As we are coming into the thick of race season and as our long runs are increasing, I wanted to address a topic that is applicable to all. I am reminded of a marathon I ran a few years back when I was trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. This was before Boston had lowered their qualifying times and the time for my age group was 3:10:00. At first this was more of just a dream or an idea, but as my training continued the dream became more of a goal and more of a reality.

My training runs during the week and my long runs on the weekends all started to lineup and land within the pace range I needed to keep in order to qualify. Still, however, I did not really think I was going to be able to make it. The race day came. I rode the bus to the starting line. As I got off the bus rain started to trickle. By the time the race started we were covered with water. I did have a garbage bag that covered my top, but I started the race with my shoes a little squishy. This was not going to stop me.

At the beginning of the race it was going well and at the midpoint I had met my goal of an hour and a half. As the race continued on, I started to get tired and my mind began to wander as is common during the later stages of a marathon. It was at mile 22 when I was supposed to see my family. I was excited to see them, to throw them my wet gloves, have them cheer for me, and have them see how good I was doing. Mile 22 came, but no family was there. The mind games were already playing and I began to be discouraged, and I started to walk. As I was walking the pace team for the 3:10:00 passed me. I remember the pacer holding his sign looking at me as he passed by. I had no motivation, I was not able to pick it up again and move. Finally, I was able to overcome my wall and I began running again.

By this time, however, it was too late, and I had already lost too much time. I finished the race seven minutes too late. Although I was happy with my time I still felt like I underachieved.
Why do I tell you this story? For two reasons. The first is to believe in yourself, believe in your training, believe that you can achieve, believe in what you have done. I did not believe, even at the start of the race, and even considering my training times. The second point, running is definitely a mental game – I don’t want to belittle the physical aspect – however there is a big mental component that comes into play when running for multiple miles.

Because I did not believe, I was not prepared to have a stronger mental game and a stronger finish. As the rain came and the miles grew on, I was not in the right mind frame. It is important to remember that if we want to overcome our physical challenges that usually takes overcoming mental challenges.

I give this story as an example to learn from and to remember as you are running and you feel like you can’t. When “the little engine that could” is not enough inspiration, remember what I did not do. But more importantly remember that YOU can! As it is in life, rain will always come but we can push on and achieve our goals.

Whatever your goal may be, you can do it. Fight for it.

Jeremy Stoker – DPT, Runner
jeremys@mlrehab.com

Utahrunning.com: Maybe to get us started, could you tell us about your running background and how you got started into running?

Paul: I didn’t run until my senior year in high school. I grew up in Blackfoot, Idaho. In the summertime we all had jobs moving irrigation pipe in the potato fields, so we’d go out at 4 o’clock in the morning and move the lines again at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. When we got big and strong enough that we could pick up the pipe and run with it, we’d run our lines both ways because we got paid based on how many of those quarter-mile sections of irrigation pipe we moved. If you ran then you could make more money because we only had an hour and a half window before they turned the pumps on again. I was running from the time I was about 13 or 14 years old, every summer, but it was moving irrigation pipes. I didn’t run competitively until my senior year in high school.

Utahrunning.com: You ran here at Weber State. Tell us about some of your college highlights there.

Paul: I ran first at College of Southern Idaho, which is a junior college. I only ran one year. I wasn’t recruited by an NCAA Division I program, or wasn’t fast enough. Then I took fourth in the Junior College Nationals in the steeple and got the attention of the Division I schools. I ended up at Weber because of their distance tradition and Chic Hislop was coaching here. I was his second qualifier that he had to qualify for the NCAA Championships, and he was really just learning the steeple at that time. I was one of his guinea pigs.

Highlight wise, I made it to the NCAA Championships, was the USA Track and Field All American. I didn’t make the finals at the NCAAs in the steeple though but my senior year I got pneumonia and it wiped my season out, so I really felt unfulfilled as a runner. I wanted to keep doing it when I finished college.

Utahrunning.com: You definitely did some great things after college. You became a competitive marathoner and running on the road. Tell us about that transition and what events you competed in post-collegiately, maybe some of the highlights.

Paul: It was just right after I came out of college in 1981; they made it legal to earn prize money and still run in the Olympics. So the road racing boom was kind of taking off with money. It took me a long time to develop because I was working fulltime, teaching school, so I was getting up and doing my morning run at 5-5:30 in the morning, and again in the afternoon, and on my feet all day. I had a family, so my progression was a long time. I really didn’t get real good until eight or nine years after college. But I started running marathons because that’s where the money was. Eventually figured that event out. It took a while.
I won the Houston marathon in 1990. Made more money in one race than I was teaching school all year. So that afforded me the chance to go back to graduate school and I ran fulltime for several years. I got a master’s degree and was then a competitive road racer. I really got to race all over the world. I’ve been all over Europe and Asia. I was in Russia when it was still communist, and ran the first prize money sporting event they ever had. I’ve been just about everywhere. I made the World Championships for the US and raced in Katzenberg, Sweden in the World Championships. It was a good career. I got to see the world and places that I never would have gotten to otherwise.

Utahrunning.com: As you trained for competition post-collegiately, you mentioned getting up early and getting your run in. How did you find time to fit that training in? What drove you to do that?

Paul: The big thing was I’d get up and get it out of the way early. And then it didn’t take away time from my kids or family. They certainly had to sacrifice because a lot of times I’d be on the road when there were things going on with them. But the big thing was making it a priority and being disciplined with it. No matter what the weather was, or what the conditions were, I knew I had to go out because somewhere somebody I was going to be racing with was training and they weren’t sleeping in and they probably weren’t even working a fulltime job. So I needed to take advantage of the window I had to train. I just got in the habit of laying everything out every night and roll out of bed and be running within five minutes, so that I could sleep as long as possible. I got into a pattern that way.

Utahrunning.com: What do you think contributed most to your success in road racing?

Paul: I think a lot of it was not giving up and continuing to learn and to develop. But also I’d always pick peoples’ brain any place that I went. I knew a lot of world-class people that I got to know — Olympians and Olympic champions and I’d always ask questions. For the most part they were willing to share. Part of it was figuring out trial and error and then asking questions about what are these guys doing that are faster than I am that I’m not, and tweaking it.

I had a couple of guys that were real good career-wise, Paul Cummings. He spent a lot of time with me. He was an NCAA Champion in the 1500 and mile and ended up being a world-class marathoner. He shared a lot with me. He was older than I was, and I learned an awful lot training-wise from Paul.

Then I one time drove a 12-hour drive to spend 8 hours with Joe Vigil who is another very good marathon-type coach. We spent the whole day just talking training, so part of it was to learn and trying to get myself access to the people that had the knowledge, that I didn’t.

