I know that I haven't written a lot recently. Partly because blogging hasn't brought me as much enjoyment recently as it did when I first started. I think that it's in part due to the lack of interaction with other runners. That interaction was what I was really hoping to accomplish by starting this blog in the first place. These days, it's become more of a convenient way for me to log my races, times, and PRs - and analyze them to death... The other reason that I haven't written, is because I got injured, and was really bummed out because the injury occurred during the peak week of my marathon training. In other words, I never got that 22 miler in, and I barely ran at all during the last 3 weeks prior to the marathon. Onto other things...
The Empire State Marathon:
I'll try to include everything that I'm always searching for when I'm scoping out a race - in the off chance that someone finds this page looking for information to help them with a race day strategy, or simply to help them decide whether he/she wants to choose to register for this race, or perhaps pass it up for a different one.
The Expo:
Nothing special. Small, and not a whole lot to look at or purchase. I came to the expo thinking that I would likely leave with a new pair of running shoes, but only one vendor had shoes, and they were all the same brand (yes, I know - the vendor was THAT brand - New Balance?). If the expo doesn't grow for future years, plan on only spending about 10-15 minutes at the expo. I was disappointed that Fleet Feet didn't have any merchandise on hand.
The Vitals:
There were 522 marathon finishers. I don't know how many were registered and/or DNF. The fastest time was 2:39 and the slowest was 7:06. The temps were in the high 30s when we started, and were somewhere in the mid 40s when we finished. The skies were clear, despite the threat of rain in the weather report the night before. Oh, and it was windy - so waiting around before the gun was a tad uncomfortable.
The Race Logistics:
We did not have any trouble getting to where we needed to in order to park. The cluster of hotels was roughly 5 minutes from the stadium parking lot. There was a slight back up getting into the lot itself, but it wasn't too bad. I would imagine that it may have become quite more difficult 15 or 20 minutes after we arrived, as the bulk of the runners were doing the half, which started 30 minutes after the marathon. So, although I'm not entirely sure, I would imagine that getting there no later than 6:45 was the right move. The volunteers were great, the aid stations were plentiful and well placed - and the port-o-potties along the race course seemed to be equally plentiful and not too crowded. Many of them actually looked unoccupied. Their energy drink of choice (I assume that they were a sponsor) was horrible. I've never had "Accelerade" before, and I'll never (hopefully) have to have it again. YUCK!
I'll be back to write more...
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Over-training?
Prologue
Okay - so I'll lay it out on the line - I amped up my paces/speedwork starting in June/July, and I also committed to a fall marathon. I had been running 30-35 miles a week, and thought I could jump right into week 5 of a marathon training plan. Turns out that the mileage was ok for jumping in (I was actually a little bit ahead), but now that my long runs have increased past where I was, I think that I didn't ramp down the speed work soon enough. That being said, after naming my blog what I named it, I am now (for the first time) going to talk about my obsession with thinking about injuries. First, however, I must share this photo.
Randomness
This is a route that I have a love/hate relationship with. Even though you can't really tell from the poor pic, the road climbs gradually forever (over about 2 miles from here to the top - which on a clear day you can see). In this photo, you can't really see the top - in part due to the overcast weather, and in part due to the crappy camera I took the photo on. I clocked the ascent at approximately a 100 ft elevation climb - which starts at the little dip that you can see (where the double yellow changes direction). I would have taken the photo from the lowest point, but the rainbow was better from here.
Injuries
Ok, so back to my crazy thoughts. I should have cut out the speed work altogether, instead of merging the marathon plan in while continuing the speed work. I feel like my body is on the verge of one huge breakdown. Basically, everything from my hips down are giving me indicators that my body can't keep up with my workouts. I'll start from the toes and work my way up.
Feet
Ok, so this has been an ongoing issue from long before any signs of over training began. I seem to have symptoms of Metatarsalgia depending on the type of run I do, and/or what socks I wear, or how I tie my shoes. Yes - I've played with all of these factors to try to eliminate this. For those of you unfamiliar, it feels like you're running with a pebble in your shoe, generally somewhere around the ball of the foot. For me it strikes between the Big and second toes. I sometimes get numbness in my toes, but always get pain (when it flares up). In the past, it's been bad when I get a new pair or running shoes, regardless of brand (yes, I am currently alternating/running in 4 different types). So my thought about the shoe being the factor is out the window. I have experimented with how tight I lace up, and where I put the most tension, etc. and this does make a difference, but at the expense of blisters. If I leave the shoe laces really loose (especially in the forefoot and toe areas), this generally fixes the problem, but then I get blisters in the areas that I would typically get the pain - if I lace up tighter. I've recently started experimenting with different socks - and this seems to help, but I need to buy more so that I can try them on more runs, before I view this as a permanent fix. I now have a calloused ridge that starts between the two toes, and ends just south of the ball of the foot. Yes it's on both feet. The issue does, however, seem to be more problematic on my left foot these days.
More Feet
The other day I started to feel discomfort on the bottom of my feet while running. Having dealt with Plantar Fasciitis in the past, I started to worry if this was an early indicator that this was creeping up. Since that run, I haven't noticed it again. I hope it was a fluke.
Achilles
Oh my dreaded Insertional Achilles Tendinitis. I dealt with this for the bulk of my Philly Marathon training. I had trained for weeks not realizing that the stiffness in the back of my heels in the AM was this - until it become more and more painful and climbed higher on my leg - culminating in a searing pain that would not cease on an easy 4 miler. Yes, a trip to the doc ensued. That stiffness is starting to come back...
Calves
I have sore spots along my whole calf on both sides - particularly problem sites are on the outside edge proximal to the knee, on the outside of the ankles, right where the bone meets the muscles (Peroneal tendonitis?), just below the knee (all parts), and where the Achilles ends and the calf begins.
Knees
This is one area that I've been pretty lucky with in the past, but recently after long runs, I have soreness in the ligaments the run on either side of the knee, and I occasionally sense a niggle or two while running in the patella area.
Hamstrings
Although I don't generally have soreness in my hammies, these are usually the first muscle to cramp on me in long runs. I've recently learned that the stiffness I've been feeling feeling at the tops of my calves and behind my knees may actually be hamstring tendinitis.
Quads
They're always sore these days. They generally don't ever feel injured, but they are always sore, and if I rest enough for the soreness to dissipate, they usually feel better at the top first, and the relief gradually moves down, so that just above the knees takes the longest to not feel sore.
IT Bands
This one crept up on me like a sniper in my Philly training. I didn't even realize what it was until after the marathon was over. I remember climbing the only hill in the marathon, and almost dropping to the ground when it hit. I had similar sensations in training leading up to the race, but none like what I felt in the Marathon. I thought for a while that I was done. Lucky for me, there are really no other hills - otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do. Now I know what works for me - good stretching usually keeps it away - but lately it's been stiff and sore (but hasn't bothered me mid-run yet).
Conclusion
So there you have it. I'm finally living up to the name of my blog - I know what's inevitable - I need RICE. BUT I DON'T WANT TO! I'm hoping that a lot of stretching, foam rolling, a sports massage or two, and cutting down on the speed work (but keeping the mileage), will bring me back to a point where I'm not feeling sore all of the time. I say this even as I think about the 5K race I'm going to do Saturday. Speaking of races...
Races and Places
I'm trying to get into the Sackets Harbor 18.12 (yes 18.12 miles), to practice my pacing for the Empire Marathon. I've had a hard time establishing a goal for my 2nd marathon, but I think I had finally settled on a very realistic "A Goal" of sub 3:50, but then the niggles started... I sure hope I don't have to cut days out of my training...
Okay - so I'll lay it out on the line - I amped up my paces/speedwork starting in June/July, and I also committed to a fall marathon. I had been running 30-35 miles a week, and thought I could jump right into week 5 of a marathon training plan. Turns out that the mileage was ok for jumping in (I was actually a little bit ahead), but now that my long runs have increased past where I was, I think that I didn't ramp down the speed work soon enough. That being said, after naming my blog what I named it, I am now (for the first time) going to talk about my obsession with thinking about injuries. First, however, I must share this photo.
Randomness
This is a route that I have a love/hate relationship with. Even though you can't really tell from the poor pic, the road climbs gradually forever (over about 2 miles from here to the top - which on a clear day you can see). In this photo, you can't really see the top - in part due to the overcast weather, and in part due to the crappy camera I took the photo on. I clocked the ascent at approximately a 100 ft elevation climb - which starts at the little dip that you can see (where the double yellow changes direction). I would have taken the photo from the lowest point, but the rainbow was better from here.
Injuries
Ok, so back to my crazy thoughts. I should have cut out the speed work altogether, instead of merging the marathon plan in while continuing the speed work. I feel like my body is on the verge of one huge breakdown. Basically, everything from my hips down are giving me indicators that my body can't keep up with my workouts. I'll start from the toes and work my way up.
Feet
Ok, so this has been an ongoing issue from long before any signs of over training began. I seem to have symptoms of Metatarsalgia depending on the type of run I do, and/or what socks I wear, or how I tie my shoes. Yes - I've played with all of these factors to try to eliminate this. For those of you unfamiliar, it feels like you're running with a pebble in your shoe, generally somewhere around the ball of the foot. For me it strikes between the Big and second toes. I sometimes get numbness in my toes, but always get pain (when it flares up). In the past, it's been bad when I get a new pair or running shoes, regardless of brand (yes, I am currently alternating/running in 4 different types). So my thought about the shoe being the factor is out the window. I have experimented with how tight I lace up, and where I put the most tension, etc. and this does make a difference, but at the expense of blisters. If I leave the shoe laces really loose (especially in the forefoot and toe areas), this generally fixes the problem, but then I get blisters in the areas that I would typically get the pain - if I lace up tighter. I've recently started experimenting with different socks - and this seems to help, but I need to buy more so that I can try them on more runs, before I view this as a permanent fix. I now have a calloused ridge that starts between the two toes, and ends just south of the ball of the foot. Yes it's on both feet. The issue does, however, seem to be more problematic on my left foot these days.
More Feet
The other day I started to feel discomfort on the bottom of my feet while running. Having dealt with Plantar Fasciitis in the past, I started to worry if this was an early indicator that this was creeping up. Since that run, I haven't noticed it again. I hope it was a fluke.
Achilles
Oh my dreaded Insertional Achilles Tendinitis. I dealt with this for the bulk of my Philly Marathon training. I had trained for weeks not realizing that the stiffness in the back of my heels in the AM was this - until it become more and more painful and climbed higher on my leg - culminating in a searing pain that would not cease on an easy 4 miler. Yes, a trip to the doc ensued. That stiffness is starting to come back...
Calves
I have sore spots along my whole calf on both sides - particularly problem sites are on the outside edge proximal to the knee, on the outside of the ankles, right where the bone meets the muscles (Peroneal tendonitis?), just below the knee (all parts), and where the Achilles ends and the calf begins.
Knees
This is one area that I've been pretty lucky with in the past, but recently after long runs, I have soreness in the ligaments the run on either side of the knee, and I occasionally sense a niggle or two while running in the patella area.
Hamstrings
Although I don't generally have soreness in my hammies, these are usually the first muscle to cramp on me in long runs. I've recently learned that the stiffness I've been feeling feeling at the tops of my calves and behind my knees may actually be hamstring tendinitis.
Quads
They're always sore these days. They generally don't ever feel injured, but they are always sore, and if I rest enough for the soreness to dissipate, they usually feel better at the top first, and the relief gradually moves down, so that just above the knees takes the longest to not feel sore.
IT Bands
This one crept up on me like a sniper in my Philly training. I didn't even realize what it was until after the marathon was over. I remember climbing the only hill in the marathon, and almost dropping to the ground when it hit. I had similar sensations in training leading up to the race, but none like what I felt in the Marathon. I thought for a while that I was done. Lucky for me, there are really no other hills - otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do. Now I know what works for me - good stretching usually keeps it away - but lately it's been stiff and sore (but hasn't bothered me mid-run yet).
Conclusion
So there you have it. I'm finally living up to the name of my blog - I know what's inevitable - I need RICE. BUT I DON'T WANT TO! I'm hoping that a lot of stretching, foam rolling, a sports massage or two, and cutting down on the speed work (but keeping the mileage), will bring me back to a point where I'm not feeling sore all of the time. I say this even as I think about the 5K race I'm going to do Saturday. Speaking of races...
Races and Places
I'm trying to get into the Sackets Harbor 18.12 (yes 18.12 miles), to practice my pacing for the Empire Marathon. I've had a hard time establishing a goal for my 2nd marathon, but I think I had finally settled on a very realistic "A Goal" of sub 3:50, but then the niggles started... I sure hope I don't have to cut days out of my training...
Friday, August 9, 2013
Checking In
I know that I haven't written in a while, but I also know that there aren't a lot of people looking here too often. I do realize the most people who come by stumble upon my blog when searching for race specific information or race results (thank you google analytics); so welcome people!
A lot has happened since I last wrote, and I don't expect to get into any great detail in this post. The main purpose of this post is to let you know that I'm still here (sort of), and that I'm still running.
Races
Since my last post in late April, I've run 10 races. Four 5Ks, one 4 Miler, three 10Ks, one 15K, and one 1/2 marathon - to be exact (check out the Annals for specifics). I've been generally happy with my progress. Most of these races have resulted in PRs. It's nice to run a PR and erase it shortly thereafter. At some point in late June or early July, I decided that I should return to the type of training that I've always responded the quickest to: Run hard. For the past two years, I've been focusing a lot on making sure that I do the majority of my runs at easy paces, but even though I've made progress, I've felt like it's taken me longer than I think it should. Since returning to hard workouts, I'm now running races this year with the double stroller at faster times than I ran them last year without a stroller.
