The 2012 Texas Marathon and Houston Marathon were just two weeks apart — on January 1st and January 15th, respectively.

I got to participate in both of them, and finishing yet another two marathons that close together was educational.

What made those fifteen days even more fun was getting to see IN PERSON (Woo-hoo!) the 2012 USA Olympic Trials Marathons — also in Houston — the day before the 40th Chevron Houston Marathon.

A Tale of Two Marathons

The Metal Saw Texas Marathon required participants to cover four scenic loops of a concrete foot-path in the Kingwood subdivision on the north side of Houston, Texas, with the start and finish lines at a local park. The Chevron Houston Marathon required one loop on bridges and streets paved with concrete or asphalt through several parts of the city, with the start and finish lines at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Although the Texas Marathon had a lot of shade from trees, the all-concrete nature of the course gave my feet and joints much more of a pounding than did the mixed-surface course of the Houston Marathon.

There are many more differences between these marathons, but let me share them in my …

Personal Lessons Learned

I learned — or re-learned — a lot by running in two marathons just two weeks apart.

• Hold back as much as possible for as long as possible. Before I ran Texas this year, I decided that I wanted to run it in 4:56 and that I wanted my four splits (It was four loops long.) to be 1:15, 2:29, 3:43, and 4:56. I ended up running a 1:11 on the first loop and a 2:28 by the end of two loops. So I went out much too fast and ended up with a 5:28 finish — largely because I burned myself out in the first half. In contrast, I focused a lot of my Houston run on holding myself back and came as close as I have ever come to achieving a negative split in a marathon. I finished Houston with a 5:18 (ten minutes faster than two weeks earlier!), enjoyed the route the most of the five times that I now have run it, and got a 2:37:45 at the 13.1-mile timing mat.
• Find and support a running partner who can hold back for the negative split. My running partner for Texas this year was very enthusiastic about beating the five-hour goal. I encouraged this enthusiasm by telling her about the split times that I wanted us to get. Unfortunately, I let her down by not keeping a close eye on how quickly we were running the first loop, so we completed that loop four minutes too fast. (To non-marathoners, that may not sound like a lot, but, believe me, it was!) After two of the four loops, I lost the ability to keep up with her, and she finished Texas thirteen minutes ahead of me. In contrast, I told my running partner for Houston (another person with whom I had trained all season) that I had NO particular finishing-time goal and that I wanted to hold back as much as possible for as many miles as possible. She, in turn, was able to support me for the first twenty miles, and we finished Houston within three minutes of one another.
• Take an anti-inflammatory around mile 20. No, I am not talking about a pain-killer such as beer, which I once tried around mile 24 in a marathon. (That did not work for me.) I am talking about an over-the counter (OTC), non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). I did not do this on my Texas run, but I tried it for the first time on my Houston run. I got the idea from Marshall Ulrich’s Running on Empty. I am not a medical doctor, and I am not prescribing or recommending any drug here, but I can tell you that — for me, anyway — an NSAID can take the edge off the dull pain toward the end of a marathon. (Your mileage may vary. Consult your health practitioner.)
• Insert ear plugs as soon as the crowd, bands, and stereo systems are too loud. Granted, Houston has some 250,000 spectators, lots of bands, and huge speaker-systems from various companies such as the beer sponsor, whereas Texas has maybe 250 spectators (pretty much all at the start/finish line), no bands, and no music blaring from speaker systems. So this lesson comes from trying something new in my 2012 running of the Houston Marathon that I had not tried in earlier Houston Marathons: wearing ear plugs from about mile 20 until I entered the finish-line chute. This dramatically decreased my stress level, which let me complete the 2012 edition of Houston with a much greater sense of calm than in previous years.
• Do not condition your happiness on your chip time. I focused most of my thoughts, as well as glances at my GPS wrist unit, in the 2012 Texas Marathon on the 4:56 goal and the splits necessary to achieve this — until, that is, I realized that it would be nearly impossible to achieve this goal. In contrast, I focused most of my thoughts, as well as glances at my GPS wrist unit, in the 2012 Houston Marathon on holding myself back as long as possible. And, you guessed it: I was much happier during and after Houston than I was during and after Texas. I don’t mean a little bit happier; I mean a LOT happier. There are at least two lessons within this lesson, and I will talk more about them in my next book.
• Use called-out paces to help you to confirm that you are running a negative split. My running partner for Houston this year taught me this. I used to ignore the paces called out by volunteers at various points along a marathon, knowing that they were based on me crossing the start-line mat at the sound of the gun and that several minutes always passed between the sound of the gun and when I crossed the start line. But my Houston partner got me to pay attention to each called-out pace — not for its absolute value (such as “13:43/mile”) but for its value relative to the previous called-out pace (such as “12:27″ for the latest pace versus “12:41″ for the previous pace). Hearing our pace slowly but surely improve– for most of Houston, anyway — assured me that we were running a negative split.
• Listen to your breath to tell you when you’re too fast. I have gotten pretty good at this, but I can miss it in the excitement of a race. My 2012 Houston Marathon running partner noticed my heavy breathing at one point when I missed it, and she got me to back off our pace until I could recover. Her bigger point was, “Let your body tell you when you’re too fast.”
• When you must walk extra, see it as something that could revert to running, NOT as a black-and-white sign of permanent failure. I use various forms of micro-level pacing in my training and racing, so walking is a given for me. But walking beyond my allotted walking period or instead of running during my allotted running period is not a given for me. I used to see the extra walking during a marathon or half marathon as a sign of failure. What I started to understand during the 2012 Texas Marathon and fully understood during the 2012 Houston Marathon is that a period of extra walking can revert to running, which gave me a new, positive perspective.
• Training to run with negative splits helps you to race with negative splits. I finally learned in the long training season leading up to these two marathons to run with negative splits. And it was that training experience that gave me the confidence to go for a negative split in each of these two races.
• Focus on how you feel more than on how you run relative to others (except perhaps relative to your racing partner — especially one whose pace you know well). Mental Tricks for Endurance Runners and Walkers includes some race-day tricks that rely on leveraging the racers around you. And those tricks work. But first and foremost you have to take care of how you feel during a race. If you find someone with whom you can partner for at least part of a race, then also focus on how your pace matches your partner’s pace. You can draw positive energy from one another, even if that partner was a stranger just minutes earlier.
• Spectators can make a big difference. Texas Marathon has maybe 250 spectators, most of whom are at the start/finish-line area. Houston Marathon has 250,000 spectators along the course, which works out to an average of 1.8 spectators every foot. I rely on spectators to renew my enthusiasm, especially toward the end of an endurance race. If you do, too, then pick your races accordingly.
• Good in-race nutrition can prevent deliriousness. Until the Texas Marathon and Houston Marathon in 2012, every marathon in which I participated ended with me becoming mildly or moderately delirious. I used to wonder whether this was a “runner’s high” that was kicking in at around mile 20. But, then I learned more about my caloric and electrolyte needs during a marathon, and I realized that I was not consuming enough calories and electrolytes. I did not have this deliriousness problem in these two races, and I attribute it to religious “dosing” for calories and electrolytes throughout each race.
• Focusing on heel lift toward the end of a marathon can improve one’s speed. I had what may have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see in person the USA Olympic Trials Marathons the day before the 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon. And “in person” means that I was just three feet or so from some of the best male and female marathoners in the U.S. as they passed me three times on the main loop of that course. Although I have traditionally been a shuffler in my marathons, seeing those 300+ Olympic hopefuls lift their heels quite high behind them inspired me to focus on my lifting my heels ever so slightly more than usual in the final four miles of Houston. And that little extra kick helped me to cut several seconds off my per-mile running pace in that stretch of the marathon.

