How They Train! Felton Wright

Age

• 53

How many years have you been running?

• 37

Lifetime personal records

• 5K – 15:34
• 5 Mile – 25:07
• 10K – 31:55
• Marathon – 2:34

Consider your training over the past 6 months to one year.  How many miles a week do you typically run when not injured and consistently running?

• 50 miles per week

What running events (sprints to ultra-distance) do you train for or what are your training goals?

• I want to run a marathon in all 50 states. I have completed over 40 marathons, but only 20 states.

What does your typical week of running look like?

• 5 running days 3 swimming days
  • Monday – Swim workout – 3000 meters
  • Tuesday – Intervals on a track – 3 miles of fast, intense repetitions interspersed with short rest periods; the repetitions vary each week and include combinations of distances from 400 to 1600 meters on the track; for example one workout is 3 times 1600 meters, another workout is 6 times 800 meters and another is 2 times 1200, 2 times 800, and 2 times 400 meters; 15-20 minutes of warm-up and cool-down running is included
  • Wednesday – 9-10 miles; easy run
  • Thursday – 9-10 miles or tempo run that is an easy run with either 20 minute pickups or hill repeats
  • Friday – Swim workout 3000- 3500 meters
  • Saturday – Long run  13-20 miles; easy pace
  • Sunday – 10 miles and Pilates workout; for the long run, usually the first half is easy with the second half harder; I run with the Sunday morning Forest Meadows group until I get dropped.

How does your training vary over the course of a year?

• My long run gets longer when I am marathon training.  I try to build up to 20 miles once a week for my long run when preparing for a marathon.

Do you take recovery or down time? 

• Yes, after long races.

Do you peak for certain races?

• Yes, but it doesn’t seem to be working!

What time of the day do you normally run?

• I run in the early morning and usually get 7 hours of sleep at night.

What injuries have hampered your training over the past year? 

• Broken toe, pulled hamstring, bone spurs on my heel.   

Do you take any dietary or medical supplements?

• A multi-vitamin

What type of running shoes do you prefer?

• Nike Pegasus and race in Asics

Do you use weight training?

• Yes, once a week, mainly for the body core.  I use abdominal machines, dumbbells, chest press, but no weights for my legs. 

Do you stretch? 

• Yes, I try to stretch daily using a rope.

What are your favorite running routes?

• Forest Meadows and Tom Brown Park

What running resources do you like that would benefit someone else?

• Dr. Karl Hempel               

If you have been running for many years, how has your training changed over the years?

• The pace has gotten slower.  Now I don’t run every day or as far as I did when I was younger.

What examples can you give of specific training methods (for example, long slow distance, hill repeats, track intervals, trail running, etc.) that have produced results?

• Gary Droze’s Tuesday morning intervals.

What were the results?

• I am still waiting on them!

What advice do you have for beginning or experienced runners to help them with their training?

• Make the training fun!  Find a group to run with!  Tallahassee is blessed with many running groups of all different ability levels.