Training Tips by Coach Faith

Faith and crew at the VT100k 2018
PC: Scott Livingston

By: Faith Raymond

Well!!  It’s been a up to a month since we registered for the Vermont 100 Endurance Race as a part of Team Run 2 Empower and we’ve all been busy fundraising, enjoying the holidays, and looking forward to 2020.  With six months to go until race day (yikes, is it really that close?) some of you might be wondering how to drag yourselves off the comfy off-season sofa and get cracking.

Easing back into training can be a challenge for some of us (you know, not me, but some of you!).  We compare ourselves to our last year’s selves, to our friends and training partners, and to the runners that we are hoping to be when the gun goes off at 4am/9am on that July morning.  We also might be feeling a little overwhelmed with the enormity of the job we’ve bitten off for ourselves, especially if this is our first race of this distance.  Let’s talk about a few things we can do to make the transition easier, and some details that we can focus on as we ramp up our training.

• Be realistic.  You are never going to be the same as you were last year, 5 years ago, ten years ago.  And you don’t know if or when you will get any better in the future.  The only thing that you CAN do is to be the best that you can be RIGHT NOW.

• Be honest.  Do you really know how much time everyone else took off?  Do you know what other things they might have been doing in terms of cross-training, nutrition, recovery?  No two people train or recover the same way, so you shouldn’t expect to come out of the gate the same way, either.

• Be present.  When you tackle a workout, be an active participant in each moment of it.  Don’t zone out to your tunes or worry about that 20-mile run you have planned for next weekend.  Pay attention to your breathing, your foot strike, your posture.  Take in the nutrition and hydration that you need.  Make each workout count.

• Be in the know.  Why are you doing a workout?  Is it a recovery run?  Is it a threshold run?  Is it a VO2max workout?  Knowing WHY you are doing a workout can be as important as the workout itself.  If you don’t know why you are doing a certain workout, ask your coach, training buddy, or teammate to explain the purpose of certain workouts.

• Be patient.  Every run is not going to be a PR, nor should it be.  Eighty percent of your workouts should be easy, well below your threshold effort.  If you get annoyed because you aren’t getting faster each time you run, see above.

• Be happy.  Yes, smile while you run!!  If you don’t believe that smiling can make your runs more enjoyable and more effective, ask Eliud Kipchoge.

• Be observant.  Feeling particularly fatigued after your workout?  Check back over what you did over the past few days.  Did you get enough sleep?  Did you hydrate well?  Did you fuel properly?  Or did you binge watch Criminal Minds all weekend while scarfing ice cream and knocking back Red Bulls?  Often the reasons we feel sluggish after (or during) a run have nothing to do with running at all.

• Be encouraging.  Instead of getting frustrated at your friend’s pace and thinking snarky thoughts, drop them an encouraging message.  Cheerleading for someone else has a sneaky way of making YOU feel better.  Spread some joy and watch it come back to you – and it might just make your feet lighter on your next run, too!! 

• Be prepared.  Now is a great time to start thinking about your fueling and hydration strategies for those long runs (and your race!).  Test out different foods to see what works and what doesn’t and keep a short list of your preferences to leave with your crew instructions.  Have a couple of foods that are your favorites and then a few options for when those favorites become, well, unpalatable late in the race (trust me – they will).

• Be focused in your training.  Include plenty of hills (hello, Vermont!!) and roads (gasp).  The VT100 course is primarily hard packed dirt roads and if you aren’t prepared for the pounding, you’ll pay for it on race day.  While we all love the challenge and solitude of a single-track trail, focusing on race specific training will pay off when you toe the line.

• Be kind – TO YOURSELF!!  We are our own biggest critics, no secret about that.  Make your relationship with yourself a priority and think about the things you say and think about yourself.  Would you say those things to your best friend?  

Remember, running is supposed to be fun.  You may want to get a PR, or a podium spot, or finish that 100 miler or 100k, and that’s great!!  However, running is about the journey and not the destination, and each of our journeys is different.  Stop worrying and enjoy the process.  Happy running!

~Faith

Faith and Teammates at a TR2E group run in 2019

More about Coach Faith:

Faith resides in CT with her husband Joe and two kitties. She is a part-time substitute teacher for math and science (She has her Masters degree in Marine Science) and a full time running coach.  In her spare time, she loves to cook and create new recipes.  This is her second year on TR2E (officially) and she has completed numerous marathons, ultras and has a 100 mile finish under her belt.  

Amy's comments:
Two fun facts of what makes Faith special to our VT100 family (beyond just Faith being Faith and the boundless cheerleader for us all).  First, she and her husband decided that for their wedding a few years ago, rather than receive gifts, they would accept donations towards Vermont Adaptive.  This was so generous, and tells you what an amazing and selfless couple they are.  Also, Faith is one of the elite crew who both run and rode at the Vermont 100 (finished the 50-mile ride, and the 100k run!).  Pretty amazing!