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…
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)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
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!
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