject of luck, I announced last week that one lucky reader would be selected to win a copy of the upcoming chia cookbook.

You all left amazing comments, and I appreciate you sharing your biggest diet struggles. That said, the gods of luck are cruel, and there can be only one winner.

That winner, selected at random from all the entries, is…

Lydia Shell, who wrote:

My biggest struggle with training is consuming enough food to sustain my training.

Well, Lydia, while I can’t help with the quantity, I can certainly help with the variety. I’ll be contacting you shortly with the details on how to get your free copy of the Running Recipes cookbook.

Congratulations to Lydia, and thank you all again for entering.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view Banish Race Day Anxiety Once and for All and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

Was it really that time again already?

“I’m on a diet,” I tried to argue. “According to the dictionary, my diet is just the foods I eat, so…”

“You know what I mean.”

Somehow my brilliant logic had failed to convince my wife that my diet was fine the way it was.

“Besides,” she countered, “isn’t it about time you planned your training diet?”

She was right. With the off-season behind me, and the Amica Marathon coming up, I needed a plan.

Fueling for tomorrow, today

Most runners approach a big race with a training plan.

I always go in with two.

The first is a training plan designed to improve my physical conditioning. The second, a performance-optimized nutrition plan.

If you’re serious about your performance, you need to plan not only for what you expect to get out of your body. You also need to plan for what you are putting into it.

Think of it this way: you can’t expect to perform like an Indy car if you’re fueling like a jalopy.

But proper performance nutrition is about more than just what you consume on race day. If you really want peak performance you need to take the long view, just like you do with your running plan.

Practical nutrition for runners

You might expect that, at this point, I’d start throwing around science jargon like macro-nutrient ratios and glycogenolysis.

Not gonna happen.

Why? Well, for one thing, that stuff’s been done to death. For another, unless you’re a scientist, it simply isn’t useful information.

That said, I’m going to break my own rule just this once to say that when it comes to carbohydrates, fat, and protein, most runners have been grossly mislead.

We’ve been convinced that carbohydrates and fats are bad for us, and that protein is a magical salve for athletes.

That’s bunk.

As an endurance athlete, you need your calories to be as accessible as possible. That means a diet rich in carbohydrates and good fats. Protein is useful, sure, but there’s a fine line between getting a sufficient amount and overdoing it.

Most runners should aim for a diet made up of 60% carbohydrates, 25% good fats, and 15% protein.

Keep in mind that’s just the RRCA’s current guideline, and that any discussion of nutrition would be incomplete without saying that there’s no substitute for personal attention from a registered dietician.

Healthy doesn’t have to mean gross

As you plan your diet, keep in mind that not all nutrients are created equal.

The majority of your nutrition should come from natural, whole foods. The word “refined” is never your friend.

As Michael Pollan says, “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”

Now if the concept of whole food conjures up images of bland bran muffins and limp, lifeless salads, take heart. Just because food is healthy doesn’t mean it needs to be boring.

To prove the point, I’ve been hard at work compiling a collection of healthy meals and desserts for runners.

I call it “Running Recipes”. And you can check out a sample below (including an exclusive natural Strawberry Energy Chew recipe, similar to my Piña-Colada shot block replacement published previously).

Take a look.

The Running Recipes Launch Sale is on Now

This is just a small sample of the recipes that will be in the final book.

The full eBook contains 21 unique and delicious meals for breakfast, dinner, or dessert.

And, best of all, as a Midpack Runner reader, you can save 50% off the regular price between now and May 20th. Simply head to the Running Recipes website for more chia recipes for hungry runners.

Once the launch sale is over, you’ll never find this book at launch price ever again. You don’t want to miss it.

Enter your email below and you’ll receive an email reminder before the thank you sale ends. Make sure you don’t miss out on 50% off during launch week as my way of saying thank you.

Warning: Contents May be Delicious

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Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view How to Fuel for Performance (Even if You Hate “Health Food”) and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

We fear injury. We fear weakness. Mostly, we fear failure. And no one is immune.

