Gumping

Tonight, I had my mp3 player loaded with music on "shuffle" instead of the podcasts I have been listening to for the last month or so. After I got back to Scheels and was talking with other run club members, two runners said they saw me running and I was "looking good!" They saw me around the 3.2 mile mark of a 5.31 mile run. There was 15 minutes in there when I felt great and don't remember my feet touching the ground. I have about 130 songs in the player on shuffle, but had an "almost perfect" section of music:

Springsteen -- Born to Run
Browne -- Running on Empty
McLean -- American Pie

I was truely "Gumping" -- that wonderful feeling where you feel like you can run forever while hearing "running on, running on empty, running on, running blind, running into the sun but I am running behind. I don't even know what I'm hoping to find. . ."

It was a great feeling and suddenly it felt like the first mile instead of the fourth, and it felt like about 558 instead of 3*. The shoes felt new, the darkness was replaced with sun, and the streets and cars were replaced with a meadow. Perhaps it was just endorphins, but it felt COOL!

Long long time ago, I remember how the music used to make me smile. . . ;)

Cold!!!!!

We had a visitor on Tuesday night, so I ended up doing my miles on Wednesday morning. It was around 2* with a 20 mile per hour north wind. I found a park route that avoided the wind as much as possible and I ended up with a full-face baclava. The biggest problem was my wire framed sunglasses froze to my face and were giving me a horrible headache. So I ran most of the time with them in my left glove covered hand.

I also had problems with an untied shoelace. No way to tie them with a glove on. Skin froze without glove. I was able to get one shoe tied and the glove back on and was able to feel my fingers again by the end of the run. . .

Tonight was again about 3*, but the wind was not there and I was able to run with the baclava off my face and the jacket unzipped 1/4 of the way. . .

Wondering what January and February will have in store for me!

Thanksgiving

We traveled to my parents for the holiday. We arrived Wednesday night around 7:30pm and I got Paige and Cooper fed for supper, the car unpacked, and then changed into my running clothes for an evening 4.3mile run. After the run, I had a salad and a baked potato and then went to bed.

Thanksgiving day started with a 4.4 mile run, breakfast, and a shower. After the big meal, I loaded Cooper and two of his cousins into a vehicle for a trip to the park. It was about 35* and overcast but we played on the swings, climbing bars and slides for about 40 minutes. Then it was back to the house for a quick nap and a drive home.

Jumped on the scale this morning and I lost 1.5# over the holiday. Given that we did not bring home any sugary leftovers, the opening half of the holidays has gone fine. I felt happy with what I ate, and did not gain weight. Still have Christmas parties and holiday to survive, but I am feeling pretty good!

Milestone -- 4 months running

This week was the four month anniversary of my starting to run:

Miles = 318
Time : 76 hours, 58 minutes
Calories 50,754

I have ran one pair of shoes into retirement and working on pairs two and three. I have dropped 6 inches off both my chest and waist; none of my suits fit me. My resting heart rate and blood pressure have both dropped. My arms and legs are starting to look good; my torso still has fat that needs to be run off. . .

This morning I ran at a sustained pace for 90 minutes. That is something I could not have honestly dreamed about 4 months ago.

My 8 month anniversary will come during the midst of marathon training and the one year anniversary will hopefully come after my first completed marathon and in the first week of training for my second marathon.

Run long and taper!

Vet's Day 8K

Very cold and windy at start. Temp was in the 20's and wind made it colder. This was billed as a "European-style" cross country and the course did not disappoint. Race registration suggested "trail shoes or spikes" and I wore trail shoes; I am glad I did. Much of the course runs through a park that has been created as part of the Grand Forks Flood control project after the 1997 flood that forced the evacuation of over 95% of the city. The starting line was at the top of a small but steep hill that was very near the site of the first apartment Paige and I shared 17 years ago. After a whort ceremony to honor Vetern's Day, we were lined up for the start. Course was out and back. Starting line was immediately down the hill, then along the bottom for about 50 yards and then turned and came back up the hill, across a road, and back down the hill. We then ran along the river through the brush. Ground was marshy and very uneven; I was glod for the vibram soles in my trail shoes. We crossed a dirt road and there was an area of grass on both sides that had been "mulch-seeded" with the green paper mulch and grass seed. I noticed one set of deer tracks crossing the line of run. At about the 1.25 mile mark, there was a short downhill that was VERY steep. I used trees and walking sideways to make my way down. Then we ran again along the river until we made it to the park entrance, near where our good friend Pete grew up. There we ran up the dike and started along the top.

