What is the best way of dealing with running and jet lag challenges ?
"Hi Marius,
I have just returned from a trip to US and I suffered badly from jet lag (both going there and coming back).
With my planned trip to Berlin in September, I have only 3 days before the race to acclimatise and I have a concern that my performance will be affected.
How have you managed this in your professional career and can you offer me any tips?
Cheers Alan"
Answer: Hi Alan, there has actually been some studies of this before the Sydney Olympics where I ran myself (and had to deal with a jet lag of 10+hours)
This is how it goes : Either you pretty much go over and run at around 2-3 days after the travel like you plan to OR you should have two days pr timezone (I did that before the Olympics, about 20 days pre-race) Either way, at around a week post-travel there seems to be a downtime and you do not want to race at that time.
My advice is like this : two easy days of running BEFORE travelling (really, really important not to run hard those days).
Then when you land in Berlin, ideally the same day 3 x 1500 meters intervals at a comfortable pace (Effort 3) - ideally on cinder/gravel. Next day rest or 20 minutes jog. The day before the race another 30 minutse jog.
What this does is to quickly get your body into "running rythm" as early as possible with the 3 x 1500 which is a very short session and not hard - at the same time you get your body going abit in the "right" timezone. I've found this to work really well when travelling back and forth to the US for example (and racing right thereafter)
The main mistake people do is :
1) too hard training the two days before the travel. 2) not touching "race speed" at all after entering the new zone.
In addition to that I recommend using Melatonin the first night in the new timezone (not thereafter, only the first night). Important though : to get the full effect of this stay awake 100 % of the time when you enter the new timezone and do not try and sleep during the day for a few hours. Wait until night comes.
I wish you all the best with the running and dealing with jetlag !
I'm often asked what shoes I personally recommend to help stay injury free while running (on the 100 day plan) so I'll add a little bit about it at the end of these Q and A's.
Good shoes are crucial if you want to stay injury free during your marathon journey. In general, the best is to find a shoe that fits your feet according to your foot type.
However, these three shoes will do an excellent job with their mild correction - and will work for most runners :
1. Asics Gel Kayano (click for zappos reviews for other runners views)
The legandary shoe from Asics. You cannot go wrong with this one.
The most sold running shoes ever - and by every model seems to get better and better. About the same weight as the Kayano but the fit is a little bit different.
The 2150 is a great alternative for the faster work you'll be doing in the 100 day plan. It is one of the few shoes that "feels" like a lightweight one but at the same time has more than enough stabilty to prevent injuries with the marathon type length of some of the interval sessions.
A tips for international (non-US) runners : check out roadrunnerssports.com :
Example : Asics Kayano (RoadRunnerssports) they ship worldwide and it can really save you some money on your shoes.
I'm often asked what shoes I personally recommend to help stay injury free while running (on the 100 day plan) so I'll add a little bit about it at the end of these Q and A's. 
