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Urbanathlon Training Tips

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

I noticed from my web traffic logs that a lot of people were coming across my blog while searching for urbanathlon training tips. My existing articles didn’t really touch on how to train for an urbanathlon so I thought I would write something up for everyone out there. I remember back when I was prepping for the race reading the Men’s Health Training Guide and thinking that it seemed pretty ridiculous. After having actually completed a race I would say the training guide is a cut and paste job. Unless you have an extra hour a day to waste on stretching and weight training then save yourself a lot of time and get some advice from me.

First and foremost this is a foot race. If you want to have a killer time then train like you were going to run a half marathon. That means starting twelve to sixteen weeks out if you aren’t already in good form and focus on running three to four times per week and steadily increasing mileage/pace. I would shoot for being able to run ten miles at your goal pace two weeks before race day. Make sure that you stretch before and after running as well as stay hydrated and eat after running! If you are having trouble increasing your pace then mix in some interval training. I won’t get too into this because there are a million guides to half marathon training already out there. If you do nothing but train for the run and handle the obstacles as they come on race day you will do just fine.

The obstacles are easy. Okay, not easy easy, but relatively speaking they comprise a miniscule part of the overall race. Except for the stair climb each obstacle took me no more than a minute. So even if you are a five minute miler those obstacles will only consist of about 2% of your course time. The most important aspect of the obstacles is to have some foresight into how best to handle the obstacle and to maybe have practiced a little bit on your own. You do not need to go out of your way to train really hard at the obstacles.

The tire stutter step and climb over is easy. Concentrate on landing in the front half of the tire, keep your knees high and stay on your toes. If you step right in the middle and you have big feet like me then your heel may hit the rear of the tire and send you flying. The “monster” truck tires are actually quite small. I stepped up with one high foot and “walked” over them. The last tire actually was large, but you can sit on the edge and swing your legs over. I did not witness anyone having trouble handing them. For me it felt like in the middle of a run I increased my pace 20% for thirty seconds. I really don’t think it is even worth “training” for this obstacle.

Next are the monkey bars and certain people may need to train a little for this. The monkey bars at your local playground may not be the best training arena. The urbanathlon bars are farther apart and quite thick in diameter. Really concentrate on keeping your momentum by swinging your legs. It is most efficient to climb by keeping your arms straight and swinging (like a monkey). If it is raining you may want to consider wearing a set of batting or golf gloves to keep your grip. To practice for this I would find a jungle gym and instead of using the narrow hand rails I would instead use the cross supports. Do a dead hang and focus on using your legs/core to reach out to the other cross support. Then match hands, reverse without coming down and repeat. There are only ten or so bars to handle.

The marine hurdles may pose a difficulty, especially for shorter individuals. They are about five feet high and on the beach. The most efficient way to climb is to place your palms on top, jump straight up into a stiff arm position and swing first one leg over, then the other. Gentlemen… be careful as that other leg comes across. Then hop down and continue. To train for this I would find a chainlink fence and practice jumping up into a stiff arm position. If this is hard for you then pullup/tricep exercises would seem appropriate. Also practice throwing a leg over from this stiff arm position.

The stair climb! Oh how I dreaded and feared it. Turns out it didn’t really matter though. By the time I got to the stairs there was a backup and I ended up slowly walking them. The funny part… I was actually rested after the stair climb because it was so slow. I did get a chance to do a couple full to the top runs and my quads were burning on those. At Soldier’s Field in Chicago the steps are really tiny though. So think about stutter steps to get you up. You get a decent rest on the descent. If you have a race where it is one long set of stairs like NYC then I would do a lot more training for this. Otherwise I think that the running prepares you quite well. If you want extra training just do some hill training. Focus on going fast enough that you really feel the burn in your quads.

Taxi cab hurdle is really more like a crawl over the hood of a car hurdle.

The finishing wall. So I saw a lot of people struggling on this. They have these stupid ass ropes hanging off the wall to “help” you up. I tried one of these ropes post race and I think they hurt you more than they help you. The problem is that the ropes don’t go to the very top of the wall. There is a hole cut in that they run through. Even if you do get up the rope it ends before the top of the wall and you are stuck! Also, the wall has absolutely no traction so you cannot press your feet into the wall easily and work your way up. So the trick is to be able to jump up and grab the top ledge, do a pullup and throw a leg over the edge. For some people that may sound like a lot. This is the only obstacle where I could see training being absolutely required. If you cannot do a pullup then getting over that wall is not going to be easy. Practice jumping up and grabbing the edge of an eight foot ledge. Pull up half way and then throw an arm over the backside of the wall. Finally kick a foot up and over the edge. If you have the strength then do the same thing you do with the marine hurdles and go into a straight arm before swinging your legs over.

Feel free to leave training tips in the comment section!

Tags: guide, tips, urbanathlon, urbanathlon training
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Hyannis Marathon 2010… Mission Accomplished!

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Well the day finally came and twenty six miles later I finally get to lay claim to the title marathoner. The race was another fantastic event with a vibrant crowd, supportive runners and a well organized event staff. Joel cleaned up in the half marathon and Dan beat his best marathon time by about five minutes. I did not run as fast as I had wanted to, but I did have to overcome a cold and a hamstring I pulled while climbing. I even have the injury on video so check it out now.

The race started out well enough. Weather was just the way I like it – mid thirties, no wind and no rain. Since I pulled my hamstring I had only been on a slow three mile and two mile jog in the last two weeks. I hoped that it wouldn’t be factor with sufficient rest even if it meant cutting all training right before the big race. My goal was to run the marathon in under four hours which would require a 9:10 mile. So the big plan was to run the first half at about a 9:15 pace and then increase to a 9:05 pace for the second half. I found it difficult to not go too fast for the first few miles. Everyone seemed to be pumped up and running quickly. I clocked in my first two miles at an 8:40 pace and knew I had to dial it back. My bad hamstring twanged a couple of times so I made sure to take it easier and ensure my bad leg did not become a liability further on in the race.

Dan, Joel and I Ready to Rock

At mile two I saw my fans Gretchen, Brian and Kristyn cheering me on. Kristyn made some killer signs to cheer us on. So awesome of her! Having people along the course keeps your energy up. Then something occurred to me. I was running the full marathon and more than 80% of the runners were going to be gone at the half way point. All their supporters would be gone and I had a feeling it was going to get really quiet. I finished the first half in 1:55 or an 8:50 mile and still felt great. I could not have been more right about the crowd thinning out though. After having to listen to people say “only a few more miles” for all the half marathoners the last three miles the crowd was gone. From here on out it was event staff, police officers and the five or six people I could see around me. It was very peaceful for awhile and at mile 15 I was still going strong at a nine pace. Then a strong headwind came on and the temperature probably dropped ten degrees. Bummer.

Mom, Dad, Aunt Carol and Krystyn's Awesome Sign

At mile 17 I ran into real trouble. Leg cramps and in the worst way. I felt my bad hamstring twinging and then all of a sudden I got three simultaneous muscle cramps. Both quads and my bad hamstring. I turned into Frankenstein and straight legged my way over a nearby fence. Thank goodness it was close or I would have gone over like a tree in a twister. From there on I was plagued by muscle cramps, especially on the uphills. I could only walk uphill or I would turn into Frankenstein again. Fortunately I could still run very slowly. I loaded up on Gatorade at the rest of the water stops, but my time was suffering horribly. After maintaining a sub nine mile for seventeen miles I was having to stop every several hundred yards and stretch/massage my legs. My pace dropped to about a 15 minute mile for the next five miles. Eventually my leg cramps seemed to subside enough that I could run the last three at about an eleven minute mile without having to stop.

Finally the Finish Line!

Overall the race was still a success. If I had to redo things I would have taken it slower in the first half of the race and taken the potassium filled, cramp busting banana that a woman was holding out at mile 14. I thought maybe it was her banana, but I bet if I had taken it she would have let me go. I also have to give a shout out to girl on the trampoline at miles 10 and 23. She was bouncing on this thing with a field hockey stick and vibrantly cheering for at least two hours. Way to be hockey stick girl!

Will I run another marathon? Maybe. The amount of work is ridiculous, but it would be awesome to get back on that horse and run an even better race. I know I can so what’s stopping me!

Thar She Be!

