'The Mountain Will Make Cowards Out of All of Us' |
 | | A runner in the Leadville 100 just outside Twin Lakes, Colo.Kristin Braga Wright for The New York Times |
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By Anna Katherine Clemmons |
Nate Boyer looked up as he began his ascent of Hope Pass about 40 miles into the Leadville Trail 100-mile race. The four-mile section rose 3,200 feet in elevation, taking runners to 12,600 feet above sea level. He would have to conquer the steep grade, run seven miles down the other side to a turnaround and repeat the process. The sun beat down as he maneuvered the trail, devoid of any shade. |
"It's ironic it's called Hope Pass, because that's the most hopeless feeling," Boyer, 42, said after the race. "Like you are pushing the hardest you can to take the next step — and you're not gaining ground." |
At Mile 47, Boyer accidentally jammed his left foot under a rock. His shin swelled, and his leg throbbed. Fifty-three miles to go, he told himself. Keep moving. |
Life in football had involved an entirely different kind of pain. |
David Vobora, 37, started throwing up when he began the Hope Pass climb. He alternated between walking and jogging as he vomited. A runner in her 50s stopped and rubbed his back as he hunched over again. |
At one point, Boyer and Vobora met on the trail. They hugged and offered words of encouragement. The two have been friends for years — and their experience with difficult physical challenges set them apart from most of the other runners. |
Vobora was the last pick in the 2008 N.F.L. draft, earning the annual title "Mr. Irrelevant." He worked his way up to starting linebacker for the Rams and then the Seahawks during a four-year career. |
Boyer, a former U.S. Army Green Beret who went on to play football at the University of Texas, was an undrafted free agent who played long snapper in preseason games for Seattle in 2015. |
Now, both men were trying to become the first former N.F.L. team members to finish the punishing 100-mile race before the 30-hour cutoff. |
"Just being up against that distance, that elevation, that length of time — the mountain will make cowards out of all of us," Vobora said. "It feels more spiritual than you versus an opponent. It's you versus who will show up internally." |
Read the full article here. |
Fall Marathoners: It's Time to Up the Miles and Find Your Pace |
 | | Keith E. Morrison for The New York Times |
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If you're training for a fall marathon, you've hopefully built your foundation and have entered the thick of your training. The miles are getting longer, the runs more frequent, and the hard work is underway. These next four weeks you'll focus on extending your long run, finding your goal pace, if you have one, and further preparing your body and mind for the rigors of a marathon. |
Here's what you'll need to get through this next, more specific, training block. |
Until now, your goal has been a weekly long run of at least 10 miles at a "conversational" pace. In this next period, you'll be extending that by a mile or two each week, ideally finishing with a 15-mile run. |
"Make your long run your biggest priority each week," said Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, an exercise physiologist and Olympic marathoner. |
Overall, you should do four to five weekly runs, including a long run and a medium-length run that's about 50 percent of your long run, said Jennifer Harrison, a coach in the Chicago area. |
Your Nutrition and Health |
As your miles increase, proper fueling before and during runs takes on a bigger role. Running more than 90 minutes at a stretch means burning through your stored carbohydrates. "This is when to get a bit more prescriptive around your grams of carbohydrates," to ensure you're getting enough energy to complete your runs without crashing, said Tamar Samuels, co-founder of Culina Health, a virtual nutrition service. |
As you proceed through these longer weeks of training, you may struggle with motivation. "Don't look at all four weeks of the block because it might overwhelm you," said Ms. Zeiger. "Instead, set weekly or even daily goals. Keep track of your accomplishments and use those daily wins to propel you forward." |
Read the full article here. |
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