Stroller
Speaking of strollers, I recently had the honor of receiving my first ever (and perhaps last) stroller medal. The Run for the River in Clayton, NY has a dedicated stroller division. Although I run with strollers a lot, and although I've run this event 2 times before this year, I have never run it with a stroller before. Based upon last years' stroller winner, I figured I had to run the 10K in less than 50 minutes to take this division. I ran a gun time of 49-flat. The reigning champ, Sarah Yaussi, actually ran slower than the previous year, so I had more cushion than I thought I would. As an aside, I'd love to get in touch with her to share stroller running "stuff." So if you know her, point her this way... Cool enough, like I mentioned earlier, this is one of those events that I actually ran faster than a year ago, even though I ran it with the stroller (and heavier kids) this year, versus running sans stroller last year. I'm extremely anxious to run a 5K soon, without a stroller, to see if I'm finally back to sub 7 minute miles for that distance. Last note on the strollers, our old one died. We had one of those entry level double strollers that was really heavy and made for a casual runner, and as my wife and I took off for a casual run together, a horrid squealing ensued, followed by much friction, and an eventual POP, as the front wheel decided to spring ahead of the rest of the stroller. Luckily, we were only about a quarter a mile away from home. The kids enjoyed being wheeled home in "wheelie" fashion. I was really hoping to get one more summer out of our double stroller, because our daughter is already over the weight limit for most doubles (50+ lbs.). My wife talked me into getting another, even if we only get one summer out it. I opted for the Bob Ironman dualie. I really wanted to get the baby jogger double that accommodates a combined 175ish weight, but they stopped making them. The point is, I don't know how much my improvements in times have to do with having a better performing stroller vs. having a better performing set of lungs and legs. Hence, my eagerness to run a 5K without the stroller to get a comparison... I still tend to think that I'm pretty close with my estimate of losing approximately 1/2 second per mile, per pound pushed (for the 5K).
Upcoming Races
As much as I dread thinking about the "wall" and the pain that ensued in my one and only marathon attempt, I knew somewhere in the back of my mind, that I'd revisit this task. That being said, I had wanted to hit the Marine Corps as a first choice, the Chicago as a second, and the Wineglass as a third. I got into none of the above. As a result, I started looking at other marathons that I might be able to get into, and had narrowed it down to the Kansas City (my sister lives there), the Hambletonian (more of my family lives there), and the Empire State. All of these choices were based upon "what are we going to do with the kids?" Roll ahead... We've registered for the Empire Marathon (for me) and the 1/2 (for my wife). I'm now revisiting week 6 of pretty much the same training program that I did for Philly. The major difference is that I'm trying to tailor all of my training paces to where I'm at, versus last time, when I trained at all of the paces that I thought would get me to where I wanted to be. Other races on the horizon: The Heuvelton 5k, and the Sacket's Harbor 18.12 - weird distance right? I thought it would be a great lead up race to the Empire State Marathon, because 18 miles is exactly where I bonked in Philly in 2011. I'm planning on using this race to see if my anticipated goals for the Empire State are good. Currently, I'm shooting for a sub 3:50 time - I'll let you know if I adjust this goal. There aren't a lot of other races on the horizon - mostly just going to hit local yocal races if/as they pop up. Otherwise, I'm already dreading my 15 miler coming up this weekend. It's kind of funny to me that the long runs seem so much more daunting to me when they are part of a training plan versus when you're just doing them because you feel like doing them.
Races Results for All?
I know, I've been slacking. I'll try to update soon (for the one's I actually have results for). I'm in no rush, because I really don't think many people are actually reading this blog. If you are returning regularly, I'd love to know about it - leave a message - It'll make me feel good.
A lot has happened since I last wrote, and I don't expect to get into any great detail in this post. The main purpose of this post is to let you know that I'm still here (sort of), and that I'm still running.
Races
Since my last post in late April, I've run 10 races. Four 5Ks, one 4 Miler, three 10Ks, one 15K, and one 1/2 marathon - to be exact (check out the Annals for specifics). I've been generally happy with my progress. Most of these races have resulted in PRs. It's nice to run a PR and erase it shortly thereafter. At some point in late June or early July, I decided that I should return to the type of training that I've always responded the quickest to: Run hard. For the past two years, I've been focusing a lot on making sure that I do the majority of my runs at easy paces, but even though I've made progress, I've felt like it's taken me longer than I think it should. Since returning to hard workouts, I'm now running races this year with the double stroller at faster times than I ran them last year without a stroller.
Stroller
Speaking of strollers, I recently had the honor of receiving my first ever (and perhaps last) stroller medal. The Run for the River in Clayton, NY has a dedicated stroller division. Although I run with strollers a lot, and although I've run this event 2 times before this year, I have never run it with a stroller before. Based upon last years' stroller winner, I figured I had to run the 10K in less than 50 minutes to take this division. I ran a gun time of 49-flat. The reigning champ, Sarah Yaussi, actually ran slower than the previous year, so I had more cushion than I thought I would. As an aside, I'd love to get in touch with her to share stroller running "stuff." So if you know her, point her this way... Cool enough, like I mentioned earlier, this is one of those events that I actually ran faster than a year ago, even though I ran it with the stroller (and heavier kids) this year, versus running sans stroller last year. I'm extremely anxious to run a 5K soon, without a stroller, to see if I'm finally back to sub 7 minute miles for that distance. Last note on the strollers, our old one died. We had one of those entry level double strollers that was really heavy and made for a casual runner, and as my wife and I took off for a casual run together, a horrid squealing ensued, followed by much friction, and an eventual POP, as the front wheel decided to spring ahead of the rest of the stroller. Luckily, we were only about a quarter a mile away from home. The kids enjoyed being wheeled home in "wheelie" fashion. I was really hoping to get one more summer out of our double stroller, because our daughter is already over the weight limit for most doubles (50+ lbs.). My wife talked me into getting another, even if we only get one summer out it. I opted for the Bob Ironman dualie. I really wanted to get the baby jogger double that accommodates a combined 175ish weight, but they stopped making them. The point is, I don't know how much my improvements in times have to do with having a better performing stroller vs. having a better performing set of lungs and legs. Hence, my eagerness to run a 5K without the stroller to get a comparison... I still tend to think that I'm pretty close with my estimate of losing approximately 1/2 second per mile, per pound pushed (for the 5K).
Upcoming Races
As much as I dread thinking about the "wall" and the pain that ensued in my one and only marathon attempt, I knew somewhere in the back of my mind, that I'd revisit this task. That being said, I had wanted to hit the Marine Corps as a first choice, the Chicago as a second, and the Wineglass as a third. I got into none of the above. As a result, I started looking at other marathons that I might be able to get into, and had narrowed it down to the Kansas City (my sister lives there), the Hambletonian (more of my family lives there), and the Empire State. All of these choices were based upon "what are we going to do with the kids?" Roll ahead... We've registered for the Empire Marathon (for me) and the 1/2 (for my wife). I'm now revisiting week 6 of pretty much the same training program that I did for Philly. The major difference is that I'm trying to tailor all of my training paces to where I'm at, versus last time, when I trained at all of the paces that I thought would get me to where I wanted to be. Other races on the horizon: The Heuvelton 5k, and the Sacket's Harbor 18.12 - weird distance right? I thought it would be a great lead up race to the Empire State Marathon, because 18 miles is exactly where I bonked in Philly in 2011. I'm planning on using this race to see if my anticipated goals for the Empire State are good. Currently, I'm shooting for a sub 3:50 time - I'll let you know if I adjust this goal. There aren't a lot of other races on the horizon - mostly just going to hit local yocal races if/as they pop up. Otherwise, I'm already dreading my 15 miler coming up this weekend. It's kind of funny to me that the long runs seem so much more daunting to me when they are part of a training plan versus when you're just doing them because you feel like doing them.
Races Results for All?
I know, I've been slacking. I'll try to update soon (for the one's I actually have results for). I'm in no rush, because I really don't think many people are actually reading this blog. If you are returning regularly, I'd love to know about it - leave a message - It'll make me feel good.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Absent but not Gone.
It's funny because when I started to type the title of this post, I was thinking about running. About how I've been absent from this blog, but that I haven't been gone from running. In other words, I'm still running. The funny thing is as I was typing the title, I realized that it meant more than just that.
Those of you who know me, know that I really don't like airing my personal business, so I feel conflicted even as I write now. Then again, those of you who know me, will know what I mean, so I'll stop myself from blabbering further. C,WMYD. TANWTEHWF.
Onto running...
I had a short lapse - nothing major. I missed a day or two here and there, but nothing too serious. One week saw me only go out for 4 or so miles, but all of the other weeks between this post and my last had me logging anywhere between 25 and 30 miles. I haven't been running hard though - just easy paced stuff. I added some speedwork this week, and I felt it on my long run today. My calves were so tired and sore, I just didn't feel like running - so I dogged the pace for 9... On a bright note, I fixed the rattling noise on the front wheel of the double stroller - so the run was at least much more pleasant from a noise standpoint.
I did add 6 400x200 intervals on Thursday of this week, followed by a semi-5k effort in an event on Saturday - so perhaps that's why I wasn't feeling it today (Sunday). I wouldn't have done the intervals if I knew that I was going to run the 5K on Saturday. Anywho - the race I did was the Glory in Our Hearts 5K Walk/Run to Remember. I didn't know Glory, and I refrained from asking anyone about her demise at the event - I didn't want to upset anyone. It was a good event. A positive vibe, her family and friends were great and put on a nice event. I'm not crazy about the course (it's the same basic start/finish that the Massena 1/2 has), but maybe this is because I've only run it with the double stroller. It's a counter intuitive course for any stroller. It forces you to go too fast too soon (downhill start), and saddles you with having to go uphill for the last quarter mile. I know some people have never run with a jogging stroller, and I know that some people have only done so sparringly. Please let me just tell you that it's not too bad when your kids are small, but now that my kids are roughly 80 lbs combined (plus whatever the stroller weighs), you definitely feel the uphills. I never did when it was just my daughter. Even when I had our son, and they were both smaller - no big deal. That's not the case anymore. Uphill sucks!
I started doing some math, and I'd love for those of you with strollers to test the theory, but I think that you lose roughly a 1/2 second per mile for every pound that you push. I base this on an estimate that the combined weight of my kids and the stroller last summer was about 90 lbs., and I seemed to lose about 45 seconds per mile at a 5K effort. Please test and let me know your results.
Anyway - long time no post. One of these days I'll post the rest of my story, plus I'll try to update race results for all. I've been thinking about starting to post notices about upcoming races too - just because northernrunner.org appears to be abandoned. Let me know if you think that any of these ideas are worthwhile.
Oh shoot - before I forget - the Glory in our Hearts Run - I'll try to post a dedicated recap at some point soon. I'm starting to think about fall marathons - anyone ever done the Wineglass? It's on my radar, but I'd love other suggestions.
I have a lot that I want to catch up on, but in the meantime, let's all be BOSTON STRONG.
Those of you who know me, know that I really don't like airing my personal business, so I feel conflicted even as I write now. Then again, those of you who know me, will know what I mean, so I'll stop myself from blabbering further. C,WMYD. TANWTEHWF.
Onto running...
I had a short lapse - nothing major. I missed a day or two here and there, but nothing too serious. One week saw me only go out for 4 or so miles, but all of the other weeks between this post and my last had me logging anywhere between 25 and 30 miles. I haven't been running hard though - just easy paced stuff. I added some speedwork this week, and I felt it on my long run today. My calves were so tired and sore, I just didn't feel like running - so I dogged the pace for 9... On a bright note, I fixed the rattling noise on the front wheel of the double stroller - so the run was at least much more pleasant from a noise standpoint.
I did add 6 400x200 intervals on Thursday of this week, followed by a semi-5k effort in an event on Saturday - so perhaps that's why I wasn't feeling it today (Sunday). I wouldn't have done the intervals if I knew that I was going to run the 5K on Saturday. Anywho - the race I did was the Glory in Our Hearts 5K Walk/Run to Remember. I didn't know Glory, and I refrained from asking anyone about her demise at the event - I didn't want to upset anyone. It was a good event. A positive vibe, her family and friends were great and put on a nice event. I'm not crazy about the course (it's the same basic start/finish that the Massena 1/2 has), but maybe this is because I've only run it with the double stroller. It's a counter intuitive course for any stroller. It forces you to go too fast too soon (downhill start), and saddles you with having to go uphill for the last quarter mile. I know some people have never run with a jogging stroller, and I know that some people have only done so sparringly. Please let me just tell you that it's not too bad when your kids are small, but now that my kids are roughly 80 lbs combined (plus whatever the stroller weighs), you definitely feel the uphills. I never did when it was just my daughter. Even when I had our son, and they were both smaller - no big deal. That's not the case anymore. Uphill sucks!
I started doing some math, and I'd love for those of you with strollers to test the theory, but I think that you lose roughly a 1/2 second per mile for every pound that you push. I base this on an estimate that the combined weight of my kids and the stroller last summer was about 90 lbs., and I seemed to lose about 45 seconds per mile at a 5K effort. Please test and let me know your results.
