The Darkest Hour
By Dr. Evan S. Fiedler
Foreword by Gabriel Whitlock
Edited by MC Writing
Copyright © 2011 by Dr. Evan S. Fiedler
ISBN: 978-1-937572-13-6
Smashwords Edition
Dedication
Dedicated to Emil Zatopek.
Thank you
Thank you to my family and friends for supporting and understanding this passion for running. Thank you to Bill Rodgers (four time winner of the New York City and Boston Marathon) who during a brief meet & greet shared this piece of wisdom, “Make sure you get enough rest.” Thank you to former college students Gabriel Whitlock (an avid runner with a brilliant mind) who wrote the foreword and Tara Wilkerson (an insightful & thorough writer) who provided the article titled Counting Calories included on Day 30.
Apology
I didn’t want to write this book. The looming constant mental & physical stress promises to make this endeavor a fiery struggle between reality and potential. I apologize ahead of time for taking you on this odyssey that frequently finishes at (and starts just beyond) the darkest hour.
Foreword
Gabriel Whitlock is a young gun with the wisdom and drive of a seasoned runner. In his first distance race (the 2008 Star Half Marathon) he placed 156th out of 294 runners. He continued to push his boundaries, running the same race on the same course for the next three years. In 2011 (his fourth attempt), he improved to placing third in his age group and 14th overall in a field of 443 runners. If you do the math, he moved from the top 53% to the top 3% of the finishers! The devotion to the commitment and time to make this jump with all the other responsibilities and distractions in a student’s life is truly remarkable. Gabe lives and runs in Floyd County, Virginia.
The Real Deal
Preparation for a marathon requires extreme discipline, involving several months of time and hundreds of miles. The first step of a successful race is to plan ahead. A great way to obligate you to the impending regimen and keep you focused is to register. On brutal training days, you will remember that you have already registered for the race and that if you back out, you will have wasted your time and money. Another big step in marathon preparation is to be consistent in workouts. In order to obtain the goal, running on a strict schedule is crucial. You must be honest with yourself there will be days that you don’t even want to think about going out for a run.
As strikingly depicted in The Darkest Hour, it is an extra challenge to be self-trained. In order to stay focused, it requires that you fall into a routine or pattern so that you won’t lose sight of the goal. I have trained using both methods, on a team and by myself. With a team, there are responsibilities such as showing up for practice on a daily basis, team meals, and so on. There are other runners to help support and encourage everyone, to keep the morale high even when you feel like the workout will never come to a close. To run alone raises the bar quite a bit. The responsibilities of a team don’t apply to a single runner. On a bad day, it is easy to have thoughts of giving up and not following through with the race. It helps to keep a daily log of workouts with information on the weather, how you felt, the distance and time, and any other blurbs about the run. A friend that will train with you at least part of the time is also beneficial.
To train for a marathon is tough. Proper nutrition throughout the entire preparation stage is essential. A balanced diet provides the body with vitamins and minerals it needs to replenish the system. Every day I leave early for school, which means I am only able to eat something quick for breakfast. As I go through the day, I have small, nutritious snacks to keep me alert and mitigate my hunger. Once classes are over I go to practice. In addition to eating, drinking well is also very important. It is essential to stay away from carbonated beverages, as they drain the body and leave you dehydrated, tired and weak. It is better to drink water to keep hydrated and sports drinks to provide your body with electrolytes. It is difficult to stay hydrated throughout classes. Most of the time, I gulp down one liter of water with lunch. I come home extremely hungry and want a nicely prepared meal, but all I have time for is something quick since I have to climb a mountain of homework. I try to drink another liter of water while I study. Unfortunately, with the amount of homework I have every night I rarely get to bed when I should or would like to. In spite of my best efforts I often end up eating poorly, drinking far too little, and falling short on sleep. Life as a student and a runner often has many inherent conflicts.
The Darkest Hour draws attention to managing this stressful balance revealing the true physiological and psychological labors associated with preparing for a marathon. In the same context, it is a clever protocol respecting the body’s need for rest (with only a consecutive 4 day running schedule). I hope you enjoy the book.