Utahrunning.com: Now as a collegiate coach and distance-running expert, tell me about the impact that training groups can have on a runner’s fitness level. What are some of the benefits of those training groups and maybe some of the drawbacks as well?

Paul: The benefits are you have someone else out there, not just you alone all of the time. If you’re going through a hard workout it helps to have somebody else there with you. I was fortunate that Ed Eyestone and I trained together for about 12 years, and it made both of us better and prolonged our career, both of us, because if we didn’t feel like doing a workout we knew the other one was going to be there. And we committed, so we’d both be there. We didn’t have days where we’d say I’m not going to go hard today, because we’d already set it up and arranged it. We didn’t want to let the other one down.

The downside of the training groups is you have to make sure that you’re there to train and not to race. One thing about Ed and I is we worked very hard. People would come in once in a while and want to train with us and I don’t think we ever had anybody last longer than two weeks of running with us, because we did some pretty hard workouts. But we wouldn’t kill each other. It wasn’t I’m going to run Ed into the ground, and he was saying I’m going to run Paul into the ground. It was here’s what we want to accomplish today workout wise, and that’s what we’d go do.

You have to be careful not to turn the workouts into races when you’re in a group. We got along well enough and were smart enough to realize it wasn’t advantageous for us to destroy each other in workouts. It was the racing that mattered and counted.

Utahrunning.com: Feeding off each other in those workouts was what the real benefit was.

Paul: It was, and you’re training with a guy who’s world-class, and you’re running the same workouts. It’s also a mind shift to think if I can run with him in workouts I can race with him. If I can run with him in workouts I can run with anybody in the world. We kind of fed that off each other also. We’d talk races, strategy, and workouts, just to try to get both of us to be the best we could be.

Utahrunning.com: You’ve continued to stay fit over the years. Do you mind telling the Utah running community how young you are, and maybe how many miles a week you’re still putting in?

Paul: I’m 54 and I still run quite a bit. This last week we had a meet at Stanford, so my miles are down, but two weeks ago I ran 105 miles. I’m between 85 and 105 miles a week. But I’m fortunate I’m able to run with my team on distance days. If it’s a distance day I’ll go out when they do and run with them. If it’s a hard day I’ll get up earlier and do my long run in the morning and maybe a short one after the workout. I’m still anywhere from 85 to 105. But I don’t do fast stuff. I don’t do hard workouts anymore. I just like being healthy. I can stay healthier if I just run distance now.

Utahrunning.com: How’s that weekly mileage changed for you over the years?

Paul: When I was competitive and still racing and making my living doing it, I was anywhere from 125-130 up to 160 miles a week, plus the hard, quality work miles in there that I don’t do now. So now I’m just a casual, recreational runner, but I do a lot because I enjoy it and because I can. I’m healthy enough to be able to get out and go. Sometimes people ask my why I run so much and I’ll say because I can. I enjoy it.

Utahrunning.com: What do you think would be the secret to making running a lifetime pursuit?

Paul: I think just being smart about how you do it. It used to be when I had to be on top of everything I’d go out no matter what. Now I’m okay to just cut back if I’m tired, or slow down. I think you have to learn to read your body. When I was a competitive racer I had to learn to read my body also. But I think the big thing is to be consistent with it. It’s much easier to stay in shape than it is to get in shape. Once you’re there I think consistency is the key and getting out. I’ll take a day off once in a while but it’s not all that often, because I feel better when I run every day. I think that’s the thing, just making that habit and being consistent.
Utahrunning.com: Is there any additional advice you’d like to offer up to aspiring runners, final words of wisdom to the Utahrunning.com community?

Paul: Not really, other than there’s a lot of talent out there, and people don’t realize what talent they have until they spend some time to develop. Distance running is an endurance event that takes years and years to reach potential. A lot of people give up, especially the young. It’s difficult when you get out of school and have a job and a family but you just have to stick with it and see at what level. That’s the thing that kept Ed Eystone and I going is we just wanted to see how good could we really be.

Utahrunning.com: You were able to achieve some great things. We really appreciate you taking the time, Paul. We hope to hear from you more in the future.

 10. Green Canyon – A favorite of the Logan crowd, GreenCanyon provides shaded single track flanked by soaring limestone cliffs that quickly climbs to the Naomi Wilderness.  Runners can expect cool temps in the morning and a moose or two munching on the abundant green snacks on the side of the trail.

9. Mid-Mountain Trail – This Park City Classic rambles for 26 miles from Deer Valley Resort to the Canyons Resort.  If you’ve wanted to try a longer trail race but are still a bit nervous about the Ultra distance, then the Mid Mountain Marathon run in early September is the perfect choice.  The cooler temps and the fantastic scenery make this trail and race a classic.

8. Mueller Park – Tucked in a nook in Southern Davis County, the Mueller Park Trail entices runners with its steady six mile climb to Rudy Flats.  After a short, steep climb the trail meanders through shaded sections that provide a pleasant reprise from our normal summer heat.

7. Bonneville Shoreline Trail – With easy access from virtually anywhere along the Wasatch Front, the BoSho is the bread and butter for most urban trail runners.  For the SLCer’s, the rolling single track from BlackMountain trail junction to the bottom of Dry Creek is pure heaven.  With a shout out to my Ogden peeps, the six miles from BeusCanyon to RainbowGardens hugs the mountain side as it passes in and out of four different canyons.

6. Indian Trail – Another Ogden gem, this trail is usually run in an out and back fashion for a total of nine miles.  Starting from 22^nd street, runners are immediately treated to a steep power hike that gives way to views of OgdenCanyon to the north and Nevada to the west.  After reaching the high point you pass a “poor weather” hut and descend through evergreens, hop down the rock steps, and scurry past the campsites until you reach the Smokey the Bear sign in OgdenCanyon.

5. Antelope Island – In the winter and spring the “Island” becomes a magnet for trail runners seeking snow free trails as they prep their legs for the upcoming trail races (http://www.buffalorun.org/).  Running on the island is a unique experience as you wearily pass the roaming bison.  Run the Split Rock Loop and you’ll feel like you’re hundreds of miles away from civilization as you explore the west side of the island.

4. Snowbasin/Sardine Loop – The Snowbasin trail system is a great place for both novice and experienced trail runners.  The number one trail has eight miles of moderate climbing through scrub oak and aspen stands to the top of the Needles Gondola where you can get a quick drink of water before bombing eight miles down the number three trail to the resort’s base.  If you’re looking for a shorter jaunt, park in the lower Snowbasin lot and hit the Sardine Loop.  This 8 mile loop was recently completed in the fall of 2010 and has 1,100 feet of climbing before you get killer views of Pineview Reservoir.  Run this trail in the fall as the maples and aspens explode in color.