Anyway - long time no post. One of these days I'll post the rest of my story, plus I'll try to update race results for all. I've been thinking about starting to post notices about upcoming races too - just because northernrunner.org appears to be abandoned. Let me know if you think that any of these ideas are worthwhile.
Oh shoot - before I forget - the Glory in our Hearts Run - I'll try to post a dedicated recap at some point soon. I'm starting to think about fall marathons - anyone ever done the Wineglass? It's on my radar, but I'd love other suggestions.
I have a lot that I want to catch up on, but in the meantime, let's all be BOSTON STRONG.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Syracuse Half, Training, and other thoughts....
I've got to break this blog down into segments, because I have many different thoughts running through my head. Perhaps I should have named my blog "Random Thoughts by an Obsessively Running Hypochondriac." Here they are my thoughts:
I Started This Post 5 days Ago:
I just registered for the Syracuse Half Marathon. I'm pretty excited, but nervous in the same breath. I don't know why, because I know that a half isn't a big deal at this point in my running life, but something about actually registering makes me feel more accountable in one way or another.
I ran the last Frozen Foote for the season today with my wife and children. I went out with the intention of just running it to do it, but I am happy with the results. My M.O. has become run the race, but don't look at the Garmin - run by feel - check out the stats later. I planned to run today solely by how I was feeling, and I went into the run thinking that I would go comfortably hard, unless I felt really good. I ran comfortably hard. Amazingly, I felt like this was a huge win for me. Mainly because I didn't feel like I pushed really hard, and yet I logged a time that ended up being within a few seconds of the first race of the series, when I ran with the double stroller and felt like I pushed really hard for the whole race. I guess what I'm saying is that I felt really relaxed and comfortable, even though my time was almost identical to my time in December. My take away is that my training is paying off. I felt like I wasn't pushing really too hard, but I still managed to get a decent stroller time.
This is where I resumed writing tonight:
My Cousin: There isn't too much to say. I just received confirmation from my cousin, and I'm uber psyched to hang out with him and run the Syracuse Half Marathon with him.
Syracuse Half: I've been thinking a lot about this race and my pacing strategy. I've never run a half sans stroller, so I'm a little on the fence about pacing, but I think that I'll aim to start at 8:45's and go based upon feel from there. On a more analytical level, I think that I'll hold back for the first 1.5 (uphill climb), and then take advantage of the big first downhill. After that, settle into a pace for the next 3 or 4 miles (as it's a gradual climb), and then push from there (mostly downhill). I worry about how I'll feel for the one significant climb at approximately mile 10, but at that point I'll hopefully be feeling like it's almost over and perhaps knowing that it's all flat or downhill from there I'll just push at a 5K effort. As much as I'd like to run with my cousin, I'm prepared to let him go early if I feel like I'm pushing too hard too early. My A goal is to break 1:45, my B goal is to break 1:50, my C goal is to break 2:00, and my last ditch goal is to PR in the distance (sub-2:06) - which shouldn't be ridiculous because I ran about a 2:06 with the double stroller last year - when I was running significantly less mileage.
My Training:
I've been pleasantly surprised by my recent training. Although I've been consciously keeping the efforts low for most of my runs, I've noticed that my paces are better than expected. To illustrate, these are the paces from some of my recent training runs.
Monday: 12.94 Miles - I planned on going max 10 miles, but I improvised, and ended up taking a route that took me further. I probably should have stopped after 9.5 (you know that point where your body starts to really feel the mileage of the run), but I was still 3.5 miles from home, so I trudged on... I viewed this run as a peak mileage run before the Syracuse half, and was hoping to feel good to boost my confidence going into the race. I never felt like I was pushing the pace, and my HR actually decreased as I progressed. I did, however, feel very fatigued during the last 3 miles. As a side note, I did not look at the Garmin until after finishing.
Mile 1: 9:39
Mile 2: 9:35
Mile 3: 9:32
Mile 4: 9:33
Mile 5: 9:07
Mile 6: 9:15
Mile 7: 9:24
Mile 8: 9:15
Mile 9: 9:21
Mile 10: 9:51
Mile 11: 10:13 (almost all uphill)
Mile 12: 8:51
Mile 13 8:07
Avg: 9:25
Wednesday: 6.08 Miles
I ran this without looking at the watch (as is my M.O. these days), and just made sure I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. Afterwards, I was surprised by two things: By how slow my first few miles were, and by how much faster my last two were. Here are my splits:
Mile 1: 10:15
Mile 2: 9:57
Mile 3: 9:52
Mile 4: 9:29
Mile 5: 9:18
Mile 6: 9:14
Avg: 9:39
I have no idea where I stand after these runs, but I know that I feel pretty confident, because when I reflect upon my marathon training from back in 2011, I know that I worked to run 10:15 miles, and an equivalent effort to what I am running these days would probably have put me above 11 minute miles.
Based upon these recent training splits, how do you think I'll fare at the Syracuse half? I'd love to hear your predictions and compare them against my actual results.
Marathon Blues: I really want to do a fall marathon. I was hoping to do a spring AND fall this year, but life circumstances are preventing me from doing so. My wife just agreed to commit to the the MCM in the fall, but I'm a little discouraged now that I found out that the race sold out in less than 3 hours last year, and that I have a work presentation just an hour and a half before the registration opens. So, I'm already starting to prepare myself for having to find an alternative fall marathon. I was originally thinking of the Chicago as a fall back, but upon looking into it, I realize I've missed the deadline. Any suggestions for marquee events in the fall?
To BQ or not to BQ: I don't talk much about it these days, but BQing is still always in the back of my mind, and is what I'm always subconsciously striving for. I used to think that 2013 would be a reasonable year to shoot for it, but I'm now thinking that I'm at least another year (or more) away from challenging that goal - thoughts? What do I have to run in a half to think it's reasonable? What is a good 5K or 10K time as a predictor? I don't necessarily believe the Macmillan and Daniels' predictors - I think that in this point in my running life, the longer the distance gets, the more inaccurate those calculations are (if I'm using my 5K times as a predictor).
Race Results for All:
I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been cleaning these up so that they are more easily read. In the past, I've copied and pasted them from other sources, which doesn't always translate into a very easily read format here, but I've been editing and cleaning them to help with this issue. In addition, I've been adding races that I've been able to find results for. I hope you appreciate it. I plan on adding more, so keep checking... As an aside, I've found that these are some of the most highly visited pages in my blog - go figure... I knew it was frustrating to me to be unable to find race results, perhaps the same is true for many runners.
Other Cool Things Related To Running: Some co-workers and I have started a C25K program at our work, which I'm happy to admit is bringing me great joy. I love talking to people about their running, and encouraging them to stay motivated and helping them believe that they can achieve their goals. One of the coolest things is that we're organizing group runs as a result. I ran with one of the other "coordinators" tonight to show her a running path that she can utilize for her group - isn't it always more fun when other people are enthused about running too?
I Started This Post 5 days Ago:
I just registered for the Syracuse Half Marathon. I'm pretty excited, but nervous in the same breath. I don't know why, because I know that a half isn't a big deal at this point in my running life, but something about actually registering makes me feel more accountable in one way or another.
I ran the last Frozen Foote for the season today with my wife and children. I went out with the intention of just running it to do it, but I am happy with the results. My M.O. has become run the race, but don't look at the Garmin - run by feel - check out the stats later. I planned to run today solely by how I was feeling, and I went into the run thinking that I would go comfortably hard, unless I felt really good. I ran comfortably hard. Amazingly, I felt like this was a huge win for me. Mainly because I didn't feel like I pushed really hard, and yet I logged a time that ended up being within a few seconds of the first race of the series, when I ran with the double stroller and felt like I pushed really hard for the whole race. I guess what I'm saying is that I felt really relaxed and comfortable, even though my time was almost identical to my time in December. My take away is that my training is paying off. I felt like I wasn't pushing really too hard, but I still managed to get a decent stroller time.
This is where I resumed writing tonight:
My Cousin: There isn't too much to say. I just received confirmation from my cousin, and I'm uber psyched to hang out with him and run the Syracuse Half Marathon with him.
Syracuse Half: I've been thinking a lot about this race and my pacing strategy. I've never run a half sans stroller, so I'm a little on the fence about pacing, but I think that I'll aim to start at 8:45's and go based upon feel from there. On a more analytical level, I think that I'll hold back for the first 1.5 (uphill climb), and then take advantage of the big first downhill. After that, settle into a pace for the next 3 or 4 miles (as it's a gradual climb), and then push from there (mostly downhill). I worry about how I'll feel for the one significant climb at approximately mile 10, but at that point I'll hopefully be feeling like it's almost over and perhaps knowing that it's all flat or downhill from there I'll just push at a 5K effort. As much as I'd like to run with my cousin, I'm prepared to let him go early if I feel like I'm pushing too hard too early. My A goal is to break 1:45, my B goal is to break 1:50, my C goal is to break 2:00, and my last ditch goal is to PR in the distance (sub-2:06) - which shouldn't be ridiculous because I ran about a 2:06 with the double stroller last year - when I was running significantly less mileage.
My Training:
I've been pleasantly surprised by my recent training. Although I've been consciously keeping the efforts low for most of my runs, I've noticed that my paces are better than expected. To illustrate, these are the paces from some of my recent training runs.
Monday: 12.94 Miles - I planned on going max 10 miles, but I improvised, and ended up taking a route that took me further. I probably should have stopped after 9.5 (you know that point where your body starts to really feel the mileage of the run), but I was still 3.5 miles from home, so I trudged on... I viewed this run as a peak mileage run before the Syracuse half, and was hoping to feel good to boost my confidence going into the race. I never felt like I was pushing the pace, and my HR actually decreased as I progressed. I did, however, feel very fatigued during the last 3 miles. As a side note, I did not look at the Garmin until after finishing.
Mile 1: 9:39
Mile 2: 9:35
Mile 3: 9:32
Mile 4: 9:33
Mile 5: 9:07
Mile 6: 9:15
Mile 7: 9:24
Mile 8: 9:15
Mile 9: 9:21
Mile 10: 9:51
Mile 11: 10:13 (almost all uphill)
Mile 12: 8:51
Mile 13 8:07
Avg: 9:25
Wednesday: 6.08 Miles
I ran this without looking at the watch (as is my M.O. these days), and just made sure I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. Afterwards, I was surprised by two things: By how slow my first few miles were, and by how much faster my last two were. Here are my splits:
Mile 1: 10:15
Mile 2: 9:57
Mile 3: 9:52
Mile 4: 9:29
Mile 5: 9:18
Mile 6: 9:14
Avg: 9:39
I have no idea where I stand after these runs, but I know that I feel pretty confident, because when I reflect upon my marathon training from back in 2011, I know that I worked to run 10:15 miles, and an equivalent effort to what I am running these days would probably have put me above 11 minute miles.
Based upon these recent training splits, how do you think I'll fare at the Syracuse half? I'd love to hear your predictions and compare them against my actual results.
Marathon Blues: I really want to do a fall marathon. I was hoping to do a spring AND fall this year, but life circumstances are preventing me from doing so. My wife just agreed to commit to the the MCM in the fall, but I'm a little discouraged now that I found out that the race sold out in less than 3 hours last year, and that I have a work presentation just an hour and a half before the registration opens. So, I'm already starting to prepare myself for having to find an alternative fall marathon. I was originally thinking of the Chicago as a fall back, but upon looking into it, I realize I've missed the deadline. Any suggestions for marquee events in the fall?
To BQ or not to BQ: I don't talk much about it these days, but BQing is still always in the back of my mind, and is what I'm always subconsciously striving for. I used to think that 2013 would be a reasonable year to shoot for it, but I'm now thinking that I'm at least another year (or more) away from challenging that goal - thoughts? What do I have to run in a half to think it's reasonable? What is a good 5K or 10K time as a predictor? I don't necessarily believe the Macmillan and Daniels' predictors - I think that in this point in my running life, the longer the distance gets, the more inaccurate those calculations are (if I'm using my 5K times as a predictor).
Race Results for All:
I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been cleaning these up so that they are more easily read. In the past, I've copied and pasted them from other sources, which doesn't always translate into a very easily read format here, but I've been editing and cleaning them to help with this issue. In addition, I've been adding races that I've been able to find results for. I hope you appreciate it. I plan on adding more, so keep checking... As an aside, I've found that these are some of the most highly visited pages in my blog - go figure... I knew it was frustrating to me to be unable to find race results, perhaps the same is true for many runners.
Other Cool Things Related To Running: Some co-workers and I have started a C25K program at our work, which I'm happy to admit is bringing me great joy. I love talking to people about their running, and encouraging them to stay motivated and helping them believe that they can achieve their goals. One of the coolest things is that we're organizing group runs as a result. I ran with one of the other "coordinators" tonight to show her a running path that she can utilize for her group - isn't it always more fun when other people are enthused about running too?
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Progression Run and R. Falls Race Recap
I spoke with my cousin this weekend. He's also a "BAR" (Born Again Runner). Except there are some differences between the two of us. For example, he's a natural athlete and I'm not. He ran sub 16 5Ks in High School, I ran sub 18s (Once in a Blue Moon). You get the gist...
Anyway - my point is that we reconnected on running, and I found out that he's already registered for the inaugural Syracuse Half coming up this month. I had been contemplating doing it, but this just seems to be the last piece of motivation I needed. It's not that I have any worries about doing halfs at this point, but more so the logistical part (kids and all - you know). I digress again.
