devon_day

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D DA Runner’s Guide to aBreakthrough PerformanceBy Devon Crosby-Helms

How to Have a

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introduction | 0

TABLE OF

Introduction

My “Devon Day” Story

Formula for Success

Determine your goal

Determine your parameters

Right Training

Right Mentality

Right Conditions

When it all Comes Together

bout the uthor

Resources

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

CONTENTS

Cover photo by Cameron Baird

Graphic Design and Layout by Rick Gaston

© 2011 Devon Crosby-Helms

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introduction | 0

DeFINItIoN oF a DevoN DaY

I can’t claim credit for the term “Devon Day”. The author of

that term is Ellie Greenwood, a Canadian ultrarunner, who is one

of the most talented female ultrarunners currently on the scene.

She used the term in one of her race reports last November

saying:

“DevonDay”- a perfect race, a runners dream where everything

comes together and you run fast and strong and feel great the

whole time. An all around breakthrough performance.

Ellie won that race, crowning her the 2010 World Champion in

the 100k road distance. Yet by her own denition, she did not

have a “Devon Day”. There is something more to a “Devon Day”

than just running fast or winning or setting a course record or

achieving a PR. It extends beyond a tangible result. On one of

those days, the mind, body and spirit are all working together in

conjunction to go beyond, to breakthrough.

Just before I headed off to Gibraltar for the

World 100km Championships I read Devon

Crosby-Helms blog about her course record

setting win at the USATF 50 mile champs at

Tussey Mountainback where she had a perfect

race; everything came together and she ran strong

and fast and felt great throughout the race. It

reads like a runners dream. It would be fair to say

that I didn’t have a ‘Devon-day’ at Gibraltar but

this was a race that I had logged several 140 mile

weeks for and many more 100 mile plus weeks,it was my rst time I was proudly wearing Team

GB kit and I wasn’t going to give up without

a ght. Ellie Greenwood

wHat DoeS a DevoN DaY LooK LIKe?

I began running very casually in 2003 after retiring from a

competitive basketball career. In 2005, I ran my rst marathon

and got hooked on long distance running. In 2006, I ran my rst

ultra and discovered my passion for the trails and the extreme

long distances. Since that time I have raced in over 25 ultras

and 10 marathons and have consistently placed among the top

women, set numerous course records, competed in the World

Championships three times at the 100k distance for Team USA

and established myself as an elite distance runner.

In my relatively short competitive running career, I have had four

races in 2 years that by Ellie’s denition are “Devon Days”.

Devon Day #1: WC100k Night of Flanders

Devon Day #2: JFK 50 miler

Devon Day #3: Tussey Mountainback 50 miler

Devon Day #4: LA Marathon

In all of these four races, I ran fast, strong and felt incredible the

whole time, both physically and mentally. The races felt effortless

despite the fact that I was pushing my physical limits in all of

them. Everything came together, mind, body and spirit. Each one

was a breakthrough performance in which I met or exceeded

my ideal goals. In my rst such race at Night of Flanders (June

2009), I helped lead Team USA to a gold medal. I placed 4th

in that race and set a PR. My nal 20k were the fastest of the

entire distance and I felt great entire time. During that race, I was

present, happy and smiling the entire time.

At JFK 50 miler in November of 2009, I obliterated a very stout

course record in 6:29:21, was rst woman and tenth overall. I ran

the nal 10 miles faster than any other person in the race, except

for the 1st and 2nd male, averaging 6:30 pace. I felt blissfullygood the entire time, never had a lag in energy and clocked a

near perfectly consistent time on the entire section after the

Appalachian Trail.

Tussey Mountainback in September of 2010 was almost identical

to JFK 50 mile. I broke a stout course record, this time by 7

minutes (and by the same individual who had previously held the

JFK record) and set a PR in 6:28:41 on a hillier course.

INtRoDUCtIoN01

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introduction | 0

The most recent experience was the LA marathon in late

March of 2011. In ran Houston marathon in January 2011 in an

attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the marathon.

I had not run a road marathon in over two years and had

drastically changed my training in preparation for the race. I had

a disastrous race at Houston and while I ran my second fastest

marathon time ever, it was a poor performance because I was

miserable physically and mentally the whole time. I decided torun LA marathon only 7 weeks after Houston because I felt that

my training had been good and that I would be ready to make

another attempt at running sub 2:46 which is the ‘B’ standard

for the Olympic trials. This goal also meant I would have to set

a PR by nearly 4 minutes. At LA, everything came together and

despite a bad day of weather, I ran a awless race, negative

split the race, and ran well under the standard in 2:43:28.

My experience in LA is the catalyst for this text because it made

me realize that there had to be a through line, a formula that I

was following that was able to create these days and have them

occur at a high frequency in a short amount of time. Ultimately, I

have had four such “Devon Days” in less than 2 years and I set

out to discover just how this is happening. I analyzed my training

plans, my race reports and my training journals of not just these

races but all of my races of varying quality- “great”, “good”,

“average” and “poor”. Through this research I discovered my

formula for success and I believe that it is the key to creating

breakthrough performances

PURPoSe oF tHIS GUIDe

I have written this guide to share my formula with you forsuccess and the keys to creating a breakthrough performance.

I have established a consistent framework that can be used

by any runner to achieve their own “_______ day”, their own

breakthrough performance. A breakthrough performance

means different things for different people, it is not just about

breaking course records, qualifying for the Olympic Trials or

winning races. It is more universal than that and it is also much

more personal. A breakthrough performance can be achieving

a PR, running your rst half marathon or simply running an

entire distance and feeling good. It can also mean winning an

international race or being the best in the world. The framework

is the same no matter how large or small your goal, no matterthe distance or time, no matter if you are elite or beginner.

This guide provides a framework for developing your plan to have

a breakthrough. This is not a “do as I do” guide. I do not provide

you with training plans or think that my training, mentality, and

nutrition plan are the universal answer. What works for me would

likely not work for you. You have to gure out what works for you

and apply it to the framework I lay out in this guide. Where I use

examples from my own training, it is only to illustrate how the

framework works for me. I believe that everyone from novice toan elite can train with the same framework that I use. I may be

an elite runner but even a novice can achieve their breakthrough

using my formula for success.

Winning the JFK 50-Mile in 2010 - 6:29:21

“I have written this guide to share my formula with you for success...”

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my “devon day” story | 02

MY “DevoN DaY” StoRY

02MY “DevoN” DaY StoRY

As I mentioned, this guide is a direct result of my most recent

“Devon Day” experience at the LA Marathon. This experience was

very profound for me because I was able to have a breakthrough

performance at a distance that is outside of my comfort zone, it

is not something I previous considered my speciality. However,

it prompted me to do some digging and uncover the framework

that I was using to produce breakout performances no matter

the distance. I recounted this experience on my blog but decided

to include it here to help illustrate exactly the experience we are

talking about before we delve into the details of how to do it.

La MaRatHoN

When I woke up on Sunday (March 20th) morning at 3:05am, I

bounded out bed, ipped the switch for the coffee maker before it

could start on its own. I was up, I was awake, it was race morning

and I felt, calm, deadly calm. I know I can’t fake that feeling, I

knew it meant that I had genuinely conquered my expectations and was ready to accept the day no matter what happened. I was

ready to just enjoy the race, be present for the race and smile

at the rain that I knew was coming. I decided to take the above

picture before I headed out. I wanted to be able to look back and

say, I went into the race smiling, did I nish that way?

I am happy to say, I achieved that goal.

PoSt-HoUStoN/PRe-RaCe

I have talked a lot about my feelings after having such a bad race

after Houston. It really messed with my condence and my head,

but in the end, despite feeling like there was nothing redeemingabout the experience for a long time, I see now that the bad

experience itself was its redeeming factor. Because it taught me

a hell of a lot and it gave me experience going through all sorts of

things all at the same time (kind of like an ultra, just way faster).