3. Upper Big Water to Scotts Pass – The Tri-Canyons (Mill Creek, Big Cottonwood, and Little Cottonwood) area could easily have its own top ten trails.  I chose two that would appeal to both rookie and veteran trail runners.  This trail begins at the end of Mill Creek and climbs through evergreens to DogLake.  Keep climbing east past DesolationLake until your on the ridge overlooking both Salt Lake City and ParkCity.  Follow this ridge south until you reach the radio towers.  From here you have two options: 1) turn around and run 10 miles back to Mill Creek or 2) descend two miles to GuardsmanPass.  Both choices will definitely make your quads scream for mercy!

2. Brighton to Albion Basin – From the parking lot of Brighton ski resort follow the trail three miles up past numerous lakes and under several peaks to the 10, 220 foot Catherine Pass.  Descend the west side of the pass into AlbionBasin for what is surely the best wildflower viewing in Utah.  Once you have reached the AlbionBasin trailhead you can reverse course for an easy 10 miler or if you’re more inclined for a challenge, you can run up the service road to the top of the Alta ski resort for a long alpine day.

1. Ben Lomond – This trail begins at the top of the North Ogden divide and ascends eight miles and 3,500 feet to the peak.  The first few miles of rocky sage and tight switch backs ascend to evergreens and aspen stands.  The real reason Ben Lomond is number one for myself and many other trail runners is the “ridge” that leads to the summit.  GoogleBen LomondPeak and the very first image you’re likely to see is one of the ridge and its magnificent beauty.  After traversing the ridge, runners are treated to a 1,000 foot climb in one and a half miles to the summit of Ben Lomond where you’ll have unobscured views of Willard Peak to the north and likely a few mountain goats who make Ben Lomond their home.  The eight miles of downhill is a true test of your leg speed as you can fly down the mountain.

By Joel Hatch

Justin, Hydrosleeve: The Hydrosleeve is a hands-free hydration system for your upper arm. It comfortably fits a runner with just the right amount of water. It allows a runner to sip water while running without breaking stride

UR: Cool concept! We like it. How did you come up with it?

Justin, Hydrosleeve: During a 5k out at Thanksgiving point I grabbed a little cup of water at my check point, which threw off my stride, but that little bit of water was necessary to keep me going. That night I tried a few different designs and realized that the upper arm is a great place to carry the perfect amount of water for shorter and mid-distance events. So I made an armband, strapped a little baggy of water to my arm, and the idea was born.

UR: Ha! So it’s true, “necessity is the mother of invention.” Simple yet brilliant. You’re going to have everyone saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Tell us about the materials used for the Hydrosleeve – the outside and bladder. You didn’t go cheapo did ya?!

Justin, Hydrosleeve: Not at all, the materials are high quality synthetics. The outside is the same high grade synthetic suede that you will find on running shoes. Super light-weight and very durable. We also use a micro-velcro on the strap that is comfortable and will not cause chaffing.

UR: Sweet. How do you clean it?
Justin, Hydrosleeve: The sleeve can be hand washed in cold water and just hang to dry. Pretty simple!
UR: Nice. So who is this product perfect for? Hard core runners? Newbies?

Justin, Hydrosleeve: Good question, The Hydrosleeve is basically for anyone with an active lifestyle. It can be used for a short or mid-distance running, hiking, walking. Anytime you want a little water and don’t want to carry it on your hand, waist or back. When designing Hydrosleeve I actually had the average runner in mind. I’m an average runner and normally go 3-6 miles, so it was perfect for what I needed, and I’m confident it will become indispensable to many other runners like me once they check it out.

UR: Speaking of YOU… tell us more about yourself. Where are you from? Why do you enjoy being a Utah Runner?

Justin, Hydrosleeve: Well I grew up in San Jose , CA. I came to Utah to go to school at Utah Valley University. I have always been into fitness. Going to the gym, drinking protein shakes, looking good for the ladies. Back in January of 2008, I remember signing up for a triathlon on a whim. Suddenly I had three weeks to train. That was when I got hooked on triathlons and running. Utah is so awesome for training. Best scenery and such an active race scene.

UR: Well we’re glad to have you here in the Beehive State! Where do you see your future and the future of Hydrosleeve?

Justin, Hydrosleeve: Utah is an awesome place for business. With the support of the community, I would love to grow Hydrosleeve to a global company. I have a long road ahead but I am super excited for the challenge. I want Hydrosleeve to be a common name in the running industry. There are hydration belts, hydration backpacks, handhelds, and the HYDROSLEEVE! I think it will fit in perfectly, and help a lot of runners.

UR: Fantastic. We’re super excited to see you launch this, and to support a local guy making a product to better the lives of runners everywhere! So where can people get their own Hydrosleeve, and how much is it?

Justin, Hydrosleeve: Right now we have launched on a crowdfunding site called Indiegogo. The retail price for the Hydrosleeve will be $49, but if you go to www.indiegogo.com/hydrosleeve, you can pre-order for a 40% discount. You can get the Hydrosleeve for $30. We are trying to get as many pre-orders as possible to help us with our first big order from the manufacturer. The Hydrosleeve will be ready by the end of June.

UR: An early-summer treat! That’s awesome. We LOVE your video there on that site.

** HEY RUNNERS: Justin and the team at Hydrosleeve have generously offered to hook up 5 lucky fans with a free Hydrosleeve! Go to our Facebook Page for the details on how to enter, before Tuesday the 26th. It’s super easy, and you’ll be helping to spread the word about fantastic locally-invented gear. Justin, thank you for your time today! We appreciate you telling us all about Hydrosleeve, and we wish you the best of success in this awesome biz!

UtahRunning: We’d like to start out with you telling us a bit about yourself and your professional background.

Dr. Gordin: I’ve been a professor here at Utah State for 32 years. I teach classes in sports psychology and other things. I’ve been in the field of applied sports psychology for about 35 years. I’ve consulted with professional athletes, Olympic teams, amateur athletes, and university athletes. That’s kind of what I do.

UtahRunning.com: What got you interested in sports psychology?

Dr. Gordin: I was an athlete myself. My sport was football. I played college football back in the dark ages, ‘60s and ‘70s. I thought there was a mental component that was more developed than just pep talks and those kinds of things. Luckily I hit the career at a time when we were sort of adding on to the research that was being done by sports scientists in this area, and started to get into more of the applied area, as well. I kind of hit the crest of the wave and I’ve been riding it ever since.

UtahRunning.com: Have you had any experiences that are highlights for you, as you look back on your career?

