A few weeks ago, I attended the fourth and final St. Jude Marathon training clinic. Coach Kevin Leathers hosted the program and discussed pre-race logistics as well as provided a sneak course preview. As I was listening to Coach Leathers, my nerves began to feel that rush of adrenaline only caused by race day.

The biggest takeaway from this session was to reduce your stress. Coach Leathers recommends a plan should be put in place beginning Friday night and all running gear should be double-checked. On race day, it is important to arrive early – at least 1.5 hours before the race. This will allow you enough time to get yourself situated, get your bag checked, and stretch with plenty of time to relax. You’ll also beat the crowds and avoid any additional stress.

When lining up in the coral before the race begins, make sure you seed yourself correctly. This will help avoid having a slow runner in a fast pace group or a fast runner in a slow pace group. The St. Jude Memphis Marathon also provides race pacers to keep you on pace. At the start of the race, line up near with the pace leader and remember to keep them in sight throughout the race.

As with any marathon, it is also important to stay close to the turns. Marathons are measured near the turn, so if you are running far from each turn, you’ll end up running more mileage. A few tenths of a mile add up with you are running 26.2 miles! Coach Leathers suggests when you see a turn approaching, start making your way toward the edge of the road early.

Overall, the most important aspects of every race are to relax, focus, and enjoy!

The phrase “hitting the wall” is actually a myth! This statement is commonly made when an athlete can no longer continue a physical activity, such as running or cycling. Scientifically, hitting the wall or bonking describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles.

The term was coined years ago and derived from the fact that without any addition supplements our bodies can perform for about 2 hours of continuous activity before getting tired. Marathon runner’s claimed to hit “the wall” around the 20th mile, which is around 2 hours into a marathon for an average runner. With no supplements available, runners essentially “hit the wall” causing sudden fatigue and loss of energy.

Today, hitting the wall can be overcome through regular hydration and routine replenishing of supplements. A proper race strategy with adequate replenishing every 50-60 mins. and keeping on pace will ensure the wall is never reached. It’s essential to have a practiced fueling plan and physical and mental fortitude long before race day.

Some words of advice from running Coach Kevin Leathers are to remember to accept the pain – it’s supposed to hurt. And remember, it’s the ability to keep running that will get you through the race.

For the last 12 weeks, we’ve talked a lot about physical training, but mental training is just as important, if not more important. As part of the third St. Jude Memphis Marathon Training Clinic, Coach Kevin Leathers outlines 4 areas of focus for mental training.

1. Self Motivation
   • Love the challenge! This point speaks for itself.
   • Do the work – set goals, record the results, and celebrate the achievements
   • Keep a training log – it’s true, you’re going to want to look back at your training and make adjustments for the next race. It’s important to record more than your running distance, include all the details – what you ate, how you felt, weather conditions, etc.
2. Self Control
   • Simulation – practice everything so there’s no guesswork
   • Visualize how race day will look
   • Actualization – expect and embrace the pain. “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
3. Rationalization
   • Understand your fears and limiting factors
   • Deal with the negative thoughts – never give in!
   • Positive affirmations – positive self talk
   • Use imagery
   • Concentration – be aware (internal/external), relax, regularly self-assess
4. Relaxation
   • Detection of stress
   • Be confident – replace negative with positive energy
   • Find your “happy” place

Coach Leathers’ ultimate advice is to know the pain is always erased by the finish line. It’s the finish line that makes you want to race again and again.

The BIG race is only 4 weeks away! I’ve been training for 12 weeks now and can honestly say that it’s the motivation of running for the kids of St. Jude that inspires me to keep going.

Last month was probably the most challenging. Between getting sick for two weeks and traveling almost every weekend, it was difficult to stay consistent (which, by the way, is the key to marathon training). Dwelling on missed miles is only going to set me back, so I need to look forward and focus this month because in 4 weeks it will be me, my running shoes, and 26.2 miles of pavement!

With October behind me, I’ve recently been reenergized by two sources – (1) the comments from readers of this blog and (2) the St. Jude Training Clinic #3. Before recapping the third training clinic, I’d like to take a moment to thank all the supporters of this blog for their dedication and loyalty to Running for the Kids. You’re daily comments are so supportive and truly mean a lot.

About two weeks ago, Coach Kevin Leathers hosted the third St. Jude Training Clinic. The topic was Peaking for Optimum Performance: How to get the mind and body ready for race day. As Coach Leathers starts every training clinic, he reminds us consistency = success.

The most important training period is 4 – 6 weeks out from the race. With the Memphis Marathon only 4 weeks away, this puts me in the strike zone! The reason why this time period is so crucial is because it takes about 3 weeks for any training improvements to appear. Simply said, any strenuous training done in the last two weeks is not going help on race day. If scheduled properly, your longest run should be exactly 3 weeks prior to the event.

During this 4-6 week time frame, Coach Leathers explains emphasis should be on the following…

• Run at your goal race pace
• Last long run should be a total simulation of race day (this includes the night before as well as the morning routines)
• Participate in a final “tune-up” race (depending on the mileage)
• Focus should be on the long runs
• Clean up your diet – now is the time to watch what your eating
• Make sure you get extra rest
• Continue regular preventative maintenance

The remaining 2-3 weeks are all about tapering for optimum performance. Tapering is a critical part of training. During this phase, it’s important to maintain the intensity, but cut the mileage. Coach Leathers reminded us that tapering DOES NOT mean stop training. Overall, the idea is to reduce mileage by 20% each week leading up to the race so at the end of 3 weeks, you’ve cut your milage by 60%. Why is tapering so important? Because we now know that no additional fitness is gained 3 weeks out from the event.

On race day everything really boils down to these two words: consistency and confidence. Consistency provides the routine and confidence provides the ability to transform nervous energy into positive energy.