Last post in March?

Ouch. It's been a while.

I've been neglecting to document training and life in general through this blog because I've been doing a ton of audio recording. I toyed with the idea of putting a podcast together but, like most other people who are currently producing podcasts, I would just be rehashing formats that already exist. I would still be adding new content, so to speak, because everyone has different lives and different training plans. But still... I just couldn't manage to get a show format together that I liked. That, and there's a lot that goes into it time-wise (editing, posting, formatting content, etc.) and I've already got time management issues.

So I've been recording audio on the way in each day to work as a means of documenting what I've been doing. I'll try to start writing more on the blog so it is in a published format, because that tends to be much more accessible than wading through hours of nonsensical recordings. Here's the summary so far, since I haven't posted since March:

Big Lake half went well. Finished in 1:51. Room for improvement, but a good start. Ran out of money buying new tri-bikes, so didn't do any triathlons this year. Merrie just finished Timberman in 7 hours or so, but that didn't include a second run loop because they had to shut down the race due to weather. I'm getting ready for VT50 and have about 4 weeks to nail everything down before the race. For next year, looking to focus again on 70.3 distance and get my time down from my current PR of 6:55. Yuck.

I'm still dropping weight, but I've stalled out around 160. Merrie is interested in dropping a lot of weight too, so during the off season we'll be focusing on that. Endurance training is nice, but we've found that it doesn't really burn all the fat that you'd think it would!

Hydration Transportation

I take a lot of long runs that are single loops or 'out and back' runs, depending on the route. I have to carry whatever hydration and nutrition I need on me and tote it through the course of the run. There's a fine line between packing adequately and weighing yourself down with needless crap. I used to pack a lot more than I do now. If I'm doing anything under a half-marathon distance, I will take one bottle of Gatorade. 20 ounces or so. I might take 1 GU, but other than that, it will just be the sports drink. For longer runs, I'll pack more.

There are a couple of options for carrying your hydration and nutrition. I've got a Nathan waist pack bottle holder that I've finally gotten adjusted correctly over the course of about 3 or 4 runs. The pack holds a standard size bike bottle (it came with a bottle as well) and a gel flask. It has a zippered pocket for more fuel, car keys or a cellphone. I've got a Fuelbelt with 4 x 8 ounce bottles and a pouch. I've also got a Camelbak-style pack that holds 2 liters of fluid and has all kinds of pockets. I'm going to give it a try on the next run and see how much it moves around. It might be the pack I use in Vermont this year.

The other thing I've done is just carry a bottle in my hand. I'll swap it back and forth over the course of the run. Summary - there are all kinds of options out there for carrying crap while you're running. The trick is to be comfortable with whatever you're using because if you're not, it will be a slice of hell over the course of a run because your pack will start bothering you and there's not much you can do about it! If you're trying something new, start with a short run and see how it goes. Move up to a longer run once you get things tweaked. A final word of advice - NEVER make alterations to the equipment you are using right before a big race. Stick with what you're used to training with.

The Importance of Rest

NEVER underestimate the importance of a rest day. If your body tells you to take a break, take a break. Things to watch out for - elevated heartrate that doesn't go away during resting periods, heartrate that runs super-high during easy to moderate effort, feeling restless and fatigued - these are all good signs to look for.

I was very keyed up after yesterday's 7 miler. I felt good, and my pace was right where I wanted to be. It was one of those runs where everything goes right. The problem was, as soon as I got home I was jazzed up and ended up not being able to sleep. Couple this with the time change, which meant getting up an hour earlier than usual, and I'm dead on my feet today. I got in a 3 mile run at lunch and now my left calf is tightened up pretty good. None of this is cause for alarm. What I'm pointing out in this lesson-learning opportunity is the danger of perpetuating the issue.

I'm a caffeine fiend. I drink a ridiculous amount of energy drinks, coffee and soda. It is my one true vice. So when I get tired, the first thing I do is load up on more caffeine to try to get over the hump. This doesn't work for two reasons. First, I've built up such a tolerance to caffeine over time, that 'loading' doesn't do a damn thing. Second, it perpetuates the problem by dumping more caffeine into my system that is going to turn around and affect my sleep adversely when I finally try to settle down at the end of the day. Today has been a 'grin and bear it' kind of a day. I had a 12 ounce can of Coke first thing this morning and about a half-cup of coffee later in the morning. Now I'm dragging, but the last thing I want to do is load up on more caffeine. Especially now, when it is going to carry into the evening.

