50 marathons in 50 days

I just finished reading “50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days – and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance” by Dean Karnazes. He’s a totally amazing badass runner who ran, as you may have guessed from the title, 50 marathons in 50 days – in 50 different states. He’s also done the Western States 100, the Badwater (a 135-miler through Death Valley) and a 199-mile relay as a solo runner. Holy crap.

I also found out that he really didn’t start running serious distances until he was 30 years old. He ran as a kid – he tells a story about how he used to run home from kindergarten and gradually started lengthening his route because he loved it so much – and did cross country in high school. If I remember right, he completed a marathon before he was 15, but he had a bad experience with a coach and stopped running altogether shortly thereafter.

He was still totally active in his teens and 20s, but not with running. Then he had some kind of epiphany on his 30^th birthday and headed out for a run after a night out drinking. And I mean immediately after: he came home from the bar, laced up his yardwork sneakers, and headed out. He ended up running all night, something like 28 miles – can you imagine, after not running any distance of consequence for 15 years? – and that kick-started his running obsession. Now he’s a total running maniac, obviously.

Probably needless to say, I was pretty riveted by the book. There were lots of bits that felt particularly useful and/or inspiring to me, so I thought I’d transcribe them for posterity (please note that all boldface type is my emphasis):

• injuredrunner.com -- a good resource to identify and treat common running injuries.

• "While running a race in Portugal, I noticed that the spectators along the course kept shouting the same phrase over and over: 'Quem corre por gosto, não cansa.' Afterward I asked someone to tell me what it meant. 'Who runs for pleasure never gets tired,' I was told."

• "In recent years, steep hill sprints have become popular in the elite ranks of distance running. Of course, they're beneficial for runners of every level. To do them, find the steepest hill around and sprint up it at maximum effort for just ten to twelve seconds. Walk back down and repeat a few times. Try to work up to six to eight reps per outing. Steep hill sprints help build a more powerful stride, and also reduce injury risk by strengthening the running muscles."

• (Note from Anna: I so want to try this -- it's my fantasy to do it this summer if my plantar fasciitis lets up.) "The legendary running couch Jeff Galloway has probably trained more first-time marathoners than anyone. Jeff is a hero of mine and teaches a unique training system that includes regular, brief walking breaks. He's also among the few running coaches who encourage runners training for a marathon to do training runs exceeding 26.2 miles in distance (including the walking breaks). Beginners who follow this advice report that the walking breaks make these 'overdistance' workouts perfectly manageable (provided they do them toward the end of the training process, when they're already pretty fit) and that they're great confidence builders.

I recommend a slight modification to Jeff's approach that I simply call runabout. Inspired by the Australian Aboriginal practice of walkabout, it works like this: After you've put in some good training and built a fairly high level of baseline fitness, pick a weekend morning to set out the door with a running pack containing a credit card, a cell phone, and some fluid and snacks -- maybe also a map or a GPS if you want to get really sophisticated. Choose a direction (say, north) and start running. Keep running until you feel like taking a break. You can jog, walk or hike -- just try to stay on your feet. When you're ready for some more running, go for it. If you see a Starbucks and feel like a latte, stop and grab one. Stick a straw in it and drink as you run.

Try to make a complete day of it. Don't worry about how many miles you actually run. Focus on staying on your feet and on moving forward one way or another, whether it's by running, hiking or walking, for six to eight hours. Mostly, have fun. Not only will you get a great workout and build confidence for an upcoming marathon, but a runabout is also just an interesting way to spend a day.

Personally, I particularly enjoy starting before sunrise and finishing after sunset. Rarely in our modern society do we spend an entire day outside, and there's just something enchanting about watching a day go by from the exterior of a building rather than locked inside."

• Here's what Dean had to say about loss of motivation, and getting yourself out the door for a run: "I face motivation killers just like every other runner. My way of dealing with them is very simple. Psychologists call it projection. Nonpsychologists might call it laying a guilt trip on yourself! I simply think about how much better I will surely feel after running, and I ask myself, 'Do you really want to pass that up?' Over the course of the past 15 years, I have run more than five thousand times. Not once have I ever felt worse after finishing a run than I did before I started. I always feel better after a run. My knowledge of this fact is a great motivator. Whenever I find myself tempted to skip a run for a dubious reason such as bad weather, I just remind myself of that wonderful post-run feeling, and moments later I am out the door. Give it a try. If you're anything like me, you'll be pleased with the results."

• "A convenient way to monitor your recovery status is to take your pulse first thing each morning. A pulse rate that is above normal suggests that your body is still working to recover from a recent workout and may require additional rest." (Note from Anna: of course, this assumes that you know your average resting heart rate. I just started taking mine this morning ... I plan to do it every day for a while so I can get a sense of what's usual for me.)

• "According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. the following 20 foods are excellent sources of antioxidants -- nature's recovery potion: small read beans (also called Mexican red beans), blueberries, red kidney beans, pinto beans, kiwi fruit, cranberries, artichokes, blackberries, prunes, raspberries, strawberries, Red Delicious apples, Granny Smith apples, pecans, sweet cherries, black plums, broccoli, black beans, plums, Gala apples."

• "Maintaing a diet that's rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fats will help your muscles recover faster after runs. Large amounts of free radicals are released from damaged muscle cells through the inflammation process after runs. These free radicals cause additional tissue damage, which may explain why you may feel sorer one or two days after a hard run than you do immediately afterward. Fruits and vegetables are full of antioxidants your body can use to neutralize free radicals and help limit post-run muscle damage. Omega-3 fats aid in the production of anti-inflammatory compounds that boost the muscle repair process between runs. Good sources of omega-3 fats are salmon, flaxseeds and fish oil supplements."