Run your best,
Gabe
Essential tools
The ability to complete ten kilometers. Before you begin this book, you must be able to finish ten kilometers. This could be walking, running, or a combination of both efforts. One of several unique aspects of this plan is that you can break up your daily distance as long as you complete at least 10 kilometers of the run at the same time. For example, if you have 15k to run today, it is perfectly fine to run 10k in the morning and 5k at night. I included the minimum recommendation of 10k because I want you to be ready for the demands of the full marathon and have the physical prowess to get to the other side of the finish line. If you are not comfortable with 10 kilometers, the book Come Run with Me can get you there.
A watch/other device that measures your outside distance in kilometers. I prefer a Garmin because I have been running with the Forerunner 201 for over ten years without a problem. If Garmin has one fault, it is making a product that is so reliable they may not have repeat business from the same customer for the same product. The products endorsed in this book were purchased without influence from the manufacturers and determined effective after personal use.
Four pairs of shoes (preferably all different brands/models). Two pairs of running shoes, one pair of trail shoes, and one pair of hiking boots. Running in different shoes everyday will reduce your chance of repetitive motion injuries. The trail shoes should weigh more than your running shoes and the hiking boots more than your trail shoes.
Every day has specific instructions. You must keep a journal. Write or type your goal the day before you run. Immediately after finishing each run write a journal entry, the goal for the next day, and keep a running total of your distance in a software program that allows for addition and average calculations. I have included actual real time details as a model (in italics) for every day when writing this book as examples. I recommend running on a soft surface (grass, trail, sand, etc.) and walking when crossing a road. If you have to (or prefer to) run on asphalt, track, treadmill, concrete, hardwood floors (you never know) or any other hard surface wearing two pairs of socks will provide extra padding. Also, you might want to invest in the lightest work shoes that you can wear while on the job and limit your other physical sports. This will save your legs for running. I have never run a marathon without walking; it is completing the distance everyday that is critical to your success and walking is better than not finishing. If you are experiencing any pain (before, during, and/or after your run) that is debilitating and interfering with your essential day to day responsibilities you have to rest until you can exercise without this limitation, and/or consult a medical professional. If you fail to complete a goal just move on. When getting ready for a marathon the grounding is similar to the race, you have to keep going (walking or running) to get to the finish line. I do not recommend running the race distance against time before your race or running in a race that is the same distance prior to finishing this plan. If you fail, this tactic could become a serious possible mental block and the discouragement could hinder your progress. On the last day, you will be running a full marathon. This book is designed to help you reach the goal of effectively finishing 42 kilometers (26.2 miles).
Chapter 1: The First Quarter
Day 1 (Sunday) Registration
The first day can be overwhelming and at the same time very exciting! I chose to start on Sunday because relatively speaking I have very few other obligations this day of the week. You want to start on a day that is characteristically the same. Sign up for a full marathon now to be run on the 64th day. A huge flexibility in this plan is that if you sign up for a race that is more than 64 days from now, those days can be integrated as rest. When you add the rest days, do it in between the scheduled running days starting with day 1 and day 2. Do this until you have used all the extra days beyond day 64 and avoid adding an extra day of rest adjacent to the existing ones. Don’t worry about more distance the required running in this book is ample enough to get you to the finish line. With this option, you could schedule a marathon anytime up to the 100th day. Not only that, you will not run more than 4 consecutive days and there is no weekly “long run.” That’s correct there is no one consistently assigned weekday where you are obligated to a long run. As a matter of fact, my greatest one day distance in this book was only 22.82 kilometers (14.18 miles)! If the marathon requires mailing a payment then mail the entry form before starting your run. You need that race registration in place as an underlying commitment that you will not give up. It is one of many layers that will become a strong foundation for your success. Here we go. Wear your running shoes and set a goal of at least 10 kilometers. After your run, you are going to do bicep curls, four sets of 25 repetitions. This is one set for every 10k of the race. Personally, I use the Total Gym to do my weight bearing exercises; however, you can use any items that will add resistance to the biceps. The specific biceps exercise is also at your discretion. There are multiple online websites that assist with showing standing curls, preacher curls, hammer curls, etc. Your effort requires 2 sets at one resistance, and 2 additional sets with more weight. The full marathon gives nothing back, it just takes, takes, takes. This is preparation for that challenge.
I have signed up for my 25th full marathon, finished 10.39k entirely on grass (starting at sunrise), and four sets of biceps of curls. I am feeling really confident at this stage. It is early, give it time.