A running moron of a coach

I'm not the most observant person in the world. I'm not so aloof that I don't see anything outside of a 3 foot radius, but my bubble of give-a-care is pretty small. I like to do the things that I want to do the way I want to do them without anyone bothering me and I give other people a pretty wide berth so they can live their lives the way they see fit too. As long as what you're doing isn't hurting anyone else knock yourself out. I could not care any less.

Except, I'm finding, when it comes to watching other people run.

I'm just a running moron with no real running expertise. I have been at it constantly for 5 years (except for when I was injured), and I've sort of come to figure out what works best for me most of the time, but except for a couple of age group placings I've never won anything in a race. So I've never been faster than anyone. And I've never taken any classes regarding running from anyone with any expertise. I am completely self-made when it comes to running, for better or for worse. Kind of like how they say a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client everything I've done for myself in regards to running has probably been negligible at best and seriously detrimental at worst.

But when I see people running all out of sorts with their arms swinging every which way and their heads bobbing up and down and their shoulders bounding this way and that it drives me nuts. And I just want to walk up to them, tell them to stop, suggest they try to run using some of the principles I've learned over the last few years, and watch them marvel at how much more efficiently they run and how much stronger they feel doing it.


And that's where the problems start. For one thing, this goes directly against my libertarian belief that anyone should be able to do whatever they want as long as they're not hurting anyone else. Except for making my eyes hurt watching them, these inefficient runners are only hurting themselves. And, you know, more power to them.

Also, how would I feel if some ordinary looking goof walked up to me and told me how crappy I look while doing something I want to do in my own way? Pretty offended, probably. And I wouldn't be too keen on heeding the advice of any old idiot who told me how much energy I'm wasting and suggest to me why I look like a gorilla when I run and what I can do to look better in his eyes.

And yet, I'm starting to feel more and more compelled to at least try to suggest to someone how he or she can run just a little more efficiently. I believe one of two things will happen: either that person will take my "coaching" to heart, discover I was correct, and shower me with praise and presents for eternity, or I'll get smacked with a powerful right hand and my "protege" will bolt away looking for law enforcement.

If I ever do finally stop someone and ask them to let me share some of my "expertise" with them, I'll be sure to come back here and post a picture of that person's hand print on the side of my face. I'm sure it'll leave a doozy of a mark.

Not quite as I remember it

In the couple of times I've undertaken training for a marathon one of the things I liked most was getting out very early in the morning to run 9 or 10 miles before work. Don't get me wrong though. I hated making sure I was in bed by 8, and I hated being unable to keep my eyes open after 7 in the evening on the days I did those runs, and I guess it made me even a little more grouchy than usual to follow that kind of schedule, but when I was out there running through a town still slumbering the peace I felt and tranquility it brought me as I shuffled through the miles was the best.

This morning I decided to capture a little bit of that past. I needed to knock out about 6 miles and thought doing it early in the morning sounded like a great idea.

However, because I was going "only" about 6 miles I didn't have to get out of the house quite as early as I did for 9 or 10 when training for a marathon and I discovered there's a big difference between running at 4:30am and running at 5:45am.

Running during that time of the day I subject myself to the humility of wearing a reflective vest. It used to work pretty well. Now, not so much. Never before have I had to dodge cars coming out of driveways, making turns without bothering to look both ways, weaving from one side of the road to the other, or just not bothering to give me an extra inch of space like I had to this morning. It was a little foggy during parts of my run, but not so much where the cars came a little close for comfort. Here is a generic chart of my pace this morning:


As you can see, there were a few tentative moments during the first half of the run, but starting around the middle of the run there were times I had to come to stops to avoid confronting a multi-thousand pound vehicle with my (not quite) multi-hundred pound body. And I was wearing a reflective vest and there were street lights. It wasn't pitch dark or terribly foggy at these points.

There's no real moral to this story, but if you're reading it you're either a runner or have interest in running and/or people who run. There are a lot of jackwagons out there who think those of us who get out there to pound out a few miles don't deserve the 18 inches of road we occupy by doing it. Don't be one of those people. To paraphrase a sign I saw recently, that person who means nothing to you is somebody else's everything.

It's a good motto to live by while you drive.

Especially when I'm out there with the audacity to occupy a few inches of roadway.

Minimalist running and barefoot walking

The last week or so has been good for my running. I've been going decent distances in decent amounts of time and when it's been over my body has been feeling decent. Except for the speed I used to have and which I can't seem to buy now everything has been coming up Milhouse lately.

