TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Monday, October 13, 2008

Optimal Marathon Running

Posted December 11th, 2006 at 11:30 AM by Jim Fortner

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor to TFS. Also check out his own personal running and advice site: “Jim2’s Running Page”.

Running an optimum marathon requires the following 4 things:

(1) An accurate and realistic assessment of a target time.

This is absolutely critical. Be too optimistic with your goal and even a starting pace that you think is a little conservative will really be too fast and will result in a lot of lost time as you slow in the latter miles. OTOH, set a very conservative goal time and you will lose more time in the first half than can be overcome in the second half. If hot and/or humid weather is expected during the race, it is necessary to adjust the realistic goal accordingly.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Win the mental battle to finish strong at your next race

Posted November 8th, 2006 at 11:00 AM by Trish Monks

Section: Running & Training, Motivation, Training Tips

On Sunday I ran a half marathon – it was hilly, and about 7 miles too far, but I got through it without walking (a key goal of mine when hills are involved) and, as a surprise bonus, got myself a new personal best for that distance.

However, I must admit that it was quite difficult (not enough long training runs – my own fault). At the 8 mile marker, just after a substantial climb and with only 5 miles remaining, I had a bit of a ‘wobble’.

Do you know the kind of scenario that I am talking about? You start doubting yourself: thinking that you’re not going to make it, wanting to stop for a little walk, consider feigning an injury so you can drop . . . that kind of thing. The worst part is that the more you think these negative thoughts, the slower you get and the more likely you are to actually give up. It’s at these crucial moments that I have learned that I really have to give myself a good talking to.

Here are some tricks to get you through the psychological pain barrier: Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Negative Splits: Use Them to Perform Better in Your Next Marathon

Posted September 25th, 2006 at 3:25 AM by Jim Fortner

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

A note from TFS: Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor to The Final Sprint. Make sure to also check out “Jim2’s Running Page”, his own personal running and advice site.

Negative splits are the time proven way to best run a marathon. All “experts” and most experienced marathoners that I am aware of recommend targeting negative splits of 2-3%.

The problems with a race plan that is based on positive splits, even small ones, are: (1) faster consumption of glycogen, which means that your body becomes more dependent on fat for fuel earlier in the race; (2) you reach your AT/LT earlier in the race, so a greater portion of the race is spent running anaerobically, i.e., the wall arrives earlier and harder; and (3) it allows for less margin of error in case you miscalculated your ability on race day or any of many other variables bite you in the butt. You wind up running a greater percentage of the race in the less efficient mode, which exacerbates your late race “decline” and can lead to a hard crash.

Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink