Threshhold, Intervals, and VDOT, Oh My! MTP Gets S.M.A.R.T. in 2013

Debbie P

In preparation to tackle the 26.2 distance this fall, some 60 NY Flyers have been preparing via the Flyers’ Marathon Training Program (MTP). This year we have been working with the Run SMART Project, which was established by legendary running coach Dr. Jack Daniels.

Run SMART Project Head Coach Brian  Rossetti and his team of coaches—Andre L, Tiffany C, and Steve M—put us into groups named for the 4 Beatles, and I have been training with some fantastic teammates in “Harrison.” Each runner received a personalized training plan and get on-going support from our coaches.

Coach Brian Getting Personal
Giving These MTPers Some Direct Guidance

When I registered for my first marathon in 1999, I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I had grown up playing basketball, soccer, and softball; running was usually just a warm-up or a punishment for when the team played or practiced badly. Fitness was important, but usually skills-training focused on jump shots, spin moves, and position in the goal box. I started running some in college to compensate for my decreased participation in competitive team sports, but races were few and training was simply jogging longer, rarely faster. 

I took part in the 1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers—an iconic 12K race—during a post-college stint in the Bay Area. A friend and I started out way too fast, and gasped our way up the Hayes St. Hill…I vaguely remember finishing what seemed like a VERY LONG 12K.  At that point the idea of running a marathon just seemed nuts.

By the late 1990s I was living in a tiny rural town in Chile as part of a volunteer service program and running more regularly to feel active, keep me in shape for pickup soccer, and to still fit in my clothes while I indulged in Chilean pan and dulces and vino (bread, sweets, and wine). When a friend mentioned that Santiago had a marathon—and that “hey, you like to run, why not sign up?—I decided to attempt what just a few years before seemed absolutely crazy.

One of my sisters mailed me the book Four Months to a Four-Hour Marathon, another sent me a Runner’s World book on running, and a friend sent a box of Powerbars. I recruited a couple of other runners, and in April 1999 we ran 42K in Santiago de Chile.  An adventure to be sure, since we were probably the only gringos running, it was a “pre-emergency” smog day in Santiago, and our “gear” was definitely lacking (basketball shorts and fanny packs!).

Grainy 1990s Pic!
Taken By Friends From Bus
Following Us Around the Course
-Not Many Runners!-

All Smiles Mid-Marathon in Santiago, Chile

And Finally the Finish Line

Fast forward 14 years and somehow running marathons is something I “do” most years- this fall in Philadelphia will be #13.  It’s only been in the past few years, however, that I learned how much dedicated training could make a difference in my fitness and finish times.  Last year’s MTP (and an upcoming birthday) will send me to Boston next spring, which is a dream come true. 

The Run SMART Project has been focused on not only getting us to run smarter, but it seems to help us to be smarter, too, by providing us with a wealth of information. Brian informs us of the purpose of each workout, as well as links to their series on YouTube (you can click HERE to view the videos) where Jack explains the rationale of the training, and world class distance runner and coach Alicia Shay provides nutrition coaching and advice. Click HERE to hear Alicia Shay answer Flyers' MTP questions about nutrition during the marathon taper up through race-day, as well as post-race nutrition.

I’ve never thought so much about clearing blood lactate from my system, the amount of rest time between different kinds of repetitions, and the nutrition, nutrition, nutrition to optimize performance.  And occasionally the group reunites for some non-traditional carb-loading and some old-school English boy band tunes…

MTP Gets Social with Carbs
After Another Challenging Workout

During our Wednesday group workouts, we do varying distance threshold-pace runs (“comfortably hard”), VO2 max repeats (about 5K race pace), or hill repeats. We do easy runs on other days, and weekend long-runs that often include increasing stretches at marathon race pace.

Sub-Group of MTPers Begin Their Charge
Up "Strawberry Hill"
For One of a Series of Hill Repeats

There are minimal 20-milers on our schedules, which has been a little disconcerting, but has an important purpose behind it. Instead of running 20 miles or more all at once, we often do back-to-back weekend runs of 8-14 miles.  The purpose is to cluster two runs close together to gain the endurance benefits of a 20-mile or longer run, but without having us on our feet for too long at one time.  Ideally, we do one of the runs late in the day on a Saturday, and the other early morning on Sunday so that the runs are close together but still allow some recovery in between them.

MTP Band On The Run

As folks in our group begin to tackle their fall marathon challenges we’re starting to see the results of our training, and from our following the plans of our guru, Jack Daniels, PhD, and thanks to the guidance of the Run SMART Project team.  

-Debbie P