Training hard and low (or long) and slow

I've always felt that if you train hard you get tougher, build endurance, and ideally get faster. But training hard has its drawbacks, particularly as I get older. That and the fact that it requires dedicated time, something that I don't always have (who does? except for those professional athletes of course...). And training hard also flies in the face of the long slow run, which also has its merits. And I struggle with it so.

More often than not, I want to go out there and run hard and literally beat myself up to the point of exhaustion, but I know that that can be unproductive. Whenever I do that, it feels good at the time, and then I'm in pain (recovering) afterwards - and I know that I'm not alone in this. I wind up stiff and crickety and my joints might hurt and I'll feel like I've been in a wreck - but it felt so good at the time...

Conversely, when I force myself, and I do mean force, to run low and slow - like a 10 minute per mile pace - I know that this is actually better for me, although I don't always feel like it is. I know that it is aerobic, that I'm burning more fat cells, and it's way easier on my joints and muscles. And when I'm done with my run it is a good, relaxed, tired feeling.

So obviously the trick is to mix it up - run hard (but not so hard that I am having to spend a day (or days) recovering, but also run low and slow. I know that the the "hard" run will help me build speed and a level of endurance, and the "low and slow" run will help me build endurance and aerobic health. My challenge is that I want to run "hard" every run and it is only during the run that I decide if it will be a "hard" run or a "low and slow" run. It ain't right, but it is how it is - and usually I manage to mix things up enough that I'm able to maintain a reasonable level of fitness.

I could be better if I followed a dedicated training schedule, but c'mon.... seriously? I'm running for fun and because it feels good and it should be reasonably spontaneous. I'm never going to win a race and I'm not likely to even place - I'm just running for me. Although it would be fun to win!

Next event: Clearwater HM, Jan 19, 2014

the will to persevere

I've become acutely aware of the "will to persevere" - I'm sure that I was already aware of it, but I recently read or heard (don't remember which) the phrase in the context of someones description of overcoming a medical condition (I wish that I could remember the source so that I can give credit where credit is due....), but it struck me so true.

The context of the phrase had to do with someone battling a difficult medical condition - it was painful, debilitating, annoying, and life changing. This patient was determined to find a solution. His doctor stated that "he has the will to persevere" through difficult treatments and that in of itself increased his chances of a positive result.

When we train for distance events we put ourselves through long hours and miles and miles - and it takes a tremendous amount of perseverance to keep doing it, to keep to the training program, to not miss a day (or at least miss as few as possible). Obviously, without doing the time and the miles, the opportunity for success in a long distance running event reduces dramatically. And as difficult as it can be sometimes, when you are chugging through the long runs and you are tired and possibly hurting, you have to have that "will".

It's not "hope" and it's not "wishing". I never hope or wish that I could cross the finish line. For me it is a foregone conclusion: I WILL cross that finish line - what is up for debate is how long it will take me and how I will deal with the difficulties that I am likely to encounter along the way (as in my recent Marine Corp Marathon run). The quote in the caption to the right is from Winston Churchill. So true.

But then I noticed it in other areas, like work related projects or personal events - the task may be arduous and perhaps not mentally demanding or stimulating, yet it is something that has to get done - without the will to continue and persevere it won't get done.

I've found it interesting that when I'm in a situation like that, that I think about running a marathon: my task is to run as efficiently as possible and when I cross that finish line I'll be done; in the meantime I'm going to keep running. I've applied the same logic to a task that I might be involved with: I'll be done when I finish it; in the meantime concentrate on doing it right so that I don't have to do it again or fix it later....

It seems so easy to quit when things get hard - so easy to just say "screw it, I'm tired, no one cares if I run this thing or not...", but yet we don't. We keep running. The caveat of course is that obviously if there is an injury involved, that is a good time to assess possible real damage to your body - I've bailed on a run when something doesn't feel right - all with the view that I want to be able to run tomorrow and the days after that.