Since I signed on as a race ambassador for the 2012 Amica Marathon, I’ve been jumpy at even the first sign of foot pain. I’m terrified that my plantar fascia will force me into a DNF.

This week I spoke with Annika Iltis and Tim Kane, co-directors of a new documentary about the Barkley Marathons, about “the race that eats its young”.

Friends, we don’t know what real fear is.

The Barkley Marathons is considered to be the single hardest trail race on the planet. Runners are given sixty hours (as in six-zero) to run the 100 mile race. In twenty-five years, only thirteen runners have finished.

In this video interview, Annika and Tim divulge all the gory details of this brutal race.

One final note before the interview.

The only way to get ahold of the completed film is through their Kickstarter page. So watch this video, then go to the Barkley Movie Kickstarter page and get yourself a copy of the film. Trust me, you want this (even if just to be thankful it’s not you).

Transcript

The transcript currently being processed. It will be complete on or before Monday, April 16. Please check back shortly.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view The Shocking Truth about the Barkley Marathons and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

The following is a transcript from the video above. It has been edited only in as much as to remove any blatant abuses of the English language. So, if you’re listening to the audio… sorry.

This is Tim Woodbury from Midpack Runner. I’m proud today to announce that I’ve just joined the ranks of the Rhode Scholars for the 2012 Amica Marathon this October in Newport, Rhode Island.

As a member of the Rhode Scholars, over the next several months leading up to the race I’ll be coming to you with a detailed look into what it is that I’m doing to prepare myself for this marathon. At the same time, I’ll be sprinkling these videos with bits of advice – tip, tricks, exercises that you can use to get yourself to your fall races in the best shape you’ve ever been in.

And it all starts with choosing the right training plan.

You see, the right training plan can make the difference between arriving at your race ready to run or being sidelined midseason with an injury. Or worse.

Now we’re going to break down over the next few minutes what differentiates a good plan from a bad plan. And then I’m going to go ahead and talk to you about the plan that I’ve settled on. It’s a little bit shorter so it leaves me some extra time between now and the race, so I’ll talk about what I’m going to be doing with all that time as well.

So let’s start by talking about a bad plan.

Two types of training plans that will leave you injured

Now when you talk about a marathon training plan, it seems like everybody has one and most of them are of questionable quality. It’s basically just, “what I did to get there”. There’s not a whole lot of science behind it. But there is a pretty easy way to identify plans that are going to end up getting you injured.

The first thing to look for is that they won’t include any time in the plan for cross-training. The muscles that you develop to support your running structure are just as important as the ones that move you forward. In fact, even moreso. Those are the ones that are going to prevent you from finding yourself injured. So don’t forget to pay attention to those.

If you find a plan that doesn’t include time for cross-training, toss it away; find a new one.

The second class of thing to look for in these bad training plans is a plan that asks you to go above and beyond what you think you really should be doing in terms of mileage. If they ask you to run 80, 90, 100 miles a week in the middle there it’s a bad plan. You don’t need that many miles.

Your cardiovascular system is incredibly powerful, and you’ll find that you get into shape reasonably well with just one long run a week and then a bunch of shorter runs and extra exercises. So, if you find a plan that seems too long, it probably is. Chuck it out; find another one.

Like having your own vegan sherpa, but for marathoning

Which brings me to what I’m going to be running with. Now I’ve talked about this plan a little bit in the past, but I’ve never actually trained for a marathon using it before. So this will be a first. And you’ll be able to watch me go through, and spot any trouble areas in the plan and in my implementation of it.

It’s Matt Frazier’s No Meat Athlete Marathon Roadmap [Editor's note: Matt also offers a half-marathon roadmap if you're running a shorter race this fall].

I like this plan because it includes time for cross-training. It’s a low mileage plan. There’s only one long run a week and then he’s alternating with a bunch of different interval exercises, hills, all the things that I really feel like a good plan should include.

So, I’ll be doing that.

It’s an 18-week plan, provided that you can run about 5 miles at a go. Otherwise, I think it’s a little longer; its about a 24-week plan. But, I’ll be starting on June 10th with the 18-week portion of that plan.

