Key Words: State of the Union
Word Count: 'Bout 900
Happy Labor Day! Naturally, it's raining here, so no running so far today). As it has has been many moons since I had a non-running topic, here's a quasi-state of the union address on this lazy Labor Day.
Automobile
My car turned two last week, celebrating it's birthday on the same day as Andy. Only 22,500 miles and that's with two trips home (3000) and one "run from the 'cane" (2500), so on a weekly basis, I don't put many miles on the car. I suspect my car pooling situation will hold at least through the end of this year, so no reason to think I won't make it to the four year mark with my warranty intact (4y/50000m). I suppose I should start thinking about whether to extend the warranty, as I think I can get that cheaper if I do it earlier ....
Stock Market
The stock market is a mess, but I think it might be stabilizing a bit. George W's statement that the government should come up with ways to bail out people unable to pay their mortgages has/will make the markets happy. Also, the Fed said they are ready to jump in and save the economy if the housing market drags us into a recession. This housing woe scares Wall Street because they are afraid it will make people be unable to, or scared to spend money. "Buying stuff" is about 70% of our economy, so it's smart for them to be scared. My personal opinion is that the market will go sideways, up and down but ending near where it is, until we figure out just how bad this mortgage problem is. I've taken my "play money" out of the market and put it into my money market account at GMAC Bank.
Work
I'm a bit angered by work at the moment. The basic reason I didn't go somewhere this weekend is because it is bad for planners (that's what I am!) to be out this time of year, because next week we start presenting out budgets to the Upstream presidents (they find oil, they're important). Though I think it's a bad time to be out, my boss was in training the first three days of the week and on vacation the last two! Another guy I work with, who is key to this process, was on vacation Thursday and Friday. I don't begrudge either of them personally; I'm glad they took the days off. This comes down to my HATING when work interferes with my right to take vacation. It angers me when people say "I couldn't take vacation at this or that time because I was too busy", but yet I've let that happen here. For a good part of today, I actually need to log in to work and finish up some stuff ... and then get to bed early so I can be at work for my 7AM meeting! I'm glad to have a good job, still, "Me Keith Mad!" is the mantra of the moment for work.
Literary Fulfillment
I purchased Michael Chabon's new novel, "The Yiddish Policeman's Union", and need to start it soon. Chabon is one hell of a writer and the first one whose work I always get and read.
Cell Phone Service
I'm disappointed with Verizon. The call quality is, in my opinion, inferior to Cingular. Also, though they were quick to fix this, they've already charged me a late fee! And I can't tell what features I do/don't have from the bill. Chaos. Nice phone though (it's got like, the longest battery ever made in it, it won't die), and I am saving a little bit over Cingular.
Money in the Bank
I was on a "cash quest" to save $62.50 out of my monthly, fixed expenses. I failed, but I'm happy all in all. Storage unit, NetFlix, and Comcast saved me $44.50 plus whatever monthly savings I get from Verizon (maybe up to $8) over Cingular. I never made the switch from cable internet to DSL, and now that fantasy football has started, I doubt I will.
My Next Job
I've been thinking I might like to try my hand at teaching one day. I think I have the disposition to teach, and I think I would get a certain amount of fulfillment from it. The question becomes where, when, and how. Ultimately, I would need a Master's degree to do any teaching. With a Masters, I could teach at most any Junior College, and could be an adjunct (aka, temporary) professor for certain classes at a four year joint. With a PhD, I could actually teach for real! While at the XOM I could get the Masters and potentially then go on (outside of the XOM, I would think) and get the doctorate. Going back to school would certainly be a distraction, and while that might be good, it causes a bit of caution. I would won't to make sure I'm doing this because I want to, and not just as a way to shake things up. Going to school while working would be a "helluva shake up", so I had best want to do it if I pursue it.