To me the will to persevere is the ability and the strength to press on when I'm tired, to blot out any boredom, and keep my eye on my goal. You've got to have and keep that will.

The post-marathon blues

Right after my Marine Corps Marathon I was anxiously looking for my next event to run. Even though I had a tough marathon, I was wanting to it again and do it better. Anyone who asked me why got the standard reply: "because I know that I can do better".

I found a mid January marathon that runs in Clearwater, FL, (link: http://www.clearwaterrunning.com/) and I was thinking that this would be a good one to do, particularly since most of my heavy training was already well under my belt and all I had to do was to maintain my distance running and work on some endurance drills.

But then life and projects and commitments got in the way again. And to some degree, I was tired. With an ongoing project to which I have self-imposed deadlines, it seems to be totally consuming me. Rather than wake up, stretch, and go for a scheduled run of x-miles, now I'm jumping into my project and *maybe going for a run. It's like running (or training) have taken a back seat in my list of priorities. And now I'm really bummed about it.

As in life, running goals and a plan to achieve them are necessary. I find that I need a goal (a race event actually) in order for me to focus on running. Otherwise, I tend to just run whenever it is convenient to do so or I have nothing else pressing to do.

And I need to change that. I like the trimness that I achieved while training for the MCM and I like the fact that I can eat. Oddly enough, I still have not regained the weight that I lost in the last few weeks prior to the marathon, which just means that my current project (which is pretty physically demanding) is consuming a lot of calories! But still....

The Clearwater Marathon is in mid-January - and unfortunately I've not done the running necessary to make it a reasonable event for me.  They do have a half marathon event, for which I think I can comfortably do. But I need to establish my plan and get out there and train for it, i.e. get my miles in.

Gotta get on it !!!

Marine Corps Marathon - true grit

This was my “true grit” marathon –  I had some problems, I pushed through them, and I finished running up that last hill to the finish line.  I was in pain and severe discomfort for the better part of 12 miles, but I did it. The Marine Corps Marathon. The MCM. This is a medal that I feel very good about earning. And it's a great medal!

The MCM is the 3rd largest marathon in the USA, 8th largest in the world. The event does not shop or marque "elite" runners and there is no prize money. It is a runners marathon.

Something like 30,000 runners signed up and 23,513 crossed the finish line. I don’t know what happened to the 6,487 runners that didn’t finish, but I assume that some didn’t make it to the starting line and some didn’t make the timing cut offs across the 14th St Bridge across the Potomac or the intersection of 14thSt and Madison..  The timing cut off is necessary since they have to open up streets – after all, this is a really busy city and traffic rules!

The Marine Corps Marathon is an AWESOME event and I would love to run it again. Obviously, since it is a Marine Corps event, Marines are omnipresent. There are Marines at the start, on the sidelines , there are Marines running, some with full packs, and of course, Marines at the finish line.  I had Marines bark at me to keep going, encourage and help me when I was struggling, and patch me up afterwards. It was a great experience, even as painful as it was for me. But overall, this is an event steeped in honor for the tradition of the Marines and their service. It was inspiring to me to be there. I felt, I feel, honored to have had the privilege of running it.

This marathon began as they all do, lots of adrenalin and excitement at the beginning with the real event starting after mile 10. The picture to the right is the starting corral area - I'm ambitiously lined up among the 4:10 finishing group, yet I'm so far back that I can barely make out the starting line (the orange/red hoops waaaay past the green highway signs).

As we get going there is the rush of excitement as we run across the Key Bridge and through Georgetown (miles 4 through 6), and then around the edge of the Lincoln Monument. It is all very, very cool and very fun (for now).

Once past the Lincoln Monument I had been running for over an hour - which is fine - after all, I've trained for this, but the race is not even halfway done.

Then we enter a park area that takes us down to the end of Haines Point. Between miles 12 and 13 things become very somber as we ran down to the end of the Point – on the side of the road were placards with pictures of Marines that were killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq, followed (I was told) by family members holding US flags. There were a lot of pictures and a lot of flags. A LOTof flags. It was very quiet as we ran past them, save for a few runners saying “thank you” to the flag holders. It was gut wrenching and emotional. These are the families of Marines that gave their lives to their jobs. How many of us are prepared to do that????

This picture is somewhere between mile 12 and 13. From my own critical perspective everything looks ok except that I seem to be clutching my fists - I'm not as relaxed as I would have wanted to be. Footwork look ok right now, but that will change.... I remember the guy to my right as being a pretty good guy.

My race plan was to stay at a conservative 10m/m pace and then begin to work on reducing my splits after the halfway point. For the first 13 miles I felt like I was running very much within myself and that I was holding myself back. All good. I totally anticipated that by the time I rounded Hains Point at around mile 13 that I could begin to reduce my splits to get closer to the 9m/m times that I’ve been training to. 

Unfortunately I started getting cramps in my left hamstring around mile 14 and then in both legs later. Having some experience with them, I instinctively knew where to rub and how to adjust my stride in order to manage the cramp, but they were persistent and would not go away. The irony of this is that I managed to get through all of my training, including my long, long runs without cramping and I was hopeful that I had figured out how to beat them (a combination of endurance and nutrition). So I was very concerned when the first onset of cramps came on.

It was in the low 40’s when I left the apartment, but the forecast called for mid-50’s around mid-day. A perfect day for running. I figured that we would be in the high 40’s at the start, so I opted to run in short running shorts and a couple of thin upper layers. For the period before the start I wore some throw-away pants and a sweatshirt which I got rid of just before the gun went off. Overall, I felt great and very comfortable, and anticipated a great day.

Unfortunately, my legs never warmed up. Even thought the temp went up into the low 50’s, I could feel that my legs were cold, cold, cold. And getting tight, tight, tight.  But I did not equate that tightness with the potential for cramps – I fully expected to them to warm up and loosen up.

Well, that never happened…

Around mile 14.5 I started to get the spasms in my left hamstring. I pulled off to the side right away, worked on it and felt like I had alleviated the issue, and got back into the game. But spasms kept coming back…  I began to realize that it was probably due to my legs being so cold so I started to look around for someone’s discarded pants (runners toss clothes that they don’t want to carry, but usually that happens in the first few miles), but no luck there.  I had a long sleeve shirt with me and I was considering some method of wrapping at least one of my thighs with it, but realized that I probably would not be able to keep it on very well.

Somewhere near the mile 18 marker I was in enough pain that I pulled into an aid station and asked them to tape up my leg.  The Marine medics helped me stretch my leg and applied some kinesio tape and that seemed to help a lot – for a bit. This pic is about a mile after that pit stop and I'm eating the banana that I had been carefully carrying - that is the Capital Building behind me - I felt good - I'm going the distance!!

Unfortunately, by the time I got to the 14th St bridge at mile 21, I was in trouble again.

BTW - throughout all of this, I had a great attitude, chatting with fellow runners, sharing comments with spectators. I've seen some other pics of me at marathonphoto.com taken in areas where I know I was in pain, but I have a smile on my face and I'm chugging on.

Oddly enough as I trotted through mile 20 I remember thinking “holy cow, mile 20 – I only have 6 miles to go!”. And then I hit the bridge…  There was no steep ramp or anything unusual about it – we basically ran in the HOV lane, which consequently is devoid of any sideline supporters (which were awesome by the way), but it was mile 20+, I was tired, in pain, and now both legs were cramping and in spasms. From the waist down I was soooo uncomfortable. My steps were short and quick, my pace down to around 11m/m.  I had gone through all of my change of stride tricks to help stretch out my muscles, but at this point there was no helping them anymore.  

