10 or so years ago I went to see an ear, nose and throat doctor regarding a problem I was having with an ear. While I was there he noticed my slightly deviated septum and said he could do something about that to help me breathe better. I told him I was fine with the way it was and didn't think it necessary. He said ok, but he guessed that by the time I turned 40 I'd want to do something about it.
I still don't really have much desire to do much about my septum, but I do sometimes wonder how much better I'd be able to run if I could breathe through my nose a little better and if I could ever stop looking like a knuckle dragging mouth breather when I run.
Yesterday I was in the store and noticed a box of Breathe Right nasal strips, those band-aid type things that open your nasal passages. A light bulb popped on in my head, I said what the heck and bought a box.
This morning I had a 10 miler on tap, so I got my stuff in order, slapped on a nasal strip and headed out the door.
It was really humid, and after 6 miles, when the sun finally burned through the cloud cover, really hot, so breathing while running was hard to begin with. Did the nasal strips help with my running? I don't know, but I noticed a marked difference in my ability to breathe through my nose and I think that when it finally cools down in the fall I may get some benefit from them.
Anyway, I was supposed to run the 10 miles at a 9:28 pace, which is kind of slow, but I started a little later than I planned, took a new route, hit a couple unexpected hills, and with the heat and humidity finished even slower with an average 9:31 pace. I took 30 seconds longer for this run than I should have. I'm not going to beat myself up too badly over that. This was the conclusion of the first week of marathon training anyway, so I have time to step it up and get it together.
Still wondering what I got myself into with all this marathon training stuff.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Slow and steady manages the race
I'm slowly but surely starting to see the value of slowing down while training. Yesterday I had to run 5 miles, the first and last at an easy 9:22 pace and the middle three at 7:53, and finished only about 30 seconds slower than a typical 5 mile trainer at a steady pace of my choosing.
Everything I read and hear about training for long distance runs says to slow down, but I'm bull-headed enough to think that is advice that doesn't apply to me, the late 30s runner with a little over a year of running experience behind me. So I run however I want and on race day die the last couple miles and blame the heat. The heat may or may not be the significant factor that does me in, but I'm tired of using it as an excuse. Granted, I'm doing all except for my long runs indoors so I don't know what road running in the mid-atlantic summer weather is like right now, but I'm firmly starting to believe that slower is better. For now.
Blessed day off today, with a 10 miler up this weekend; my third 10 miler in 3 weekends. Next weekend I get up to 12 miles and I'm looking forward to it, but not waking up before the roosters to get it in before the sun/heat/humidity takes over.
Who's bright idea was it to decide to do a fall marathon that requires training in the oppressive Baltimore summer months? Yeesh.
Everything I read and hear about training for long distance runs says to slow down, but I'm bull-headed enough to think that is advice that doesn't apply to me, the late 30s runner with a little over a year of running experience behind me. So I run however I want and on race day die the last couple miles and blame the heat. The heat may or may not be the significant factor that does me in, but I'm tired of using it as an excuse. Granted, I'm doing all except for my long runs indoors so I don't know what road running in the mid-atlantic summer weather is like right now, but I'm firmly starting to believe that slower is better. For now.
Blessed day off today, with a 10 miler up this weekend; my third 10 miler in 3 weekends. Next weekend I get up to 12 miles and I'm looking forward to it, but not waking up before the roosters to get it in before the sun/heat/humidity takes over.
Who's bright idea was it to decide to do a fall marathon that requires training in the oppressive Baltimore summer months? Yeesh.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The batteries that power my motivation are dead
Today's running workout dilemma: I forgot to charge my mp3 player last night and the battery is dead. Ugh. I hate having an audio device that requires a charging cable with a proprietary plug for the equipment and that doesn't just use a nice standard USB cable.
And since it's supposed to be in the 90s today I'll be running on the treadmill indoors. For a five mile tempo run; three of those miles at a pretty by-god fast pace that could use some aural encouragement in the guise of angry upper-middle-class suburban white boy music. Yeesh.
Oh, well. This will be my first time in my new Mizuno Wave Rider 11s, so I have that.
It's still going to be a long five miles. I predict it'll feel like at least 6 or 6 1/2.
And since it's supposed to be in the 90s today I'll be running on the treadmill indoors. For a five mile tempo run; three of those miles at a pretty by-god fast pace that could use some aural encouragement in the guise of angry upper-middle-class suburban white boy music. Yeesh.
Oh, well. This will be my first time in my new Mizuno Wave Rider 11s, so I have that.
It's still going to be a long five miles. I predict it'll feel like at least 6 or 6 1/2.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A star in the making?
I was in the locker room changing yesterday after soldiering through a 6 mile run at a 9:22 pace on the treadmill (where it took all my effort to not speed up the pace) when I started talking to some guy in there. I've been seeing him in the gym for almost as long as I've belonged to it. We say hi but never really talk.
This time I said something to him (I think it was "hi") which led to him saying something to me which eventually got to him mentioning that he sees me out on the road running sometimes. Usually Sunday mornings while I'm suffering through my long runs. I'm a local running celebrity! Heh. Or more likely that moron who you always see out there running for no good reason.
I told him that I just started training for my first full marathon and that he may start seeing me out there at different times. His eyes started to glaze over at that point and I realized I shared too much with him. So I finished tieing my shoes, wished him well and headed home.
This time I said something to him (I think it was "hi") which led to him saying something to me which eventually got to him mentioning that he sees me out on the road running sometimes. Usually Sunday mornings while I'm suffering through my long runs. I'm a local running celebrity! Heh. Or more likely that moron who you always see out there running for no good reason.
I told him that I just started training for my first full marathon and that he may start seeing me out there at different times. His eyes started to glaze over at that point and I realized I shared too much with him. So I finished tieing my shoes, wished him well and headed home.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Race training decision day
This is the first of 16 weeks leading up to the Baltimore marathon, which I'm registered for but still haven't decided to run. What I have decided is to train for the marathon and if after 4 weeks I'm not feeling it to downgrade to the half marathon. I can easily train for a half marathon in 12 weeks with the running base I have under me now.
The biggest problem is that I haven't decided on a training plan. I am down to two, both of which had cross-training on the plan for yesterday, which I did. The plans I'm deciding on are the roll your own one you can build on runnersworld.com and the FIRST program, which is probably the most scientific training program out there. I'm leaning toward the Runner's World program because it's a little more customized and requires a little less thinking from me, but I'll take the rest of the day to decide.
What's interesting to me about both of these programs is that they only require three running days a week. I get kind of leary of long-distance running training programs that don't call for lots and lots of running, but as a potential first time marathoner I'm even more leary of tweaking a program and adding stuff to make it my own when I have no idea what I require to complete a marathon.
