Pete Tanguay

Accidentally clicked on the running folder in my Garmin software and saw my total mileage and calories burned since I started using it in late February 2008.  Kind of mind boggling.  This device is a testimonial to the truth – “Know the Score, Report the Score and the Score will Improve”. 

I recently asked a very accomplished running friend some advice on training and getting faster at my running.  He had a lot of good tips, but also some excellent quotes/thoughts that I enjoyed:

“You just have to train hard and believe that the breakthrough is around the corner.”

“Your body has to be convinced your really serious before allowing for the physiological adaptations that permit you to reach a new level.”

So, patience is a big piece to the puzzle that’s not talked about enough.

Remember these words from the running doctor, George Sheehan, when he wrote, “What should I do after running a marathon?” Sheehan anwers his own question with “Run another, and another, and find that much more about myself.” With experience comes faster times. Sheehan would agree that repeatedly putting yourself through this cycle, You will “become the person you were meant to be.”

Thanks Bob.
(read about his 2007 Kona Ironman)

I was talking to someone who has qualified for and run the Boston Marathon and asked her advice. She said the key workout was the weekly Yasso 800’s. Basically if you want to run a 3:35 marathon, you need to be able to run 10 800’s in 3 minutes and 35 seconds each with a 3 minute 35 second rest between them. 800 meters is about 1/2 mile. Start with 4 the first week and add one each week until you get to ten, which should be a couple weeks before your race. Bart Yasso was the race services director for Runners World and a you can click here for a link to an article about this.

Had a great talk with Jimmy Green this morning at breakfast. He’s been out
of running for the past few years but when he was running, he trained hard
and was very successful at short and long distances. Here is some of his
advice:

Talking with him affirmed the value of talking to experience. There is a
lot of good training literature out there, and most of what he said is in
line with it. However, to be able to sit at Stoby’s on Saturday morning and
hear the life experiences of someone who ran a 3:14 marathon and was among
the people who started the Conway running club 18 years ago is priceless.

Excellent posture video to help with posture, especially when running, in Danny’s Chi Running blog. Basically he says to work on lengthening the back of your neck to keep your body aligned, increase your lung capacity by up to 30% and improve your posture/running.

Conversation with Jeff, Dana and Christian after running: When running in the cold, if you head out to run and you are warm, you have too much on. Protect your head as that is where you lose heat first. Keep your body evenly covered as large muscles in the legs will lose a lot of heat, even though they don’t feel cold. The body will try to keep the heat to the extremeties first. In the summer time, don’t wear a hat as you want to lose heat. Consider switching to a visor.