The curse of a distance runner

One of the problems with being conditioned for distance running is the first few miles of any run. They're the ones needed to warm up. My body does not move quickly. It takes a while for things to warm up and get moving. The first two miles or so of any run can be pretty miserable. After the first 20 minutes of effort, I'm warmed up, the muscles are starting to use the slow oxidative fibers (look it up, it's pretty cool!) and my internal nutrition system has switched over to "Feed the muscles" mode.

After that, it's cruising and fun. But the first couple miles! UGH! misery. My legs don't go where I want, my shins often hurt, I get out of breath, my heart beats too fast and I never feel I'm going fast enough. This makes me push harder, which increases the misery which makes me push harder which...well, you get the idea.

This can be problematic for two reasons: 1. I can't really go out for a "Quick 2 miles." That's the worst part of a run!! and, 2. Often I want to quit when the best part's about to begin.

Today I went out with the intention of running for 40 minutes but didn't want to do the old "Loop D'Mort." I headed out for a loop around the lake that would have put me at 2 miles upon my return to the house. I really wanted to run more than that and I knew that I'd be feeling miserable and sorely tempted to head into the house rather than run more.

When I finished the lake loop and was ready to turn right to head back home, I impulsively turned left and wandered off. It was a good variety of terrain and my route took me up the big hill in town but via a different route. I was feeling pretty good into mile 3 and found myself pushing hard in the last mile.

My total time for 3.87 miles was 43:00. My overall pace was 11:07 (good for me!). My return home took me along a measured mile so I timed myself. I finished strong with a 9:55 mile at the end!! Yeah!!

Oh, and I feel great!

-maddog

Ocean City Half Marathon

Was a lovely 1/2 marathon. 13.1 miles of beautiful views, sunny skies and cool breezes. This was the longest distance I've ever run alone. By alone I mean without a running/chatting partner. It was interesting to do. I really had to get inside my head and found myself being very competitive. I was looking ahead and trying to catch up with people ahead of me. I've never done that before.

This race was also remarkable for two other things. I did something you're never supposed to do. I tried something new on race day. I ran a 10:1 interval instead of my usual 5:1 or 6:1. I find I liked it a LOT more, especially in the later miles. It may have contributed to my better time. Who knows.

The other thing I did was to run with very little training. As you can see by my training log, i've hardly run at all since January. While I felt pretty good and wasn't too bad off after the race, I did begin to feel odd after mile 10. Clearly my liver and heart were not up to a high endurance task. My energy levels were fluctuating horribly and my heart was working a bit too much. I think I threw a few PVCs in the later miles.

I'm going to carry forward my 10:1 ratio and see how it does on training runs. Off I go!

--maddog

"Fast = OW!" or "Unexpected gifts on a run"

As you can see by my mileage and workout ticker over there, I only did 2 miles today. That's not much by my standard. Here's how it happened: 

Thursdays are way busy for me. I was hoping to get out in the morning for a quick 4 miles. The day before, I was feeling the beginnings of a chest cold and decided to skip my cross training workout. I've been running on too little sleep lately and I've learned to listen to my body when it talks to me like that. So, I went to bed, worn out and woke up that way. In fact, I woke up late. 

I had a student scheduled to take a makeup exam at 10 am. I woke up at 8 am. Slept through both alarms. It takes me 45 minutes to get showered, caffeinated and dressed. It takes me another 45 minutes to get out the door, to work and walk from the distant faculty parking lot to my office. Suffice it to say, no run in the AM for me. 

Student takes test, I get mobbed by the masses, teach a class from noon to 2 (lunch happened in there somewhere) and I find my boss in my office at 2:30 asking me to help him on a project.

My backup plan was to get out at 2:30, get home, run, shower & change, feed myself and get to the theater as I had a ticket for an awesome dance show I've been looking forward to for about 3 months. Well, that certainly didn't happen!

I ended up finally leaving the office at 4:15 and I was anxiously watching the sun go down as I made my way home. Once at the house, I realized I wouldn't be able to fit in a proper 4-mile run, cool down, stretch, shower, etc. etc., and still have time to eat and go to the show. 

Instead I went out for a "fast" 2 miles. I pushed myself really hard. the first mile and a half sucked. It takes me at least that long to warm up. Thereafter, I felt good enough to really push for the next half mile. Big strides, fast turnover and the sense of flying. I ended with that really loopy feeling I get after pushing too hard. It makes me feel weak and kinda good at the same time. 

Oh yeah, I started out right as the sun was setting. On my way around the lake I snapped this one with my phone:

You don't get this kind of scenery on a treadmill!

