Michael Wardian Breaks Through

Photo by Jimmy Daly

Michael Wardian competing in June 19's Father's Day 8K, held on the C&O Canal Towpath in Georgetown.

This is a Q&A piece, which means this is the point where you should introduce who you spoke to and provide some background information and list some recent performances. My interviewee, however, is Michael Wardian - a mega-marathoner, to put it simply - and listing his recent race results would make for an intro that was the opposite of brief. According to Marathon Guide, which happens to be Wardian's sponsor, he has run seven marathons this year. Mind you, this does not include his performances in ultras - like his 11th place finish at the Comrades Marathon - or the numerous local races the 37-year-old athlete runs near his home in Arlington, Va.

So, according to Marathon Guide, Wardian's slowest marathon this year occurred March 13 at the Lower Potomac River Marathon in Piney Point, Md., where he won in 2:34:56. In a Spider-Man costume.

His best marathon, meanwhile, occurred Saturday at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., where he happened to score a major breakthrough: a PB of 2:17:49 (his first time under 2:20) and a trip to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, which will be held Jan. 14 in Houston, Texas.

I caught up with Wardian while covering our racing team's Father's Day 8K. Yes, a day after Grandma's Wardian raced an 8K (26:04, 3rd), which comes as no surprise, really, to anyone who races around D.C.

BREAKING: Wardian has been preparing for the Badwater Ultramarathon on July 11. The day also happens to be his son Pierce's fifth birthday.

DM: You have been trying to hit the new Olympic Trials standard of 2:19 since it opened and have gone through halfway in quite a few marathons now, as you did yesterday, right around 68 minutes. What was the difference yesterday? Why were you able to hold on?

Wardian: I felt really strong going into it. I had a really good feeling about my training leading up to it. I added some biking – biking to and from work – so I got an extra 14 miles of cardio a day, and I’ve been heat training for Badwater. So I’ve really been hammering during my lunch runs with a jacket on, often in 100-degree heat. I noticed it’s keeping my core body temperature a little bit lower, so I’m not fatiguing as easily. But then I’ve also been racing a lot. I did Comrades three weeks ago in South Africa and then I came back and ran the North Face 50 Miler – came in third there. I still felt strong and I was still doing my normal training in between. This past weekend I was going to do the Lawyers Have Heart 10K and then it shifted to a 5K [due to the heat]. Maybe that was actually a good thing, because I ran 15:15 and it was just, like, nothing.

DM: That had to give you a lot of confidence. So what’s your training like? Are you still training in the morning and at lunchtime?

Wardian: Yeah, morning and lunch - and a couple days I tripled. I’d run home or run with friends at night. Actually, the Tuesday before Grandma’s, I ran in the morning, biked to work, ran at lunch, biked home and then I did another run that night with the kids in the stroller.

DM: Did you rest at all for Grandma’s?

Wardian: I actually did. Well, kind of. I only did like 8 miles on Thursday and on Friday I did just like 35 minutes light - nothing, really.

DM: Have you been doing speed work?

Wardian: I have, man. I added a bunch of speedwork after the Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa [in April]. I’ve been hitting the track every Tuesday, doing repeats. That’s how you get faster.

DM: I think a lot of people would say that ultras are going to totally zap a runner’s speed. For you, though, that hasn't been the case.

Wardian: I PRed all year, including back to back weekends at 10 miles. I PRed - most everyone did - at Pike's Peek 10K [on April 17]. I ran 30:21; I was just crushing it. So, yeah, I just keep getting better.

DM: Honestly, do you ever have to take downtime?

Wardian: I’ve been lucky. I really haven’t had to so far. I’m not looking forward to that, really. I really just like running a lot. But I don’t run crazy mileage, like 200 miles a week - at least not yet. This week’s going to be a big week. I’m getting ready for Badwater, so I’m doing a 50-mile run on Friday. I don’t know if you are doing anything, but if you want to do a 50-mile run on Friday, or at least some of it [DM: laughing]. I think this guy who is training for [the] Leadville [Trail 100] and I are just going to run through the night - just start at 8 or 9 at night and run until we’re done.

DM: In your other attempts to qualify for the trials, at what point in the race did it start to fall apart?

Wardian: Usually around 16. And, as I started getting stronger and stronger, later. Like at the California International I ran my PR of 2:20:57. But that was two weeks after the JFK [50] Mile and four weeks after the 100k World Championship - and my legs just kind of gave out on me.

DM: How did you feel today? Did you run this morning?
I didn’t run this morning. We went on a little hike – my son and I. I ran around and I did all these chores that I’ve been putting off. So I fixed the lattice work around the house and I went out and found out my computer’s hard drive was busted - just did stuff I needed to do. I did a little shake out before this. I actually ran pretty decent. I was happy.

DM: Do you remember the point in the race yesterday where you knew you had it?

Wardian: I knew before the race. It was awesome. I was like, "I want the race to be over," because I just felt like it was going to happen. It was weird. I was like, "Just don’t miss your plane; just don’t do anything stupid." I ate right. I hydrated the whole way there. I brought snacks ... I saw somewhere where I could get sushi for dinner, and I got it before I went to my gate where all they had was crap food. It was like everything that I did was on. ... I stuck to my plan and just executed, and it was awesome. It was the greatest feeling.