Charleston Runs

Official Charleston Marathon Training Program

Charleston Runs is working with the Riverfront Race Festival to offer a training program for the inaugural Charleston Marathon. Training begins on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 8 am in North Charleston and will meet on subsequent Saturdays until race day on January 15, 2011.

All runners will receive a training plan geared to their ability level and goals. The group will gather for a supervised and supported long run on Saturday mornings. Other scheduled runs will be done by the athletes on their own. Runners will receive advice on race preparation, hydration, nutrition, race tactics, and injury prevention.

Register Now!

Coach Tyler Cross

I’m very excited that Coach Tyler Cross will join me in offering the program. Coach Tyler graduated from SUNY Cortland with a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science, where he focused on biomechanics, exercise prescription, and running mechanics. He was mentored by legendary elite running coach and author, Jack Daniels. He is a certified personal trainer through NSCA and a USA Track and Field Level 1 coach. Coach Cross has conducted the official group training clinics for the annual Cooper River Bridge Run through the Medical University of South Carolina’s Harper Student Wellness Center, where he also assists with many other running programs. He is a member of the TrySports racing team.

More Information about Charleston Marathon Training

Runners can meet the coaches and learn more about the program at information meetings at St. Andrew’s Church (440 Whilden Street) in Mount Pleasant on Tuesday, September 7 at 6.30 pm and at Felix C Davis Community Center (4800 Park Circle) in North Charleston at 6.30 pm on Wednesday, September 8. There will be an opportunity to register for the training and the race at the end of the meeting. The cost of the training program is $175.

You can also contact Coach Greg @ CoachGreg@CharlestonRuns.com for more information.

Register Now!

Why Run the Bridge?

I was recently in the mountains of North Carolina. I was at an elevation of 3300 feet and while the weather was cool, I really didn’t appreciate running the hills. My runs started out going downhill on a very steep grade which meant I finished by going uphill on the same steep grades. That was tough but I can’t imagine how much tougher it would have been had I not been running the Cooper River Bridge on a regular basis.

Charleston Runs athletes on the Cooper River Bridge.

Charleston Runs athletes regularly run the Ravenel Bridge even when they’re not training for the Cooper River Bridge Run. As runners become more experienced, they tend to want to go faster. In order to run faster in a race, you need to run faster in training. There’s a running adage that says, “Speed is built on strength and strength is built on endurance.” In other words, build your endurance, then build your leg strength, and then finally work on speed.

One of the best ways to build leg strength is through running hills. The closest thing to a hill that we have in Charleston is the Cooper River Bridge. In training for marathons, we run the bridge once every two weeks. This does two things for us.

• We build leg strength. By running uphill we’re lifting our bodies vertically and then slowing the body as we run downhill.
• We practice running hills. All of the Charleston Runs athletes are running marathons in other places where there are hills. There are techniques to running both uphill and downhill that will improve your times and keep you from thrashing your legs.

You race like you train. What do you do to prepare to run hills or improve your leg strength?

The 50-Mile Experiment

Noah finishes 50 miles.

On July 4, one my athletes, Noah Moore, completed the Qu’est-ce que c’est? 12-Hour Run. Noah has made some remarkable progress in the last few years, having lost nearly 100 pounds and turning into an accomplished runner. I love working with Noah. His enthusiasm is contagious, infecting those around him. This enthusiasm has also changed his family’s approach to health and fitness.

When running his marathons, Noah has struggled with finishing well. He starts out great and by the time he hits 20 miles, he’s crumbling. We started our coach-athlete relationship as he was tapering for his first marathon. He was very dissappointed in how he finished the race. His refueling was good - he just cramped badly in the final miles of the race. The same thing happened to him in the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon.

As we began looking at training for this year’s Monumental Marathon in November, we reviewed last year’s training and racing. We agreed that our plan of attack would include several 20+ mile runs. Noah recovers well and I felt that going the longer distances would not only help improve his time but that his body would also adapt well to going longer. Now, as a result of his 50-mile run, I think he’ll finish faster but that going longer will only help minimally in the cramping department.

Every runner is an experiment of one and Noah is no different. We talked through a plan for his 50-miler that included fueling and hydration. I couldn’t crew for him the whole day but he did have someone there in the morning while I was a work. He had everything in place. I met him before the race, snapped some photos and headed to work with a plan to return that afternoon.