Well, there you have it, a mental dump on this most rainy of Labor Days. The marathon is just over one month away, and while I can make no predictions as to my finishing time, I am slowly starting to think that I'm rounding into running shape (still need to lose about four pounds ... BEEFCAKE!). Later.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Maasten Up
Key Words: Keith FIT, Sponge Bob Singlets, Maastened
Word Count: 995
Today was, per the schedule, an 11 miler for Chicago and a 12 miler for other HoustonFIT Fall groups, so Patty (she was absent, no Patty Wagon with oranges and water!) setup a 11.88 mile route that we could all run. Small group, as it's a holiday weekend.
I wanted to run this from the heart! No, not with passion, but with a beats per minute limit. The 18 miler seems to have exposed that if my heart is working at 166 or so BPM, that I'm probably working too hard for long distance (13+) mile running. Also, using my recent numbers (see my last post), 80% of my max working heart rate would be around 157 to 166. So I set out to keep the ticker at or under 160.
The goal of my heart rate training is to fine a zone that I can work aerobically in for a long time. The point of long running is, after all, aerobic workout. Successful runners spend about 80% of their miles at a slow speed; that's about the closest thing to universal advice you find in running. So it makes sense that these long runs should be in this slow, aerobic zone. Unfortunately, in the current weather conditions this means running reeeal slow miles. Here's where you buy in or take a pass: minutes per mile are fairly pointless. If I take my best runs from this Summer, even short ones, it seems likely that I will not break five hours in Chicago. Though that would be fine, I don't really believe that, because (hopefully) the conditions in Chicago will be more conducive to easier running. So instead of fixating on pace, I am choosing to fixate on improving my bodies aerobic capacity. I'm buying in that if I make my heart and lungs stronger, that when I get better weather, I'll be able to run faster.
Of course, there is more to running than aerobic capacity. There are two more things really: lactic acid threshold, and VO2 Max. If you only trained in this slow, aerobic zone, guess what, you'd turn into a real slow runner! You have to do more than that; tempo and speed work come in there. Tempo runs push you body into it a zone where it is producing lactic acid at a rate close or in excess of its ability to remove it. This is, perhaps, the greatest threat to distance runners. Your muscles will shut down if drenched in acid; you have to work below this threshold. Therefore, by putting your body at this limit, you hope to improve the limit over time, and thus be able to run faster without a deluge of acid. Speed running makes your body use copious amounts of oxygen because you are going very fast over a decent distance (not a sprint though, because when you truly sprint, your body doesn't use oxygen for running). Your VO2 Max (the amount of oxygen you can use) is, unfortunately, limited by genetics :( However, "they" say you can improve your base level, even if you fit, by about 5 - 10%. Speed training does this.
The above, slow runs in the aerobic zone, speed work at a quick pace, and tempo work is, not surprisingly given its success, the basic USA FIT workout plan. The one thing that I think it lacks is running at marathon pace. That pace is between tempo and aerobic (I call it a fast aerobic), and I think you need some miles in at this speed, not for physiological reasons, but for psychological ones; you need to know what it feels like. That's why I think the recovery runs should be run at marathon pace. There you have it, Keith FIT. My Yellow Group will wear Sponge Bob singlets.
So I'm buying in. After two years of "running", I'm going to start training. Jon and I got into a discussion about this after this mornings run. I think I'm a successful distacne runner in that I'm speedy at short distance, a lil' better than average in the half, and, well, at least I've finished three marathons. However, I may have done that in spite of my training. Well, that's obviously not fully true, but what I mean to convey is that if I train "better", I might have more success. It's easy to keep doing the same old things, but as I've said many times, if you want different results, you have to train differently. It may be as simple as running a little slower on Saturday, and making sure I am religious about tempo, speed, and recovery runs.
As for this morning's run, it was fine. I kept the heart rate where I wanted, and ran about 10:45 - 11:00 minutes miles, maybe a bit faster. It's worth noting that in today's cooler weather, I was able to run about as fast as the 18 miler, but my heart stayed lower. This makes sense, but I wanted to see it happen! A first though, it rained on this run. A lot! As some folks in the South say, I was quite "maastened". Hydration over the last four miles was as simple as looking up and opening your mouth over the last four miles. I cannot remember a run prior to this one where it really rained like this. Other than my shoes getting full of water, it wasn't so bad really. Thankfully the lightening stayed away until I got near the park. Who knows where I would have holed up had that started, and I'm not sure how Jon would have found me (I think I'll start running with a cell phone!).
