When most people race, they run the most convenient route through the course that they can, which isn’t necessarily the shortest. Ignoring the inherent inaccuracies of handheld GPS devices, you might actually run as far as 27 miles during a marathon as the mile markers come further and further past where your watch tells you it should be.

If you want to run a faster time, it only makes sense that you should try to race along the shortest route possible. The way that you do that is to run the tangents.

What is a tangent?

Per Wikipedia: In geometry, the tangent line to a curve at a given point is the straight line that “just touches” the curve at that point. As it passes through the point of tangency, the tangent line is “going in the same direction” as the curve, and in this sense it is the best straight-line approximation to the curve at that point.

What this means is rather than following the curve of a road or your race course, you should aim yourself directly for the next curve that comes into sight and to only run along the curve when you can not see that next curve until after you’ve gone around the current one.

As you can see in the map to the right, the person following the orange line is running along the left side of the road. During training, this is appropriate and safe as it will help them avoid getting hit by a car.

The person running the red line, however, is running the tangents to the curve. He will cover the same distance (by road) in less time because he won’t have to travel as far (in actual distance).

As the person following the red line reaches the first curve (running from the bottom right to the top left) they are crossing to the right side of the road.

As soon as he has gotten around that turn, he then makes a bee-line to the next curve, which involves crossing the road again to the left side of the road. The final turn on this map again involves running straight across the road to the right side.

By looking at this map, you may notice that the red line isn’t that much shorter than the orange line. However, over the full distance of a race, especially one with a lot of turns and curves, it can really add up.

You can shave seconds off of a shorter race or even minutes in a longer race, but you still have to watch for the usual hazards! Don’t run the tangents blindly.

Hazards

If there are potholes or other obstacles at the edge of the road, you may want to go around even if it means running a little further.

In a crowded race, you may not be able to run the tangents in the press of all of the other runners. Even if there are only 1 or 2 people around you, you still need to watch out that you don’t run into somebody or cut them off and cause them to run into you.

Also, you must be sure to pay attention to course markings and pre-race instructions. Even if a road has a turn, the course itself may not allow you to cross the yellow line in a road, for example.

And as always, defer to traffic, whether it is supposed to be allowed on the course or not. If you cross the road in front of a vehicle and it hits you, then a car will almost always win and a bicycle will usually win. Most vehicles are far less maneuverable as you are and you stand to lose more, so it’s always on the runner to avoid getting hit.

Try this simple strategy the next time you race and let me know how it goes, or leave a comment and tell me about when you first learned to use this strategy to good effect!

(Photo Credits: Google Maps – Tom Huessing)

After the registration fiascos of the past 2 years, I wrote an open letter on how to improve the Beach to Beacon with a few suggestions on how to improve the process (many of which were implemented this year.)

And with this year’s improvements, registration closed once again in record time. Technically, registration is still open for the 1500 lottery entrants, but of the first-come, first-served entries, all 600 of the Cape Elizabeth entries were snatched up in 21 minutes on Friday, and the 4,000 open registrations were all claimed within 32 minutes on Saturday morning.

I didn’t have any personal experience with the registration process this year, as I was out running at Pineland Farms. From what I’ve heard, though, the process wasn’t quite as horrible for everybody as it was last year, although it was still far from ideal.

Many people still had to contend with server errors, although I haven’t heard of nearly as many people thinking they were registered and not actually getting through, or of people getting double billed and/or double-entered.

If you haven’t yet registered for the race and still want to run, there are 1,500 bibs still up for grabs in the lottery. Lottery requests must be received by March 21^st, with the winners being announced on the 22^nd.

You can register at the race website: BeachToBeacon.org

Dear Blaine,

I have been reading your newsletter for some time now and i love all your tips. My question however is this: Is it possible that running is a sport that will never develop for some people?