Like I was saying, my point is that I have been excited, because I've been keeping tabs on his races through the good 'ole InterWebz - and I thought that we were pretty close to the same level of running at this point. Anyhow - I found out that he's not really running any of his races at race efforts. Oh well... I guess that I'll have to concede to being that sub 18 guy all over again and letting him be the sub 16 guy (expect add 3 or 4 minutes on there for both of us for good measure).
He told me that he's really seen a vast improvement due to track work - so even though I said I was going to lay off pushing the pace for a month - I cheated today. I attribute this to my cousin - thanks dude!
I ran a short progression run today. I've been very careful about my mileage - so I wanted to make sure that I ran less mileage this past week versus the week before (I'm kind of leapfrogging mileage increases - in order to give my body some more opportunity for recovery after mileage increases). So that limited me to about 4 miles for today. The week before I ran just about 27.3 - that's most weekly mileage I've run since the last phases of my training for the Philly Marathon back in October of 2011. This week I ran 25.7.
Anyway - I decided to make my 4 miles into a progression run - I figured it would give me a nice mix of everything. Turns out that it was fun too!
Mile 1: 9:56
Mile 2: 9:11
Mile 3: 8:36
Mile 4: 7:34
Overall Pace: 8:48/mi
Race Recap:
I need to give a quick race recap for the R. Falls Playground run. Not because I had a great race or anything, but because it was SO WEIRD! I was running with the SS, so I didn't go into the event with the mindset of running hard (unless for some magical reason I felt great as the race unwound - which did not happen). I have also been battling yet another cold (gotta love having kids), so I knew that I'd probably struggle somewhat. I marched right to the back at the starting line. We were off...
Racing:
I passed a group of people within the first quarter mile, but after that - there wasn't too much action. I felt like I ran at a threshold or tempo pace for most of the race, which is okay by me for this one. Sometimes I don't know how hard I'm running, or not running, until I get towards the end and start to pick up the pace. It's often only at that point that I know if have been going to slowly, because I am able to kick too hard. This race was one of those instances...
The Weirdness:
I knew a few of the people that started in front of me, and I watched them gradually pull away from me throughout the race. There are a few quick successive turns at the very end, so I didn't notice them in the final stretches, but after I crossed the finish line, I looked around for them and they were no where to be found. I figured that they went inside - and then... And then they all came across the finish line! What? Apparently they all ran past the last turn. So I felt weird writing my time down (yes this is a small enough event that you write your own time down afterwards), because I knew that they really had beaten me, but my time would indicate otherwise.
More Weirdness:
The timer read off 21:29 (or something close to it, as I crossed the finish line). I didn't realize it until later, but my Garmin read 22:34. What the...? Weird, especially since I always start my Garmin as I cross the start, not when the gun goes off. Turns out that others reported the same phenomenon - Go figure - just a weird outcome all around. I did, however, run a SS PR. Granted, it was shorter than a 5K, but I justified it being a SS PR based upon pace (8:12).
The Fun:
It's a nice low-key event for a good cause. Everyone is friendly.
Feedback:
Make the course 3.1 miles! The roads were snowy, and the bare spots were valuable. Communicate to walkers to kindly move to the side when they hear runners approaching - or start the walkers even earlier!
Anyway - I tried to take pics of the results, but I didn't have my good phone, so they're blurry - Sorry!
Anyway - my point is that we reconnected on running, and I found out that he's already registered for the inaugural Syracuse Half coming up this month. I had been contemplating doing it, but this just seems to be the last piece of motivation I needed. It's not that I have any worries about doing halfs at this point, but more so the logistical part (kids and all - you know). I digress again.
Like I was saying, my point is that I have been excited, because I've been keeping tabs on his races through the good 'ole InterWebz - and I thought that we were pretty close to the same level of running at this point. Anyhow - I found out that he's not really running any of his races at race efforts. Oh well... I guess that I'll have to concede to being that sub 18 guy all over again and letting him be the sub 16 guy (expect add 3 or 4 minutes on there for both of us for good measure).
He told me that he's really seen a vast improvement due to track work - so even though I said I was going to lay off pushing the pace for a month - I cheated today. I attribute this to my cousin - thanks dude!
I ran a short progression run today. I've been very careful about my mileage - so I wanted to make sure that I ran less mileage this past week versus the week before (I'm kind of leapfrogging mileage increases - in order to give my body some more opportunity for recovery after mileage increases). So that limited me to about 4 miles for today. The week before I ran just about 27.3 - that's most weekly mileage I've run since the last phases of my training for the Philly Marathon back in October of 2011. This week I ran 25.7.
Anyway - I decided to make my 4 miles into a progression run - I figured it would give me a nice mix of everything. Turns out that it was fun too!
Mile 1: 9:56
Mile 2: 9:11
Mile 3: 8:36
Mile 4: 7:34
Overall Pace: 8:48/mi
Race Recap:
I need to give a quick race recap for the R. Falls Playground run. Not because I had a great race or anything, but because it was SO WEIRD! I was running with the SS, so I didn't go into the event with the mindset of running hard (unless for some magical reason I felt great as the race unwound - which did not happen). I have also been battling yet another cold (gotta love having kids), so I knew that I'd probably struggle somewhat. I marched right to the back at the starting line. We were off...
Racing:
I passed a group of people within the first quarter mile, but after that - there wasn't too much action. I felt like I ran at a threshold or tempo pace for most of the race, which is okay by me for this one. Sometimes I don't know how hard I'm running, or not running, until I get towards the end and start to pick up the pace. It's often only at that point that I know if have been going to slowly, because I am able to kick too hard. This race was one of those instances...
The Weirdness:
I knew a few of the people that started in front of me, and I watched them gradually pull away from me throughout the race. There are a few quick successive turns at the very end, so I didn't notice them in the final stretches, but after I crossed the finish line, I looked around for them and they were no where to be found. I figured that they went inside - and then... And then they all came across the finish line! What? Apparently they all ran past the last turn. So I felt weird writing my time down (yes this is a small enough event that you write your own time down afterwards), because I knew that they really had beaten me, but my time would indicate otherwise.
More Weirdness:
The timer read off 21:29 (or something close to it, as I crossed the finish line). I didn't realize it until later, but my Garmin read 22:34. What the...? Weird, especially since I always start my Garmin as I cross the start, not when the gun goes off. Turns out that others reported the same phenomenon - Go figure - just a weird outcome all around. I did, however, run a SS PR. Granted, it was shorter than a 5K, but I justified it being a SS PR based upon pace (8:12).
The Fun:
It's a nice low-key event for a good cause. Everyone is friendly.
Feedback:
Make the course 3.1 miles! The roads were snowy, and the bare spots were valuable. Communicate to walkers to kindly move to the side when they hear runners approaching - or start the walkers even earlier!
Anyway - I tried to take pics of the results, but I didn't have my good phone, so they're blurry - Sorry!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
I'm an Idiot
I've been trying out SportTracks as an alternative to the Garmin Training Center Software, and I'm not completely sold on it yet (perhaps it's because I'm not familiar enough with it's functionality, layout, and feel), but one of the features that I've stumbled across is the graphing of mileage (by day, week, month, etc...).
After I started looking at my mileage by month - I realized what an Idiot I really am. You be the judge - check this out - see if you can tell what I mean...
Got it? In case you missed it, the graph starts in June of 2011 (I bought my Garmin then). I started running again in April of the same year after having been a coach potato for about 8-9 years. No friggin' wonder why I was always dealing with some sort of nagging injury! Granted, the graphs for 2011 are incomplete, because I interspersed treadmill running in there (which was not captured), but COME ON! I deserved to get injured.
In hindsight, I feel lucky that I even made it to the Philly Marathon at all, let alone finish it! Good grief, I was either too stupid, or too stubborn, to realize what I was doing at the time, but you know what they say about hindsight...
On a brighter note, it seems evident to me (post Marathon), that I've gone about this quite differently and much more responsibly...
I'm thinking about running that R. Falls Playground Run this Saturday. It would be fun to obliterate my course PR there - even with a DS I think I could shatter it. Other things in life might prevent me from running it though. We'll see...
OK - give it to me, tell me how dumb I was/am - or share your pride vs. intelligence stories...
After I started looking at my mileage by month - I realized what an Idiot I really am. You be the judge - check this out - see if you can tell what I mean...
Got it? In case you missed it, the graph starts in June of 2011 (I bought my Garmin then). I started running again in April of the same year after having been a coach potato for about 8-9 years. No friggin' wonder why I was always dealing with some sort of nagging injury! Granted, the graphs for 2011 are incomplete, because I interspersed treadmill running in there (which was not captured), but COME ON! I deserved to get injured.
In hindsight, I feel lucky that I even made it to the Philly Marathon at all, let alone finish it! Good grief, I was either too stupid, or too stubborn, to realize what I was doing at the time, but you know what they say about hindsight...
On a brighter note, it seems evident to me (post Marathon), that I've gone about this quite differently and much more responsibly...
Hints and Allegations:
I'm thinking about running that R. Falls Playground Run this Saturday. It would be fun to obliterate my course PR there - even with a DS I think I could shatter it. Other things in life might prevent me from running it though. We'll see...
OK - give it to me, tell me how dumb I was/am - or share your pride vs. intelligence stories...
Sunday, February 17, 2013
River Shiver Polar Bear 5K Race Recap
I participated in the River Shiver Polar Bear 5K on Saturday. I didn't really know what to expect from myself, because I have been feeling run down, and felt really exhausted during the last Frozen Foote. Add to that the fact that the course in Ogdensburg has changed frequently in the past year, in light of construction to the path and walking bridge - and a time goal was simply difficult to pin down.
Race Goals:
I settled on an A goal of getting a PR for a 5K. I decided that a good B goal was to simply be under 24 minutes.
Race Recap:
The weather was good. Although it was slightly cold (about 20 degrees or so?), it was sunny and so it didn't feel too bad. I was going back and forth on whether or not to wear a hat, and ultimately decided not to after my warm up. Yes, I decided to do a warm up consisting of a 10 minutes of easy jogging (about 10min/mile) culminating in one stride of approximately 100 meters. The reason I decided to do this is because I did it for my Frozen Foote PR this year. I don't know how much it contributed to that success, but I figured, what the heck - if there's a chance... I've also been scrutinizing whether or not the fact that I chose to not warm up for the last Frozen Foote contributed to my stale performance (I struggled to run 8 minute miles, and felt horrible).
Mile 1:
Like I said, I wasn't sure whether the last Frozen Foote was the start of a downward spiral, or if I'd bounce back, so I started out easy, even though many of the people around me at the start shot out (at what seemed like) a really fast pace. Incidentally, I lined up in the middle, so I didn't think that there should be a lot of people charging ahead of me right from the gun. But I let them go...
I focused on a pace that felt calm, and allowed me to breath easy. I have been reading a lot lately about hitting anaerobic levels of exertion too soon in races, and the negative impacts, so I was trying to delay the cross over from aerobic to anaerobic as long as possible. I chose not to look at the Garmin for the entire race, and simply run by effort.
The first part of the path is very windy (curves not wind), and had slick ice patches on it, so I had a difficult time really settling on my pace as I opted to change my strides and foot placement in an attempt to avoid taking a nose dive. After the curves, we turned onto the bridge, and the course straightened out. I think that's where my race really began. I settled into my pace, and my breathing started to get more labored. I began to pass a lot of the people who had shot out so quickly.
Mile 2:
I had my eye on a guy from the start, who runs similar times to mine. He was one of the people who started quickly, so I just kind of kept him in my sight throughout the early part, and somewhere in the early part of the second mile, I realized that I was closing the gap, and soon I was running right next to him (runner A). A pleasant surprise was that I realized that another guy I knew (runner B) was about 5 feet in front of us. I figured that we were either moving really fast, or he was having an off day, because I don't usually see him (except for out and back races). It turns out that it was a little bit of both. Incidentally, I had been talking about how I want to be challenging him by the fall (which is a lofty goal for me, because he usually runs about 2-3 minutes faster than me for the 5K). I had even mentioned this to him before the race, stating that my goal was to finish a race with him in sight by the fall, to which he responded, "it might be today." I thought he was kidding. I had the juice to pass him as we neared the turn around point, but I didn't want to do it right there because of the awkwardness of trying to pass someone right before the turnaround. Plus, I didn't want to be a jerk and unintentionally cut him off, or throw off his rhythm. It was a little frustrating, because he slowed his pace right before the turnaround - which caused me to fall a little out of rhythm. It always seems like things like this happen to me - obstacles get in the way, right at the times when I feel best, and like I can make a move to pass someone. Does that happen to you? After the turnaround, the wind was in our face, so I drafted on him for a while. Again, there were a few times, when I felt like my pace was such that I could pass him, but once when I pulled up next to him, he increased his pace, so I slid back in line behind him to draft more. Every other time I felt good enough to make a move, the walkers and/or other runners seemed to provide a convenient obstacle for me, once again impeding my attempts, so I'd have to lay off my pace a little and slide back in behind him so that we were narrow enough to squeeze through traffic. I heard runner A breathing behind us until somewhere right before the hill, at which point I never heard him again, but assumed he was still pretty close.
Mile 3:
I think that mile 3 probably starts somewhere near the only significant hill on the course. I kind of psyched myself out of the hill before we even got to it - knowing that I'm not a good hill runner, and expecting him to drop me on the hill - which he did. He put about 50 feet in between us on the hill. So I told myself to forget him, and just run my race. So I ran the rest of the third mile by myself, but as we closed in on the last part of the race, a slight uphill before you get to the curvy part of the path again, I noticed that I was closing the gap between us. I told myself that the race was almost over, so that there was no reason why I shouldn't work the hill hard, so I did - and continued to close the gap. However, the curves and ice threw me off rhythm again, and I think cost me my opportunity to get back to him (I almost took a nose dive once, and soaked my right foot in a misjudged foot placement). When the path straightened out, I went into the "I'm almost finished, so just run as hard as you can" mode. At this point, I was gaining on him fast. When I was about 5 feet from him, I noticed that he started to kick, and at this point we were at about 50 feet from the end. I managed to finish within a second of him. Runner A never caught back up.
Results:
Mile 1: 7:15
Mile 2: 7:19
Mile 3: 7:06
21:41 Net
7:15 pace (yeah, I don't quite understand the math either - just reporting what the Garmin registered)
GR=3.0 Miles
A PR for the 5K, even though it wasn't truly a 5K, it was still a PR pace for me.
Other Stuff:
The main thing that stands out to me was how well organized the race was. There were volunteers at every turn to help tell you where to go, so that was a pleasant surprise. Usually there aren't very many people out helping along the races in Ogdensburg - so when the course is new, you have to guess sometimes. In fact, we were talking about how many runners went the wrong way last year...
The refreshments afterwards were awesome. Boy do I love bagels and cream cheese!
They started the walkers out in front of the runners by 20 minutes so that everyone could finish within a closer time frame to one another. Great concept if the walkers actually understood how difficult it is to go around them when you're running at a 5K effort. Many of them walked 2 abreast, and didn't move as I came up on them to pass them. To complicate it further, other runners would be coming towards me, (out and back course), at the time when I would be trying to pass 2 abreast walkers. The path really only accommodates 3 across comfortably, so you get the picture. I think that the walkers lack of awareness for runners was probably the thing I liked the least in this event.
They had prizes 3 deep in every age group, so that was nice - and the medals looked nice, but I didn't get one. I finished 8th or 9th overall, but at least 3 of the runners in front of me were in my age group.
I like the new course, and I'm curious to see if they'll keep it this way next year too - or if it was a one time deal, just to play off of the new footbridge. Thanks to the organizers for a fun time - and thanks to runners A & B, for making this a really fun race for me. Runner B, watch out, because I've now changed my goal to beating you sometime in 2013.
Race Goals:
I settled on an A goal of getting a PR for a 5K. I decided that a good B goal was to simply be under 24 minutes.
Race Recap:
The weather was good. Although it was slightly cold (about 20 degrees or so?), it was sunny and so it didn't feel too bad. I was going back and forth on whether or not to wear a hat, and ultimately decided not to after my warm up. Yes, I decided to do a warm up consisting of a 10 minutes of easy jogging (about 10min/mile) culminating in one stride of approximately 100 meters. The reason I decided to do this is because I did it for my Frozen Foote PR this year. I don't know how much it contributed to that success, but I figured, what the heck - if there's a chance... I've also been scrutinizing whether or not the fact that I chose to not warm up for the last Frozen Foote contributed to my stale performance (I struggled to run 8 minute miles, and felt horrible).
Mile 1:
Like I said, I wasn't sure whether the last Frozen Foote was the start of a downward spiral, or if I'd bounce back, so I started out easy, even though many of the people around me at the start shot out (at what seemed like) a really fast pace. Incidentally, I lined up in the middle, so I didn't think that there should be a lot of people charging ahead of me right from the gun. But I let them go...
I focused on a pace that felt calm, and allowed me to breath easy. I have been reading a lot lately about hitting anaerobic levels of exertion too soon in races, and the negative impacts, so I was trying to delay the cross over from aerobic to anaerobic as long as possible. I chose not to look at the Garmin for the entire race, and simply run by effort.
The first part of the path is very windy (curves not wind), and had slick ice patches on it, so I had a difficult time really settling on my pace as I opted to change my strides and foot placement in an attempt to avoid taking a nose dive. After the curves, we turned onto the bridge, and the course straightened out. I think that's where my race really began. I settled into my pace, and my breathing started to get more labored. I began to pass a lot of the people who had shot out so quickly.
Mile 2:
I had my eye on a guy from the start, who runs similar times to mine. He was one of the people who started quickly, so I just kind of kept him in my sight throughout the early part, and somewhere in the early part of the second mile, I realized that I was closing the gap, and soon I was running right next to him (runner A). A pleasant surprise was that I realized that another guy I knew (runner B) was about 5 feet in front of us. I figured that we were either moving really fast, or he was having an off day, because I don't usually see him (except for out and back races). It turns out that it was a little bit of both. Incidentally, I had been talking about how I want to be challenging him by the fall (which is a lofty goal for me, because he usually runs about 2-3 minutes faster than me for the 5K). I had even mentioned this to him before the race, stating that my goal was to finish a race with him in sight by the fall, to which he responded, "it might be today." I thought he was kidding. I had the juice to pass him as we neared the turn around point, but I didn't want to do it right there because of the awkwardness of trying to pass someone right before the turnaround. Plus, I didn't want to be a jerk and unintentionally cut him off, or throw off his rhythm. It was a little frustrating, because he slowed his pace right before the turnaround - which caused me to fall a little out of rhythm. It always seems like things like this happen to me - obstacles get in the way, right at the times when I feel best, and like I can make a move to pass someone. Does that happen to you? After the turnaround, the wind was in our face, so I drafted on him for a while. Again, there were a few times, when I felt like my pace was such that I could pass him, but once when I pulled up next to him, he increased his pace, so I slid back in line behind him to draft more. Every other time I felt good enough to make a move, the walkers and/or other runners seemed to provide a convenient obstacle for me, once again impeding my attempts, so I'd have to lay off my pace a little and slide back in behind him so that we were narrow enough to squeeze through traffic. I heard runner A breathing behind us until somewhere right before the hill, at which point I never heard him again, but assumed he was still pretty close.
Mile 3:
I think that mile 3 probably starts somewhere near the only significant hill on the course. I kind of psyched myself out of the hill before we even got to it - knowing that I'm not a good hill runner, and expecting him to drop me on the hill - which he did. He put about 50 feet in between us on the hill. So I told myself to forget him, and just run my race. So I ran the rest of the third mile by myself, but as we closed in on the last part of the race, a slight uphill before you get to the curvy part of the path again, I noticed that I was closing the gap between us. I told myself that the race was almost over, so that there was no reason why I shouldn't work the hill hard, so I did - and continued to close the gap. However, the curves and ice threw me off rhythm again, and I think cost me my opportunity to get back to him (I almost took a nose dive once, and soaked my right foot in a misjudged foot placement). When the path straightened out, I went into the "I'm almost finished, so just run as hard as you can" mode. At this point, I was gaining on him fast. When I was about 5 feet from him, I noticed that he started to kick, and at this point we were at about 50 feet from the end. I managed to finish within a second of him. Runner A never caught back up.
Results:
Mile 1: 7:15
Mile 2: 7:19
Mile 3: 7:06
21:41 Net
7:15 pace (yeah, I don't quite understand the math either - just reporting what the Garmin registered)
GR=3.0 Miles
A PR for the 5K, even though it wasn't truly a 5K, it was still a PR pace for me.
Other Stuff:
The main thing that stands out to me was how well organized the race was. There were volunteers at every turn to help tell you where to go, so that was a pleasant surprise. Usually there aren't very many people out helping along the races in Ogdensburg - so when the course is new, you have to guess sometimes. In fact, we were talking about how many runners went the wrong way last year...
The refreshments afterwards were awesome. Boy do I love bagels and cream cheese!
They started the walkers out in front of the runners by 20 minutes so that everyone could finish within a closer time frame to one another. Great concept if the walkers actually understood how difficult it is to go around them when you're running at a 5K effort. Many of them walked 2 abreast, and didn't move as I came up on them to pass them. To complicate it further, other runners would be coming towards me, (out and back course), at the time when I would be trying to pass 2 abreast walkers. The path really only accommodates 3 across comfortably, so you get the picture. I think that the walkers lack of awareness for runners was probably the thing I liked the least in this event.
They had prizes 3 deep in every age group, so that was nice - and the medals looked nice, but I didn't get one. I finished 8th or 9th overall, but at least 3 of the runners in front of me were in my age group.
I like the new course, and I'm curious to see if they'll keep it this way next year too - or if it was a one time deal, just to play off of the new footbridge. Thanks to the organizers for a fun time - and thanks to runners A & B, for making this a really fun race for me. Runner B, watch out, because I've now changed my goal to beating you sometime in 2013.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Peaceful Easy Running
I have these great ideas for blogging everyday. I think of my runs and themes jump like Donkey, shouting, "ooh! Pick Me, Pick Me!" ...and yet, I finish my runs, shower, sit down to relax, and the end of the day has come yet once again, and so I tell myself that I'll blog another day...
My kids are home sick from school today, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to try to capture bits and pieces of those themes, as the details have begun to fade and morph into one giant anomalous blob. So here we go:
Peaceful Easy Running
Last night marks the second of my runs back to running easy - really easy. I've been feeling like I'm on the verge of overtraining (more tired, legs heavier, racing is harder), so I've decided to make a conscious effort to back off the pace on all of my runs (with the execption of organized events). I've had an epiphany as a result. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but right now it feels right for me. My current JD easy pace indicates I should be somewhere around 9:30-9:40. The last two runs I averaged 10:45 and 10:16 (up to 3:30 slower than my current pace for a 5K) - and it felt good. No, it felt GREAT! My epiphany (well actually more than one), is that easy running should feel just that - EASY! If you feel like you have to put any effort into keeping the pace, it's not really easy. Can it really be that simple? I've been so caught up in what pace Daniels says I should be running, that I lost focus on the "feeling." Secondly, and perhaps more importantly - running slow is more fun! Really, common sense right? Not really - it's too easy to get all wrapped up in improving, training harder, intervals, hills, the right pace, appropriate mileage, etc... that sometimes I lose a grip on the fun part of running. I found myself not worrying about pace, not thinking about breathing, just running and exploring. By "exploring" I mean that I realized that it's been a while since I really just observe while I run - notice a house I've never seen before - watching the way the trees move in the wind, etc... Last night was particularly cool (despite the cold strong wind) because when I started there was no precipitation. It started to drizzle just before the halfway point - a cold, hard, in your face, stinging rain, but by the time I was hitting my last mile and a half, it had turned into a very light flurry. The kind of snow that takes what seems like forever to fall to the ground. The kind where the flakes often seem to be moving more upwards, or sideways, rather than downwards.
So I've decided to go easy - add some miles to my weekly total, but make all of my runs easy - at least for a month, to give my body some rest...
Ok - so another ambitious start to a post - I got so carried away with this thought, that I'll now choose to leave other thoughts for other days...
Recent Results:
Ran the Frozen Foote #3 last Saturday. It was snowy, slow, and I felt energy-less. I've posted the overall results elsewhere on my blog, but they can also be found on northernrunner.org.
Upcoming Races:
I'll probably do the River Shiver Polar Bear 5K on Saturday.
My kids are home sick from school today, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to try to capture bits and pieces of those themes, as the details have begun to fade and morph into one giant anomalous blob. So here we go:
Peaceful Easy Running
Last night marks the second of my runs back to running easy - really easy. I've been feeling like I'm on the verge of overtraining (more tired, legs heavier, racing is harder), so I've decided to make a conscious effort to back off the pace on all of my runs (with the execption of organized events). I've had an epiphany as a result. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but right now it feels right for me. My current JD easy pace indicates I should be somewhere around 9:30-9:40. The last two runs I averaged 10:45 and 10:16 (up to 3:30 slower than my current pace for a 5K) - and it felt good. No, it felt GREAT! My epiphany (well actually more than one), is that easy running should feel just that - EASY! If you feel like you have to put any effort into keeping the pace, it's not really easy. Can it really be that simple? I've been so caught up in what pace Daniels says I should be running, that I lost focus on the "feeling." Secondly, and perhaps more importantly - running slow is more fun! Really, common sense right? Not really - it's too easy to get all wrapped up in improving, training harder, intervals, hills, the right pace, appropriate mileage, etc... that sometimes I lose a grip on the fun part of running. I found myself not worrying about pace, not thinking about breathing, just running and exploring. By "exploring" I mean that I realized that it's been a while since I really just observe while I run - notice a house I've never seen before - watching the way the trees move in the wind, etc... Last night was particularly cool (despite the cold strong wind) because when I started there was no precipitation. It started to drizzle just before the halfway point - a cold, hard, in your face, stinging rain, but by the time I was hitting my last mile and a half, it had turned into a very light flurry. The kind of snow that takes what seems like forever to fall to the ground. The kind where the flakes often seem to be moving more upwards, or sideways, rather than downwards.
So I've decided to go easy - add some miles to my weekly total, but make all of my runs easy - at least for a month, to give my body some rest...
Ok - so another ambitious start to a post - I got so carried away with this thought, that I'll now choose to leave other thoughts for other days...
Recent Results:
Ran the Frozen Foote #3 last Saturday. It was snowy, slow, and I felt energy-less. I've posted the overall results elsewhere on my blog, but they can also be found on northernrunner.org.
Upcoming Races:
I'll probably do the River Shiver Polar Bear 5K on Saturday.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Running Enigmas
I often over analyze... well everything. However, I restrict my post to things running in order to stick with the theme of my blog. Some of the things that I've been thinking about lately are listed below. If you have any answers, or questions of your own, please feel free to share - I welcome your thoughts.