Even though I was bummed after Houston, I got right back up and

back in the saddle. I considered my race schedule and decided

to do LA marathon. I was helped greatly by rockstar Creative

Director of the race Peter Abraham. I am so appreciative of Peter

from getting me into the race to allowing me to join him and

others in his hospitality suite before the race to introducing me

to other ladies going for the OT in the open eld to braving the

crowds in the corrals to ensure we were up front and had room

to get out quick.

Once I had LA on the schedule, it was a matter of balancing

recovery from Houston and sharpening for LA. I think I walked a

very ne line and part of me was very afraid that I was doing too

much, that I had pushed myself over the edge, pushed too hard.

And I knew I wouldn’t know until things started to shake out on

race day.

I headed down to LA on Saturday morning where I was met by

Jonathan, one of my best friends and we headed over to the expo

to get a little excited by all the race energy. I didn’t need to go tothe expo for my number because Peter and friend/Coyote leader/

coach/ultrarunner/etc. Jimmy Dean had made sure I had all my

number, credentials, etc and was completely set. But going to a

race expo at a big race is run. LA marathon had 26,000 running!

You can’t but help getting excited around that kind of energy!

We then made a quick stop at Whole Foods to get all my

necessary dinner items and then headed over to my wonderful

and gracious host’s house. I was lucky enough to be hosted by

Kathy Eldon and Michael Bedner at their house on the beach in

Malibu. Jonathan works with Kathy at Creative Vision Foundation

and they were excited to help support my pursuit of getting my OTany way they could. They were amazing hosts and I felt right at

home. Jonathan and I went for a good but short run and then we

made dinner early; nice rib-eye steaks Michael had gotten, roast

potatoes and salad. It was a delicious meal, but I ate pretty light

overall for the day and went to bed early (before 9) feeling good.

I slept really well despite being woken up about every 2 hours by

something. Just after 3am, I was up, eating a hearty bowl of oats

with banana and peanut butter and getting my racing kit on.

http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2010/10/2010-50-mile-road-usatf-national.html


http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2009/11/jfk-50-mile-race-report_22.html

http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2011/03/minimus-maximus.html

http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2011/03/boundaries.html

http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2011/02/houston-marathon-race-report.html



http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2011/02/back-in-saddle.html



http://www.socalcoyotes.com/coaching.html

http://www.daneldon.org/site/

http://www.creativevisions.org/

http://www.creativevisions.org/

http://www.daneldon.org/site/

http://www.socalcoyotes.com/coaching.html



http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2011/02/back-in-saddle.html






http://devoncrosbyhelms.com/2009/11/jfk-50-mile-race-report_22.html


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Excited by the forecast for race day: Lots of rain, urban ooding and debris ow.

RaCe

It wasn’t raining, yet, when I got up but the forecast wasn’t that

good. The night before it had looked hopeful that it might not

rain between 7am-9am and that there would be a lot of rain

before and after that but it didn’t really play out that way. But I

wasn’t particularly worried, I am a battle hardened veteran and

after Houston, I wasn’t surprised I was again pulling the crappy

weather card. I think at this point I should just expect the storm

of the century every time I line up. At least there was no talk of

canceling the race like there was at Houston.

Jonathan was wonderful and drove me to my shuttle bus at way

the hell too early in the morning (arrived at 4:30am). I was able to

get on the Coyotes shuttle, again thanks to Jimmy Dean, so that I

didn’t have to navigate the horrendous trafc at Dodger Stadium

as 26,000 fought to nd parking or be dropped off or shuttled

in. We were to the start and another OT qualier hopeful, Emily

Mitchell, and I made our way from the shuttle up the stadium to

Peter’s hospitality suite. We met one other hopeful, Joanna Zeiger

(who is a badass 70.3 World Champion) and eventually made our

way to the start. And waited and waited and waited. Finally after

lots of waiting in the cold (thankfully still not raining), they sent the

elite women’s eld off. Then we waited exactly 17:03 and we wereoff. We were at the front of corral A but we were swimming in

a sea of pushy, scraping for the front folks whose bibs indicated

they should be way back in B or C. I had my apprehension as

we took our rst steps and I was cautious. My intuition was right

as this dodgy guy next to me accidentally tripped Emily 3 steps

passed the start line. She slammed into the ground and I could

barely hurdle her and keep going to avoid being crushed by the

crowd. It was a bummer not to have the opportunity to run with

Myself and Jonathan.

her but she managed to pull herself together and run a PR of

2:56. Not the day she wanted, but she overcame a lot and had a

great race.

I was off and running. Jimmy Dean had sent me some splits the

night before for a 2:45 pace adjusted specically for the course. I

didn’t memorize it but I noted the mile splits that I should expect to

be higher than my needed 6:18/mile pace. All I did was remember

that miles 4,5, 18,19, 21 and 22 would be slower or much slower

than my overall target pace. It provided me a guideline to work

with based on my plan to run by feel not by pace. I didn’t wear

a garmin, I wore a watch and hit lap every mile split (where

there was one, only about half of the miles were marked which

sucked). I would glance at the split and compare it to how I felt.

Simply note it and leave the math for later in the race.

Course Map.

http://www.socalcoyotes.com/

http://www.joanna-zeiger.com/

http://fastatforty.blogspot.com/

http://fastatforty.blogspot.com/

http://www.joanna-zeiger.com/

http://www.socalcoyotes.com/

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We headed out of Dodger’s stadium and proceeded to follow

an amazing course to the sea. I really liked the course. It really

highlights all the various things you’d want to go visit in LA. It

was interesting and despite the rain that started in about 1/2 mile

into the race, there was a great deal of crowd support. I settled in

and felt really comfortable. My rst mile was slower than my goal

pace, a 6:20 and I looked at my watch and smiled. Perfect. It was

perfect because I wanted to go out slow, I wanted to keep myselfcomfortable for as long as possible. Especially since I knew,

despite some good rolling hills later in the race, that this was a

great course to negative split on.

It was raining quite hard by mile 4. We climbed this awesome,

pretty steep hill heading out of Chinatown but I actually found it

pretty easy to get up, being pulled upwards by the sound of 40

drummers beating in time at the top. Comfortable. I just felt like I

was cruising, taking it in, smiling, doing my best to interact with

the other runners and acknowledge the crowd. I got super excited

at around mile 6 when I saw my fellow ninja, Georgia, who was at

the race to help pace her sister to a BQ! She was screaming my

name and it gave me such a boost.

I was cruising with a pack of folks including a few women,

Joanna included. One of the guys told me he was shooting for

a 2:44 and I felt like I was in the right spot. There were about 8

of us that were roughly together and we made it through 10k in

39:21. Not smoking but within striking distance. After the 10k split,

my mile times started getting faster. Partially it was the course,

partially I think my body was nally warmed up, partially I think I

knew that this was my day and that I should gas it a bit but not

get too crazy.

I stuck to my nutrition plan perfectly. I drank a sip of water atevery aid station (every mile) and I took my rst gel at 45 minutes

into the race. I felt like a machine. The running felt easy. I wanted

to maintain that feeling for as long as possible. Sure I was aware

of my overall time, but not really aware of the math that it would

take to gure out if I was going to make it or not. I wouldn’t really

have a clue until the half way point of where I stood. I decided

until then just to keep a smile on my face and the killer instinct

in my heart. I was freaking so happy with every step. My body

and mind were in sync and I am sure I annoyed more than a few

fellow runners encouraging them and carrying on conversation.