Although I've only run in them three times -- about 15 miles -- I credit some of my good running to the Saucony Kinvara 3s I've been blessed with by the running gods (at Saucony). They are a remarkable pair of shoes and when they go on sale to the public on May 1 I will be buying another pair. I'm thinking hard about running my upcoming 10 mile race in them rather than the Cortanas in which I've been running long. With each run I'm becoming more convinced the Kinvara 3 is The Shoe for any type of run whether it be long, tempo, short, fast, interval training, etc. So far they're darn near perfect. I don't think I can get hyperbolic enough about the Kinvara 3.


Is this the secret to my recent running success...
However, since the weather in the mid-Atlantic region where I live has been downright pleasant without a trace of winter anywhere in the air I've been spending my non-running time walking around in a pair of Vibram Five Fingers Bikilas. I got them last year when I pretended I wanted to be a barefoot runner but discovered I don't have the heart to start running over again when I never had a problem wearing shoes. The Bikilas are kind of substantial for a barefoot shoe, but they do provide the barefoot experience. And I spent enough money for them that I'm going to get my use out of them.

So with my non-running time spent walking around in a barefoot-ish environment I believe it's helped my minimalist-ish shod running. Even walking around I'm working on my form and gait now. Mostly without even realizing it.


...or is this?
Now I realize my recent running success can be tracked back to not only a great new pair of shoes, but a pair of shoes designed to make me think I'm not wearing shoes. It takes the best of both worlds to build a better runner. I guess. Or something like that.

P.S. I am coming to the belief that the barefoot running craze has plateaued. There will always be the die-hards, but barefoot running doesn't seem to have the air behind it that it did a year or two ago. On the other hand, minimalist running, which shoes like the Kinvara 3 and NB Minimus provide, seems to be the new standard. It's just my opinion, but I think it's justified.

An initial reaction to running in the Saucony Kinvara 3

I was lucky enough to receive a pair of Saucony Kinvara 3 running shoes the other day. It was one of the happiest days of my running life to get them more than a month sooner than normal civilians can even hope to. Makes a guy get all choked up and junk. Here, let's relive the magic:




While I couldn't wait to test the shoes out by running in them rather than just lovingly caress them like I did in the video, I have a pretty regimented new shoe break-in schedule that I always follow.

First, I run in them slowly for 3 miles on a treadmill to make sure they're good for my feet when running in them for 25-30 minutes or so at a time. If the new shoes pass that test, then two days later (I never run in the same pair of shoes two days in a row) I'll take them out on the road for another easy 3 miler to make sure the shoes are good for me in "real world" conditions. Finally, depending on the shoe, I'll wear them for a speed work session. If they pass all three challenges I'll make the determination of whether the new shoes are better suited for long runs or short runs(< 5 miles or so)/speed work. Subsequent runs will reflect that determination.

I never said I was normal.

Since I wanted to run in the Kinvara 3s badly, and since I had a run I had to do yesterday that didn't mesh with the break-in schedule I said screw it and threw the new Kinvara 3s right into the fire. It was a speed work day: 10 minute (1+ mile) warm-up, 2 minutes 5K pace 2 minutes recovery X 10, 10 minute (1+ mile) cool-down. In all it worked out to be a 55 minute run, covering more than 10K. It was by far the longest, most intense first run I've ever put a brand new pair of shoes through. And the Saucony Kinvara 3 performed beautifully. I'm not even kidding. I'm usually dragging and sore by the end of this kind of workout, but in the Kinvaras I wasn't.

Was it because of my excitement, or was there something of a placebo effect that made me think the Kinvara 3s are great just because I think they're great? Maybe. But from my experience, all of the adrenaline and excitement is bled out within 3-4 miles and then you get down to the nitty gritty. The last nearly three miles of my time in the Kinvaras were just as good as the first four. As I said on Twitter, after the run I'd have bought a second pair of Kinvara 3s immediately if I could. There are some big differences between the Kinvara 3 and the Kinvara 2, which will be another post. Just know that if you like the Kinvara 2 you will probably love the Kinvara 3.


My new precious.
I will say that at this point I may run the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in my new Kinvara 3s, whereas my Kinvara 2s were designated short run/speed work shoes. In fact, it'll take a little more running, but my initial reaction is the Kinvara 3 may just be the first shoe I've ever owned that is equally suited for short runs, long runs, speed work, and everything in between. That is an amazing distinction.

Much more on the Kinvara 3 soon.

Nothing is nerdier than an unboxing video. Let's get nerdy!

Here's me unboxing the "top secret" I received in the mail yesterday. I was so excited! A review of them in action is coming soon!


After watching that you know why I don't make more videos...

Perils of the DST

Sunday I ran a solid 9 miles out on my favorite trail. The worst thing about it was that I started a little late because we moved the clocks up for daylight savings time and that kind of messed up my timing. But not as badly as it messed up others.