A little disheartening is that according to the Runner's World program, which uses previous race times to calculate training and race paces, I should be shooting for a marathon time of around 4:30. It's kind of my goal to finish a marathon under or around 4:00, but I realize the first time you run a distance as long as a marathon you should just work to finish it and then shoot for time improvements as you go on. But what if I don't ever run another marathon? Will not killing myself to hit my time goal haunt me? On the other hand, will killing myself to hit my time goal kill me?
At any rate, there's less racing and more training on tap for me regardless of which race I run in October. Now it's all about staying motivated, I guess. Wish me luck.
The biggest problem is that I haven't decided on a training plan. I am down to two, both of which had cross-training on the plan for yesterday, which I did. The plans I'm deciding on are the roll your own one you can build on runnersworld.com and the FIRST program, which is probably the most scientific training program out there. I'm leaning toward the Runner's World program because it's a little more customized and requires a little less thinking from me, but I'll take the rest of the day to decide.
What's interesting to me about both of these programs is that they only require three running days a week. I get kind of leary of long-distance running training programs that don't call for lots and lots of running, but as a potential first time marathoner I'm even more leary of tweaking a program and adding stuff to make it my own when I have no idea what I require to complete a marathon.
A little disheartening is that according to the Runner's World program, which uses previous race times to calculate training and race paces, I should be shooting for a marathon time of around 4:30. It's kind of my goal to finish a marathon under or around 4:00, but I realize the first time you run a distance as long as a marathon you should just work to finish it and then shoot for time improvements as you go on. But what if I don't ever run another marathon? Will not killing myself to hit my time goal haunt me? On the other hand, will killing myself to hit my time goal kill me?
At any rate, there's less racing and more training on tap for me regardless of which race I run in October. Now it's all about staying motivated, I guess. Wish me luck.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Too many words about a man buying shoes
I got to do one of my favorite running things yesterday: buy new shoes!
This is the third time I've gone shoe shopping since I started running. The first time I came out of the store with a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 10s and Brooks Axiom 2s. I kept meticulous track of the mileage on them and when they got to about 350 miles on each pair they were spent and I got more. I decided that I liked the Wave Riders but I wouldn't buy the Axioms again.
The second time I came away with a pair of Saucony Pro-Grid Triumph 4s and Nike Air Zoom Vomero+ 2s. The Nikes were probably the most comfortable pair of running shoes I ever wore, but running in them made my knees hurt. So I fired them as running shoes and wear them for weight and cross training days. I bought a second pair of Triumph 4s, and ran with two pairs of the same shoe (but in different colors). This time, however, I was less than adequate in tracking mileage so I'm trading them in after six months. They're about as worn down as the ones I kept track of are, which is a good enough indicator for me to spend money.
I went to Road Runner Sports this time for my shoe needs. It's a new brick and mortar store in the area and I wanted to get analyzed there. I'm pleased to report that I have normal arches and that my gait is straight. Additionally, my calves looked really well developed in the video of me running barefoot on a treadmill. I don't get to see that often.
After the analysis and trying on 8 different pairs of shoes, I came out of the store back in Mizunos:
Mizuno Wave Rider 11
I'm not sure why I didn't even try the Wave Rider 11s after my 10s kicked it. Guess I wanted to try something different. But I'm back, baby!
My other pair I'm really excited about -- by the way, I always get two pairs to rotate them so my shoes have chance to dry out and decompress and not get overused to the point of causing injury. And if there's one thing you want to ensure is perfect when you're running it's your shoes.
Anyway, I have several running friends who rave over their shoes and hoard extra pairs when they get word their model is being discontinued. While the shoe model may be different, the brand is always Asics. Now I'm in the Asics club:
Asics Gel Cumulus 10
These shoes are probably the most comfortable running shoes I've ever tried on. Granted, I said that about my Nikes too and it turned out that I couldn't run in them, but I have high hopes for my new Asics.
Unfortunately, today isn't even a running day for me. But I guess it's a good thing that I'm so looking forward to my next one tomorrow.
Let the breaking in begin!
This is the third time I've gone shoe shopping since I started running. The first time I came out of the store with a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 10s and Brooks Axiom 2s. I kept meticulous track of the mileage on them and when they got to about 350 miles on each pair they were spent and I got more. I decided that I liked the Wave Riders but I wouldn't buy the Axioms again.
The second time I came away with a pair of Saucony Pro-Grid Triumph 4s and Nike Air Zoom Vomero+ 2s. The Nikes were probably the most comfortable pair of running shoes I ever wore, but running in them made my knees hurt. So I fired them as running shoes and wear them for weight and cross training days. I bought a second pair of Triumph 4s, and ran with two pairs of the same shoe (but in different colors). This time, however, I was less than adequate in tracking mileage so I'm trading them in after six months. They're about as worn down as the ones I kept track of are, which is a good enough indicator for me to spend money.
I went to Road Runner Sports this time for my shoe needs. It's a new brick and mortar store in the area and I wanted to get analyzed there. I'm pleased to report that I have normal arches and that my gait is straight. Additionally, my calves looked really well developed in the video of me running barefoot on a treadmill. I don't get to see that often.
After the analysis and trying on 8 different pairs of shoes, I came out of the store back in Mizunos:
Mizuno Wave Rider 11
I'm not sure why I didn't even try the Wave Rider 11s after my 10s kicked it. Guess I wanted to try something different. But I'm back, baby!
My other pair I'm really excited about -- by the way, I always get two pairs to rotate them so my shoes have chance to dry out and decompress and not get overused to the point of causing injury. And if there's one thing you want to ensure is perfect when you're running it's your shoes.
Anyway, I have several running friends who rave over their shoes and hoard extra pairs when they get word their model is being discontinued. While the shoe model may be different, the brand is always Asics. Now I'm in the Asics club:
Asics Gel Cumulus 10
These shoes are probably the most comfortable running shoes I've ever tried on. Granted, I said that about my Nikes too and it turned out that I couldn't run in them, but I have high hopes for my new Asics.
Unfortunately, today isn't even a running day for me. But I guess it's a good thing that I'm so looking forward to my next one tomorrow.
Let the breaking in begin!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Running to recover
I don't know if a 10 mile race needs any recovery, but I ran a 4 mile recovery run this morning anyway. It wasn't quite as hot as it was yesterday, but it might have been even more humid and I felt at times as though I was running through water. Still, it was nice to knock out a little run and keep myself in the groove. I was a little slow for 4 miles with an 8:40 pace, but let's not forget my ongoing excuse for all poor run times: it's summer.
Now, with no race on the horizon (although there is a 5K I'm thinking about doing in mid-July if it's not a million degrees out), I have to start focusing toward the Baltimore Running Festival in October. Am I going to run the marathon, the half marathon, the relay? This is a decision I have to make very soon because time is training, or something like that.
