Hoover Dam, Skinnydipper, Luxembourg + Deadwood
Hoover Dam, Skinnydipper, Luxembourg + Deadwood
“Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.” — Michael Johnson
I hope you guys had a chance to listen to yesterday’s audio interview with Sarah Axelrod, a Boston-based running coach who gave us her perspective on some of the questions you guys asked in last week’s open thread discussion, particularly around getting faster.
Earlier today, as I was putting this issue of the newsletter together, an email arrived in my inbox from a reader who had this to say:
“I saw the response posted to the question — How do I get faster. The response from the running coach you interviewed made no sense. If you want to run faster times at races you need to incorporate speed work in your training. Every coach will tell you that. Of course you have to be thoughtful about your approach to speed work. But without a doubt to get faster you should do tempo, interval and fartlek runs.”
The reader poses a good question: what is speed work for, after all, if not to help you get faster? The question also highlights one of the things that’s so difficult about providing any sort of advice on running and training — every runner is different, so what works for one may not work for another.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t do speed work; I’m saying your fitness level and experience at running should dictate the kinds of exercises you should add to your training regimen.
What Sarah was trying to emphasize in our interview was that for most runners, getting injured poses a greater risk to their ability to improve than training exercises like speed work can help.
“What keeps people from getting faster is constant setbacks.”
And in the larger scheme of things, more runners will benefit from running consistently, even at easier paces, thanks to the fact that they’re running consistently — and not out there getting injured, and consequently having to take several months to a year or more off from running.
What the reader who emailed me was getting at is enhancing your upside potential (I think), while what Sarah is getting at is minimizing your downside risk.
What do you think? I’d love to know your thoughts — and your experience with running injuries (and recovery).
Hope you are all having an amazing week and getting some great runs in. Let me know how your training is going and, as always, keep in touch.
Your friend,
— Terrell
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Six Tunnels to Hoover Dam Half Marathon
Boulder City, Nev. | Saturday, March 14, 2020
A run through the Nevada desert just outside Las Vegas that takes you past the shoreline of Lake Mead on the way to the majestic Hoover Dam — and along the way, you’ll run through six tunnels along the Historic Railroad Trail inside Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The onetime railroad, which served as an access route for train cars hauling supplies for the dam’s construction, is made up mostly of smooth, gradual inclines and declines, though there are some big climbs on the route. The views are also spectacular, including the mountains around the lake, the desert sagebrush and other vegetation, and the tunnels themselves, each of which are about 300 feet in length.
$80 and up | Sign up here
Skinnydipper Sun Run 5K
Decatur, Texas | Saturday, April 25, 2020
Yeah, baby! This clothing-optional cross-country race takes place along the trails of a naturist resort about 25 miles north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and offers “a feeling of freedom and exhilaration that cannot be matched in any other way,” organizers say. (You can wear running shoes, as the course features stretches that run through ravines and over tree logs, as well as through wooded areas and open meadows.) Sunscreen is a must, as the race starts at 1:00 p.m. out in the springtime Texas sun; every runner will have their race number applied by marker, as there’s nowhere to pin a race bib at this event, part of a four-race series designed especially for runners who like to run in the nude across the Southwest.
$30 and up | Sign up here
ING Night Half Marathon
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | Saturday, May 23, 2020
Nestled in the heart of Western Europe at the confluence of two rivers, this tiny country’s capital city is known for its old world charm, thanks to its famous theaters, restaurants and especially its famous network of underground art galleries, carved from the ancient rock that much of the city is built upon. Starting at 7 p.m., you’ll run this nighttime race through small, winding alleys in the city center, on highway bridges and through underground tunnels, and along city streets lined with people and the lights of bars and restaurants as the sun is going down.
$37 and up | Sign up here
Deadwood Mickelson Trail Half Marathon
Deadwood, S.D. | Sunday, June 7, 2020
A simply gorgeous run through the Black Hills of South Dakota, along a gentle downhill point-to-point route on the George S. Mickelson Trail, which stretches more than 100 miles along an old Burlington Northern railroad line. The half marathon begins at the midway point of the full marathon just outside Dumont, S.D., and features a combination of paved and gravel trails that take you across converted railroad bridges and through hardrock tunnels, as well as through gorgeous, scenic National Forest lands. The final six miles of the half are almost all downhill, especially miles 8 through 10, which race organizers say is a “serious downhill — you’ll have to be careful not to become a runaway.”
$70 and up | Sign up here
A song to run to today
“The Long Way Around” from the album Taking The Long Way by the Dixie Chicks.
Listen to our full playlist on Spotify here.
Hi Terrell, well said!
The reader who emailed you is right! Except for the “need to” part: speed work is far from the only thing that will make you faster, unless you are an elite athlete who is already maximally efficient. Most of us aren’t! We can get GREAT results by doing things that don’t put us at risk the way track intervals do.
Speedwork in the right measure when you are strong enough to execute it properly (that’s the key part) will make you faster. But it’s not what everyone needs, by any means. My PT (a young, super fast dude, in case that makes you more likely to believe him) says that 90% of the injured runners that come see him are there because of training errors, and most of the time that means too much speedwork too soon. I say go for the things you CAN do that are vanishingly unlikely to overtrain you or hurt you (more easy miles, more strength, better sleep and nutrition).
Thanks for the thoughtful followup!
Skinnydipper 5K? No. Oh my God, No!