When I returned, Noah was past the marathon mark, at mile 27 or 28. When he came through the checkpoint (The run course was a one-mile loop.), he was not in great shape. I could tell he was having problems forming thoughts - he was a bit goofy. As he took off for the next loop, I started asking his crew about what he had been eating, his rest, and his hydration. Based on that information, I was certain he had not been drinking enough.

Next time Noah came through, I took his water bottle and filled it 3/4 full of Bana and topped it with Powerade. I made him stop long enough to drink about 2/3 of the bottle and then sent him out again. The next time in, I made the same concoction and this time made him sit down. I told him he couldn’t go out again and until he drank most of the bottle. When he finished half the bottle, I topped it off and sent him out again. By the time he came back, I could tell he was feeling much better. Noah later admitted that, in his delirium, he thought I was trying to drown him. Seriously. Dehydration can really do you in - people talk about the physical aspects but when you’re losing electrolytes as well, you don’t think properly and muscles don’t work well.

By the time Noah finished 31 miles (50K), his family had arrived and he had made a 180 degree turn around. He was lucid and feeling good. He was weary but wasn’t cramping. From that point forward, Jen, his wife, Peyton, his son, and I worked together to ensure he was staying well hydrated. He eventually finished 50 miles by the cutoff time.

The following week we reviewed some of the things we learned. I made mention that in the Marine Corps Marathon that I drank at least one cup of water and one cup of Powerade at each water stop. He admitted that he did not drink at every stop and only drank two cups at a couple of the stops. We have similar sweat rates in the early morning heat and humidity - about 64 ounces in an hour. Folks who sweat heavily cannot replace everything they lose in an hour, so having a good hydration plan is essential.

We also realized we would have never learned that it was electrolytes and hydration that was the issue in his marathons. Only when he recovered quickly once he started drinking well did we learn what the real culprit was in the poor finish in the marathon.

Lessons Learned

• Create a hydration and fueling plan.
• Follow the plan. Don’t abandon the plan because you start out well.
• Account for fuel, fluid, and electrolyte loss.
• Practice the plan. You need to know what works.

Marathon Training is Beginning and It’s Hot!

Charleston Runs group runs for fall marathons kicks off on July 10. Those that have already registered for the training are getting in gear and are already receiving training schedules. In order to prepare for the training, a runner should have been consistently running for the last year and by July 10 should have worked up to at least 20 miles each week with a weekly long run of at least 10 miles. If you haven’t quite reached that point there’s still time.

Those that have signed on for the fall are gathering informally on Saturday mornings to run. These week we started at 6 am and though it wasn’t horribly hot, it was very humid. We’ll talk a lot about staying hydrated and running in the heat over the next few months as it is a constant issue in the lowcountry.

Three tips for running in the heat

Look for more tips in subsequent posts. I could write all day about heat, hydration, and fueling.

1. Stay fully hydrated in between runs. Your urine should be no darker than the color of lemonade. Personally, I would rather wake up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night then to go to bed dehydrated.
2. If your run will last more than an hour, you need to carry water with you. I sweat a lot, up to 4 liters/hour, and carry a hydration backpack.
3. You will slow down in the heat and as you dehydrate. Expect it. Run by effort to get the correct training effect.

So Much to Catch Up On

Cooper River Bridge Run

Charleston Runs athletes all finished and were very pleased with their times. One person dropped their Bridge Run PR from 50 minutes and change to 48 minutes and change. He was extremely pleased.

Palmetto 200

A great race. I entered the race and worked with others to recruit a 24 person team which we then divided into a competitive team and one that was in it to finish. The competitive did well, finishing 10th overall. Our other team, which I was a part of, finished the race. We didn’t actually end up with an official time because if we had run it in a conventional manner, we would have been swept from the course. The Race Directors didn’t want to sweep anyone from the course so they let us skip two legs and then the runners that skipped legs ran other legs along with those originally scheduled to run the legs. So, we all ran three legs by the time we were done. It was exhausting.

WCIV Channel 4 Profiles Bridge Runners

If your browser won’t display the video, you can find it here: http://cfc.wciv.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=61396

Palmetto 200

The Palmetto 200 is a new race for South Carolina. It’s a 200 mile relay race from Congaree National Forrest, near Columbia, to Folly Beach. Teams can range from 4-12 and there are two divisions: Ultra Teams (4-6 runners) and Relay Teams. My friend, Jeff, and I are putting together two teams. I’ll keep you informed about the training and what we’re doing as we move to the race start on April 30.

