"Find the right balance between easy days and hard days. Plan some weeks with just good training and no races, focus on a solid foundation, and then have a sharpening period as you get closer to the race for which you are peaking."

- Grete Waitz,
9-time winner of the New York City Marathon

Learning from the best at major events
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Recently, I had the great pleasure of being in Helsinki for the World Track and Field Championships. Being in Helsinki brought me back 22 years when I won the gold medal in women's marathoning in the first World Championship by finishing three minutes ahead of Marianne Dickerson of the United States in 2:28:09.

Now, more than two decades later, I enjoyed watching the different events, but I have to admit that the distance events and the marathons interested me the most. What all the athletes, whether they are jumping, throwing or running, have in common is that they are all very well prepared going into the Championship. They all have dreams and hopes of making it to the final, or even to win a medal. "No stone is left unturned" as they say when it comes to preparing for the biggest event of the year for them.

I know first hand how detailed and exact a training program has to be if you want to be the best. While on a slightly different scale, there are many similarities with the biggest event in corporate running - the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship, October 1 on Park Avenue in New York. As in the World Championship, the best runners in corporate world will be on the starting line in New York, representing six countries and five continents.

I know that the runners who will gather on Park Avenue try to peak for the event and run their best. To do that they, like the world class runners, must have a plan. They need a strategy to shape their training and guide them in deciding what other races to run. While a world class runner plans the whole year around a big race like the World Championship, the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge runners probably plan the last four to six weeks before the race. Some, however, don't even have a plan. They just run.

I remember how my husband and I, along with our national coach, sat down every year in November and made plans for the following year. We charted the races I would run, my hard training weeks and easier recovery weeks, and when to train at altitude. All dates of importance were specially marked and we discussed my training down to details. We even talked about when and how often to have massages, when to have medical check ups, and how often to do strength training and long runs.

And, of course, we planned what races to peak for in getting ready for the big race. This is what it takes when you want to be the best in the world.

Of course, I know that those of you running in the JP MorganChase Corportae Challenge don't have the choice or possibility to live like that - to eat, sleep and train. You have a full time job, family and plenty of other obligations. Our Series is about finding a balance in life and enjoying the camaraderie of being a part of a team, getting or staying fit, and contributing to your company as you build your career.

Yet, as a Corporate Challenge runner there are many things you can copy from a world class runner, particularly those of you who have reached our highest level by qualifying for the Series Championship in New York.

You can start being more structured about your training program. Find the right balance between easy days and hard days. Plan some weeks with just good training and no races, focus on a solid foundation, and then have a sharpening period as you get closer to the race for which you are peaking.

I know you are not me, but this is how I a approached a big event; In my calendar I would mark down the important race date and then go backwards a week or two deciding my workouts. Normally the week of the race I would cut down to less than 50% of my mileage. For instance when I ran marathons I would run 40- 45 miles the week of the race (my normal training mileage was 100-110). Two weeks before I would run 75-80% of my normal mileage. The last two weeks I would place more emphasis on quality, such as doing 400 meter or one-mile repeats. I would also run a shorter road race just to sharpen myself - normally a 3-5 mile race.

I really believe many of you could benefit with a plan and a strategy in preparation for an important race like for instance the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship coming up in a few weeks. Making it that far is great, but running your best there when it really counts is a challenge. You need to be focused and mentally and physically prepared, just as the great athletes I saw in the World Championship in Helsinki.