Chris Carmichael coaches numerous endurance athletes, not just the world's greatest cyclist, Lance Armstrong. With the Coca-Cola Zero Rock 'n' Roll Marathon set June 5 in San Diego, he cautions runners against committing the athlete's most common sin
Not backing off enough in the final days of training.
"You should feel very antsy, almost like you're over rested," Carmichael said. "You should feel like you want to crawl out of your skin."
Carmichael said how much runners should cut back varies. Paul Greer, head coach for the local Rockin 'n' Runnin Marathon Training Program, said runners should work out no more than four times for 30-40 minutes the week of the race.
While saying runners should sharply cut back their volume, Carmichael said they should schedule at least one short-distance, race-pace workout that last week to avoid sluggishness.
Carmichael's latest book, "Chris Carmichael's Fitness Cookbook," is scheduled to be released in July.
San Diego-based WiggleWireless will enable fans to keep track of runners' progress at the Coca-Cola Zero Rock 'n' Roll Marathon via text-messaging. The company will provide text updates at five points in the race: the start, 10K, half-marathon, 20 miles and the finish.
The information is transmitted via the runners' timing chips. You must log on to www.wigglewireless.com and sign up for the service. There is no fee.