Dr. Gordin: I’ve had a lot of highlights. I’ve been officially at three Olympic Games with different NGBs [national governing bodies]. I went in ‘88 to Seoul with women’s gymnastics, 2004 in Athens with our U.S.A. track and field team, and then most recently 2010 in Vancouver with our Nordic combined ski team. I’m scheduled to be back to another Olympic games in 2014 in Russia, Sochi in Russia with the Nordic combined team.

UtahRunning.com: Tell me more about your experience with the track and field team and maybe share some of those experiences with the Utah Running crowd.

Dr. Gordin: I got into the group of U.S.A. track and field back in the early to mid ‘80s. At the time, Dr. Harmon Brown was in charge of Sports Medicine Services with U.S.A. track and field and we got a group of us involved with track and field at various levels, not just going to Olympic Games, but in coaching education, youth development, and junior elite camps in Chula Vista.
And also writing for all the publications in track and field, coaching clinics; we went to the national convention each yearand made presentations. Of course, the culmination of that is service delivery to our athletes, with Junior World Championships and then the World Championships, and finally the Olympic games. We were totally immersed in the organization. We weren’t just showing up at the eleventh hour to provide service to our teams at the Olympic Games.

UtahRunning.com: That immersion obviously gave you the opportunity to interact with some interesting people, some very talented people I’m sure. Who are some of the top athletes that you’ve had the experience of working with?

Dr. Gordin: If you’re familiar, as your audience is with the elite runners in the U.S. history, all of those. I’ll name a couple. Obviously your group is interested in people like Meb [Keflezighi] and Deena [Kastor] and people like that. I was actually there in Athens in 2004 when Deena became the second woman in the history of the U.S.A. track and field to medal in the women’s marathon, and also Meb a silver medalist. Deena was bronze and Meb was silver. I was there. That’s pretty interesting stuff.

UtahRunning.com: Maybe along with seeing those medaling experiences, what were some other favorite experiences that you’ve had and why?

Dr. Gordin: It’s meeting an athlete early on in their career, because that was our model of service delivery. We would start with juniors and it was about development, not just elite. So we got in with the development area. We got in with the coaches, and we would literally follow the athletes along in their career, until we finally accompanied them to Olympic Games.
For instance, like when I went to the Olympic Games officially in 2004, in Athens, I knew almost all team members since they were in their teens. I wasn’t like somebody just added on to come along for problems. I was part of the staff, so there was a lot of trust developed. I was a normal part of the team. You don’t want to be a distraction. You want to be part of the group that’s there to help everybody to perform at their maximum capacity, at probably the most important competition of their life.

UtahRunning.com: Being part of that team, helping those athletes perform at a high level, tell me when you consult with these athletes, what’s the process you take them through?

Dr. Gordin: The first thing I need to do is get to know them as people and as athletes, and find out what their psychological strengths and weaknesses are. Obviously, they’re bringing a lot to the table, even as a junior athlete coming in. You don’t get invited to junior elite camps unless you’re physically gifted. But they also bring some psychological strengths with them. We do some assessment to pin that down, and then also identify some of the areas that they need to work on.

There’s critical mental skills, like the ability to be poised under pressure, to have the proper focus, to be able to have good self-talk and confidence in these big events, to be able to have a good pre-performance routine to not try to do something different, to control your environment rather than let your environment control you. All of these types of things are skills that need to be learned. You have to learn them before you show up to big competitions because you’re not going to develop them if you haven’t been training on them and working on them prior to getting there.

UtahRunning.com: It sounds like in those areas there are definitely some things that an athlete can do to prepare themselves and ensure performance at a higher level. What would you say are maybe the top-three areas with regards to sports psychology that athletes seem to struggle with the most in training and competition?

Dr. Gordin: It’s making that transition from practice to competition, that’s a big one. For distance runners, for instance, there’s a big difference between a training run and a competitive run. I like to say you need to make your training as much like competition so that your competition becomes like training; so there’s not a big leap between training and competition. You do that through proper training regimes with your coach, staying on track with where you need to be physically, so that you can spend some of your energy during a competitive run, in how to compete against the other runners in the field.

For instance, in distance running, one of the things that a lot of the distance runners always wanted to talk to me about was race planning, how to plan your race, and then stick to it, and still have a little flexibility there, but not let the conditions or the other runners dictate to you; you dictate your race to them and then let them react to you.

Another area would be pain. How do you handle pain? Pain is part of distance running. There’s that whole area of focus. How do you focus in a marathon, for instance, for two hours and thirty minutes, or two hours and ten minutes, depending on what gender you are? World-class runners, how do you keep your focus, and what do you focus on for that amount of time?

Part of that focus has to be on your body and how it feels, but the rest of it has to be being able to leave your body and not focus on the pain for a while. You have to have both skills: to be able to associate to your body and how it feels, but also disassociate. You know all the strategies that people use. People count the number of rooms in their house, go through all kinds of things. At the same time, you have to be able to focus on if you’re starting to cramp up in your right calf; you have to know how to make an adjustment and when to make your move and all those kinds of things.

UtahRunning.com: Those are definitely areas people could focus on and learn as they face those struggles. What mental strategies would you suggest for runners to take in their training, to take their training in racing to the next level? What tips would you provide in mental strategies?

Dr. Gordin: Again it’s making sure that you’ve trained correctly, number one. Sport is physical. But if you want to go to the next level, sport becomes a lot more mental. It’s showing up to a competition knowing that you’re ready to go.

If I can use swimming as an example, I’ll go across another sport. Michael Phelps for instance, in his book No Limits, talks about he and his coach would do the workouts that nobody else in the world was willing to do. Or they either couldn’t do it or they weren’t willing to do. People say why would you do that. So he goes, “That way when you show up at a big competition, you already know that there’s nobody there that’s in better physical condition than you are. You’ve prepared yourself physically for what’s being asked of you.”

I think a lot of mistakes that distance runners make is that they try to fool themselves with their training programs, and say I can only train at this level, so I’ll do that. Then when I get in a competition my adrenaline will take me to the next level.

I don’t think that’s true. I think your adrenaline is only going to take you to running a foolish race. You’re going to try and do something that you’re not ready to do. It’s preparation, confidence, shooting for – rather than competing against other people and maybe shooting for a personal best, and knowing exactly what that takes, and then seeing where that lands you in the final, as you cross the finish line, those types of things. Goal setting, all these things, I think people intuitively think they know how to do it but I’m not sure that’s right. I think sometimes they need to really study how to do it in the most effective way. That’s what I help them do.

UtahRunning.com: That’s great. We really appreciate you taking time to talk with us and sharing your experience.