Speaking of the Baltimore Running Festival, it looks like I have a group of 7 or 8 coming in to run. The furthest traveler is from Alaska, but Florida is being represented now in addition to MD, PA, NV, and OR. It's pretty exciting to make this happen. Of course, I have to show the out-of-towners a good time while they're here.
That's a big "Yikes!" for Mr. Homebody over here.
(Any locals are welcome to join in on the running festival festivities too. Leave a comment or e-mail and I'll give details.)
Now, with no race on the horizon (although there is a 5K I'm thinking about doing in mid-July if it's not a million degrees out), I have to start focusing toward the Baltimore Running Festival in October. Am I going to run the marathon, the half marathon, the relay? This is a decision I have to make very soon because time is training, or something like that.
Speaking of the Baltimore Running Festival, it looks like I have a group of 7 or 8 coming in to run. The furthest traveler is from Alaska, but Florida is being represented now in addition to MD, PA, NV, and OR. It's pretty exciting to make this happen. Of course, I have to show the out-of-towners a good time while they're here.
That's a big "Yikes!" for Mr. Homebody over here.
(Any locals are welcome to join in on the running festival festivities too. Leave a comment or e-mail and I'll give details.)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Trying to run a 10 mile race in June without combusting spontaneously
After running the inaugural Baltimore 10 Miler this morning I've come to two realizations:
As far as #2 goes, I've been wanting to join a running group but I'm not exactly a people person and have a hard time both accepting and being accepted by groups of people. Also, the groups I've kind of researched in the area meet at times that are pretty bad for me. If I'm going to ingratiate myself to a group I need to be there to do the ingratiating.
So that leaves me with trying to work with a trainer, which I've never done before. The question there becomes who do I choose? I want one that is either a runner or someone who works with runners and I'm not sure any of the trainers in my gym are or do. They all seem to be about weight loss, bodybuilding and sports-specific (those sports being other than running).
But then maybe I just need for fall and cooler weather to roll around and my times will drop with the temperatures and everything will be right with my running in the world.
At least it's convenient to blame summer for all my running woes...
Anyway, here's something funny from when I was leaving the race today. Generally when you enter a running race you'll get a t-shirt. This race gave away fleece pullovers. In June. It's nice, but I can't wear it any time soon.
When I was walking back to my car some lady saw me carrying my fleece and asked if it was nice (guess she hadn't gotten hers yet). I said it was ok best that I could tell. She said that she dared me to put it on (imagine a guy who stopped running about 20-30 minutes earlier but still sweating). I suggested that she make that dare again in October because I wasn't going to take it now. She replied that if it was October the race premium would have probably been a tank top. Heh.
I guess you had to be there.
- I cannot seem to get myself acclimated to running in the heat and humidity, therefore running long distance races in the summer is an exercise in futility for me.
- I've probably gotten all I'm going to get out of running on my own determination. To get any further I'm going to have to either employ a trainer to help me get stronger and leaner or I'm going to have to join a running group. Maybe both.
As far as #2 goes, I've been wanting to join a running group but I'm not exactly a people person and have a hard time both accepting and being accepted by groups of people. Also, the groups I've kind of researched in the area meet at times that are pretty bad for me. If I'm going to ingratiate myself to a group I need to be there to do the ingratiating.
So that leaves me with trying to work with a trainer, which I've never done before. The question there becomes who do I choose? I want one that is either a runner or someone who works with runners and I'm not sure any of the trainers in my gym are or do. They all seem to be about weight loss, bodybuilding and sports-specific (those sports being other than running).
But then maybe I just need for fall and cooler weather to roll around and my times will drop with the temperatures and everything will be right with my running in the world.
At least it's convenient to blame summer for all my running woes...
Anyway, here's something funny from when I was leaving the race today. Generally when you enter a running race you'll get a t-shirt. This race gave away fleece pullovers. In June. It's nice, but I can't wear it any time soon.
When I was walking back to my car some lady saw me carrying my fleece and asked if it was nice (guess she hadn't gotten hers yet). I said it was ok best that I could tell. She said that she dared me to put it on (imagine a guy who stopped running about 20-30 minutes earlier but still sweating). I suggested that she make that dare again in October because I wasn't going to take it now. She replied that if it was October the race premium would have probably been a tank top. Heh.
I guess you had to be there.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Final preparations
Yesterday (Wednesday) I hit the speed work pretty hard. My last 800 meter repeat was at a 6:55-7:00 pace. That was way too fast. But before I even got to that point, I was bumping up the speed after 400M so every 400M was faster than the last (still on that progression kick). Considering I'm running a 10 mile endurance race this weekend that was probably a really bad move.
And I felt it this morning and throughout the day. I was as sore as I've been from running since I ran my first half marathon, especially in the knees and hips. I think I'm getting just a little long in the tooth and without enough running experience/history for some of the things I do.
Today, with my body reminding me how I've been abusing it and my race two days off I took it really easy in the gym. On the treadmill I walked 400M, ran 2 miles at an 8:35 pace (and up to a 2% incline) and walked another 800M to cool down. Then I did some extra lower body stretching and hit the weights for a while. I took the Marathoning for Mortals "less is more" approach to running today. I think it was the right thing to do.
Tomorrow is a rest day, although I'll probably walk a half mile or so and stretch out again, but aside from that I'm looking forward to picking up my race packet and scouting out the route. It seems I always run my races a little better when I know what to expect. I know the area the race is going to be run in pretty well (I used to work around there and even almost bought a house a block from where the route passes some years ago), but I only know it from a car driver's point of view. I'll be looking at it tomorrow from in my car but with a runner's trained eye. It's funny how much differently things look from outside the confines of a car. Especially when it comes to slight inclines. They look flat from behind the driver's wheel.
Raceward ho, y'all!
And I felt it this morning and throughout the day. I was as sore as I've been from running since I ran my first half marathon, especially in the knees and hips. I think I'm getting just a little long in the tooth and without enough running experience/history for some of the things I do.
Today, with my body reminding me how I've been abusing it and my race two days off I took it really easy in the gym. On the treadmill I walked 400M, ran 2 miles at an 8:35 pace (and up to a 2% incline) and walked another 800M to cool down. Then I did some extra lower body stretching and hit the weights for a while. I took the Marathoning for Mortals "less is more" approach to running today. I think it was the right thing to do.