A Paradigm Shift

My biggest “A-ha!” from these two marathons is actually a paradigm shift. When I see an endurance race as yet another training run, in which I hold myself back as much as possible in pursuit of a negative split:

• I enjoy the race more.
• I get to stay in the moment for each part of the race.
• I can finish the race faster.

How can you make this paradigm shift? Here’s my advice for seeing your marathon or other endurance race as yet another training run or walk:

• Enjoy being able to throw down your trash.*
• Enjoy having all those spectators out to cheer you.*
• Enjoy being able to run down the middle of the road.*
• Enjoy having police and medical personnel right there to serve you.*
• Enjoy having photographers there to document your run or walk.*
• Enjoy having water or aid stations every one to two miles.*
• Enjoy having others track your splits.*
• Enjoy getting a finisher medal upon finishing.*

*Remember, you are paying in one way or another for all of this. So be grateful for and enjoy all of these ways that an endurance race is not the same as a training session!

What Say You?

Have you ever run two marathons just fourteen days apart? In the same city? What lessons have you learned? What was your favorite lesson? Do you look at your endurance races as yet more training sessions? I would love to hear from you. And your fellow readers may benefit, too. So please leave a comment below!

Run Like a Girl, by Mina Samuels, has “How Strong Women Make Happy Lives” as its subtitle. Although the title is catchy, it’s the subtitle that gives you the essence of the book in just six words.

The author writes from a woman’s perspective about running and other sports. She shares insightful stories about exercise and sports from nearly a hundred women. For example, Rebecca Yzquierdo, whose review of my book Gratitude Power for Runners and Walkers appears in its pages, is featured eight times in Run Like a Girl.