The group broke apart a bit but Joanna and I stuck together. We

hit mile 13 (which had no marker) and then the half way point

was somewhere in there too (also not marked). I asked Joanna,

who was wearing a Garmin, what we had hit the half in and

she responded right around 1:22. Nice. Faster than Houston by

about 30 seconds but I felt 10 billion times better and comfortable

Jonathan, jumping in at mile 16.

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at that pace than I did at Houston. At Houston when we were

passing the halfway mark, I felt like I was red lining, but now I

just felt like I was settled in at that “I could run this all day pace”.

It was raining a bunch, we’d turn corners and get slammed with

a headwind. There was even lightning. My hands were freezing

and I could barely get my gels out of my pocket. I took another

gel at 1:30 and accidentally dropped my Hyper-vespa which

momentarily freaked me out, but then I instantly pulled myselfback to the present and decided not to borrow trouble.

I was starting to get excited the closer I got to mile 16 for a few

reasons. First, I knew that if I hit mile 16 feeling good that I would

never falter. Why did I know this? I am not sure. Second, I knew

that Jonathan would be waiting for me to hop in and run me in.

Despite there being 26,000 in the race, there wasn’t much of a

crowd upfront and he was nice enough to be a volunteer pace

rabbit for anyone who wanted to get in under 2:46.

Joanna and I ran passed the Chateau Marmont and I turned to

her, as she had slipped behind me a few steps, and said, “just

stay on my shoulder, hold on. I have a friend coming who will

take us in under the standard”. But I was accelerating and feeling

strong and I was soon on my own.

I didn’t have to be on my own for long. Jonathan jumped in and

we were off to the races. In fact, looking back, my splits for the

mile leading up to him and mile after picking him up were an

average pace of 5:44. I was ying. And still smiling.

Jonathan cautiously checked in with me and all I could do was

beam. “I feel great!” I said. I knew I needed to stay smart throughthe upcoming miles, especially since I didn’t exactly know what

the hills of 18,19, 21and 22 would entail. Thankfully, Jonathan had

run the nal 10 miles on Friday with Jimmy Dean and so he was

able to talk me through each section and let me know what

to expect.

I was so happy to be sharing that run with Jonathan. It was a

beautiful thing to share. I simple was absorbed in the run, oating

along. I would just suddenly get the gooest smile on my face or

say something out loud like “smile at the rain”. We made it easily

past the bumps of mile 18 and 19. I had to laugh because they

were so little (especially compared to that rst giant hill) but mypace was slightly slower as we rolled upwards. At 2:15, I tried to

get my last gel out of my pocket but my hands were frozen blocks

and I struggled for a good 30 seconds while trying to keep pace to

get it out. Thankfully, I managed. I took my last gel and a salt cap

and started to get serious.

I don’t mean serious in a bad way. I mean deadly ninja assassin

serious. Like I am about to do one of my patented Devon closes.

Like I am about to see how many guys I can chick in the nal

miles. I stayed smart and cautious through mile 22, getting up

and over the nal hump before a nice gradual downhill nish.

Just after the last climb, I encountered the most serious urban

ooding I’d seen all day (which is saying something since I went

through some major ows). I splashed through ankle deep water

that covered the road and then began the hammer drop. I was

still happy on the inside but I had donned my ninja mask and wasready to y. I was ready to put myself in the pain cave, I was

ready to run “eyeballs out” as my friend Hollis says. I had been

comfortable and cruising all day, now I needed to see what I

could squeeze out in the nal 7k. At 35k, I was running 6:16 pace,

arriving there in 2:16:53. I nally took time to consider if I was

going to make the 2:46 standard or not. I was feeling really good,

but had I run smart enough and fast enough to make it? I couldn’t

do the math but I wasn’t sure. It felt like it was going to be close

so I put it on the line.

Something happened in that moment. I clicked over into the next

gear seamlessly and my body didn’t resist. My mind somehow

had been able to communicate to my muscles “it’s ok, we have

enough energy to do this”. It felt like no effort at all. And my mile

splits got faster and faster.

I would occasionally look over at Jonathan or grunt a small

command to him as I went for a water cup or to take the higher

more even ground. I knew Jonathan was running quite possibly

as hard as he could at that moment and I let that propel my

forward letting out even more than I thought I had. I still didn’t

hurt, so I gave more. Mile 22-6:16. Mile 23-6:14. Mile 24-6:04.

I was ying at this point, passing other racers like they werestanding still, offering them not even a chance to respond or hang

on. Mile 25-5:43. “Holy crap” I exclaimed. “We just ran a 5:43 mile

in my freaking 25th mile”. Jonathan beamed. I knew I was going

to do it. I knew I was going to realize my dream of making the

Olympic trials. I knew that I could push and push and enjoy every

last soggy, cold, windy step of this race.

Thanks @zkiraly for the screen shot!

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We made the turn onto Ocean avenue with just under a mile to

go. I just kept pressing, now against the most intense wind I had

felt all day. I could see the nish line. I knew the crowd would

have no idea how important this was to me as I soldiered into

the wind, all alone now (as Jonathan had to jump out of the nal

section as to avoid the shoots). It was my moment, I was all by

myself facing down the nish line. I was the rst woman in the

open eld and I would be the only woman from the open eld tomake the Olympic Trials. I pushed back against the wind with a

nal 1.2 miles in a blistering 5:42 pace. I crossed the nish line in

2:43:28. I thrust my hands in the air victorious. You might have

thought I’d just won the race I was so excited. But I won my race.

Peter Abraham was there and raced over to me to congratulate

me and told the nish line emcee that I had just made the Olympic

Trials and that I was the rst woman from the open eld (I think

they thought I was just the last woman in the elite eld). The

emcee got back on the mic and excitedly told the crowd who I

was and what I had just accomplished. I was interviewed for the

news and wrapped in a heat blanket. I nally realized how cold

and wet I was. I was soaked. But I was riding high. I felt like I just

wanted to keep on going forever I was having so much fun.

Wow. What an experience. It was a “Devon day”. It was my day.

And not just because I made my goal, but even more so because

I did it with the same smile on my face that I started the day with.

I ran happy, I ran without expectations. I simply ran the way I

love to run. After Houston, I left a little lost, felt a little void in my

running self, felt a little question mark hanging over me. I just felt

like I wanted it all (achieving my goal) to be over. After LA, I was

overwhelm with relief. It is exciting to achieve your goals, but it is

also a great relief when you have pursued it hard after a failure.I feel invigorated, I feel excited, I feel absolutely renewed. I feel

totally in love with running again. I couldn’t have asked for a better

experience. I am beaming and for once, I am going to take the

time to bask in my accomplishment to let that feeling wash over

me. It is deep and satisfying to achieve a goal, no matter what that

goal is. It is a rare and genuine gift. I fully intend to take my time

savoring it.

Cool race info from Runpix.com. This is where I stood in the overall eld,excluding the women’s elite race. My favorite stat was that in the nal 4.5 milesI chicked 9 guys. I also like that it says “for the record, you were ahead of about100% of the guys”.

Distance

ClockTime

ChipTime

OverallPlace

GenderPlace

DivisionPlace

AgeGrade

Pace

10K

15K

20K

25K

30K

35K

40K

Marathon

02:43:32

02:43:28

44 / 19761

10 / 7768

5 / 1205

82.8%

6:14.2

0:39:21

0:58:41

1:18:18

1:37:39

1:57:19

2:16:53

2:35:40

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formula for success | 03

FoRMULa FoR SUCCeSS

03FoRMULa FoR SUCCeSS

As you can see from my LA Marathon experience, having a

breakthrough performance is a complex thing, inuenced by many

factors. I have had four dream- “Devon Day” races in less than 2

years. I have realized that it was more than just luck, there was

an underlying pattern in those race preparations that enabled me

to have the day that I did. After my experience at LA, I sat down

with my training plans, my race reports and my training journals

and started to examine them for similarities. I also compared

these breakthrough performances to other great, good, decent

or bad performances to rule out that they were just coincidences

or magical in any way. The formula I arrived at consists of three

parts: training, mentality and conditions.

tRaINING

Tussey Mountainback 50 Miler: 6:28:42

JFK 50 Miler: 6:29:21

It was easy to be able to draw conclusions about JFK and Tussey

because they were the same distance and relative same elevation

gain and loss. What worked for JFK, clearly worked for Tussey

as well. My training for both had been similar in terms of mileage

load and specic workouts. After my race at Tussey, I concluded

that the 50 mile/100k road races were just my forte. In fact, I was

undefeated at the 50 mile distance and set course records in 4

out of 6 victories. My training for WC100k (Night of Flanders) was

also very similar. My training went well and had gured out the

right balance of endurance and speed to succeed. I had gained

enough experience at the 100k road distance to know how to

specically race the distance. In all three races, I ran comfortably

at a fast pace for the rst 90% and then I nished with a ery

kick, dropping my pace into the low 6 minute/mile range. Those

two distances distance clearly suited me and my ability to run a

consistently paced race with a strong nish.

The LA marathon did not seemingly directly t into the pattern,

except in the end result: I ran the entire distance feeling a

comfortable “I could run this pace all day” feeling and nished

with a erce kick with my last 2.2 miles at a 5:43 minute/mile

pace. Compared to WC100k, JFK & Tussey, my training was

completely different. My training paces were considerably faster

and I focused on increasing my upper end speed instead of my

endurance. So what was the connection?

When I laid all of my training out side by side for various “A” races(i.e. Races I specically focused on and trained for), the answer

was clear. For each of these races my training had be incredibly

specic and uniquely tailored not only for the distance but the

race itself. My training for my four “Devon Day” races most closely

matched their respective races. The pattern held true as I looked

at my “great”, “good”, “average” and “poor” races, the degree

of specicity directly correlated to the race quality. The more

specic, the better the day. The less specic, the poorer of day.

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formula for success | 03

A perfect example of this is Seafair Marathon in 2008. In June

of 2008, I was suppose to run Western States 100 miler as my

rst 100 mile race. I was t and ready to run the race when it

was cancelled due to res on the course. I decided after the

cancellation of States to run Seafair Marathon instead using

the logic that if I was t enough for a 100 mile race through the

mountains than I could easily run a marathon. I ran one of the

slowest marathon I had in a long time and suffered the entiretime. I had no speed and the pavement was cruel to my trail

accustomed body. I couldn’t have been more not race specically

prepared.

SpecifcTraining,or“RightTraining”asIWillCallit,isthe

FirstKeytoHavingaBreakthroughPerormance.

MeNtaLItY

Specic training enabled me to line up at the start and be

physically prepared to have a breakthrough performance.

However, physical preparation doesn’t ensure such a

performance actually occurs because running is more than just

a physical act. The next component that had to be examined

was the mental component. This includes attitudes about the

race, commitment to the preparation, motivation, expectations,

pressure, perspective and race strategy. It is a very complicated

thing to sort out but for me is very clear when I go about it wrong.

Seven weeks before I raced LA marathon, I toed the line at the

Houston Marathon intent on getting my Olympic Qualifying ‘B’

Standard (sub 2:46). I was very specically trained for Houston

but mentally I took for granted that I would make the standard.

I almost felt it was a foregone conclusion and I had to just go

through the motions. I reected on my mentality after the race:

I built up this expectation that come race day things would click

and I would have a “Devon Day” . I think this expectation even a

more diluted simmering under the surface version of itself was

hugely detrimental. When the going got tough when I didn’t think

it should be, it mentally screwed me. I became hugely reactive in

that race. I recently read a great article called “Why You Should

Expect the Worst” , which basically summed up my experiences at

my best and worst races. At my best races, I came in genuinely

uncertain about what the day would hold for me. I usually had

diminished expectations for one reason or another. I always felt

a comfortable uncertainty, I relinquished my control over whatwould happen and hoped for the best. I genuinely didn’t expect a

thing and was prepared for the possible outcomes. At Houston I

wasn’t. I wasn’t prepared to navigate a bad day, I was not okay

with any outcome other than meeting the standard. Ultimately,

I derived very little pleasure out of running my second fastest

marathon ever and my fastest in more than 2 years.

At Houston, I didn’t have the right mentality to my best. I run my

best when I am enjoying the journey, being present and running

happy. Because I didn’t have the right mentality, when things

went wrong or different than I thought they should be, I fell apart.

My physical ability was able to carry me to a 2:50 marathon but

that is drastically different than the 2:43:28 I was able to run 7

weeks later at LA Marathon. Though I had physical problems at

Houston (I was throwing up during the race), my mentality wasa much bigger contributing factor. At Houston, I had no joy and

resisted the things that came up. At LA, I was smiling and happy

and responded without resistance to the things that arose. In all o

my breakthrough and even great performances, I have a specic

positive mentality that is deeply connected to why I run, not just

race.

SpecifcMentality,or“RightMentality”,istheSecondKeyto

HavingaBreakthroughPerormance.

CoNDItIoNS

Specic training and right mentality are the overwhelmingly

predominate factors in running a breakthrough performance.

They are also the two things that you most can control. The

nal factor that emerges when I examine my race successes,

failures and in between is clearly the conditions. For me, my ideal

conditions would be mid-40s to low 50s, slightly overcast with

no wind. I have run well in cold, rain, wind, warm and sunny. I

have yet to thrive in extremely hot temperatures. At WC100k, JFK

and Tussey, the conditions were nearly perfect for me, especially

considering the conditions most closely match the conditions

I train in. All of them were cool but not cold, little or no wind,

and moderate cloud cover. LA marathon was less than idealconditions as it was pouring rain, very windy in sections and quite

cold, however, these conditions mirrored the conditions I had

done my specic training in, thus making them ideal in a way.

SpecifcConditions,or“RightConditions”istheFinalKeyto

HavingaBreakthroughPerormance.

BreakthroughPerormanceFormulaorSuccess=Right

Training+RightMentality+RightConditions.


http://running.competitor.com/2011/02/training/why-you-should-expect-the-worst_8412





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determine your goal | 04

DeteRMINe YoUR GoaL04

Before you can have a breakthrough performance or apply my

formula for success to your running, you have to gure out

what your idealgoalperormance is. This could bemany things:

• Set a PR

• Run a specic time (like a Boston qualifying time)

• Feel good the entire race

• Win or place

• Run a specic distance

With any race, we should have three goals in mind: “good”

“great” and “ideal/breakthrough”.

For instance, when I was training and racing Houston andthen L marathon my three goals were as follows:

• “Good”= Break my PR of 2:49:51.

• “Great”= Run under the lympic Trial ‘B’ Standard of 2:46.

• “Ideal”= Run under a 2:44.

This ideal goal performance is the bestpossiblescenario. I

believe a true breakthrough is something that we must push

our outer limits to achieve, it is closer to a “pie in the sky”scenario than reasonably achievable on a good day. While

your “ideal goal” may be the best possible scenario, it is also

the goal towards which you train.

When I was training for my lympic Trials qualier, I trained

for a low 2:40 marathon, not just a 2:46. I felt I would be best

prepared to achieve my “ideal” goal if I was physical prepared

to do so. I used a pace chart for my workouts based on a 2:40

marathon (more on this later). This meant that during training

there were workouts when I was unable to achieve the paces

that were prescribed by that goal. I had workouts where I was

suppose to run 800 meter repeats at a 2:35 pace and I couldbarely achieve a 2:40. The goal was at the outer limits of my

tness so I had to push myself greatly to achieve some of the

training milestones.