Tomorrow is a rest day, although I'll probably walk a half mile or so and stretch out again, but aside from that I'm looking forward to picking up my race packet and scouting out the route. It seems I always run my races a little better when I know what to expect. I know the area the race is going to be run in pretty well (I used to work around there and even almost bought a house a block from where the route passes some years ago), but I only know it from a car driver's point of view. I'll be looking at it tomorrow from in my car but with a runner's trained eye. It's funny how much differently things look from outside the confines of a car. Especially when it comes to slight inclines. They look flat from behind the driver's wheel.
Raceward ho, y'all!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Training, marathoning, equipmenting
Today was a beautiful day. So much so that running a quick and easy 3 miles at 4:00pm wasn't much of a problem. The temp at my house was in the low 70s, which is a little warm to run in, but it was the first time since the early spring that I could get away with something like this. Here's hoping the weather we have now sticks around until my 10 mile race on Saturday morning. Especially the lows, which were in the glorious 50s around my way this morning.
I only did 3 miles (well, 3.17 if you want to be technical) today to take it easy in preparation for my race this weekend. I don't believe you need to have a full-blown taper type of period for a 10-miler, but I don't believe you want to kill yourself the week before either. But that's just me. I make no claim to really know of what I speak.
Anyway, I figure the 3 miles I did today, the 4 or so that'll comprise speed work tomorrow, and the 3 or so I'll do Thursday will provide me enough to get through to Saturday. And with that run I'll still be looking at a little over 20 miles for the week so that's not too bad.
After this weekend I'm going to start training as if I'm going to run the Baltimore marathon. That'll give me 4 weeks or so to see if I'm really up to/ into it before maybe switching over to a half marathon training program. Time is flying. I have a group of running buddies coming in for the Baltimore Running Festival. They're coming from places such as Las Vegas, Oregon, and even Alaska. It'll be a lot of fun, but I have to get ready.
In other news, my Garmin Forerunner 305 keeps messing up. It's been combining runs and such. It used to do that when the memory was full and it couldn't add any more days, but I had less than a month's worth of workouts in there when it screwed up this time (it holds three months worth of data). It's a little frustrating. I have to say that while I really like certain aspects of the 305 -- namely everything derived from its GPS capabilities -- it's not perfect. I'm not in love with it as much as I thought I'd be and I'm not all that keen to trade up to the newest Forerunner, no matter how pretty it bats its eyes at me.
I only did 3 miles (well, 3.17 if you want to be technical) today to take it easy in preparation for my race this weekend. I don't believe you need to have a full-blown taper type of period for a 10-miler, but I don't believe you want to kill yourself the week before either. But that's just me. I make no claim to really know of what I speak.
Anyway, I figure the 3 miles I did today, the 4 or so that'll comprise speed work tomorrow, and the 3 or so I'll do Thursday will provide me enough to get through to Saturday. And with that run I'll still be looking at a little over 20 miles for the week so that's not too bad.
After this weekend I'm going to start training as if I'm going to run the Baltimore marathon. That'll give me 4 weeks or so to see if I'm really up to/ into it before maybe switching over to a half marathon training program. Time is flying. I have a group of running buddies coming in for the Baltimore Running Festival. They're coming from places such as Las Vegas, Oregon, and even Alaska. It'll be a lot of fun, but I have to get ready.
In other news, my Garmin Forerunner 305 keeps messing up. It's been combining runs and such. It used to do that when the memory was full and it couldn't add any more days, but I had less than a month's worth of workouts in there when it screwed up this time (it holds three months worth of data). It's a little frustrating. I have to say that while I really like certain aspects of the 305 -- namely everything derived from its GPS capabilities -- it's not perfect. I'm not in love with it as much as I thought I'd be and I'm not all that keen to trade up to the newest Forerunner, no matter how pretty it bats its eyes at me.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
How 1.5 miles hurt worse than 10
Today was the day where I had to somehow work in a 10 mile run even though my morning was dedicated to a 1.5 mile fun run with my son that was a 20-25 minute drive away and temps were forecast for the mid to upper 80s, which I'm pretty loath to run in.
Because I'm a moron I set my alarm clock for 4:00am to make it all happen. After dragging myself out of bed, getting dressed and warming up I hit the start button on my Garmin Forerunner at just about 4:30am. I was completely dorked out in a reflective vest and a fuel belt, but for once since it got hot and sunny I was able to forgo the hat and sunglasses. Out on the road it was just me, a few cops, the newspaper delivery people and a couple folks driving home from drunken booty calls or wherever. I actually kind of liked running during that time. I had pretty much free reign of every road in the area, including the major thoroughfare I ran on.
It was 66 degrees and pretty humid when I got going, but there was a nice slight breeze working and the lack of sun helped a lot. This was my best long run in some time. I don't want to bore even myself with my mile split times, but each mile was 5-10 seconds faster than the last, which was perfect. That ended at miles 8 and 9 because they were uphill, but the 10th mile was right back on a pace consistent with the first 7, meaning that it was about 20 seconds faster than my 7th mile so it fell in line with how miles 8 and 9 would have gone had I not encountered a 2-mile long incline.
Anyway, I wasn't really paying much attention but I was hoping to finish at around 1:30. I finished in just over 1:31. I'm really pleased with that, especially considering how slowly I started. It really does pay to start slowly and increase your speed little by little. My 10 mile race on Saturday doesn't have any hills like I encountered today, so provided it's neither too hot nor too humid I should have a good time, both literally and figuratively.
After I finished my 10 miles I felt pretty good. So I took a shower, changed into some clean running clothes and left for the fun run with my son. Admittedly, between little league and not having anyone to watch my little girl and the heat that's taken over we've had little time to prep him for today. The last time we went out to do 1.5 miles we did a 3 minute run, 1 minute walk mix and finished the distance in over 20 minutes.
Today my son was ready to run and my hope to take it easy on weary legs at the fun run was dashed. I actually told him to go on ahead because I didn't want to hold him back, and while I caught up to him well before the end, he was one of the first kids finished and by my Garmin he did the 1.5 miles in 14:05, which was excellent for him. He might have gotten bitten by the bug today because he was asking a lot of questions about running a 5K and I could see the wheels turning that he was thinking about whether he could do it.
However, the 14 minute 1.5 miles after 10 miles, a cool down and a shower just a couple hours earlier hurt me, especially considering how I was expecting to jog at a very leisurely pace. It's not the in pain kind of hurt, but the seriously fatigued kind. Thankfully, tomorrow is a non-running day and I'll probably take it pretty easy toward the end of the week with my 10 miler on tap Saturday, but while I'm glad I got all my running commitments in today I'm especially happy I don't have any tomorrow.
Because I'm a moron I set my alarm clock for 4:00am to make it all happen. After dragging myself out of bed, getting dressed and warming up I hit the start button on my Garmin Forerunner at just about 4:30am. I was completely dorked out in a reflective vest and a fuel belt, but for once since it got hot and sunny I was able to forgo the hat and sunglasses. Out on the road it was just me, a few cops, the newspaper delivery people and a couple folks driving home from drunken booty calls or wherever. I actually kind of liked running during that time. I had pretty much free reign of every road in the area, including the major thoroughfare I ran on.