• runnersworld.com has, in Dean's opinion, one of the better calculators that can help project marathon time based on time for a shorter distance.

• "I enjoy the challenge of overcoming the pain and suffering of extreme bodily fatigue in my quest to explore how far the human body can go. The thrill I get from testing my mental toughness on the run isn't really much different from the kick others get from testing other strengths, from the ability to shoot a perfect round of golf to the ability to express impassioned emotions through music. The harder I push myself in a run, the more satisfied I am afterward. And it's the same for most runners. Giving 95 percent effort in an event leaves you feeling a little hollow. But when you're hanging out with friends or family, drinking water and stretching after finishing an event in which you know you left it all out there, the feeling of pride and accomplishment can't be beat. You did your best; you gave it everything you had."

• "I believe mental toughness comes from your conscious willingness to push aside pain. You can't change your genes or your childhood experiences, but you can control your ability to tolerate increasing discomfort and pain when running hard. Building mental toughness really comes down to saying yes with your heart when your body says no, and getting the job done despite the pain."

• "Some runners find that performing technique drills helps them improve their running form. Here's a selection of technique drills to try:

Butt Kicks: Run in place for 30 seconds with your thighs locked in a neutral position and try to kick your butt with your heel on each stride.

High Knees: Run in place for 30 seconds, lifting your knee as high as possible on each stride.

One-Legged Run: Run (hop) on one leg for twenty strides, then switch to the other leg for twenty more."

• To correct overstriding, which is the most common technique error that causes running injuries according to Dean, you must shorten your stride: "Instead of extending your leg ahead of your body and landing heel-first with our foot well in front of your hips, consciously drop your foot to the ground directly underneath your hips. Leaning slightly forward, not at the waist but from the ankles, might help you make this adjustment more easily. At first, it will probably feel strange. Keep at it and soon enough your new stride will be second nature."

• "When the early onset of fatigue causes you to have serious doubts about whether you can finish a run, try not to give in to these doubts. Instead, buy some time for a second wind. How do you do that? First, slow down, or even walk. Second, reflect back on any previous experiences when you felt just as bad as you do now, but still managed to get through it, and remind yourself, 'If I could do it then, there's hope.' Finally, don't allow yourself to quit until you've gone at least one step farther than you thought you could go when your doubts emerged." (Note from Anna: I wish this had been fresh in my mind yesterday.)

• "Sometimes quitting is necessary. However, you don’t want to quit with that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that perhaps you could have finished after all, if only you hadn’t given up too soon. One way to avoid this scenario is to make the commitment that you won’t stop until the course is officially closed. If you commit to keep going until the course is closed, rather than quitting before time runs out, you will go home with a confident certainty that you truly gave it you all.”

• "Some people have the wrong idea about second winds, just as they do about the mythical runner’s high. A second wind will not necessarily make running easy; it just help you continue running hard. It will still hurt. If you pace yourself appropriately and apportion your effort well, your second wind can carry you a measurable distance, maybe even to your stopping point, be it a finish line or your front door. You can’t always count on a second wind. Some days you just have to put your head down and grind it out. Those runs can be the most satisfying ones of all.”

• "Many runners operate with a tacit belief that if they don’t have at least 25 or 30 minutes available to run, it’s not even worth bothering to lace up their shoes. That’s not true. An aggressive 10-minute run is worth the effort. You can burn more than 150 calories in a hard 10-minute run, which is also long enough to make a measurable difference in terms of how you feel for the rest of the day. Plus, 10-minute blocks add up quickly. If you do a 10-minute run instead of saying ‘Aww, forget it,’ once every week, you will complete 13 more hours of running over the course of a year – enough to prevent roughly four pounds of weight gain and produce a measurable increase in your cardiovascular health and fitness.

• "Adaptability is critical to success in running. Each runner is unique. There is no single formula for running success that works equally well for everyone. Some runners are naturally speedy and struggle to build endurance; others are the opposite. Some runners are injury-resistant, others are injury-prone. Some runners recover quickly from hard workouts while others take longer. To continually improve as a runner, try to really tune in to how your body responds to training and continuously evolve your training methods accordingly. As Charles Darwin has written, ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’ ”

• "As your running progresses and evolves, try to never lose sight of running for the sheer enjoyment of it. Kids sometimes ask me who the best runner is. ‘The best runner,’ I tell them, ‘is the one who’s having the most fun.’ ”

• "One of the best way to adapt your training for improved performance is to identify and attack a weak link in your fitness. Most runners have a clear sense of their greatest fitness weakness. Usually it’s one of three things: lack of speed, lack of endurance, or lack of race fitness (or the ability to sustain faster speeds for prolonged periods of time). Addressing your fitness weaknesses is simple. If your primary weakness is lack of speed, include more high-intensity intervals in your future training. This might come at the expense of duration (going faster for a shorter distance) in the short term, but building speed may boost your cardiovascular fitness to such a degree that your endurance ultimately gets a lift, as well. If your primary weakness is lack of endurance, include more long endurance workouts in your future training. Maybe try dual daily workouts to achieve this end. Running twice a day sometimes makes it easier to build your endurance. And if your primary weakness is lack of race fitness, a great way to work on this quality is to include shorter-distance races as training runs. For instance, if you’re training for a half-marathon, sign up for some 10k races beforehand to build your race fitness. If your goal is a marathon, enter a couple half-marathons beforehand as fast training runs.