--maddog

Maintenance Run.

4 miles today. I didn't really want to do it but I eventually got my butt out there and ran. 

My plan was to get out of class by 3:30, change and be hitting the road on campus for a 4-5 mile run by 3:45 and catch the last of the daylight. 

Unfortunately, things don't work out that way, I got tied up and busy and by the time I had gotten everything squared away, it was almost 5pm, dark outside and freezing. Where I work is on a hillside that seems constantly under assault by raging winds. While this can be refreshing in the hot days of summer, It's no treat in the winter. 

I drove home. 

In the house, it was a struggle to get out the door. My brain was already coming up with ways of convincing myself that I really needed a "rest" day. I was also entertaining thoughts of diving into some schoolwork. 

Ultimately it was this blog. I figured if I didn't go running, I'd have a miserable entry to write. I know that some of you out there reading this know me and, frankly, I'd be a bit embarrassed to come off like such a wuss. 

It was not an easy run, I pushed a bit too much but it was totally worth it. 

Tomorrow, I have to decide whether to do weights, calisthenics, ride a bike and row or repeat my swimming debacle. 

Good night!

--maddog

Swimming or Controlled Drowning?

Let's talk a little bit about training for long runs. It's not all about the legs. When the human body runs, it uses a lot more than the legs. There's what's we call the "core muscles." they are the abdominal, back muscles and other muscles of the trunk that support the body and help to "pull" it along the track. 

Now, If all I did was run every day, I'd pretty quickly develop my running muscles. I would also quickly become injured and maybe reach a "plateau." This is where I cannot get any faster, run any further or get any better despite all training in the world. 

Now, keep in mind that I'm 6'4" (2 meters) and weigh 250lbs (114kg). If I ran every day, my knees would revolt and emigrate to a saner and lighter person. That's why I run only 3 times a week. I'll do another post on how I setup my training runs, recovery runs and maintenance runs. 

What to do on the days between the running? Well, that's what we call cross training. This is where one does exercise for the rest of the body. Cycling, weightlifting, swimming, rowing, rock climbing, calisthenics, these all help exercise the energy producing center (the liver) and the O2/blood movement consortium (heart and lungs). Keeping these organs in shape even on non-running days goes a LONG way to improving one's running ability over long distances and helps to improve endurance even when not running. 

Today, I went swimming for my cross training. I'm a miserable swimmer! It's about the least efficient thing that I do. I took it up a while ago when I was recovering from a dislocated acromio-clavicular joint (Look it up! Extra credit to the first person that describes it in the comments for this post) and it was really helpful for me to get the pain down and my range of motion back. It's great cardiovascular exercise and good for core muscles too!

I set out to do what I thought was a half mile: 36 lengths of the pool. It's a 25 yard pool, that makes 36 X 25 = 900 yards. Now a half mile is 880 yards, or 35.2 laps. It just seemed easier to do 36. (Where is that 0.2 lap mark anyway?)

So, there I am, gasping, thrashing and inefficiently dragging my whale of a carcass through the water. In the lane next to me, a lithe fit woman is gliding through the water, seemingly without effort. At each turn around she smiles at me. Or is she laughing? 

At first, until I can get my wind, I have to stop every 2 or 4 laps. Once I remember how to swim and such, I get my groove on and get about 10 laps in before needing a short rest at the shallow end of the pool. I peservere and eventually get to my 36 laps. I look at the clock and see that I've got another half hour until the pool closes. It's 10pm and I'm feeling pretty good. I know I won't have time to do another half mile but I could squeeze in a quarter mile. That would be great! I've set out to do a half mile and I'll walk away (if I can) with 50% more! w00t!

My muscles are too tired to continue the crawl. I go into a combination of side stroke, breast stroke and crawl, alternating ever 50 yards. I get my 18 laps in, hit the showers and am out the door into the cool night air right when they're announcing that the pool is closed. 

Ah!

Tomorrow: 4 mile maintenance run or hill repeats, depending on how much I want to punish myself. 

--maddog

Running fool!

I've been distance running since 2002, off and on. Lately it's been more off than on. Since then, I've run 4 marathons and 1 half-marathon.

Last week, I provided EMS support at an ultra-marathon (that's 50 miles) and was inspired to run it myself. I've got until next November to get in shape and get out there.

Right now, I'm not even ready for a regular marathon. I'm setting some goals and will be ready to go when the time comes.

First, I'm looking to run a small, miserable and cold marathon on president's day in February.

I'll be keeping track of my thought and miseries here. I'm thinking that it may keep me more motivated and focused on the training part.

Thanks for reading.

--maddog