With the 32nd Bolder Boulder less than four weeks away, it’s never too late to start a little training, even if you haven’t started.
Local running guru Alan Culpepper, who finished second in the 2002 race and owns Solepepper Sports in Louisville, says there is plenty of time for those who haven’t started training to those who have to improve their time.
“Make sure your goal-race pace is dialed in,” Culpepper said. “Most people take off too fast and get excited. Get your effort level dialed in.”
Here are 10 tips and reminders to get yourself in race-day shape for the May 31 event:
1. Run.
No matter where you are in your training (even if you haven’t started), there’s still plenty of time to get your body ready to run 6.2 miles or fine-tune your training if you already have a decent base of running fitness. The big key for newcomers, says Culpepper, is “don’t jump in too quickly. . . . You’re better off running 3 1/2 to 4 miles two days in a row than running 6 miles and being wiped out for two days.”
2. Think about your shoes.
Time to get a new pair of lightweight trainers that can double as your race-day shoes. Understandably, most people let their shoes go too long. It’s best to have your race-day shoes maybe two weeks ahead of time and get in a couple of harder runs on them.
3. Train on fatigued legs.
The key to running fast is to be able to train your body to run the second half of the race as hard or harder as the first half. To do that, you have to be able to train the body to run fatigued via a variety of specially designed workouts.
4. Work on core strength.
Good running form is predicated on having core strength so the big leg muscles aren’t doing too much work. Having core strength allows the body to remain stable and thus run with economical form throughout the race, especially when fatigued.
5. Cross training — swimming, cycling, hiking.
Each of these will help give you a break from running once a week and thus not overwork your legs. Each will also work different muscle groups, which can go a long way in building good all-around strength that is necessary for good form.
6. Do a tuneup race.
There are several 5Ks in the Denver area this weekend and May 15-16 that could serve as a tuneup and give you a mental and physical checkpoint of your training. This weekend, check out the Mother’s Day Title 9K race in Boulder. And May 15 at Flatirons Crossing in Broomfield, look at the Flat Out 5K, from which you can use your time to be seeded in the top 22 waves of the Bolder Boulder.
7. Do form drills and strides.
Every coach will recommend doing four or five 50-yard build-up strides a couple of days per week after training runs, as well as various other form drills. Both will teach the body to run efficiently, and the strides will help build leg turnover (faster cadence) and overall speed.
8. Run the course.
It’s a simple but often-neglected task that can help a runner visualize the race before getting there on race day. It’s not easy to do with open roads and traffic, but it can serve as a good, inspirational training run, especially if that includes running back to the start to get a car. Learning the course and where to run fast, where to take it easy, etc., can go a long way in having a good race experience.
9. Rest.
Getting consistent sleep and taking at least one day off a week from running or exercising can help considerably on race day. Culpepper suggests running no more than five days in a week.
10. Taper.
This is especially true for the trained runner. Make sure to take it easy during the final week to 10 days before the race. You can’t do anything training- wise during that time period except make yourself more tired. Plenty of coaches can offer specific input here, but the key is usually to do a bit of high-intensity work with very low volume, just to stay sharp. Now, if you’re a newbie, it’s OK, Culpepper says, to run up to race day. Just don’t overdo it.