I've done a bit of experimentation with caffeinated energy gels during training and racing and I think there's some more work to be done there, finding out what works best. For a normal routine though, I'm making a concerted effort to have nothing with caffeine in it after noontime. Last week was a test run, this weekend I pretty much fell off the wagon, and now this week is the awkward induction phase. It won't be fun, but I think it will pay off huge dividends in the long run.

Remembering How to Run

I had a week or so after the marathon of very little activity because my legs were pretty much shot. After the break I started back slowly and tested myself daily with 2 to 3 mile runs, just to make sure I hadn't done any permanent damage to my knee. This past week's mileage was upped to about 20, with a long run outside today of 7 miles. After the run I felt absolutely awesome. 58:50 for the 7-miler, and I was eating up the hills at a sub-9 pace. I started off slow and didn't kick it up for a while, because my pace felt strange. I felt like I was going too slow, but that's what screwed me in Hyannis so I laid back. If I had actually been able to tell what my pace was (i.e. if the stupid Garmin had found a satellite sooner) I would have been running at a much faster pace from the start. Oh well.

It was about 40 to 45 degrees out, with fairly mild wind. I wore a tech t-shirt with a tech longsleeve over it, my Nike running tights and smartwool socks with the Merrells. My feet felt awesome. Contemplated wearing gloves but didn't. They were fine. I also wore the Nathan belt. I am still trying to get it to where it feels just right. It has an elastic waistband that just has too much give to it. I had to take it off mid-run and tighten it more because the bottle was jumping around. I think I finally got it right.

Now that the mileage feels good, I'm going to start nailing my tempo and interval runs and do 4-milers in between them on the 'easy' days. My long run I'll go ahead and increase by a mile or 2 each week and then I'll be good to go for the Big Lake half-marathon in May. I'm looking at 4 to 5 more marathons this summer and then the 50 miler in September. I'm in the lottery for the New York marathon, so it would be cool if that pans out. I'm going to start doing more cross-training and strength training. May not have a tri this year, but that's ok. I'm taking this year to get really good at running and get my speed where I think it should be.

Hyannis Marathon - Race Report

What a race. For the first time ever running a marathon distance, I did well. By well, I mean I didn’t do anything fatal and I finished it. I went out strong and had a very hard time slowing down for the first half marathon. I ran the first half right around 2, which was exactly what I wanted in terms of tempo, but the second half was brutal. My feet were well beyond frozen at that point, and the lack of road feedback really blew my right leg up. My knee was killing me from mile 16 to the finish. Not fun.

My net finish time was 4:41:48. I was shooting for a sub-4 and I think would have stood a chance if the weather had been better. But that’s just speculation. I’ll have plenty of other opportunities to prove myself right. I thought I ran a 4:30 but I looked at the race clock wrong. Bit of a bummer, but I was only a couple of minutes off.

We got down to Hyannis on Saturday late afternoon and went straight to packet pickup. The expo was open until 5 and we got there at around 4:50. I got right in and got the packet, and then we checked out the expo for a bit. MUCH better expo than the triathlon expos I’ve seen in years past. Better prices, at least. We checked into the hotel after that, and then went out and grabbed a good pre-race nosh at Uno’s. Had a couple of beers and just kicked back for the evening.

Race morning I was up by 6:30. For a 10:00 start. Not sure why I got up so early, but we got to the convention center and it was already shaping up to be a nasty day weather-wise. I did a fairly good job of layering for the race, but there’s not much you can do about your shoes and socks on a day where it rains and sleets all day. Just had to go with it, grin and bear it. I wore the K-Ruuz and they worked out quite well. I have a sneaking suspicion that my feet actually would have been wetter in other shoes. I like that the K-Swiss shoes I have all have drainage in the insole, midsole and outsole. It sucks if you step in a puddle but then the shoes drain afterwards. I was only able to wear one pair of socks (had planned on wearing 2) but didn’t have any blisters at the end so it worked out well.

Nutrition was spot-on. I didn’t carry any bottles, but I packed 8 GU packets and a packet of Clif-shots. I split the GU between caffeine and caffeine-free and alternated them every half-hour. Didn’t have any GI problems, and there was plenty to drink out on the course. I alternated between water and gatorade for the entire race.

The race start was confusing because the 10K, half-marathon, marathon-relay and marathon all started at the same time. Very crowded. I ran fast at the start mainly to get through the riffraff. I couldn’t believe how many people were just babbling ON AND ON and wouldn’t shut up and run. The other thing that bothers me is something that always bothers me… iPods everywhere. I got cut off two or three times by women wearing iPods and one of the same women actually tripped a guy beside me because she wasn't paying attention. Unbelievable.

The second half was where I ran into trouble. The wind started kicking up, and I had a hard time keeping my speed consistent. Right around mile 16 I had a sharp pain in my right knee and I ended up having to take walk breaks every mile, stop and pound the side of my knee to get it to loosen up and stop hurting. Miles 16 through 20 were probably toughest, but at mile 20 I knew I only had 10K left so I was able to stick with it.

After the race I went back to the hotel and got right into a lukewarm bath, and immediately noticed some nasty nether-chafe and some chafe under my arms from where my arm warmers had rubbed against my sides. I used nip guards during the race and those held pretty well. Body glide under my arms and on my neck kept most of the chafing to a minimum. After the initial shock in the shower/bath the sore areas didn’t give me any more trouble. I was most concerned about my feet because I couldn’t feel them at all after the first couple of miles, but I didn’t see any blood coming through my shoes so that made me initially optimistic. Once I took my shoes off I still didn’t see any blood. With my socks off, there were absolutely no problem areas. No hot spots, not even any red on the top of my foot. I had over-tightened my left shoe a bit so I was worried that this was going to give me some trouble.

Things I would do differently:

NEVER race in the northeast again in February.
Taper a bit better.
Try not to get hurt 4 weeks out from race day.

My taper was dictated mainly by my injury, so I count 2 of 3 of these things as not being under my control.

Things I would keep the same:

Shoes.
Nutrition.
Layers.

I was VERY impressed that the K-Swiss K-Ruuz held up as well as they did. I was a bit apprehensive about using a racing flat for the entire marathon distance but it proved to be the right decision. The K-Ruuz is a very lightweight shoe so there’s not a lot of protection from the elements, but that was my only issue.

For recovery, I used compression socks after I soaked in the shower, then took about 48 hours of rest. The morning after was a bit rough, mainly on my quads and shins. Today was much better, and I think I’ll be pretty much back to normal tomorrow. I did 30 minutes of aqua jogging in the pool today. I’ll take another rest day tomorrow, then do 30 minutes of aqua jogging on Thursday. I’ll try a short run on Saturday, skip this week’s Sunday long run and then try to get back to a normal low volume schedule next week.

Mileage Summary for 2/21 to 2/27

This was the last week of race taper before Sunday's marathon. I took it fairly easy with a bit of tune-up speedwork on Thursday.

Monday - off
Tuesday – 3 miles on the treadmill, easy
Wednesday - off
Thursday – 2 miles of speedwork
Friday – 3 miles on the treadmill, easy
Saturday - off
Sunday – Hyannis Marathon

Race report to follow...

Mileage Summary for 2/14 to 2/20

This was my first real week of race taper. I had originally planned on 3 weeks of taper leading up to the marathon but my injury caused me to push that back to a 2 week window. I felt good at the end of the week, so I think I'm going to be ready and not have any issues (provided my leg doesn't blow up during the marathon).

Monday - off
Tuesday - 4 miles (2 and 2 with the Merrells and K-Swiss)
Wednesday - 4 miles (K-Swiss)
Thursday - 4 miles (K-Swiss)
Friday - 4 miles (K-Swiss)
Saturday - off
Sunday - 12 miles (split between two 6-mile sessions in the morning and at night)

Total mileage for the week - 28

Running Plans

I received a question yesterday (Friday actually... it got caught in my spam filter) regarding volume and speed increases. It generated some good thoughts about plans that correspond to increasing volume and speed while at the same time minimizing the opportunity for injury. Here's a summary of what I emailed.

You can definitely run every day, but just keep an eye on what you’re doing in terms of speed and distance. I’d say stick to a plan where you’re going one or two days of speedwork, with easy days in between. One day off a week doesn’t hurt as well. Example:

Monday: Easy
Tuesday: Speedwork (sprinting 400s with 400 easy recovery and a warmup/cooldown of about 800)*
Wednesday: Easy
Thursday: Tempo run (easy warmup and cooldown with a moderate run for a mile to 2 miles)
Friday: Easy
Saturday: Long Run (easy run pace… start increasing your total run time of your long run each week by half a mile)
Sunday: Off

*If no one is familiar with the terms “400” and “800” I’m simply referring to a track workout, a “400” being one loop around a standard track… 400 meters. Also known as a quarter mile or “quarter”. To put this in perspective, collegiate level front-running track athletes will run ‘quarters’ around 60 seconds with an overall mile time that is sub-4 minutes. Steve Prefontaine’s best time for the mile was 3:54.

The way I’ve found easiest to monitor tempo, sprint and easy speeds is first to figure out the speed I can comfortably run at for a long period of time. That’s my easy speed. Then my tempo speed is a mile per hour faster (I think of it as my 10K race pace) and my sprint speed when I do my speedwork is a mile an hour faster than my tempo run speed:

6.5 – easy
7.5 – tempo
8.5 – speedwork

I cycle through a 4 week period with each of the first three weeks increasing distance and intervals each week, then the 4th week is a rest week where I do nothing but easy runs, but up my ‘easy’ speed a bit before starting the cycle over again.

Suggested workout:

Week 1:

Easy runs
Tempo run of 1 mile with a warmup and cooldown of 800 each
Speedwork – 800 warmup and cooldown with 4 intervals (400 sprint, 400 recovery)
Long run of 3 miles

Week 2:

Easy runs
Tempo run of 1 ½ miles with warmup and cooldown of 800 each
Speedwork – 800 warmup and cooldown with 5 intervals (400 sprint, 400 recovery)
Long run of 3 ½ miles

Week 3:

Easy runs
Tempo run of 2 miles with warmup and cooldown of 800 each
Speedwork – 800 warmup and cooldown with 6 intervals (400 sprint, 400 recovery)
Long run of 4 miles

Week 4:

Easy runs bumped up by 0.1 to 0.2 miles per hour
No tempo or speedwork runs
Long run of 3 ½ to 4 miles

The next cycle follows the new speed pattern, and the long runs continue to increase by ½ mile each week until you’re doing whatever you want your long goal to be. If you’re training for anything half-marathon length or shorter, your long runs should be at least as long and ideally longer than your goal race length. Anything longer, it becomes a little bit more complicated to plan your long run length because it becomes more about overall training volume with some ‘key’ long run sessions planned throughout the training period leading up to the race.

What I’m doing in terms of a plan is a little different because I’m doing longer distances. My speedwork centers around 800s with a 400 recovery, but for the most part it is the same. My long runs go anywhere from 7 to 22 miles.

This is a fairly safe plan in terms of volume and overall speed increases, but if you experience any sharp pain (aches are different… aches aren’t necessarily to be ignored but they can be expected and you can usually train through them with sufficient recovery) in your ankles or legs it may point to increasing distance or speed too quickly.

One more tidbit of wisdom – try to negative split your easy and long runs if you’re running outside. If you’re running on a treadmill, it isn’t as difficult to keep your time consistent but if you’re running an easy run outside, start out slow. Start out feeling like you’re running too slow, then after a period of time (half a mile to a mile) pick it up. Continue to do so each half a mile to mile until you feel like you’re at a comfortable pace. If you’re racing, it doesn’t necessarily hurt to follow the same practice. The Prefontaine movie “Without Limits” is a great example of why this works. Watch Bowerman scold Prefontaine because he goes out too fast, advising him that if he actually saved up some energy in the first and second 400s he would have more kick at the end and his overall race time would go down. Same holds true for 5K racing. If you don’t go all-out in the first mile, you’ll be able to more easily increase your speed throughout the race and this will have a huge impact on your total time.

I’ll shut up now and let you run. Have fun!

Running Shoes

First, an amendment to my previous post at the request of my wonderful wife. The use of the word 'trick' was called into question and she said I should clarify said suggestion, not as a 'trick' but as a 'technique.' Duly updated. Please note this correction.