Preparing to prepare

In the interim, I’m going to be making it a point to spend that time on conditioning, on strengthening, on building the systems that I need to support that running. And I’ll be showing you exactly what it is I’m doing in a future video. So, we’ll talk a little bit moving forward about what the exercises are that you need to really build up your core, to build up some of those stability muscles, moreso.

The other thing that I’m going to be doing is that I’m spending a lot of my shorter runs barefoot. And that’s something that I picked up during my recovery from plantar fascia issues.

I tried all the high structure stuff. I went through the cortisone shots. I tried expensive, expensive orthotics (which, of course, are not covered by insurance, by the way). And none of it worked. Traditional medicine didn’t work.

Then I took my shoes off. And within six months my foot problems had gone away.

So I’ll be doing a little bit more of that. And I’ll talk to you about what the things are that you need to consider should you want to implement a barefoot section of your plan as well.

So, for now, I’m going to leave you with that. Go out there, find your plan, get ready for your marathon. And I’ll see you back here next time.

What races are you running this fall? Will I see you at the Amica Marathon? Tell me in the comments.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view The Road to Rhode Island: How to Choose a Marathon Training Plan and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

Since barefoot running surged back into popularity, it has become one of the most contentious subjects in running.

Proponents argue that barefooting is natural and can reduce injuries associated with shod running. However, researchers have consistently seen a rise in injuries associated with the practice.

I’m proud to say that I bare my souls.

In my time barefooting and working with aspiring barefoot runners, I’ve been able to narrow the spike in injuries among newly barefoot runners to one cause: running like you still have shoes.

What can you do about it?

The first thing you need to do as you begin the transition to barefooting is to back off your mileage.

Without shoes, your body is going to use a lot of muscles that shoes don’t require.

While you can keep up your mileage shod, for the first few months, your barefoot mileage should be low.

Perhaps embarrassingly so.

That’s okay. You’re using your muscles in a new way. It takes time to build back up.

Meanwhile, you need to fix your gait through a combination of cadence training and careful attention. Having a fore-foot or mid-foot strike will prevent injuries as you transition.

There’s more to come this week, including a big announcement this Friday. In the meantime – Do you run barefoot? Have you thought about giving it a try? What could I do to get you out of your shoes and onto the road? Leave me a comment!

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view The Biggest Mistake Newly Barefoot Runners Make (And How To Fix It) and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

And now, on with the show.

Today’s Monday Mini topic: Right-of-Way.

It’s a topic we all know, but rarely think about. Today, I’d ask you to reexamine your relationship with this important aspect of running safety.

How many times have you been out on a run when you approach an T-intersection? You’re headed straight through.

“I’ve got the right of way”, you think.

Confident that drivers will respect that you head into the intersection when, Vrooom, you’re nearly clipped by some thoughtless driver taking the turn anyway.

Or maybe you’re in the intersection when someone decides to turn on red, or to run the light?

Believe me, we’ve all been there. It sucks. It’s dangerous. And it’s frustrating.

If it happens often enough, you start to ignore the rules of the road. Hey, if other people can ignore right-of-way, why not you, right? It’s that sort of thinking that leads to accidents and, as a runner, you will always lose.

As frustrating as it is to be the one always following the rules, breathe deep and remember that it’s better to be alive than right. For your safety, the cardinal rule of running near roads is that right-of-way is something you give, not something you take.

Tell me about your experience with right-of-way. Have you ever been injured because of a failure to yield? Nearly injured? Leave me a comment.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view Right-of-Way and You and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

Up until now, the only way to pick up one of these high-quality, wicking tees was to harangue me directly (which, I’m happy to say, many of you already have).

Today, I’m proud to announce that has changed with the opening of the Midpack Runner shop. Just check out the menu bar.
With the opening of the shiny new shop comes a brand new shipment of shirts.

Available in styles for both men and women, this is more than just another unisex running shirt (and a big “thank you” to all the female midpackers who weighed in on the issue).