Adios. Have a good Labor Day!
Word Count: 995
Today was, per the schedule, an 11 miler for Chicago and a 12 miler for other HoustonFIT Fall groups, so Patty (she was absent, no Patty Wagon with oranges and water!) setup a 11.88 mile route that we could all run. Small group, as it's a holiday weekend.
I wanted to run this from the heart! No, not with passion, but with a beats per minute limit. The 18 miler seems to have exposed that if my heart is working at 166 or so BPM, that I'm probably working too hard for long distance (13+) mile running. Also, using my recent numbers (see my last post), 80% of my max working heart rate would be around 157 to 166. So I set out to keep the ticker at or under 160.
The goal of my heart rate training is to fine a zone that I can work aerobically in for a long time. The point of long running is, after all, aerobic workout. Successful runners spend about 80% of their miles at a slow speed; that's about the closest thing to universal advice you find in running. So it makes sense that these long runs should be in this slow, aerobic zone. Unfortunately, in the current weather conditions this means running reeeal slow miles. Here's where you buy in or take a pass: minutes per mile are fairly pointless. If I take my best runs from this Summer, even short ones, it seems likely that I will not break five hours in Chicago. Though that would be fine, I don't really believe that, because (hopefully) the conditions in Chicago will be more conducive to easier running. So instead of fixating on pace, I am choosing to fixate on improving my bodies aerobic capacity. I'm buying in that if I make my heart and lungs stronger, that when I get better weather, I'll be able to run faster.
Of course, there is more to running than aerobic capacity. There are two more things really: lactic acid threshold, and VO2 Max. If you only trained in this slow, aerobic zone, guess what, you'd turn into a real slow runner! You have to do more than that; tempo and speed work come in there. Tempo runs push you body into it a zone where it is producing lactic acid at a rate close or in excess of its ability to remove it. This is, perhaps, the greatest threat to distance runners. Your muscles will shut down if drenched in acid; you have to work below this threshold. Therefore, by putting your body at this limit, you hope to improve the limit over time, and thus be able to run faster without a deluge of acid. Speed running makes your body use copious amounts of oxygen because you are going very fast over a decent distance (not a sprint though, because when you truly sprint, your body doesn't use oxygen for running). Your VO2 Max (the amount of oxygen you can use) is, unfortunately, limited by genetics :( However, "they" say you can improve your base level, even if you fit, by about 5 - 10%. Speed training does this.
The above, slow runs in the aerobic zone, speed work at a quick pace, and tempo work is, not surprisingly given its success, the basic USA FIT workout plan. The one thing that I think it lacks is running at marathon pace. That pace is between tempo and aerobic (I call it a fast aerobic), and I think you need some miles in at this speed, not for physiological reasons, but for psychological ones; you need to know what it feels like. That's why I think the recovery runs should be run at marathon pace. There you have it, Keith FIT. My Yellow Group will wear Sponge Bob singlets.
So I'm buying in. After two years of "running", I'm going to start training. Jon and I got into a discussion about this after this mornings run. I think I'm a successful distacne runner in that I'm speedy at short distance, a lil' better than average in the half, and, well, at least I've finished three marathons. However, I may have done that in spite of my training. Well, that's obviously not fully true, but what I mean to convey is that if I train "better", I might have more success. It's easy to keep doing the same old things, but as I've said many times, if you want different results, you have to train differently. It may be as simple as running a little slower on Saturday, and making sure I am religious about tempo, speed, and recovery runs.
As for this morning's run, it was fine. I kept the heart rate where I wanted, and ran about 10:45 - 11:00 minutes miles, maybe a bit faster. It's worth noting that in today's cooler weather, I was able to run about as fast as the 18 miler, but my heart stayed lower. This makes sense, but I wanted to see it happen! A first though, it rained on this run. A lot! As some folks in the South say, I was quite "maastened". Hydration over the last four miles was as simple as looking up and opening your mouth over the last four miles. I cannot remember a run prior to this one where it really rained like this. Other than my shoes getting full of water, it wasn't so bad really. Thankfully the lightening stayed away until I got near the park. Who knows where I would have holed up had that started, and I'm not sure how Jon would have found me (I think I'll start running with a cell phone!).
