Amy Begley is a two time NCAA National Champion, in the 5,000
and 10,000 meters. She is a 15 time All American, and Six time US National
Champion. In 2009 Amy was the US Outdoor champion in the 10k and finished 6th
in the World Championships. She has personal bests of 14.56 in the 5,000, 31.13
in 10,000, and 1:10.09 in the half marathon. I read a journal entry of Amy’s on
Let’s Run ( http://www.letsrun.com/ )
about professional sponsorship (http://www.begleytrack.com/journal.html) and decided to contact her.
Tho-Run: (TR)How
is your training going?
Amy Begely (AB)-It’s
going really well-every week I see improvement.
(TR): Amy, it’s getting near the end of the calendar year-so
many folks might be looking at their schedules and setting goals for next year.
Many of our readers select a half or a full marathon for the coming season to
train for. Can you talk a little about two things-what goes into a successful
finish for one of these events? And secondly, what kind of training should one
do to improve on a previous time in either event?
AB: Yeah definitely.
I think anybody that is interested in running, they start to look at the
marathon. It’s always looked at as the pinnacle of road racing, of running.
(Laughing)- Have you done a marathon? That’s usually the first question people
ask me. I tell them no, not yet. I’ve done a half, well, I’ve done a couple of half’s! But I haven’t
done the marathon yet. So I think that’s definitely the pinnacle of peoples
running, to run a marathon. Of course once they get done with one they want to
run the next one faster and better. And I think that’s amazing. I think goals
keep you going. I’m a big fan of setting and achieving goals. And then having
daily, weekly, and monthly goals. And goals that get you to the ultimate goals
you have. When you set goals you need to think about how much time and energy
you have to devote to them. How much training you can do and then set your
goals according to that. Then once you are about a month or so out from the
half or full marathon it’s good to find
10K to do a time trial or some kind of warm up race to see where you
are. I think you need to then look at
your results and revaluate and set your
goals for the coming race. You want to ask yourself questions like have I been
consistent with my training? Did I hit the major benchmarks I set? Did I have
any injuries and have to take time off? And if after asking those questions you
are still on track that’s great. Just keep running. But if you haven’t quite
hit everything that you thought you would, reassess your goals. Talk to your
coach or your training partners and adjust your goals to your level of fitness.
You don’t want to go over the hedge for your first full or half marathon!
TD: Great advice. I will point out again that Amy has run
the half marathon in 1:10:09. Which is a 5min 21 sec mile pace. So Amy in addition to a successful training
program, one should also have a fitness and recovery aspect as key pieces to
their running. What advice would you give on each those subjects?
AB: I think everybody
has different stomach issues and anxiety issues before races. So you need to
try different products during training. And you need to try them not only
during the long runs, but also the intense ones too. There is a difference
between doing a long steady run and doing an intense workout. The intense
workout will help you realize if your stomach can tolerate those products if
you are working harder, especially when you are talking about a marathon where
your body is really taxed. You just can’t simply try products during your long
runs. There is just a big difference. And then another thing people don’t
realize is that the climate your training in may not be the same climate you
are going to race in. So if you are training in a really dry climate and then
you are going to race in one that is really hot you have to adjust your fluid
intake to that climate. What you have been running in may not work. You have to
adjust the electrolytes , gels, and the amount of water you are taking and even
start drinking earlier that you probably have in your practice runs.
TD: That’s’ true for runners everywhere. But especially for
those here in my home state of Colorado who are running at a much higher
altitude. They may be training for a race closer to sea level and need to
consider temperatures, start time and the like.
Talk for a minute about the differences of being on a team or having a
sponsor where you get access to different types of equipment. There are so many
companies out there and choices to make. How do runners know they are selecting
the best shoes, socks or tops with so many offerings?
AB: The specialty
running stores are great. They can help runners get into the right shoes, as
most of them have really good gait analysis with video or all the different
machines they are using now. I know in some stores you stand on an arch machine
and then you go run on a treadmill so there are some pretty good ways to make
sure runners get the right shoes. So start there. If you do start having aches
or pains and injuries I would go talk to a specialist and try a different shoe,
maybe from a different company-some people love Brooks, some love Asics, or
Saucony-but the main thing runners need to remember is to change their shoes
after so many miles. I write on the inside of the shoe the month I bought the
shoe. So then I know based on my training when I need to trade them out. I base
that on how many miles I am averaging at that time. Most shoes last anywhere
from 200-500 miles depending on the surface you are running on, the temperature
and care of the shoe.
TD: You mentioned
injuries and staying healthy with your running. There are a lot of theories out
there about how to stay healthy. Everything from if your pain is just general
all over your body you are probably just sore from training. But if you can
point to a specific part of your body and say it hurts right there, you might
be injured. Based on your experience-how do runners know whether they are sore
just due to training, or if they are experiencing the onset of an injury?
AB: yeah. That’s a
hard part of running. When I was younger, I would give everything three days.
And if I was still sore in the same spot after three days then I would take
some time off and maybe go see somebody about it. Now though, at my age with my
training if I let something go for three days, I’m probably done for a couple
of months. So that is a hard one, I’ve had it both ways where I am just really
on it that day-there are certain injuries that can just creep up on you like
planer fasciitis, or achilles tendonitis,
those things can just jump right out at you. I would definitely start
with icing and increased stretching. But if you have any burning of pulling
sensations I would not stretch it very much as stretching a pull or tear is not
good. But if you are just aching and
throbbing I would try icing. If the throbbing continues for more than a day or
two then it’s ice and rest for a couple of days. Better to rest and heal than
push things too far. If it still hurts
go see someone. If something is different from what it was you really need to
consider what it is and slow down. For me though if the pain or ache is moving
around, that’s probably a good thing. It’s probably working its way out. I
always say if it’s moving that’s good. If the pain stays in one spot-then that
is not so good.
TD- So let’s wrap up with a final question. You clearly have
significant experience both internationally and domestically. You’ve seen quite
a few training methodologies. You have a training group with your husband
Andrew, and there are some pretty cool components to that group including your
Distance Divas a nationwide training and social group. Talk in general about
the training you offer and what you would like to accomplish with it.
AB: Before I moved to
Oregon my husband and I did a lot of internet coaching and personal training.
The last seven years we have been coaching friends, and family and co-workers
and random people who have contacted us.
So we thought now would be a good time to get back into online coaching,
especially since my career has been slowing down. I had a little more time plus
I had been injured so I could help more. We’ve revamped our coaching website
and changed the coaching prices, so there will be some differences there. There
will be some additional pricing options and packages on the website. We like
online coaching because there are a lot of books, a lot of training plans that
I think new runners can follow and experience success. Anytime you start
something new and follow a training program you will most likely see
improvement. And then after you have a run a couple of marathons or half
marathons your goals are getting more specific and so you need more specific
training. And that is where we come in. We want to help people from anywhere to
finishing a marathon in four hours to someone who is running 2:15 run a half
and they want to break two hours. So to achieve specific goals you need a
training program that adapts to your life style, and that is what we offer-an
individualized plan to help each runner achieve their goals.
