I am pleased to announce that I have designed some additional ready-made training plans specifically for the Washington, DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run.
These training plans are available on my TrainingPeaks profile.
I have designed three separate tiers of training for each plan: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Both the Rock 'n' Roll and the Cherry Blossom are perfectly timed for experienced runners and for novices alike, and I always welcome the opportunity to work with both kinds of athletes.
If you have any questions about the training plans, or if you are interested in a more personalized coaching experience, you can feel free to contact me. I will be happy to receive your inquiries.
In the meantime, it's a new year. Get out there, and chase down those goals!
Keep it steady.
Coach Wilson
Showing posts with label beginner running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beginner running. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Turning 40 and Not Worrying
Yesterday, October 30, 2017, was my 40th birthday. As of right now, I have just entered the masters division for long distance running.
I’ve dropped a couple hints here and there on this blog about my slight apprehension about aging—and about witnessing my PRs fading into the distance. The process is inevitable, of course, so worrying about it is mostly fruitless. Still, I’ve officially reached the age where people offer some kind of audible grunt or gasp when they find out how old I am. I even just received my first “you’re running really well for being 40” compliment (I was still 39 at the time, by the way).
So it is here, I guess: my official foray into the territory of “old people.”
I’m not going quietly, though.
My running career has been a kind of erratic one. If I define that “career” according to the time when I was on my first team, then I began running competitively at age 11, and I did so with a fair amount of consistency through college. To be fair, there were some seasonal breaks along the way, but it is nevertheless true that I was on a competitive running team ever single year of my life from age 11 to age 21.
After that point, I entered graduate school, and I spent most of my twenties studying or working, and the only running I did with any consistency was just enough to melt off the pounds that I was gaining while eating on-the-go meals between bouts of dissertation writing.
As a result, I didn’t think seriously about returning to long distance running until late 2007, right around the time that I turned 30. And even at that point, with my terminal degree in hand, I was more concerned with finding work than I was with tempo run pacing. Looking back, then, I guess it wasn’t until about 2011—six years ago, when I was 34—that I actually started settling into a consistent training regimen. (Thankfully, I had a stable job by then.)
That return to running was slow, and it was one that found me ignoring the marathon distance altogether, because I wanted to start with much less grand running goals.
Generally speaking, I’m not one to publish my running stats, because I feel like there is no way to do that and not seem to be humblebragging (at best), but what I’m about to say is relevant, I think.
I’m not humblebragging, I promise.
Five years ago to the day, late October of 2012, when I had finally decided to go all-in on the marathon, my weekly long run was scheduled at 19 miles in the range of a 6:50-7:50 average overall pace. The next workout on my schedule was a 6-mile run in the range of 6:40-7:30.
This past weekend, I put in a 16-mile long run at a 7:22 average, followed by an 8-mile pace run on my 40th birthday, with an overall pace of 6:38.
The math is simple: I’ve actually gotten faster as I’ve gotten older.
Whenever doctors and experts and running magazines of all stripes talk about the process of aging, they trot out the horrifying and humbling V02 max chart, which shows that most people reach peak aerobic fitness before they can legally drink alcohol and then slowly decline from there, sliding into a precipitous drop-off right around the age that many of us fall in love and get married and start “doing other things” with our lives.
The result of this narrative framework is that it can make runners of my age—I can say that now—think mostly in terms of what-ifs. What if I had just decided to run a marathon at age 22? What if I didn’t go to graduate school and instead went to the track every day? What if I just jogged my commute to and from work and to and from soccer practice for the kids instead of driving and sleeping? What kind of runner would I be then?
Hogwash, I say! All of it.
From a strict physiological standpoint, yes, the evidence does show that peak running speed decreases for most of us in our early 20s. However, what this evidence doesn’t address is the decreasing relevance of that peak speed for those of us who continue with long distance running well into middle age.
To put it in simple anecdotal terms, my 200 and 400 PRs are long gone, and it’s quite likely that my 5K PR is also beyond the horizon at this point as well. Beyond that, though, there is still room for growth, because long distance road racing, particularly in the distances north of the 10K, doesn’t demand pacing at or close to V02 max. That’s a gear that most road racers don’t need, even though we might wish that we still had it. At no point during a 5K or a 10K or a half or full marathon have I ever run at my once-upon-a-time top 400 pace because doing so would be catastrophic for the race in question. No, the longer distances in which many adults compete actually tend to reward age, and slower speeds, as evidenced by the fact that last year’s New York Marathon found competitors running sub-three-hour times into their 60s.
Returning to myself, and waxing somewhat philosophically, it is true that I have lost some speed with age. However, I was losing that speed before I was old enough to know to worry about it, and now that I am that old, I know that none of that is a big deal.
