Source: ROMAIN BLANQUART/ Detroit Free Press

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. But I’m not talking about crisp weather, brilliantly-colored leaves, Pumpkin Spice Lattes or breaking out cozy sweaters.

As much as I love those things, there’s one thing that truly gets my blood pumping around this time: the fact that we are now in the middle of fall marathon season!

In honor of the upcoming Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Detroit Marathon (i.e. my hometown race), my folks forwarded me an article from Freep fitness columnist LaTasha Lewis in which she revealed her “26 insider tips on training for race day.” Although Lewis will have a three-hour head start (thanks to the ET/PT time difference), we’ll be racing the same distance on the same day, albeit a few states apart.

And as I read through her list, there were a few things I wanted to add from my own experience, so I thought it was only fitting to create a version here to share with you. On your mark…get set…here we go…

My 26 tips for running 26.2

Before the race:

1. Commit to the plan. Almost anyone can cover 26.2 miles, but if you want it to be somewhat of an enjoyable experience, you’ve gotta prepare your body properly. Depending on your goal (finish, PR, win), you’ve chosen a corresponding plan and hopefully made the most of the journey. 

2. But mix it up. My last approach was overzealous and unbalanced, which resulted in injury, so this time I focused on overall fitness by incorporating lots of cross-training into the schedule. From swimming, stretching and biking to yoga, foam rolling and boot camp, prime your body in a variety of ways.

3. Make new friends. Bond over a common goal, and you’ve got some instant – and awesome – friends. I learned this firsthand when @PavementRunner invited me to join his weekend run crew. Not only have we logged a lot of miles, but those social workouts are much more rewarding experiences.

4. Save your soles. Repetitive motion can make you more prone to injury, so I try to limit any contributing factors wherever possible. When I know I’m going to be logging lots of miles, I buy two pairs of the same shoe and swap them each week to keep my feet cushioned throughout training.

5. Know the course. If your marathon is full of hills, try your best not to train on flat-as-a-pancake routes. Locals, consider training along the actual course; out-of-towners, well, it can help to view the course online or scope it out by car on the day of the expo to avoid any race-day surprises.

6. Set three goals. I read an article recently that talked about setting three goals – an ‘awesome’ one, a ‘great’ one and a ‘good’ one. If the day goes perfectly according to plan, awesome indeed; but if not, you can still aim for the great or good goal and have a satisfying race experience.

7. Trust the taper. It’s a natural tendency to get amped up in the final weeks before the race, but now’s not the time to squeeze in more mileage. Allow your body sufficient time to recover and rebound before the big day. Focus on healing any lingering aches and pains, and enjoy all the “found” time!

8. Pick a mantra. When the going gets tough during the race – and trust me, it will – I like to block negative thoughts by repeating a mantra. It can be anything from, “Trust your training,” “Keep pushing,” or “Fight through” to something humorous that’ll make you crack a smile when you feel like absolute hell.

9.  Lay out your gear. Race day nerves tend to override all common sense. Case in point: When I left my timing chip in the hotel room and noticed only as the gun went off for one of my half marathons. Do yourself a favor and organize everything ahead of time. Double-check the weather, too, while you’re at it.

10 Figure out logistics. The last thing you’ll be equipped to deal with on race morning is a wrong turn, a traffic jam or a parking situation. Check the race website beforehand, and figure out your plan of attack for getting there, getting situated and getting to the starting line with some time to spare.

11. Stick with what works. When I did the Chicago Marathon, I ran in a shirt I bought at the expo. Newbie mistake! All went well, thank goodness, but that was an exception to the rule. Race day is not a time to test new apparel shoes of accessories. Use what worked during training to avert potential issues.

12. Stay with safe foods. The same goes for pre-race eating habits; just as you don’t want to experiment with new gear on the outside of your body, you don’t want to do anything to upset your insides in the days leading up to the race. Most importantly, don’t overdo it on your carb-loading the night before!

13. Enjoy the expo. You’ve put blood, sweat and tears into training, so now’s the time to reap a few of the rewards, including a leisurely walk around the expo. Collect your bib, check out the goodies and chat with other participants. Go early to avoid long lines, and try not to be on your feet for too long.