Where I park my car along the trail is in a lot where a group of older people gather every week. I guess they walk or jog or do whatever. They socialize. It's cute. They're there around the same time I am and I see them fairly regularly, either when they're coming or when they're going.

I'd say there's 3-4 cars that represent the group, and this past weekend they were finishing up about the same time I was. I was walking around cooling down and then changing into dry clothes. In other words, I was hanging out for a while not doing much. As I was loitering I saw the car of one of the group of old folks drive into the lot. He's a lone member of the group and I guess he didn't take daylight savings time into consideration.

He walked over to this friends, who pretty obviously were getting ready to leave, and asked what the deal was. One of the group told him they just started at the usual time. He dropped his head, turned around and walked back to his car with this look on his face:


"Okay."
He opened the door, looked back, got into his car, started it up, and left. And that was it for him that day.

Fortunately, my daylight savings time started off a little better than that. I hope yours did too.

Learning loud and clear

This past Tuesday, an "easy" 4 mile run day, I decided to push it. I was coming off a rest day after a day in which I ran a solid 8 miler and I was feeling mighty fine. Confident in my running, even. The result of my pushing that 4 miler was only my best run since I started to tiptoe back into the running pool after a three month layoff due to a stress fracture. It wasn't just the speed in which I ran the 4 miles -- even though it was my fastest post-injury 4 miler, but the fact that when it was over I felt rejuvenated and not spent, like I felt after a brisk-paced run in the good old days. In truth, I could have pushed it harder and gotten pretty close to my pre-injury average pace.

And then the adrenaline and the endorphins wore off.

Tuesday night my foot was in pain, like the pain I felt when I injured it and knew I needed more doctor and less running. I was pretty scared. Wednesday, my speed work day, I took another rest day. On Thursday, scheduled to be an easy run day, I was feeling pretty good and decided to move my speed work to that day. I was supposed to do 9 intervals but quit after 5 because I was feeling kind of sore and didn't want to make anything worse. Post-workout that day I was sore but not in pain pain. Friday was another rest day, and then today, Saturday I was scheduled for another "easy" 4-6 miles.


Feeling a little sore but not too bad I figured I'd be safe and hit the treadmill and see where my foot stood after a mile or so. I felt good enough to continue my run and wound up doing 5 decent miles on the hamster wheel, but I learned something about how I'm able to run right now: not as fast as I want.

It seems that if I stay around a 9:00 min/mile pace I'm ok but when I try to push it faster my foot barks back. It's a tough reality to deal with when my mind and the rest of my body is up for the challenge of speeding up but my foot keeps calling out to torment me with a "not so fast, my friend."

I'm going to keep running slow and steady for the foreseeable future and hope that as I run slowishly now my foot will reward me later by allowing me to go fastishly later.

It stinks being pretty much healthy but still half hobbled but we all have our own issues to deal with, I guess. I mean, I am still running and that's what matters most.

I can't but you can and I could watch you

Yesterday I ran my best 4 mile run since I starting running again after suffering a stress fracture in my foot. It's not just that it was my fastest 4 miler since then, but that when I was finished I was rejuvenated rather than gasping for air and praying to not pass out before getting to the end, as had previously been the case with my 4 milers. It's days like that when I start wondering about how hard I should push it. And then I come across a video like this:


I'm not up for a 50K, and I'm certainly not up for a 50 Miler, but I could see me running a 10K North Face Endurance Challenge this year and then maybe moving up to the half marathon next year, health willing.

Unfortunately, my foot is having none of it right now. It's quite sore after yesterday and it's reminded me that while I should be able to run half marathon road races this year if I take it easy it's probably not in my best interest to push my foot too much further than it can go. I'm not looking for another months-long medically mandated break from running, after all. So I'll stay slow and on the road for a while longer.

That doesn't mean you can't challenge yourself. The North Face Endurance Challenge is coming to my neck of the woods in early June, and it's run in other places across the country. I encourage anyone interested in a challenging off-road race from distances between 5K and 50 miles in the Washington, D.C. area to learn more about that location's race here. If you're a real animal skip all that research nonsense and click on this image to register:


I'm not sure what I have going on the weekend the race is held, but if you're running it and need someone to be part of your crew, I'm your man. I'll run it vicariously through you, except for the sweat and the pain and all that stuff.

The getting ready is the hardest part

Since early 2008, as long as I've been healthy I've been training for some long run or another every spring and fall; either a half marathon or three or in a couple cases a real, honest to goodness marathon. After all that time and all that training you'd think a guy would get used to it, but I'm here to make a confession:

I still stress out about my long runs every week.

It doesn't matter how good I'm feeling or how well the weather's shaping up or if I'm running the flattest route possible. I worry.

