A Million Little Pieces
by Dathan Ritzenhein | Jan 22, 2010 |
I was recently talking to my wife Kalin about Haile Gebrselassie because we were amazed that he still made yet another world record attempt this weekend. It is incredible to think that after all these years he is still break barriers. If you would have asked me a year or two ago if I would still be going at his age, I would have been surprised. However I now feel that I have so much more life in my career. She said to me “do you think you are going to still be able to train like this when you are that age?” I told her that I actually feel younger than I did a few years ago. My body at 27 actually feels better than it did at 25. That may not seem like a lot but when a professional runner’s career is so short, those few years can make a huge difference.
One of the big things that has made me put “money back in the bank” is to spend so much more time paying attention to the little things. I no longer just worry about piling on mileage and doing longer, harder workouts. I spend much more time doing drills, hurdles, dynamic flexibility, massage, ice baths, naps, etc… There are so many things that you can do to make yourself a better runner. I remember Coach Jay Johnson always saying that the best runners are also good athletes. I really believe that now. At this point in my career, I am athletically better than I was when I was doing only marathon specific work, simply because I have changed the mindset of what is important in my training. I use to get out of bed some days and I could barely hobble to the other room. That is not to say that I won’t have those days now and again, but surprisingly even after workouts like my “famous” 10 mile tempo I am still much better off. The good thing about putting together the million little pieces of this puzzle, is that I can do workouts I would never have imagined possible, but those are the workouts that need to be done to truly be the best in the world. It is easy to convince yourself that you are just that much better or stronger than everyone else, but if you look at it that way, it is just an arrogant approach, and I think you are destined to be reminded of that soon. There is no doubt that running a lot and running hard is the most important thing you can do to improve your running, but never discount the little things that can make all the difference. Alberto has told me before, one little thing may not make the difference, but when you add up all the fractions of everything extra, the sum can be a huge difference.
January 22nd, 2010 on 5:25 pm
Great post. I am too am learning that same lesson although it has taken me until I am nearly 40!
The best part about “the little things” for us average runners with kids and work is that most of them can fit nicely into the day. I can take 10 minutes of my work day to do some drills or dynamic stretches. I can fit in some core work while still hanging out with my kids.
I posted on my twitter account a few days ago that if you are runner who doesn’t get a massage once in a while, you are crazy. I got some grief for it so it’s good to see some back up.
Keep it up!
January 22nd, 2010 on 6:37 pm
Great post again, and this holds true in every sport (including my sport, throwing). All the little things add up and make a big difference.
January 22nd, 2010 on 7:23 pm
Makes sense. Hey, your form seems pretty good, but I just wondered if that is something you work on, too? If so, what do you base it on?
January 22nd, 2010 on 11:18 pm
Thanks for the shout out Mr. American Record holder. Hope you, the child, the dog and Saint Kalin are all well. Hope to see you later this spring at a meet.
For the readers, you should know that Dathan was paid a great complement several years ago by Dan Pfaff who, after working with Dathan in Boulder for just 48 hours said, “He’s motor educable.” English? Pfaff was simply saying Dathan’s athletic and his nervous system can learn new “motor patterns” and learn them quickly, something that many distance runners struggle with. Simply put, Dathan is a tremendous athlete, as are all of the fast University of Colorado Alums who’ve gone on to run world class performances.
Thanks for the informative posts Dathan.
January 23rd, 2010 on 1:30 pm
Dathan,
What shoes do you were for the majority of your training?
January 24th, 2010 on 12:58 am
Dathan,
Thank you so much for being so accessible to your fans. This is a great website and it has tremendous value to all of the young runners that look up to you. You’re a role model. Good luck this season.
January 24th, 2010 on 4:43 pm
Great post. On your next blog, would love to hear how preparations are going for the XC Nationals. Thanks.
January 24th, 2010 on 9:28 pm
Just what I needed to read today. A good thing to remember when i don’t “feel” like doing plyo’s or my IT stretches. I have incorporated the “five fingers” into my running and at 56 if I can do that ANYbody can : ) Just start low mileage!