It was 66 degrees and pretty humid when I got going, but there was a nice slight breeze working and the lack of sun helped a lot. This was my best long run in some time. I don't want to bore even myself with my mile split times, but each mile was 5-10 seconds faster than the last, which was perfect. That ended at miles 8 and 9 because they were uphill, but the 10th mile was right back on a pace consistent with the first 7, meaning that it was about 20 seconds faster than my 7th mile so it fell in line with how miles 8 and 9 would have gone had I not encountered a 2-mile long incline.
Anyway, I wasn't really paying much attention but I was hoping to finish at around 1:30. I finished in just over 1:31. I'm really pleased with that, especially considering how slowly I started. It really does pay to start slowly and increase your speed little by little. My 10 mile race on Saturday doesn't have any hills like I encountered today, so provided it's neither too hot nor too humid I should have a good time, both literally and figuratively.
After I finished my 10 miles I felt pretty good. So I took a shower, changed into some clean running clothes and left for the fun run with my son. Admittedly, between little league and not having anyone to watch my little girl and the heat that's taken over we've had little time to prep him for today. The last time we went out to do 1.5 miles we did a 3 minute run, 1 minute walk mix and finished the distance in over 20 minutes.
Today my son was ready to run and my hope to take it easy on weary legs at the fun run was dashed. I actually told him to go on ahead because I didn't want to hold him back, and while I caught up to him well before the end, he was one of the first kids finished and by my Garmin he did the 1.5 miles in 14:05, which was excellent for him. He might have gotten bitten by the bug today because he was asking a lot of questions about running a 5K and I could see the wheels turning that he was thinking about whether he could do it.
However, the 14 minute 1.5 miles after 10 miles, a cool down and a shower just a couple hours earlier hurt me, especially considering how I was expecting to jog at a very leisurely pace. It's not the in pain kind of hurt, but the seriously fatigued kind. Thankfully, tomorrow is a non-running day and I'll probably take it pretty easy toward the end of the week with my 10 miler on tap Saturday, but while I'm glad I got all my running commitments in today I'm especially happy I don't have any tomorrow.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Starting slowly, finishing stongly
Thursday workouts are almost always indoors for me, regardless of weather, mostly because I'm due for running, stretching and weights that day. I could split Thursday's workout between then and Friday, but I like taking Fridays off and I also like going into it knowing I had a great workout leading up to a rest day.
I usually start with a 5K program on the treadmill. Yesterday, sticking with the progression kick I've been on, I increased my speed .1 MPH every "lap" (1/4 mile). I started at 6.9 MPH and finished the last .1 mile of the program at 8.1 MPH. That's going from roughly an 8:35 pace to a 7:25 pace. Nothing groundbreaking speed-wise, but it does serve a two-fold purpose: it allows me to get faster as my runs progress, as opposed to starting strong and dragging toward the end, and it trains me to really understand that when it comes to long distances starting slowly is really beneficial. Almost imperative. It's been extremely difficult to train myself into understanding starting slowly is paramount in order to finish strongly. The real kicker is that I'm finishing these runs in about the same time, or maybe a little faster, than if I ran the entire thing at a steady pace. Funny how that works.
Stretching and weights come directly from Hal Higdon's recommendations in his training plan. I just modify them a little for my own use.
My challenge for this weekend is to find time for my long run (a 10 miler). I'm alone with my kids on Saturdays and can't really wiggle into any free time until the evening and this Sunday morning I'm doing a 1.5 mile fun run with my son. I'm either going to have to run Saturday evening, which would be ok if I was going 5 miles or less, or wake up very, very early Sunday morning and finishing before going to the fun run. Neither idea sounds like fun, but I guess you do what you gotta do if you don't want to run in 85 degree heat.
I usually start with a 5K program on the treadmill. Yesterday, sticking with the progression kick I've been on, I increased my speed .1 MPH every "lap" (1/4 mile). I started at 6.9 MPH and finished the last .1 mile of the program at 8.1 MPH. That's going from roughly an 8:35 pace to a 7:25 pace. Nothing groundbreaking speed-wise, but it does serve a two-fold purpose: it allows me to get faster as my runs progress, as opposed to starting strong and dragging toward the end, and it trains me to really understand that when it comes to long distances starting slowly is really beneficial. Almost imperative. It's been extremely difficult to train myself into understanding starting slowly is paramount in order to finish strongly. The real kicker is that I'm finishing these runs in about the same time, or maybe a little faster, than if I ran the entire thing at a steady pace. Funny how that works.
Stretching and weights come directly from Hal Higdon's recommendations in his training plan. I just modify them a little for my own use.
My challenge for this weekend is to find time for my long run (a 10 miler). I'm alone with my kids on Saturdays and can't really wiggle into any free time until the evening and this Sunday morning I'm doing a 1.5 mile fun run with my son. I'm either going to have to run Saturday evening, which would be ok if I was going 5 miles or less, or wake up very, very early Sunday morning and finishing before going to the fun run. Neither idea sounds like fun, but I guess you do what you gotta do if you don't want to run in 85 degree heat.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Speeding around a (treadmill) track
While I'm not formally using any particular training program to get ready for the 10 mile race I'm running next weekend, I guess am following a modified version of the Hal Higdon half marathon training program that I've been intimate with since January.
Yesterday was a day that called for 10 X 400 meter repeats at 5K pace, but while I wanted to work on speed I thought it'd be interesting to go a little longer with the repeats so I did 5 X 800 meter repeats and made each one a little faster than the last (still keying on those progression runs). I didn't go as fast as I would have doing 10 repeats because of the longer distance, but they did range from about an 8:00 pace to about a 7:30 pace, and 7:30 is just about my 5K race pace, and faster than my race pace on a hilly course. The workout was performed indoors on a treadmill. It's still hot in mid-afternoons here, even if we're no longer in the throes of a debilitating heat wave.
The speed work felt great. By the end I wasn't sucking for air nearly as badly as I thought I'd be and I still felt reasonably fresh. I'm trying to find the point where I'm at the top of my aerobic ability without stepping over into anaerobic territory. Yesterday I think was my best effort yet in achieving that goal.
So I'm getting very cautiously optimistic about my 10 miler, even if I'm not expecting to break any land speed records. My greatest concern I believe is the weather, and as of now the low for June 21 is supposed to be in the high 60s with highs in the 80s. Guess I better start a rain dance now and hope for shade on the course.
Yesterday was a day that called for 10 X 400 meter repeats at 5K pace, but while I wanted to work on speed I thought it'd be interesting to go a little longer with the repeats so I did 5 X 800 meter repeats and made each one a little faster than the last (still keying on those progression runs). I didn't go as fast as I would have doing 10 repeats because of the longer distance, but they did range from about an 8:00 pace to about a 7:30 pace, and 7:30 is just about my 5K race pace, and faster than my race pace on a hilly course. The workout was performed indoors on a treadmill. It's still hot in mid-afternoons here, even if we're no longer in the throes of a debilitating heat wave.
The speed work felt great. By the end I wasn't sucking for air nearly as badly as I thought I'd be and I still felt reasonably fresh. I'm trying to find the point where I'm at the top of my aerobic ability without stepping over into anaerobic territory. Yesterday I think was my best effort yet in achieving that goal.
So I'm getting very cautiously optimistic about my 10 miler, even if I'm not expecting to break any land speed records. My greatest concern I believe is the weather, and as of now the low for June 21 is supposed to be in the high 60s with highs in the 80s. Guess I better start a rain dance now and hope for shade on the course.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Zen-like reconciliation of running
In a strange turn of events, I'm actually considering thinking about maybe perhaps beginning training for the Baltimore marathon in October. I'm registered for it, but I'd pretty much decided 2008 isn't the year I go 26.2 and have been planning to downgrade to the half marathon.
What makes this so strange is that I've been really discouraged with my running lately and have felt like I've regressed from where I was 6 or 8 months ago. Not exactly a recipe for taking on a grueling marathon.
But I've finally been getting around to reading Marathoning for Mortals, and slowly but surely it's working to make me understand that a goal time isn't the most important thing. It's easy to forget that running 26.2 miles, or 13.1, or 6.2 (10K), or even 3.1 (5K) is a pretty monumental achievement, and that my starting to get into running in my late 30s means that I may never be elite but I should appreciate my running accomplishments, even if it's just crossing the finish line in one piece. Pretty weird to get that from a book that is geared almost exclusively to new runners and not one with over a dozen races of various distances to his credit, but sometimes the most important lessons come in the simplest terms.
Anyway, while I have been discouraged by my road running, my indoor beat-the-heat treadmill runs have been pretty good. I've decided to make all of them progression runs, meaning that I start slowly and build up to running the last half mile faster than race pace. Today I ran 5 miles on the treadmill starting at a 9:13 pace and sped up gradually to where my last half mile was at a 7:20 pace (I even cheated a little and bumped up the last half of that to a 7:00 pace).
I felt really good when I was finished and I didn't feel like a snail. In fact, I'll be bold enough to say that I was the runningest mofo on the treadmills at that time.
I'm sure the 10 mile race I'm running next weekend will knock me back down a couple pegs, but for now I'm not going to worry about my race times or where I place or what my pace is. I'm just going to rock out, check out the view from my place on the road and appreciate that I have the ability to do what only an extremely small minority of people are able. And it's not finishing a long-distance race. It's getting into position to start one.
What makes this so strange is that I've been really discouraged with my running lately and have felt like I've regressed from where I was 6 or 8 months ago. Not exactly a recipe for taking on a grueling marathon.
But I've finally been getting around to reading Marathoning for Mortals, and slowly but surely it's working to make me understand that a goal time isn't the most important thing. It's easy to forget that running 26.2 miles, or 13.1, or 6.2 (10K), or even 3.1 (5K) is a pretty monumental achievement, and that my starting to get into running in my late 30s means that I may never be elite but I should appreciate my running accomplishments, even if it's just crossing the finish line in one piece. Pretty weird to get that from a book that is geared almost exclusively to new runners and not one with over a dozen races of various distances to his credit, but sometimes the most important lessons come in the simplest terms.
Anyway, while I have been discouraged by my road running, my indoor beat-the-heat treadmill runs have been pretty good. I've decided to make all of them progression runs, meaning that I start slowly and build up to running the last half mile faster than race pace. Today I ran 5 miles on the treadmill starting at a 9:13 pace and sped up gradually to where my last half mile was at a 7:20 pace (I even cheated a little and bumped up the last half of that to a 7:00 pace).
I felt really good when I was finished and I didn't feel like a snail. In fact, I'll be bold enough to say that I was the runningest mofo on the treadmills at that time.
I'm sure the 10 mile race I'm running next weekend will knock me back down a couple pegs, but for now I'm not going to worry about my race times or where I place or what my pace is. I'm just going to rock out, check out the view from my place on the road and appreciate that I have the ability to do what only an extremely small minority of people are able. And it's not finishing a long-distance race. It's getting into position to start one.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Living an old Geto Boys song
I have to say that when it comes to running the heat is messing with my mind something fierce. I wanted to get up really early this morning to get 9 miles in before the heat really hit, and I guess I was mostly successful thanks to some well-placed cloud cover, but it was still h-o-t.
It was 76 degrees at casa de moron when I hit the road at 6:15. Using the "Galloway heat principle" (a term I just coined) I should have added 1:30 to every mile to compensate for the temperature (the "Galloway heat principle" says you should add 30 seconds per mile for every 5 degrees above 60 when running). That makes my 9:17 pace seem almost Olympic (and it was already up to 87 when I got back home).
The problem is that a 9:17 pace is a 9:17 pace no matter what the weather, and a 9:17 pace over nine miles is very slow for me at this point.
So I'm stuck feeling lousy about my run time and pace but rationalizing that it's due to the heat yet unable to sell myself on that excuse. Ergo, my mind's playing tricks on me.
The kicker is that I've been having some really nice treadmill runs during the week lately. But then again the problem with good indoor runs is that the 10 mile race I have on June 21 is outdoors.
Hopefully in the next two weeks it'll cool down enough for me to get back to about an 8:40-8:50 10 mile pace, which is what I can do in cooler weather, and that it's the flattest course ever mapped out in the history of mapped out running courses.
Because if one or both things between temperature and grade don't work for me I think I'm in for some serious disappointment come race day.
I'm wilting in the heat and it's not even officially summer yet. Oy...
It was 76 degrees at casa de moron when I hit the road at 6:15. Using the "Galloway heat principle" (a term I just coined) I should have added 1:30 to every mile to compensate for the temperature (the "Galloway heat principle" says you should add 30 seconds per mile for every 5 degrees above 60 when running). That makes my 9:17 pace seem almost Olympic (and it was already up to 87 when I got back home).
The problem is that a 9:17 pace is a 9:17 pace no matter what the weather, and a 9:17 pace over nine miles is very slow for me at this point.
So I'm stuck feeling lousy about my run time and pace but rationalizing that it's due to the heat yet unable to sell myself on that excuse. Ergo, my mind's playing tricks on me.
The kicker is that I've been having some really nice treadmill runs during the week lately. But then again the problem with good indoor runs is that the 10 mile race I have on June 21 is outdoors.
Hopefully in the next two weeks it'll cool down enough for me to get back to about an 8:40-8:50 10 mile pace, which is what I can do in cooler weather, and that it's the flattest course ever mapped out in the history of mapped out running courses.
Because if one or both things between temperature and grade don't work for me I think I'm in for some serious disappointment come race day.
I'm wilting in the heat and it's not even officially summer yet. Oy...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Running and reading out of a rut
In the week and a half since I returned from completing my last half marathon of the spring in Boston I've written about how I've been in something of a running rut. I've been running to run with no goal or direction and nothing to strive for. Even an upcoming 10 miler in a couple weeks hasn't been inspiring for me (since it's already getting up into the 80s and 90s in Baltimore [with lows in the 70s!] I'm figuring that run is going to be brutal and I'm going to have to wear a fuel belt to stay hydrated). However, I'm happy to say that I might have inadvertantly stumbled my way out of it.
Yesterday I was doing speedwork on the treadmill and had a really great workout. I did my usual 400M repeats with 200M slow jogging at 5.5 MPH in between each, but I ramped up the speed slightly on each repeat. Doing 9 repeats, I started at 8.0 MPH for the first repeat and worked my way up to 9.0 MPH for the last one. I don't really pay much attention to distance when I'm doing repeats, but exclusive of warming up and cooling down -- which accounted for about a mile -- I only did about 3.5 miles. So it was a relatively short workout at about 30 minutes, but it was pretty intense and I felt good afterward.
I also went to runnersworld.com and put "rut" into the search box on the site just to see what would happen and found an article that explains pretty well why I've fallen into a rut. It's nice to know that what I've been experiencing isn't uncommon.
In addition to all of that, I noticed the cover of my March 2008 copy of Runner's World magazine and right there in the lower right corner it says, "Bust Out of a Rut Training Plan, Page 40." The training plan is three weeks long(although the third week it just says to do "moderate runs" without saying how many or how long) and is suggested to be used before starting up your next long-term training program. I'll have to modify it a bit, but it could help me in the run-up to training for the Baltimore half marathon that I'll be starting in mid-July.
I'll have to see how well this new knowledge and good workout work for me in the long run, but at least I feel better about my running now than I have in weeks (since my last long training run before Boston, really).
In other news, I wanted to wake up extra early this morning to run outdoors. I didn't make it. It might help if I set the alarm clock to wake me up. Since it's supposed to be in the mid to upper 80s today I'll be doing the run indoors (easy day, and only about 3 miles) and follow it up with some extra stretching and weight training. I do still want to attempt to get out there super early one of these days and see how it goes.
Yesterday I was doing speedwork on the treadmill and had a really great workout. I did my usual 400M repeats with 200M slow jogging at 5.5 MPH in between each, but I ramped up the speed slightly on each repeat. Doing 9 repeats, I started at 8.0 MPH for the first repeat and worked my way up to 9.0 MPH for the last one. I don't really pay much attention to distance when I'm doing repeats, but exclusive of warming up and cooling down -- which accounted for about a mile -- I only did about 3.5 miles. So it was a relatively short workout at about 30 minutes, but it was pretty intense and I felt good afterward.
I also went to runnersworld.com and put "rut" into the search box on the site just to see what would happen and found an article that explains pretty well why I've fallen into a rut. It's nice to know that what I've been experiencing isn't uncommon.
In addition to all of that, I noticed the cover of my March 2008 copy of Runner's World magazine and right there in the lower right corner it says, "Bust Out of a Rut Training Plan, Page 40." The training plan is three weeks long(although the third week it just says to do "moderate runs" without saying how many or how long) and is suggested to be used before starting up your next long-term training program. I'll have to modify it a bit, but it could help me in the run-up to training for the Baltimore half marathon that I'll be starting in mid-July.
I'll have to see how well this new knowledge and good workout work for me in the long run, but at least I feel better about my running now than I have in weeks (since my last long training run before Boston, really).
In other news, I wanted to wake up extra early this morning to run outdoors. I didn't make it. It might help if I set the alarm clock to wake me up. Since it's supposed to be in the mid to upper 80s today I'll be doing the run indoors (easy day, and only about 3 miles) and follow it up with some extra stretching and weight training. I do still want to attempt to get out there super early one of these days and see how it goes.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Supplementing success
Back in January when I started to train for my first half marathon I started to take vitamins for pretty much the first time in my life. It's not that I never thought vitamins/supplements weren't necessary; I'm just too lazy to remember to take them every day. Nevertheless, I stuck with them from January on and while I honestly can't say they helped me I also can't say they didn't.
Until now.
The supplement I use is specifically formulated for runners in training. Since I'm not really training for anything right now (I'm thinking of my upcoming 10 miler as a typical Sunday morning long run) I've lapsed in taking my vitamins. But I'm beginning to think that my not taking them is dragging me down. I've been tired while running and tired when I finish and I seem to be extra creaky getting out of bed in the morning. I'm still taking an additional glucosamine/condroitin supplement, so my knees and other joints feel mostly ok, but the rest of me is feeling pretty run down. The only thing I can attribute that to is the lack of vitamins because my diet and rest habits are essentially unchanged.
What finally made me consider how much the vitamins help was yesterday in the gym. Because it was hot and humid out I ran 5 miles on the treadmill at a 8:27 min/mile pace (7.1 MPH) and a pretty tame 1% grade. That's a workout I can ordinarily do with my eyes closed, but this time I was dragging my tail by the second mile. I gutted it out and even did the last couple laps at 7.3 and 7.5 MPH respectively, but I was feeling it. To top it off, I woke up this morning with sore hips. That usually only happens after my longest runs.
So I guess I'm now a believer in the power of vitamins/nutritional supplements. I just have to get back into the habit of taking them every day. As hard as it was to do that for about four months it's been that easy to ignore them completely.
Until now.
The supplement I use is specifically formulated for runners in training. Since I'm not really training for anything right now (I'm thinking of my upcoming 10 miler as a typical Sunday morning long run) I've lapsed in taking my vitamins. But I'm beginning to think that my not taking them is dragging me down. I've been tired while running and tired when I finish and I seem to be extra creaky getting out of bed in the morning. I'm still taking an additional glucosamine/condroitin supplement, so my knees and other joints feel mostly ok, but the rest of me is feeling pretty run down. The only thing I can attribute that to is the lack of vitamins because my diet and rest habits are essentially unchanged.