I realized as I hit the bridge that I was going to have to grind this out like I never have before. For inspiration, I just looked across the river to Arlington Cemetery and remembered the gang of 4 Marines that I saw earlier trudging along with their full packs. If they can do it, I can do it. (granted, I'm easily 30 years older than they were..... but still)

I realized that this, the distance between where I was at the beginning of that bridge and the finish line, was the deep dark chasm that I-must-cross. I never once thought about stopping and hitching a ride to the finish line. It never crossed my mind. The only thing that worried me was how long it would take me. And naturally I thought “if I run, I’ll be done sooner….”, a familiar refrain of mine. But I was quickly getting to the point where I couldn’t run, and that was scaring the shit out of me. 

Around mid-bridge I finally had to walk, but oddly enough I was able to power walk. It was painful to run, but damn, I could power walk...!  I had plenty of stamina and endurance; I was just having a very difficult time running. I found that I was actually passing people who were “running”. 

At one point as I trudged across the bridge, alternating between power walking and jogging, I noted to a fellow struggling runner that this looked like our “bridge too far”; there were many, many runners up against the road side not running at all, or walking very slowly, or leaning again the road-side barriers for support, and all of us seemed to be fighting our own personal battle to get off this bridge. It was a sorry sight, yet inspirational in a  "I-will-get-off-this-bridge" kind of way.  What was also weird for me was the recurring thought "weren't these people ahead of me before???" 

The next gut-check moment came after we cleared out of Crystal City, which by the way, was a very welcome oasis of support after getting off the bridge.  I am certain that spectators looked at us as if we were zombies stumbling through their streets, but they did their best to amp us up. There was a group of spectators handing out cups of beer and tequila shots (not a good idea) – I have a feeling that most of it was being consumed by the volunteers!

But as soon as we left Crystal City and wound our way around the Pentagon it was as if we hit the desert again; devoid of spectators save for security guys and an occasional Marine shouting encouragement. We had two hard miles to go. You can tell from this picture that I am not doing well (I am on the far right). I am landing on my heels because I can't get my foot out in front of me. Interestingly enough, as uncomfortable as I was, I was passing the other runners in this picture... crazy, eh?

I continued to alternate between power walking and jogging and at one point was with a woman who was threatening to throw up at any moment (she didn’t) – I stayed with her for a while and kept engaging with her, hopefully to help her get her mind off of her own discomfort – and it kind of helped me too. For what it's worth, she recovered and scooted ahead of me, leaving me in her dust... 

At mile 25 I was a mess of pain from the waist down. Everything hurt: my quads, hams, knees, feet, ankles, calves - everything.  Plus, I was so tense from dealing with the discomfort that my entire torso was tight.  One mile and one hill to go and I continued to alternate between power walking and jogging, jogging more so that I could be done quicker. At this point I am concentrating so much on the mechanics of running that I have tuned everything else out. I am literally concentrating on surviving and running as efficiently as possible. I am in so much pain that I am numb.

Just before mile 26 the crowds were back. I hooked up with a guy (you can just see his elbow ahead of me) who seemed to have the same level of determination as mine. We looked at each other and we both said “we’re going to take that hill”. At the mile 26 marker I knew that I was there - the feeling is so powerful -  it is impossible to describe. It's mile 26 - 2 tenths of a mile to go. Just 2 tenths. C'mon baby, c'mon....

The final approach to the finish line is a slightly curved uphill grade lined with Marines and there is no way that I was not going to run up that hill to the finish line. No way. I totally put aside  my pain and discomfort and I ran that last 2/10 of a mile as hard I could, all the while saying “c’mon baby, c’mon…” with the Marines yelling and cheering for all of us to get up that hill all the while.

The emotions upon crossing that finish line is nothing short of incredible - It is totally indescribable - you have to run a marathon to appreciate it.  I wish that I could describe it. It is so, so powerful, the emotions are so huge.

As I stumble down the finishers area, I wind up in front of a Marine Captain who places my medal around my neck, steps back and salutes me – salutes me!? – and I’m thinking that whatever I just went through pales in comparison to anything that he and his compatriots have done. While shuffling down the finishers area there is another line of Marines  who are giving their congrats to the runners and all I could say was no, this is really all them, not me at all.