I am a triathlete with running as my weaker discipline. I am training for my first half- marathon and have started running many more miles than ever before. My frustration is that it never feels easier and my assumption that long runs of 8-10 miles would instantly translate to more comfortable or maybe even faster 5k times. No such luck for me.

I also incorporate hill runs, intervals on the treadmill, striders/sprints at the end. It still feels tough, like my body is tired. I try to eat as healthy as possible to fuel the machine, but alas I struggle with running. Any suggestions for those of us who want to run happy, but just feel genetically doomed?

Thanks,
Heather

Heather,

That’s a great question!

It is definitely true that some people are more genetically programmed to be good runners than others, and that only a small percentage of them actually go out and run (but that’s another subject…)

If your body is feeling tired while you are running, then there is probably something wrong with your training that isn’t right for you. I’m going to go on an assumption that you feeling run down for most of your run (and for the majority of them) based on how I read your email, so the first thing I think of is that it may be related to food.

Food, Diet & Running

You say that you are eating a healthy diet, which is always good, but when are you eating your meals? Do you eat anything before your runs so that you have some fuel while you are working out? Are you eating anything shortly after your workouts so that your body will have the fuel it needs to repair your muscles rather than just shutting down and leaving you sore? What foods are you eating before & after?

My next thought after singling out food would be that perhaps you are over training.

Overtraining and Hammering Workouts

How fast are you running? How hard are your other workouts during the week?

Are all of your runs some sort of hill workout or treadmill intervals or striders or sprints?

I have quite a few triathlete friends that have burnt themselves out by hammering 6 speed workouts a week (2 swimming, 2 biking and 2 running) plus doing a long run and then wondering why they’re so run-down and tired.

Their thinking is that if they use different muscle groups then they are still getting the chance to recover, and when they were younger that might even have been the case but now they are all having to start to slow down a little for at least half of those workouts or else switch up which discipline they concentrate on from week to week.

My first advice here might be to look at your overall schedule to see if you are trying to do back to back hard workouts (even if they are different disciplines) and also to look at whether it might be in your best interest to slow down on your runs.

Rest and Recovery

The third thing, which is very closely related, is how much rest are you getting each week? If you don’t recover from your workouts, you can’t improve.

Recovery is the process of repairing the damage done to your muscles during a workout, and every athlete needs some down time to give their muscles a chance before stressing them out again.

That doesn’t necessarily mean taking a day off completely, but it does mean that you do need some less intense workouts now and again.

(I go into a lot more detail on all 3 of those suggestions in my 3 Components of an Effective Workout report…)

The Effects of Boredom

The last suggestion I have without more details would be to look at where you are running. If you aren’t enjoying yourself, then maybe you should try changing things up.

If you are on a treadmill most of the time, try getting outside instead.

If you are always on the roads, then try finding some trails to run on.

If you usually run alone, join a club and find some running partners (just make sure they aren’t too fast for you if you are trying to slow down!)

What are your thoughts?

What advice would you give to Heather, or to another triathlete that might be having the same problem with her running (or swimming or biking for that matter?)

By the way, I did hear back from Heather, and she said that she is guilty of hammering 6 times a week (although one of those workouts was her long run) and that her pre-workout nutrition is basically non-existant.

(Photo Credits: Jimmy Harris & Matt Coats)

If you are a Cape Elizabeth resident, you can register tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. and can avoid trying to beat the rush of the other 10,000 people that want to run for 24 hours (or at least until the 600 reserved slots are registered.)

Everybody else can try to register on Saturday morning.

Here are the full details direct from the folks at B2B:

Andy is the voice of the Mount Washington Road Race and has announced other premier events such as the Beach to Beacon 10k.

He is very well known in the New England area and always does a great job with any race he’s involved with.

Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town to watch the Boston Marathon (and possibly run Exeter) that weekend so I won’t get a chance to say hi and welcome him to Portland.

(Patriot’s Day 5 Miler)

However, if you put on a non-championship RRCA race, then you can now benefit from discounted rates when purchasing Gatorade products for your race.

Products available through the purchase program include:

• Gatorade Thirst Quencher lemon-lime powder in 14-51 oz. cased – $86.00/case
• 8 oz. cups – $79.50 per case
• 7-gallon coolers – $54/unit

The new program can help race directors save about a third of the cost on aid station supplies.

(More info: RRCA)

Hours on the roads, quick stops at restaurants, and bad hotel food served to captive audiences can easily lend itself to a “not quite right” feeling in your gut even a week after you get home and back to your normal diet.

There are a few tactics you can follow to improve matters, though.

First, bring a canteen with you and refill it with water regularly. If you have to, even bottled water beats drinking nothing but soda or coffee, but the more water you can drink the better off you will be no matter where you are.

Second, bring some fresh fruit with you or stop and buy some when you get where you are going. Apples and bananas can travel well, especially if you are driving.

Third, have plenty of healthy snacks to get you through your day.

I was at a seminar last week that had the usual bland and not particularly healthy food easily available at the hotel. There were a few restaurants around the hotel, but none within quick walking distance so the hotel had it made.

Thankfully, I had a barrel of pretzels, a few different types of dried fruit and nut mixes, and my trusty canteen to get me through most of the days so that I wasn’t starving come meal times and could take the time to find some better options for at least a few of the meals.

Normally I’d have made some beef jerky or apple leathers to bring with me as well but I hadn’t had time before the conference so I had to make do.

What are your strategies for when you are eating on the go?

(Photo Credit: Nemo’s Great Uncle)

Here’s a news clip prior to his run from last week:

Gary has now run 60 marathons, and plans to still be running them under 3 hours in 10 years so that he can add another decade onto his feat. His secret?

“It’s probably luck and I was probably born with some genes that keep me going, but I’m also a real persistent and stubborn runner,” he says.

Congratulations, Gary!

The city of Houston will be investing $1.7 million dollars to manage the event logistics, athlete support, travel and prize money. The Marathon Trials will be held a day before the Houston Marathon on January 14, 2012, with the top 3 runners of both races getting a slot on the London Olympic Team.

The timing for Houston provides enough time to recover from the race before the Olympics, but is close enough to the early August start of the London Games for the race to still be relevant.

“As we expected, all three bids were remarkable, and all three bids had qualities that made each unique,” USATF CEO Doug Logan. “Ultimately, we feel that hosting the Olympic Trials at Houston will afford our athletes the best opportunity to succeed in London. What was most striking about Houston’s bid was their ability to integrate the Olympic Trials into their weekend of racing in a way that benefitted all parties, but first and foremost, the athletes.”

Houston last hosted the Olympic Marathon Trials in 1992, when they determined which women would be traveling to Barcelona.

Houston is a little more difficult for me to travel to then either Boston or New York (or Boston and New York, as the case was in 2008) but I think that it will be a good venue and I hope that I can get down there to watch.

I’ve already got 2 friends who have qualified and a group of my college teammates are currently training for the Trials so I really hope that I’ll be able to see at least a few of them competing as well.

There are normally 2 qualifying standards, an “A” standard that is all expenses paid and a “B” standard that allows you into the race. For 2012, the men only have an “A” standard of 2:19:00 in the marathon, although they can also qualify with a 1:05:00 half marathon or a 28:30 10k.

The women’s “A” standard for the marathon is 2:39:00, although they can run a “B” standard time of 2:46:00 in the marathon, or 1:15:00 in the half marathon, or 33:00 in the 10k.

(More Info: USATF – Qualifying Standards: Men – Women – Image Courtesy: London 2012)

Go here if you want to see my photos from the 2008 Women’s Trials:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45929840@N00/sets/72157604682112162

Very motivational; it makes me want to go outside and run right now. (Not that I usually need very much to make me want to do that, heheh…)

Here’s the video:

(Hat Tip: David Hananburg)