Dr. Gordin: My pleasure.

 Well, time passed since I spoke to my dad and I don’t know that I thought much more about it. That is, until my Dad came home and said “I signed us up for a marathon!” I was shocked.  I did not know that we were ready to do this. I probably expressed my concerns to my dad, and he saw this as a great opportunity to teach me a lifelong principle. He chimed in with something like this, “sometimes you have to throw your hat over the fence to make things happen. Sometimes you may have a hard time trying to get to know the neighbors, but if you throw your hat over the fence then you have to go to their door to retrieve it, and consequently meet the neighbors.” I don’t know that I internalized the significance of that statement, at the time, but I have since done so. We are not currently ready for the race but let’s throw our hat over the fence, pay the money, and make it happen.

It makes big goals so simple. You try to create situations that almost make you obligated to follow through. Nike has said it for a long time, just do it! I understand that signing up for a race does not automatically make you ready for the race, nor does it really make you obligated to do the race. However, it is a beginning and a step closer to achieving your goal.

So, if you have been debating whether to sign up for a race or to try the “next step” in your running adventures…throw your hat over the fence! Just do it! Make it happen! You will be glad you did.

Jeremy Stoker, DPT
Runner – Physical Therapist

jeremys@mlrehab.com

I decided to write this article from my >20 year experience working with runners. I’ve had amazing hands on opportunities from working with people who like (and don’t like) to run from the beginner to professional, from biomechanical wrecks to those finely tuned machines. This given article only serves as a possible opportunity for those aspired to integrate 4 core stabilization exercises into their training. I have seen many injuries over the years, and feel strongly that prevention is the key. Cross training in all planes is imperative.

In Taber’s medical dictionary, dynamic stabilization is defined as “an integrated function of neuromuscular systems requiring muscles to contract and fixate the body against fluctuating outside forces, providing postural support with fine adjustments in muscle tension. The term usually pertains to a function of the trunk, shoulder, and hip muscles and includes the lower extremity muscles when they are functioning in a closed chain.” In short, the term is used for the development of postural stability and skilled movement control. Principals in stabilization may include: isolation before integration; slow before fast; and correct breathing.

The following, in my clinic experience, are the “4 for the core” that if preformed correctly can prevent many common running injuries. Neutral pelvis is required to perform the exercises correctly. Body alignment is essential with the ear, shoulder and hip being in a line. The pelvis position can be viewed like a bowl; the bowl is level, not dumping water out the front (sway back) or the back (flat back).

1. Plank on elbows: Pelvis is neutral, avoid arching the low back by tightening your abdominals (bring your belly button towards the spine).

Advanced plank on elbows: lifting one leg; more difficult- lifting leg with opposite arm.

2. Side plank on elbow: Pelvis is neutral, visualize yourself between 2 plates of glass and lift trunk toward ceiling.

Advanced side plank: lift top leg or extend lower arm onto hand.

3. Crab walk with resistance: Pelvis is neutral, avoid arching the low back. Walk side to side by taking small steps without letting your feet come back together while keeping the knees bent in squatting position.

4. Controlled lowering: balance on a step with one leg, pelvis is neutral and waist line level. Slowly lower your heel of the non weight bearing (NWB) leg towards the floor (as if you were trying to touch an egg but not break it) by bending the weight bearing knee. Pelvis remains level and the bent knee is aligned over the 2nd toe. (Common errors: excessive arching of the low back, waist line drops towards the NWB leg, knee shifts to the inside of 1st toe creating medial knee stress, and loss of balance).

It’s more important to do 1 repetition correctly than 10 wrong!! Give these a try and keep running!!!

Korryn Wiese, PT, CMPT
Owner, Physical Therapist
Body Tune Physical Therapy

Come In For A Tune UP!

5856 S. Harrison Blvd, Suite A South Ogden, UT 84403
Ph. (801) 475-6415 Fax: (801) 475-6417

Last Saturday morning I laced up my shoes again for another 5K.  It was the Draper Days 5K and as I toed the line, and saw the many talented runners around me, I was struck with the realization that I was going to have to work hard to place well in this one.  This would be no “walk in the park”.  The race turned out to be one of those rare occasions where I felt like I was mentally tough and pushed through the pain to get to a new level.

Here are a few mental toughness strategies which may help you get to that next level in a workout or a race:

1.  Relax – Your form can make an incredible difference in your time.  Focus on staying relaxed and you will be able to finish stronger and run faster because you will be running with less effort.  Relax your arms and shoulders, run upright (but not rigid) and stay light on your feet.  Think “smooth” and “fluid” in your movements.
2. Maintain focus – There are lots of strategies to help you focus during a workout or a race; try these out at your next opportunity:  come up with a mantra to chant in your head, take a mental inventory of your body – focus on the moment and the work your body is doing,  spend some time visualizing your race and the course you’ll be running.
3. Have confidence – Trust in your training.  You’ve done the work to lead up to that race or key workout, now trust your body.   Think about some good workouts you’ve done and use a little self-talk, “I ran this pace in my workout on Tuesday, I can do this today”.

Running really is a sport where being mentally tough makes a HUGE difference in your performance.

What do you do to be mentally tough in your workouts and/or races?

by Janae Richardson – Runner | USATF Certified Coach

Several studies have found that if a combination of carbohydrate and protein in the form of chocolate milk is ingested within one hour and consumption continued for 1-2 hours after a submaximal workout, initial and subsequent endurance performance improves. The prevailing thought why the combination of both are good for recovery and subsequent performance is that carbohydrate helps replenish muscle glycogen used for muscle contraction and protein slows the synthesis or breakdown of the glycogen, preserving more of it for the next workout. Therefore, several versions of carbohydrate replacement drinks have emerged on the commercial market that contain either additional carbohydrates or electrolytes to stave off depletion of glycogen.

All types and versions of electrolyte and recovery drinks can be found in the cooler at any local quick mart, as well as chocolate milk, which contains rich balanced sources of carbohydrate and protein. However, chocolate milk has been shown to be more effective than either carbohydrate only and electrolyte replacement drinks for improving recovery and subsequent performance.

In 2006, Karp and his colleagues published a report in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Metabolism that demonstrated significant improvements among endurance trained cyclists in the time it took them to reach exhaustion and an enhanced ability to perform more work over those who ingested either a carbohydrate or electrolyte replacement drink of equal carbohydrate composition. In a 2012 report published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Lunn and his colleagues also found when male runners ingested fat-free chocolate milk as a recovery aid versus a carbohydrate only replacement drink or placebo, they exhibited significantly higher rates of skeletal muscle protein production and decreased breakdown of whole-body protein. The findings from these studies and others on chocolate milk consumption are important for the endurance athlete because protein is needed for tissue repair and carbohydrate is an essential ‘fuel’ that both enables repair to occur as well as to serve as a building block for muscle contraction over sustained periods of effort.

