Five weeks to the day that I stopped running I finally felt that my ankle was strong enough to venture out for a short one and a half mile run. And I felt great - my ankle not so much, but the rest of me was in heaven. Actually, the ankle was ok through most of it, but towards the last half mile I could feel some soreness coming on. I tried to run easy, thinking of a 10+min/mile pace, but for the 4 runs that I've gotten in I have averaged sub-9 min/miles. And I wasn't even really trying.
One thing that I've noticed is that my overall endurance is off - I'm tired.... My legs feel strong, but it's like my body itself is flat out tired after a run. Which makes sense: my cardio work outs have been substantially less aggressive, so my overall endurance levels will be off. I'll need to build that back up.
After every run I've immediately applied ice to my ankle for 15-20 minutes, and then after my shower a light massage to keep things loose. Every morning do a stretch routine.
As of this morning, after 4 runs in 5 days, including 3 good miles yesterday, my ankle feels pretty good. Today will be a rest day, and I'll follow it with a 3, 4, rest, and then 5 mile routine. I'd like to be up to 8 miles next week.
These are notes of my running journey. Hopefully they will be useful or even inspiring to other runners! Scroll down and look on the right hand side for titles that might interest you (Archive)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Peroneal Tendon injury
Somehow or another I have stressed/injured the Peroneal Tendon on my left foot. It turns out that there are two Peroneal Tendons (Peroneus brevis and Peroneus longus, i.e. one short, one long). These tendons run from my lower calf muscle (I'm confused about which muscle exactly) along the outer edge of my left ankle, under the ankle bone (that part that protrudes out from your foot), ultimately connecting the calf muscle to bones in the ankle itself.
The pain in my ankle is directly below that outer ankle bone that protrudes out from the ankle and to some degree, tender along the back of my lower calf/ankle area. But I don’t remember an event (like tripping, slipping, or stepping on or through an uneven surface that would have caused the injury. I just remember that it started to hurt some hours after running (never during) and especially the day after. And it hurts enough for me to not run for a while.
So, in doing some research I found what it was that was hurting me (the Peroneal Tendon) and the standard therapy is simply rest, as in "don't walk, run, stand.." Obviously very impractical. Nonsteroidal anti-inflamatory drugs, aka NSAID’s, such as ibuprofen seem to help, but I tend to try not to use it during the day since I worry that it will mask the discomfort, leading me to overstress the injury – so, when I use ibuprofen I’ll do so at night. But the bottom line is that I am forced to ease up (as in “not run”) for a while.
(I found this image at http://footphysicians.com/footankleinfo/peroneal-tendon.htm)
The tough part is that I don’t know for how long I need to ease up for. I’ve read reports ranging from a week to 3 months (that won’t do….). As long as it hurts, I’m definitely not running. I posted the question on the active.com/community forum, and although its gotten a lot of hits, no one has ventured an opinion yet.
In the meantime I’m occasionally wrapping and massaging my ankle, along with some gentle stretching. Icing doesn’t seem to help, but the use of a pressure wrap makes it feel much better. I’m hoping for a quick recovery – too much good stuff to eat and drink during the holidays and besides, I really miss being out there…
(If you would like to leave a comment I've been told that it may be necessary for you to temporarily allow 3rd Party Cookies - it's not my thing... it's seems to be a Google Blogger thing... For example, if you use Chrome, go to "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and select "Show Advanced Settings", select "Content Settings" in the Privacy section, and then un-select "Block 3rd Party cookies...". I would not recommend leaving your settings that way, so be sure to reset it back to block 3rd party cookies.)
The pain in my ankle is directly below that outer ankle bone that protrudes out from the ankle and to some degree, tender along the back of my lower calf/ankle area. But I don’t remember an event (like tripping, slipping, or stepping on or through an uneven surface that would have caused the injury. I just remember that it started to hurt some hours after running (never during) and especially the day after. And it hurts enough for me to not run for a while.
(I found this image at http://footphysicians.com/footankleinfo/peroneal-tendon.htm)
The tough part is that I don’t know for how long I need to ease up for. I’ve read reports ranging from a week to 3 months (that won’t do….). As long as it hurts, I’m definitely not running. I posted the question on the active.com/community forum, and although its gotten a lot of hits, no one has ventured an opinion yet.
In the meantime I’m occasionally wrapping and massaging my ankle, along with some gentle stretching. Icing doesn’t seem to help, but the use of a pressure wrap makes it feel much better. I’m hoping for a quick recovery – too much good stuff to eat and drink during the holidays and besides, I really miss being out there…
(If you would like to leave a comment I've been told that it may be necessary for you to temporarily allow 3rd Party Cookies - it's not my thing... it's seems to be a Google Blogger thing... For example, if you use Chrome, go to "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and select "Show Advanced Settings", select "Content Settings" in the Privacy section, and then un-select "Block 3rd Party cookies...". I would not recommend leaving your settings that way, so be sure to reset it back to block 3rd party cookies.)
Monday, November 14, 2011
An “Iron Turkey” run
A local running store (Tortoise and Hare - http://tortoiseandhare.com/) sponsored a Thanksgiving Day/Veterans Day run this past weekend at a local metropark and offered up a 5K and a 10K race (www.a2turkeytrot.com). But to make things interesting, they staggered the starts so that runners could run the 5K race and then line up to run the 10K event as well, and if you completed both events you would be awarded an “Iron Turkey” race medal (and be the envy of the running community….). So naturally, I had to sign up for this.
I figured that since I was probably going to run 8 or nine miles on that day anyway, I may as well contribute an entry fee for a good cause (a couple of different veterans organizations), and get another t-shirt. And it was fun.
The way it worked is that the 5K started at 9AM and the 10K would start an hour later. Out of the 1400 or so people that signed up for either the 5K or 10K event, only about 300 ran both events (which kind of surprised me….). I planned on running an easy but aggressive (now there is an oxymoron) 5K, finishing somewhere between 27 and 30 minutes. That would give me 30 minutes to rest a bit before lining up for the 10K, which I would want to run a bit harder.
I wound up doing the 5K in 27:13 (a 8:47 min/mile pace). I then did the 10K in 52:27 (a 8:28 min/mile pace) and I was really happy with that. I was hoping for less than 52 minutes, but it didn’t happen (I got a little screwed up with my timing and made a math mistake while calculating my pace during the run). Overall, for the “Iron Turkey” I was 99 out of 304. Separately in both the 5K and the 10K I managed to be in the top third overall.
I am still very frustrated with regards to speed and my inability to place higher in my age group. For the 10K I placed 13 out of 35 runners (in the 50-54 age group) – which is ok I guess, but for comparison, the top three positions in that age group were 53, 53, and 51 years old respectively and they all ran 6:xx min/mile. They literally finished 10+ minutes ahead of me. How do they get to be so fast?
In conversation with a guy who came in first in the 55-59 age group in the 5K event, he explained to me that many of the guys in our generation era were high school track runners, and so they learned at an early age the subtleties of running fast. His advice to me was to stay healthy and continue to work on speed, but most importantly: stay healthy.
The only thing of particular note that happened during either event occurred during the 5K. Around Mile 2 there was a guy coming up behind me that seemed to be yelling at people. First I need to explain that the race was along a park path, which given the number of participants, was somewhat narrow (10 feet wide) and sometimes in order to pass slower runners it was necessary to run on the dirt or grass – no biggie – in fact I took to running on the grass when possible since it was softer than the asphalt. But this guy coming up behind me was yelling at people to get out of his way as he passed them and clearly did not want to run off the path. He was huffing and puffing and being, in general, just a nasty asshole. My first inclination was to not let this bonehead pass me – I had the juice – but I decided to continue to run my race plan. As this guy came abreast of me I asked him why he had to be such a rude asshole – and he just sort of looked at me like I had 2 heads and huffed and puffed his way past me.
I kept my eye on him, and as we got closer to the finish line I was speeding up, and so he never really got that far ahead of me. On the final straight stretch I finally decided that enough was enough; I dug deep and I went into a full out sprint, running as hard as I could for the finish line. I passed him about 30 feet from the finish line and whispered something like “see ya” and finished ahead of him. He was huffing and puffing so hard I’m not sure that he even noticed me, but after the finish, as we were all milling around, he kept looking at me funny and I just let him be. I was tempted to go over and talk to him, but didn’t…. perhaps a missed opportunity for something.
Unfortunately, my right knee and left ankle are bothering me – and it bugs me because I don’t really know why. I’ll baby them for a day or two. In the meantime, I need to find a new event to run!
I figured that since I was probably going to run 8 or nine miles on that day anyway, I may as well contribute an entry fee for a good cause (a couple of different veterans organizations), and get another t-shirt. And it was fun.
The way it worked is that the 5K started at 9AM and the 10K would start an hour later. Out of the 1400 or so people that signed up for either the 5K or 10K event, only about 300 ran both events (which kind of surprised me….). I planned on running an easy but aggressive (now there is an oxymoron) 5K, finishing somewhere between 27 and 30 minutes. That would give me 30 minutes to rest a bit before lining up for the 10K, which I would want to run a bit harder.
I wound up doing the 5K in 27:13 (a 8:47 min/mile pace). I then did the 10K in 52:27 (a 8:28 min/mile pace) and I was really happy with that. I was hoping for less than 52 minutes, but it didn’t happen (I got a little screwed up with my timing and made a math mistake while calculating my pace during the run). Overall, for the “Iron Turkey” I was 99 out of 304. Separately in both the 5K and the 10K I managed to be in the top third overall.
I am still very frustrated with regards to speed and my inability to place higher in my age group. For the 10K I placed 13 out of 35 runners (in the 50-54 age group) – which is ok I guess, but for comparison, the top three positions in that age group were 53, 53, and 51 years old respectively and they all ran 6:xx min/mile. They literally finished 10+ minutes ahead of me. How do they get to be so fast?
In conversation with a guy who came in first in the 55-59 age group in the 5K event, he explained to me that many of the guys in our generation era were high school track runners, and so they learned at an early age the subtleties of running fast. His advice to me was to stay healthy and continue to work on speed, but most importantly: stay healthy.
The only thing of particular note that happened during either event occurred during the 5K. Around Mile 2 there was a guy coming up behind me that seemed to be yelling at people. First I need to explain that the race was along a park path, which given the number of participants, was somewhat narrow (10 feet wide) and sometimes in order to pass slower runners it was necessary to run on the dirt or grass – no biggie – in fact I took to running on the grass when possible since it was softer than the asphalt. But this guy coming up behind me was yelling at people to get out of his way as he passed them and clearly did not want to run off the path. He was huffing and puffing and being, in general, just a nasty asshole. My first inclination was to not let this bonehead pass me – I had the juice – but I decided to continue to run my race plan. As this guy came abreast of me I asked him why he had to be such a rude asshole – and he just sort of looked at me like I had 2 heads and huffed and puffed his way past me.
I kept my eye on him, and as we got closer to the finish line I was speeding up, and so he never really got that far ahead of me. On the final straight stretch I finally decided that enough was enough; I dug deep and I went into a full out sprint, running as hard as I could for the finish line. I passed him about 30 feet from the finish line and whispered something like “see ya” and finished ahead of him. He was huffing and puffing so hard I’m not sure that he even noticed me, but after the finish, as we were all milling around, he kept looking at me funny and I just let him be. I was tempted to go over and talk to him, but didn’t…. perhaps a missed opportunity for something.
Unfortunately, my right knee and left ankle are bothering me – and it bugs me because I don’t really know why. I’ll baby them for a day or two. In the meantime, I need to find a new event to run!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Arb hills
I decided to do some hill repeats at the “Arb” (a public park with some good trails) yesterday. I had about a mile plus run from a parking lot to the Arb and tackled one of the better hills in the park. There are steeper trails, but I picked one that had about a 5-6% slope that runs about .65 of a mile. I had already decided that I would do at least two repeats, and that three would be a homerun. So naturally I had to do three, although as I was working on my second one I was thinking that I had had enough of that fun. But I did all three up and downs and obviously felt heroic about it (you know – the mind over matter thing).
After coming back down and during the first quarter mile of the mile and a half run back to my truck I was so tired and remember thinking “ok, this is supposed to be fun?” and I forced myself to look at the trees and listen to the birds and such (I wasn’t listening to music on this run), but it was still hard. By the time I got to the paved trail with about ¾ of a mile to go I had somehow gotten myself to run faster and faster, to the point where I was running a sustained 7 min/mile pace (awesome for me) and I remember thinking “now this is fun…”. It was hard, but it was somehow really fun.
After coming back down and during the first quarter mile of the mile and a half run back to my truck I was so tired and remember thinking “ok, this is supposed to be fun?” and I forced myself to look at the trees and listen to the birds and such (I wasn’t listening to music on this run), but it was still hard. By the time I got to the paved trail with about ¾ of a mile to go I had somehow gotten myself to run faster and faster, to the point where I was running a sustained 7 min/mile pace (awesome for me) and I remember thinking “now this is fun…”. It was hard, but it was somehow really fun.
Post Chicago Marathon…
Now that the marathon is over I’m going over thoughts of “what did I learn” and “what am I going to do now”. With regards to the “what am I going to do now”, the weird thing is that I almost feel compelled to find another race/event to run near term, but my choices, unless I am ok with traveling, are somewhat sparse. Regarding “what did I learn”: lots.
One of the biggest things I learned was that doubt was ok and that once in the moment I have tremendous reserves for reaching my goal. Doubt just made me think more about how to accomplish the objective. And perhaps “doubt” is the wrong word; perhaps “concern” or “anticipation” might be more appropriate. I never assumed that I could accomplish the goal, although I was always confident that I could. At the starting line at Chicago I was certainly confident that I would finish the race, but was also aware that there were at least two things that could derail my attempt (cramps and my hamstring issue) – plus there was always the unknowns things that might happen, none of which I will mention for fear of bad karma…. I did not “doubt” that I would finish, but I might have been concerned or held some level of anticipation.
Another big thing was that strength and endurance are critical. I wish that I had been able to get at least one more 20+ mile run in along with several 16-18 milers. I’m beginning to believe that the (limited?) conditioning of my calf, hams, and quads were part of my cramping issues. I’ve done a lot of reading and asking experienced runners regarding cramping and I’m reaching the conclusion that, at least in my case, that my cramping is due to both electrolyte imbalances and muscle conditioning. The net result of that is that: a) I have to pay very careful attention to my nutrient intake on long runs, b) I need to super-condition my legs (put more long distance runs in prior to a long event), and c) make sure that I vary my stride during a run. That last item was insight from a 55+ woman, a multi-marathoner, who happened to mention that she varied her stride during long runs in order to fully stretch out her calves, hams, and quads. Not doing so, she noted, tended to cause her muscles over time in the run to tighten up – which is exactly what was happening to me.
So my next order of business is to work on strengthening my legs (hills, stairs, maybe even weights), and build endurance (more longer runs and maybe do more of the Plyometrics on P90X).
I’m wanting to run more events next year, preferably half marathons, and I would love to run another full marathon if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I can do the full distance without cramping. I’m drawn to HM’s because they are a respectable distance and I wouldn’t be tempted to run as hard as I would for say, a 10K (which I think can be really hard if you are running for a Personal Best). We’ll see…. It’s also really weird that I don’t see HM’s as being that long. A HM is a long way, 13.1 miles, but the effort required to run that far pales in comparison to that required for a 20+miler or a marathon. Amazing.
One of the biggest things I learned was that doubt was ok and that once in the moment I have tremendous reserves for reaching my goal. Doubt just made me think more about how to accomplish the objective. And perhaps “doubt” is the wrong word; perhaps “concern” or “anticipation” might be more appropriate. I never assumed that I could accomplish the goal, although I was always confident that I could. At the starting line at Chicago I was certainly confident that I would finish the race, but was also aware that there were at least two things that could derail my attempt (cramps and my hamstring issue) – plus there was always the unknowns things that might happen, none of which I will mention for fear of bad karma…. I did not “doubt” that I would finish, but I might have been concerned or held some level of anticipation.
Another big thing was that strength and endurance are critical. I wish that I had been able to get at least one more 20+ mile run in along with several 16-18 milers. I’m beginning to believe that the (limited?) conditioning of my calf, hams, and quads were part of my cramping issues. I’ve done a lot of reading and asking experienced runners regarding cramping and I’m reaching the conclusion that, at least in my case, that my cramping is due to both electrolyte imbalances and muscle conditioning. The net result of that is that: a) I have to pay very careful attention to my nutrient intake on long runs, b) I need to super-condition my legs (put more long distance runs in prior to a long event), and c) make sure that I vary my stride during a run. That last item was insight from a 55+ woman, a multi-marathoner, who happened to mention that she varied her stride during long runs in order to fully stretch out her calves, hams, and quads. Not doing so, she noted, tended to cause her muscles over time in the run to tighten up – which is exactly what was happening to me.
So my next order of business is to work on strengthening my legs (hills, stairs, maybe even weights), and build endurance (more longer runs and maybe do more of the Plyometrics on P90X).
I’m wanting to run more events next year, preferably half marathons, and I would love to run another full marathon if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I can do the full distance without cramping. I’m drawn to HM’s because they are a respectable distance and I wouldn’t be tempted to run as hard as I would for say, a 10K (which I think can be really hard if you are running for a Personal Best). We’ll see…. It’s also really weird that I don’t see HM’s as being that long. A HM is a long way, 13.1 miles, but the effort required to run that far pales in comparison to that required for a 20+miler or a marathon. Amazing.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
2011 Chicago Marathon - I did it!
This was an amazing event. Thirty seven thousand runners. Almost two million spectators lining the streets. Extremely well organized. Best of all, I finished! And crossing that finish line was the best feeling ever.
The start alone was incredible. You have to picture some 37,000+ runners all crammed along a mile long, six car lane wide, starting area (Grant Park, South Columbus Drive). We are all literally standing shoulder to shoulder. There is no such thing as “personal space” here. In the picture to the right, I’m holding my camera (my phone actually) over my head shooting towards the starting line and I’m so far back from the starting line that I can’t even see the “Start” banner…
In the moments just before the starting gun goes off, the crowd is electric – there is just an incredible buzz. The sun is just coming up, the air is crisp, and woop-woop of the helicopters buzzing overhead just adds to the excitement. I was so amped I was tingling. And then we start to move forward – just walking, but we’re moving, and I’m about to come out of my skin. Just before the Start line we are able to start jogging. And we’re off. My first marathon has begun.
The picture below is from the Chicago Tribune. You can see the “elite” runners, mostly Kenyans and Ethiopians right in the front of the bunch. Because they are so fast, they get to line up right at the starting line. If you look really, really hard you can see me waaaay back there…. (just kidding – I’m not even in sight yet…)
Almost immediately we go under an overpass – and the overpass is packed to overflowing with spectators. There must have been hundreds of people on the overpass. Even though I’m passing by 20 minutes after the gun has gone off, the crowd is still going crazy, screaming, cheering, waving signs, and yelling encouragement. It was a great way to start!
The race organizers did an awesome job, from start to finish. On the approach to the starting area there were uniformed guides that directed runners to their designated starting area (we all had different places to queue up at depending on our pace and ability) and helped guide spectators to where best to see and track runners. Even within the starting area itself there were dozens of uniformed volunteers getting all the runners set and in place.
The 26.2 mile course starts in Grant Park, meanders through “the Loop”, then north, then south back to city center, then west for a bit, now south towards Comisky Park (Chicago White Sox), and finally north again to the finish line.
There were twenty fluid stations along the course, separated by about 1.7 miles, providing both Gatorade and water. Each fluid station was at least a city block long, and on both sides of the street. For the first few stations, about 100 feet before we got to them, there would be someone sitting on an 8 foot high stand with a megaphone telling the runners what was coming up (Gatorade and water). The Gatorade station always came first (served in blue cups) and then the water station (served in red cups). It sounds simple, but the colored cups really made a difference later in the race: you knew what you were getting, or reaching for, without having to ask questions.
I think it was around mile 12 that they started handing out wet sponges. They had dozens of little kiddie pools filled with water and loaded with sponges which they would pass to you as you ran by. I thought it was great idea and tucked mine under my hat.
It was going to be a warm day, so I got into a nice routine of hitting the Gatorade station first, then jogging to water station where I would get three and sometimes four cups: one that I poured down my back, one that I poured on my head, one that I drank, and one that I soaked the sponge in my hat with. With the fluid stations being almost a block long, I could keep jogging or sort of walking while doing all this.
And aside from the fluid stations, somewhere around mile 17 they stated also offering slices of bananas (for potassium). I should also mention that both the city and spectators would setup sprinklers and hoses so that the runners could cool off as they ran by. Some people offered honey and pretzels. Others offered tongue depressors with dabs of Vaseline (for chaff prevention... pretty important).
Speaking of spectators, they were incredible. I am sure that many were there to cheer on specific runners, whether they be friends or relatives, but many were clearly out there just to watch and cheer on the parade of runners. And the spectators were loud! There were noise makers of every sort: horns, drums, tambourines, pots and pans - you name it. There were bands and DJ’s. There was Elvis impersonator on a stage right next the course, singing and giving the runners high-fives as they went by him. Ditto with a pair of Lady Gaga impersonators dancing to pump-you-up music for an entire block. At various places along the course were Japanese drummers doing their thing with their big drums. I noticed at one point as we passed a group of drummers, that the runners were all stepping in time with the beat of the drums. Pretty much all I could hear was the sound of our feet hitting the street to the beat of drums. It was pretty bizarre.
As you might imagine, in running 26 miles through a city, we passed by a lot of churches – and it was Sunday. And the congregations, ministers, pastors, etc., were all out in front of their churches singing, cheering, playing music – it was nuts. I got so I was looking forward to passing a church just to capture their excitement for us.
I was trying to run a very conservative 10:20 min/mile pace, with the idea that if I had any juice left towards the end, I could push it up a tad. I had joined a pace group to help me make sure that I didn’t try to run harder than that (which I am prone to do), but I found that the pace leader was actually clipping along a bit faster, like almost a 9:45 pace. So I hung back and did my own thing, using my watch and the mental gymnastics to calculate my pace. I actually try to do a lot of math in my head while I’m running, sometimes nothing specific, like the square root of a number or something, or how many steps in a mile, how many steps in a full marathon (for me that turns out to somewhere around 25,600 steps). It mostly just keeps me busy and I find that before I realize it, another mile has passed by ….
Back to the spectators: Chicago has a fairly large Mexican population and there were plenty of spectators waving and holding Mexican flags and banners. At one point I was running alongside a woman with whom I had struck up a conversation and I saw a big group of Mexicans ahead. I said “watch this”, and as we came up to them I yelled “Viva Mexico!”, and the entire Mexican contingent bellows a huge “VIVA!!” response. So we took turns doing it every time we spotted a Mexican contingent - It was fun!
Runners to this event come from everywhere - it seems that everyone wants to run the Chicago Marathon. I met people that flew in from Brazil, Peru, France, Japan, and literally all corners of the US – just for this marathon. I was also amazed how many repeat marathoners there were, both as repeating the Chicago Marathon and those that have run a marathon before. In fact, my unscientific poll had more repeat marathoners than rookies like myself.
Throughout the race I did not hit any walls, and I never felt like I was getting to the end of my endurance. I felt strong throughout. I did however struggle with cramps in one of my calves towards the end of event. The cramping started around mile 22, so I started stopping to massage my legs, taking fluids, nutrition, and so on, and basically tried to use my head so that I could finish the race. From time to time I would walk to stretch my calf and then run again for a bit. The attentiveness of the medical staffs that were so pervasive along the course was amazing. The first time that I stopped to massage my calf a couple of paramedics ran over to me to check on me to make sure that I was ok. Very cool.
Just past mile 23 is the turn back north and to the finish line and it seems that the crowd along this section feels that it is their job to get the runners to the finish. The crowd support was incredible. I had just made the turn and slowed to walk to stretch my calf and was alongside another runner who was having difficulty. He was pretty tired and we were talking about almost being done, etc. This one particular big black guy from the spectators was encouraging us to continue and the runner I was with yells out something about trading places and having the spectator that was yelling at us run the race. At which point the spectator hops the barricade, comes alongside us and says “I can’t finish for you, but I’ll finish with you. Come on, lets go”. He was so encouraging and insistent and as we started jogging our new buddy kept talking us on and after about a half mile says “ok, you guys are good now – I’m going back to help someone else – don’t make me come looking for you to finish!” and he peeled off to go help someone else…. Awesome. Unfortunately my runner buddy stopped at the next Aid Station and I’m not sure that he was going to continue. He was pretty much done.
Right at mile 25.5, with less than 3/4 of a mile to the finish line, my right leg totally cramped up and I came to a full and very painful stop. I had to grab the spectator barrier to keep from falling. The pain of a full leg cramp is horrible. Spectators reached out to help me, bringing me water, ice, salty pretzels. One guy even offered me a beer. They were amazing. But as in every crowd, there is always one bozo – this guy tells me “gee, too bad. You’re gonna have to quit and you’re less than a mile from the finish”. My response was “Watch this – in about 30 seconds I’m going to push off and I will cross that finish line running. Put money on it.” To which my little crowd of spectator/supporters cheered and yelled. And then when I pushed off and started running, they yelled and screamed for me to finish – that alone was incredibly awesome moment for me.
From there I had just a quarter mile to a right hand turn, up a short hill for another quarter mile, and then the last turn to the finish. Making that last turn and seeing that finish line was amazing. My adrenaline suddenly peaks and it totally hits me that I am about to finish running 26 miles 384 yards - a marathon! I am actually going to accomplish this thing.
The crowds are screaming like you would not believe - they are yelling your number, or the color of your shirt or your hat, and just willing you through the last couple tenths of a mile. There is no way in the world that any runner who had gotten that far would let those people down.
The feeling upon crossing that finish line is indescribable. I remember that I was clenching my fists because I was so incredibly thrilled. It’s relief, it’s satisfaction, it’s so many things. I remember thinking “I did it, I did it, I can't believe that I fricking did it!”. I also remember thinking “I can’t wait to do it again” (I must be crazy), and then after I was just walking it was “oh geesh, my calf hurts!”.
Immediately after crossing the finish line, there were scores of volunteers offering me water, Gatorade, a Mylar blanket, and of course the coveted Medal that proves that I finished. I got one of the Paramedics to take this picture of me with my Mylar blanket and my medal (you can only see the red ribbon).
I was super impressed with the lines of Paramedics that were staged to help runners that gave it their all to cross the finish line. There was even a long row of tables with bags of ice – I grabbed two of them and joined other runners on the curb of the road to ice down my quads, hams, calves, and ankles. There was one young woman who was in some measure of heat distress and the paramedics had ice bags all over her as they wheeled her in a chair to a tent for more attention. By the way, there was even a special “Blister and Ankle” tent staffed by podiatrists and assistants to tend to those that had blister and ankle injuries.
Tragically, there was one runner who died of cardiac arrest not 500 yards from the finish line (probably on the slight hill just before the finish). He was a fire fighter, ostensibly an athletic 35 year old, who was running to raise money for burn victims. As much as runners tout how healthy we are because we run, there always seem to be other factors. This was tragic at so many levels, not the least that his family was there. The only positive spin I could possibly put on this was that he died doing something that he loved and for a cause believed in…. I can only hope to be so lucky.
My finish time was 4:49:55 (that’s 4 hours, 49 minutes, 55 seconds). I was hoping for 4:30, but was happy to give just 19 minutes to solving my cramping issues. Overall, I finished south of mid-pack: 21,000th out of 35,670 runners (36, 870 started, 35,670 finished). In my 50-54 year old age group I finished 1,038th out of 1,666. The fastest runner, Moses Mosop, a Kenyan, finished with a course record 2:05:37. The last runner to cross the finish line was a 47 year old woman from Illinois in 7:41:40. Oh, and a 27 year old woman who was 37 weeks pregnant ran the race in 6:25 and gave birth just a few hours later….
On my way back to my hotel I stopped by the “after party” in the park, got a massage for my legs, a beer, and talked to other runners. I then made my way to my hotel and took a nice ice bath and relished the day. I kissed my shoes for making the day for me and went to bed with my medal still around my neck. I didn’t take it off for almost two days.
The “pre-race” prep: You’d think that since I was just going for a run that all I needed was my running shoes, shorts, and a tee shirt… well, it’s actually a bit more involved than that. The running shoes of course, have to be good shoes that fit my running style, socks need to be a wicking-type (to prevent blisters and pull moisture from my feet), and my shorts need to be the kind that don’t need underwear and also moisture-wicking. Ditto for a self-wicking tee-shirt. My cap was lightweight and breathable to help keep my head cool. In addition, I had to carry whatever nutrition I felt I needed during the run, i.e. Goo (5 of them), Shokblock (1 stick), and Enduralytes (my salt/potassium/magnesium tablets). These I put in my waist belt (kind of like a fanny pack, but much thinner, along with my phone and earbuds for listening to music in case I felt that I needed the extra push (I didn’t). I also had a small towel that I folded and tucked into my waist band to wipe my face and neck from time to time.
Then to top it all off, I had to remember to apply Vaseline in strategic areas to prevent chafing, and sunblock (with a high SPF). Oh, and sunglasses. I laid out all of this crap the night before, including putting my number on my shirt and the D-Tag on my shoe. Without that little orange thing on my shoe my time would never be recorded and my event would never go into posterity. I made sure that everything I wore or took with me were things that I had already done long runs with before. Rule #1 is to never experiment with new stuff in a marathon – don’t wear anything that you haven’t worn before, don’t eat or drink anything that you haven’t tried before.
After the race I spent some time thinking about things that I could have done that have allowed me to do better, be it posting a better time, or managing my cramps, and so on. The cramps thing was really the big thing for me – it cost me almost 20 minutes. I had planned my nutritional intake beforehand, but one thing that I find is that during an event like this I am so involved with the task of running that I lose track of my nutritional schedule and then I find myself scrambling to catch up to it, and then I forget what I took at what mile marker and so on... And I think that was the major culprit to my having cramping problems after mile 22. So for my next event I am going to tape my nutritional schedule to the inside of my arm so that I don’t forget what and when to take my stuff. My next thing is that I want to finish with a better time, so I’m going to work on speed. I know how to do it, I just need to work on it.
Here comes the philosophical part… I’ve read and I’ve been told by other marathoners that finishing my first marathon would change my life. I’m not so sure about that – I feel great personal satisfaction that I did it and I’m interested in doing it again, but I don’t think that it “changed my life”. Training for and running a marathon is a physical event and I think meeting that accomplishment fills two needs: it feels good physically to train and run that far (it really does), and it satisfies the desire to meet a stretch goal. There is no doubt about the fact that it’s hard. It is really hard…. I cannot empathize that enough. It’s not easy to train for and it’s not easy to run the event. It is very hard on your body. Thus the feeling of satisfaction for having completed the event!
The Sunday morning of the race I was wide awake at 3AM, so I went down to the hotel lobby, got some coffee and hung around outside the front door to get a feel for the weather and get some fresh air. And about that time, 3:30-4:00AM, younger folks (not running the marathon) were just now coming in from having been at the many Chicago area clubs and bars. I got to talking with a small group of guys and one of them asked me why I felt compelled to run this marathon. So I asked him if he could do it, and he admitted that no, he could not… and that, I told him, was why I was doing it. I was doing something that many people would not, or could not, do. It’s a worthy and doable challenge.
A few weeks ago I met a man who, at the age of 61, ran his first marathon, and he’s run several since then. He’s not fast, he’s just persistent. And he does it because it feels good and because he can. And he wonders why he waited so long to do it.
I never thought of myself as a runner, in fact I remember thinking that all those joggers were kind of nuts… But there is something about running that is peaceful. I’ll never win a race, and I’ll probably never even place in the top 3 of my age group in a big event. But I love the way it feels and I’m grateful that I can do it.
No, I don’t think that finishing a marathon has changed my life. But perhaps it has opened a new door.
The start alone was incredible. You have to picture some 37,000+ runners all crammed along a mile long, six car lane wide, starting area (Grant Park, South Columbus Drive). We are all literally standing shoulder to shoulder. There is no such thing as “personal space” here. In the picture to the right, I’m holding my camera (my phone actually) over my head shooting towards the starting line and I’m so far back from the starting line that I can’t even see the “Start” banner… In the moments just before the starting gun goes off, the crowd is electric – there is just an incredible buzz. The sun is just coming up, the air is crisp, and woop-woop of the helicopters buzzing overhead just adds to the excitement. I was so amped I was tingling. And then we start to move forward – just walking, but we’re moving, and I’m about to come out of my skin. Just before the Start line we are able to start jogging. And we’re off. My first marathon has begun.
The picture below is from the Chicago Tribune. You can see the “elite” runners, mostly Kenyans and Ethiopians right in the front of the bunch. Because they are so fast, they get to line up right at the starting line. If you look really, really hard you can see me waaaay back there…. (just kidding – I’m not even in sight yet…)
Almost immediately we go under an overpass – and the overpass is packed to overflowing with spectators. There must have been hundreds of people on the overpass. Even though I’m passing by 20 minutes after the gun has gone off, the crowd is still going crazy, screaming, cheering, waving signs, and yelling encouragement. It was a great way to start!
The race organizers did an awesome job, from start to finish. On the approach to the starting area there were uniformed guides that directed runners to their designated starting area (we all had different places to queue up at depending on our pace and ability) and helped guide spectators to where best to see and track runners. Even within the starting area itself there were dozens of uniformed volunteers getting all the runners set and in place.
There were twenty fluid stations along the course, separated by about 1.7 miles, providing both Gatorade and water. Each fluid station was at least a city block long, and on both sides of the street. For the first few stations, about 100 feet before we got to them, there would be someone sitting on an 8 foot high stand with a megaphone telling the runners what was coming up (Gatorade and water). The Gatorade station always came first (served in blue cups) and then the water station (served in red cups). It sounds simple, but the colored cups really made a difference later in the race: you knew what you were getting, or reaching for, without having to ask questions.
I think it was around mile 12 that they started handing out wet sponges. They had dozens of little kiddie pools filled with water and loaded with sponges which they would pass to you as you ran by. I thought it was great idea and tucked mine under my hat.
It was going to be a warm day, so I got into a nice routine of hitting the Gatorade station first, then jogging to water station where I would get three and sometimes four cups: one that I poured down my back, one that I poured on my head, one that I drank, and one that I soaked the sponge in my hat with. With the fluid stations being almost a block long, I could keep jogging or sort of walking while doing all this.
And aside from the fluid stations, somewhere around mile 17 they stated also offering slices of bananas (for potassium). I should also mention that both the city and spectators would setup sprinklers and hoses so that the runners could cool off as they ran by. Some people offered honey and pretzels. Others offered tongue depressors with dabs of Vaseline (for chaff prevention... pretty important).
Speaking of spectators, they were incredible. I am sure that many were there to cheer on specific runners, whether they be friends or relatives, but many were clearly out there just to watch and cheer on the parade of runners. And the spectators were loud! There were noise makers of every sort: horns, drums, tambourines, pots and pans - you name it. There were bands and DJ’s. There was Elvis impersonator on a stage right next the course, singing and giving the runners high-fives as they went by him. Ditto with a pair of Lady Gaga impersonators dancing to pump-you-up music for an entire block. At various places along the course were Japanese drummers doing their thing with their big drums. I noticed at one point as we passed a group of drummers, that the runners were all stepping in time with the beat of the drums. Pretty much all I could hear was the sound of our feet hitting the street to the beat of drums. It was pretty bizarre.
As you might imagine, in running 26 miles through a city, we passed by a lot of churches – and it was Sunday. And the congregations, ministers, pastors, etc., were all out in front of their churches singing, cheering, playing music – it was nuts. I got so I was looking forward to passing a church just to capture their excitement for us.
I was trying to run a very conservative 10:20 min/mile pace, with the idea that if I had any juice left towards the end, I could push it up a tad. I had joined a pace group to help me make sure that I didn’t try to run harder than that (which I am prone to do), but I found that the pace leader was actually clipping along a bit faster, like almost a 9:45 pace. So I hung back and did my own thing, using my watch and the mental gymnastics to calculate my pace. I actually try to do a lot of math in my head while I’m running, sometimes nothing specific, like the square root of a number or something, or how many steps in a mile, how many steps in a full marathon (for me that turns out to somewhere around 25,600 steps). It mostly just keeps me busy and I find that before I realize it, another mile has passed by ….
Back to the spectators: Chicago has a fairly large Mexican population and there were plenty of spectators waving and holding Mexican flags and banners. At one point I was running alongside a woman with whom I had struck up a conversation and I saw a big group of Mexicans ahead. I said “watch this”, and as we came up to them I yelled “Viva Mexico!”, and the entire Mexican contingent bellows a huge “VIVA!!” response. So we took turns doing it every time we spotted a Mexican contingent - It was fun!
Runners to this event come from everywhere - it seems that everyone wants to run the Chicago Marathon. I met people that flew in from Brazil, Peru, France, Japan, and literally all corners of the US – just for this marathon. I was also amazed how many repeat marathoners there were, both as repeating the Chicago Marathon and those that have run a marathon before. In fact, my unscientific poll had more repeat marathoners than rookies like myself.
Throughout the race I did not hit any walls, and I never felt like I was getting to the end of my endurance. I felt strong throughout. I did however struggle with cramps in one of my calves towards the end of event. The cramping started around mile 22, so I started stopping to massage my legs, taking fluids, nutrition, and so on, and basically tried to use my head so that I could finish the race. From time to time I would walk to stretch my calf and then run again for a bit. The attentiveness of the medical staffs that were so pervasive along the course was amazing. The first time that I stopped to massage my calf a couple of paramedics ran over to me to check on me to make sure that I was ok. Very cool.
Just past mile 23 is the turn back north and to the finish line and it seems that the crowd along this section feels that it is their job to get the runners to the finish. The crowd support was incredible. I had just made the turn and slowed to walk to stretch my calf and was alongside another runner who was having difficulty. He was pretty tired and we were talking about almost being done, etc. This one particular big black guy from the spectators was encouraging us to continue and the runner I was with yells out something about trading places and having the spectator that was yelling at us run the race. At which point the spectator hops the barricade, comes alongside us and says “I can’t finish for you, but I’ll finish with you. Come on, lets go”. He was so encouraging and insistent and as we started jogging our new buddy kept talking us on and after about a half mile says “ok, you guys are good now – I’m going back to help someone else – don’t make me come looking for you to finish!” and he peeled off to go help someone else…. Awesome. Unfortunately my runner buddy stopped at the next Aid Station and I’m not sure that he was going to continue. He was pretty much done.
Right at mile 25.5, with less than 3/4 of a mile to the finish line, my right leg totally cramped up and I came to a full and very painful stop. I had to grab the spectator barrier to keep from falling. The pain of a full leg cramp is horrible. Spectators reached out to help me, bringing me water, ice, salty pretzels. One guy even offered me a beer. They were amazing. But as in every crowd, there is always one bozo – this guy tells me “gee, too bad. You’re gonna have to quit and you’re less than a mile from the finish”. My response was “Watch this – in about 30 seconds I’m going to push off and I will cross that finish line running. Put money on it.” To which my little crowd of spectator/supporters cheered and yelled. And then when I pushed off and started running, they yelled and screamed for me to finish – that alone was incredibly awesome moment for me.
From there I had just a quarter mile to a right hand turn, up a short hill for another quarter mile, and then the last turn to the finish. Making that last turn and seeing that finish line was amazing. My adrenaline suddenly peaks and it totally hits me that I am about to finish running 26 miles 384 yards - a marathon! I am actually going to accomplish this thing.
The crowds are screaming like you would not believe - they are yelling your number, or the color of your shirt or your hat, and just willing you through the last couple tenths of a mile. There is no way in the world that any runner who had gotten that far would let those people down.
The feeling upon crossing that finish line is indescribable. I remember that I was clenching my fists because I was so incredibly thrilled. It’s relief, it’s satisfaction, it’s so many things. I remember thinking “I did it, I did it, I can't believe that I fricking did it!”. I also remember thinking “I can’t wait to do it again” (I must be crazy), and then after I was just walking it was “oh geesh, my calf hurts!”.
I was super impressed with the lines of Paramedics that were staged to help runners that gave it their all to cross the finish line. There was even a long row of tables with bags of ice – I grabbed two of them and joined other runners on the curb of the road to ice down my quads, hams, calves, and ankles. There was one young woman who was in some measure of heat distress and the paramedics had ice bags all over her as they wheeled her in a chair to a tent for more attention. By the way, there was even a special “Blister and Ankle” tent staffed by podiatrists and assistants to tend to those that had blister and ankle injuries.
Tragically, there was one runner who died of cardiac arrest not 500 yards from the finish line (probably on the slight hill just before the finish). He was a fire fighter, ostensibly an athletic 35 year old, who was running to raise money for burn victims. As much as runners tout how healthy we are because we run, there always seem to be other factors. This was tragic at so many levels, not the least that his family was there. The only positive spin I could possibly put on this was that he died doing something that he loved and for a cause believed in…. I can only hope to be so lucky.
My finish time was 4:49:55 (that’s 4 hours, 49 minutes, 55 seconds). I was hoping for 4:30, but was happy to give just 19 minutes to solving my cramping issues. Overall, I finished south of mid-pack: 21,000th out of 35,670 runners (36, 870 started, 35,670 finished). In my 50-54 year old age group I finished 1,038th out of 1,666. The fastest runner, Moses Mosop, a Kenyan, finished with a course record 2:05:37. The last runner to cross the finish line was a 47 year old woman from Illinois in 7:41:40. Oh, and a 27 year old woman who was 37 weeks pregnant ran the race in 6:25 and gave birth just a few hours later….
On my way back to my hotel I stopped by the “after party” in the park, got a massage for my legs, a beer, and talked to other runners. I then made my way to my hotel and took a nice ice bath and relished the day. I kissed my shoes for making the day for me and went to bed with my medal still around my neck. I didn’t take it off for almost two days.
The “pre-race” prep: You’d think that since I was just going for a run that all I needed was my running shoes, shorts, and a tee shirt… well, it’s actually a bit more involved than that. The running shoes of course, have to be good shoes that fit my running style, socks need to be a wicking-type (to prevent blisters and pull moisture from my feet), and my shorts need to be the kind that don’t need underwear and also moisture-wicking. Ditto for a self-wicking tee-shirt. My cap was lightweight and breathable to help keep my head cool. In addition, I had to carry whatever nutrition I felt I needed during the run, i.e. Goo (5 of them), Shokblock (1 stick), and Enduralytes (my salt/potassium/magnesium tablets). These I put in my waist belt (kind of like a fanny pack, but much thinner, along with my phone and earbuds for listening to music in case I felt that I needed the extra push (I didn’t). I also had a small towel that I folded and tucked into my waist band to wipe my face and neck from time to time.
Then to top it all off, I had to remember to apply Vaseline in strategic areas to prevent chafing, and sunblock (with a high SPF). Oh, and sunglasses. I laid out all of this crap the night before, including putting my number on my shirt and the D-Tag on my shoe. Without that little orange thing on my shoe my time would never be recorded and my event would never go into posterity. I made sure that everything I wore or took with me were things that I had already done long runs with before. Rule #1 is to never experiment with new stuff in a marathon – don’t wear anything that you haven’t worn before, don’t eat or drink anything that you haven’t tried before.After the race I spent some time thinking about things that I could have done that have allowed me to do better, be it posting a better time, or managing my cramps, and so on. The cramps thing was really the big thing for me – it cost me almost 20 minutes. I had planned my nutritional intake beforehand, but one thing that I find is that during an event like this I am so involved with the task of running that I lose track of my nutritional schedule and then I find myself scrambling to catch up to it, and then I forget what I took at what mile marker and so on... And I think that was the major culprit to my having cramping problems after mile 22. So for my next event I am going to tape my nutritional schedule to the inside of my arm so that I don’t forget what and when to take my stuff. My next thing is that I want to finish with a better time, so I’m going to work on speed. I know how to do it, I just need to work on it.
Here comes the philosophical part… I’ve read and I’ve been told by other marathoners that finishing my first marathon would change my life. I’m not so sure about that – I feel great personal satisfaction that I did it and I’m interested in doing it again, but I don’t think that it “changed my life”. Training for and running a marathon is a physical event and I think meeting that accomplishment fills two needs: it feels good physically to train and run that far (it really does), and it satisfies the desire to meet a stretch goal. There is no doubt about the fact that it’s hard. It is really hard…. I cannot empathize that enough. It’s not easy to train for and it’s not easy to run the event. It is very hard on your body. Thus the feeling of satisfaction for having completed the event!
The Sunday morning of the race I was wide awake at 3AM, so I went down to the hotel lobby, got some coffee and hung around outside the front door to get a feel for the weather and get some fresh air. And about that time, 3:30-4:00AM, younger folks (not running the marathon) were just now coming in from having been at the many Chicago area clubs and bars. I got to talking with a small group of guys and one of them asked me why I felt compelled to run this marathon. So I asked him if he could do it, and he admitted that no, he could not… and that, I told him, was why I was doing it. I was doing something that many people would not, or could not, do. It’s a worthy and doable challenge.
A few weeks ago I met a man who, at the age of 61, ran his first marathon, and he’s run several since then. He’s not fast, he’s just persistent. And he does it because it feels good and because he can. And he wonders why he waited so long to do it.
I never thought of myself as a runner, in fact I remember thinking that all those joggers were kind of nuts… But there is something about running that is peaceful. I’ll never win a race, and I’ll probably never even place in the top 3 of my age group in a big event. But I love the way it feels and I’m grateful that I can do it.
No, I don’t think that finishing a marathon has changed my life. But perhaps it has opened a new door.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Pre-Game warm up - 4 days to go
I’m told, and I’ve read, that the 2 weeks prior to a first marathon can be nerve wracking and while I didn’t believe it at the time, I understand it now. At this point I’m in full “taper” mode – no more long runs, and fully focused on staying limber and avoiding anything that might cause injury. And it feels really, really weird. My last “long” run was over a week ago, 13 miles, and it felt really good. It was a fun run and I fully enjoyed it. Odd that after running 20+ mile training runs, that 13 miles no longer seems that far.
The nerve wracking part comes from the insipid and lingering concern (not doubt, just concern) re my ability to do the distance. Will I be able to do it? (of course I will….) Will I have a problem with my hamstring? (I have learned a neat trick to mitigate that problem), Will I cramp up if the weather gets hot? (I’ve learned how to better manage my electrolyte intake), but the thoughts still come. I keep wishing that I could get one more 20 mile run in before the marathon.
My last thing to worry about is what pacing team to join (the marathon offers a number of different pacing groups that are led by runners who somehow have an awesome internal metronome and can run a specified pace throughout the race – the purpose of these groups is to enable novices like myself to have a slightly better chance of completing the full event). The trick is in picking the right pace.
I’ve been doing my long runs at around a 9:30 min/mile pace, sometimes a little slower, sometimes a bit faster. My short runs, the 3-4 milers, I have averaged around 8:30 min/mile. But I’ve been counseled to join a pace team that is slower than my training pace (after all, it’s a 26 mile run….); so I have to make a choice between either a 9:45 or 10:18 min/mile group. My competitive preference is for the first, but my logical head says that I should choose the latter.
By starting with the slower group, I’ll hopefully stay reasonably fresh for a longer time, and if I’m feeling strong at mid-race or after wards, I can step out on my own and finish perhaps a little better. I’m told that my only goal for my first marathon should be to finish, but I would like to do more than just finish. I’d like to finish strong and post a respectable time.
Four days to go….! I can’t wait !
The nerve wracking part comes from the insipid and lingering concern (not doubt, just concern) re my ability to do the distance. Will I be able to do it? (of course I will….) Will I have a problem with my hamstring? (I have learned a neat trick to mitigate that problem), Will I cramp up if the weather gets hot? (I’ve learned how to better manage my electrolyte intake), but the thoughts still come. I keep wishing that I could get one more 20 mile run in before the marathon.
My last thing to worry about is what pacing team to join (the marathon offers a number of different pacing groups that are led by runners who somehow have an awesome internal metronome and can run a specified pace throughout the race – the purpose of these groups is to enable novices like myself to have a slightly better chance of completing the full event). The trick is in picking the right pace.
I’ve been doing my long runs at around a 9:30 min/mile pace, sometimes a little slower, sometimes a bit faster. My short runs, the 3-4 milers, I have averaged around 8:30 min/mile. But I’ve been counseled to join a pace team that is slower than my training pace (after all, it’s a 26 mile run….); so I have to make a choice between either a 9:45 or 10:18 min/mile group. My competitive preference is for the first, but my logical head says that I should choose the latter.
By starting with the slower group, I’ll hopefully stay reasonably fresh for a longer time, and if I’m feeling strong at mid-race or after wards, I can step out on my own and finish perhaps a little better. I’m told that my only goal for my first marathon should be to finish, but I would like to do more than just finish. I’d like to finish strong and post a respectable time.
Four days to go….! I can’t wait !
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Last long run before the marathon
Three weeks to go to the Chicago Marathon and today was my last “long” run before the marathon. Today’s run was 22 miles, which I did with a group from one of the running stores, Tortoise and Hare. This was a pretty important run for me today – I had to be able to do it. I had struggled through my last 20 mile run and had DNF’ed in the Milford 30K. I had to be able to make today work - and I did.
Overall, it was a good run, averaging a 10:10 min/mile pace (3hr 43min overall) including a couple of rest breaks. The temp at the start was in the low 50’s with a cloudless sky. It was perfect weather. The route was to be two 11 mile loops with most of it on dirt county roads with some modest hills. I felt very strong for the first 11 miles (the first loop), but started to feel tiredness in my legs almost as soon as we started the second loop. I tried hard to keep on top of my nutrition (ShockBloks, Goo, Gatorade, and Endurolites), but I think I slipped on my intended schedule a bit.
At about the midpoint of mile 17 I decided to walk a bit and let my running partner, a guy who had been running with me since the start, go on ahead. After about a quarter mile of walking I was ready to hit it again, and worked towards catching up with my partner, who was pretty much just shuffling his way down the road. Unfortunately, I was probably pushing too hard as I worked my way up and down the modest hills and wound up aggravating my right hamstring (which has been a pain in my ass for some time) bringing me to a full stop while I massaged and stretched it out. I was pretty much forced to walk for a bit (probably a good ¾ of a mile) before starting to run again.
I’m not sure what the deal was/is with my hamstring. I don’t know if it is a muscle pull situation, or if I was cramping (as in a heat cramp). As soon as it started to hit hard, I gulped down another Goo, another Endurolite, and lots of Gatorade (good thing that I had my camel-back with me!). I don’t know if that made a difference or not, but I did start to feel relief not long afterwards, so who knows….?
Getting going again was hard. My legs were getting stiff and I really had to force myself to run. I didn’t break any records running those last few miles – I pretty much short-stepped trotted my way back to our starting point, even walking up a couple of the hills. But I did it. I was soooo glad to be done.
So, assuming that my 10:10 min/mile pace is realistic for Chicago, I’m probably looking at a 4hr30min time. And I’ll be running for 45 minutes longer than I did today. Do I have (will I have) the juice to run that much longer? I’m assuming that I will – I just can’t imagine not…
Three weeks to go! Next week my longest run will be 12-13 miles, and the week after that, a mere 8. That is going to feel so weird… I’m already starting to think about what am I going to do after Chicago…
Overall, it was a good run, averaging a 10:10 min/mile pace (3hr 43min overall) including a couple of rest breaks. The temp at the start was in the low 50’s with a cloudless sky. It was perfect weather. The route was to be two 11 mile loops with most of it on dirt county roads with some modest hills. I felt very strong for the first 11 miles (the first loop), but started to feel tiredness in my legs almost as soon as we started the second loop. I tried hard to keep on top of my nutrition (ShockBloks, Goo, Gatorade, and Endurolites), but I think I slipped on my intended schedule a bit.
At about the midpoint of mile 17 I decided to walk a bit and let my running partner, a guy who had been running with me since the start, go on ahead. After about a quarter mile of walking I was ready to hit it again, and worked towards catching up with my partner, who was pretty much just shuffling his way down the road. Unfortunately, I was probably pushing too hard as I worked my way up and down the modest hills and wound up aggravating my right hamstring (which has been a pain in my ass for some time) bringing me to a full stop while I massaged and stretched it out. I was pretty much forced to walk for a bit (probably a good ¾ of a mile) before starting to run again.
I’m not sure what the deal was/is with my hamstring. I don’t know if it is a muscle pull situation, or if I was cramping (as in a heat cramp). As soon as it started to hit hard, I gulped down another Goo, another Endurolite, and lots of Gatorade (good thing that I had my camel-back with me!). I don’t know if that made a difference or not, but I did start to feel relief not long afterwards, so who knows….?
Getting going again was hard. My legs were getting stiff and I really had to force myself to run. I didn’t break any records running those last few miles – I pretty much short-stepped trotted my way back to our starting point, even walking up a couple of the hills. But I did it. I was soooo glad to be done.
So, assuming that my 10:10 min/mile pace is realistic for Chicago, I’m probably looking at a 4hr30min time. And I’ll be running for 45 minutes longer than I did today. Do I have (will I have) the juice to run that much longer? I’m assuming that I will – I just can’t imagine not…
Three weeks to go! Next week my longest run will be 12-13 miles, and the week after that, a mere 8. That is going to feel so weird… I’m already starting to think about what am I going to do after Chicago…
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Midland 30K
What a disaster – I DNF’ed – I cramped up at Mile 14 and could not continue. It was disappointing and embarrassing.
Granted, it was an incredibly hot and humid day, 90+ degrees and insanely humid. The race didn’t start until 8AM, meaning that the sun had ample time to warm things up by mid course. But I did anticipate the conditions and tried to plan accordingly, increasing my dosage of sodium enhanced ShotBloks, Goo, Gatorade, etc..
It was a great course, hilly and pretty. The race starts just south of the town of Milford (the green pin on the map below) and heads north through wooded countryside, back into town and then a south loop again through wooded farm-like country around back to the start/finish area. All the way through to mile twelve I was feeling good. I had established a comfortable pace, and was feeling strong. In fact as I ran through the 12 mile marker I started thinking how good I felt and that I only had six and a half more miles to go. I didn't think that I was pushing myself, I was walking through every fluid station, making sure that I drank a full cup of water or Gatorade, sometimes even two. I was on target with my ShotBloks and Goo. I was feeling good.
As a testament to how good I felt, I was cruising along at an average pace of 9:30 min/mile, at least 30 seconds per mile faster than I thought I would do. It’s worth noting that the main pack moved out substantially faster – but even though I felt good enough to maybe run with them, I just let them run on by.
One thing that tripped my up a bit was that I wanted to be able to chase my fuel with fluid (water or Gatorade), but the placement of the fluid stations was pretty half-hazard and it was impossible to predict where the next one would be. So that kind of threw me off a bit… If I had brought my own fluids that would not have been an issue.
I was going to bring my camel-back water pouch with me, but I decided against it…. I didn’t want to deal with carrying the extra weight and I was a little worried about the straps rubbing my shoulders since I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. In retrospect, I should have just sucked it up and done it.
My right calf started to cramp shortly after Mile 12 (on the map here, that would be just as I was leaving Milford itself and heading south - the red pin is where I turned off the GPS after realizing that it was over). At the next fluid station I made sure that I took on plenty of fluid and then moved on carefully. The cramps started hitting me more frequently by Mile 13, and by Mile 14, I was at a complete stop and in tremendous pain. Muscle cramps are the most horrible thing and there is nothing that you can do about it. Every part of your body is paralyzed as you try to cope with it. I knew that I was in trouble but at the same time hoping that it would pass and that I would be able to continue.
I must have been quite a sight. Picture a dirt country road, kind of woody with some farm fields here and there, and me standing in the middle of the road totally rigid, unable to move, and clearly in a lot of pain. I was in so much pain that I could not move. Worse yet, I was in the sun and I knew that I needed to get into the shade, but I just could not move. Many runners stopped to ask if I needed help, offering their water or Gatorade, and tried to get me to move into the shade. The best help I received was from a group of 3 nurses who got me to the side of the road near a tree and some shade who massaged my calves – that was incredible. Another runner gave me his last salt tablet. One guy was a physical therapist who instilled the help of another runner to help stretch me out. At first I didn’t want to take anything from any of the runners or even accept their help because I didn’t want to affect their run or take water that they would need for themselves. I got to the point where I was sort of shuffling (if that is what it was) down the road, ever so slowly closer to the finish line. But as the cramps were hitting my thighs a woman stopped and asked the question that all the others had asked “would you like me to get some help for you”, - and I made myself say “yes”. That was so hard for me to do. It was so hard. I am a runner, I am not a quitter. But I clearly was not in control of my situation. I was so angry. She ran up to the next aid station she also got on her phone and called 911.
I sort of continued to shuffle my way down the road trying to stay in the shade. Now mind you, I’m not really walking. I’m doing more of a penguin walk, kind of hunched over and moving my legs in a stiff and stilted way. After a few minutes a cop car pulls up from behind me and the police woman asks me if I was the runner that needed help. I couldn’t help myself from replying “no, I always run like a penguin….” before admitting that yes, it was me that she was looking for.
Moments later an ambulance, a fire paramedic truck, two volunteer paramedics, and a race marshal converge on me, all of them with their lights on and sirens blaring. Sooooo embarrassing… I want to crawl inside myself and disappear. I get on the tailgate of one volunteer’s pickup trucks and the EMS guys take my vitals and start asking me questions to see if was going into heat stroke. The good news was that my vitals were all good. The EMS guys wanted me to get into the back of the ambulance but I declined saying that ambulances were similar to police cars, once you get in the back of one, it’s hard to get out…
After a bit everyone leaves except for the volunteer paramedics. And I’m starting to think that maybe I could walk the rest of the way so that I don’t have to post a DNF. I only had 3 miles to go… its not that far. So I stand up, take a few steps, and both parameds say “no way”. My calves were twitching and spazing out. Walking, or any physical exertion was out of the question. I finally had to relent and agree to let them drive me back to the start/finish area. I could not even get into the front seat of the pickup truck without my legs cramping. I had to ride in the back of the truck so that I could stretch out my legs. I was crushed, disappointed, humiliated. I was beside myself.
Much later I learned from other experienced runners that DNF also stands for "did nothing foolish", meaning that choosing not to finish was the better part of valor - live to run healthy another day. Of course, in the moment of the event itself, surrendering is a hard thing to do.
Meanwhile, back to the drawing board. Training for this marathon is becoming quite a challenge. Aside from hoping for a cold October 9th for the Marathon, I need to come up with the right nutritional recipe to keep this cramping from re-occurring. I’ve learned a few more things from the internet (from other runners who have had the same problem) and I’ll work on implementing those ideas. I am still planning on doing the 22 mile training run in two weeks. I have to be able to do 20 miles or else the marathon itself may be in jeopardy. Gotta do it.
The marathon is 5 weeks from today. I have to make it work.
PS: to add whip cream on top of this shitty day, while carrying my stuff into the house I dropped my iPhone (which I had taken out of its usual Otterbox protective case) and smashed the front glass on it. @#$%!!!
PPS: the day after the event (Sunday) is a nice cool, somewhat overcast, day.... what a difference a day makes! another @#$%$!!!!!
Granted, it was an incredibly hot and humid day, 90+ degrees and insanely humid. The race didn’t start until 8AM, meaning that the sun had ample time to warm things up by mid course. But I did anticipate the conditions and tried to plan accordingly, increasing my dosage of sodium enhanced ShotBloks, Goo, Gatorade, etc..
It was a great course, hilly and pretty. The race starts just south of the town of Milford (the green pin on the map below) and heads north through wooded countryside, back into town and then a south loop again through wooded farm-like country around back to the start/finish area. All the way through to mile twelve I was feeling good. I had established a comfortable pace, and was feeling strong. In fact as I ran through the 12 mile marker I started thinking how good I felt and that I only had six and a half more miles to go. I didn't think that I was pushing myself, I was walking through every fluid station, making sure that I drank a full cup of water or Gatorade, sometimes even two. I was on target with my ShotBloks and Goo. I was feeling good.
As a testament to how good I felt, I was cruising along at an average pace of 9:30 min/mile, at least 30 seconds per mile faster than I thought I would do. It’s worth noting that the main pack moved out substantially faster – but even though I felt good enough to maybe run with them, I just let them run on by.One thing that tripped my up a bit was that I wanted to be able to chase my fuel with fluid (water or Gatorade), but the placement of the fluid stations was pretty half-hazard and it was impossible to predict where the next one would be. So that kind of threw me off a bit… If I had brought my own fluids that would not have been an issue.
I was going to bring my camel-back water pouch with me, but I decided against it…. I didn’t want to deal with carrying the extra weight and I was a little worried about the straps rubbing my shoulders since I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. In retrospect, I should have just sucked it up and done it.
My right calf started to cramp shortly after Mile 12 (on the map here, that would be just as I was leaving Milford itself and heading south - the red pin is where I turned off the GPS after realizing that it was over). At the next fluid station I made sure that I took on plenty of fluid and then moved on carefully. The cramps started hitting me more frequently by Mile 13, and by Mile 14, I was at a complete stop and in tremendous pain. Muscle cramps are the most horrible thing and there is nothing that you can do about it. Every part of your body is paralyzed as you try to cope with it. I knew that I was in trouble but at the same time hoping that it would pass and that I would be able to continue.
I must have been quite a sight. Picture a dirt country road, kind of woody with some farm fields here and there, and me standing in the middle of the road totally rigid, unable to move, and clearly in a lot of pain. I was in so much pain that I could not move. Worse yet, I was in the sun and I knew that I needed to get into the shade, but I just could not move. Many runners stopped to ask if I needed help, offering their water or Gatorade, and tried to get me to move into the shade. The best help I received was from a group of 3 nurses who got me to the side of the road near a tree and some shade who massaged my calves – that was incredible. Another runner gave me his last salt tablet. One guy was a physical therapist who instilled the help of another runner to help stretch me out. At first I didn’t want to take anything from any of the runners or even accept their help because I didn’t want to affect their run or take water that they would need for themselves. I got to the point where I was sort of shuffling (if that is what it was) down the road, ever so slowly closer to the finish line. But as the cramps were hitting my thighs a woman stopped and asked the question that all the others had asked “would you like me to get some help for you”, - and I made myself say “yes”. That was so hard for me to do. It was so hard. I am a runner, I am not a quitter. But I clearly was not in control of my situation. I was so angry. She ran up to the next aid station she also got on her phone and called 911.
I sort of continued to shuffle my way down the road trying to stay in the shade. Now mind you, I’m not really walking. I’m doing more of a penguin walk, kind of hunched over and moving my legs in a stiff and stilted way. After a few minutes a cop car pulls up from behind me and the police woman asks me if I was the runner that needed help. I couldn’t help myself from replying “no, I always run like a penguin….” before admitting that yes, it was me that she was looking for.
Moments later an ambulance, a fire paramedic truck, two volunteer paramedics, and a race marshal converge on me, all of them with their lights on and sirens blaring. Sooooo embarrassing… I want to crawl inside myself and disappear. I get on the tailgate of one volunteer’s pickup trucks and the EMS guys take my vitals and start asking me questions to see if was going into heat stroke. The good news was that my vitals were all good. The EMS guys wanted me to get into the back of the ambulance but I declined saying that ambulances were similar to police cars, once you get in the back of one, it’s hard to get out…
After a bit everyone leaves except for the volunteer paramedics. And I’m starting to think that maybe I could walk the rest of the way so that I don’t have to post a DNF. I only had 3 miles to go… its not that far. So I stand up, take a few steps, and both parameds say “no way”. My calves were twitching and spazing out. Walking, or any physical exertion was out of the question. I finally had to relent and agree to let them drive me back to the start/finish area. I could not even get into the front seat of the pickup truck without my legs cramping. I had to ride in the back of the truck so that I could stretch out my legs. I was crushed, disappointed, humiliated. I was beside myself.
Much later I learned from other experienced runners that DNF also stands for "did nothing foolish", meaning that choosing not to finish was the better part of valor - live to run healthy another day. Of course, in the moment of the event itself, surrendering is a hard thing to do.
Meanwhile, back to the drawing board. Training for this marathon is becoming quite a challenge. Aside from hoping for a cold October 9th for the Marathon, I need to come up with the right nutritional recipe to keep this cramping from re-occurring. I’ve learned a few more things from the internet (from other runners who have had the same problem) and I’ll work on implementing those ideas. I am still planning on doing the 22 mile training run in two weeks. I have to be able to do 20 miles or else the marathon itself may be in jeopardy. Gotta do it.
The marathon is 5 weeks from today. I have to make it work.
PS: to add whip cream on top of this shitty day, while carrying my stuff into the house I dropped my iPhone (which I had taken out of its usual Otterbox protective case) and smashed the front glass on it. @#$%!!!
PPS: the day after the event (Sunday) is a nice cool, somewhat overcast, day.... what a difference a day makes! another @#$%$!!!!!
Friday, September 2, 2011
August, hot August
Summary of the last few weeks: A week after running an 18 miler, I did my 20 mile run. Just prior to that (and just after my 18 miler) I did an 8, 2, 4, & 4 mile runs, with a rest day just after the 18’er and just prior to the 20’er. I may have over done the running but until that point I felt really strong. Bottom line: I had to walk the better part of the last 2 miles of that 20 miler. And it was a real confidence killer, like how the hell am I going to go 26.2 miles?
One of the bummers about the run was that it was raining/lightning about the time that I was wanting to start my run (~6:30AM) and I had to wait until almost 8:30AM to start. The temperature was ok (70’s), but as the sun rose, both the temp and the humidity skyrocketed. The heat/humidity may have been a factor in my lack of performance even though I tried to do a good job watching my fueling and water/Gatorade intake. I even tried walking/resting by my truck on every 2.5 mile lap. Nonetheless, by the time that last lap came up, I was pretty much done and was walking more than running the last couple of miles. I was pretty bummed out. But I did the distance.
Another thing that I learned is how hot my legs get. I’ve been wearing longish running shorts that fall just short of my knee – in other words, they aren’t the short-short running shorts that sprinters and “real-athletes” wear. But as I run these longer distances, my legs get very toasty – and sweaty – to the point that the shorts material is sticking uncomfortably to my legs. I try to roll them up and tuck them into the inner lining, but it becomes a constant bother as they tend to un-roll as I run. I need to get myself a pair of real running shorts….
In my angst and distress of a less than optimal 20 mile run, I wanted to try running the 20’er again the following week to prove to myself that I could do it (instead of taking a “step-back” week – where the longest run would only be ~12 miles) . But I went online to one of the active.com community boards asking if it would be prudent for me to go for another 20 miler. All of the responses were a resounding “no, don’t do it – take the step-back week – you’ll be fine”. One guy said that in running there are good, bad, and horrible running days. I had had a “bad” day. If I had quit the run altogether, then it would have been a “horrible” day, with the point being that I did complete the 20 miles, even though I had to walk some of it. K – ‘nuff said, I did as suggested and had an easy week, doing a couple of 5 milers, a 13’er, and a 6’er. Felt pretty good.
The week after that has been a really easy week as I prep for the Milford 30K (18.5 miles) event. This is a hilly and rolly event in the country about 40 minutes from Ann Arbor – mostly dirt roads and a little bit of asphalt. It’s billed as a great pre-Chicago Marathon run. My left knee and ankle have been feeling a little weird so I’ve taken it extra easy, and have only done two short runs (a 4 and a 3 miler) and have been doing the stairs in my house to help strengthen and condition my legs. I decided prior to the last 3 miler that the new orthotics that Brad got me may be what is bothering my knee and ankle, so I yanked them out of my running shoes. If I can find my old orthotics I’ll do the 30K in those, otherwise I’ll go without.
Given my last couple of weeks, my confidence is not great and I need to get myself psyched up for it. Even more special, the weather has given us a little heat spike (in the 90’s) and the promise of rain on the day of the event. Should be a hoot!
5 weeks until Chicago….
One of the bummers about the run was that it was raining/lightning about the time that I was wanting to start my run (~6:30AM) and I had to wait until almost 8:30AM to start. The temperature was ok (70’s), but as the sun rose, both the temp and the humidity skyrocketed. The heat/humidity may have been a factor in my lack of performance even though I tried to do a good job watching my fueling and water/Gatorade intake. I even tried walking/resting by my truck on every 2.5 mile lap. Nonetheless, by the time that last lap came up, I was pretty much done and was walking more than running the last couple of miles. I was pretty bummed out. But I did the distance.
Another thing that I learned is how hot my legs get. I’ve been wearing longish running shorts that fall just short of my knee – in other words, they aren’t the short-short running shorts that sprinters and “real-athletes” wear. But as I run these longer distances, my legs get very toasty – and sweaty – to the point that the shorts material is sticking uncomfortably to my legs. I try to roll them up and tuck them into the inner lining, but it becomes a constant bother as they tend to un-roll as I run. I need to get myself a pair of real running shorts….
In my angst and distress of a less than optimal 20 mile run, I wanted to try running the 20’er again the following week to prove to myself that I could do it (instead of taking a “step-back” week – where the longest run would only be ~12 miles) . But I went online to one of the active.com community boards asking if it would be prudent for me to go for another 20 miler. All of the responses were a resounding “no, don’t do it – take the step-back week – you’ll be fine”. One guy said that in running there are good, bad, and horrible running days. I had had a “bad” day. If I had quit the run altogether, then it would have been a “horrible” day, with the point being that I did complete the 20 miles, even though I had to walk some of it. K – ‘nuff said, I did as suggested and had an easy week, doing a couple of 5 milers, a 13’er, and a 6’er. Felt pretty good.
The week after that has been a really easy week as I prep for the Milford 30K (18.5 miles) event. This is a hilly and rolly event in the country about 40 minutes from Ann Arbor – mostly dirt roads and a little bit of asphalt. It’s billed as a great pre-Chicago Marathon run. My left knee and ankle have been feeling a little weird so I’ve taken it extra easy, and have only done two short runs (a 4 and a 3 miler) and have been doing the stairs in my house to help strengthen and condition my legs. I decided prior to the last 3 miler that the new orthotics that Brad got me may be what is bothering my knee and ankle, so I yanked them out of my running shoes. If I can find my old orthotics I’ll do the 30K in those, otherwise I’ll go without.
Given my last couple of weeks, my confidence is not great and I need to get myself psyched up for it. Even more special, the weather has given us a little heat spike (in the 90’s) and the promise of rain on the day of the event. Should be a hoot!
5 weeks until Chicago….
Friday, August 12, 2011
First 18 miler...
Let me tell you – 18 miles is a long way to run. Even longer when it’s run as slow as I run. I can only imagine what 26.2 miles is going to feel like. But I also know that it will be different, given the excitement of the event itself and the crowds, but still… For this run I averaged a 9:34 min/mile pace and got it done in 2:52:15. Ok by me… I was wanting to do better than a 10:00 m/m average and I succeeded there, so there is a little bit of hope for me.
Given my previous experiences with the 16 mile runs, I tried to plan and prep appropriately. I made sure that I did the right things before the run (i.e. carbo loading, stretching, etc.), and that I had what I needed nutrition-wise for the run itself.
I wanted to make this run more-or-less a dress rehearsal for the Milford 30K (18.5M) event that is in 3 weeks. The Milford 30K event is targeted towards being a training run for various fall marathons, so my 18 miler was like doing a dress-rehearsal for a full-dress-rehearsal for the actual marathon (does that kind of make sense?). In light of that, instead of carrying my fluids with me, I positioned my truck at the end of my driveway, provisioned with fluids to act as my “water station” as I would expect on the actual event course. In reality, the water stations during events are more like 2M apart, but I couldn’t get a clean 2M route set up, so I just made do with running an extra half-mile to get to my fluids. I then ran a series of seven 2.5M laps around my neighborhood (I had to add a quarter-mile to two of the laps to make it an even 18M).
Based on what I had learned during my 16M runs, I setup my in-run nutrition to include ShockBloks, two different kinds of goo, and Gatorade. My goal was to consume approximately 50g of carbs (or 220 calories) per hour. This was to make sure that I had enough energy to finish the run. In the mix, I also had to manage appropriate levels of sodium. This pretty much depended on how hot and humid things were during the run. The more that I sweat, the more sodium I need to ingest. So the trick was to make a judgment call on the “sweat and humidity” factor.
To manage my sodium intake, I found both goo and ShockBlok products that had varying levels of Sodium. So depending on what I thought the “sweat and humidity” factor was, I would take either a “Sodium+” or “regular” nutrient. But to complicate this a bit, I learned that it’s not a good idea to ingest any of this without a fluid chaser (e.g. water or Gatorade). That meant that I had to time my nutrients to just before I got to my water station.
To back up a bit, it may help if I explain what I’ve learned about nutrition and the affect of sodium and potassium. I may not have totally understood it, but in general:
The act of running is possible by the contraction of muscles and depends upon an electrical charge that is caused by potassium inside your cells switching places with sodium outside your cells. As you run potassium builds up outside of your cells, which diminishes the ability of your cells to create that electrical charge. When this happens, experts say that you begin to get “tired”. But this is also thought to be a cause of cramping, thus the need to constantly replenish the supply of sodium and potassium. Since I found that I tend to cramp up, this is key for me. In addition, sodium helps encourage fluid movement in your body, essentially helping to keep everything well “greased” and lubricated.
As you run, your muscles build up lactic acid which breaks down into hydrogen ions and lactate. Lactate is used by the muscle cells to produce additional energy in the form of ATP. But as the hydrogen ions build up, so does the acidity of your blood. All of this tends to make your legs feel stiff. Protein and amino acids help break down the lactic acid and neutralize the hydrogen ion build up, but these are hard to ingest and absorb during a run and are typically post-run recovery supplements (I drink a protein/amino acid/banana/milk shake after every long run).
With regards to raw energy to run, your leg muscles want to burn glycogen. But the problem is that the body can only store a limited amount, like about 2 hours worth. Guys like me that don’t run very fast need a lot more than that and/or may not have built up a full 2 hours store of the stuff. To that end, it is necessary to consume carbs during the event. Carbs break down into usable glycogen. Fat is also an energy source, but stored fat doesn’t convert to usable energy fast enough to sustain running. But it is important to know that it is unlikely that you can consume and store carbohydrates (which in turn becomes usable glycogen) as fast you are burning them. The trick is to slow the rate of glycogen depletion so that you can complete the event before you bonk (“hit the wall”). That is why it is critical to stay ahead of the curve and start consuming nutrients before you even need them.
Back to the run itself: I gave myself a 40 to 60 second walking break at the truck on every lap, allowing me to consume at least 6 oz of Gatorade. For the Marathon itself, I’m already planning on walking through every water station to make sure that I get at least 6 oz of fluid in me every 2 miles or so. I also set up a schedule of sucking on a ShockBlok every lap just before I got to the truck. The only exceptions were on mile 8 and 13 where I sucked on goo instead. From a nutrition and cramp-prevention perspective, it all worked. I had enough energy to run all 18 miles, and I did not cramp up. That alone was a huge win for me.
I did have a little problem with my right hamstring getting tight on me and I found myself literally pounding my fist on the back of my thigh every now and again to loosen it up. I’d also try stomping my foot on the ground to shake up the muscle. I really don’t know what is going on there. But it made it through.
The last 2.5 mile lap was hard – very hard. No doubt about it: I was tired. And I had to force myself to drag my sorry, tired ass all the way around. I slowed my pace down a lot for that last couple of miles, down to around a 10:30 m/m pace, but I did it. I actually ran a total of 18.2 miles, and I could have technically stopped running when my GPS told me that I had gotten to mile 18, but rather than walking the last .2 miles, I forced myself to go all the way. And I feel better about having done so.
Next week is a 20-miler…. That will be fun, I am sure (it's just 2 more miles….)
3 weeks to the Milford 30K, 8 weeks to Chicago.
Given my previous experiences with the 16 mile runs, I tried to plan and prep appropriately. I made sure that I did the right things before the run (i.e. carbo loading, stretching, etc.), and that I had what I needed nutrition-wise for the run itself.
I wanted to make this run more-or-less a dress rehearsal for the Milford 30K (18.5M) event that is in 3 weeks. The Milford 30K event is targeted towards being a training run for various fall marathons, so my 18 miler was like doing a dress-rehearsal for a full-dress-rehearsal for the actual marathon (does that kind of make sense?). In light of that, instead of carrying my fluids with me, I positioned my truck at the end of my driveway, provisioned with fluids to act as my “water station” as I would expect on the actual event course. In reality, the water stations during events are more like 2M apart, but I couldn’t get a clean 2M route set up, so I just made do with running an extra half-mile to get to my fluids. I then ran a series of seven 2.5M laps around my neighborhood (I had to add a quarter-mile to two of the laps to make it an even 18M).
Based on what I had learned during my 16M runs, I setup my in-run nutrition to include ShockBloks, two different kinds of goo, and Gatorade. My goal was to consume approximately 50g of carbs (or 220 calories) per hour. This was to make sure that I had enough energy to finish the run. In the mix, I also had to manage appropriate levels of sodium. This pretty much depended on how hot and humid things were during the run. The more that I sweat, the more sodium I need to ingest. So the trick was to make a judgment call on the “sweat and humidity” factor.
To manage my sodium intake, I found both goo and ShockBlok products that had varying levels of Sodium. So depending on what I thought the “sweat and humidity” factor was, I would take either a “Sodium+” or “regular” nutrient. But to complicate this a bit, I learned that it’s not a good idea to ingest any of this without a fluid chaser (e.g. water or Gatorade). That meant that I had to time my nutrients to just before I got to my water station.
To back up a bit, it may help if I explain what I’ve learned about nutrition and the affect of sodium and potassium. I may not have totally understood it, but in general:
The act of running is possible by the contraction of muscles and depends upon an electrical charge that is caused by potassium inside your cells switching places with sodium outside your cells. As you run potassium builds up outside of your cells, which diminishes the ability of your cells to create that electrical charge. When this happens, experts say that you begin to get “tired”. But this is also thought to be a cause of cramping, thus the need to constantly replenish the supply of sodium and potassium. Since I found that I tend to cramp up, this is key for me. In addition, sodium helps encourage fluid movement in your body, essentially helping to keep everything well “greased” and lubricated.
As you run, your muscles build up lactic acid which breaks down into hydrogen ions and lactate. Lactate is used by the muscle cells to produce additional energy in the form of ATP. But as the hydrogen ions build up, so does the acidity of your blood. All of this tends to make your legs feel stiff. Protein and amino acids help break down the lactic acid and neutralize the hydrogen ion build up, but these are hard to ingest and absorb during a run and are typically post-run recovery supplements (I drink a protein/amino acid/banana/milk shake after every long run).
With regards to raw energy to run, your leg muscles want to burn glycogen. But the problem is that the body can only store a limited amount, like about 2 hours worth. Guys like me that don’t run very fast need a lot more than that and/or may not have built up a full 2 hours store of the stuff. To that end, it is necessary to consume carbs during the event. Carbs break down into usable glycogen. Fat is also an energy source, but stored fat doesn’t convert to usable energy fast enough to sustain running. But it is important to know that it is unlikely that you can consume and store carbohydrates (which in turn becomes usable glycogen) as fast you are burning them. The trick is to slow the rate of glycogen depletion so that you can complete the event before you bonk (“hit the wall”). That is why it is critical to stay ahead of the curve and start consuming nutrients before you even need them.
Back to the run itself: I gave myself a 40 to 60 second walking break at the truck on every lap, allowing me to consume at least 6 oz of Gatorade. For the Marathon itself, I’m already planning on walking through every water station to make sure that I get at least 6 oz of fluid in me every 2 miles or so. I also set up a schedule of sucking on a ShockBlok every lap just before I got to the truck. The only exceptions were on mile 8 and 13 where I sucked on goo instead. From a nutrition and cramp-prevention perspective, it all worked. I had enough energy to run all 18 miles, and I did not cramp up. That alone was a huge win for me.
I did have a little problem with my right hamstring getting tight on me and I found myself literally pounding my fist on the back of my thigh every now and again to loosen it up. I’d also try stomping my foot on the ground to shake up the muscle. I really don’t know what is going on there. But it made it through.
The last 2.5 mile lap was hard – very hard. No doubt about it: I was tired. And I had to force myself to drag my sorry, tired ass all the way around. I slowed my pace down a lot for that last couple of miles, down to around a 10:30 m/m pace, but I did it. I actually ran a total of 18.2 miles, and I could have technically stopped running when my GPS told me that I had gotten to mile 18, but rather than walking the last .2 miles, I forced myself to go all the way. And I feel better about having done so.
Next week is a 20-miler…. That will be fun, I am sure (it's just 2 more miles….)
3 weeks to the Milford 30K, 8 weeks to Chicago.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
16 Miles, Second Time
Two weeks ago I ran a 16 mile route and “bonked”, or “hit the wall”, at around 15 ¼ miles. I simply ran out of juice. So after “bonking” on that run I read up on how many calories and nutrients I needed to consume before and during the run so that I wouldn’t run out of gas. So today I had a good 16 mile run and I made it all the way through without “hitting the wall”. I did however, wind up with horrible cramps in my left thigh at mile 15.5, but after working the cramp out I still managed to run the rest of the way.
But it was a tough run. It’s a long way (16 miles) and I was trying to maintain a 9:30 pace. In the hopes of achieving a marathon time of somewhere close to 4 hours, I wanted to see if I could maintain at least a 9:30 pace for this distance. I did really well up until mile 15, maintaining an average 9:33 min/mile pace, but when my leg cramped up at 15 ½ miles, I came to a full stop for several minutes while I worked it out. I wound up finishing the last mile in 14:24 minutes. That made my average pace something like 9:50 overall. My overall time for the 16 miles was 2:37:38. I wish it were better…
During the run I consumed something like 730 calories (but I burned over 2,000!) through an assortment of Gatorade, goo, a Balance Bar (a candy bar with carbs, proteins, and various minerals), and something called ShockBloks, which are like gum drops loaded with carbs and electrolytes (sodium and potassium mostly). In my research I found that I needed to be consuming on the order of 225 calories, or 50grams of carbs, per hour from all nutrient sources. This includes liquids, goo’s, bars, etc…
So I made a table of the nutrient value of each (Gatorade, goo, power bars, ShockBloks) and how often to take each. Carrying all this crap is reasonably ok…. I am able to store the ShockBloks in my waist pouch, along with a package of goo. (the waist pouch is like a thin fanny pack and a good place to put my phone and other goodies…). My camelback, with my very necessary Gatorade, has a small pocket in which I can store more goo and power bars.
I came up with a plan to suck on a ShockBlok every 2 miles, eat half of my Balance Bar at mile 8 and 12, and do the goo as I felt necessary. For fluids, I just make it a habit to take a few hits from my tube every ½ mile (which I figure gives me approximately 2-3 oz’s per mile). For the run, I wound up doing the ShockBloks every 2 hours, only consumed ½ of the Balance Bar, and did the goo at mile 12. I went through all 48 oz’s of the Gatorade that I carried with me.
I felt the biggest lift of all from the goo at mile 12. After it kicked in (it takes about 6-8 minutes) I felt strong and like I could run on for a long time – nice! It was nicely timed. I didn’t do the rest of the Balance Bar because it was a bit more difficult to get down, although it also gave me a nice lift at mile 9. It’s difficult to tell if the ShockBloks did anything, because I was popping them with regularity, but I think that they helped maintain my carb and sodium levels.
A big problem though, is the fact that I cramped up at 15 ½ miles. An acquaintance that does some serious cycling told me that he solved cramping by chewing on a version of ShockBloks that had a substantially higher amount of sodium (219mg vs the 70mg chews that I was using). Cramping remains a medical mystery, so all “cures” are the result of hearsay and empirical testing. Besides, every runners’ body is chemically different, so there is no one-solution-fits-all…
Next week I have an 18-miler on my training plan, and so I’m going to try alternating between the “Na+” ShockBloks and the regulars. I’m also going to try to get the full Balance Bar down, maybe do it in thirds. In addition, I’ll do more goo towards the end, like with 2 miles to go, just to make sure I have enough juice. And of course, make sure that I have enough Gatorade. Carrying the Gatorade is the biggest problem – 48oz is something like 3lbs, which doesn’t sound like much, but it is when you are lugging it around for a bunch of miles. Of course, it does get lighter and lighter as the miles go by, so perhaps I’m just complaining for nothing… But I’d love to not have to carry it.
Funny things happen near the end of a long run: I can just sense that the end is near; it’s almost like a hazy image that is beginning to form. At this point I’m basically on auto-pilot, with my brain ignoring the fact that my feet hurt and the straps from the camelback are bugging me, and so on. Little signals from my legs are constantly bombarding me as the lactic acid build up stiffens my legs, and I just keep repeating to myself that “it’s just a little bit further”. In a running magazine that I get I’ve read a couple of articles about mantras and I never understood them until now. I’ve never gotten this tired before, I guess. But I’m here to tell you – they work. The one that seems to work best for me is simply “I am going to do this…”. I’m sure that I’ll be saying that a lot to myself on October 9.
But it was a tough run. It’s a long way (16 miles) and I was trying to maintain a 9:30 pace. In the hopes of achieving a marathon time of somewhere close to 4 hours, I wanted to see if I could maintain at least a 9:30 pace for this distance. I did really well up until mile 15, maintaining an average 9:33 min/mile pace, but when my leg cramped up at 15 ½ miles, I came to a full stop for several minutes while I worked it out. I wound up finishing the last mile in 14:24 minutes. That made my average pace something like 9:50 overall. My overall time for the 16 miles was 2:37:38. I wish it were better…
During the run I consumed something like 730 calories (but I burned over 2,000!) through an assortment of Gatorade, goo, a Balance Bar (a candy bar with carbs, proteins, and various minerals), and something called ShockBloks, which are like gum drops loaded with carbs and electrolytes (sodium and potassium mostly). In my research I found that I needed to be consuming on the order of 225 calories, or 50grams of carbs, per hour from all nutrient sources. This includes liquids, goo’s, bars, etc…
So I made a table of the nutrient value of each (Gatorade, goo, power bars, ShockBloks) and how often to take each. Carrying all this crap is reasonably ok…. I am able to store the ShockBloks in my waist pouch, along with a package of goo. (the waist pouch is like a thin fanny pack and a good place to put my phone and other goodies…). My camelback, with my very necessary Gatorade, has a small pocket in which I can store more goo and power bars.
I came up with a plan to suck on a ShockBlok every 2 miles, eat half of my Balance Bar at mile 8 and 12, and do the goo as I felt necessary. For fluids, I just make it a habit to take a few hits from my tube every ½ mile (which I figure gives me approximately 2-3 oz’s per mile). For the run, I wound up doing the ShockBloks every 2 hours, only consumed ½ of the Balance Bar, and did the goo at mile 12. I went through all 48 oz’s of the Gatorade that I carried with me.
I felt the biggest lift of all from the goo at mile 12. After it kicked in (it takes about 6-8 minutes) I felt strong and like I could run on for a long time – nice! It was nicely timed. I didn’t do the rest of the Balance Bar because it was a bit more difficult to get down, although it also gave me a nice lift at mile 9. It’s difficult to tell if the ShockBloks did anything, because I was popping them with regularity, but I think that they helped maintain my carb and sodium levels.
A big problem though, is the fact that I cramped up at 15 ½ miles. An acquaintance that does some serious cycling told me that he solved cramping by chewing on a version of ShockBloks that had a substantially higher amount of sodium (219mg vs the 70mg chews that I was using). Cramping remains a medical mystery, so all “cures” are the result of hearsay and empirical testing. Besides, every runners’ body is chemically different, so there is no one-solution-fits-all…
Next week I have an 18-miler on my training plan, and so I’m going to try alternating between the “Na+” ShockBloks and the regulars. I’m also going to try to get the full Balance Bar down, maybe do it in thirds. In addition, I’ll do more goo towards the end, like with 2 miles to go, just to make sure I have enough juice. And of course, make sure that I have enough Gatorade. Carrying the Gatorade is the biggest problem – 48oz is something like 3lbs, which doesn’t sound like much, but it is when you are lugging it around for a bunch of miles. Of course, it does get lighter and lighter as the miles go by, so perhaps I’m just complaining for nothing… But I’d love to not have to carry it.
Funny things happen near the end of a long run: I can just sense that the end is near; it’s almost like a hazy image that is beginning to form. At this point I’m basically on auto-pilot, with my brain ignoring the fact that my feet hurt and the straps from the camelback are bugging me, and so on. Little signals from my legs are constantly bombarding me as the lactic acid build up stiffens my legs, and I just keep repeating to myself that “it’s just a little bit further”. In a running magazine that I get I’ve read a couple of articles about mantras and I never understood them until now. I’ve never gotten this tired before, I guess. But I’m here to tell you – they work. The one that seems to work best for me is simply “I am going to do this…”. I’m sure that I’ll be saying that a lot to myself on October 9.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
running notes since June...
(these are ordered from the oldest to most recent…):
July 8, 2011 – 12 mile run. Went to a local park; nice to run an unfamiliar trail. I was amazed at how comfortable the animal life was to people. Ducks, geese, birds in general would grudgedly get out of my way. They were fine just standing on or beside the trail and having me pass very close to them. I wasn’t worried about the little birds or the ducks, but the geese made me a little nervous… I took my camel-back for fluids and in general had a good run, but I was definitely tired afterwards. I tried hard to make sure that I prepped for the run right: carbing up and resting the day before, pre-run hydration, and making sure that I hydrated constantly during the run. After the run I drank my protein cocktail and an appropriate amount of fluids. I didn’t have any post-run cramps and that was the big goal. Mission accomplished.
July 14, 2011 – 14 mile run. I didn’t want to carry all of my hydration and nutrition with me, so I opted to do 3 mile loops around my neighborhood, stopping by the garage every lap for Gatorade and “goo” (“goo” is a honey-like concoction that contains carbs, sodium, potassium, all of which help fuel your body. I try to suck down a packet every 30-45 minutes). It has been incredibly humid and this morning was no exception. But in general, it was a great run. Better still that I had the juice to step it up the last two miles and finish strong. The bad news is that the top of my left ankle is bothering me (has been for a while).
July 18, 2011 – Went to see Brad (at Ann Arbor Foot and Ankle) re my ankle. Says that I have an inflamed tibialis anterior tendon (the tendon that your foot uses to pronate and push off with), basically “tendinitis”. The cure is to not use it – but that’s not going to happen. So alternatives are: 1) ice it, 2) ibuprofen, 3) cortisone shot (we’ll wait on that one…), and consider a different running shoe that might help alleviate (more support in that area) the stress on that tendon. So I went to my favorite running store (Tortoise and Hare) and got into a new pair of ASIC’s which seem to feel really nice (lower heel, good support). In addition, Brad is setting my up for new orthotics. All good.
July 20, 2011 - 8 mile run. Probably the most humid conditions that I have ever run in. I was 100% totally drenched when I finished. BTW, these are all early morning runs. I was so drenched that my running shorts, shirt, and sox were soaking wet. But somehow I was ok! And my ankle was good.
July 22, 2011 – 16 mile run – this was my longest run to-date. Got up at 5AM so that I could be ready to run by 6:00. But it was 6:20 before I actually got started (takes me a while to wake up my body, get it stretched out, and loosened up….). Hot and humid day 70deg/95% humidity). Did the neighborhood loops again (five 3-mile loops plus one mile), stopping at the garage on every 3 mile lap for Gatorade and goo. This was definitely one of those “long, slow, and steady” runs… I just plodded along thinking about how close I was to my next water break, and it all went fairly smooth and I was comfortable with my progress and condition. Unfortunately, about ¼ mile into mile 15, I learned what “hitting the wall” means - my legs where done – I just did not have any more energy to move them. My heart rate was normal and my breathing was fine – but I had no juice left to move my legs at anything faster than a walk. So that’s what I did - I walked the remaining ¾ mile (probably a very good thing) back to the house. After the run, I did my protein shake and more Gatorade and then jumped in the pool to stretch. My legs were a little crampy, which makes me think that I was not fully hydrated or properly nutritioned. Later in the day I did some reading about nutrition during long runs, and I probably was a little light. The article discussed taking in 200-250 calories per hour (at my pace), and I probably was only in the high 100’s. I also may have been a little light in fueling prior to the run. These are all good things to learn now. I pay close attention to my weight and the color of my urine before and after a run to make sure that I’m not dehydrated, and interestingly enough, despite the fact that I was good at my fluid intake (before and after), I still lost a full pound and a half. During my last lap, around the half-way point, I even stopped at a water fountain by the 12th tee to top up on water. This run was a great learning experience. With this knowledge, I’m actually looking forward to my next long run (in two weeks).
July 28, 2011. This week I did two 10-mile runs with a day’s rest in between. The purpose of that was to test my recovery from the first 10-miler and force me to run a little tired. And yes, the second 10-miler was harder. The first one seemed easy and great (did it in 1:32), but the second one was much more difficult . For starters, for the second one I had 100% humidity and I am sure that my legs were still recovering from the first 10-miler. I did it in 1:34, and lost 3 lbs to sweat (even though I tried very hard to remain fully hydrated). Around mile 6 I felt the need to take a leak so I did (used the bathroom at the 12th tee), but that makes me wonder if my sodium/potassium levels were out of kilter. In other words, my body may not have been adequately processing the fluid contents because I was low on Na and K? Or did I take too much in? 10 weeks to Chicago… 5 weeks to the Milford 30K Race…. I gotta figure this stuff out.
July 8, 2011 – 12 mile run. Went to a local park; nice to run an unfamiliar trail. I was amazed at how comfortable the animal life was to people. Ducks, geese, birds in general would grudgedly get out of my way. They were fine just standing on or beside the trail and having me pass very close to them. I wasn’t worried about the little birds or the ducks, but the geese made me a little nervous… I took my camel-back for fluids and in general had a good run, but I was definitely tired afterwards. I tried hard to make sure that I prepped for the run right: carbing up and resting the day before, pre-run hydration, and making sure that I hydrated constantly during the run. After the run I drank my protein cocktail and an appropriate amount of fluids. I didn’t have any post-run cramps and that was the big goal. Mission accomplished.
July 14, 2011 – 14 mile run. I didn’t want to carry all of my hydration and nutrition with me, so I opted to do 3 mile loops around my neighborhood, stopping by the garage every lap for Gatorade and “goo” (“goo” is a honey-like concoction that contains carbs, sodium, potassium, all of which help fuel your body. I try to suck down a packet every 30-45 minutes). It has been incredibly humid and this morning was no exception. But in general, it was a great run. Better still that I had the juice to step it up the last two miles and finish strong. The bad news is that the top of my left ankle is bothering me (has been for a while).
July 18, 2011 – Went to see Brad (at Ann Arbor Foot and Ankle) re my ankle. Says that I have an inflamed tibialis anterior tendon (the tendon that your foot uses to pronate and push off with), basically “tendinitis”. The cure is to not use it – but that’s not going to happen. So alternatives are: 1) ice it, 2) ibuprofen, 3) cortisone shot (we’ll wait on that one…), and consider a different running shoe that might help alleviate (more support in that area) the stress on that tendon. So I went to my favorite running store (Tortoise and Hare) and got into a new pair of ASIC’s which seem to feel really nice (lower heel, good support). In addition, Brad is setting my up for new orthotics. All good.
July 20, 2011 - 8 mile run. Probably the most humid conditions that I have ever run in. I was 100% totally drenched when I finished. BTW, these are all early morning runs. I was so drenched that my running shorts, shirt, and sox were soaking wet. But somehow I was ok! And my ankle was good.
July 22, 2011 – 16 mile run – this was my longest run to-date. Got up at 5AM so that I could be ready to run by 6:00. But it was 6:20 before I actually got started (takes me a while to wake up my body, get it stretched out, and loosened up….). Hot and humid day 70deg/95% humidity). Did the neighborhood loops again (five 3-mile loops plus one mile), stopping at the garage on every 3 mile lap for Gatorade and goo. This was definitely one of those “long, slow, and steady” runs… I just plodded along thinking about how close I was to my next water break, and it all went fairly smooth and I was comfortable with my progress and condition. Unfortunately, about ¼ mile into mile 15, I learned what “hitting the wall” means - my legs where done – I just did not have any more energy to move them. My heart rate was normal and my breathing was fine – but I had no juice left to move my legs at anything faster than a walk. So that’s what I did - I walked the remaining ¾ mile (probably a very good thing) back to the house. After the run, I did my protein shake and more Gatorade and then jumped in the pool to stretch. My legs were a little crampy, which makes me think that I was not fully hydrated or properly nutritioned. Later in the day I did some reading about nutrition during long runs, and I probably was a little light. The article discussed taking in 200-250 calories per hour (at my pace), and I probably was only in the high 100’s. I also may have been a little light in fueling prior to the run. These are all good things to learn now. I pay close attention to my weight and the color of my urine before and after a run to make sure that I’m not dehydrated, and interestingly enough, despite the fact that I was good at my fluid intake (before and after), I still lost a full pound and a half. During my last lap, around the half-way point, I even stopped at a water fountain by the 12th tee to top up on water. This run was a great learning experience. With this knowledge, I’m actually looking forward to my next long run (in two weeks).
July 28, 2011. This week I did two 10-mile runs with a day’s rest in between. The purpose of that was to test my recovery from the first 10-miler and force me to run a little tired. And yes, the second 10-miler was harder. The first one seemed easy and great (did it in 1:32), but the second one was much more difficult . For starters, for the second one I had 100% humidity and I am sure that my legs were still recovering from the first 10-miler. I did it in 1:34, and lost 3 lbs to sweat (even though I tried very hard to remain fully hydrated). Around mile 6 I felt the need to take a leak so I did (used the bathroom at the 12th tee), but that makes me wonder if my sodium/potassium levels were out of kilter. In other words, my body may not have been adequately processing the fluid contents because I was low on Na and K? Or did I take too much in? 10 weeks to Chicago… 5 weeks to the Milford 30K Race…. I gotta figure this stuff out.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Solstice 10M event – Northville
This was a somewhat hilly and early morning event that attracted some serious runners. I managed an 8:44 min/mile average pace (pretty good for me for 10 miles) but still could not finish higher than the middle of the pack (in my age group 58% of the field finished ahead of me, and 46% of the overall field beat me). The overall winner was a 32 year-old speedster that ran a blazing 5:05 min/mile pace. In my age group, the winner was a guy a year younger than me averaging about a 6:20 min/mile pace. Regardless, for me it was a great run – I did better my race plan, proving to myself that I could go 10 miles at a faster clip than I thought that I could.
The start was at Northville Downs, a harness racing track, and our first half mile was a loop around the track itself. Fortunately the track was clean of horse manure, but that didn’t stop everyone from making comments about “watch out for the horse poop…”. One thing that I noticed was how many people seemed to gravitate to the high (outer) side of the track – I stuck to the inside edge of the curve, hoping to shave off as many feet as possible.
About a half mile from the track is a somewhat steep hill, followed by two more moderate hills. I don’t know why, but I fretted about those hills all night long prior to the event. I was so concerned about burning my legs up in the first mile and a half while managing those hills that I wouldn’t have any juice left for the remaining 8 and a half miles…. In the end, I didn’t try to charge up the hill – I just took it slow and steady, keeping my eyes on the horizon. After cresting the big hill I was pleasantly surprised that my legs felt great. The remaining two hills were just speed bumps in comparison and I felt great.
I had been planning on bringing my camel-back fluid pouch with me to make sure that I stayed adequately hydrated, but the weather was so cool (50 deg F at the start) that I decided to leave it in my truck. I had also planned on walking through each water station to make sure that I swallowed an adequate amount of water, but I didn’t do that either – I did slow down, and I did try to make sure that I got at least a third of the cup down, but that was it. By mile 3 I was 2 minutes ahead of my race plan and I was not going to give up that time. I felt strong, had a great rhythm going and I just did not want to spoil the mojo. I was cruising. By mile 5, the halfway point, I was 5 minutes ahead of my race plan.
Around that point I realized that even though I had started “slow and steady”, and had successfully traversed the early hills without burning out, I had been strong enough to increase my pace to a comfortable and sustainable rhythm that was faster than I had anticipated my being able to do. My race plan at this point had me running an increasingly faster pace on a mile by mile basis to the finish. Well, it didn’t quite work out that way, but it was all good in the end….
I couldn’t, or more accurately, didn’t want to, increase my pace a whole lot. I was afraid of running out of gas. In addition somewhere between mile 5 and 6 my right hamstring started to tighten up, so I had to deal with that by changing my gait and allowing it to stretch out more. This slowed me down some for the next mile or so. Somewhere around mile 6 they were handing out Goo and even though I had my own I grabbed some and sucked on it for the next mile – so between that and my slowing down a tad, my hamstring seemed to recover and we were good to go for the finish.
When I got to Mile 9 I was cruising very comfortably and wound up running alongside a woman that had to be 60+ years old. I need to point out that she did not appear to be one of those genetically gifted people that are natural athletes who are out there making guys like me look bad… She was out there like me and matching me stride for stride as we went for the finish line – I so hope that I will be able to run distance events when I’m 60+…. (I should note that the oldest person that ran the 10M event was 70 years old, and I only beat him by 11 minutes….).
I'm not sure where this picture was taken, but I believe that it was near the end of the run. I'm glad to see that my hands are relaxed and my right foot appears to be headed for a mid-foot landing (vs a heel plant), and that I'm pushing off reasonably well with my left.
The last half mile was somewhat interesting – Northville was having an art fair of sorts and on the streets leading into the finish we ran in between all of the artists’ display tents. It was kind of funny in that as we all were sprinting into the finish the artists were starting to open up their displays and so there was a lot of activity as the artists were doing their thing and the runners were dodging the artists as they scurried around. The last quarter mile was a bit odd in that it finished in a park with a sharp and narrow downhill trail that ultimately flattened out and wound its way through the park to the finish line. As I entered the park I was sprinting pretty hard and had no knowledge whatsoever of the steep downhill trail that I was about to turn onto. As soon as I hit the hill I killed my speed; I didn’t want to hurt myself on the hill (I’ve already torn my calf muscle once – I don’t want to do that again). But then once on more level ground in the park the trail was so narrow that it was difficult to pass other runners who were content to jog their way in to the finish line. Oh well…. no biggie.
I wound up finishing with a time of 1:27:24, a full 5 minutes better than my race plan. That calculated out to an average 8:44 pace and I am very happy with that. Room for improvement, and I think that we can!
15 weeks to Chicago!
The start was at Northville Downs, a harness racing track, and our first half mile was a loop around the track itself. Fortunately the track was clean of horse manure, but that didn’t stop everyone from making comments about “watch out for the horse poop…”. One thing that I noticed was how many people seemed to gravitate to the high (outer) side of the track – I stuck to the inside edge of the curve, hoping to shave off as many feet as possible.
About a half mile from the track is a somewhat steep hill, followed by two more moderate hills. I don’t know why, but I fretted about those hills all night long prior to the event. I was so concerned about burning my legs up in the first mile and a half while managing those hills that I wouldn’t have any juice left for the remaining 8 and a half miles…. In the end, I didn’t try to charge up the hill – I just took it slow and steady, keeping my eyes on the horizon. After cresting the big hill I was pleasantly surprised that my legs felt great. The remaining two hills were just speed bumps in comparison and I felt great.
I had been planning on bringing my camel-back fluid pouch with me to make sure that I stayed adequately hydrated, but the weather was so cool (50 deg F at the start) that I decided to leave it in my truck. I had also planned on walking through each water station to make sure that I swallowed an adequate amount of water, but I didn’t do that either – I did slow down, and I did try to make sure that I got at least a third of the cup down, but that was it. By mile 3 I was 2 minutes ahead of my race plan and I was not going to give up that time. I felt strong, had a great rhythm going and I just did not want to spoil the mojo. I was cruising. By mile 5, the halfway point, I was 5 minutes ahead of my race plan.
Around that point I realized that even though I had started “slow and steady”, and had successfully traversed the early hills without burning out, I had been strong enough to increase my pace to a comfortable and sustainable rhythm that was faster than I had anticipated my being able to do. My race plan at this point had me running an increasingly faster pace on a mile by mile basis to the finish. Well, it didn’t quite work out that way, but it was all good in the end….
I couldn’t, or more accurately, didn’t want to, increase my pace a whole lot. I was afraid of running out of gas. In addition somewhere between mile 5 and 6 my right hamstring started to tighten up, so I had to deal with that by changing my gait and allowing it to stretch out more. This slowed me down some for the next mile or so. Somewhere around mile 6 they were handing out Goo and even though I had my own I grabbed some and sucked on it for the next mile – so between that and my slowing down a tad, my hamstring seemed to recover and we were good to go for the finish.
When I got to Mile 9 I was cruising very comfortably and wound up running alongside a woman that had to be 60+ years old. I need to point out that she did not appear to be one of those genetically gifted people that are natural athletes who are out there making guys like me look bad… She was out there like me and matching me stride for stride as we went for the finish line – I so hope that I will be able to run distance events when I’m 60+…. (I should note that the oldest person that ran the 10M event was 70 years old, and I only beat him by 11 minutes….).
The last half mile was somewhat interesting – Northville was having an art fair of sorts and on the streets leading into the finish we ran in between all of the artists’ display tents. It was kind of funny in that as we all were sprinting into the finish the artists were starting to open up their displays and so there was a lot of activity as the artists were doing their thing and the runners were dodging the artists as they scurried around. The last quarter mile was a bit odd in that it finished in a park with a sharp and narrow downhill trail that ultimately flattened out and wound its way through the park to the finish line. As I entered the park I was sprinting pretty hard and had no knowledge whatsoever of the steep downhill trail that I was about to turn onto. As soon as I hit the hill I killed my speed; I didn’t want to hurt myself on the hill (I’ve already torn my calf muscle once – I don’t want to do that again). But then once on more level ground in the park the trail was so narrow that it was difficult to pass other runners who were content to jog their way in to the finish line. Oh well…. no biggie.
I wound up finishing with a time of 1:27:24, a full 5 minutes better than my race plan. That calculated out to an average 8:44 pace and I am very happy with that. Room for improvement, and I think that we can!
15 weeks to Chicago!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Dex-AA Half Marathon
Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon 2011
My realistic goal was 2:03 (2hrs 3min), my stretch goal was 1:59:59 – I did it in 1:58:53! But I almost crashed and burned 100 yards from the finish line.
Great day, great weather, great crowd. I met some interesting people including a young woman (Melanie Peters) who sat next to me on the bus who runs for the purse money on weekends to make her rent. Apparently she has some speed and unabashedly tells me that she might as well use it for something (she is also a nurse…) I also ran into runners that I’ve met at other events, one in particular that I’ll mention in a bit. The temperature was around 65deg F at the start, and quickly rose to 80deg+ as the sun came up.
I tried to start slow and steady, but my splits show that I was somewhat aggressive and was not holding back too much. The thing is, I was feeling strong and I was just running at a comfortable pace. I knew that I could run faster, so I figured that I was “reigning it in” some. But it almost did me in.
At mile 3 I was ahead of my planned pace of 9:30min/mile by almost a minute which meant that I was running at about a 9:15 pace. I was comfortable at that pace, so I tried to keep it. However, by the time I hit mile 6, I realized that I had sped up some, inching towards a 9:00m/m pace. A little too fast, a little too soon. My plan was to do Goo at mile 4 and 8, and to walk through the Gatorade/water stations at miles 4, 6, 9, 10, and 12. The intent there was to give me time to actually drink at least 1/3 of the cup of liquids without spilling most of it (which is what happens when you try to drink from a paper cup while running). That sort of worked. At a couple of stations I also grabbed water and poured it over my head (good to be bald!).
By mile 8 I was 3 minutes ahead of my pace and while elated at the strength of my run, I was definitely concerned about going the distance. We still had the mile long climb from the river up to the finish line. So I tried to ease up some – but again, I was so comfortable with my pace and I had such a good rhythm going that I pretty much just kept moving along….
As the sun was getting higher that the temperature was climbing, runners started to tend towards the “shady” side of the road. On one particular long curving bend to the right I was running with 3 other guys on the right side of the road and we noticed that everyone was suddenly jumping to the shady left side of the road. One of the guys asked how come we were running in the sun, to which the rest of us replied “because its shorter”…. (we were running on the inside of the curve – ok, it’s not a whole lot shorter, but every curve or bend that you can take on a tangent shortens the distance from the starting line to the finish line!) It was funny at the time – you had to be there…
Just before mile 12 I came upon a guy that I met at a recent 10K race. He is a bit younger than me (maybe by 10 years) and a bull of a runner. At the 10K race he worked hard to make sure that he stayed in front of me and would always speed up if I got close. But towards the close of that 10K race I found a bit of juice and passed him easily – we spoke after that race and he joked about being in front of me the whole time and then I took him out. Well, here he was again and as I passed him he says “ah shit, you again?!!”, We laughed, I slowed down a bit to talk to him and then continued on. I was actually thinking that he would join me for the climb up the hill, but he didn’t seem up to it – he probably would have beat me if he had!
The picture here was taken around mile 11 or so. Credit needs to go to runphotos.com. For what it's worth, I have my sunglasses perched on my forehead because they were fogging up on me and I couldn't read my watch. So whenever I needed to take a note of my time I'd have to slide them up.
The last mile climb from the Huron River to the finish line was a real strain. I was wanting to have a strong finish, but I was running out of gas. At mile 12 I was 2 minutes ahead of my planned pace to break 1:59:59 so I walked through the last water station and then trudged on as hard as I could up to the finish line. It was sooooo hard and I was beginning to cramp. I kept fighting it off and then just 100 yards short of the finish line, my left thigh cramped up so tight that I almost fell. Spectators jumped out to catch me, but I managed to stay on my feet. I was at a dead halt, in pain, and panicked about meeting my goal. I remember trying to calculate if I could crawl to the finish line in less than the 1minute 30 seconds I had left. But the good news is that I was able to get through the cramp and limp over the finish line and beat my stretch goal. But I was so done, that I couldn’t even feel good about it. There were other people that I had previously met all mingling at the finish line area that wanted to chat, but I was in no shape for conversation – I was dizzy, nauseous, and incredibly thirsty.
This picture is as I was just crossing the finish line - I'm not sure exactly how it is that I look so composed, because I didn't feel that way (picture credits need to go to runphoto.com). It took me an hour to get over the cramps enough to be able to drive home. I had brought more Gatorade, water, and protein bars in my truck and I just worked on those until the cramps subsided. Next time I’ll bring a cooler of ice. Ice would have helped a great deal. Another lesson learned is that I probably need to take in more fluids than the 1/3 or 1/2 cup of water/Gatorade every couple of miles, so I’m going to start running with my camel back fluid pouch. I’ll probably use it on the 10M race in a couple of weeks in Northville.
All in all, it was a great run – I thoroughly enjoyed myself (except for that last bit). I felt that I ran strong and solid and learned how to get a bit better. In my age group (50-54) I wound up coming in 80th out of a field of 164, right smack in the middle of the pack. Much better than last year where 84% of the field was ahead of me. Overall, I placed 1244 out a total field of 3136 - just ahead of mid-pack, and another reason to feel good.
By the way, the girl I met on the bus, Melanie, she placed 3rd and got a share of the purse (I don’t know how much, probably around $300). ! The leader in my age group did it in 1:26:14 (that’s a 6:30 m/m pace, compared to my 9:05 pace). The outright winner did it in 1:07:18 (that’s an incredible 5:08 pace!) – he took home $1,000.
Next up: The Solstice 10M event in Northville. Then the Milford 18M in Sept. And finally the Chicago Marathon on Oct 9. I might pick up another event or two if they fit in my training schedule – we’ll see. I need to start working on the big miles now in prep for Chicago. I want to be strong and as conditioned as I can get. 18 weeks to Chicago!
My realistic goal was 2:03 (2hrs 3min), my stretch goal was 1:59:59 – I did it in 1:58:53! But I almost crashed and burned 100 yards from the finish line.
Great day, great weather, great crowd. I met some interesting people including a young woman (Melanie Peters) who sat next to me on the bus who runs for the purse money on weekends to make her rent. Apparently she has some speed and unabashedly tells me that she might as well use it for something (she is also a nurse…) I also ran into runners that I’ve met at other events, one in particular that I’ll mention in a bit. The temperature was around 65deg F at the start, and quickly rose to 80deg+ as the sun came up.
I tried to start slow and steady, but my splits show that I was somewhat aggressive and was not holding back too much. The thing is, I was feeling strong and I was just running at a comfortable pace. I knew that I could run faster, so I figured that I was “reigning it in” some. But it almost did me in.
At mile 3 I was ahead of my planned pace of 9:30min/mile by almost a minute which meant that I was running at about a 9:15 pace. I was comfortable at that pace, so I tried to keep it. However, by the time I hit mile 6, I realized that I had sped up some, inching towards a 9:00m/m pace. A little too fast, a little too soon. My plan was to do Goo at mile 4 and 8, and to walk through the Gatorade/water stations at miles 4, 6, 9, 10, and 12. The intent there was to give me time to actually drink at least 1/3 of the cup of liquids without spilling most of it (which is what happens when you try to drink from a paper cup while running). That sort of worked. At a couple of stations I also grabbed water and poured it over my head (good to be bald!).
By mile 8 I was 3 minutes ahead of my pace and while elated at the strength of my run, I was definitely concerned about going the distance. We still had the mile long climb from the river up to the finish line. So I tried to ease up some – but again, I was so comfortable with my pace and I had such a good rhythm going that I pretty much just kept moving along….
As the sun was getting higher that the temperature was climbing, runners started to tend towards the “shady” side of the road. On one particular long curving bend to the right I was running with 3 other guys on the right side of the road and we noticed that everyone was suddenly jumping to the shady left side of the road. One of the guys asked how come we were running in the sun, to which the rest of us replied “because its shorter”…. (we were running on the inside of the curve – ok, it’s not a whole lot shorter, but every curve or bend that you can take on a tangent shortens the distance from the starting line to the finish line!) It was funny at the time – you had to be there…
Just before mile 12 I came upon a guy that I met at a recent 10K race. He is a bit younger than me (maybe by 10 years) and a bull of a runner. At the 10K race he worked hard to make sure that he stayed in front of me and would always speed up if I got close. But towards the close of that 10K race I found a bit of juice and passed him easily – we spoke after that race and he joked about being in front of me the whole time and then I took him out. Well, here he was again and as I passed him he says “ah shit, you again?!!”, We laughed, I slowed down a bit to talk to him and then continued on. I was actually thinking that he would join me for the climb up the hill, but he didn’t seem up to it – he probably would have beat me if he had!The picture here was taken around mile 11 or so. Credit needs to go to runphotos.com. For what it's worth, I have my sunglasses perched on my forehead because they were fogging up on me and I couldn't read my watch. So whenever I needed to take a note of my time I'd have to slide them up.
The last mile climb from the Huron River to the finish line was a real strain. I was wanting to have a strong finish, but I was running out of gas. At mile 12 I was 2 minutes ahead of my planned pace to break 1:59:59 so I walked through the last water station and then trudged on as hard as I could up to the finish line. It was sooooo hard and I was beginning to cramp. I kept fighting it off and then just 100 yards short of the finish line, my left thigh cramped up so tight that I almost fell. Spectators jumped out to catch me, but I managed to stay on my feet. I was at a dead halt, in pain, and panicked about meeting my goal. I remember trying to calculate if I could crawl to the finish line in less than the 1minute 30 seconds I had left. But the good news is that I was able to get through the cramp and limp over the finish line and beat my stretch goal. But I was so done, that I couldn’t even feel good about it. There were other people that I had previously met all mingling at the finish line area that wanted to chat, but I was in no shape for conversation – I was dizzy, nauseous, and incredibly thirsty.
This picture is as I was just crossing the finish line - I'm not sure exactly how it is that I look so composed, because I didn't feel that way (picture credits need to go to runphoto.com). It took me an hour to get over the cramps enough to be able to drive home. I had brought more Gatorade, water, and protein bars in my truck and I just worked on those until the cramps subsided. Next time I’ll bring a cooler of ice. Ice would have helped a great deal. Another lesson learned is that I probably need to take in more fluids than the 1/3 or 1/2 cup of water/Gatorade every couple of miles, so I’m going to start running with my camel back fluid pouch. I’ll probably use it on the 10M race in a couple of weeks in Northville.All in all, it was a great run – I thoroughly enjoyed myself (except for that last bit). I felt that I ran strong and solid and learned how to get a bit better. In my age group (50-54) I wound up coming in 80th out of a field of 164, right smack in the middle of the pack. Much better than last year where 84% of the field was ahead of me. Overall, I placed 1244 out a total field of 3136 - just ahead of mid-pack, and another reason to feel good.
By the way, the girl I met on the bus, Melanie, she placed 3rd and got a share of the purse (I don’t know how much, probably around $300). ! The leader in my age group did it in 1:26:14 (that’s a 6:30 m/m pace, compared to my 9:05 pace). The outright winner did it in 1:07:18 (that’s an incredible 5:08 pace!) – he took home $1,000.
Next up: The Solstice 10M event in Northville. Then the Milford 18M in Sept. And finally the Chicago Marathon on Oct 9. I might pick up another event or two if they fit in my training schedule – we’ll see. I need to start working on the big miles now in prep for Chicago. I want to be strong and as conditioned as I can get. 18 weeks to Chicago!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Doubt
May 19, 2011: 20 weeks, 3 days to the Chicago Marathon. 2 weeks, 3 days to the Dexter Ann Arbor Half Marathon.
I've discovered that doubt creates a steep hill to climb. And I have also learned that it is something that you have to quash quickly and emphatically, lest it become a cancer that just eats away at you. It's been an interesting couple of weeks.
I've ramped up my miles in prep for the Dexter Ann Arbor HM as well as my quest for speed. And that is what did me in - the speed thing.
After completing a recent 12 mile run, my legs were done; I was exhausted. My time was good, actually my best ever for that distance, and I was good for a couple more miles, but I could tell that I was at the end of my endurance. And that was where the doubt hit me. I was seriously doubting that I'd be able to go another 14.2 miles. It really hit me hard.
During the final 3 miles I could feel the lactic acid building in my legs, and I had the strongest urges to just walk. But I didn't stop or slow down - I kept running, fearful of the fact that if I gave in and stopped, I really would NEVER make it through a full marathon. So I didn't dare slow down or stop. In fact I tried (not very well) to go faster. But I didn't stop!
It was while cooling my legs in my ice-cold pool (May in Michigan and I refuse to turn the heater on) that I started worrying and fixating about my physical ability to make it through a full marathon. It was depressing. Was I in over my head? Was I expecting too much? Assuming too much?
The good news is that I got over it and I did so quickly. No doubts. And I remain fully confident in my ability to run the marathon. I'm going to do this thing.
The net-net of that 12 mile run was that I had run it hard (on purpose - I wanted to test my ability to keep a certain pace) and to make matters worse, my pre-long-run routine was off (I didn't feed myself properly the night before or the morning of and I don't think I properly warmed up). It turns out that when you set out to run for long periods of time, and try to do it faster than normal, the demands on your body are tremendous. I'm clearly still learning about it all.
After that last 12 mile run, I did a rest day and then powered through 3 miles of speed intervals and then a great 4 mile increased tempo run (start slow, finish hard). I'm going to do an easy 10-12 mile run while in FL (the humidity should be fun), and then taper down for the Dex-AnnArbor HM on June 5.
I want to break 2:00 hours so bad, but my realistic goal should perhaps be closer to 2:03. Who would have thought that 3 minutes would be so hard to peel off? That only ~14 seconds per mile... We'll see....
(BTW did I mention that I yanked my hamstring playing golf with Jordan and AnnDee on Mothers Day? That added to my excitement over the last couple of weeks...)
I've discovered that doubt creates a steep hill to climb. And I have also learned that it is something that you have to quash quickly and emphatically, lest it become a cancer that just eats away at you. It's been an interesting couple of weeks.
I've ramped up my miles in prep for the Dexter Ann Arbor HM as well as my quest for speed. And that is what did me in - the speed thing.
After completing a recent 12 mile run, my legs were done; I was exhausted. My time was good, actually my best ever for that distance, and I was good for a couple more miles, but I could tell that I was at the end of my endurance. And that was where the doubt hit me. I was seriously doubting that I'd be able to go another 14.2 miles. It really hit me hard.
During the final 3 miles I could feel the lactic acid building in my legs, and I had the strongest urges to just walk. But I didn't stop or slow down - I kept running, fearful of the fact that if I gave in and stopped, I really would NEVER make it through a full marathon. So I didn't dare slow down or stop. In fact I tried (not very well) to go faster. But I didn't stop!
It was while cooling my legs in my ice-cold pool (May in Michigan and I refuse to turn the heater on) that I started worrying and fixating about my physical ability to make it through a full marathon. It was depressing. Was I in over my head? Was I expecting too much? Assuming too much?
The good news is that I got over it and I did so quickly. No doubts. And I remain fully confident in my ability to run the marathon. I'm going to do this thing.
The net-net of that 12 mile run was that I had run it hard (on purpose - I wanted to test my ability to keep a certain pace) and to make matters worse, my pre-long-run routine was off (I didn't feed myself properly the night before or the morning of and I don't think I properly warmed up). It turns out that when you set out to run for long periods of time, and try to do it faster than normal, the demands on your body are tremendous. I'm clearly still learning about it all.
After that last 12 mile run, I did a rest day and then powered through 3 miles of speed intervals and then a great 4 mile increased tempo run (start slow, finish hard). I'm going to do an easy 10-12 mile run while in FL (the humidity should be fun), and then taper down for the Dex-AnnArbor HM on June 5.
I want to break 2:00 hours so bad, but my realistic goal should perhaps be closer to 2:03. Who would have thought that 3 minutes would be so hard to peel off? That only ~14 seconds per mile... We'll see....
(BTW did I mention that I yanked my hamstring playing golf with Jordan and AnnDee on Mothers Day? That added to my excitement over the last couple of weeks...)
Monday, May 2, 2011
A Great 10K !!
I ran a 10K race this weekend finishing 3rd in my 50-54 age group!! Yahoo! I finished in 51:58 at an 8:23 m/m average pace. And once again, I was not surprised to note that there are some serious runners out there: While lining up in the starting area I wind up next to a group of 50-ish guys who were planning on doing a 8:00 m/m pace and offered that I should join them. I’d love to be able to run a sustained period of time at an 8:00 m/m pace, but that was not my day to try. And these guys flew – one, who I later find out is 55+ ran at a blistering 7:02 m/m pace. He was already enjoying coffee and a bagel by the time I came lumbering in almost 9 minutes later. How do these guys get so fast? Are they born that way or did they train to get there?
The really cool part about this 10K is that to me it means that I am just one-more-step closer to realizing the real possibility of achieving a 2 hour target for my upcoming HM and closer to a 4 hour target for my Chicago Marathon. I found a very cool website (www.mcmillanrunning.com) with a predictive calculator that is supposed to be realistically accurate (http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm). Using this site was important because just because I was able to average an 8:23 m/m pace for the 10K, does not translate into being able to do it for 13.1 miles or, tougher yet, for 26.2 miles.
Progress baby, progress.
Little tangent here: While doing a 6 mile jaunt last week I had an interesting observation: During my run I found myself debating whether or not I should be even be doing a 6 mile run just before the 10K race. During the 3 to 4 mile segment I had pretty much convinced myself that I should properly rest my legs for the race and that it was ok to stop after 4 miles. I also noticed that while I debated it, I was beginning to drag and my pace suffered horribly – I went from a 9:00 m/m pace to 10:00. Ultimately I said screw it, I’m doing the 6 miles cause I want to and I like it, and perhaps not so surprisingly, my pace picked up dramatically. I wound up finishing the last two miles at a nice 8:30 pace. I think that the moral of the story here is don’t debate with yourself…. I had made a plan, and I should have just stuck to it without debate.
Meanwhile, back to the 10K: It was a good run and it was aggressive for me. I had tried to plan my pace keeping in mind some of the hills that we would encounter, and so on. I typically start easy and try to finish as hard as I can. As it is, I usually need a mile just to get myself loosened up. Starting at mile 5 there was this long hill that steadily became steeper (the 10K was a circuit course that we ran two loops of, so this was the second time we hit it). Approaching now the second time and with a mile and a bit to go was difficult. I was tired… But amazingly, and I don’t where it came from, but as we hit the steeper part of the hill I just dug deep, stayed on my toes, and I just pushed. I was pretty much done by the time I crested the last part of the hill, but the great, and I do mean great news, is that I bested the other runners that had been running with me, except for this one 17-18 year old kid who could run like a cheetah. He passed me almost like I was standing still and I never saw him again. That boy could run. After a few yards of recovery (where I am sucking oxygen into my body through every possible orifice) I dig deep again and run as hard as I can for the last ½ mile. Overall, including navigating the hills, I managed to average a 7:44 pace for the last 1.2 miles. That was HUGE for me.
I was thrilled to see that I crossed the finish line, by my watch, at 52:00. But I was absolutely ecstatic that the chip timer caught me at 51:58 (sub-52:00 !! ). Maybe there is some hope for this old fart! The next event will be the Dexter-Ann Arbor HM on June 5! I'm hoping to beat the 2hour mark!
The really cool part about this 10K is that to me it means that I am just one-more-step closer to realizing the real possibility of achieving a 2 hour target for my upcoming HM and closer to a 4 hour target for my Chicago Marathon. I found a very cool website (www.mcmillanrunning.com) with a predictive calculator that is supposed to be realistically accurate (http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm). Using this site was important because just because I was able to average an 8:23 m/m pace for the 10K, does not translate into being able to do it for 13.1 miles or, tougher yet, for 26.2 miles.
Progress baby, progress.
Little tangent here: While doing a 6 mile jaunt last week I had an interesting observation: During my run I found myself debating whether or not I should be even be doing a 6 mile run just before the 10K race. During the 3 to 4 mile segment I had pretty much convinced myself that I should properly rest my legs for the race and that it was ok to stop after 4 miles. I also noticed that while I debated it, I was beginning to drag and my pace suffered horribly – I went from a 9:00 m/m pace to 10:00. Ultimately I said screw it, I’m doing the 6 miles cause I want to and I like it, and perhaps not so surprisingly, my pace picked up dramatically. I wound up finishing the last two miles at a nice 8:30 pace. I think that the moral of the story here is don’t debate with yourself…. I had made a plan, and I should have just stuck to it without debate.
Meanwhile, back to the 10K: It was a good run and it was aggressive for me. I had tried to plan my pace keeping in mind some of the hills that we would encounter, and so on. I typically start easy and try to finish as hard as I can. As it is, I usually need a mile just to get myself loosened up. Starting at mile 5 there was this long hill that steadily became steeper (the 10K was a circuit course that we ran two loops of, so this was the second time we hit it). Approaching now the second time and with a mile and a bit to go was difficult. I was tired… But amazingly, and I don’t where it came from, but as we hit the steeper part of the hill I just dug deep, stayed on my toes, and I just pushed. I was pretty much done by the time I crested the last part of the hill, but the great, and I do mean great news, is that I bested the other runners that had been running with me, except for this one 17-18 year old kid who could run like a cheetah. He passed me almost like I was standing still and I never saw him again. That boy could run. After a few yards of recovery (where I am sucking oxygen into my body through every possible orifice) I dig deep again and run as hard as I can for the last ½ mile. Overall, including navigating the hills, I managed to average a 7:44 pace for the last 1.2 miles. That was HUGE for me.
I was thrilled to see that I crossed the finish line, by my watch, at 52:00. But I was absolutely ecstatic that the chip timer caught me at 51:58 (sub-52:00 !! ). Maybe there is some hope for this old fart! The next event will be the Dexter-Ann Arbor HM on June 5! I'm hoping to beat the 2hour mark!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
a great 11 miles
I had a *great* *totally awesome* 10 mile run (that turned into 11 miles cause I was feeling so good)! Plus, I also managed to average a 9:07 m/m pace. This is exhilarating for me because it means that if I could keep it up that pace for another 2 miles (the equivalent of the HM), I would hit my 2hr HM target! What was even better about the run was that I started out doing 9:30 m/m splits in the early miles and then gradually upped the pace to 9:00 m/m splits and ended with at an 8:30 m/m pace. In other words, instead of slowing down as I got tired, I was actually able to pick up the pace a bit.
About 4 miles into my run I sucked down some gel, and even though I had a bit of a hard time getting it down I knew that it would help boost my carbs, and sure enough by the time I got to mile 5 I could feel it beging to take effect. By the time I finished the 11 miles I’m pretty sure that I could have done another 2 miles easily, but my legs were getting pretty tired. Heart rate was steady and strong, and breathing was good. But legs were getting done. This next week will be an easier week, with fewer miles and the Burns Park 10K event (www.burnsparkrun.org). The following week will be another 11 miler.
There is a spot along my route on South Maple where a van hit and killed a cyclist. It was a tragic situation in which both the cyclist and the van were both going in the same direction and the van driver was simply distracted and strayed right into the bike. Someone, I’m presuming the cyclists’ family, has taken a racing bike, painted it white and has chained it to a post near the spot as a memorial. There are always fresh flowers there, but I’ve never seen anyone place them. It touches me every time I run by. I think about that guy and wonder what physical and life goals he was striving to achieve when he met the van.
Most of my runs are on neighborhood streets with little traffic, with the exception of a few that take me down busier two lane roads without a side walk. I always run facing traffic – I don’t want to be surprised by a wayward car or truck like the cyclist was. I wave to all the cars that make an effort to give me a wide berth – I want them to know that I appreciate their consideration. Especially on those roads where traffic is really moving. Every now and then there will be a bone-head that crowds me and I give them a one-finger wave before I dive off into gravel. I hate to go into the gravel or the weeds because I worry about slipping and twisting my ankle. Now that would really piss me off….
Over the last couple of years I have learned so much about running, especially with regards to foot placement and posture… I’ve learned that I need to land on the meaty outside side of each foot – not the heel – and allow my ankle to naturally pronate to the ball of my foot for the push off. Take shorter strides. If I try to stride too big, my heel tends to hit first, effectively slowing me down a tad, and not do my knees any favors. When I try to do bigger strides, my hamstring starts to twinge a warning, so I’m learning not to do that. To go faster, I just take quicker strides.
Another thing I’ve learned has to do with my posture. As I get tired, my body wants to hunch over and gather itself. But when that happens, it makes it harder to breathe, and I’ll get more tired faster. So I’ve learned to run with my head up and chin out. This seems to open the airway in my throat and obviously makes it easier to breath (if you don’t believe me, try it!) The other thing is to “run tall”, i.e. don’t hunch over. This lets my lungs expand fully. But at the same time, don’t run like a stiff stick; I lean into the run a bit, keep my hips forward, so that I am almost falling into each step and my pace is keeping me from falling down.
When going downhill or a downgrade of any kind, I use the negative slope to help me re-charge. I let my hands drop down and make sure that my feet stay under my frame, being careful not to over-stride. I found that I can keep my pace and actually increase it a tad, but the real benefit is the re-charging that I feel in my legs and my body. It’s amazing how it works!
As I start to get tired (which happens of course….), the first thing that I start to check on is my posture. As soon as I fix it, it’s like I’ve gotten a new shot of gas. It’s pretty incredible.
More in a bit –
About 4 miles into my run I sucked down some gel, and even though I had a bit of a hard time getting it down I knew that it would help boost my carbs, and sure enough by the time I got to mile 5 I could feel it beging to take effect. By the time I finished the 11 miles I’m pretty sure that I could have done another 2 miles easily, but my legs were getting pretty tired. Heart rate was steady and strong, and breathing was good. But legs were getting done. This next week will be an easier week, with fewer miles and the Burns Park 10K event (www.burnsparkrun.org). The following week will be another 11 miler.
There is a spot along my route on South Maple where a van hit and killed a cyclist. It was a tragic situation in which both the cyclist and the van were both going in the same direction and the van driver was simply distracted and strayed right into the bike. Someone, I’m presuming the cyclists’ family, has taken a racing bike, painted it white and has chained it to a post near the spot as a memorial. There are always fresh flowers there, but I’ve never seen anyone place them. It touches me every time I run by. I think about that guy and wonder what physical and life goals he was striving to achieve when he met the van.
Most of my runs are on neighborhood streets with little traffic, with the exception of a few that take me down busier two lane roads without a side walk. I always run facing traffic – I don’t want to be surprised by a wayward car or truck like the cyclist was. I wave to all the cars that make an effort to give me a wide berth – I want them to know that I appreciate their consideration. Especially on those roads where traffic is really moving. Every now and then there will be a bone-head that crowds me and I give them a one-finger wave before I dive off into gravel. I hate to go into the gravel or the weeds because I worry about slipping and twisting my ankle. Now that would really piss me off….
Over the last couple of years I have learned so much about running, especially with regards to foot placement and posture… I’ve learned that I need to land on the meaty outside side of each foot – not the heel – and allow my ankle to naturally pronate to the ball of my foot for the push off. Take shorter strides. If I try to stride too big, my heel tends to hit first, effectively slowing me down a tad, and not do my knees any favors. When I try to do bigger strides, my hamstring starts to twinge a warning, so I’m learning not to do that. To go faster, I just take quicker strides.
Another thing I’ve learned has to do with my posture. As I get tired, my body wants to hunch over and gather itself. But when that happens, it makes it harder to breathe, and I’ll get more tired faster. So I’ve learned to run with my head up and chin out. This seems to open the airway in my throat and obviously makes it easier to breath (if you don’t believe me, try it!) The other thing is to “run tall”, i.e. don’t hunch over. This lets my lungs expand fully. But at the same time, don’t run like a stiff stick; I lean into the run a bit, keep my hips forward, so that I am almost falling into each step and my pace is keeping me from falling down.
When going downhill or a downgrade of any kind, I use the negative slope to help me re-charge. I let my hands drop down and make sure that my feet stay under my frame, being careful not to over-stride. I found that I can keep my pace and actually increase it a tad, but the real benefit is the re-charging that I feel in my legs and my body. It’s amazing how it works!
As I start to get tired (which happens of course….), the first thing that I start to check on is my posture. As soon as I fix it, it’s like I’ve gotten a new shot of gas. It’s pretty incredible.
More in a bit –
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