Doubles

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Second - no, this entry is not devoted to a type of tennis match. Rather, it is devoted to a style of attaining my desired mileage. A double is when I run twice in the course of a single waking day. As of last week, I began to incorporate doubles once per week. The idea of incorporating doubles is thanks to Steve, my runner friend, who suggested early on in my training to do supplemental runs to build up mileage at peak training time. The second run of a double never replaces a subsequent run.

Prior to marathon training, I experienced doubles in a couple of different arenas.

The first arena was with high school sports.

• The middle to end of August welcomed me to the start of the soccer season, in a grueling way. We would have rigorous practice in the morning, have lunch, rest, and then return for the afternoon. Sometimes, we would just pack our lunches and would not leave the field. These sessions would last for two weeks straight.
• The second instance in high school was when I was a cross-country camper at Green Mountain Running Camp. We would do two runs a day: a 2-miler in the morning and a 5- to 7-miler at night. If you were feeling injured or burnt out, you could aqua-jog at the pool. Camp lasted for one week.

My second time experiencing doubles was during my college career.

• When I got to Elon, I noticed that they had a fitness competition where you could win maximum points for spending an hour and a half in the gym each day, plus completing other challenges. Because I needed an hour and a half each day, I often split up the time into a long and a short session each day. I did it successfully my first two years and won some great prizes as a result. The competition continued for 6 weeks the first year and 5 the second.
• During the summer of 2007, I got a membership to the local Y to use a variety of exercise equipment beyond what was in my basement at home. I used the gym during the afternoons, but I still ran 3-5 miles in the morning as my wake-up medicine before my summer jobs. This pattern continued for about 8 weeks.

With each past instance of doubles, I had very different motivation. For high school soccer, the completion of doubles was a rite of passage. It was a way to prove to your teammates that you were serious about playing. It was also a chance to try out for the varsity team. For running camp, doing doubles was a way to spread out mileage over different bouts. Cross country runners rarely, if ever, run at more than 10 miles at a time, so they need to build up their mileage in smaller doses. The doubles at Elon were for the prize at the end, and for the honor of having my name on the fitness center wall. The summer sessions in 2007 were because of convenience and preference; it would have been difficult to go to the Y early in the morning, but I still needed a morning workout.

Many of the motivating factors of years past are reasons why I am incorporating doubles.

• Giving my best in training for this marathon is part of making it a rite of passage. As Steve Prefontaine taught runners, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
• I am aiming to hit a mileage goal that peaks at 52 miles in a single week. This is a mostly psychological goal, but it does prepare me very well physically. Throughout my training, I knew that if my weekend long run was no more than half of my weekly mileage, I would be able to complete it with (relative) ease. If I can run a 52 mile week, then I can do a 26 mile race easier than if I had not had this baseline of training.
• I can’t say that I am doing the doubles for a prize, except to see that number 52 in my training log.
• I am definitely returning to doubles as a matter of convenience. I am a part-time runner, full-time something else - like the rest of the non-elite running world. I have limited time to run in the morning before I have to get ready for work. With the sunshine becoming more limited, it is getting harder to get those 8 milers at morning dawn. These have made up a lot of my mileage in past weeks, so I don’t want to fall behind if I transition them to 7 milers on the treadmill.

Unlike in past years, for my marathon training the greatest measure of success for running doubles will be to keep in tune with my body. I had planned to run a double on Saturday, but my body was tired, sore, and burnt out, so I decided not to push it. However, I felt great yesterday afternoon, so I made it a double of 6 in the morning plus 6 in the evening. After the second run of a double, I allow myself extra time to stretch and cool down - more than I get during my average morning run, when I am focused on floor work and strength training. Stretching is what helps to prevent muscle fatigue when my body is adjusting to something out of its comfort zone. Doing these help me to avoid burnout; my mileage is hitting new heights, and I want to make sure that I am not dragging in the process. What use are doubles if they bring down the rest of my training?

I believe that if I play my doubles smart, they will take me to new heights in my training. My physical and mental goals of this marathon seem more attainable with the simple addition of one double into my weekly routine. I feel more confident and stronger - all thanks to one extra bout on the treadmill each week.