14. Don’t forget to double-check! Yes, it’s worth repeating (see story above about me at the starting line…sans timing chip). Make a list, check it twice, and do yourself a favor by having a friend or spouse triple check everything to make sure all your gear’s ready to go.

During the race:

15. Carry some sustenance. Sure, they’ll have aid stations with drinks, gels, shots, blocks, etc. But if you’ve got a troublesome tummy, like me, (or maybe you just don’t want to make any stops), it’s a good idea to pack your own mid-race treats. Tuck one or two in your pocket – or sports bra! – just to be safe.

16. Start conservatively. The gun goes off, and your first inclination will be to sprint because, hey, You’re! Running! A! Marathon! But resist this urge; it’ll only bite you  in the butt later when you burn out halfway through. Slow and steady may not win the race, but it’ll get you to the finish line in one piece.

17. Pace yourself. Again, think conservatively and have a plan for how you want to attack the race. As Central Park Track Club coach Tony Ruiz told the New York Times, use the “10-10-10” method of compartmentalizing the marathon. “Run the first 10 miles below your race pace. Run the second at race pace. And then go all out (with whatever you have left) in the final 10 kilometers (6.2 miles),” he said.

18. Remember to fuel. I’ve been experimenting with mid-run fuel more frequently this time around, and here’s a tip: Eat before you feel like you actally need it to keep energy levels up. By the time you start to feel tired, it’s too late, and your body has to struggle to process it and catch up. Stay ahead of the curve!

19. Crowdsource strength. My favorite races are the especially raucous ones with crowds that get a kick out of interacting with runners. Put your name on your bib so people can cheer you on (you’ll appreciate it come mile 20), read their signs, nod when they shout words of encouragement and take it all in.

20. Pay it forward. If you see a fellow runner struggling, feel free to offer them a few words of encouragement. Keep it from sounding condescending (or you might get a swift kick in the shin), but something simple that just might shake them from that inevitable mid-race mental spiral, such as, “You’ve got this.”

21. Anticipate peaks and valleys. There will be great moments; there may be awful ones – but hopefully more of the former! Having a realistic attitude will allow you to manage the highs and lows of race day without making it an uphill mental battle. And when all else fails, just put one foot in front of the other.

22. Smile! Remember, there’s a reason you chose to do this. Smile at fellow runners, smile at the crowd, smile to yourself when you hit a goal or push through a painful spot. And most of all, don’t forget to look up and grin as you cross the finish line because that moment in time will be one to cherish.

After the race:

23. Stop and stretch. The last thing you want to do after running 26.2 miles is to keep moving, but resist the urge to curl up in the fetal position in the finisher’s corral. Walk around to loosen legs, grab a drink and a bite, take your official finisher photo – and then get serious about some stretching.

24. Document the day. Whether you snap solo selfies or reunite with friends and family, take a few more pictures after the big finish. You’ll be sweaty and sloppy, but who cares? You just achieved something incredible and lived to tell the tale, so capture that moment and bottle it for later inspiration. 

25. Reward yourself! Pick your poison – massage? dessert? burger and fries? all three? – and enjoy! By all means, don’t go crazy and overdo it, but it’s important to celebrate the fact that you accomplished something you set out to do after many months of hard work, dedication and determination.

26. Process and reassess. In the event that your race doesn’t go as planned – and not all of them will; that’s just the way it works – i.e. when I got injured and had to drop out two weeks before the NYC Marathon – do not beat yourself up. Your body has probably already done that to itself, so no need to compound things; instead, take a step back and re-evaluate the situation once you’ve had a few days (or weeks) to rest, recover and recuperate. Then get back in the game, but with a new approach.

And my final slice of advice (because we can’t do 26 without the .2!):

.2 Look forward. It’s normal to feel some post-race blues, but there’s no better time than your recovery days to take stock of how you did and start to set some new goals. Pick your next race; whether it’s longer, shorter or a different discipline altogether, and challenge yourself to apply what you learned from this experience so you stay motivated for the next one. Happy racing!