Mileage Allocation
Everyone agrees about the general concepts of weekly mileage. For example, when training for a particular event, one should peak at a certain mileage in a given week at the appropriate time prior to that event. People generally agree that more mileage is good (as long as you're not causing yourself injury or over training). So here is my question. Are all weeks of the same mileage equal? What I mean is this: I am currently running anywhere from 18 to 25 miles per week over the past couple of months. Yet, there are some weeks when twenty miles might consist of four days of running (6, 5, 4, & 5), some weeks when twenty miles may be 3 days of running (10, 5, & 5), and still yet - some weeks when I might run 5 days (4, 5, 4, 3, & 4) for the same mileage. Don't pay too much attention to the order, or the actual numbers, as I've simply picked random numbers to illustrate my question. Regardless, these are probably pretty decent examples of what I'm asking.
Is it better to run less days with more mileage for each individual run, or to run more days with less mileage each run?
I'm guessing a couple of things from a very non-scientific perspective. First, it seems logical that less mileage, with more days would equate to less injury than the opposite approach. Second, I would think that more mileage with less days would be better if you were training for a longer event. The question that I wonder though is, which gives you more bang for your buck? Which one would you ultimately see better results with? As it stands, I'm obviously doing a mix of everything, so it's convenient for me to think that a mixture of both is ideal, but I'm wondering if anyone has an answer based upon research or physiological testing. Thoughts? Answers?
Easy Runs vs. Days Off
I know that a lot of training plans will indicate an easy day, or a day off, as if they're interchangeable. My question is this: Is it actually better for your body if you run easy, or take the day off from running completely? I've heard arguments for both sides. The obvious ones are easy runs help stimulate blood flow and recovery to tired muscles, etc. for the former, and days off give your legs a break and more time for them to recover for the latter. I'm not speaking about burnout or cardio - I really just want to know about leg muscle short term recovery and long term best interest (performance improvement).
The Dead Zones
What happens if you run in between the zones - as people like Jack Daniels suggests? Seriously - logically, one would think that it would be better to run just a little bit faster if your body can handle it and you're not over training. Let me back up. Beep, beep, beeeeeeeeep... Ok. Is it safe to say that if one could work out as hard as possible without over training or getting injured, it would breed the quickest and best results?
I know, I know. Before all of you JD fans and similar types of philosophies get all bent out of shape, I know it. I understand it. We need the rest, because that's when our bodies get stronger. So, I'm not arguing the merit of taking easy days or days off even. What I'm wondering is, is it REALLY as bad as Jack would have you believe it is to run in (as he calls it) "no man's land." Think about it. If I ran 30 seconds a minute/mile faster than I'm supposed to for an easy run - is that really worse than taking that day off completely? Some running has to be better than no running. So someone help me understand just how bad those in-between paces really are? Ok, okay. I'll concede the easy runs. I see it. I get it. We need to run slow enough frequently enough to make sure that we are rested and repairing ourselves. Therefore, running too fast on an easy day doesn't allow us to recover properly, plus we're too tired (as a result) to maximize the workouts on hard days. So let's not argue about the easy runs, I see the merit. But what about the other zones...? I mean, what if I ran a little bit slower than I'm supposed to for my intervals, or my tempo, or my threshold runs. I get why you shouldn't run too fast for those types of training - extra effort/wear and tear, for no extra result - but what about the other side? What if I'm not quite hitting my times for the "proper" interval pace? I'm still doing my easy runs. So any speed work (even if a little too slow) would be better than no speed work at all, correct?
VO2 MAX Equivalents
No way no how do my race results for different distances fall under the same VDOTs. Do yours? How is this possible? They're not even close for me! I think that they differ as much as 5...
Hill Strategies
I've read a lot that you should go up hills at the same effort that you were running at before you hit the hill. I've tried this and I get passed by everybody else on the hills. I've even consciously let the effort increase slightly on the uphill and still get passed. I've read a lot that we should take shorter quicker strides going up - I do that too and I get passed. I know that I'm supposed to keep good posture, lean forward slightly, use the arms more (front to back), look up/ahead and not down, but yet I still get passed. HELP! Are you a good hill runner? Do you get passed, or do you pass people on the uphill. I'd be happy just to stay even with everyone going up. Especially since I have a tendency to pass a lot of people on the subsequent downhill.
Maybe I'll add more enigmas to this post at a later date...
Mileage Allocation
Everyone agrees about the general concepts of weekly mileage. For example, when training for a particular event, one should peak at a certain mileage in a given week at the appropriate time prior to that event. People generally agree that more mileage is good (as long as you're not causing yourself injury or over training). So here is my question. Are all weeks of the same mileage equal? What I mean is this: I am currently running anywhere from 18 to 25 miles per week over the past couple of months. Yet, there are some weeks when twenty miles might consist of four days of running (6, 5, 4, & 5), some weeks when twenty miles may be 3 days of running (10, 5, & 5), and still yet - some weeks when I might run 5 days (4, 5, 4, 3, & 4) for the same mileage. Don't pay too much attention to the order, or the actual numbers, as I've simply picked random numbers to illustrate my question. Regardless, these are probably pretty decent examples of what I'm asking.
Is it better to run less days with more mileage for each individual run, or to run more days with less mileage each run?
I'm guessing a couple of things from a very non-scientific perspective. First, it seems logical that less mileage, with more days would equate to less injury than the opposite approach. Second, I would think that more mileage with less days would be better if you were training for a longer event. The question that I wonder though is, which gives you more bang for your buck? Which one would you ultimately see better results with? As it stands, I'm obviously doing a mix of everything, so it's convenient for me to think that a mixture of both is ideal, but I'm wondering if anyone has an answer based upon research or physiological testing. Thoughts? Answers?
Easy Runs vs. Days Off
I know that a lot of training plans will indicate an easy day, or a day off, as if they're interchangeable. My question is this: Is it actually better for your body if you run easy, or take the day off from running completely? I've heard arguments for both sides. The obvious ones are easy runs help stimulate blood flow and recovery to tired muscles, etc. for the former, and days off give your legs a break and more time for them to recover for the latter. I'm not speaking about burnout or cardio - I really just want to know about leg muscle short term recovery and long term best interest (performance improvement).
The Dead Zones
What happens if you run in between the zones - as people like Jack Daniels suggests? Seriously - logically, one would think that it would be better to run just a little bit faster if your body can handle it and you're not over training. Let me back up. Beep, beep, beeeeeeeeep... Ok. Is it safe to say that if one could work out as hard as possible without over training or getting injured, it would breed the quickest and best results?
I know, I know. Before all of you JD fans and similar types of philosophies get all bent out of shape, I know it. I understand it. We need the rest, because that's when our bodies get stronger. So, I'm not arguing the merit of taking easy days or days off even. What I'm wondering is, is it REALLY as bad as Jack would have you believe it is to run in (as he calls it) "no man's land." Think about it. If I ran 30 seconds a minute/mile faster than I'm supposed to for an easy run - is that really worse than taking that day off completely? Some running has to be better than no running. So someone help me understand just how bad those in-between paces really are? Ok, okay. I'll concede the easy runs. I see it. I get it. We need to run slow enough frequently enough to make sure that we are rested and repairing ourselves. Therefore, running too fast on an easy day doesn't allow us to recover properly, plus we're too tired (as a result) to maximize the workouts on hard days. So let's not argue about the easy runs, I see the merit. But what about the other zones...? I mean, what if I ran a little bit slower than I'm supposed to for my intervals, or my tempo, or my threshold runs. I get why you shouldn't run too fast for those types of training - extra effort/wear and tear, for no extra result - but what about the other side? What if I'm not quite hitting my times for the "proper" interval pace? I'm still doing my easy runs. So any speed work (even if a little too slow) would be better than no speed work at all, correct?
VO2 MAX Equivalents
No way no how do my race results for different distances fall under the same VDOTs. Do yours? How is this possible? They're not even close for me! I think that they differ as much as 5...
Hill Strategies
I've read a lot that you should go up hills at the same effort that you were running at before you hit the hill. I've tried this and I get passed by everybody else on the hills. I've even consciously let the effort increase slightly on the uphill and still get passed. I've read a lot that we should take shorter quicker strides going up - I do that too and I get passed. I know that I'm supposed to keep good posture, lean forward slightly, use the arms more (front to back), look up/ahead and not down, but yet I still get passed. HELP! Are you a good hill runner? Do you get passed, or do you pass people on the uphill. I'd be happy just to stay even with everyone going up. Especially since I have a tendency to pass a lot of people on the subsequent downhill.
Maybe I'll add more enigmas to this post at a later date...
Monday, January 28, 2013
Colton Winterfest 10 Miler Review
The course was brutal. It was brutally cold (about 0-5 degrees) and was HILLY. I had heard that it had hills, but they just kept coming. A peek at the Garmin indicates that the first 5.7 was all hills. Tough course...
The Hills
So naturally, the first thing that I realized was that I am a horrible hill runner. I am so bad at running hills, that I got passed by A LOT of people, and only managed to pass one person going uphill (and that person passed me going up an earlier hill - so I think it pretty much cancels itself out). My quads were burning, and I was breathing heavier than everyone who passed me.
On a brighter note, either because I don't know any better, or for whatever reason, I made up a lot of ground on the downhills. I think that some people who I was even with in the first 2 miles gained at least a quarter of a mile on me on the hills, but I managed to catch many of them on the downhills. I don't know if running so much with the stroller (slow up, fast down) has changed my running tendencies or what, but the gist of it was a leap frogging type of race for a large portion of the run. I'd get passed on the uphill, and then I'd catch them, or pass them on the downhill. This continued throughout all of the hilly portions of the race.
Goals
I really had no idea of how to pace for this distance, but the Jack Daniel's book said that I should be running 7:45 to 8:00 miles for a race of this distance based upon my 43 VDOT (calculated from my 5K PR). So I started out with a 1:15 "A Goal" and a 1:20 "B Goal."
The Race
I hadn't gotten much good sleep either of the two nights prior to the race, and I had been battling a cold for a week, so I kind of felt like I might not hit my A goal, but I thought that my B goal would be a lock. I started really slow (about 10 min/mile) because the race starts on a fairly steep short decline and a sharp turn to get out of the parking lot and onto the road - and the roads all had a covering of snow from the night before (which, to my dismay, did not change much - almost the entire race was done on a thin snow cover). I don't know how much this impacted performance, but I'm sure that it didn't help anyone run to their full potential. I also opted out of using the YakTrax because of the calf strains that I believe they've been causing me.
I picked up the pace a little after leaving the driveway start - and logged an 8:35 first mile. My second mile was 8:26, but then the hills started to take their toll on me. I progressively slowed (my slowest mile was 10:02 for mile 5) and by that time I was thinking that I just need to finish. That's when the downhills and flats came. I managed to regain my pacing, and logged my two fastest miles for mile 8 & 10 (7:22 and 7:49), but it was too late. I never made up enough of the time that I lost on the uphills, and didn't have enough steam to pick up the pace any faster anyway.
Results
I finished in 1:26:42, with a pace of 8:41. In the couple of days since, I keep wondering how much better I could have done if I was a stronger hill runner. Note to self, add more hill training to my workouts...
The Course
Bitterly cold and damn hilly. Hilly sounds too small, because they were so brutal. The scenery is nice, and the traffic was minimal, so it was a fun run on those accounts. Also, the organizers did a great job of providing refreshments afterwards and a plethora of awards (from non-performance recognition to trophies for the top 5 finishers in each age group). My favorite part of the race was the numerous painted messages on the snow covered roads. They had gone out an painted messages like, "It's all downhill from here, feel like you want to puke yet?, We love hills!," and my personal favorite "Slow?" I would recommend the experience to others, but with a word of caution, do some hill training first.
The Hills
So naturally, the first thing that I realized was that I am a horrible hill runner. I am so bad at running hills, that I got passed by A LOT of people, and only managed to pass one person going uphill (and that person passed me going up an earlier hill - so I think it pretty much cancels itself out). My quads were burning, and I was breathing heavier than everyone who passed me.
On a brighter note, either because I don't know any better, or for whatever reason, I made up a lot of ground on the downhills. I think that some people who I was even with in the first 2 miles gained at least a quarter of a mile on me on the hills, but I managed to catch many of them on the downhills. I don't know if running so much with the stroller (slow up, fast down) has changed my running tendencies or what, but the gist of it was a leap frogging type of race for a large portion of the run. I'd get passed on the uphill, and then I'd catch them, or pass them on the downhill. This continued throughout all of the hilly portions of the race.
Goals
I really had no idea of how to pace for this distance, but the Jack Daniel's book said that I should be running 7:45 to 8:00 miles for a race of this distance based upon my 43 VDOT (calculated from my 5K PR). So I started out with a 1:15 "A Goal" and a 1:20 "B Goal."
The Race
I hadn't gotten much good sleep either of the two nights prior to the race, and I had been battling a cold for a week, so I kind of felt like I might not hit my A goal, but I thought that my B goal would be a lock. I started really slow (about 10 min/mile) because the race starts on a fairly steep short decline and a sharp turn to get out of the parking lot and onto the road - and the roads all had a covering of snow from the night before (which, to my dismay, did not change much - almost the entire race was done on a thin snow cover). I don't know how much this impacted performance, but I'm sure that it didn't help anyone run to their full potential. I also opted out of using the YakTrax because of the calf strains that I believe they've been causing me.