Writedownandclearlydefneyourgood,greatandideal

goalperormanceoryournextrace. Keep this with your

training plan and training journal. Consider these your guiding

philosophies as you pursue your training.

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determine your parameters | 05

05After you have determined your ideal goal, you have to dene

your parameters for reaching that goal. Parameters are the

general guiding principals of your training before you establish

your specic racing plan. This means dening your approach to

your training including how many days/times you are committed

to running, the types of supplementary training you will do for

your goal (including strength and stretching), where your goal ts

into the rest of your life (your priorities) and your nutrition. Make

sure you clearly dene your parameters simultaneously when you

dene your goal so that you set yourself up for success.

What this looks like. My Olympic Trials Qualier parameters:

1. Run 6 days a week including double days at least

3 days a week

2. Once weekly strength training sessions and

biweekly core work.

3. Once weekly sports massage sessions.

4. Get 8 or more hours of sleep

5. Nutrition- no sugar, no alcohol, no dairy or wheat

(foods I am intolerant to), no grains (except oats) or

beans. Modied paleo approach. Very structured diet

for the six weeks leading up to Houston, eating at 2-3

hour intervals and carefully balancing my intake.

6. Stretching 3x per week.

Your parameters are realistic commitments to obtain your ideal

goal. If you are not willing or able to run more than 3 days a week

or don’t have any desire to change your diet, do not make this

part of your parameters.

I knew that in order to achieve my ideal goal of running a sub

2:44 that I would need to have some very strict and specic

parameters. My goal was only feasible because of the parameters

I put in place. If I had said not been willing to make my training my

highest priority or did not do the additional supplementary work,

my goal would have not been realistically obtainable. Your goals

and parameters must be in sync.

Write down your parameters with your goals. Keep this with your

training plan and training journal. Consider these your building

blocks for reaching your goal.

Now that you have clearly dened goals and parameters. It is timeto start building and implementing the formula for your success.

Remember:

Breakthrough Performance Formula for Success = Right training

+ right mentality + right conditions

The remainder of this guide is a breakdown of the specic

framework that you can implement in the pursuit of your goals.

Each area ( right training, right mentality and right conditions) is

individually addressed using clear steps, plans and illustrations to

help you map out the road to achieving your dream day.

“Your parameters are realistic commitmentsto obtain your ideal goal.”

DeteRMINe YoUR PaRaMeteRS

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right training | 06

The right training accounts for 65-75% of your ability to reach

your goals. Without proper training, it does not matter how

good your mentality is or how perfect race day is, you will not

be physically prepared to run your best.

There is much more to the right training than printing a

generic training plan off the internet. This chapter guides you

through the fundamental aspects of preparing yourself to toe

the line as physically prepared as you can be.

SteP 1: FindingaCoach

For my rst two years of running marathons and beyond, I

was self-coached. I did a great deal of researching training

methods and was able to drop my marathon PR from 3:38

in my rst marathon in June 2005 to a 2:55 a year and a

half later. During this same time period I began ultrarunning

and having a great deal of success. However, I knew the

longer I ran the closer I would come to the limits of my own

knowledge and training. In 2008, I hired a coach, Howard

ippert, who was one of my teammates on the US 100k team,

and began working with him closely.

Working with Howard, I was able to break through my running

plateaus and hit another growth curve in my running that has

me consistently improving race after race. ne of the best

benets of having a coach I found was accountability. ven

though I often put speed work on my self-coached schedules,

I never set foot on the track until I was being coached and

my coach prescribed it in my training. I was just never a fan

of the track and so I would let myself off the hook or just all

together leave those aspects out of my training.

ow, even though Howard lives across the country and is

not present for my workouts, I feel more accountable. When

he asks how a workout went, I want to have done my best

to have run the workout as prescribed and at my goal paces

for that workout. I’ve found this accountability provides an

amazing sense of accomplishment in training. professional

coach is trained not only in building you a specic plan but

also in analyzing and tracking your training to guide you

towards your goal. They will include workouts that, like them

or not, will develop your weaknesses into strengths and keep

you on track towards your goal.

RIGHt tRaINING

06

Winning the Lake Sonoma 50-Mile in 2010

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right training | 06

Finding a coach is an easy process.

If you are just starting out many charity training programs and

running clubs include coaching with their programs (although

this is not individualized, it is better than beginning without

a coach). This is a good place for beginners to get coaching.

I have included a list of charity programs and running club

resources in the Resources section.

If you are ready to have a personal running coach there are

also many options available. Most running clubs have coaches

on staff or can recommend a local coach. Local running stores

can also make good recommendations. I have included a list of

national organizations that have coaching recommendations

in the Resources section. I have also included a list of popular

and respected online coaches. s I mentioned, Howard

and I live on opposite coasts but even through this virtual

relationship, he is able to be heavily involved in my training.

SteP 2: DevelopingaRaceSpecifcTrainingPlan

nce you have a coach, the next step is developing a training

plan. our coach will prescribe this plan (or if you are self-

coached you will build one). training plan should include

specic workouts, mileage and should be specically tailored

to your target race. ne size ts all training plans don’t

address your goals, parameters, race needs or the possible

race conditions.

In order to reach your goals your training plan needs to be

tailored to address all of those things and others including:

• Type of terrain, surface and elevation gain

• Type of weather or altitude

• ther race specic details (such as carrying mandatory

gear or stage racing)

s an ultrarunner and marathon who races up to 10 times

per year (2-3 races each year are “” races), my training is

incredibly diverse but I do not try to be trained for marathon

through 100 miles on every surface from road to high altitude

single track at one time. Instead, for each “” race I have a

training plan that is dedicated to doing my best at that specic

race. ver the years, I have developed a baseline tness that

allows me to cover a wide-range but it is counter productive

towards reaching your ideal race goal to try and be a jack

of all trades. s I illustrated earlier, just because I was inshape to run 100 miles in the mountains doesn’t mean I was

in optimum shape to race a fast marathon. Focus on one goal,

train towards that goal and you will be rewarded.

xample of race specic training from my journals:

• TransRockies 2009- This is a 6 day stage race in

Colorado which covers upwards of 20 miles a day over

some big mountain passes.

In my training for this event, we focused my training efforts

on long runs on technical and non-technical trail with a lot of

elevation gain. I did a great deal of ascent and descent in my

training and would do back-to-back 20 mile runs or back-to-

back-to-back long run efforts. These two types of workouts

made me accustomed to the climbing I would encounter and

also develop the ability to run long day after day after day.

SteP 3: Findingyourpaces

With your goal, parameters, coaching and training plan all

set, the next step is to determine your paces for each type

of workout. our paces will be based on your ideal race goal

as well as a previous race result or indicator workout. oulikely used a previous race result or indicator workout in

establishing your ideal race goal. s with your goal, these

training paces should be on the outer limit of your capabilities

but physically possible within the timeframe. For instance,

if you recently ran a 3:30 marathon and your goal is to run

a 2:30 marathon in 3 months, it might not be beyond your

physical limits to run the paces necessary to achieve that goa

within that time frame.

2009 Transrockies Elevation Prole

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right training | 06

Before starting your training, you should have a pace range

for each of the following type of run:

• Recovery runs

• Long runs

• asy runs

• Tempo runs

• Speed Workouts

our coach may provide this for you and if so you can skip

this step.

I nd it helpful to keep a reference sheet with all of my paces

for each type of workout. There are several online resources

available to do this including:

McMillian Running (my favorite)

Runners World Training Calculator

Runworks

Once you have printed out and established your paces for your

ideal goal it is a good idea to go out for a “test run” of your

current tness. With your baseline current tness you should be

From McMillian Running

able to run 2-3 repeats (400 or 800 meters in length) in or close

to the range your goal pace ascribes. Not only will this “test run”

conrm that your goal is within the realm of your physical outer

limits it will give you a baseline to gauge improvement off of.