After getting water, a few necessary pictures with Marines and so on, I was in enough discomfort that I took myself to a med tent and let a Marine Physical Therapist help me out.  He and a female colleague worked on me, fed me salty chicken soup, and basically did what they could to alleviate my discomfort. I was soooo uncomfortable. Now that I was no longer moving my muscles were just cramping hard. I am in spasms and it was so painful…  but the good news is that they pass, life goes on, and I am good now.  I was able to walk around the finish area a bit, rescued my bag from the UPS truck bag check, put on some warmer clothes (I was freezing – a typical post long run thing…), found the Metro and went home, stopping by for 3 double cheeseburgers on the way. A reward for a tough day.

BTW, these pics with the marines were taken before I got to the med tent and belie the discomfort that I am in... You can't tell that I can barely walk, yet I am soooo thrilled for having completed the run that I am jumping up and down inside. I pushed my sorry ass through the miles and crossed the finish line. 

My finishing time was 4:57:40 – way beyond my 4:20 goal.  In my gender/age group I finished 396^th out of 715, and 14,672 out of 23,513 finishers.  The guy that won did so in 2:21 (a 5:23m/m pace). The last person finishing did so in 7:22, a 36 year old woman, who persevered and FINISHED. I wound up averaging an 11:21 m/m pace. Not athletic material, but respectable enough given my circumstances.

Today, the day after, I’m a little stiff, but not too bad; my left knee is a bit sore, but all in all I am good. I will walk with Reece a good 2-3, maybe 4 miles, and then tomorrow do a very easy 2-3 mile run.

It was a great experience.  It was not what I would call a “good marathon”, but it was a marathon that grew me. Without a doubt this marathon has changed my life. I was not going to quit.I dug deep and I found that I had the grit to complete it.

(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 as a browser, 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.)

One and a wake up - MCM

It's down to today and a wake up, assuming that I can get to sleep. 3AM wake up call so that I can start going through my pre-run process and out the door by 4:40. I wish that I was one of those that could just wake up and run - that would be nice.

I got my bib yesterday in anticipation that the crowds today would be nuts. As it was, there were ton's of people and long lines (I hate lines) and naturally I got into the wrong one first. I did suffer myself through an extra line just so that I could get access to the Books VIP toilets - but I suspect that it will be worth it given the press of people in the starting area needing to take a pre-start wizz.

To help loosen myself up a bit I did 2 miles this morning, all the while wishing that I was doing more. In a weird way I feel like a penned up pony (if only I could run like one!).

As I've trained for the MCM I've become acutely aware how easily it would be for running, something that I've pretty much taken for granted, to be taken away from me. A little twist, a small mistep, a minor misjudgement, and suddenly I could be hobbling and unable to run for several days or more. So as a consequence, I savor the opportunity to run this event tomorrow and I hope to do it proud. I hope that I can run up that last hill with strength and dignity. I hope.

Tomorrow's sunrise is at 7:30, starting gun at 7:55, and I should cross the starting grid by 8:10. I can't wait. A little more than 17 hours to go.

3 days and a wake up

Three days and a wake up… I'm going to run it.
October 27, 2013.
The MCM – the Marine Corp Marathon.

I am jazzed, I am excited, and I am pumped. I am thrilled to have the opportunity and the privilege to run this event.

And I am more than a little nervous. I am ready, but its a long way and anything can happen.

I am confident, but not that confident. I have trained as much as I can, I have run hills, intervals, long runs, worked muscle groups, stretched, massaged, and I’ve seen my chiropractor regularly. I am as ready as I’m going to be.

My FL project pushed my training sideways some, but hopefully not so much as it would make a difference.  My experience with Chicago (2011 and my only other marathon) has taught me that my training will get me through the miles. I feel strong, and most importantly nothing hurts, nothing feels out of sorts (which is very amazing considering the work that I’ve been doing). I have even lost 5 pounds doing this work over the last 3-4 weeks, but I think that is a good thing.

