Jan
11
Dec
29
Would you like to know if you can run a 3hr.30 min. marathon? One general way to find out about what your marathon speed would be is to run a bunch of 800 meter runs (twice around a standard outdoor track) in an average of 3min.30sec. each, if you think you can run a 3hr. 30 minute marathon.
Between the 800s, jog for the same number of minutes it took you to run your repeats. If it took 3 minutes and 30 seconds then jog an easy recovery pace for 3 minutes and 30 seconds not worrying about how far that takes you. This will give you some of the necessary speed training and a general idea of the amount of speed you have to run a specific time in a marathon, in this case a 3:30 marathon. If it takes you an average of four minutes for the 800 meter runs with four minutes recovery jogs in between then you have the capacity for a four hour marathon.
Of course there are other factors involved in completing the marathon in this time or any other time. You must do regular marathon training, endurance runs, etc. along with these regular workouts or similar types of speedwork. You can find inspiration, motivation and more specific advice in my marathon training guide called, ‘Seven Steps to a Successful Marathon.’
My runner friend begins running his Yasso 800s a couple of months before his goal marathon. The first week he does four. On each subsequent week, he adds one more until he reaches 10. The last workout of Yasso 800s should be completed at least 10 days before your marathon, but 14 to 17 days would probably be better. He also suggests that the rest of the time just do your normal marathon training, paying special attention to weekend long runs. Give yourself plenty of easy runs and maybe a day or two off during the week.
Dec
29
Creativity Where You Least Expect It
By Arpan DeAngelo
In the creative thinking process the mind can experience concepts or thoughts that are uplifting, inspiring, or plainly unexpected. The experience of creativity could be manifested in activities where one may least expect it.
Let us think of the common experience of procrastination. I found myself procrastinating quite a bit in starting to write this article until I realized how creative I was being by creating excuses to procrastinate. There always seemed to be something more important to do to fill the time I would have taken to write this. Although I knew about this opportunity for some weeks now as the deadline was moved ahead quite a bit, I creatively kept inching towards the new deadline with procrastination while in my heart I really wanted to write something.
Perhaps my mind did not feel creative enough to sit down and get my fingers to type anything meaningful. That in itself was a creative act of procrastination that I finally decided to express here. We have all heard of, or have had creative excuses to procrastinate or even avoid responsibilities in many walks of life. Finding ways to skip school, work or other daily routines that may not always be the most fun or fulfilling, can be a very creative exercise. We all have heard the once creative excuse for the student who did not do his homework: “The dog ate my homework”. This now trite excuse I am sure has been expanded upon and modernized in ways like:”My hard drive crashed” or “My laser printer ran out of toner.”
Other unexpected manifestations of creativity can be seen in exercise although it may sometimes look or even feel boring. When running in a long distance race for instance, one must think of ways to keep the energy high and the inspiration level strong enough to endure the tiredness and possible pain and other problems that may arise. We have all heard of creative problem solving in other walks of life. In a long race one may have to react quickly and convincingly in creative ways as they encounter situations and problems that may try to stop their progress at every moment.
One example from an experience I had many years ago was when I was trying to run a 31 mile training run for my 31st birthday. It was late at night and I was not feeling that well. I decided to ride my bicycle 31 miles instead so as to get it over with more quickly and go to bed so I can get up and go to work in the morning. I felt this was a creative way to get around the 31 miles of running although in my heart I really wanted to run the miles for my birthday which was becoming a tradition with me at the time.
After a two hour bike ride I felt like I should run at least a few laps of the 3 mile loop I was on. I tried to find ways to convince myself to run the 31 miles anyway without trying to rationalize all the obvious reasons why I should not do it. It was 3:00 in the morning by then, I had a cold, I had to work in the morning, I already rode 31 miles and I was a bit tired. All this made sense to me but still in my heart I wanted to run the 31 miles. I had to start some creative problem solving quickly before surrendering to logic and rational thinking.
I decided to try and utilize some of the things I learned from meditation through the years to that point. If I could rid my mind of thoughts perhaps I could experience more inspiration and energy that would keep me going for another few hours. Since creative energy and creativity come from the Creator then I would try to tap in on some of that creative inspiration as I ran. So I looked at the dark sky where I observed the moon and the stars. Through rhythmical breathing and conscious focusing I tried to get rid of all thoughts about time and just identify with the infinite space which we are part of. As I silently tried to experience the spectacle of the vast sky and infinite Universe in which we live, my quiet mind did not resist and instead some creative thoughts starting coming to me.
I realized that as I looked upon the moon that it was also doing ‘laps’ around the earth and it has been doing this for billions of years. The earth we are on is also going around and around in circles for billions of years without stopping or hesitation. Everything is spinning with it, even the microscopic electrons in the atoms, etc. We are not separate from all this. We are part of this whole amazing spinning system, larger than the largest and smaller than the smallest. So instead of separating myself from it with my mind I tried to feel the creative energy which was being produced around me at every second. As I circled the course over and over I realized that this creative energy which was not being blocked by limited mind anymore was giving me the strength and joy to complete the 31 miles that in my heart I wanted to do originally.
This form of creativity which may not have a tangible manifestation nevertheless was an obvious experience of creative energy that allowed me to do something my mind was resisting, thus allowing me to solve this dilemma in ways unexpected. In the creative arts of writing, painting, music, etc. one may get mental blocks that do not allow the creative energy to flow freely. If one can surrender the thoughts and limiting mind to higher realities through concentration and meditation then creativity is bound to flow more freely.
We see then that creativity can be manifested in the creative arts as well as in other unexpected walks of life as long as the source of creativity is tapped in some form or another. According to Sri Chinmoy, who himself tapped into and manifested an enormous amount of creativity in every field of endeavor he undertook his whole life, “Creativity does not mean that one has to write poems or articles, or compose songs. Creativity means one’s inner concern for the expansion of what he is or what he has. When one consciously wants to go beyond his capacity and beyond his achievement, only then do we find real creativity, only then can creativity have its proper value, worth and purpose.”
With this very meaningful statement in mind, let us all go about life invoking the creative spirit which springs from the source of creativity and can feed us at every moment. Again in the words of Sri Chinmoy, “Where does one find the source of creativity? If one wants his creation to be permanent and eternal, then that creation must come from the soul—not from the mind, not from the vital, not even from the heart. In the heart, in the mind, in the vital and even in the gross physical, one can also see creativity, but the achievements of that creativity can never be lasting. It is only the soul’s creativity that can be abiding.”(Excerpts from ‘Illumination-Fruits’ by Sri Chinmoy)
Dec
18
Speed Training for the Distance Athlete.
[The following article was written by Adrian Faccioni, the Managing Director of GPSports Systems, a sport performance evaluation company who have developed GPS/heart rate capture technology (www.gpsports.com)]
We can define speed as: The ability to quickly move a limb, or quickly move the body from one point to another. Both of these definitions relate to distance running because one thing the distance runner needs to be able to do is to develop what is know as a speed reserve.
The great thing about speed training for the distance athlete is that it is REALLY EASY to improve an athlete’s raw speed because typically the distance athlete does so little speed work that these underused fibres and nervous pathways lay dormant just waiting for the opportunity to fire up and have you feel like you should get back on the track and running some 100m races!
The key to regaining some of that lost spark is to stimulate the nervous system in a different manner to what it is used to. This can be done in several ways:
1. Pure speed training
I like to take the distance athlete away from their typical environment (running tracks) and put them in a place where speed is conducive (the 100m start at the local track). I then put the athlete through their paces, which might include:
Teaching basic running drills
These drills teach the athlete to pick up their feet faster, work on quicker leg turnover and have then focus on better core stability which is vital for faster running speed.
Drills include high knees, heel to bum flicks, running over small hurdles (only 4-6inches in height).
Acceleration drills
These drills allows the athlete to focus on getting from point A to point B as fast as possible.
Drills include jog in to start line then sprint for 40m-50m.
Walk to start line and sprint for 40-50m
Standing start sprint for 40-50m
Different body positions to sprint (pushup position, laying on ground, etc).
Maximum speed drills (main neural training).
These drills are specifically aimed at improving the neural output to the legs.
