A TIP FROM COACH JAY:

BALANCE OUT YOUR TRAINING

The final tip in this series focusing on experienced runners is the answer to this simple question, "How often should I race?"

...and like many things in life and running, the answer is, "It depends." Most experienced runners fall into two categories: they either race too little or race too often. They fail to find "the Goldilocks" balance of racing and training that is just right. Now, let's be clear, I'm not your coach and every athlete is different in their disposition and their life obligations, making the balance between racing and training a challenge. That said, it is obvious to me that if you're training for a marathon and you hate threshold runs then you can simply hop in a local 5k or 10k and run with other people, making the threshold run easier mentally. You'll get splits every kilometer so there is no excuse for not running an even split threshold run or a "fast finish" threshold run. Same for long runs. If you're in the middle of serious marathon training and need to get in 16 or 18 miles for your long run, simply warm up 4-6 miles then hop in a half-marathon and use the conveniences of water stations and mile markers to aid in your run. Running that long with other people and the distractions along the race course is significantly easier than running alone. So if you don't like training alone or have a hard time getting the appropriate amount of intensity in your workouts then run a race that you treat as a workout/long run.

The flip side to running races as workouts is the runner who wants to race every other weekend - or, God forbid, every weekend - because they have the burning need to constantly compare their times from week to week, or compare themselves to other local runners. Not a good idea. Training means training, not racing, so in training you should be a bit stale and a bit fatigued (though not so fatigued that you're on the edge of over-training). But so many runners want their cake and to eat it too; they want to train intelligently and train seriously, but they have an addiction to racing and race too often. Both the comparison of times from week to week and the toll a race takes on your body and your mind are not conducive to a good result at the key race.

So be honest with yourself about racing as there is a very good chance you need to do it more often or less often and only you can figure out which category you fall into.

*Coach Jay's advice is provided as general training information. Use at your own risk. Always consult with your own heath care provider for questions relating to your specific training and nutrition.