And, although the title may imply that this book by Ms. Samuels is only for female runners, I recommend it to female and male runners (and walkers!) alike. Here are five reasons …

Inspiration

If you are a woman, Run Like a Girl will inspire you to (a) get off the couch and hit the road or trail, (b) stay off the couch, or (c) return to the road or trail after getting sidelined by injury.

If you are a man, this book will inspire you to see from a richer perspective how important running, walking, and other forms of exercise and sport can be to the women in your life.

Education

Run Like a Girl is filled not only with stories of female athletes but also with reports about research that points to the power of running and other sports to transform one’s life.

For example, Samuels cites the excellent book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, which I highly recommend.

Humor

Run Like a Girl is as humorous as it is inspirational and educational. For example, “Chicking the Boys” is the title of chapter 6. And Samuels quotes one female athlete as having said, “I fell in love with the first boy who could run as fast as me on the playground.”

 Here’s another gem:

 ”Where have you had road rash?” is cycling code for, “How serious a rider are you?”

Good Stories

When I reflect on why I enjoyed Run Like a Girl as much as I did, I realized that “good stories” was the core reason.

1. The author has a beautiful fluidity to her writing. So, as I read Run Like a Girl, I felt as if she were talking directly to me.
2. Mina Samuels is an accomplished athlete in her own right, so she knows her subject well — and is passionate about it!
3. Ms. Samuels shares scores of stories from other female athletes, and each story is interesting by itself.

Because of the high quality of the stories in the book, I found myself picking it up, savoring a few stories, and then putting it back down, certain that more good stories were waiting for me later.

Happiness

Finally, Run Like a Girl at its essence is about how running and other sports support one’s happiness, which is near and dear to my heart.

Your Turn

Have you read this book? What did you like about it? What resonated with you? Please share by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

Guest Article by Holly Herman

I started running marathons in 1996. I had been running for many years. I had recently moved to New York from San Diego. I missed my running buddies, and my motivation was beginning to lag. I needed a new goal to keep me in shape.

Over the next ten years I trained for and completed 20 marathons. I learned many lessons during the training that I’ve applied to my work life.

Lesson 1: I can do anything. Marathoning has made me fearless. When I have a plan, stick to the plan and take it step by step, I can accomplish what I set out to do. I have no doubt in my abilities. In business my focus is on finding a way to solve a challenge — it never occurs to me that I can’t do something.

Lesson 2: Plan ahead. I used the same training schedule to prepare for all 20 marathons. I was also working full time. Each Sunday afternoon I would plot out the week to ensure I got my miles in. I still use this same technique to plan my week. I start each week stress-free, knowing what I plan to accomplish on any given day. As a result I get much more done.

Lesson 3: Hard work. If I’m committed to accomplishing something, I’m willing to do the work to get it done. It is work, and there is no getting around it. Quick fixes rarely occur.

Lesson 4: Patience. Marathon training is a matter of building, one step at a time. There’s no short cut to putting in the miles. Each week I feel stronger and rely on my experience from the week before. It takes time with a payoff at the end.

Lesson 5: Take care of myself. Getting enough rest and eating right goes a long way to improving my attitude. Attitude determines how well, or not so well, I’ll do each and every minute of the day. Feeling good physically is the basis of a good attitude. It’s difficult to concentrate and find great opportunities, if I’m tired and worn out.

Lesson 6: Taking a day off. Integral to marathon training is incorporating a zero day (when I don’t run). It is just as important in business – when I completely disengage from business, let my mind wander and have fun, I come up with my best ideas. The day after a zero day, from running or working, I feel stronger and more motivated than ever.

Lesson 7: Training journal. Keeping a training log which recorded details of my runs – date, time, how long, weather, how I felt – taught me to record my results as they occur. I used to focus on what I needed to get done and forgot what I accomplished. Keeping track of my accomplishments serves as a reminder and motivator that I continue to do great things.

Lesson 8: Dress the part. Whether I was training or racing, it was always important to wear the right clothes and shoes. Long training runs could be a disaster, if I was over- or under-dressed or if my shoes weren’t right (ill-fitting or worn-out). This is the same in business; when I dress right and wear something I feel really good in, it raises my confidence.

Sub-tip: I learned it is just as important in business or running a marathon, wear something you’ve tested out. I don’t want to find out my shoes are uncomfortable half way through a presentation or a race.

Lesson 9: Celebrate! When I completed my first marathon, I burst into tears and cheers crossing the finish line. When I was hired as a CEO, I danced a happy dance in my kitchen. Accomplishments are always worth celebrating along the way. It’s always OK to say, “Yay, ME!”

About Holly Herman

Holly Herman is a former CEO of two successful credit unions, a former Chief of Staff for National Credit Union Administration Chairman Johnson, and currently an Achievement Coach helping individuals and organizations achieve what they want. She can be found at http://www.AchievingSkills.com, or contact her at Holly@AchievingSkills.com.