For example, when I started training for my Olympic Trials

qualier in mid December of 2010, I was able to run between

75-80 second 400 meter repeats, which is just within the range/slightly slower than my ideal pace range (from the chart above).

As my training progressed I was able to more easily make the

lower end of the range. Two weeks before I qualied for the

Olympic Trials at the LA marathon, I ran a workout of 2:34-2:35

paced 800 meter repeats which is within the range.

SteP 4: GetRunningandTrainingDetails

“ A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu

Now that you have your coach, training plan and paces it is almos

time to lace up your running shoes and start building your tness.

The rst three steps are enough to help you reach your “good”

or even “great” goals. The difference between a “great” day and

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/trainingcalculator/0,7169,s6-238-277-279-0-0-0-0-0,00.html?cm_mmc=Mag_URL-_-2008_August-_-Dean_Karnazes-_-Race_Prediction

http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Lao-tzu/

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Lao-tzu/

http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/trainingcalculator/0,7169,s6-238-277-279-0-0-0-0-0,00.html?cm_mmc=Mag_URL-_-2008_August-_-Dean_Karnazes-_-Race_Prediction

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

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right training | 06

a “Devon” day are in the details. The details contained in this step

include the supplemental work and rened focus of the rst three

steps. In my ve and a half years of racing, I have found that these

details are the most important element for being able to reach

your ideal goal. It is important to establish these details as a part

of your plan so that they are a priority.

KeyRunningWorkouts:Key Workouts are the most important part of your training. These

workouts include (but are not limited to): speed work, tempo

runs, hill work, and long runs. These are the workouts that are

hardest on the body but also provide the greatest adaptation.

These workouts will be dictated by your specic plan and race.

For example, leading up to LA marathon, I had 3 key workouts per

week: track, tempo and long run. I made sure that I was rested for

these days and did not skip them or alter them. Easy or recovery

runs are not key workouts.

Mileage:

Mileage alone will help you improve your time but is secondarily

important to key workouts. You should add mileage slowly to your

training plan: no more than 10% increase in mileage until you nd

your sweet spot for mileage. Remember there is no universal

perfect range for mileage. Just because your friend can run

100 miles per week, doesn’t mean you should. Find the training

load that works well with your body, adding mileage only up to asustainable point. This sweet spot for mileage is a range you can

sustain for a few weeks (3-4) without having the quality of your

key workouts suffer or getting injured. My sweet spot for mileage

is:

• Road running (100-110 mpw)

• Trail running (120-140mpw)

All mileage outside of key workouts should be done at an easy

or recovery pace. This could be anywhere from 30 second to 2

minutes per mile slower than your goal pace. Also, for every 3-4

weeks of sustained mileage, plan for one easy cut back week.

RaceSpecifcity:

In addition to having your training plan tailored toward your race,

you should also practice what you will do on race day. This

includes:

• Planning race kit and shoe choices based on what is best for

the potential conditions and terrain of the course.

• Wearing the clothes and shoes that you will race in.

• Trying the food and drinks you will take during your race.

• Runnning tune up races or workouts (at race pace).• Practicing race situations

- Eating gels during hard efforts

- Grabbing water cups (for example, leading up to LA marathon

I practiced grabbing and drinking water during a hard track

workout. This enabled me to be comfortable not only drinking

water while running fast but successfully grabbing the water

without breaking stride).

Supplemental/Non-running:

Diet/Nutrition

Diet and nutrition play a huge role in supporting your training. Youneed to fuel right to meet the demands of your training load. You

should eat the healthiest diet you can but one that also ts within

your pre-determined parameters. What that means is that you

should fuel your body like an athlete but also respect your preset

limits when it comes to diet modication.

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right training | 06

There are many resources available for complete sports nutrition

advice (listed in the resource section) but there are a few key

concepts of fueling like an athlete that have helped optimize my

training and are a good foundation to start from:

1.Timeyourueling. Fueling up before and refueling after

workouts is absolutely key. This allows you to have the best

possible workouts and recover for the next effort.

2.Drinklotsowater.

3.Planyourmealsandprepareaheadotime. It is hard to

maintain an athletic diet if you don’t have your meals planned and

shopped for ahead of time. By planning what you will eat over

the course of the week, you will not fall into the trap of eating

whatever is in front of you or you are craving when you return

hungry after a workout. This is even more important when tting

both training and a healthy athletic diet into a busy lifestyle.

4.Bepreparedwithhealthysnacks. Training kicks up your

hunger big time, so make sure you keep healthy snacks on

hand to eat throughout the day. Eating small healthy snacks will

continue to help your recovery and keep you from overeating.

Part of fueling like an athlete is balancing your energy in and out,

ensuring you get enough but not too much.

5.Limitsugar,sweets,treatsandalcohol.Eliminateood

allergensandprocessedoods. These items don’t provide any

benet to an athletic diet.

6.Eatmorevegetables.Balanceprotein,carbohydrates

andat. A balance diet lled with a great deal of vegetables is the

cornerstone of an athletic diet. Again, you need to make sure that

you are meeting your needs to support your training. Not sure

what how much you should be eating? Check out this nutrition

calculator to determine what your nutritional breakdown should

look with your training plan.

7.Findotherwaystorewardyourselthanood. After a long

hard workout it is easy to want to reward ourselves by eating

whatever we want. We feel we deserve it and in theory, we do.

However, this is a short sighted approach for several reasons.

First, eating whatever we want doesn’t necessarily provide our

body with the proper fueling we need to recover. Second, the

gratication of reaching your goal far outweighs the instant

gratication of a weekly post long run burger and fries or other

indulgence. The occasional treat during training is helpful for

maintaining motivation to stay on track (dietarily) but save the big

reward for after the race.

Diet modication during training should not be a stretch or a

restrictive exercise. When you established your parameters, you

determined what you would or would not when it comes to diet

and nutrition. Work within these parameters to optimize your

diet. This will not look the same for every race or every goal, like

training, diet and nutrition should have different periodization. For

example, before Houston/LA marathons, I maintained a very strict

healthy diet (which can be seen here). This diet was very healthy

but also very narrow. I had a “no exceptions” rule when it came

8/6/2019 devon_day


right training | 06

to sugar, sweets, treats, alcohol, food allergens (I am intolerant to

dairy and gluten) and processed foods. I eliminated those items

completely from my diet. It was not a diet that was intended to

be maintained consistently but one that coincided with my peak

training. After reaching my goal, I reverted back to my normal

healthy diet which is a whole food balanced diet but includes

sugar and alcohol in moderation (though not food allergens or

processed foods).

Race Weight

Weight loss should absolutely not be a part of your ideal goal. It

is a goal in itself and should be focused on by itself (if you have

weight to lose). Through the course of peaking training and

maintaining an athletic diet as described above, it is likely that you

will lose a few pounds of fat. Being lean and light is benecial in

reaching your ideal goal, however, simply reaching an arbitrary

number on the scale, like running a certain weekly mileage, will

not inherently make you meet your goal. Your diet and training

should be geared towards optimizing performance not towards

race weight.

A must read on this topic is RaceWeightbyMattFitzgerald.

Stretching and Self Massage

Develop an at home stretching and self-massage/foam roller

routine. Aim to, at a minimum, maintain exibility and help your

muscles recover and relax. (See resources for stretching and

foam roll guides)

Strength

While weight loss is not a part of this plan, building andmaintaining muscles helps a runner stay healthy and fatigue less

quickly. Have a training specic plan or work with a trainer who

understands how to help you reach your goals.