Beyond the benefits of providing the body a rich source of carbohydrate for energy production and sparing protein for repair after a workout, chocolate milk also contains many beneficial nutrients for health such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. To boot, chocolate milk tastes good and is far less expensive than many commercial recovery products on the market. So the next time you reach for a drink out of the cooler after an intense workout, think and drink like a kid in order to perform like a pro.

By Tim Speicher, PhD, ATC, LAT, CSCS
Dr. Speicher is a Licensed Athletic Trainer, Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Positional Release Therapist. Dr. Speicher provides therapy and strength and conditioning services for competitive and recreational athletes of all ages as well as the general public. He can be reached at www.prt-i.com.

UtahRunning.com:  Well, hello, everyone. We’re excited to have a great interview today with Ed Eyestone. Ed is an incredible runner and coach with strong ties to the Utah Running community. Ed’s a coach at BYU and an all-around running expert. We’re excited to have him tell you a little bit about himself, share some of his experiences, and maybe give us some tips on how you can improve your own time. Thanks for joining us, Ed.

Ed Eyestone:  Thanks. Good to be here.

UtahRunning.com:  Well, maybe if we could just start out with having you tell us a little about your running background. How you got started and some highlights of your career.

Ed:  Well, I got started way back in junior high school. I actually played little league baseball. I played a lot of baseball and was hoping to play on the junior high and high school baseball teams. Like happens to a lot of people who end up being good runners, I ended up getting cut from the junior high baseball team. So, as a result of not being able to continue playing the sport that I loved, in the spring of the year, I realized for the first time that there was actually another sport going on, and that was track and field. So, I went and spoke with the junior high track coach the next day, Noel Zabriski , my Spanish teacher. I asked him about tryouts for the track team. He said, you know what, if I came out every day and I did the things that he told me to do, and just tried my hardest, then I could be on the track team and there would be no cuts on the track team. I liked that and knew I wasn’t going to necessarily be the fastest guy in the world, but I knew I could try as hard as anybody.

So, that was my initiation, back as a 7th‑grader at T.H. Bell Junior High. From then, I just continued with the sport. The great thing about running is that the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. I found that over the course of my 7th, 8th, and 9th‑grade years, that as I dedicated myself and tried to do the workouts, the harder I worked, the better I became and the more improvement that I saw. I really liked that about the sport. That’s just how I got started and progressed from there to junior high school and on.

UtahRunning.com:  So, you competed there at BYU and after your college career, you became a professional runner. How was that transition from those college events to some of the highlights during your post‑collegiate career?

Ed:  Well, it seemed like I progressed from junior high to high school, to high school to college, and from college to post‑collegiate. It was all the same and it was all a matter of just having the right mentality for it. As I went from junior high to high school there obviously is a big jump. I think I was fortunate in a number of my circumstances in that I had good coaches along the way. My high school coach as I went from T.H. Bell Junior High to Bonneville High School was very influential and just got us in a good rhythm and in a good system, running consistently and increasing mileage and increasing the intensity of the workouts. As a result of that, then I seemed to get improved results in my races.

In high school, I think it was a matter of finally just maturing, because I ran decent as a sophomore but not amazing. I was, maybe, in 40th place in state cross‑country my sophomore year. But as a junior, it was a combination of just the consistency in the workouts and finally having some physical maturity that went along with that. That finally I went from being 40th in the state to being the guy that was upfront in most of the races, and probably the same thing occurred.

But all along, I think one thing that was crucial and critical is the belief that ultimately good things were going to happen. In high school, as I began, I believed I could make the varsity team. I believed that I was going to win state, ultimately.

And kind of, even as I transitioned into college, then there was the natural belief that, “OK, you’re going to run in college. You’re going to be an All‑American, and you’re going to try be an NCAA champion.” Even from there, once I was involved in running at a high level in college, then the next step was you’re going to run professionally or you’re going to make the Olympic team.

All along, even as a junior high runner who was a five, 10 miler, I believed that ultimately, this all would lead to the natural progression of things, that if you work hard then the ultimate goal was to make the Olympic team. It feels that for a junior high kid, but the highest level of running would be to compete in the Olympic Games.

So, I think, a big part of that was just having been fortunate enough to have good coaches that made me good workouts and also fostered the positive belief system, setting goals, and believing all along. It was pretty naive of me as a junior high five and 10 miler to think that I was going to run on the Olympic team, yet that is what I believed would happen was going to be a natural progression of things.

I believe in some way that was instrumental in helping me make an Olympic team, that I was naive enough to believe that, that good things would happen, that ultimately would be the outcome of continuing to work hard. I would probably also have to thank my parents and my family for that because that was the way we were brought up. That you make a goal and you work hard towards that goal, you continue progressing towards that goal, and ultimately you can achieve that goal.

I’ve learned since then that that doesn’t always happen. It doesn’t always work out according to plan, because I would have goals that didn’t come through, in terms of coming home with an Olympic medal. But the bottom line is as long as you believe, work hard, and do everything in your power to accomplish those goals, then whether or not you ultimately attain them doesn’t really matter. It’s all in the process.

But as I transitioned from college to professional, there is a substantial transition, because you go from having a great support network. When I ran at BYU, I had trainers, I had coaches, and I had people taking care of travel. Now suddenly you are on your own, you are trying to handle all those things on your own.

I was very blessed, very fortunate, I was running well enough as a senior in college that I was able to get a good running agent and end up with a few contracts. Which took out some of the financial hardships a lot of people transitioning from college to professional have to go through. That gave me some financial ability to get trained full‑time as an endurance athlete.

Fortunately, it was a multiyear contract and I was able to run, dedicate myself to running. Along with coaches and family, able to choose goals that I wanted to go for. Whether it was the Olympics, the world championships, or just whatever major marathon I wanted to focus on.

UtahRunning.com:  To do the training that you needed to, to focus on what you believe you could do and make the Olympics. You went to the Olympics in 1988 and 1992. Maybe you can share with us the training that you did leading up to those; highlights, mileage and type of workouts.

Ed:  Definitely. ’88 and ’92 were a little different in that ’88, I was pretty much a 10K runner and a cross country runner who had had some good success on the road. I was a relative novice to the marathon, so I approached the marathon from a cross country, track, and road racing background, and not as a pure marathoner. So my mileage wasn’t super high relative to all the marathoners of the day. I was probably in the 90 to 100 mile range. Maybe had a few weeks over 100 miles. But a lot my running was at pretty fast paces, faster than six minute pace. Going into the Olympic trials I don’t think that I had many runs over 15 miles, but I would head out on a lot of 15 milers at close to marathon race pace. If I went back and looked, I don’t think I’d had more than maybe a couple runs even approaching 20 miles.