I picked up the pace a little after leaving the driveway start - and logged an 8:35 first mile. My second mile was 8:26, but then the hills started to take their toll on me. I progressively slowed (my slowest mile was 10:02 for mile 5) and by that time I was thinking that I just need to finish. That's when the downhills and flats came. I managed to regain my pacing, and logged my two fastest miles for mile 8 & 10 (7:22 and 7:49), but it was too late. I never made up enough of the time that I lost on the uphills, and didn't have enough steam to pick up the pace any faster anyway.
Results
I finished in 1:26:42, with a pace of 8:41. In the couple of days since, I keep wondering how much better I could have done if I was a stronger hill runner. Note to self, add more hill training to my workouts...
The Course
Bitterly cold and damn hilly. Hilly sounds too small, because they were so brutal. The scenery is nice, and the traffic was minimal, so it was a fun run on those accounts. Also, the organizers did a great job of providing refreshments afterwards and a plethora of awards (from non-performance recognition to trophies for the top 5 finishers in each age group). My favorite part of the race was the numerous painted messages on the snow covered roads. They had gone out an painted messages like, "It's all downhill from here, feel like you want to puke yet?, We love hills!," and my personal favorite "Slow?" I would recommend the experience to others, but with a word of caution, do some hill training first.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Colton Winterfest 10 Miler
I ran 10 and a half on Saturday. It was a nice run. I decided to push the last half mile (I don't know why), but other than that - it was a very leisurely jaunt. I ran 6 tonight - again, easy...
I'm thinking about doing the Colton Winterfest 10 Miler, but I'm not sure if I'm really going to do do it. It's a decent drive, plus it's early in the morning, plus the weather is supposed to be COLD. Single digits cold... I keep having these images in my head of trying to gulp water at the water stations and splashing it down the front of me - only to have it freeze as it reaches my midsection. BRRRRRR!!!! I suppose that I could skip the water stations - I've definitely run longer without hydration - but I've never done that with a modest effort, only on LSDs. The last, and perhaps most compelling, reason I might talk myself out of this one is because I'm not sure what to do with the kids. Any takers?
That brings me to my next conundrum. If I were to run this race, I have absolutely no idea of how to pace for a 10 mile race. Both times I've run a similar distance I've taken it really easy for the majority of the race, only to discover that I had way too much in the tank at the end. I've heard that this is a brutal and hilly race. I tried to find some reviews on the Internet, but with no luck - anyone run this one before and care to share your experience with me, in particular good strategies?
My calves are sore. Bad calves! How dare you be sore today!
Disclosure: The results of the Frozen Foote are now available, despite my prior complaints.
I'm thinking about doing the Colton Winterfest 10 Miler, but I'm not sure if I'm really going to do do it. It's a decent drive, plus it's early in the morning, plus the weather is supposed to be COLD. Single digits cold... I keep having these images in my head of trying to gulp water at the water stations and splashing it down the front of me - only to have it freeze as it reaches my midsection. BRRRRRR!!!! I suppose that I could skip the water stations - I've definitely run longer without hydration - but I've never done that with a modest effort, only on LSDs. The last, and perhaps most compelling, reason I might talk myself out of this one is because I'm not sure what to do with the kids. Any takers?
That brings me to my next conundrum. If I were to run this race, I have absolutely no idea of how to pace for a 10 mile race. Both times I've run a similar distance I've taken it really easy for the majority of the race, only to discover that I had way too much in the tank at the end. I've heard that this is a brutal and hilly race. I tried to find some reviews on the Internet, but with no luck - anyone run this one before and care to share your experience with me, in particular good strategies?
My calves are sore. Bad calves! How dare you be sore today!
Disclosure: The results of the Frozen Foote are now available, despite my prior complaints.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Lost Race Results
I took Wednesday off because I just didn't feel like running. I was worried that it might be an indication of burn out and/or just needing a break from running. When I was training for the Philly Marathon, I got to a point where it felt more like work than fun (ironically, somewhere near the peak mileage of my program - go figure). I am happy to report, however, that I felt like running last night - and did so. I only did 4 easy miles though... Maybe because easy miles are more fun? Either way, because I raced on Saturday and did a hard workout on Monday, I figured the rest of the week should be easy anyway. My only regret is that it was so much warmer on Wednesday. Instead of running in Wednesday's 30 degree weather, I ended up running in 0 degrees on Thursday. I was thinking it was going to be brutal, but turns out that I layered ok and was quite comfortable throughout. It always amazes me, however, that no matter how cold it is outside, I always remove sweat soaked shirts afterwards... Anyway, I'm now up to 14.25 miles this week, so I'm thinking that a run of 6-10 miles on Saturday will wrap up my week. I'm trying to stay under 25 miles or so for now, because I think that my legs are at their breaking point for injury (although I think that the YakTrax caused much of my misery - more on that another time).
Rants and Rambles: One of the odd things that I like to do is to continuously review and look up race results. I often find myself perusing the postings on the web, and analyzing them over and over again. It must drive my wife crazy. Well, I've been going crazy because the last 2 frozen foote race postings are unavailable! The December race was posted on northernrunner.org, but the link has never worked right. As for the January results - they are no where to be found.
This brings me to my rant. Why is NorthernRunner so poorly kept? The site is a great concept, and is wonderful when it's working right, but there are always incorrect/bad links, and any time I've tried to e-mail the webmaster for the site, the e-mail bounces back because his/her inbox is too full. One of the Frozen Foote organizers told me that she was trying to contact them too in order to fix the bad link, but that she was not having any luck. I've contemplated taking on the task of creating a new website to serve as northernrunner.org was intended to. The other thing that always drives me crazy is when race organizers publicize a race like crazy, but after the event happens there is nothing more - not a word. No press release, no results posted/published - nothing! GRRR... ARGGG! Don't they know that there are people like me out there who obsess about looking up race results, comparing our times against our running buddies and foes, and analyzing them for any signs of improvement? Oh well. I guess I'll have to obsess over other things for the time being...
On another note, in the not so distant past, I probably would have been reluctant to disclose my odd habits - like over analyzing race results. However, the older I get, the more I acknowledge that if I'm thinking it, somebody else likely is too. Is it you?
Rants and Rambles: One of the odd things that I like to do is to continuously review and look up race results. I often find myself perusing the postings on the web, and analyzing them over and over again. It must drive my wife crazy. Well, I've been going crazy because the last 2 frozen foote race postings are unavailable! The December race was posted on northernrunner.org, but the link has never worked right. As for the January results - they are no where to be found.
This brings me to my rant. Why is NorthernRunner so poorly kept? The site is a great concept, and is wonderful when it's working right, but there are always incorrect/bad links, and any time I've tried to e-mail the webmaster for the site, the e-mail bounces back because his/her inbox is too full. One of the Frozen Foote organizers told me that she was trying to contact them too in order to fix the bad link, but that she was not having any luck. I've contemplated taking on the task of creating a new website to serve as northernrunner.org was intended to. The other thing that always drives me crazy is when race organizers publicize a race like crazy, but after the event happens there is nothing more - not a word. No press release, no results posted/published - nothing! GRRR... ARGGG! Don't they know that there are people like me out there who obsess about looking up race results, comparing our times against our running buddies and foes, and analyzing them for any signs of improvement? Oh well. I guess I'll have to obsess over other things for the time being...
On another note, in the not so distant past, I probably would have been reluctant to disclose my odd habits - like over analyzing race results. However, the older I get, the more I acknowledge that if I'm thinking it, somebody else likely is too. Is it you?
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Boilermaker 2013
I registered (and my wife) for the 2013 Boilermaker 15K late yesterday afternoon. At the time I registered, there were about 1,000 slots left out of 14,000. This morning, I noticed that it was sold out. I'm glad that I got our registration in when I did.
The Boilermaker: The Boilermaker takes place in Utica, NY. The marquee event is the 15K, but there are several other races that take place over the weekend, including a 5K, with wheelchair divisions for the 5K and 15K (which I might add are quite cool and inspiring). The organizers claim that it's the largest attended 15K in the country. I don't know if that's accurate, but it sure is crowded - especially if you're in the last corral, like we were last year.
Last Year: Last year was the first time that we attempted this race. I finished in 1:22:51 (8:54 min/mile). Although I had run a marathon prior to this, I had never attempted this distance before. Thus, I went into it with a marathon pacing mentality. I started slow, and decided to hold back until the fabled golf course hill. After the hill (about mile 4 or 5), I ran the rest at a lactate threshold pace. I ran the first 4 miles in about a 9:40 pace, and the remaining at approximately an 8:10-8:15 min/mile pace. My fastest mile (the downhill portion of the golf course), was at 7:45. I ran the last half mile at a 6:42 pace, so needless to say I think I could have probably gone out a little faster, and netted a slightly faster overall time.
Goals For This Year: One of my goals for an event of this distance is always to finish. My other goal for a race this long is to finish injury free. At this point, I'm shooting for a sub 1:15, but I solidify this more as we get closer to the actual date, and determine how my training is going.
Corrals: I don't know how they determine the corrals for this race, but I know that it's a big gripe for many of the participants. I hope I'm not in the last corral this year, because they seem to dump to many different abilities in this group. I indicated that I projected to run this race at a 9:00 min pace last year, and yet I had to dodge walkers in the first half mile of the event. Worse even, some people would simply stop running right in front of me. If you're in this corral and you're trying to achieve a goal finishing time, pay attention to the strategies section that follows.
Strategies for Newbies: If you care about your time, my advice is that you get to the front of the last corral, if that's where you are seeded. I saw a bunch of people running on the sidewalk instead of the road, thus avoiding much of the congestion. I didn't try this last year, but I might consider it this year. It's so crowded, you'll be tempted to weave around people. Try to resist this temptation, and make gradual path changes. My experience from doing a lot of weaving at the Philly Marathon was that it wastes energy, and actually makes your race significantly LONGER. No joke, I added about a quarter mile more to my marathon because I was impatient and weaving a lot. I know a quarter mile isn't a big deal, but the first time you run a marathon you may think differently (think about having to go another quarter mile after you cross the finish line - who wants to do that?). Instead, relax, take in the moment, and know that you'll get around that pack in front of you. I also found that politely asking if you may pass seemed to work well. On another note, I accidentally bumped some guy's elbow with my upper arm as I passed him. He was irate. I apologize immensely; it was not intentional, and I should have said such immediately. As it turns out, I didn't say much because I was trying to focus on my race, but as I pulled away, I could hear him continuing to shout insults at me - so I turned around, looked him in the eye and shouted, "then move over to the side!" I know, I know... Very immature. I am indeed sorry for how I handled it, but part of me also feels like he should have never lined up in front of me, especially if he didn't care about his time (which is one of the things he indicated when he was shouting at me). Drink lots of fluids throughout the race, try to hit the tail end of the water stations (less congestion), and make sure you look behind you if you're going to walk through the stations (so that you don't cut someone else off). Also, beware of people doing that in front of you. Lastly, don't underestimate the gradual hill that climbs towards the college - or the final hill towards the last stretch. Both of these hills hurt me more than the infamous golf course hill.
Training Thus Far This Week: I was so bummed that I got passed on the uphills in the Frozen Foote on Saturday, that I decided to do hill fartleks yesterday. I ran just over 6 miles, easy 1st mile, easy for most of the rest of the runs except the hills, I ran some of them at tempo pace, and some of them at interval pace. I was sore afterwards. I think it's kind of funny how running easy in between any sort of interval always seems to be a faster pace than my normal "easy" pace. Perhaps it's psychological, perhaps any slower pace feels easy after a hard bout, or perhaps it's physical, your more warmed up and pumped up, so your body just moves faster even though it feels easy. Maybe it's a combo of both. Thoughts?
Today I ran out easy 20 mins. and then turned around and came back easy. I ended up going just under 4.2. My paces were about 15 seconds per mile faster than my normal easy runs. Am I getting to a new level, or was it just a good day (or was I pushing harder than I thought I was)?
The Boilermaker: The Boilermaker takes place in Utica, NY. The marquee event is the 15K, but there are several other races that take place over the weekend, including a 5K, with wheelchair divisions for the 5K and 15K (which I might add are quite cool and inspiring). The organizers claim that it's the largest attended 15K in the country. I don't know if that's accurate, but it sure is crowded - especially if you're in the last corral, like we were last year.
Last Year: Last year was the first time that we attempted this race. I finished in 1:22:51 (8:54 min/mile). Although I had run a marathon prior to this, I had never attempted this distance before. Thus, I went into it with a marathon pacing mentality. I started slow, and decided to hold back until the fabled golf course hill. After the hill (about mile 4 or 5), I ran the rest at a lactate threshold pace. I ran the first 4 miles in about a 9:40 pace, and the remaining at approximately an 8:10-8:15 min/mile pace. My fastest mile (the downhill portion of the golf course), was at 7:45. I ran the last half mile at a 6:42 pace, so needless to say I think I could have probably gone out a little faster, and netted a slightly faster overall time.
Goals For This Year: One of my goals for an event of this distance is always to finish. My other goal for a race this long is to finish injury free. At this point, I'm shooting for a sub 1:15, but I solidify this more as we get closer to the actual date, and determine how my training is going.
Corrals: I don't know how they determine the corrals for this race, but I know that it's a big gripe for many of the participants. I hope I'm not in the last corral this year, because they seem to dump to many different abilities in this group. I indicated that I projected to run this race at a 9:00 min pace last year, and yet I had to dodge walkers in the first half mile of the event. Worse even, some people would simply stop running right in front of me. If you're in this corral and you're trying to achieve a goal finishing time, pay attention to the strategies section that follows.