Bodywork

Training is incredibly taxing on the body and sports massage is an

essential part of recovery. Massage increases the overall health

of muscles and remove adhesions that have built up over time.

Regular bodywork helps to address issues as they arise before

they become injuries.

Sleep

Getting enough sleep is essential for training and adaptation. Just

like good nutrition, you should not cut corners on your sleep. Try

to get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night.

Other

The last supplemental items that are worth noting are:

• IceBaths. (taken the day before a hard workout to

increase muscle tension or the day after a hard workout

to aid in recovery)

•Dailylie. Ideally when pursuing your ideal goal, your daily life

will be conducive to reaching that goal. That means that the

best time to pursue your goal is when the majority of your daily

life is stable. If you are moving, changing jobs, getting married,

having a baby or other major life changes, your goal should be

in sync with that.

SUMMaRY

The right training is comprised of:

1. Finding a coach.

2. Developing a race specic training plan.

3. Determining your training paces.

4. Implementing and mastering the training details.

Taken together these 4 steps provide the fundamental framework

for reaching your goal. These steps will ensure that you arrive at

the starting line physically ready to have your day.

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right mentality | 07

RIGHt MeNtaLItY

07There is no universal, one size ts all right mentality. The right

mentality, however, accounts for 20-30% of your ability to have a

breakthrough performance. As much as sports psychology can

tout their “proven theories” or make sweeping generalizations,

each of us has a unique mentality and motivation. This chapter

guides you through dening your own “right mentality”,

developing a race plan and setting up strategies for training and

race day.

My“rightmentality”

As I discussed in the overview of my formula for success my

“right mentality” is when Iamenjoyingthejourney,being

presentandrunninghappy. Nothing else. I am not focusing

on splits, what other racers are doing, what I think I should be

feeling or anything else. In all of my breakthrough and even greatperformances, I have a specic positive mentality that is deeply

connected to why I run, not just race.

SteP oNe: Defneyour“rightmentality”

In order to dene your “right mentality” you must rst answer the

fundamental question: why do I run? Finding the “why” drives

everything, as Simon Sinek says, “your driving motivation for

action” (http://www.startwithwhy.com/). Once you have your

“why”, the how and what follow easily and naturally. Your “right

mentality” has this “why” as its foundation. When you line up for

your breakthrough performance, this will be your fundamental

driving force, this denes your “right mentality”.

SteP two: Understandwhyyouareracingor

pursuingaparticulargoal

After asking and answering “why do I run?”, you have to ask

yourself “why do I race?” and “why do I want to achieve this

breakthrough performance?”. These secondary questions are

important steps to being prepared to achieve your ideal goal.

The general “why do I run” should be a overall guiding force

and philosophy. The more specic “why do I race?” aligns your

mentality with your motivations for participation in specic event.

For instance, my “why” for pursuing the Olympic Trials standard

is because I wanted to challenge myself in an event that is not

my forte and has not been my focus. My bigger racing “why”

currently is attempting to compete for the United States in the

Olympic games. The rst step to achieving that is making the

trials.

SteP tHRee: Learntovaluetheprocessnotjusttheresult

I truly believe that the race itself, ideal day or not, is the reward

for the journey it takes to get there. Valuing the process that it

took to prepare physically and mentally is an incredible feat worth

celebrating. The race or goal ultimately is a very small portion of

the journey and should not be seen as a dening factor of all thetraining and preparation that came before it.

If you consider my experience with racing Houston in January

2011 and then LA in March 2011, it is clear that I was able to value

my training highly, make adjustments and learn from the things

that went wrong at Houston and carry my training forward to

achieve my breakthrough performance. If I had not valued the

process it took me to get to Houston, I would not have been able

to carry that training forward and utilize it in my success at LA. I

didn’t go back to the drawing board, I valued my own hard work

and process, rened a few things and proceeded forward.

SteP FoUR: Knowthysel

There are many theories on sports psychology. Some people

respond to positive thought and visualization. Others must prepare

themselves for the worst or breakdown their expectations.

Knowing what works for you is key. Throughout your training, you

should try on various sports psychologies and see what motivates

you best.

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right mentality | 07

At Houston, I built up this expectation that come race day things

would click and go perfectly. I think this expectation even more

diluted version was hugely detrimental. When the going got tough

when I didn’t think it should be, it mentally screwed me. I became

hugely reactive in that race. I started overcondent and fatalistic

about my goal. I did not realize it until afterwards but this is

precisely the mentality that does not work for me.

At LA, on the other hand, I was smiling and happy and

responded without resistance to the things that arose. In all of

my breakthrough and even great performances, I have a specic

positive mentality that is deeply connected to why I run, not

just race.

SteP FIve: Developaraceplan

Your mentality needs a framework to work with, a plan, a set

of strategies to guide it through your race. Having a time goal

and establishing a pace strategy that address your physical

capabilities. While this is a good thing to have, it is not the only

necessity. To make sure that you have established your “right

mentality” you must also establish non-time goals on which

to focus.

For example, at LA marathon, my goal was to stay comfortable

through the halfway point and to focus on how I was feeling. I

looked at my splits at mile markers but more to compare my time

with my feeling than to focus on my pace. The miles felt easy

and they also happened to be under my time goal pace. Before

the race, I determined that at mile 22, I would do the calculations

towards my time goal and establish where I was in relationship

to that. Until that moment, I focus on feeling comfortable while

pushing myself as hard as I could. After mile 22, I stil l felt

fantastic and determined that my goal was attainable. This was

the point where I had decided I would push my outer limits, stop

being comfortable and take risks to see what I could really do.

I entered the race with a mental plan: Stay comfortable until thehalfway mark. Don’t worry about overall pace until mile 22. Push

my outer limits from mile 22 to the nish. Take risks to see what I

could really do.

This plan didn’t change or alter when things came up or

challenges arose. It kept my mind sharp and focused on the

bigger picture.

SUMMaRY

The right mentality is comprised of:

1. Dene your “right mentality”.

2. Understand why you are racing or pursuing a particular goal

3. Learn to value the process not just the result.

4. Know thyself.

5. Develop a race plan.



the starting line mentally ready to have your day.

“ Your mentality needs a frameworkto work with, a plan, a set of strategies to

guide it through your race.”

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right conditions | 08

RIGHt CoNDItIoNS

08“I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.”

AbrahamLincoln

You are physically prepared, you are mentally at your peak, you

are ready. This is exactly how you want to feel on the day you

pursue your ideal goal. There is one small detail left to complete

the puzzle and it has the power to make or break your day and it

is completely outside of your control: the conditions.

The “right conditions” are ultimately outside of your control.

As much as we wish would could will away a rain cloud or

push aside a freak thunderstorm, they are part of life. They

are however, the nal piece of the framework for having a

breakthrough performance. On an ideal day, the weather will suit

you perfectly, the temperature will be just right, there will be noheadwind, it will be calm, cool and still. The conditions preferably

would be exactly what you thrive in and feel most comfortable.

The ideal conditions are ones you don’t even have to take note of

because they don’t inhibit you in any way.

While this element of the framework is outside of your control,

there are steps that you can take to set yourself up for success.

By being best prepared for the conditions you will or could

face, you can reduce the impact the conditions have on your

breakthrough performance.

Setting yourself up for success:

SteP oNe:Pickaracethattypicallyhasoptimal

raceconditions

Part of selecting Houston as my goal race to achieve theOlympic

Trials standard was the weather: typically mild (January in Texas

is typically around 50 degrees on race day) and dry on a very

fast course. On race day, however it poured rain, threatened

thunderstorms and was quite windy.

