The rare athlete will remember that feeling and devote his/her life to sharing it with others. Rutland, Vt. resident Steve Lulek is an example of such an athlete.
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How you can learn to control that adrenaline rush and use it to your advantage on race day.
Ellen Lyons was in a rut. The 50-year-old runner from Quincy had finished an astonishing 15 marathons, but her times were not improving. Her training was to blame. Like many long distance runners Lyons avoided speed work and drills and focused on long, slow distance. “I would just do what I was good at,” Lyons says. “I like to run long distances at the same speed.” Hoping to jump start her training and her marathon times, Lyons called Joe McConkey, head coach at the Boston Running Center in 2005. “I felt like changing it up a little,” she says.
McConkey, who is a USA Track and Field endurance coach, first tackled the type of training Lyons was doing. “We had to get her doing the right kind of workouts,” he says. “She wasn’t challenging the systems she could challenge. She was too cautious.” McConkey integrated more speed work into Lyons’ routine as well as some drills and plyometrics to help improve her shuffling gait. “Her gait lacked elevation and distance,” he says. Now after working on her form, Lyons has a more confident and longer stride, says McConkey.
As Lyons trains for her 16th marathon, the Boston Marathon next month, she says she couldn’t be happier with the progress she’s made in the past three years. She met her goal of breaking four hours after working with McConkey and feels better after running than she did previously. She chalks this all up to the motivation only a coach can provide. “I now do organized speed work, core strength work and drills,” she says. “Left to my own devices I would do half the work.” For more information on the Boston Running Center visit www.bostonrunningcenter.com.
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