These tech shirts, manufactured by A4, are considered among the best performance shirts in the industry. I can personally attest to their stain and odor resistance. The former probably because of all my trail running, and definitely not because I can’t seem to get my post-run chocolate milk to go into my mouth instead of entirely down my front.

However, this is an extremely limited run and popular sizes will sell out quickly.

So if you’re proud to run with the pack, head over and ‘like’ the Facebook page for a coupon worth 10% off good through Friday, December 9th. Then check out the new store and let me know what you think!

P.S. – Don’t forget to click-through to the shirt pages for a full 360° view to give you a sense of how they fit real runners. We had a lot of fun implementing that feature, so I hope you’ll give us a… spin. Get it? Because we rota… oh, nevermind.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view Announcing The New Midpack Runner Shop! and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

Image Courtesy Young Yun

In February, the Boston Athletic Association lowered the Boston Marathon qualifying times, effectively barring slower runners from the oldest and most prestigious American marathon.

Surely the Boston Athletic Association expected at least some blowback.

In the hours and days following the announcement, runners, fitness bloggers, and even the 1968 Boston champion Amby Burfoot came forward and condemned the change. It was a public relations disaster.

Well it seems that the New York Road Runners weren’t paying attention to the Boston debacle.

Faced with the same rising tide of marathon hopefuls as the Boston Athletic Association, the New York Road Runners recently announced new qualifying rules for the New York City Marathon and it’s bad news for the midpack.

A new barrier to entry

There are two paths into the New York City Marathon.

Qualified runners can earn a guaranteed spot in the race by meeting certain criteria. Most notable for midpack runners, by being denied entry over three consecutive years – a policy that is being eliminated under the new rules.

If you don’t qualify for guaranteed entry, paying to enter and winning the race lottery is the only other way into the race. With odds historically around 1-in-10, your chances of winning your way into the race are slim. Author Liz Robbins joked, “it’s easier to get into Harvard”.

That means that you had better work toward guaranteed entry if you want to race in New York City. And there’s the rub. The changes the New York Road Runners just announced make it harder to earn one of these coveted spots.

It’s basic probability. As more runners who would previously have qualified for guaranteed entry are driven into the lottery, the odds of selection decrease for everyone.

However unintentional, the qualifying changes will make it more difficult for slower runners to gain admittance to the New York City Marathon.

The aftermath

To the New York Road Runners’ credit, race directors contend with real-world limitations when setting field sizes.

The New York Road Runners have stated that these changes are being put in place to prevent them from running out of room for non-guaranteed spots in the race, ostensibly to protect the midpack. That the race directors have to limit entrants speaks to the health of our sport.

Unfortunately, I doubt the health of our sport will comfort those runners perennially denied the chance to run the New York City Marathon.

What do you think of this well-intentioned misstep by the NYRR? Does this affect your plans to run the NYC Marathon? Share your thoughts with me below.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view New York City Marathon Changes Qualifying Standards, Gets More Exclusive and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

As the leaves turn, so my thoughts turn to the bounty of the harvest. The good news is that squash, pumpkin, and yams (yams, as it turns out, are actually all sweet potatoes in the United States) are both good and good for you.

High in fiber and packed with nutrients, you can enjoy all the great food fall has to offer without affecting your running plans. That’s good news since, as one runner put it, “fall weather brings fall races“.

With Thanksgiving races right around the corner, I’m sure we could all use a bit of good running fuel. So, to that end…

Book ‘em, Danno!

As you know, I’ve been hard at work putting together a full-fledged chia seed cookbook.

Originally, the book was going to be exclusively about performance foods – variations on my chia gels and chews. However, I’ve since changed my tune.

You see, chia is quite the superfood but if all we could do with it was make our own GUs, it wouldn’t really be that useful as a food source. However, chia is extremely versatile and I intend to prove it.

Take for an example this preview of a moist, vitamin rich muffin recipe that may sneak its way into the book. It’s the power of chia, with the rich, sweet flavors of fall.