I heard a loud "That's my dad, go dad!" at this point. Cooper was parked with Grandma and Grandpa on the street on the "dry-side" of the dike. He was proud of me and it gave me a much needed burst of energy and, more importantly, encouragement that carried me through the rest of the race.

After about 1/4 mile along the top of the dike, we ran down the dry side in the area that was posted "For public sledding". We then ran along the bottom through what used to be part of the old Lincoln Park Golf course, across the street from another friend's (Greg Norby) childhood home. Then it was back up the dike to run along the top. We ran for another 1/4 mile and reached the turnaround point.

As mentioned, the course was out and back. I won't do a play-by=play of recovering the route, but there were a few hilights. On the down section off the "sledding hill" portion of the dyke, two young ladies decided to lay down and roll down the hill for fun; it gave a laugh to everyone.

The "STEEP" hill I went down earlier now had to be gone up. About 78 runners had gone down and 71 had gone back up by the time I got there; the ground was all torn up and I had to struggle for hand-holds of grass and brush to help myself get up.

I almost fell twice. I caught my toe on a fist sized rock and stumbled. Then I got back to the rough, marshy ground. It too all my focus on the ground 2-3 feet in front of me to get through this. I even slowed down; I just wanted to get through with both ankles and knees intact so I could finish the last 1/2 mile of the race. I almost twisted an ankle once, and struggled the entire section to find a place to set my feet down that was solid. I also picked up 6-8 cockle burrs, three of which were on my ankle right above the shoe and poking through my sock with every step. I had to stop and pull them off my ankle, then remove my glove to get them off my gloves. . . The rest rode to the finish. My mom said one guy had about 60, so I guess I got off fairly easy.

I ran with a group of women most of the race. I was behind them through the first part, caught, passed, and opened up a lead on the dyke top where the running was fast, and then lost much of that gap when I slowed down in the marsh. I opened up again in the last 1/2 mile into the finish.

I was hoping to run 59:59 or better. Mom said the early runners were talking about how tough the course was after they finished. I won't use that as an excuse, but I will use it as a reason to be happy with my 1:01:40 and 72nd place.

Sent mom and Cooper home in my car and I ran the .89 miles back to their house for a couple of bagels, some Gatorade, and a shower.

Off to Vet's day 8K

I am leaving tomorrow afternoon for a race in Grand Forks. Cooper is looking forward to staying at Grandma and Grandpa's and seeing his dad run. I am looking forward to not finishing last. . . ;)

Actually, every step is a win. I am buying years and capacity to spend with Cooper in the outdoors in pursuit of our passions! Makes it priceless.

I will post results Saturday evening or Sunday.

Sporthill Running Clothing

Scheels' Running Club tonight had in the SportHill rep (TJ) to talk about their clothing. I owned one 1/4zip shirt and liked it, but had not looked closely at the rest of their line. Boy, was I missing some great running clothing!

1) Pursuit II top -- Front material (3SP) is windproof to 35mph. TJ used a windmeter and a blow-dryer to demonstrate. The output from the blowdryer measured about 37mph, he then put the front cloth of the jacket between the blow-dryer and the windmeter. The new measurement was between 0.6 and 1.4mph; the tiny blades of the windmeter barely moved. This is a soft and comfortable fabric that blocks the wind, but allows freedom of movement. the back of the two-tone jacket is a wicking and breathable material that is less windproof to prevent over-heating.

2) XC Pant -- Same great windstopping material (3SP). A pair of these came home with me and I will report more after I run in them! They are a soft pant that is designed to fit slightly loose, and provide warmth for Zone 3 (0* to 40*) running and XC skiing.

3) 3SP Mitten -- Again, a "thin" and comfortable mitten that is made with the wind-stopping 3SP fabric. I have to admit, I looked at these gloves two weeks ago and thought they would not be warm enough. Now that I have seen how the 3SP fabric performs, I added a pair to my running bag.

There are alot of great styles in the SportHill line. Check them out for yourself. I was surprised and pleased with what I found and I expect I will be adding more pieces to help me stay warm this winter.

Overheating

I have been COLD the last couple of weeks. I have been wearing more clothes, turning up the heat at home and in the office, and generally shivering alot. Last Saturday, I had a good run; last Sunday I had a horrible run. Tonight I cut way back on the amount of clothes I was wearing. Results:

1) I was cold at times during the run.

2) I had my best run in two months. Pace was fast, heart rate was low.