Adios. Have a good Labor Day!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Thumpity Thump Thump
Key Word: Resting, Maximum, Are you OK?
Word Count: 552
First run of the week today! (stupid rain) I was in need of some heart rate data after finding that my resting heart rate is 44bpm (maybe a lil' slower), so I went for a Felix Run from Finish Strong. Coach said, due to the heat, we shouldn't do the two mile hard tempo, opting instead for alternating half-mile hard, with half-mile easy. Naturally, as I was trying to find my maximum heart rate, I opted for something different. After a mile real easy, I took off for a mile hard.
That mile went faster than I thought it would; 8:03! Pretty good since I wasn't in an all out blaze (though I was sprinting at the end). My heart rate got up to a noticeably fast 184 bpm at the end. Half mile with a walk and easy run (Meghan came back by asking "Are you all right?", yes, just resting up to BLAZE a mile). The second fast mile was a bit more of a challenge, and though I didn't notice my exact time at the finish, I think it was 8:20 (this watch makes checking split times difficult or maybe impossible, it's more into heart rate stats). My heart rate trumped itself by topping out at 185 during this interval. Quick break for a wee (believe it or not, I actually didn't get that in before the run ... unlike me), and I met up with Leon for the run back.
185 is probably not my max heart rate, but it's close. I probably need an honest to goodness sprint workout to nail down the max. A supposedly very reliable formula for max heart rate goes like this: 210 minus half your age minus 5% of your body weight plus 4. Sure, why not. That yields a max of 191. Wikipedia claims that 205.8 - (0.685*age) was deemed by some study to be the best formula, though they say there really is no acceptable formula (this one had a standard deviation of about 6 bpm). This would yield a max of 185.
With this info, RunnersWorld UK lists how you come up with running zones (http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=176). They use your "working heart rate", or your max minus your resting, as the key for the computations. As they put it, long runs (aka, Saturday morning runs) should be between 60%-70% of your max. To compute that, you take 70% of your working heart rate (here I use 185 as max and 44 as resting), and I get 143 as my heart rate. I would have to run HELLA SLOW to get my HR that low on Saturday morning. If I assume my max heart rate is around 197 (one formula said it should be), 70% lands me at 151 (possible, though still slow pimpin'). Regardless of my exact max, 166 (my cruising HR on Saturday) seems fast, close if not over 80% which is more so a tempo or long fartlek rate. I may try to slow it down, and maintain the slowness and see how I feel. 12 miles on Saturday. Sounds long, but after 18, it should be awesome!
Word Count: 552
First run of the week today! (stupid rain) I was in need of some heart rate data after finding that my resting heart rate is 44bpm (maybe a lil' slower), so I went for a Felix Run from Finish Strong. Coach said, due to the heat, we shouldn't do the two mile hard tempo, opting instead for alternating half-mile hard, with half-mile easy. Naturally, as I was trying to find my maximum heart rate, I opted for something different. After a mile real easy, I took off for a mile hard.
That mile went faster than I thought it would; 8:03! Pretty good since I wasn't in an all out blaze (though I was sprinting at the end). My heart rate got up to a noticeably fast 184 bpm at the end. Half mile with a walk and easy run (Meghan came back by asking "Are you all right?", yes, just resting up to BLAZE a mile). The second fast mile was a bit more of a challenge, and though I didn't notice my exact time at the finish, I think it was 8:20 (this watch makes checking split times difficult or maybe impossible, it's more into heart rate stats). My heart rate trumped itself by topping out at 185 during this interval. Quick break for a wee (believe it or not, I actually didn't get that in before the run ... unlike me), and I met up with Leon for the run back.
185 is probably not my max heart rate, but it's close. I probably need an honest to goodness sprint workout to nail down the max. A supposedly very reliable formula for max heart rate goes like this: 210 minus half your age minus 5% of your body weight plus 4. Sure, why not. That yields a max of 191. