Eating Prunes On Race Day

By Jack Gray

Perhaps I should tell you immediately that I have neither the desire nor the intention of writing about eating prunes on race day or any other time. I just wanted to get your attention, and to focus on some of the mistakes we often make in running. Some of them seem almost insignificant at the time, yet they are like time bombs waiting to explode at the most inopportune moments. There are simply few places in life where paying for your mistakes is more certain than it is in racing. Even when the bad results are delayed, they are seldom canceled. So, what mistakes have you been making recently, and how soon are you going to have to pay for them?

1. Buying Shoes Too Small - When I first began running I thought I knew my proper shoe size. After all, it had been the same for years. I would probably even have taken offense if anyone had suggested that I needed something larger. But I was naturally thinking of dress shoes and running shoes are a whole different ball game. After the sore toes and black nails I began to increase my shoe size, but even then I was vain enough to do it only a half size at a time... until finally I settled on a size and half above my dress shoe size, and immediately began to enjoy my running more.

Now not everyone will need this much of an increase, but this is what works best for me. I also learned that width is just as important as length. The lesson is: buying running shoes is not the time for vanity or to take pride in small shoe size. Buy what is comfortable for you, remembering that the slightest discomfort in the store will be magnified many times over on the trail. The ideal time to buy shoes is wither late in the day or immediately after a run, since your feet swell with activity. Be sure to wear the same thickness of sock you expect to wear while running. Then have both feet measured rather than only one, as they can vary as much as a half size, and don’t buy “bargain” shoes unless they are exactly what you need. A half size off, the wrong posting or a toe box that is too narrow are just problems waiting to happen. You will pay dearly for mistakes you make in buying your shoes.

2. Neglecting Your Speed Work - It is rare to find a runner who really enjoys speed work. Oh, they may be thrilled with the fellowship of a group or even enamored by the person they are with, but still dread the work itself. Frankly, most of us look forward to it about as much as we would a good case of the measles. Yet it is vital to good running. We are not going to get faster without pushing the limits. This is not to suggest that all of your running needs to be at race pace. That is certainly not true, but we must not forget that slow training all the time can certainly lead to slow racing as well.

The mistake seems to be that we have assumed that speed work can be done only on a track, which somehow causes us to dread it all the more. In reality it can be accomplished in fartliks, intervals or just in determining to finish every run fast. It can be incorporated into almost any kind of regular run, or it can be turned into a specific event. Even then, the secret is not too often. Unless you are a sprinter, one time a week is plenty to prepare for road racing. Trying to do more can actually hut your racing, as well as leading to burnout.

3. Permitting Tired Running - I am both too old and too decrepit to suggest that I don’t rnu when I’m tired. I sometimes have to kick myself out the door just as you do. In fact, some of your most satisfying runs will be when you are mentally or physically “down” in the beginning. But the point is not to allow your posture to reflect it. When you are tired you are inclined to lean the body forward to breathe more shallow and lose good running form. So get your head up and your shoulders back. Compel yourself to take slower, deeper breaths. Unclench those hands and jaw, so that your strides are longer and smoother. Suddenly you will feel yourself gliding over the course, so that even your feet will not be making the slapping sound they were before; and, remarkably, your next mile will be faster rather than slower.

We all make mistakes in running, but surely we can avoid some of the “biggies”. Even though we all have disappointments, we don’t have to allow them to control us. Events happen on race day that we cannot anticipate. Those we have to take in stride, but we are more in charge of things during our training. IF we can make them go right, race days just have to be better. Save the prunes for another day!