Multiview 1: Mark Buchholz

I met Mark after a 5K last fall. We’d both placed in our age groups and were kicking around, waiting for an awards ceremony that seemed like it would never start. So we struck up a conversation and realized we sorta work together. Small world. After that race, we became “street teammates” on RunKeeper and then Facebook friends  and while we’ve kept track of each others’ training and racing progress, we haven’t actually been in the same physical location since that race. Small virtual world. Here’s Mark’s story.

Name: Mark Buchholz
Hometown: Key Biscayne, FL
Current Town: Miami, FL
Sport(s) of Choice: Running
Longest Distance Covered (on feet/bike/skis/snowshoes/etc...): Marathon (feet)
Occupation: Digitization

How long have you been participating in your sport of choice and what got you into it in the first place?

Although I’ve always kind of enjoyed running as a peripheral activity, I never really got into it until about August of 2010. Due to a recent breakup, I had a bunch of additional time on my hands, so I said “You know what? I’m gonna run the Miami Marathon.” And that’s exactly what I did.

Describe a typical training day.

In general I have two types of runs “short” runs and “long” runs. I usually try to do two short runs during the week, and then one long run on Saturday mornings. The short runs during the week usually take place after work, and allow me to blow off some steam. The long runs are super early, so I usually end up taking a nap after I’ve showered and eaten.

Describe a typical eating day.

Isn’t every day an eating day??

Touché .

Also, I know I should be eating healthier, and that I could probably modify my diet to see performance improvements on race day, but I generally eat anything and everything as my whims dictate.

How do you balance work-life and training-life?

I generally don’t spend too much time running, so it doesn’t really cut into my work life. There’s been a couple days when I’ve been sore after a particularly hard run, but my job isn’t particularly physically strenuous, so it doesn’t really make a difference. My boss was really understanding when I wanted to take the Monday off after the ING full.

What are your goals? Either short or long term? How are you preparing for upcoming races?

I would like to run a sub-four-hour marathon at some point in my life. Beyond that, I generally like running for the sake of it, although I do know that pushing myself to do better and better is part of the fun. I’m currently not registered for any upcoming races, but I’m looking at doing the Zombie Run in Orlando in the Fall, the Ragnar Relay in January, and taking another swing at the ING full at the end of January. Also hoping to do Berlin and New York at some point, too.

Can you recall a particularly challenging moment in training or racing? How did you deal with it?

The past few months have been particularly challenging. I feel like ever since December the weather has always been against me on race day; we’ve had a really warm winter, and it’s showed in my half-marathon times, including the ING, which I was supposed to run the full, but I pushed myself too hard during the first half, and had to take the exit for the half-marathon finish. I knew I didn’t have another thirteen miles in me that day.

Any interesting/funny/inspiring stories you want to share from training or racing?

During the 2011 Turkey Trot, I was running the 10K, and I was feeling great at about mile 2.5, when I tripped. Now mind you, I’ve never tripped or even stumbled during any run, training or racing, before or since. My left toe snagged on a renegade piece of (perfectly smooth) asphalt, and I did a picture-perfect faceplant, lying completely prone, and even knocking over the innocent ten-year-old in front of me. I was so focused on the race, though, that I immediately pushed myself up, checked to make sure the kid was okay, and took off again with bruised palms and a scraped elbow; I don’t think the entire incident cost me more than ten seconds. I still can hardly believe that despite this, I managed to put up a personal best time of 47:30 on that particular race.

Talk to me about equipment/product. What do you wear? What do you ride? What gels do you like?

Currently I’m alternating between two pairs of Saucony shoes. The lightweight and minimalist Kinvara 2 is my fast, short-distance “Option” tyre, and the more structured yet slightly-heavier Cortana is my distance “Prime” tyre. As far as gels go, I’ve kind of stuck with the Powerbar “Green Apple” flavored gels. I initially tried the double-mocha flavor, and wanted to gag. The Shot Bloks also upset my stomach, so I found what I like and I’m sticking to it. Also, for recovery, I really like the Mix-1 series of protein shakes, even though they can be kind of hard to find.

Any advice for the “noobs” out there?

Everyone’s different. As a result, any information I might give you could likely be invalid. Other athletes tend to do what works for them, and so while it’s sometimes helpful to discover new strategies and techniques, everything should be filtered through your own experience first before deciding to permanently adopt a particular training method. It’s okay to ascribe certain workouts as “test days.”

To that end, since everyone’s different, never hold yourself accountable to someone else’s performance. In most kinds of endurance training, be it running, biking, or those crazy triathletes, it’s an individual event. It’s one person versus the clock, and that counts both on training days and on race days.

Anything else you want to tell us about yourself or your sports life.

I plead the Fifth. 🙂