Source: Nike

I just realized as I sat to write this that it’s my last full recap before race day when 30,000+ of us will descend on the streets of San Francisco. (Let the pre-race nerves commence!)

Here’s a peek at the last week of training as mileage continued to drop for week 15:

• Tempo run – 8 mi 7mi
• Track workout – 3 x 1600s
• Long run – 10 mi 7mi/30min on elliptical

Yep, you’ll notice some extra modifications in there, which I’ll explain below.

But first, as you can see, we’ve finally entered into fall here in the Bay Area. I, for one, am thrilled – not only for the cooler running weather but because dusky evening runs mean maybe, just maybe, I can get away with these obnoxiously-bright calf sleeves?

In all seriousness, they did help me rock one of those few-and-far-between utterly awesome track workouts where everything feels effortless and running your heart out just hits the spot, like scratching an itch.

My 1600s were supposed to be in the 7:40-7:45 range, but I ran them in negative splits of 7:39, 7:23 and 7:13. I was so happy with how well the workout went that I tweeted one of my favorite running superstars, Kara Goucher.

And, guess what? She responded. I’m taking this to mean that we are now running BFFs.

(Yes, I realize my fastest mile was slower than her warm-ups. And, yes, I’ll be expecting my restraining order shortly)

Tuesday’s workout ended on such a high note, that I couldn’t believe it when I woke up Wednesday with that all-to-familiar dull ache in my left hip.

Oh. No.

Luckily Wednesday was a pool workout, so it was non-impact, but Thursday’s tempo run unraveled quickly. Not only was my hip still nagging me, but my planned route was closed due to construction, which forced me down onto the trails.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad change of scenery…but then I realized that I forgot to re-start my watch after I stopped a few times for photos, so I lost track of how far I had gone.

And then it was around the National Cemetery (about halfway through the run) that my headphones decided to stop working.

Ok, I thought, I can just double back under the Bay Bridge and make up the half mile or so that I may have lost on the detour, plus the scenery will help distract me.

But thanks to the government shutdown, that wasn’t going to happen.

You win some, you lose some, right?

Well, I decided to cut the run a bit short anyway to keep from pushing the hip issue, and when I got home I went on the injury offensive with a mixture of ice, Advil and KT Tape to try to keep things from getting any worse.

And what do you do when you’re trying to distract yourself from obsessing about a potential injury the week before a marathon?

Take a rest day and go to Napa, of course!

Ben and I took the day off and met up with a high school friend of mine, Lesley, and her husband Josh. We sampled good wine, ate delicious food (see below from my new favorite winery, Robert Sinskey) and had a blast catching up.

Funny thing, too…a few glasses of bubbles later, and suddenly the hip felt much better. Go figure!

To say I was worried going into Sunday’s long run, though, was putting it mildly.

My heart really wanted to complete the last long run on the schedule, but my brain was warning me not to push myself to the point of injury, so I settled on an easy seven miler.

It was a scenic loop by the Golden Gate, which helped distract me from the pangs in my hip every now and then.

We took it easy, and fortunately my hip held out, so I’m just crossing my fingers that I can continue to manage anything else that pops up in the final few days before the race.

In the meantime, my immediate plan of attack is a post-run massage and more Advil, and I’ll be taking it easy the rest of the week with some light cross-training and (potentially) one or two short runs.

Until then, it’s just putting one foot in front of the other…in the final approach to the starting line. Have a good week, everyone!

Source: Nike

Wake up, gear up, lace up, run, recover, repeat.

That pretty much sums up life as of late, but this week was a welcome change of pace with company in town and these runs on the schedule:

• Tempo run – 5 mi
• Track workout – 12 x 800s
• Long run – 15 mi

I wanted to knock out the 15-miler early to free up our weekend and was fortunate to have a few brave souls who were willing to join me for a mid-week sunrise run (shout out to Dan, Kelly and Kevin!).

Dan and Kelly completed their first trail marathon a few months back, and Kevin’s in the process of training for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, so I wasn’t surprised when we took off at a fast clip through the Marina and through Fisherman’s Wharf.