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right conditions | 08

them negatively impact your race by stressing or worrying about

it. Accommodate the conditions as best you can and proceed

forward. Remember that everyone in the eld is faced with the

same conditions. Being upset about it won’t help your race. Adjus

your goals accordingly. When I lined up for the LA marathon in

March 2011, the weather report was daunting; hard rain, urban

ooding, high winds. However, because I had the “right training”

and the “right mentality”, I didn’t let the weather report dampenmy spirits. I embraced the fact that it didn’t rain before the race

(meaning we could stay warm and dry before the start) and I

spun it positively once it did start pouring. I felt that rain at least

meant it was not too hot and not smoggy at all. Even though

there were sections where I was ankle deep in water or running

into a headwind so strong it felt like I would be knocked over

or my hands were so cold I couldn’t grab a gel, I did not let my

focus go to the things I could not control. I kept on my race plan

and kept my mentality on point and ultimately was able have a

breakthrough performance in spite of the conditions.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “I will study and get ready, and

perhaps my chance will come.” You cannot ultimately control

the race conditions but bad conditions don’t have to mean the

“wrong conditions”. You can control how prepared you are for

the conditions, how you deal and adjust to them and your attitude

about them. Through these steps you further prepare yourself to

reach your goals.

SUMMaRY

The right conditions are comprised of:

1. Pick a race that typically has optimal race conditions.2. Check the weather report and pack your race bag accordingly.

3. Know what kind of conditions you run best in and what

adjustments you need to make in order to adjust to sub-optimal

or mixed conditions.

4. Attitude is everything.



the starting line ready to have your day.

SteP two:Checktheweatherreportandpackyour

racebagaccordingly

Freak weather happens and can catch you unprepared. However,

you should minimize that by checking the weather report close

to and right before you leave for your race (the last possible

moment before you pack your race bag). Include items that you

may need like sleeves, hat, rain shell (or trash bag) and gloves for

cold or wet weather. Include hat, visor, sunglasses, sunscreenand extra water bottles for hot weather. Plan your race kit for

the ideal conditions (I run in a singlet, spandex shorts, knee high

compression socks) and add to it according to conditions. You

should be able to accommodate weather reasonably on race

morning.

SteP tHRee: Knowwhatkindoconditionsyourunbestin

andwhatadjustmentsyouneedtomakeinordertoadjustto

sub-optimalormixedconditions

I know I race best in cool weather with a light breeze. Not too

hot and not too cold in the upper 40’s or 50’s is perfect for

me. I am use to rain, so as long as it is not pouring it doesn’t

affect me. When I raced JFK 50 miler in November 2009, the

weather was perfectly suited to me. However, being late fall the

Appalachian trail section of the race was covered with leaves

and the already rocky terrain was slick and had tenuous footing.

So, although the conditions on the day were perfect, I ran very

conservatively through this section to account for how previous

weather had affected the course. I didn’t waste energy trying to

run hard across a slick surface. Similarly, in April of 2007, when

I ran Mad City 100k it was a very cold day (10 degrees) and there

was a strong breeze on one side of the looped course. Instead of

ghting with the wind, I worked with it: easing up with a headwindand oating along with a tailwind. By adjusting to the conditions,

you can nd ways to make it work for you and minimize its effect

on you.

SteP FoUR: Attitudeiseverything

The “right mentality” you established in the previous section

should include contingencies and accommodations for the

conditions that arise. I believe in a “no resistance, no stress”

mentality. You cannot control the conditions, so you shouldn’t let

“ You cannot ultimately control the raceconditions but bad conditions don’t haveto mean the “wrong conditions”.

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when it all comes together | 09

wHeN It aLL CoMeS toGetHeR09BreakthroughPerormanceFormulaorSuccess=

RightTraining+RightMentality+RightConditions

This guide has provided a framework for developing your plan

to have a breakthrough. Using the formula for success and

implementing the framework in your training sets you on the right

path to achieving your “Devon” day. You are now prepared with

the tools to achieve your ideal goals. There is no greater feeling

in running than having the perfect day. The body, mind and day

all working perfectly in sync. The feeling of the wind at your back

and every step feeling effortless. It is a runner’s dream. Following

these steps helps make that dream a reality.

Figure out what works for you and the things that help you thrive.Understand why you run and keep that central to your training.

Embrace the things that come your way. Dream big and attempt

the outrageous.

“ Figure out what works

for you and the things thathelp you thrive.”

8/6/2019 devon_day


about the author | 10

aBoUt tHe aUtHoR

10DevonCrosby-Helms was born and raised in Seattle, WA.

She has been a lifelong athlete including a career as one of the

premier basketball players in the country coming out of high

school. After retiring from basketball, she took up running casually

while living abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. She was soon

hooked and ran her rst marathon in Edinburgh, Scotland in June

of 2005 in a Boston Qualifying time of 3:38. Her love affair of the

long and ultra distance exploded from there and she took up the

sport with the same intensity she once practiced in basketball.

In 2007, she ran a 2:52 and won the Napa Valley Marathon. She

raced her rst year of ultrarunning which included seven racesof 50k or further including her rst of 3 trips to the 100k World

Cup as a member of Team USA. Since that time she has raced

in over 25 ultras and 10 marathons, with numerous wins and

course records. Notable race results include winning JFK50 miler

(the countries largest and oldest 50 mile race) in course record

time and winning the 2010 USATF 50 mile road championship

at Tussey Mountainback, also in course record time. In March of

2011, she “dropped down” in distance the marathon and qualied

for the 2012 Olympic Trials in a time of 2:43:28. Devon enjoys

running on both trail and roads, with smooth downhill single track

in the backcountry being her absolute favorite.

She attended University of Washington for her undergraduate

degree in English. She also obtained her masters degree in

Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh

in 2004. She earned her personal chef certication in 2007from Bauman College in Berkeley California and currently works

as a personal chef, gluten free baker and writer. She maintains

a popular running and food blog http://devoncrosbyhelms.com.

She lives in San Francisco with her boyfriend Nathan and they

someday hope to own a farm, a sandwich shop and baby goats.

8/6/2019 devon_day


resources | 11

ReSoURCeS

11CoaCHING aND RUNNING GRoUPS:

USATF

RRCA

Popular charity running

CoaCHING:

Howard Nippert Coaching

McMillian Running

Training Peaks

NUtRItIoN ReSoURCeS:

RaceWeightbyMattFitzgerald

(Velo Press; 1 edition (December 1, 2009)

EnduranceSportsNutritionbySuzanneEberle

(Human Kinetics; 2 edition (February 19, 2007)

ThePaleoDietorAthletesbyLorenCordain

(Rodale Books; 1 edition (October 13, 2005))

Avery’sSportsNutritionAlmanacbyEdmundR.BurkePh.D.

andDanielGastelu,MS,MFS

(Avery Publishing Group)

StRetCHING GUIDe FoR RUNNeRS:

Basic Stretches for Runners

Runner’s World Complete Guide to Stretching

FoaM RoLLING/ SeLF MaSSaGe FoR RUNNeRS:

How to Use a Foam Roller

Foam Rolling for Runners

Self-Massage Techniques for Runners

Sel-Massage for Athletes by Rich Poley

(Two Hand Press, LLC; 1st edition (February 10, 2007))

http://www.usatf.org/clubs/search/

http://www.rrca.org/find-a-running-club/

http://running.about.com/od/charityrunninggroups/Charity_Running_Training_Groups.htm

http://www.howardnippert.com/

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/oc.htm


http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/staying-healthy/the-rw-complete-guide-to-stretching/484.html

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--13796-0,00.html






http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/staying-healthy/the-rw-complete-guide-to-stretching/484.html



http://www.howardnippert.com/

http://running.about.com/od/charityrunninggroups/Charity_Running_Training_Groups.htm

http://www.rrca.org/find-a-running-club/

http://www.usatf.org/clubs/search/

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