But with my strength from running cross country and running quality specific pace long runs, I was able to go into those Olympic trials. When I went into those Olympic trials, I only had one marathon under my belt, a blowup race in Boston. But actually in my junior year in college, I ran a marathon.

UtahRunning.com:  Really?

Ed:  Yeah, I ran a 2:16 marathon, right between cross country and indoor season, in the Houston Tenneco Marathon. I just jumped into it. That was 1984. I ran 2:16 and qualified for the Olympic trials later that same year, probably due to the fact that I had done some longer runs and some strength work. Later that year, I broke 28 minutes for the first time in 10K, so I ended up going to the trials in the 10,000 and the Boston marathon. But then I put the marathon on the back burner for about three years. Then in 1987, I ran the Boston Marathon.

This time I thought I’d train specifically for but I still didn’t do very many runs over 15 miles but I beefed my mileage up a little bit. It was different from just being a college runner. Jumping in on the weekends and running a marathon. I was taking longer runs and whatnot.

I chose a little low‑key marathon called the Boston Marathon to make my pro debut in and I thought I was going to light the world on fire. I was running next to Pete Johns, who I think was the world record holder at the time, through about 12 miles. He and I were friends because he was a Reebok athlete and I was a Reebok athlete. At about 12 miles I turned to him and said, “I’m telling you this feels easy.  Does it always feel this easy?” We were there in the lead pack.

He said, “It gets a little harder around 20 miles.” He was right. It got a lot harder at 20 miles. I struggled in and finished in 2:19. But it was still fast enough that I qualified for the Olympic trials that would be coming up that next year.

Initially I went, “Wow, that hurt too much.” The last few miles I was struggling and my legs felt like they were cut out from under me. I really wondered if I was going to do this marathon again. But after about a week of convalescing, I realized it was still going to be a good event for me. So I came back and ran the Olympic trials in 1988. In that race I was still a novice, but I’d had my one experience in college which was probably better than it should have been.

Then I had my second experience which was where I trained a little more specific to it, but kind of blew up. But I went into this run and I had mentally prepared myself a little better. The way I mentally prepared myself was that I knew it was going to get difficult and I tried not to be so impetuous, and let someone else do the early work.

I felt that the longer I could stay in that lead pack the less it was going to be a marathon and the more I was going to be a 10K. If it turned into a 10K at the end I felt good about my chances because I was one of the faster guys in the field for 10K.

That’s the way it panned out. The race was a big pack of guys early on. I waited and I made a move about 16 miles, with 10 miles to go. Again, I was a rookie at the marathon. I didn’t realize it was still early to be making a big move. But I made a break at that point.

Mark Conover followed me on the break and the two of us worked together, kind of formed an alliance to get away from the rest of the field. Towards the end I ended getting a hamstring cramp. But it was close enough to the finish that I was able to get through and ended up second. That was a big break for me, obviously.

Then in ’92, I felt like I had my best training, or at least a lot better training. A lot of that would be that I was up by then living in Layton and I had Paul Pilkington and I trained with on a regular basis. We racked out 20 miles and 25 miles regularly, like every weekend.

So in ’92 I felt like I truly I was a marathoner. In ’92, I went in the trials like one of the favorites and was able to come through make the team. That was rewarding. I had an experience at one where I was a rookie and came through. I experienced the other way as one of the favorites and there’s a different pressure with that. Fortunately, I was able to come through in those trials as well.

UtahRunning.com:  Those experiences at the Olympic trials, obviously, the training that you’ve done, and the things that you mentioned earlier so far as you believe what you can do. Then moving from the trials to the Olympics, share with us just a little bit about those Olympic experiences and what you felt like you’re able to take away from those experiences.

Ed:  They were both different. I went into the 1988 Olympic Games thinking, “No guts, no glory.” They give three medals, run with their leaders until you either have one of those medals or you fall off the pace. For all I knew it was going to be my one shot so I was going to take it. As a result I put myself with the lead pack, I ran with the lead pack until about 14 miles then the heat of Seoul, Korea took its toll and I fell off and slogged my way in. I don’t necessarily regret that. But I don’t think that was my best overall plan, for my best overall placing.

I came back four years later in ’92 and I was a much more experience marathoner. I also knew and respected the quality of the field. I also gained some more insight into how to run in the heat and humidity. Barcelona was probably more hot and more humid than Seoul, Korea was.

For the’92 games, I felt I was a better trained runner too. I had averaged 120 miles a week for months leading up to the Olympic Games. Long intervals, tempo runs. 25 mile runs every other week. 20 mile runs on the other.

When I went into the Olympics in Barcelona I went with a, “OK, don’t go out with the leaders because they’re going to suffer with the heat and humidity. Run from a pace that you think will ultimately get you a medal,” which I thought was probably going to be somewhere in the 2:13 range.

It was a smarter pace for me because as the race unfolded, I was feeling strong the entire way, passing people the entire way. In fact, even over the last 10 miles I was passing people that were the favorites. Steve Moneghetti from Australia, Ibrahim Hussein from Kenya. They were the guys who were on paper supposed to be in a top five.

By about 22 or 23, I thought I had worked my way into the top 10, and then someone shouted out, you are doing great, you are in 17th place. That was with three miles to go. I thought, “Oh, crap.” I was running with the other two Americans, more or less at that time. I think we all thought we were up a little higher than we actually were.

There are plenty of people. There were people in front but it wasn’t the lead. We all charged up that last hill, up to the Olympic stadium, passing people the entire way and making up some ground. But we ran out of real estate at the end.

All three of the Americans came to the stadium within 20 yards of each other. We ended up finishing 12th, 13th, 15th or 17th, something like that. I’d have to look at the time to be sure but I think I was only a minute or less than two minutes out of a medal. Maybe it was 90 seconds out of a medal. So there was a lot of people in a little bit of time on that day. I think as I entered the stadium, third place was finishing.

There had been a rainstorm that had moved in early that morning that had cut out some of the humidity and some of the heat. But I felt fine. Generally, as a runner you can tell as you cool down you have a chance to think about the race. You generally get a feel for how well you did relative to where you are at. I had a pretty good feeling that that was a solid effort. You had nothing to be feeling bad about, at 13th.

Ed:  I would have to say that I was feeling pleased about my performance. More so after the ’92 than the ’88.