We continued along the waterfront to the Embarcadero before looping back to Kelly’s and Dan’s ‘hoods to drop them off after the first five miles.

Unfortunately, between the faster-than-usual pace, a few hills and not having fully recovered from last week’s 22.5-miler, my legs were beat.

Poor Kevin had to help hold the pieces together while I slowly unraveled over the next 10 or so miles, which I attributed to a few factors:

• First, was the fact that I didn’t give myself a full week between long runs; now I know to space ’em out, especially anything over 20 miles
• Next was the gradual buildup of lactic acid in my legs from the fast pace and early hills; I originally had a flatter route planned, but we changed it up at the last minute
• Finally, a tendon in my right foot started to act up again; all small items, but the sum of which made the final few miles of the run a real mental battle

I forged on, but was feeling discouraged and starting to spiral into negative self-talk (How can I do 26.2 miles if I can’t handle 15 with a few hills?!), but thankfully Kevin pulled me out of it and kept me focused on the finish line…which included our new post-run ritual of chocolate milk and bananas.

Fortunately this week’s track workout went a lot better. It’s taken me a few times (duh), but the message has finally sunk in: Pace yourself!

That’s what training’s all about – trial and error. You experiment a bit, push the limits, get your butt kicked, and zero in on that sweet spot where you can perform at your best without going off the rails (i.e. “hitting the wall” or “bonking,” which totally sucks and can break a race experience).

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after reading this article by running legend Amby Burfoot, which talks about relying more on your Brain-Body feedback than other pace-based mechanisms during a race.

Type-A runners tend to pick a goal and gut it out, no matter what. I’ve done this before. Sometimes it works (i.e. my half marathon PR), sometimes it results in epic fails (been there, done that…never want to go there again), but it’s very tough to maintain that push for 26.2 miles.

Burfoot proposes that we instead run the race at a perceived effort of 98 percent, versus “redlining” at a tough-to-maintain 100 percent. He says that the seconds lost are few, and that it’s actually a bargain—a value proposition, that sweet spot I mentioned above. And something I’m definitely considering when setting race-day goals.

So after running the first 800 to get a feel for pacing (1:53) on the track that day, I reined it in over the next 11 laps and kept the timing in a cluster of 1:46-1:53. Sure the goal was to keep it even tighter, in the range of 1:50-1:52, but you gotta start somewhere, and this is progress in the right direction.

The final run of the week was a five-miler, which was supposed to be a tempo run, but I used it as more of fun run to flush my legs out so I could start with a clean slate for lucky week 13 of training.

Instead of a morning run, I chose late afternoon on a gorgeous first day of fall, complete with 70-degree weather, clear skies and that perfect edge of crispness in the air.

My destination was the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, whose white building stands in stark contrast to the technicolor blooms that surround it.

My favorite spot was the Dahlia Dell, tucked in behind some trees. I stumbled upon it only while jogging around the building to take a closer look at the grounds.

It was the perfect way to round out the weekend, get focused for the home stretch of training and take a moment to appreciate the past season while we kick off a new one.

Speaking of reflection, have you ever played the game “High/Low” about the peaks and valleys of your day, week, etc.?

Well, this week’s low was that my right foot is still sore, so I’m walking the fine line between finishing out training and keeping it from getting worse. Of course, full rest is what’s required to heal it, which I’ll do if it gets any worse. But for now, I’m alternating ice, Epsom salt soaks (like this one) and Advil, plus I researched and am testing a new way to tie laces that’s supposed to help (Lydiard Lacing; check it out).

But this week’s high overshadowed that with some delicious meals, great conversations and reconnecting over fond memories with some beloved out-of-town visitors. A great way to fill up the mental, emotional and physical “tanks” that can all start to dwindle at this point in training.

I do have to say, though, my “dessert tank” is at max capacity after facing this mouthwatering Ghirardelli gauntlet…

The final score? Sea Cliff Sundae: 0, Jennifer: 1.

Stay tuned for next week’s update; less than one month until race day, and only one long run between now and the taper!