Candied Yam Chia Muffins

Ingredients:
1 medium garnet yam (approximately 1 cup baked and mashed)
1 1/4 cup ground oats
1 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup chia seed, whole
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Lightly grease your muffin cups.
2. Wash the yam briefly under warm water. Puncture the yam in several spots, then microwave on high for 5 minutes. Remove skin and mash thoroughly.
3. Sift the ground oats and whole wheat flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the chia seed, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed, then create a small well in the center for the wet ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, melted butter and coconut oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and egg. Once combined, mix in the mashed yam. Pour the yam mixture into the well you created in the dry ingredients, then blend just until the ingredients combine. Do not overblend (unless you like your muffins… firm).
5. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups. Cups should be about 3/4 full. (Baker’s Trick: Use an ice cream scoop for perfectly measured muffins every time). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Yields approximately 2 dozen muffins

While they work well as a pre-run breakfast or a post-run snack, these muffins wouldn’t be out of place on the Thanksgiving table. If you bring them along this year, please let me know what you think.

Find Ingredients And Additional Recipes

If you’re having trouble finding chia seeds, I typically order my supply through iHerb.com. First time shoppers can use the coupon code RUF029 to knock $5.00 off your first order. And, as a bonus, orders made using the coupon code help support articles like this one.

Finally, if you’re looking for additional recipes to help you fuel your runs, you should check out No Meat Athlete’s recipe book: Fuel Your Run The Tarahumara Way! Matt’s vegetarian-friendly pinole recipes will definitely become some of your favorite running fuel. The pinole buckwheat pancakes alone are reason enough for me to affiliate this one.

What are your favorite fall recipes? Have any big fall race plans? Leave me a comment below.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view Fall Into Running With Candied Yam Chia Muffins and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!

Image Courtesy Dave Morris

In fact, several new techniques have sprung up over the last few years to address exactly this concern. Take, for example, the rise in popularity of barefoot running. Or, for that matter, ChiRunning. And let’s not forget the resurgence in popularity of the pose technique.

All of these running techniques share one thing in common: an emphasis on a more natural running form that allows you to use your energy more effectively. It all starts with correcting your stride.

Is there a problem here, coach?

Most runners over-stride. Truthfully, you’re probably among them. Don’t feel bad. Most days, so am I.

Pay close attention the next time you’re out running. Which part of your foot hits the ground first? Your heel?

If that describes you, congratulations, you’re an over-strider.

What’s wrong with that?

When you land with your heel first, you put more pressure on your bones and joints. Moreover, striking heel first dissipates much of your forward momentum. And, since are also spending more time in contact with the ground, you also use more energy overcoming the force of friction.

What’s a lifelong over-strider to do? Your journey down the path of enlightenment starts with cadence training.

What the heck is cadence training anyway?

In the context of running, cadence refers to the rate at which your feet hit the ground.

Experience suggests that most runners, untrained, have a natural cadence of around 80 steps per minute on a side. That is, around 160 steps per minute combined.

In contrast, many experts such as Dr. Jack Daniels posit that observation of elite runners suggests that 180 steps per minute (90 steps per minute on a side) is a more optimal cadence.

Cadence training, then, is a set of exercises designed to help you eke out that extra 20 steps per minute. We’ll talk more about the specifics on Wednesday. For now, suffice it to say that what we’re aiming for is a form that leaves you lighter on your feet with a higher rate of turnover.

It’s also worth noting that that 180 steps per minute applies regardless of your actual running speed.

What to expect

At first, this will probably feel a bit awkward. You may feel, especially at lower speeds, that you look a bit like the roadrunner or Dash, from The Incredibles – your legs will be spinning so rapidly.

Over time, that particular awkwardness will pass.

We will also be surprised at how difficult it is to actually achieve this turnover. As with any other skill, with repeated practice and consistent effort, this will become like second nature – so much so that you will find yourself having difficulty returning to your previous cadence.

So, if you’re ready to take the next steps, tune back in on Wednesday when I’ll start talking about specific exercises that will take you from where you are now to where you need to be.

Have you tried cadence training before? Is it a regular part of your routine? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Thank you for reading and subscribing! Remember, you can always view The Best New Training Technique You’ve Never Tried and many other great articles in their original context at Midpack Runner!