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Taryn grew up in Texas, where she swam competitively from the age of four through college.   At the University of Texas at Austin, she finished as high as 15^th in the Mile swim at the 1994 NCAA Championships.  Taryn worked in Houston for several years, where she met her husband, who is originally from England.  They eventually moved to Riverside, Connecticut for her husband’s job as an investment banker. Currently, Taryn is studying for her master’s in Accounting from the City University of New York, looking after their two yorkies, and spending any free time updating their house.   Taryn is currently training with Focus-N-Fly for the 2011 Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

Coach: How did you start running?

TW:  With swimming, they always had us do dryland activities, but I always tried to do running events in school.   In junior high, for instance, they let us run with the cross country team without being on the actual team. I have always run, but I didn’t really do races until I graduated, and I think I actually enjoy running more than swimming.  You can just get in your shoes and go, rather than get up early and have to get in cold water.  I did triathlons for a while.  Swimming was just such a focus, but I realized I really didn’t like cycling that much.  I took me a while to get back around to just running.

Coach: Who is your running role model?

TW:  My family is not very athletic.  We all swam when we were little - I have three brothers and a sister.  Running wise, my most vivid memory was watching Joan Benoit win the Olympic marathon.  Actually my whole family was watching.  That was the first thing I remember watching where I was like, “Wow this is so cool.”  I wasn’t dreaming of running at the time, but that was really impressive.

Also, my friend Karen, who is the one who told me about Focus-N-Fly, has had tons of injuries and lots of stuff going on, but she has such focus and drive.  She just says, I am going to finish this and I am going to do well.  Karen is the one who really motivates me on a daily basis and keeps me going.

Coach: What has been your most memorable running / racing experience?

TW: I’d have to say Chicago in 2008.  It was my first marathon, by itself.  I did an Ironman Triathlon in 2004, but had to walk most of the marathon.  So this was my first real marathon, and the crowds were just great.  I started in the open corral, and because I had to work through people the whole way it was a perfect steady run.  My goal was to finish under four and I ran 3:57.  It was one of those days where things couldn’t have been any better.

Coach: What have you enjoyed about working with Focus-N-Fly?

TW:  I’ve tried to train on my own or use one of the standard programs.  If you train on your own you always second guess yourself, and the set programs, you obviously can’t change.  Focus-N-Fly for me has been so easy because it tells you what you’ve been doing and you can adjust it. Even for Houston, I was originally planning on running in the marathon, but after I had some hip flexor problems, I was able to shift to the half marathon.  I love it!   If I was on my own, I would be likely to do too much, so this keeps me really balanced throughout the whole training.

Coach: What is one part of your racing routine you can’t do without (sleep, pre race meal, tie shoes certain way, other ritual)?

TW: I don’t really have a superstition, but I have to be in bed and relaxing by nine o’clock the night before, even if I just sit there and watch TV.  If I just know that I have been resting and relaxing, then I’m good.

Coach: What is your favorite place to go for a run?

TW:  Right now, we live near Long Island Sound. There is a place called Tod’s Point, a 2.5 mi loop that juts into the sound.  You can see the water most of the way around and just can kind of let your mind go.

Also, I know it is not the most scenic place, and it is really hot, but Town Lake in Austin.  It is just that I have a soft spot for Austin, and have spent so many hours and hours running around there.  It is the same (as Tod’s Point), that you’re around water, and they have a crushed granite trail.  There are always tons of people with their dogs, etc…just a good atmosphere.

Coach: In the next year, what goals do you hope to accomplish?

TW:  I would love to be able to qualify for the New York Marathon [for her age group, the automatic half marathon qualifying standard is 1:37].  I went 1:39 in a half a couple years ago.  Next year, it is on my birthday, so that would be a dream to qualify and run it on my birthday.

While the holiday season can provide some of the happiest moments of the year, it can also wreak havoc on your running goals.  Here are some ideas for how you can make the most of the season and keep your motor running before hitting the ground full speed on January 1.

Even if your schedule doesn’t normally include morning running, consider scheduling your runs for the early hours.

The first few weeks of December often include more events outside of your control than potentially any other time of the year.  Office functions or extra hours / shifts at work, recitals, school events, and holiday obligations for school aged kids, other civic, religious, or social events and obligations –the calendar can get pretty crowded.