Strategies for Newbies: If you care about your time, my advice is that you get to the front of the last corral, if that's where you are seeded. I saw a bunch of people running on the sidewalk instead of the road, thus avoiding much of the congestion. I didn't try this last year, but I might consider it this year. It's so crowded, you'll be tempted to weave around people. Try to resist this temptation, and make gradual path changes. My experience from doing a lot of weaving at the Philly Marathon was that it wastes energy, and actually makes your race significantly LONGER. No joke, I added about a quarter mile more to my marathon because I was impatient and weaving a lot. I know a quarter mile isn't a big deal, but the first time you run a marathon you may think differently (think about having to go another quarter mile after you cross the finish line - who wants to do that?). Instead, relax, take in the moment, and know that you'll get around that pack in front of you. I also found that politely asking if you may pass seemed to work well. On another note, I accidentally bumped some guy's elbow with my upper arm as I passed him. He was irate. I apologize immensely; it was not intentional, and I should have said such immediately. As it turns out, I didn't say much because I was trying to focus on my race, but as I pulled away, I could hear him continuing to shout insults at me - so I turned around, looked him in the eye and shouted, "then move over to the side!" I know, I know... Very immature. I am indeed sorry for how I handled it, but part of me also feels like he should have never lined up in front of me, especially if he didn't care about his time (which is one of the things he indicated when he was shouting at me). Drink lots of fluids throughout the race, try to hit the tail end of the water stations (less congestion), and make sure you look behind you if you're going to walk through the stations (so that you don't cut someone else off). Also, beware of people doing that in front of you. Lastly, don't underestimate the gradual hill that climbs towards the college - or the final hill towards the last stretch. Both of these hills hurt me more than the infamous golf course hill.
Training Thus Far This Week: I was so bummed that I got passed on the uphills in the Frozen Foote on Saturday, that I decided to do hill fartleks yesterday. I ran just over 6 miles, easy 1st mile, easy for most of the rest of the runs except the hills, I ran some of them at tempo pace, and some of them at interval pace. I was sore afterwards. I think it's kind of funny how running easy in between any sort of interval always seems to be a faster pace than my normal "easy" pace. Perhaps it's psychological, perhaps any slower pace feels easy after a hard bout, or perhaps it's physical, your more warmed up and pumped up, so your body just moves faster even though it feels easy. Maybe it's a combo of both. Thoughts?
Today I ran out easy 20 mins. and then turned around and came back easy. I ended up going just under 4.2. My paces were about 15 seconds per mile faster than my normal easy runs. Am I getting to a new level, or was it just a good day (or was I pushing harder than I thought I was)?
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Frozen Foote #2 2013
My wife and I ran the Jan. Frozen Foote yesterday. It was the perfect day for running. I convinced a friend to watch our kids for 2 hours so that I could run sans stroller. It's interesting, because there are so many different twists to this post, different tangents that I could follow... I'll try to break them up by topic:
Race Conditions: I've already mentioned that conditions were perfect. It was low 40's and no precipitation. Slightly overcast, but not ominously so... I've since heard that we broke records for warm temps yesterday. For those of you not familiar with the North Country (the True Upstate NY), this weather is ridiculously warm. The past two weeks (prior to this race), I've mostly been running in single digit weather. In fact, one of my recent runs started at -10 degress and ended at -12.
The Stroller Effect: I've often wondered how much running with a stroller really affects pace. I've found that there is a huge difference in opinions, and more specifically in regards to how much affect it has on pace. There is quite a bit more that I'll eventually get around to writing about as it pertains to stroller running, but for now I would just like to say that I think that this event was particularly useful in helping to answer this question for me. The reason is that I ran this same race (it's a series of 4) last month with the two kids in the stroller, and gave (what I felt) was an all out effort. The result was 30:52.
Race Goals: This race is billed as a 4 mile event, but it's slightly shorter than that. My Garmin picked up 3.88 last month and 3.9 this month. The race organizers claim that it's 3.87. Regardless, because this race is close enough to a 5k, I thought that my 5k pace was good to use to generate a goal for this event. I have been making significant improvement in recent 5k races, so I thought it would be realistic to shave a couple of seconds per mile off of my most recent 5k time and use that as a goal. I went into this race with two goals. My "A" goal was to go sub-28. My "B" goal was to go sub-29. Either of these would be PRs for me in this event (I ran 3 in the series last winter).
Race Recap: I warmed up for this race. I had really been pysching myself up to run well in this event, so one of the things that I convinced myself to do was a 10 minute easy jog, finishing with one stride of approx 80 yards. I don't normally warm up, I just usually go. If you want to, you are permitted to go out before the race, and (on the honors system), write your time in. My wife decided to do this (first time), and I ran out with her for 5 minutes and then back. Kudos to her for accomplishing her one and only goal. I'd love to print it here, but it's not my place to do so.
Instead of lining up in the back (like I usually do with the stroller). I chose the front of the 2nd pack. No one really seemed to want to get on the line, so there were about 10-15 people right on the line, a significant gap, and then a second group - that's were I was.
In the first quarter mile of the race, I felt great (then again I always do). I glanced at the garmin and saw a 6:30 something pace. I thought I was starting too fast, but ultimately decided to just run by feel, and because I felt so calm and relaxed, I just went with it. I also knew that sometimes the Garmin could report paces vastly different within a few seconds of one another, so I took the quick reading of pace with a grain of salt. It didn't matter much anyway, because when I hit the first hill, I didn't feel so great and relaxed anymore. I glanced at the garmin again and saw a pace time that looked North of 7:40 - go figure...
I decided then, that I would just continue to run as hard as I thought that I could without dropping. By the close of the 1st mile, I was already breathing a 2-2 rate, which typically doesn't hit me until after the 2nd mile of a 5k, so I knew that I was at least pushing harder than I normally do. I saw my wife just after Mile 1. I told her that she had "just about a mile to go; keep it up." I'm not sure if that helped or hurted, but it's what I thought was encouragement at the time.
The turnaround point always gets me on this run. I'm not a big fan of out and back races to begin with, but for whatever reason, this one bothers me more than others. It's at the bottom of a slight hill, so that you're rocking the downhill, have to make this turn (which totally messes up your rhythm and cadence), and then you have to go slightly uphill. I employed a tactic that I read in Runner's World (I think offered by Ryan Hall), shorten your stride and take several quick choppy steps immediately following the turn. I don't know if it works or not, but I got passed by a few people immediately following the turn - so I'm thinking that it didn't work so well. I did find out afterwards, however, that someone that runs very similar times to me said that he was right behind me at the turn around, but then I pulled away - so go figure? I rarely look at my watch at the halfway points - so nothing to offer you there...
The leg home was tougher. I found myself fighting the urge to let off the pace a little. I kept saying things to myself like "Do you really need to back off a little, or could you actually push a little harder?" Everytime I thought I wanted to back off, I used this to pick up the pace. I got passed by more people than I'm used to (which bothers me), but I also attribute this to the fact that I usually start in the back. I also noticed that I lose ground on everyone (that I can see) on the uphills, but that I gain ground on everyone on the downhills.
The last quarter mile, I came to the realization that I was racing this race to my full potential. I was going to finish knowing that I could not have run it any faster. I realized this as I pushed up the last two hills and forced myself to run them harder than the previous hills - even though I wasn't moving much faster than before.
Race Results: 28:31. I have to admit, I was immediately disappointed to see that I had not hit my "A" goal. After a few hours, I felt better about my effort. I should be happy, considering that my best time from last year in this series was 32:57, and that I ran it in 30:52 last month (albeit with the stroller).
Long Term Plan: I've been re-evaluating my long term goals since this run. I guess that I was delusionally thinking that my rate of progress would continue at the same rate that I was on in the fall (I know that it's not realistic, but I was hoping...) Now that I'm showing signs of diminshing returns, I am wondering what might be realistic for 2013. Prior to this run, I was hoping to be sub 21 mins for the 5k by the fall of 2013. Now I'm wondering if sub 22 would be a better goal. My current 5k PR is just over 23 - run this past fall (I'll have to look it up to give you a specific time). So I'm not sure yet. I'll have to get back to you on all of my goals...
Race Conditions: I've already mentioned that conditions were perfect. It was low 40's and no precipitation. Slightly overcast, but not ominously so... I've since heard that we broke records for warm temps yesterday. For those of you not familiar with the North Country (the True Upstate NY), this weather is ridiculously warm. The past two weeks (prior to this race), I've mostly been running in single digit weather. In fact, one of my recent runs started at -10 degress and ended at -12.
The Stroller Effect: I've often wondered how much running with a stroller really affects pace. I've found that there is a huge difference in opinions, and more specifically in regards to how much affect it has on pace. There is quite a bit more that I'll eventually get around to writing about as it pertains to stroller running, but for now I would just like to say that I think that this event was particularly useful in helping to answer this question for me. The reason is that I ran this same race (it's a series of 4) last month with the two kids in the stroller, and gave (what I felt) was an all out effort. The result was 30:52.
Race Goals: This race is billed as a 4 mile event, but it's slightly shorter than that. My Garmin picked up 3.88 last month and 3.9 this month. The race organizers claim that it's 3.87. Regardless, because this race is close enough to a 5k, I thought that my 5k pace was good to use to generate a goal for this event. I have been making significant improvement in recent 5k races, so I thought it would be realistic to shave a couple of seconds per mile off of my most recent 5k time and use that as a goal. I went into this race with two goals. My "A" goal was to go sub-28. My "B" goal was to go sub-29. Either of these would be PRs for me in this event (I ran 3 in the series last winter).
Race Recap: I warmed up for this race. I had really been pysching myself up to run well in this event, so one of the things that I convinced myself to do was a 10 minute easy jog, finishing with one stride of approx 80 yards. I don't normally warm up, I just usually go. If you want to, you are permitted to go out before the race, and (on the honors system), write your time in. My wife decided to do this (first time), and I ran out with her for 5 minutes and then back. Kudos to her for accomplishing her one and only goal. I'd love to print it here, but it's not my place to do so.
Instead of lining up in the back (like I usually do with the stroller). I chose the front of the 2nd pack. No one really seemed to want to get on the line, so there were about 10-15 people right on the line, a significant gap, and then a second group - that's were I was.
In the first quarter mile of the race, I felt great (then again I always do). I glanced at the garmin and saw a 6:30 something pace. I thought I was starting too fast, but ultimately decided to just run by feel, and because I felt so calm and relaxed, I just went with it. I also knew that sometimes the Garmin could report paces vastly different within a few seconds of one another, so I took the quick reading of pace with a grain of salt. It didn't matter much anyway, because when I hit the first hill, I didn't feel so great and relaxed anymore. I glanced at the garmin again and saw a pace time that looked North of 7:40 - go figure...
I decided then, that I would just continue to run as hard as I thought that I could without dropping. By the close of the 1st mile, I was already breathing a 2-2 rate, which typically doesn't hit me until after the 2nd mile of a 5k, so I knew that I was at least pushing harder than I normally do. I saw my wife just after Mile 1. I told her that she had "just about a mile to go; keep it up." I'm not sure if that helped or hurted, but it's what I thought was encouragement at the time.
The turnaround point always gets me on this run. I'm not a big fan of out and back races to begin with, but for whatever reason, this one bothers me more than others. It's at the bottom of a slight hill, so that you're rocking the downhill, have to make this turn (which totally messes up your rhythm and cadence), and then you have to go slightly uphill. I employed a tactic that I read in Runner's World (I think offered by Ryan Hall), shorten your stride and take several quick choppy steps immediately following the turn. I don't know if it works or not, but I got passed by a few people immediately following the turn - so I'm thinking that it didn't work so well. I did find out afterwards, however, that someone that runs very similar times to me said that he was right behind me at the turn around, but then I pulled away - so go figure? I rarely look at my watch at the halfway points - so nothing to offer you there...
The leg home was tougher. I found myself fighting the urge to let off the pace a little. I kept saying things to myself like "Do you really need to back off a little, or could you actually push a little harder?" Everytime I thought I wanted to back off, I used this to pick up the pace. I got passed by more people than I'm used to (which bothers me), but I also attribute this to the fact that I usually start in the back. I also noticed that I lose ground on everyone (that I can see) on the uphills, but that I gain ground on everyone on the downhills.
The last quarter mile, I came to the realization that I was racing this race to my full potential. I was going to finish knowing that I could not have run it any faster. I realized this as I pushed up the last two hills and forced myself to run them harder than the previous hills - even though I wasn't moving much faster than before.
Race Results: 28:31. I have to admit, I was immediately disappointed to see that I had not hit my "A" goal. After a few hours, I felt better about my effort. I should be happy, considering that my best time from last year in this series was 32:57, and that I ran it in 30:52 last month (albeit with the stroller).
Long Term Plan: I've been re-evaluating my long term goals since this run. I guess that I was delusionally thinking that my rate of progress would continue at the same rate that I was on in the fall (I know that it's not realistic, but I was hoping...) Now that I'm showing signs of diminshing returns, I am wondering what might be realistic for 2013. Prior to this run, I was hoping to be sub 21 mins for the 5k by the fall of 2013. Now I'm wondering if sub 22 would be a better goal. My current 5k PR is just over 23 - run this past fall (I'll have to look it up to give you a specific time). So I'm not sure yet. I'll have to get back to you on all of my goals...
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