Now, on to the topic at hand. Running shoes. I just read a great article and it really got my wheels turning on the whole minimalist shoe versus traditional running shoe debate. Now, all shoes have merit in one way or another. I like a cushioned shoe for certain things but I'm also a FIRM believer (get it... firm? Ok, that was a piss-poor pun) that the current running shoes on the market aren't moving us forward but rather backward. They're weakening our feet and here's why:

1. An arch doesn't need support from below. That is the inherent design beauty of an arch. It is stregthened with the addition of weight from above. Shoes that have arch support are weakening our feet instead of making them stronger. Which leads us to...

2. Over-cushioning of our shoes is making our feet weaker. Feet are designed in such a way that, if a person runs with proper mid- to forefoot form, he or she will utilize his or her feet, ankles, lower legs and knees in the correct shock absorbing manner for which they were evolved. Which leads us to...

3. Running shoes encourage poor form. The heel to toe drop is significant in most running shoes which means the heel is built up. Sure, the heel can take more impact and has more of a cushioning effect, but... why? You shouldn't be running on your heels. That is just asking for trouble. Couple this with the fact that all that extra cushioning under your heels makes you and your body THINK you can survive running constantly by landing on your heels but it is causing you to exert even more pressure on your leg bones and joints than you otherwise would if you used lighter steps in a mid- to forefoot strike. At the end of the day that extra heel material doesn't allow you less impact. It encourages bad running form and ultimately gives you more jarring impact because of the way your leg is hitting the ground.

4. Pronation is good, and the goal of many running shoes is to 'correct' or 'regulate' pronation. If you pronate it doesn't mean you're not running right. Your foot is supposed to roll when you are running. This is natural biomechanics. Some people pronate more than others, but this cuold be attributed as much to poor running form as actual biomechanics.

Okay, so that last part is my opinion, but hear me out. One of the amazing things about the human body is adaptability. As we use our bodies in different ways our bodies change to adapt to new activity. If you do a bunch of crunches, you're going to work your core and you're going to develop muscles, ideally going from a keg to a 6 pack. If you work your feet and legs, the muscles and tendons in your feet and legs are going to strengthen to accommodate the activity you are doing. Feet change as we use them. When you shift to the form that minimalist footwear running or barefoot running demands (you figure out really quickly if you're doing it the wrong way), you're going to notice biomechanical shifts in your leg and foot composition. Different muscles will become stronger and corresponding ligaments will become stronger as well. I daresay your foot composition will change entirely. Your arch will strengthen. Your foot will shorten as your arch grows. You'll be adapting. Without the help of shoes that control motion, add stability or provide cushioning.

Imagine that!

An Eating Trick

Here's something you can do when you get hungry. See, a lot of times when you get hungry it is actually your body telling you that you're thirsty. Your body has a hard time distinguishing between hunger and thirst in terms of the way it relays the information to your brain. The worst time to be hungry is at night, because you've already done the activity you're going to do for the day. Exercising right before bed is no good because it gets you all ramped up and then you're not as likely to get a good night's sleep. Sleep is important for recovery, so all that time you think you're spending getting yourself fit right before you go to bed is completely negated by not getting a good night's sleep and not giving your body time to recover. But I digress.

So here you are at the end of the night, you've had a good day and you've eaten and exercised fairly well. You don't want to screw that up by having something right before you go to bed because your body isn't going to really do anything with it except store it. And that's counter-productive to those of us who are trying to get rid of the extra tonnage we've already got stored up. Are you ready? It's an easy trick. Drink a glass of water. 16 ounces is a good amount. Wait 10 minutes. Still hungry? Have something LIGHT to eat. Preferably vegetable or fruit. Nothing too starchy or carb heavy. Maybe some nuts. These are good options. Don't think that just because you did the water test and it came back negative for thirst you can just go whole-hog on your fridge and eat whatever the hell you want. Not the case. Something light. Just to hold you over, because guess what? When you get up in the morning you can chow down on breakfast. Make breakfast your biggest meal of the day. Get all those calories in up front and then taper them down for the rest of the day. Then at night, if you're still hungry... do the water trick. Find out if you really ARE hungry. I'll bet at least half the time, you're not. Not really.