A Little More History AKA Back When I Was a Normal Runner

So, when most runners want to get faster, their choices boil down to two pretty simple concepts: run faster, and/or run further. Training stresses the body, the body reacts by getting stronger, and voila: you can run faster and further. Pretty simple really.

But what can you do during all the time that you don't run? Well, if you're like me, you end up researching the human body, diet, metabolism, inflammation, fuel sources, general biochemistry, etc. etc. etc.

You get the picture.

I want to preface this all by saying that no matter how much research I do, how many papers and blog entries I read, there is absolutely no replacement for hard work and solid training. No matter what you do, you gotta put in the work!

So, away we go...

When I first started running again, I didn't really pay a lot of attention to diet, or training. I basically found a random training plan for a marathon, and followed it as best I could. I tried to run all my training runs around my anticipated marathon pace (my goal was to run around 8:00 minute miles, for a sub-3:30 marathon). I figured I'd slowly work my way up in mileage while keeping my pace steady. This actually worked fairly well, as I ran my first marathon in 3:29:46. Of course, I went out way too fast, and was on pace for a 3:12 marathon at 19 miles. So I pretty much crashed and burned. (Incidentally, I did learn one very important lesson: if you have to pee 3 miles into a marathon, don't try to hold it.)

I basically kept up this training strategy for my first 50k, which I clocked at 5:46 in bitterly cold weather on a fairly hilly course. The only thing that changed was my foray into minimalist shoes (which I'm sure I'll talk about at some point). I was pretty happy.

I decided at this point to run the Glacier Ridge 50 miler in Pennsylvania. I started to focus on "time on my feet", and hitting weekly mileage goals without as much regard for pace, while getting in a long run every other week. I even did some back to back stuff (which I no longer do). I managed to finish the Glacier Ridge 50 in tough, muddy conditions in 10:29, which I felt was a little slow, but hey, it was my first 50 miler, and a shock to my body.

After Glacier Ridge, I was a little burned out. I had spent the past 8 months ramping up to 70 mpw, and I was ready for a break. I took a little time off, and about that point, picked up "The Lore of Running" by Tim Noakes, and "Daniels' Running Formula" by Jack Daniels. I figured this was a good place to start learning a little about why my body did what it did.

Both books are fascinating reads. I decided at this point to follow Daniels' training programs, and see what I could do.

Well, my training program went great. Until I broke by foot. Turns out that if you're wearing super-light weight shoes with no support, you probably shouldn't do speed work on an asphalt bike path.

Whoops.

But seriously, before I broke my foot, I managed to run an 18:36 5k, which, while not earth-shattering, was certainly faster than anything I had run previously.

So, this stress fracture to my 2nd metatarsal in my left foot sidelined me for a solid 8 weeks, ending all hope of a fast marathon in Columbus that year. But no worries, because it gave me a lot of time to think about running, and what I could do to improve.

My next post will talk a bit about what happened after that stress fracture, some details about the little injuries I had over that first year of running, and my first major move into the fringe of running, delving into a little training program called the Maffetone Method.

Until then!

-Dave