Usually my long runs are on Sunday and the stress starts on Friday, which, ironically, is almost always a rest day. First, I worry about my Saturday run, some distance between 3-5 miles or so. I don't want to run too fast, nor do I want to run too long. On the other hand, I don't want to run too slowly, nor do I want to run too short. There's a delicate balance. Matters are complicated because Saturday's run is after a rest day so I'm usually feeling really good. And that's REALLY worrisome because I don't want to feel TOO good.


Philip J. Fry demonstrates how I feel anticipating my weekly long run. Thanks, Fry.
Then there's nutrition and hydration on Saturday. I have to make sure I drink water, which for some reason is hard for me to remember during the weekend. And I have to make sure that I eat well, but I don't have to eat too well. My best runs are on mornings after I eat something with a few more carbs and a little more fat than I should the night before. Although that might be in my head. Whatever, it works.

And good gravy, there's making sure all of my gear is squared away. Depending on where I'm running I may be packing enough clothing into my gym bag for a weekend away rather than for a couple hours out on the trail. I have to be prepared for any type of meteorological anything, you know. My hydration belt has to be loaded and ready to go. My mp3 player needs to be charged, my Garmin has to be ready to go, and my favorite pair of socks have to be clean.

I do all this worrying and preparing, and then before finishing the first two miles of my run all of it proves to be for nothing because everything I worry about pre-run melts away after 15-20 minutes. By then all I care about is taking the next step or guessing which song will get pumped into my head next.

My longs runs aren't always great. Sometimes they're downright disheartening, but for all my worrying everything generally works itself out in the end and I realize that nothing I worried about or prepared for mattered except that I got myself out the door and took the first of however many steps I was going to take during that run.

I know there's a lesson in there for me somewhere. I'm just not sure what it is...

Training schedule, decoded

My training for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (and for the Frederick, MD half marathon) has fallen into a routine:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Easy run

Wednesday: Speed work

Thursday: Easy run

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Easy run

Sunday: Long run

The distances and types of runs change, but they all fit within the pattern. Running these types of runs on these days has been a little more challenging than it seems. Here's how I see each day now:

Monday: Oh, thank God

Tuesday: Hey, running is easy

Wednesday: Ow ow ow ow ow

Thursday: God, running is impossible

Friday: Oh, thank God

Saturday: Better take it easy for tomorrow's long run

Sunday: Should have taken it easier yesterday

The runs on Tuesday and Thursday are virtually identical, yet on Tuesdays I'm floating on air when I run while on Thursday I feel like I'm running with cinder blocks tied to my feet, and arms, and neck. Funny how that works.

Even with the pain that comes with the training I'm happy to be able to complain about it. That's a win in my book.

On another note, February marked the month with the most visits in the almost 4 year history of this blog. And it was during a short month. Thanks to everyone who reads the blog and keeps coming back. Your checks will be mailed out soon.

Also, the winners of the OrthoLite Fusion insole giveaway should receive them by early next week at the latest. Congratulations!

This weekend make sure you run hard or run home!

The countdown starts... now

It is exactly one month until showtime, or my return to an actual, real, live, sanctioned running event. The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, which starts and ends in the shadow of the Washington Monument in the nation's capital, is on April 1. The Cherry Blossom is one of my favorite runs, and it's the event in which I set my 10 mile PR. Twice. I was frozen out of running it last year because I wasn't a registration lottery "winner," but for 2012 I'm back, baby!

This year I'm fairly certain I'm not going to come within 7 minutes of my PR of 1:23:49. In fact, I'm fairly certain I'm not going to come within 10 minutes of that PR. I've been running all right lately, but I've only been running for two months after not running at all for three months and I've aged up a couple of numbers since the last time I ran the Cherry Blossom. Meanwhile, my pacing has suffered immensely. In other words, I'm half broken and old.

So I'm going into this race in a way I haven't since I ran my first 5K in 2007. I'm going to go out there and try my best, but I'm not going to obsess over my time. I'm going to enjoy the experience and be happy to be out there healthy. I have what I think is a pretty ambitious schedule for the spring and I'm going to approach each race with the same attitude. One half marathon, two 10 milers, a 7 miler, and a 10K are going to be run with only fun and frolic with mind. The Cherry Blossom is a good starting point because the first couple of miles are so jammed with people it's impossible to get off to a quick start. That usually ticks me off immeasurably, but this year I'm pretty sanguine about it. It'll just be part of my stress-free running spring.


How stressful can it be running through trees that look like this for the better part of 5 miles?
From 2009, taken a mile and a half or so from the finish line. Courtesy of my buddy Mark.
Look out this fall though because I'll likely be in full running manic mode by then.

And if all goes well this year next year I'll be all out psychotic about my running. I hope so, at least.