Sure, I’d love to put on a pair of my 27-year-old legs again. I’m sure that would feel great. But that’s not going to happen, and it doesn’t need to happen—for any of us. (Really, you can’t have my legs.) Instead, I—you, we—are going to get older. It’s true.
It’s also true, my friends, that we can still get better.
I’ve dropped a couple hints here and there on this blog about my slight apprehension about aging—and about witnessing my PRs fading into the distance. The process is inevitable, of course, so worrying about it is mostly fruitless. Still, I’ve officially reached the age where people offer some kind of audible grunt or gasp when they find out how old I am. I even just received my first “you’re running really well for being 40” compliment (I was still 39 at the time, by the way).
So it is here, I guess: my official foray into the territory of “old people.”
I’m not going quietly, though.
My running career has been a kind of erratic one. If I define that “career” according to the time when I was on my first team, then I began running competitively at age 11, and I did so with a fair amount of consistency through college. To be fair, there were some seasonal breaks along the way, but it is nevertheless true that I was on a competitive running team ever single year of my life from age 11 to age 21.
After that point, I entered graduate school, and I spent most of my twenties studying or working, and the only running I did with any consistency was just enough to melt off the pounds that I was gaining while eating on-the-go meals between bouts of dissertation writing.
As a result, I didn’t think seriously about returning to long distance running until late 2007, right around the time that I turned 30. And even at that point, with my terminal degree in hand, I was more concerned with finding work than I was with tempo run pacing. Looking back, then, I guess it wasn’t until about 2011—six years ago, when I was 34—that I actually started settling into a consistent training regimen. (Thankfully, I had a stable job by then.)
That return to running was slow, and it was one that found me ignoring the marathon distance altogether, because I wanted to start with much less grand running goals.
Generally speaking, I’m not one to publish my running stats, because I feel like there is no way to do that and not seem to be humblebragging (at best), but what I’m about to say is relevant, I think.
I’m not humblebragging, I promise.
Five years ago to the day, late October of 2012, when I had finally decided to go all-in on the marathon, my weekly long run was scheduled at 19 miles in the range of a 6:50-7:50 average overall pace. The next workout on my schedule was a 6-mile run in the range of 6:40-7:30.
This past weekend, I put in a 16-mile long run at a 7:22 average, followed by an 8-mile pace run on my 40th birthday, with an overall pace of 6:38.
The math is simple: I’ve actually gotten faster as I’ve gotten older.
Whenever doctors and experts and running magazines of all stripes talk about the process of aging, they trot out the horrifying and humbling V02 max chart, which shows that most people reach peak aerobic fitness before they can legally drink alcohol and then slowly decline from there, sliding into a precipitous drop-off right around the age that many of us fall in love and get married and start “doing other things” with our lives.
The result of this narrative framework is that it can make runners of my age—I can say that now—think mostly in terms of what-ifs. What if I had just decided to run a marathon at age 22? What if I didn’t go to graduate school and instead went to the track every day? What if I just jogged my commute to and from work and to and from soccer practice for the kids instead of driving and sleeping? What kind of runner would I be then?
Hogwash, I say! All of it.
From a strict physiological standpoint, yes, the evidence does show that peak running speed decreases for most of us in our early 20s. However, what this evidence doesn’t address is the decreasing relevance of that peak speed for those of us who continue with long distance running well into middle age.
To put it in simple anecdotal terms, my 200 and 400 PRs are long gone, and it’s quite likely that my 5K PR is also beyond the horizon at this point as well. Beyond that, though, there is still room for growth, because long distance road racing, particularly in the distances north of the 10K, doesn’t demand pacing at or close to V02 max. That’s a gear that most road racers don’t need, even though we might wish that we still had it. At no point during a 5K or a 10K or a half or full marathon have I ever run at my once-upon-a-time top 400 pace because doing so would be catastrophic for the race in question. No, the longer distances in which many adults compete actually tend to reward age, and slower speeds, as evidenced by the fact that last year’s New York Marathon found competitors running sub-three-hour times into their 60s.
Returning to myself, and waxing somewhat philosophically, it is true that I have lost some speed with age. However, I was losing that speed before I was old enough to know to worry about it, and now that I am that old, I know that none of that is a big deal.
Sure, I’d love to put on a pair of my 27-year-old legs again. I’m sure that would feel great. But that’s not going to happen, and it doesn’t need to happen—for any of us. (Really, you can’t have my legs.) Instead, I—you, we—are going to get older. It’s true.