UtahRunning.com:  Now obviously, that is a great experience for you. Through all your running experience and now your experiences as coach, what do you think are some of the best workouts for someone who is preparing for marathon?

Ed:  I am a big believer in all those workouts that Paul and I did on a regular basis. Nothing earth shattering, nothing super secret. Once a week we would do long intervals, once a week we would do hard tempo run, once a week we would do a long run. Those are the three cornerstones of our particular buildup.  Mile repeats would be one of those long interval workouts we would do. We would usually run those at about 10K pace, but faster than the race pace, considerably, and would take as a result of running that 10K pace and sometimes go faster between 5k and 10k pace, and then we’d usually do about a one to one recovery. For our example, we would do four times a mile at 4:30, 4:28, with about four minutes recovery. That would be a good example of the mile repeat workout.

Sometimes we would do a variation of that I called a fatigue interval workout where we would run about eight miles run at about six minutes pace and then would finish it at the track or Beus pond where we had a mile circuit and transitioned immediately from that eight mile run to mile repeats. I liked that because that was a fatigue interval were we were forced to up the pace to 10k pace, do these longer intervals on tired legs. That would wrap up a nice work out.

So we would do a long interval workout once a week, and then a couple days later, usually on the Thursday, we would do our tempo run. Our tempo run was usually just a standard five mile tempo run. I would like to do that at a little faster than marathon race pace. It was usually about 4:50 to 4:55 pace per mile, which would be a good rate for about five miles. That was a really nice solid consistent workout we would do.

Then on the weekend, we would vary between 20 and 25 miles, usually every other weekend. One weekend at 20, one week a 25 miler. We would tend to do that all within a minute of race pace. Then late in the workout at some point we would usually drop it down. If we were running sub-sixes for the 25 miler then usually for three or four miles of that we would be on a roll at some point and run closer to 5:40 or something like that.

But that’s good essentially, because it forces you to be on your legs for a period of time, the amount of time you would be spending in a marathon. We weren’t quite covering 26 miles but we were covering 25 and 20 on a regular basis. That taught us how to feel good and work that endurance, and be on our legs for a period of time at a pretty solid pace.

One thing that I’ve added for some of the people I’ve coached since then, I’ve had some people have ended up winning Saint George.  I think it’s also helpful to have some runs that are more at race pace, because a lot of time long runs are at 45, 40 to 50 seconds slower than race pace. You are doing long intervals which are generally 15, 20, up to 30 seconds longer than race pace. Then you have tempo runs which are sometimes a little bit faster than marathon race pace.

One thing that I’ve had some of my people to is do what I call predictive marathon pace, PMP, where they will run starting at about six miles and then gradually build up to 12, 13 miles of running at specific marathon pace. I think that’s important, not necessarily every week, but every couple weeks to do one of those runs because that gets you really fluent with the specific pace that is going to be required of you in the race.

That’s one thing I didn’t do a whole lot of and that would be the one thing I would probably change. If I had a time machine to go back, I would probably do some more runs like that.

UtahRunning.com:  Those runs are definitely something that can help prepare someone physically for that point in the marathon when they hit the wall. Many people are familiar with that term, but what are some of the things you think they can do mentally, to help them prepare for the last 10K of a marathon.

Ed:  Hold on just a second. [pause]

Ed:  I’m getting ready to head up to the Olympic trials tomorrow morning. Drive up with my family. So your question was on the mental preparation for the last 10K?

UtahRunning.com:  Yeah. When marathoners hit the wall what are some things they can do? In those workouts you mentioned that can help them prepare physically for that point in the race, but mentally what do you think can help people get ready for that point in a marathon?

Ed:  Well hopefully, through proper training and pacing yourself early on, you can push that wall back and you don’t really feel it. You don’t see a lot of elite guys hitting the wall. It gets tough for everybody but it doesn’t get insurmountable for everybody and I don’t think it has to be insurmountable for everybody if you take precautions in the race itself. One way to do that is make sure you don’t start out too fast in the race, because if you start out too fast then you’re burning a higher percentage of glycogen relative to fat, and you run out of glycogen and there’s an actual physiological wall that happens when you’re done with that glycogen as a fuel source, and you have to rely more on mobilizing free fatty acids, mobilizing fat in the form of free fatty acids.

It’s not as explosive of a fuel source and that’s why you find yourself running a minute, or so, per mile slower than you have been before that. So the first important step is don’t start out too fast and you will hit the wall later or won’t hit the wall at all, because you’ll be burning higher percentages of fat relative to glycogen to begin with and you’ll spare your explosive fuel to get you all the way through.

So that’s the number one thing is pace yourself properly. Second thing is just proper training, because through proper training, through doing the long runs, what not, you’re training yourself to use fat as a fuel source as opposed to only glycogen.

You also can increase your glycogen storage tanks, so to speak. Your muscles will learn to adapt and actually hold more glycogen than would be possible if you were untrained. Let me take this for a second, this is my wife is just calling in and we’ll continue. Hold on a second, sorry.

[silence]

Ed:  Sorry Ken.

UtahRunning.com:  That’s all right.

Ed:  We’ve got to coordinate this thing. So anyway, those would be two important steps is training properly and pacing yourself properly then you won’t be hitting that wall. Then I think, mentally to get through it, the fact that you’ve had some consistent good training just gives you a level of confidence that, it all begins with consistency in your training leading into an event. The more consistent that I’ve been then the more I can really feel like I am worthy of making that demand on my body when I’m in a race. The more mentally I feel like I can, “OK, I can get through this,” as things begin to get a little more difficult.

Ed:  What’s that?

UtahRunning.com:  You got cut out on me there at the end there.

Ed:  OK.

UtahRunning.com:  Last minute tips for other aspiring, maybe one bit of wisdom that you can share with all those aspiring runners out there.

Ed:  Well, the old adage “Patience is a virtue,” applies to running as much it applies to life in general. In that we need to be patient with the gains that we expect out of ourselves. We need to be patient in our training and realize that with consistent work, we can make great improvement but it does not come overnight. So as long as you are patient in your training and then patient in your races, then I think you can achieve your very best. Obviously, when I began my coaching career, it was right there at Weber State. You were one of the athletes there and had chance to work with the great Chick Hislop for a number of years and you remember his old adage, “You plan your race and then you race you plan.”

So I think patience is part of that. You look at the training you’ve gone through and look what your work‑out would indicate that you’re ready to run and then you formulate a race plan, taking that into account the people you’re going to be racing against.

Then you try to run to as close to that plan as possible. If you do that you’ll maximize your potential, most of the time and you increase your chance of success.

UtahRunning.com:  Well, thanks!

Ed:  Hey, you’re welcome!