What finally made me consider how much the vitamins help was yesterday in the gym. Because it was hot and humid out I ran 5 miles on the treadmill at a 8:27 min/mile pace (7.1 MPH) and a pretty tame 1% grade. That's a workout I can ordinarily do with my eyes closed, but this time I was dragging my tail by the second mile. I gutted it out and even did the last couple laps at 7.3 and 7.5 MPH respectively, but I was feeling it. To top it off, I woke up this morning with sore hips. That usually only happens after my longest runs.
So I guess I'm now a believer in the power of vitamins/nutritional supplements. I just have to get back into the habit of taking them every day. As hard as it was to do that for about four months it's been that easy to ignore them completely.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Late afternoons to early mornings
I've been doing my running in the mid to late afternoons since last fall. I only really started to run in the spring of '07, where from that spring to the fall I did most of my running on the treadmill at the gym or on the road in the later evening hours.
This year I have far more evening committments with kids playing sports and having activities and all, so until later this month (and then only for a month until the next sport starts up) I only really have time to run in the mid to late afternoon, A.K.A. the hottest, most uncomfortable part of the day.
This morning I noticed a bunch of people out running at about 6:00am (all with pretty terrible form, I might add) and it struck me that if I want to make it through the summer running outdoors I'm going to have to get out there ridiculously early. Fortunately (depending on your view), it gets light really early in this part of the world. By about 4:45am it's twilight with birds chirping and all that. You have until about 6:00-6:15 or so before the sun peeks up over the trees and really begins to heat things up. From 5:00-6:15 I can easily get in up to 7 miles, and that's with warming up and cooling down and everything. It would also free up my afternoons a little.
The down side is that I'd face much worse traffic going to and coming from work since I'd be going in later than I do now. That would probably negate all my time savings from not running like a maniac to run in the afternoon. Additionally, as slight as it may seem for a while, the days are going to start getting shorter again in a few weeks. There's also the fact that I'd have to get up an hour earlier than I do now. And I think I get up plenty early enough as it is.
I've mentioned I feel that I'm in a running rut and a change of pace would be nice. I'm just not sure this is the way to get me out of my rut. I'll give it a shot on Thursday to see how it goes (it's already too late for today and I have speed work tomorrow).
That's if I can get up early enough...
This year I have far more evening committments with kids playing sports and having activities and all, so until later this month (and then only for a month until the next sport starts up) I only really have time to run in the mid to late afternoon, A.K.A. the hottest, most uncomfortable part of the day.
This morning I noticed a bunch of people out running at about 6:00am (all with pretty terrible form, I might add) and it struck me that if I want to make it through the summer running outdoors I'm going to have to get out there ridiculously early. Fortunately (depending on your view), it gets light really early in this part of the world. By about 4:45am it's twilight with birds chirping and all that. You have until about 6:00-6:15 or so before the sun peeks up over the trees and really begins to heat things up. From 5:00-6:15 I can easily get in up to 7 miles, and that's with warming up and cooling down and everything. It would also free up my afternoons a little.
The down side is that I'd face much worse traffic going to and coming from work since I'd be going in later than I do now. That would probably negate all my time savings from not running like a maniac to run in the afternoon. Additionally, as slight as it may seem for a while, the days are going to start getting shorter again in a few weeks. There's also the fact that I'd have to get up an hour earlier than I do now. And I think I get up plenty early enough as it is.
I've mentioned I feel that I'm in a running rut and a change of pace would be nice. I'm just not sure this is the way to get me out of my rut. I'll give it a shot on Thursday to see how it goes (it's already too late for today and I have speed work tomorrow).
That's if I can get up early enough...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Motivation-sapping heat is to blame, by crikey!
I have to admit that I'm in something of a running rut. Since I'm not really training for anything big aside from a 10 miler in a few weeks I feel like I've lost my way. I've been going through the motions and logged about 20 miles this past week, but my heart hasn't been in it.
The problem, I think, is summer. I'm not digging running in the heat. This morning I ran eight miles at a pretty nice pace (8:51 min/mile), but it was too hot already by 7:00am when I hit the road and I was finding that I was altering my route depending on whether or not a road provided shade.
To make matters worse, my running buddies are all kicking major butt in training and at races and I feel that I'm either stagnating or regressing in comparison. Some of them are even doing it in considerably warmer climates than my own. That's not great for the ego.
I was reading an article by Jeff Galloway (I think) that said you need to add 30 seconds per mile for every 5 degrees above 60 to combat heat. That would have made my time this morning pretty great considering it was at least 70 degrees (I know it was 66 in the shade by a temperature gauge on a restaurant I ran past). But using the heat as a crutch to explain what feels like under performing feels like a cop out to me.
The trick, I suppose, is to register for races and use them as a focus to get me through. But races in this area slow down for the summer. Yeah, you might be able to do a couple 5Ks a month until September or so, but that's not much motivation for me anymore. (It's pretty weird to feel that way, and it's equally weird to feel like an 8 miler on a Sunday morning is akin to taking the day off... maybe running is in my blood more than I'm willing to admit.)
Luckily, I only have to make it about six more weeks before I'll start training for the Baltimore half marathon (I've decided I have no desire to run a full marathon in 2008), so maybe the 10 miler I have coming and just logging "junk" miles will tide me over until then and keep me in reasonable condition.
But I'll still be cursing the heat and praying for fall the entire time.
The problem, I think, is summer. I'm not digging running in the heat. This morning I ran eight miles at a pretty nice pace (8:51 min/mile), but it was too hot already by 7:00am when I hit the road and I was finding that I was altering my route depending on whether or not a road provided shade.
To make matters worse, my running buddies are all kicking major butt in training and at races and I feel that I'm either stagnating or regressing in comparison. Some of them are even doing it in considerably warmer climates than my own. That's not great for the ego.
I was reading an article by Jeff Galloway (I think) that said you need to add 30 seconds per mile for every 5 degrees above 60 to combat heat. That would have made my time this morning pretty great considering it was at least 70 degrees (I know it was 66 in the shade by a temperature gauge on a restaurant I ran past). But using the heat as a crutch to explain what feels like under performing feels like a cop out to me.
The trick, I suppose, is to register for races and use them as a focus to get me through. But races in this area slow down for the summer. Yeah, you might be able to do a couple 5Ks a month until September or so, but that's not much motivation for me anymore. (It's pretty weird to feel that way, and it's equally weird to feel like an 8 miler on a Sunday morning is akin to taking the day off... maybe running is in my blood more than I'm willing to admit.)
Luckily, I only have to make it about six more weeks before I'll start training for the Baltimore half marathon (I've decided I have no desire to run a full marathon in 2008), so maybe the 10 miler I have coming and just logging "junk" miles will tide me over until then and keep me in reasonable condition.
But I'll still be cursing the heat and praying for fall the entire time.
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