Drills include having the athlete run up to a line/cone (about 95%) then between two marks on the track they have to turn their legs over as quickly as they can.
Importantly in these drills the athlete needs to be able to hear and feel a difference and as a coach you should be able to see the difference also.
IMPORTANT
Short speed intervals are not fitness training (maybe for sprinters!!). The athlete should take plenty of time (slow walk recovery) between runs to make sure that each effort is at 100%. It is the regular stimulation of the nervous system (@ 100%) that leads to increased speed capacity.
2. Speed training in endurance sessions.
This can be achieved by having the athlete perform varied speed components during any typical endurance session. One example can be having the athlete perform a dozen 5 second sprints in any one session. These can be at set time intervals or for more flexibility the sprints are performed when the athlete feels ready (as long as they get all sprints in during the session).
A typical mistake I see in this type of training is where the athlete tries to run too far each sprint, leading to a less than a 100% effort which results in increased lactic tolerance (not a bad thing) but doesn’t do much for the speed improvement that they are after.
Once you have stimulated your speed capacity, you then have at your calling “speed gears” allowing you to change pace quickly if required (great in competition to break from a pack, to keep up with the pack, surges, etc)
Increased speed capacity creates two opportunities:
1. To run at current race pace using less energy (more energy left at the end of the race – for surges, fast finishes)
2. To run at a new race pace – therefore improving overall time (time trial type performance).
Dec
17
Ted Corbitt 24 Hour Race, November 8-9, 2003, Astoria Park, N.Y.C.
A Personal Account by Arpan DeAngelo
Considered by many as the father of long distance running and racing in the U.S. and still a humble figure in the ultra-running community in the New York City area where he lives, Ted Corbitt at age 84, never ceases to amaze the running and non-running community alike. In an official 24 Hour race held in Queens, New York City, this past weekend (Nov. 8-9) to honor one of his great achievements, Ted walked, with no significant rest breaks, a distance of 68.93 miles. The temperature dipped to 30F, or just below freezing, and colder than that with a stiff wind chill in our faces coming out of the north. Luckily the sun helped warm us up a bit as we started out at 10 o’clock Saturday morning at Astoria Park, under the Triboro Bridge and next to the East River.
I forgot just how challenging and difficult a 24 hour race is, not having done one in many years. But having done many other ultra-marathons including multi-day races, I felt that I could handle this race even though I was not properly trained for it specifically. To stay on the course, which in this case was a quarter mile rubberized track, for the whole 24 hours when your body would naturally want to sleep at night and you’ve run or walked usually much more than a mere 26 mile marathon already, is a challenge not many runners dare to face.
To be in such a race to honor Ted and to be running and walking with him personally in the race was an opportunity and an honor too great for me to pass up. I ran in this particular race which was administered by the Broadway Ultra Society, or B.U.S., ten years ago to honor the 20th Anniversary of Ted’s 24 Hour American Record he set at the age of 54. This time, ten years later, the race celebrated the 30th Anniversary of that same achievement. But now ten years older, Ted still walked the whole time. Out of 35 participants Ted placed 17th and was by far the oldest participant at age 84.
When I am with Ted for such an extended period of time I really see and feel the profound qualities of humility and dedication. Ted’s contributions to the sport of long distance running are too extensive to list here. Briefly, Ted is one of the founders and first president of the NYRRC as well as founder of its newsletter, and first president of the. RRCA, as well as a key figure in establishing the NYC Marathon. According to Ted and many others his most important contribution to long distance running was developing and establishing the standardization methods for certification of running courses around the world. Without those methods of certification, we would never know if any10K races, marathons, etc. were exactly the same. Consequently, world and course records would be meaningless.
Ted has also run over 200 marathons and ultra-marathons including several American records at various distances. He was a member of the 1952 U.S. Olympic Team, running with other immortals such as Emil Zatopek. But as all the runners of his day have virtually quit running or just naturally passed away, Ted still remains strongly involved in the running community even as a competitor setting numerous age records and defying his age and our own limited understanding of self-transcendence.
Ted is a quiet and humble individual, saving his energy for meaningful pursuits rather than for his own self-glorification. Walking with him in the race or passing him on the track as he continues to walk relentlessly to his goals, one always gets the sense that the greatness of this human being comes not through his achievements but from his goodness. Although Ted has much to be proud about in terms of personal achievements, anyone who gets to know him even briefly can see that his immortality is being formed not only by his unwavering self-transcendence, but more importantly by his soft, unassuming humility and respect for all human beings. If this is what we can learn from Ted and derive from long distance running and racing, then I would say that I am glad and proud to be in the same sport as Ted and learn the same lessons that this truly immortal man has learned and has conveyed to others by his exemplary life.
On the more mundane level of physical effort and discipline, I was inspired by Ted to persevere in this seemingly endless race until the last tick of the clock. To be running and walking in circles minute after minute and hour after hour with only an occasional restroom break can seem to some individuals like a futile pursuit. Whether it is a 400 metre loop, or a mile loop or an out and back or continuous course, I felt that once I focused my mind and energy in the right place, it is just a matter of relaxing into a steady pace and keeping my energy level up through hydration and food..
This particular race had a few extra challenges besides the time factor. It started out a 42 degrees F. and got colder from thereon. Although the sun was shining during the day which definitely helped matters a bit, there also was a strong wind from the north coming right off of the East River. In this case it is important to dress warmly in layers. If you are too warm and start sweating a lot, then you can get a chill when you run into the wind. Depending on your own metabolism, it is best to be flexible in the amount of gear you wear. Some people wore shorts while others were bundled up. I would take off my hat on the tailwind side and put it on when I ran into the wind.
I personally knew that I could not go all out in this race as I was not prepared to take it that seriously on a physical level. But I do have the attitude in this race as in any other race that since I am putting out all this effort and energy, I might as well use it to make some progress on the spiritual level. Using various breathing techniques and some chanting or singing, I tried to effortlessly move in a way that did not entirely depend on time and space. In other words, although I was physically going forwards and getting credit for each lap, I did not want to focus on the distance or time as my primary goal. If one thinks too much about distance and time in a long race such as this, one can easily lose inspiration and develop doubts or fear long before they reach the goal. Learning to be very much in the present moment only with the mind, body and soul, is an important factor in this type of race. Ted seems to do that quite well.
Since I was not really competing with anyone intentionally nor was I trying to prove anything to anyone, I tried to relax into a pace and rhythm that would keep me going for as long as possible, Although this may sound inspiring and somewhat effortless, it takes tremendous focus and discipline while having to also be aware of one’s energy level, body temperature, and condition of certain muscles and skin to avoid cramping and blistering. Any seemingly small problem can turn into a major disaster in such a long race if you are not aware of all the vital signs and physical systems and changes that you are going through from moment to moment..
This method seemed to be working for me for the first half of the race. In 12 hours I covered 67 miles which I would have been happy with even for a 12 hour race with my present level of fitness. Richie, the race director, was thinking about turning it into a 12 hour race when the weather got colder and colder and there were some problems with the heaters for the helpers and in the rest areas. After consulting a number of runners and Ted himself, who Richie was most worried about, it was decided to keep the race going through the cold windy night until 10 a.m. when it was originally scheduled to finish. Part of me was happy to keep going and try to reach the original goal of 24 hours while another part of me would have felt tremendous relief and a certain amount of happiness at finishing early.
Needless to say, the second half of the race was much more difficult for obvious reasons. The weather had gotten 10F degrees colder, the legs were getting much weaker and tighter and the tendency to want to sleep at night started setting in at around the same time. Fortunately I recognized two significant things that helped me to deal with these difficulties somewhat.
The first was seeing Ted staying the course and having to go through all the challenges we were facing. At age 84 and having more accomplishments under his belt than a dozen men half his age, he could easily have been home in a comfortable chair with a nice book and a cup of hot soup and nobody would have thought the lesser of him. Herein lies his greatness and here I was I was being part of it. After being around Ted I could never face giving up because of a few discomforts, tiredness and a bit of pain.