Lesson: We are all human and discussion of wearing too much clothes applies to all of us. This is a lesson I wish I would have listened to and learned rather than having a run like Sunday that left me sick for almost 24 hours and helped trigger my first migraine in over a year.

Buckeye Outdoors

I have seen a couple of references to Buckeye Outdoors so I decided to check it out. It is a very cool and free online web community for runners that allows me to post my training plan and training log. It then provides code that I can paste into my blog template to show the three tables on the right of my blog below my profile: Upcoming Races, My Workouts, and Workout Totals. There is even a link that you can click on to go see my full plan and log. I will be posting less about my own running workouts and more about what I am learning about running, reading about running, etc. The "ORN's" (obligatory running notes) will now be in the side boxes for the one or two members of my family that cares, but the posts will be TRY to be more informative.

Ed Bradley , dead of Luekemia at age 65

I just found out that Ed Bradley has passed away:

Ed Bradley, the longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent who passed away Thursday, was all those things and more. But he had one more quality few journalists have: He was cool.

Bradley was one of the first African-American journalists to break into the top tier of broadcast journalism. For that, and for his many other accomplishments, he will be long remembered.

But it’s hard not to also think of him as one of the coolest news guys who ever graced our TV screens.

Link

He was much more than Cool. He was wounded in Cambodia, he had the only TV interview of Tim McVeigh, he won 19 emmys, and was a champion of truth and justice. I will miss him.

It is especially hard to hear of this passing was due to Leukemia. My father died of Leukemia 37 years ago. It is a disease that I would like to see defeated. I plan on running a marathon in the next 18 months to raise money for Luekemia research via Team in training; I just need to fit it into my work and current travel schedule. At that time, you will be hearing alot from me about donations. But do what I am doing; write a check "in memory of Ed" and mail it tonight. It's the cool thing to do.

Late run and thinking

I got a late run in last night (4miles) and had some time to think. I think overheating and dehydration are the cause of my problems on Sunday. My body is doing some strange things with temperature regulation. I have been cold for the last two months. So, I responded by overdressing on Sunday and my heart rate was way too high for most of the run and I was miserable. Last night I was cold for most of the run and my heartrate was fine and the run felt great. I am as surprised as anyone, but I can now crank out a four mile run and not feel anything wrong in my legs the next morning. No stiffness, no soreness, no discomfort during night. It is amazing. I wonder how it will feel when I hit my weight goal???

Lance's NYC Marathon

This was Armstrong’s first marathon, and he said the 26.2-mile race, particularly those final eight miles, was the “hardest physical thing” he has ever done.

His dark green shirt was soaked with sweat, his gait, stiff. He said his calves felt like someone was squeezing them, hard. His shin splints were also flaring up again.

“That’s when I started to feel helpless,” Armstrong said after the race, as he was driven back to his hotel across from Central Park. “‘I thought, ‘Uh-oh, maybe I should have trained a little harder for this. I think I’m in trouble.”

-----

Armstrong said he wasn’t thinking about the time. He just wanted it to end.

“I was so tired, I just didn’t care,” he said.

His exhaustion showed. At the finish, he doubled over. After his news conference at the New York Athletic Club, he limped out of the room.

Earlier, Armstrong had said that he could possibly have run a sub-2:30 if he had trained, but now he was quite sure that another marathon was out of the question. Nothing in cycling ever came close to three hours of activity at this level, he said.

“I wasn’t kidding when I said that I’ve never felt this bad, ever,” he said. “My legs are killing me. My back doesn’t feel that great, either. I’m really suffering.”

When he arrived at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Armstrong crawled out of the van, looking stunned as he walked through the lobby and into an elevator. He got off on the floor where the spa is located.

“Which way to the hot tub?” he said, as the spa’s door closed behind him.

Link

You have to respect the distance. . .

Great article

This might explain yesterday:

It happens to most runners - that dreaded heart rate spike during what was supposed to be a long, slow effort. You’ve reigned in your speed, you’ve kept hydrated and cool, you’ve even switched your running tunes from raucous Van Halen to relaxing Mozart, just to keep that adrenaline rush at bay. But now your heart rate is racing and you’ve strayed outside your recommended heart rate”zones” for your training session.

So what went wrong?

While running can do wonders for the cardiovascular system, it can also cause involved muscle groups to dramatically tighten. And this often includes vital inspiratory and expiratory muscles surrounding the ribcage, as well as the upper back, shoulders, and neck. So while a tight or non-relaxed running posture might result in a trip to your massage therapist for a post-run rubdown, it will also invariably result in short and shallow breathing. To compound the problem, most runners have not been taught how to properly breathe in any activity, including running. In such a scenario, this “tight torso/shallow breathing” causes limited air intake and results in less oxygen availability for working muscles, which means the heart has to pump more of your subpar-oxgyenated blood at a faster rate in order for you to maintain your seemingly relaxed pace.

