Last weekend Trails and Tarmac coaches Camelia Mayfield and Cole Watson raced the California International Marathon, both punched tickets to the 2020 Marathon Olympic Trials. Camelia finished in 2:42:38 and Cole in 2:18:05. We got the chance to ask them a few questions about their training, the race, and their new plans for 2019 and 2020!
1) You both spent much of the summer on the Trails, A 7th Place finish at Western States 100 for Camelia and the Rut and Sierre Zinal for Cole. How did your workouts change as you transitioned from trail to road?
CAMELIA: I actually decreased miles compared to where I was at for ultra marathon training and did a lot more workouts and long runs on flat roads. Workouts were also much more pace-based than effort-based, which is what I largely do when training for trail races. I also used a lot of local half marathons as long training runs to start dialing in the pace.
COLE: I wasn’t really doing any uphill tempos or fartleks anymore. The workouts were all done on the fairly flat bike path. I never got on the track even once. For me, the biggest factor that I went all in on was training by heart rate on my easy days. If I wasn’t doing a mid week workout or long run on the weekend, I was trying to keep my heart rate under 130 beats per minute. I still shot for 90-110 miles per week. Trying to run that volume at that heart rate resulted in me spending more minutes on my feet. The majority of my miles were run very easy. It was actually a little uncomfortable and even more tiring for the first month. I imagine this is because I was using my muscles a little differently than I had in past training cycles. Eventually, I was completely rested and ready to go for every workout and every long run. I was able to run appropriately harder and get the most out of those two workout days, because the other five days were run appropriately easy.
2) What were you fueling with during the marathon?
CAMELIA: I am a huge fan of Gu Energy products. I used the Gu Chews for the first twenty miles, taking one chew every 20 min or so, then had my favorite stash of Salted Caramel gel ready to go at mile 22.
COLE: I used Spring Energy Power Rush gel and their Electroride drink mix. I took a Power Rush gel and a few sips of the Electroride drink mix every 10k.
3) What was the most memorable part of the race this past weekend?
CAMELIA: I have really grown to love trail running because of the community that surrounds the sport. This past weekend energized my faith in road runners for having that same amount of camaraderie. I was surrounded by a huge group of women all chasing the OTQ. There were times we were having conversation and talking, sharing water bottles (still hoping I don’t get sick!)
COLE: When I past mile 16, where I dropped out last year. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders that had been sitting there for a whole year. I truly got a second wind and never looked back.
4) What part of your recovery time are you most looking forward to?
CAMELIA: I love CIM because it falls right at the beginning of Christmas and snow season. I am really looking forward to having more time to ski.
COLE: I don’t think my day to day will be too much different other than taking a break from running for a week or so. I might divulge in poorer eating habits, or not fret about staying up a little later than I normally would during a serious training stint. But I doubt I’ll get too reckless.
5) The Olympic Trials will be in February of 2020, what does 2019 racing look like?
CAMELIA: I am going to dive back into the trail scene. This marathon has given me more confidence in my speed, so I am hoping to run a fast and fun 50k at Way Too Cool then move into my training for Western States, including Lake Sonoma 50 mi. I’m still not sure what late summer and fall will hold for me. I will probably ramp up training for the Trials in October, so the goal will be to go into that training block healthy and rested.
COLE: I’m not really sure about my schedule for 2019. I’ve been torn on what races to do. I think my main goals are to be able to travel and compete internationally as many times as I can and still be successful. Last year, I only traveled out of the country twice, but it was the other events on my schedule that stretched me a bit thin. I certainly need to do a better job of prioritizing my schedule this next year. I’ll probably be dialing that in during my down time these next few weeks.
Anything else?
CAMELIA: I went into the race really thinking the fastest I could run was 2:50. My workouts leading to the marathon indicated that was about my fastest possible pace. Once I was in the race environment, and down to sea level (my workouts have been at about 4000’ altitude), I realized that just by running off effort, I could go much faster than I ever imagined. Moral of the story: trust your coaching, trust your body, and try not to look at your watch.