Another special treat which created a pleasant diversion for us all was a full moon with a lunar eclipse which happened from 8 p.m. until about midnight. Watching a full bright moon disappear into the shade of the very planet we were running on and then reappearing again within two hours was an energizing experience. To think that the moon has been doing laps around the earth for billions and billions of years at the same pace without once thinking about how far that is or worrying about the purpose of it all, and that we complain about a few hours around a tiny track because of a few discomforts, I felt that from this perspective it really was not a big deal to be able to finish this race. After all, we were now over half way through, Although at least half the runners either quit or went inside the warm building to rest or sleep, I knew that if I kept my mind focused on only the positive things that were energizing and inspiring me that I would do much better than I could possibly do otherwise and enjoy the experience much more.
Needless to say, this approach worked along with a nice breakfast of fresh pancakes and a newly rising sun starting to raise the cold temperatures a few degrees. More importantly though, there was Ted, trudging around like a diehard rechargeable battery. Whenever I passed Ted, which was about every other lap, I would greet him or ask how he was doing. Usually he replied with a positive “O.K.”, or just a friendly nod. Sometimes he was smiling and sometimes he seemed to be just trying to stay awake. In the cold of the night he wore a winter hat under his hood that covered most of his face and it seemed as if he was ageless.
Earlier in the race I had noticed him wearing a hat I had given him for his 84th birthday back in January. Although I had purchased it in the tropical north of Australia, I felt that it would come in handy someday for Ted. This was a pleasant surprise that he chose this day to make good use of the gift I had given him ten months earlier.
I was fortunate enough to be with Ted in the last five minutes of the race and walk with him until the final whistle. For me this was an experience that made the long and cold 24 hours up to that point all worthwhile. Although I felt some joy at what seemed like my own accomplishment of 112 miles and fourth place overall, I was much more uplifted and honored by Ted’s accomplishments. I was fortunate to be able to participate with Ted in this event along with the other 33 runners and many helpers and the B.U.S., without whom this would not have been possible. Since our achievements pale in comparison to Ted’s, I did not go into detail about the final results. To learn more about this particular race and the results thereof, one can go to www.newyorkultrarunning.org.
Dec
17
Journey to the Unknown
A 3,100 mile orbit of concrete, automobiles and local humanity,
Lightly spiced with a hint of nature
And fed by the Grace of God,
Supported with the efforts of friends
Who sympathize with the pain,
The Joys
And the challenges
Facing at every moment
These handful of Hero-Warriors.
Running, walking, struggling
To the beat of their own
Undying aspirations
In this perpetually moving
Epic adventure,
These Ultimate Survivors
Of obstacles unimaginable
Are proving to humanity
With their unparalleled perseverance,
Adamantine wills
And unswerving Faith,
That the impossible can be done,
And the Universal Energy
Can be unleashed,
To raise our standards And lift our minds
Beyond the limits of our broken bodies
And faithless thoughts,
To reveal the Beauty and the Power
Of life’s long and arduous
Journey to the Unknown.
Arpan DeAngelo
This poem was inspired by the longest official footrace in the world, ‘The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race’ which has been conducted by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon every summer since 1997 in Queens, New York. The runners have up to two months to complete the distance of 3100 miles on foot, averaging anywhere from 50 to 70 or more miles a day. The days are only 18 hours long, as the runners have to leave the half-mile course by midnight and start the next day at 6 a.m.
With much help and support from the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team and other friends or family, each runner challenges their own limitations to gradually work their way closer and closer to the lofty goal. In the process of doing so they not only discover sources of strength and determination they may not have experienced before, but also inspire others to face their own personal challenges in life to keep transcending their own limitations in whatever aspect of their life is important to them.
Writing this poem in 2002 after many years of helping runners in the annual race, I was inspired by Sri Chinmoy himself to attempt the race in 2004. With much difficulty I finished the race in 52 days and 10 hours and became the first person over the age of 50 years to complete the distance. For this I offer tremendous personal gratitude to Sri Chinmoy who inspired me to do it and expressed his own faith in me doing it when I myself was lacking in faith. I am also very grateful to the helpers and organizers of this event who do an unimaginable amount of work to allow the runners to attempt and succeed in reaching their lofty goals.
For more information and results of these annual races please visit this website: http://www.3100.ws/