Among the things that I am fretting about is how to dress for the day…  It will be cold (maybe high 30’s? or low 40’s?) between the time that I get off the Metro and the sun rises, and then it should warm up to the low 50’s.  I love running in the high 40’s and low 50’s, so that part is good. But the trick is making it through the couple of hours before the start without becoming a popsicle. I know that I’m going to have to wear stuff that I will ditch at the start of the race, but the big decisions are what to take to ditch.

Another thing that I’m fretting about is the 14^th St Bridge crossing between miles 20 and 21 – I am told that this can a tough point, possible more so with wind.  I have also heard that the jaunt through Crystal City and then up to the Pentagon can be a drag, which sucks since those will be the toughest miles.

But oddly enough, I already know that on marathon day I will not think about any of those things or any others, and I will simply relish the day, the people, the run, and the opportunity to have been able to participate.

Yes, I would love to do spectacularly well from a timing perspective, but I will be thrilled to post any kind of a  respectable time. My immediate goal is to finish the race. I joke with people about “crossing the finish line vertical and preferably running”, but my serious goal is to finish with anything better than a 4:20hr posting. Making my stretch goal here will depend on the day, energy levels, how things are going, etc., etc.  If I hit it, or even come remotely close to it I will be over the moon with excitement.

I have a race plan and a nutrition plan. I hope that I remember it while I’m running (I sort of lost track of things during Chicago….).  I will start with the 10m/m group and depending on how I’m feeling, start working on decreasing my splits.  26.2 miles is a long way and there are plenty of miles to do things.  Nutritionally, I am planning on doing my banana thing: I’ll eat a banana prior to the start, another at mile 4 and the second one at mile 12. I’ll do GU at miles 8, 16, and 20. I’ll have an extra GU in event that I can/should suck one down between 20 and 25 – it all depends on what my stomach will handle at that point. I will also hit every water station and take down at least 4oz of fluid.

Like I said – I am as ready as I can get. Three days and a wake up.  I can’t wait.

training interrupted (by life...) but I still got 17 miles in

When there are 4 weeks to go prior to a marathon I'm not one to want to make any serious changes or deviations from my training plan. But unfortunately life happens, deviations take place, and somehow or another I'll compensate, recover, and do well.

With 4 weeks to go to the marathon I've gotten myself involved in a project that has totally inhaled my time. Last week I managed to squeeze in 13 miles, but the week before was a paltry 3 miles, and I felt guilty doing those 3. The only upside is that the project involves a heavy measure of physical exercise, so I had been calling it "cross-training" - except that it didn't help me today.

Today, after not being able to get my last long run in a week ago, and before tapering for the MCM, I got in 17 miles. I wanted to do 20, but the humidity was too much, and more importantly, boy did I feel the effects of not running. The last long run of any significance was 19 days prior, not counting a 6 miler that I got in 3 days ago. My endurance levels seemed to be ok, but my legs were not there. And I'm guessing that it is because they had been on vacation for too long. With 18 days to go, I am going to have to adapt my taper to make sure that my legs don't forget how to run without negating the positive effects of the tapering period.

My point here is that I'm very surprised by how much not keeping up with a 20-30 mile per week routine affected me today. I realize that everybody is different and I am sure that some people, probably most people, are not affected by a gap in their running schedule. But clearly, I am. What I've learned is that I will loose what little edge I have if I am not constantly on top of it.

The 17 miles that I did, albeit in the very, very high humidity of FL, have totally drained my legs. They feel soooo done. I'm going to force myself to do at least a 2 mile run/walk tomorrow, and then step into my regular taper prior to the marathon.

Quick aside:  I did my run with bananas and a single gu. I strapped the bananas to my waist belt with velcro cable ties, ate one at mile 4 and the other at mile 12, sucking down the gu at mile 8.  Awesome.

I'm jazzed and excited. 18 days to go !