That run you already scheduled after work can quickly get pushed to the wayside when you find out from your spouse at 4 that you need to be somewhere you had forgotten about at 6:30, dressed neatly and with a bottle of wine for the hosts.  Maybe your mom needs you to drive her across town for that special ingredient she wants to put in the pie she is making tomorrow and aren’t you just the one to take her this evening after work but before they close at eight?  There goes the run.

Late in the month, family meals (in addition to food shopping and preparation), odd schedules, the irresistible pull of a bowl game or the warm couch (and the inevitable snooze), can successfully thwart the most stalwart runner in their efforts to stay on track.    If you are able to run in the morning, even if it is not the best series of workouts you have had all year, you at least ensure that you don’t put yourself in a gapingly large training hole.  At this point, it is dark in the morning AND in the evening, so you probably won’t miss much there.  You will however, be able to give yourself a silent high five every day, even when the rest of your schedule may leave you scrambling.  So, block it in now!

Stay hydrated

Yes, you should drink water because you are training and you want to stay hydrated.  But, the holiday time is also a key hydration zone in many ways that will also help you feel more like yourself when you do get a chance to hit the road or the treadmill.  Maybe travel is in your plans. As we have mentioned before in Personal Best, you should aim to drink a cup of water for every time zone you cross while flying in the dry air-conditioned atmosphere of an airplane.  If mountains or other dry, snowy climates are in your future, this is also important as high altitudes and dry air can leave you under-hydrated before you realize it.  You may already be out of your element or preferred weather conditions for a time during the holidays, so everything you can do to at least keep your body working well will be key to move from just salvaging a situation to a place where you get some quality running accomplished despite the challenges.

Even if your holiday plans do not include travel, proper hydration remains crucial to staying on track.  It can assist with digestion when faced with a gauntlet of rich foods and a never-ending stream of chocolates in the break room.  It can also help combat the dehydrating effects of holiday related alcohol consumption and give your family feast some welcome company in your stomach so you are not as likely to go overboard for the fifth time this week.

Include the family in some running

Find a Turkey Trot, or Jingle Bell Jog 5K /10K the family can walk or jog together while you get in a tempo run.  Pick an outing or two where others can walk or hike while you and whomever is up for it can run.  Plan a run during someone else’s shopping or errands, so they can go crazy in the stores while you take off for a few miles down a nearby bike path before meeting them back at the car.  Think in advance of ways you can meld your run seamlessly into another’s schedule so that you can avoid missing a quality hour with family when everybody is finally home and you’ve just decided to head out on the trail.

Enjoy what you do get done, and don’t worry about what you can’t fit in

If you are unable to perfectly complete every single day’s training from now until the end of the year, you are probably not alone.  The holidays are special because you do often have the time to travel or to visit with friends and family in ways your schedule wouldn’t normally permit.  It is important to enjoy these times and maintain a balance that keeps running in perspective.  If you have a choice in days of the week to get certain things accomplished or can recalculate your schedule in advance to account for certain problem dates coming up, try to prioritize the hard workouts and long runs, so if you don’t get everything in, you will at least have tackled the most challenging days.  However, even if you are stymied in this effort, the important thing is that you don’t fall completely out of touch with your goals, that you don’t let guilt over two or three days missed keep you from getting back to the schedule next time out, and that you stay healthy.

Everyone, from world class athletes to beginners, will find the holidays to be a time requiring flexibility and variation in their typical routine.  You are not alone.  Look ahead as best you can, stay relaxed, and see if you can arrive on January 1st with only minor adjustments needed instead of a complete overhaul.  Perhaps you will have even learned some tips that will make the next holiday season even better.

This month in Personal Best, we’d like to examine the one time of year most difficult to plan for:  Recovery.

Most of us fall into one of two categories.  Either we can’t wait to get right back out there on the roads and are tempted to rush our recovery period, or we let a month turn into two, into three, before pretty soon we are starting again from scratch in our next build-up.  Regardless of which tendency most closely resembles your default habits, we’d like to encourage you to take your next recovery period seriously.  We believe it is one of the most under appreciated, yet important parts of the training year.