I hope the calves will be stronger by the time NY rolls around.
January 25th, 2010 on 7:50 pm
Hey Dathan,
To go along with the little things, I was wondering what sports drinks you consume, and what types of vitamins or supplements you take to recover properly. I have been trying to find a good one that I can trust and have yet to find something.
Thanks, Zach
January 26th, 2010 on 8:46 pm
This is tremendously encouraging. Seconding Kyle’s post, thanks for your blog-this is such a fabulous way for runners and fans to catch a glimpse in the life of a professional runner-a sport that doesn’t get quite as much attention as the NBA, as much as it disappoints me! Great topic today-I’m torn a lot of the time between school, work, and training, but the fact is it seems as if taking the time to do the “little” things make the difference between good and great. Out of curiosity, what is the regimen of massage/ice bath/drills that you follow? Your mention of hurdles is inspiring me to get back on the track and improve my flexibility. Good luck with training, and keep the blog coming! : )
January 27th, 2010 on 12:21 pm
Dathan,
Are you running that 5000 in Washington on the 29th.
If so, do you have an idea of teh pace you will try and hit?
January 27th, 2010 on 1:21 pm
You should write a book about all the crap you have been through. Your rise as a high school phenom, your college days, professional career and the future.
January 30th, 2010 on 2:45 am
Hey Dathan, how come you scratched at the UW Invitational. I was hoping you would take a shot at Solinsky’s record of 13:30.
January 30th, 2010 on 4:04 pm
Sorry to anyone who showed up to UW last night and I didn’t end up running. Small emergency popped up but everything is ok now.
January 30th, 2010 on 8:31 pm
There are more important things in life than running an indoor 5000. Glad everything is okay.
January 31st, 2010 on 1:41 am
I’m glad to hear everythings okay, I knew it was for a higher priority, hope you race here in the near future!
February 1st, 2010 on 12:19 pm
Dathan,
I was wondering if you could elaborate on the supplements that you take…
Vitamins?
Minerals?
BCAAS?
Protein?
Recovery drink after workouts?
Etc…
I’m interested to hear what some elites take other than a multi-vitamin. I guess this falls in lines with the million pieces…
February 1st, 2010 on 7:35 pm
Hey everyone, sorry I wasn’t as quick to comment back on this one.
As for my form that is something we spend a lot of time on now. It was not always that way and you can see a huge difference in how I look now as opposed to a couple years ago. I use to have a sitting shuffling stride but since I came to work with Alberto I have made huge changes and I am so much more powerful and smooth. We use sprint mechanics and drills and weight to make those changes.
Thanks, Jay great to see you here. Dan was great and he is one of the people who’s drills, weights, dynamic flex and so on that we have used here at the Oregon Project. All the best to the family.
I do most of my training in the Air Span, and my workouts and races in the Streak XC and the Matumbo.
I will write the next blog on the upcoming XC champs.
As for sports drinks I have just started working with Powerbar. I think the endurance drink is great and the protein for recovery are what I use the most as well as the gels during marathon training. For vitamins we have to be very careful what we take because the supplement industry is not regulated and contamination is possible with banned substances. We try to use reputable brands and have them checked for anything contamination. The core things a runner needs is Iron, Calcium and Multi-V and of course a good diet which I can thank my wife for.
My ice bath/massage/drills/ routine is almost daily. I might do the drills one day before a workout unless I only have one easy day between hard workouts. And I also do them as warm-up for a workout. I get a massage 2-3 times a week from our great massage therapist here Al Kupzack and I ice bath every single day!
A good friend of mine Don Kopriva who has been a track and field writer since the 1960′s is working on a book now, hopefully we can have it out in a year or so.
Sorry again about the missed race last weekend but I will be ready for US XC.
March 8th, 2010 on 7:06 pm
Hi there, you are such a great runner and are doing very well, keep it up! Look forward to seeing you race this season, should be good. Also how many miles do you do per week and what is your daily caloric intake?……….
Thanks Dale . . .