It’s also true, my friends, that we can still get better.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Wilson Komen: Five Memories from My First Marathon
Though I have been fortunate to have had much success in the sport of competitive running, I always like to remind my trainees that I wasn’t always confident, and I didn’t always know everything that I was doing. The first marathon that I ran was the Detroit Free Press Marathon. It was a marathon of many firsts. It was also almost my last marathon.
Today, I am sharing with you five memories from that experience. I hope to encourage all of you, no matter what your experience levels are, to enjoy the training and the racing that you are doing for what it is. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t know everything that you need to know or that you aren’t adequately prepared. Enjoy the experience, and learn from your past performances. That is exactly what I have done throughout my running career.
The Course
Right out of the gate I have to say that the course itself is my best—and my worst memory—about the marathon. The route was fine; however, running on asphalt was not. Before this marathon, I had never run completely on asphalt. In Detroit, I felt like I was getting beat up with every step. I was used training on unpaved roads and hills in the countryside of my hometown. In Nairobi, national parks and the hills are easily accessible. There was no need to train on hard surfaces. What kept me going during the race, besides the hope of winning prize money, was that the course was well marked, the hydration stops were frequent and well-organized, there was music along the way, and there were lots of wonderful cheering spectators. Still, everything was new to me.
The Weather
The morning of the marathon was cold, a lot colder than I was used to. I am from the Rift Valley of Kenya, and I was used to running in temperatures that fluctuated between 50 and 75 degrees Celsius throughout the year. The weather is the one thing that can either make or destroy your marathon. You can only prepare so much for the weather, and you can’t control it. All you can do is make the appropriate adjustments, and run your best race. When you finish, you still have completed a marathon, which is an excellent accomplishment.
The Expo
It was my first time attending an expo. To me was like a huge Saturday outdoor marketplace, only that it was filled with sporting goods instead of vegetables or chickens. I really liked it because I could learn more about sports products.
The People I Met
I had to meet find new friends on my way finding the expo. The buildings and the street signs looked about the same to me. It was my first time in the United States, and I wasn’t familiar with how things were labeled. I had to stop some runners as they were walking across the street to my hotel to ask directions to the expo. They turned out to be two brothers from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The brothers were great people, and they offered to drive me to the expo and later to the pasta dinner.
The Pasta Dinner
At the pasta dinner, it was great to see the entire elite athlete field I was going to compete with the next day. Dinner was another different experience for me. Obviously, I ate pasta, which at that time, I never eaten before a race. I didn’t know if it would sustain me for the marathon. It did, though. I survived my first marathon!
When I look back on that day, I just remember that it was a beautiful cold morning that filled me with excitement for the challenge ahead. My goal was to run anything under 2:25, which I achieved with no race strategy plan (remember, sometimes it is best just to enjoy the experience).
After the race, I asked myself if I should give up on marathons and concentrate on other distances. Fourteen years later, with countless races behind me, I am still running marathons. In fact, it’s now my favorite distance.
What do you remember about your first marathon? Share your story with us.
Run Steady,
Coach Wilson
Today, I am sharing with you five memories from that experience. I hope to encourage all of you, no matter what your experience levels are, to enjoy the training and the racing that you are doing for what it is. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t know everything that you need to know or that you aren’t adequately prepared. Enjoy the experience, and learn from your past performances. That is exactly what I have done throughout my running career.
 |
| Right Image, Detroit Free Press Marathon, Credit: Windsor Star |
Right out of the gate I have to say that the course itself is my best—and my worst memory—about the marathon. The route was fine; however, running on asphalt was not. Before this marathon, I had never run completely on asphalt. In Detroit, I felt like I was getting beat up with every step. I was used training on unpaved roads and hills in the countryside of my hometown. In Nairobi, national parks and the hills are easily accessible. There was no need to train on hard surfaces. What kept me going during the race, besides the hope of winning prize money, was that the course was well marked, the hydration stops were frequent and well-organized, there was music along the way, and there were lots of wonderful cheering spectators. Still, everything was new to me.
The Weather
The morning of the marathon was cold, a lot colder than I was used to. I am from the Rift Valley of Kenya, and I was used to running in temperatures that fluctuated between 50 and 75 degrees Celsius throughout the year. The weather is the one thing that can either make or destroy your marathon. You can only prepare so much for the weather, and you can’t control it. All you can do is make the appropriate adjustments, and run your best race. When you finish, you still have completed a marathon, which is an excellent accomplishment.
The Expo
It was my first time attending an expo. To me was like a huge Saturday outdoor marketplace, only that it was filled with sporting goods instead of vegetables or chickens. I really liked it because I could learn more about sports products.