In general, for a 12-person team, the race organizers suggest that runners be trained for a half-marathon and work on the speed for a 10K. I see the biggest challenge in getting runners who aren’t used to big distances or 2-a-day workouts to work on dialing in their nutrition. There is some experimentation needed in putting in a 10K race effort in the morning and then putting in the same kind of effort twice in the next 24 hours.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Even though we didn’t get hit with snow like they did further north, the weather in Charleston has certainly changed. Yes, it will be nearly 70 on Christmas Day but we have entered the 74 days that pass for Winter in the Lowcountry.

When that alarm clock rings first thing in the morning and it’s 35 out, it’s tough to get up and get going. Weather changes will do that to you.  However, if you want to do more than just finish the Cooper River Bridge Run this year, you need to begin training and hit the roads in January. It will set the tone for the rest of your racing season. (I would consider the local winter/spring season to be from the last Saturday in January to the first Saturday in June - roughly from the Charlie Post Classic to the Floppin Flounder, and the highlight of course being the Bridge Run.)

Make the plan the night before. Don’t leave things to how you feel in the morning. Once you get out and get going once or twice when it’s cold or raining, you won’t even think about it next time. Dress as if it’s 20 degrees warmer than it is and you might even consider warming up on a treadmill or by doing some high knees before you head outside.

I’ve never worn more than a long sleeve top and a long sleeve jacket on the top and cool weather running pants on the bottom. You can wear warmer clothes but you generally don’t need them once you get going. I do keep a heavy sweathshirt in the truck for when I get done.

Hats and gloves are essential - If you’re too warm, you can take them off and easily carry them. This is also the place where you can not spend a ton of money and get some clothes that are highly reflective.

Big Hairy Goals

Are you ready for Cooper River Bridge Run Training?

I love big hairy goals - the ones that are so monstrous that they can be downright scary. Besides tackling them myself, I love helping others attain theirs. A new athlete, David, contacted me a few months ago after looking at the Charleston Running Club’s website. He saw I was coaching our Couch to 5K clinic and decided he wanted to take part.

Couch to 5K is not a big deal for most people but David was and is a big guy. He decided it was time to take off the excess weight. By the time I met him in the beginning of November, he had already dropped over 30 pounds. As of this week, he’s dropped 61 pounds. And he is still a big guy and has a long way to go.

One of the things he shared with me is that he wanted to do the Cooper River Bridge Run and he wanted to raise money for the YMCA in his hometown for a program that gets kids active. I understand that feeling. David wanted to time himself at the beginning of his training and compare it to his actual bridge run time. Yesterday morning, we set out to see what his benchmark was.

We couldn’t have picked many mornings that would have been colder. My friend Steve and I parked our cars downtown and then had my friend, Allan, drive us to Mt Pleasant. We met David and started towards Charleston. He started out very quickly and didn’t run very far before he started walking. We talked some more about pace and what that should feel like. At one point, coming off of the bridge and into Charleston, he ran for over 15 minutes - the longest such period of continuous running since David left high school. Eventually we finished the 10k in 1 hour 58 minutes and 2 seconds. He was very happy to be done and when I took him back to his car, he was on his way to buy new running shoes.

Cooper River Bridge Run training begins January 9. More information.

I Love Living Here

'Winter' in Charleston

I love living in Charleston. Recently, I received an email from a runner in Naples, Florida who is visiting here next week. She wanted to know if there were indoor tracks available to the general public. After telling her about the one I know of I pointed out that we’re in South Carolina, not Maine. We pretty much run outdoors year round. In three years, I’ve run indoors once because of the weather - we had 2.8 inches of rain in 1.5 hours, right at the time when I would have been running.

This week, the Charleston Running Club began a Couch to 5K program. Part of our mission is to encourage running in our community. I’m coaching the clinic, along with Irv Batten from On the Run running store. Irv has been a fixture in the Charleston running scene for over twenty years and regularly at the top of the leaderboard. Many clubs wouldn’t start a training program at the beginning of winter. Here, it’s one of the best times to run.

I also began track workouts again after taking November off. I have one new athlete and some returning. More will join us again after the first of the year. Not only are my athletes back on the track - I am as well! We’re all looking forward to cutting down those 5K times.

Cooper River Bridge Run training begins in January. Sign up now.