And Voila - you’re now working at 90-95% of maximum intensity, when your running program tells you to be at 70-75%.

So rather than focuses on deep, diaphragmatic breathing, relaxed head, neck and shoulders, and loose arms, many runners will simply stop and walk. When the heart rate comes back down, they begin running again, and eventually repeat the cycle. This not only ignores the root of the problem, but it turns what was supposed to be a purely aerobic run into an interval session, which trains the aerobic/anaerobic systems to work like a roller coaster. Sure…intervals should be a basic part of any training program, but not a part of a long endurance training session!

What’s the solution to the problem? Endurance athletes, and especially runners, need to intensely focus on breathing and relaxation drills, then apply these drill concepts to their long run.

Link

Thanks Ben for the tips and reminders. This "rings true" and helps me to explain and understand what went wrong. Saturday night, my heart rate was low and comfortable. Sunday it was out of control. I never felt comfortable, I was fighting myself and I paid the price for it. . .

Weekend runs

Friday, I got a quick afternoon run in (3miles) before I picked up Cooper from pre-school and took him to a UND hockey game. Saturday, I got a late 4 mile run in. Sunday was beautiful (62* and sunny). I got in 7.5 miles but didn't feel real good. Heart rate was way to high, I was actually overheated and a bit dehydrated. I paid for it by not feeling very good last night and then I woke up with my first Migrane in over a year. Finished the week around 27 miles.

This week should be more challenging with travel midweek and a race on Saturday. Stay-tuned for reports.

Another cool run. . .

It was about 20* and dark at the start of my run tonight. I did get 4 miles in and actually finished a bit overheated, even with my jacket zipped open. The main difference was that we finally seem to have caught a break from the wind.

Forecast is for warming including temps near 60* by Sunday in time for my long run. I may get a November run in shorts in!

2007 Plan

I have already posted my 2007 Goals. Paige, Cooper and I went out for supper after trick-or-treating and Paige and I discussed them. "11) Help Paige run a 5K" -- was a surprise to her, but she did not object and agreed to support me in all of them.

I then sat down with Hal Higdon's Marathon training book and my 2007 Training Calendar (a Moleskine!) and plotted in my training plan, taking into account meetings, travel for work, holidays, family vacations, etc. Cooper's birthday is the first week of tapering, so the party plans should help to get my mind off the reduction in mileage. I read through Hal's entire book, underlining heavily and making notes in the margin for things I need to learn. As I go forward, I will make lists and laminated cards that I can use so I make sure I implement all the tips to make the most of my marathon experience.

I then planned the rest of this year. I have a busy two months ahead of me with two races, three trips for work, and the holidays. Plus, I need to sneak in some vacation during this time. It doesn't help that I have a four-year-old and both my wife and I work in retail related jobs. Paige recently added a second job, so she is low senority in both places for getting holiday time off. So, I have to have a plan for Cooper while I run in addition to figuring out when and where I can run. Throw in the uncertainity of weather, and it is shaping up for a schedule that I will have to be flexible and adjust as needed.

But then again, that's what makes life fun!

Wind testing shoes

A good friend showed me how to test jackets and pants for wind resistance: hold your hand inside the fabric and blow hard on the outside and see if you can feel it come through. Great idea; that's how I selected my wind pants and jacket and I can tell you after running twice this week with windchills in the teens, it works. But I never thought to do it with my shoes. . .

I purchased two new pairs of shoes in Oct. and I have been working on breaking them in for running. I wore one pair on Monday for general walking. The minute I got outside in the wind, my toes were instantly frozen. The mesh over the toebox looks like these will be a great shoe for summer running; but for now, they are banished to the treadmill.

Like work and life, it is always the thousands of details that you have to learn and remember!

Cold night, nice run

Temp was down to 24* and windchill was down to 12* when I finally got my run in. I had the trails to myself. I enjoyed the chance to gather my thoughts and watch the moon play hide and seek in the clouds. It was a good run, although my heart monitor says it is time to increase my pace a bit. . .

ORN -- 4.17 miles.

Down 5%

Body fat that is. . . Another postive effect of my running. Speaking of which, I am waiting for Paige to come home so I can go for a run. It is 28* outside with a 14mph wind and windchills around 16*; should be a fun run!