Tags: hyannis, marathon, Running
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Marathon Training Update

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

So I am officially in coast mode. After four months of training (not counting the three months of training for the Urbanathlon) I am finally prepared for the big show. Honestly I wasn’t sure at certain points whether or not I was going to make it. Training for a marathon is hard. Really hard. Way harder than I ever expected. Frankly a half marathon is cake. A walk in the park. I look back at my original marathon training post and think of the crazy goals I set for myself and wonder how I could have thought that was possible. Too much too fast. Eventually those goals would be possible, but I don’t think that four months was realistic at all. I am getting ahead of myself, so let me get you up to speed.

What is so hard? There is this wall at about thirteen miles where I would start to feel tired. By fifteen my quads are burning, my breath is starting to become labored and my form starts to fall apart. Each of these problems reinforces the others until mentally I cannot continue running. For a month each of my long runs hit this wall. I felt defeated. Fifteen is barely over halfway. How was I supposed to go another nine miles?! Fortunately I had an experienced athlete in Dan Corbera to help me out. One cold December morning I drove down to Attleboro for a seventeen mile run with Dan. Previously my longest run had been fifteen and a half. The run started out great and it really helped to have someone to chat with. At the half way point I still felt pretty good. We took a short break at Dans parent’s house and I met his family (who have read my blog!).

The second half started out well, but by that ominous thirteen mile marker the conversation had thinned and it was time to get down to business. True to form at mile fifteen I was really starting to feel it. Fortunately I had Dan to encourage me. Just two more miles, two more miles! I put my head down and trudged on. Keep my breath, keep my form, just – keep – going. Those last two miles were horrendous. I felt terrible. Dan, if you are reading this, the run was actually seventeen and a half miles. That extra half hurt. It made two miles feel interminable! As we coasted into our finish my quads were like jelly. I didn’t even feel like celebrating for finishing. I felt like curling up in a ball and passing out.

My legs were sore for the next three days, however that day was a big break through. I learned a lot from Dan about proper marathon training. Things I wasn’t doing and should have been. For the first time I was eating “gus” while running. These are essentially sugar packets you can eat for energy on the run. Coupled with gatorade I consume about seven hundred calories on a typical long run. I also learned that I needed to eat immediately after exercise to replenish lost calories or my body would burn muscle and the run would be self defeating. I never feel like eating during or after exercise so this probably explained my complete lack of progress from my previous fifteen mile runs.

Since then I have perfected my long run preparation. I eat two dinners the night before. One around six and then a second one around nine or ten. I make sure I eat enough at the second meal that I cause a food induced coma which guarantees a good night of sleep. For breakfast I eat pancakes and waffles with maple syrup. A lot of ‘em! Finally I gu every five miles and make sure I have gatorade for calories while I run. After the run I enjoy yogurt and a PB&J sandwich for some quick sugar calories coupled with some carbs and proteins.

The real part of marathon running is the mental game. My body is constantly asking my brain to just walk for a little bit. Catch my breath and shake out my legs, but my brain can’t listen. I always ask myself – Do I have my breath? Do my legs hurt? If no then there is no excuse for stopping. Just keep those feet moving one after the other. My last long run training session really required some mental toughness. At thirteen miles I was on an 8:45 pace, but I could feel a big blister forming on my left foot. I kept asking myself whether I should head home and call it a day. This was my last chance though. My last big run before I began a rest period for the marathon. I couldn’t quit. At sixteen miles I was still on pace. I pulled my shoe and took a look. Not good. A big blister the size of about a quarter on the inside sole of my foot. Time to quit? No way, time to go. I slowed down to a ten minute mile for the last four miles, but I ran the whole way. This time I did a little sidewalk dance/fist pump to celebrate. Twenty and a half miles in three hours and one minute, just a hair over a nine minute mile.

I’ve set a realistic marathon target of a 9:10 mile which will pull me in at just under four hours. I am ready to rumble. Let’s go Hyannis!

Tags: hyannis, marathon, training
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Marathon Training Begins

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Dan Corbera of Urbanathlon fame, Joel Desjardins and myself have all set a goal to tackle the Hyannis full marathon come February 28th, 2010. I am following the Runner’s World sixteen week training program and I am off to an ignominious start. I visited the track on Tuesday for my first day of training. The training schedule called upon me to run two miles at race pace, 1 mile at 105% of race pace and finish up with two miles at race pace again. It had been three weeks since my last run which was the Urbanathlon, but I felt good and hoped things would go well.

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Urbanathlon 2009 Finished!

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

So I am finally back from Chicago where I finished my first ever Urbanathlon. I beat my personal goal of an 8:30 mile with an 8:22 and I am super stoked about the result. The best part was that I felt great at the end of the race and I know I could have run it even faster! The obstacles were great motivators. I could feel as I closed in on them the urge to run faster and pound through them. As I tackled an obstacle a surge of endorphins rushed in and catapulted me onto the next one. I can see these types of races becoming significantly more popular in the future.

: Dan and I Strutting Our Stuff Post Finish

Dan and I woke up at 6am to start getting ready for the race. It was cloudy and cool out, but the weather forecast promised no rain and temps in the high forties. Perfect running weather for me. As we jogged the mile and a half down to the starting line the clouds darkened up and half pea sized hail started falling from the sky. This was not going to be a fun race I thought. At least the hail doesn’t soak your clothes, it just bounces off and stays on the ground. We checked our bags and walked around the tent city. Free beer, a climbing wall and free swag awaited us post finish. By the time the race started the clouds had parted and bits of sun were poking through. The perfect race weather was here! Thank goodness since I decided to take my chances and run in just shorts and a t-shirt.

: Dan and I ready to get our run on

Dan and I started together and he was kind to keep me company for the first mile and then off he went while I trotted at my own pace. I was petrified of the 500+ stairs near the end of the race and how much they would exhaust me. Would I be able to make it over the final wall?

: Man can Gretchen take a good picture!

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What’s an Urbanathlon?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Wait, a what? An urbanathlon? What is that? – I get those questions a lot when I tell people I am training for a race come October. I was inspired to enter by my friend Dan Corbera who participates in marathons, triathlons and more. He has a competitive spirit that is inspirational – it certainly has to be considering what he got me into.

Check out these followup articles!
Urbanathlon Training Guide
My Race Day Experience

Dan got me started in racing back around New Year’s Day 2009 that when he asked if I wanted to run in the Cape Cod half-marathon with him. Well I hadn’t run in two years and the race was six weeks away… but I figured worse comes to worse I don’t run. The old competitive side of me didn’t want to participate if I couldn’t finish without walking or stopping.

And so training began. My first time out things were bad. It was January and the frigid New England air seared my nose and mouth as I breathed in and out. “Hills” that seemed to be no more than sloping ground turned my quads to mush and the real hills would make my glutes spasm. I only made it a mile and half that day. Things were not looking good for six weeks out.

But I persevered and gradually my runs got longer and longer. My quads got strong and I stopped having glute spasms. I was running in shorts and a sweatshirt in twenty degree weather with an icy wind and there was nothing to it. The week before the race I finished my first ten miler in 100 minutes and it was awesome.

Race day is here and I’m standing by myself at the ten minute mile section of the starting line. Dan is way up at the front by the seven minute milers. All around me runners are packed tight and nervously champing at the bit to get started. They offer each other reassuring words and I am beginning to wonder if I should have picked a friend that runs my pace. It seems like I’m the only solitary runner here. Am I dressed appropriately? I’m wearing my shorts, sweatshirt and old running shoes with holes in them. Everyone else has hats, gloves, long pants, digital watches and “goo.” There isn’t much time to dwell on it though since the starting gun fires and people make mooing noises as we herd across the start line.

Through all the hours of training by myself there is one thing I didn’t expect out of the race. It was fun. I mean really fun. It was exciting to have so many people running with you, to have the crowds cheering you on and to know that you are accomplishing a goal you had trained for. In my mind the race had started out as an accomplishment, a box to tick, I will have completed a half-marathon. The reality was that the fun and excitement pushed me to an all time best run. I felt great and it showed when I finished in a hair over two hours with energy to burn. A nine and a half minute mile over thirteen miles in six weeks. Now that is something I was proud of.

Oh right… you are still wondering what an Urbanathlon is right?