The People I Met
I had to meet find new friends on my way finding the expo. The buildings and the street signs looked about the same to me. It was my first time in the United States, and I wasn’t familiar with how things were labeled. I had to stop some runners as they were walking across the street to my hotel to ask directions to the expo. They turned out to be two brothers from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The brothers were great people, and they offered to drive me to the expo and later to the pasta dinner.
The Pasta Dinner
 |
| Kenyan Food Left, Pasta Right |
When I look back on that day, I just remember that it was a beautiful cold morning that filled me with excitement for the challenge ahead. My goal was to run anything under 2:25, which I achieved with no race strategy plan (remember, sometimes it is best just to enjoy the experience).
After the race, I asked myself if I should give up on marathons and concentrate on other distances. Fourteen years later, with countless races behind me, I am still running marathons. In fact, it’s now my favorite distance.
What do you remember about your first marathon? Share your story with us.
Run Steady,
Coach Wilson
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Eat Elite: A Short Intro to Wilson Komen's Diet
 |
| Kerio View–Iten, Kenya |
Well, I am here to share the secret with you.
Drum roll please . . .
There is no secret!
Truly, my meals are pretty ordinary, and I am not snobby about food or how that food should be prepared. However, I am consistent with what I eat day to day, and I do ensure that my meals are balanced.
Also, there is one food I can’t do without: milk. Milk is king in my book! Without exaggeration, I could drink milk 24 hours a day. Even though I never forcefully interfere with my trainees’ diets—however, you should try to avoid the really bad stuff, like fried food—I do believe that, as contemporary nutrition science indicates, protein is vital for endurance athletes. For my part, I enjoy getting much of that protein from milk. It’s my personal form of running fuel.
Here is a sample of what I eat in day:
Breakfast
2 boiled eggs on 4 slices of dry bread and Kenyan tea with lots of milk. If it’s a race day I have just bread and tea.
Lunch
I often have a bean stew with lots of veggies or a salad. It is vital that distance runners receive the vitamins that come from fresh vegetables. And, of course, broccoli is also an excellent source of protein, which is a bonus.
If I am at home for lunch, I will often have a baked sweet potato with a glass of milk.
Snack
banana and yogurt or nuts with an orange
 |
| An elite snack! |
My dinner remains pretty much the same everyday: meat with veggies and cornmeal.
And there you have it. That’s what I eat in a day to fuel my run. There is no perfect menu or one-size-fits-all approach to nourishing your body for a good run or a good race.
However, one tip I could give is to write down what you eat and to monitor how you feel an hour after eating. Do you feel bloated? Sluggish? Do you feel energized? Depending on how you feel, you can adjust your diet accordingly, remembering that it is usually a good idea to follow the basic nutrition rule of adding fruits and vegetables to whatever you eat.
I also recommend speaking with your primary care physician as you begin a training regimen so that you can discuss your dietary needs.
At the end of the day, a good run depends on good training, nutrition that suits you, the route you run, and the weather.
 |
| Wilson at the start of the 2016 Komen Race for the Cure |
Run steady, and eat well!
Coach Wilson
Monday, January 2, 2017
Why Not You?
The story of Billy Mills' come-from-behind underdog victory in the 10K at the 1964 Olympics has become the stuff of running legend--a story so perfect in its simplicity that it seems entirely unreal.
There are many tellings and retellings of Mills' story in the canon of running lore, and many of them offer slight variations on the theme of the power of positive thinking. I've often heard the story paraphrased as Mills continually asking himself, "Why not me?" with every lap of the track, until he realized that he was in a position to win it all.
Then, he simply went for it, because he believed that he could.
And, of course, he won.
Since it is the beginning of the new year, there is no better time for all of us to channel the power of this story in the pursuit of our own goals. "Why not us?", we can be asking ourselves. For my own part, I have the 2017 Boston Marathon on the horizon. The road to this one has been challenging--more challenging than I would have liked. Still, why not me, and why not now?
If you've been thinking about starting/getting back into/working to improve your own running, allow me to ask: why not now?
Why not you?
And why not with us?
Coach Kiprunning wishes you an excellent 2017, and we're happy to work with you, whatever your goals might be.
We hope to hear from you.
There are many tellings and retellings of Mills' story in the canon of running lore, and many of them offer slight variations on the theme of the power of positive thinking. I've often heard the story paraphrased as Mills continually asking himself, "Why not me?" with every lap of the track, until he realized that he was in a position to win it all.
Then, he simply went for it, because he believed that he could.
And, of course, he won.
Since it is the beginning of the new year, there is no better time for all of us to channel the power of this story in the pursuit of our own goals. "Why not us?", we can be asking ourselves. For my own part, I have the 2017 Boston Marathon on the horizon. The road to this one has been challenging--more challenging than I would have liked. Still, why not me, and why not now?
If you've been thinking about starting/getting back into/working to improve your own running, allow me to ask: why not now?
Why not you?
And why not with us?
Coach Kiprunning wishes you an excellent 2017, and we're happy to work with you, whatever your goals might be.
We hope to hear from you.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Training Tips: Getting Started as a Beginner
When you are starting your training as a beginner, it is not necessary to worry about how many miles you are running. Instead, focus on the number of minutes that you are running. Gradually, you will begin to cover more distance in the same amount of time, and that is the point when you will want to increase the duration of your workout. As you slowly increase the duration of time that you are running, you will increase the distance that you are running as well.
As you begin your training, be sure to arrange your schedule so that you set aside focused time to devote to your running routine. If you have more free time in the morning, run in the morning. If your life is more flexible in the evening, run in the evening. Or run in the afternoon! Just make sure that your workout time will be reasonably free of interruptions or distractions.
When you begin your daily runs, do not start too fast too soon. Start out slowly so that you give your body time to warm up. As that happens, your pace will increase.
A good beginning threshold is to run for about 20 minutes, which will likely amount to 1-3 miles of distance, three times a week.
If at any point, the distance you are running feels too long, do not be afraid to take walk breaks. To maintain a workout that will lead to greater strength and endurance, do limit your walk breaks to 2 minutes. A common guide is to run for 8 minutes and to walk for 2. This routine will get you accustomed to thinking about your early workouts in 10-minute segments.
As you get stronger, gradually eliminate the walk breaks. You can also gradually increase the amount of time you are running and the number of days that you run. However, do not increase either until you feel comfortable completing your current level of training. A popular measure of overall comfort is what runners call “conversation pace.” If you can run and carry on a conversation--with a training partner or, yes, yourself--then your overall fitness at your current level is good, and you can consider increasing the duration of your workouts.
(Sidenote: In future posts, I will discuss how and why experienced runners should vary pacing between their workouts. When you are just starting, keep things simple.)
Establishing a baseline level of fitness with these early runs will take roughly 2-4 weeks, depending on your overall fitness and the consistency with which you run. After you get acclimated at the beginning level, you can plan to increase the duration of your workouts by 3-5 minutes. At that stage, simply follow the same slow build process as when you started.
From there, as you approach the 30-minute mark, you will start progressing out of the beginner's stage and will be moving into the intermediate phase of your training, which will require a slightly different approach (that I will discuss in due time). You might even start targeting 5K road races to get the feel of the racing experience. If road racing is your goal, I am here to help you. Feel free to contact me if you want to train for a particular race.
No matter what, run steady, and have fun.
As you begin your training, be sure to arrange your schedule so that you set aside focused time to devote to your running routine. If you have more free time in the morning, run in the morning. If your life is more flexible in the evening, run in the evening. Or run in the afternoon! Just make sure that your workout time will be reasonably free of interruptions or distractions.
When you begin your daily runs, do not start too fast too soon. Start out slowly so that you give your body time to warm up. As that happens, your pace will increase.
A good beginning threshold is to run for about 20 minutes, which will likely amount to 1-3 miles of distance, three times a week.
If at any point, the distance you are running feels too long, do not be afraid to take walk breaks. To maintain a workout that will lead to greater strength and endurance, do limit your walk breaks to 2 minutes. A common guide is to run for 8 minutes and to walk for 2. This routine will get you accustomed to thinking about your early workouts in 10-minute segments.
As you get stronger, gradually eliminate the walk breaks. You can also gradually increase the amount of time you are running and the number of days that you run. However, do not increase either until you feel comfortable completing your current level of training. A popular measure of overall comfort is what runners call “conversation pace.” If you can run and carry on a conversation--with a training partner or, yes, yourself--then your overall fitness at your current level is good, and you can consider increasing the duration of your workouts.
(Sidenote: In future posts, I will discuss how and why experienced runners should vary pacing between their workouts. When you are just starting, keep things simple.)
Establishing a baseline level of fitness with these early runs will take roughly 2-4 weeks, depending on your overall fitness and the consistency with which you run. After you get acclimated at the beginning level, you can plan to increase the duration of your workouts by 3-5 minutes. At that stage, simply follow the same slow build process as when you started.
From there, as you approach the 30-minute mark, you will start progressing out of the beginner's stage and will be moving into the intermediate phase of your training, which will require a slightly different approach (that I will discuss in due time). You might even start targeting 5K road races to get the feel of the racing experience. If road racing is your goal, I am here to help you. Feel free to contact me if you want to train for a particular race.
No matter what, run steady, and have fun.
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