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Wednesday, April 30, 2003

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

For the past decade or more, elite marathon runners have turned to cross-training to bolster their performances in races. They use weight training, swimming and biking in conjunction with road training, which can produce a better level of physical fitness.

	Mary Alico: A cross-training convert. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette)

Mary Alico, an elite runner from Shadyside, had never adopted the new fad. She maintained her fitness level by simply running. But after a disappointing performance in last year's UPMC/City of Pittsburgh Marathon, Alico turned to a personal trainer who introduced her to cross-training.

Alico lifted weights for the first time in her life, swam for two hours a day and did all of her training for this year's race indoors on the treadmill after a lower leg injury forced her to stop road training for nine months. As a result, Alico, who will turn 40 later this month, feels invigorated heading into Sunday's 19th running of the UPMC/City of Pittsburgh Marathon.

"I feel a lot stronger now when I do my runs," said Alico, who was the top local finisher the past two years. "I am anxious to see how I do on Sunday."

Frustrated with her time of 2:49:54 last year, Alico sought the guidance of personal trainer Eric Lugg, an exercise physiologist who works at Club 1 in Shadyside. Lugg, a former graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach under Dr. Warren Sipp, who was then with the Pirates, devised an upper and lower body strength program and a swimming routine for Alico. She could train while recovering from plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot that can cause severe pain.

"I realized she was an elite level with weight training after about the second or third time I worked with her," Lugg said. "Pound for pound, I've never trained someone as strong as she is. I had to take it to another level with her. She is phenomenal at swimming, too. Give me 4-6 weeks, and I could turn her into a competitive triathlete."

Lugg said Alico was a lot like other competitive athletes who achieved a high level before cross-training became popular. They figure they got far in their sport without it, why change what has been successful?

"I tried to explain to her how she could use weight training to her advantage," Lugg said. "Once you're at an elite level in anything, everyone is so close in times, you have to try and find an advantage. The jury is still out. But she has mentioned to me how much stronger she feels.

"Look at the NBA 20 years ago. They said not to lift because it would affect your shot. Now they're some of the most-sculpted athletes around. Same with baseball. They said it would affect your swing and throwing motion. Now they all look like football players. Weight training should provide nothing but benefits for runners. Mary should feel stronger on hills now. Her muscles should be able to absorb the pounding. If you're not doing cross-training now, you're really doing a disservice to yourself."

In addition to the plantar fasciitis, which kept her from running from June until February, Alico has battled the Epstein-Barr virus off and on for the past 15 years. Epstein-Barr saps the body of energy. She had a flare-up around the time of last year's race but has not been troubled by symptoms so far this year.

Despite her health problems, Alico has no plans to slow down. She has her sights set on qualifying for the Olympic Trials and plans to compete on the master's circuit this summer. She needs to run a 2:48 in order to qualify for the trials, which will be in St. Louis next April.

Alico wonders whether her career might have taken a different path had she not had physical ailments.

"I wonder about that every day," she said. "I have to deal with what I have. I look at the bright side. At least I can run. For what I've accomplished, I have to be happy. Unless I slow down, I'm not going to stop competing. I'd like to see how I do in the master's division."