After you cross the finish line…

When you cross the line of the big race, resist the urge to sit immediately, and keep moving for 10-20 minutes after you cross the line.  Most large races force this process to a certain extent, requiring you to move through lengthy feed, medal, race photo, and other stations as you head toward your baggage claim area.   Begin to hydrate with carbohydrate and electrolyte replacement fluids, sipping and drinking as much as your stomach can accommodate.  In the immediate hours to come, try to avoid caffeine, alcohol, aggressive massage, and hot tubs / baths in favor of cold tubs, and ice, easily digestible foods, and nutritious beverages.    In the day or two following, gentle massage, light stretching, and continued icing / cold tubs may assist in recovery.

Sometimes, athletes have certain foods they know will work well with their post-race digestive state.  If this is you, plan ahead and pack them in your gear bag so you know you’ll be able to start your nutrition replenishment with confidence.

Recovery is a mental, emotional, AND, a physical process.

Oftentimes, we have put a great deal into our goal races – other leisure habits on hold, dietary choices made and adhered to with great will power, families patiently waiting for you to come home from yet another long run.  Perhaps you have run your goal race in honor of a loved one or an important cause, and most likely you have given more of yourself physically than you have ever given before or typically do on a regular basis.  Your body may feel recovered, but you may not be ready to embark on the emotional journey yet again.  Or, you may feel as though your race left you with unfinished business that you want to re-try at the earliest opportunity, even as your body isn’t quite ready to cooperate.

We encourage most athletes to take approximately a month to recover from one of your bulwark goal races.  1-2 weeks of complete rest, followed by at least a couple weeks of recreational exercise, including cross training, and more rest than usual as needed throughout the week.

One great approach is to choose another goal race of a shorter distance at least 10-12 weeks from the date of the current goal race for which you are preparing.   You might even want to do this before you compete in the big race.    It is not uncommon to feel emotionally listless after a big effort, and having a new goal can help keep you connected to your over-arching health and fitness goals even as you take some time off.  Choosing a race shorter than the one you just finished will ensure you don’t pressure yourself to find the same level of motivation and commitment right off the bat, can provide a fun fitness test to keep your pace chart moving, and can serve as a good midway point if you do choose to do a longer race in 4-6 months.

If you come back from recovery too early, you may feel fine initially, but when the real training sets in, the aches and pains will then begin to crop up – take the time NOW!

As we read in this month’s Pro’s Perspective, Brooke Wells says she has traditionally been too aggressive in coming back from her recovery periods.  By jumping immediately back into a heavy training load, she often found herself requiring another mini-break a few weeks in. This is a common occurrence for many runners, both novices and elite athletes.   Now that she has run her best time and is creeping in to the rarified air of internationally competitive performances, she knows she can’t afford to take the same type of liberty this time around.     That second bunch of training weeks after the initial restart is when we as coaches see many problems occur, but we recognize, sometimes it is tough to take that time if you have plenty of motivation left in reserve.  However…..

Resist the urge to lace up your shoes the first day you aren’t sore climbing stairs, and after you take that first run, resist the urge to jump in the Sunday 12 miler a few days later with your friends at the park.   The time you spend ramping up slowly back to a normal level of training activity is recovery time as well.  If that is excruciating to you – you can’t stand staying in one more day, encourage yourself that many of the world’s top athletes take 3-6 weeks completely away from running after a goal marathon – you’re trying to work harder than the pros!

Make sure you use your recovery time to “exhale”, enjoy something you might not have been able to during your build up.

For you, it might be a different sport –Brooke mentioned trying rock climbing, something she’d never do in the midst of heavy training.  Maybe it is enjoying a later bedtime, a favorite dessert, an activity with family, a night out, or a weekend away.  Or, just force yourself to sit on the couch and do nothing for once.   While we are here to help you with the plan you need to train for your goals, we also want to make sure that when you are within the crucial weeks before your goal race, you are motivated and not burned out.  Recharge yourself with moderate doses of life’s simple pleasures when a racing deadline is not bearing down and you’ll be able to focus when the time requires that single-mindedness.

Celebrate and appreciate your accomplishment before heading off to the next mountaintop.

It is also important that you celebrate your accomplishment.  Acknowledge to yourself a job well done.  And if things didn’t go as planned, acknowledge an effort earnestly made, a willingness to go for it.  Even if you hope to yet run faster or have bigger fish to fry down the road, consider everything that went right, including the accomplishment of a season of training you might not have considered possible before you began.  Consider all that you hope to recreate in your next build-up as well as those things you hope to change for the better.  After all, while recovery is the final stage of your last race, it is also the first stage of your next!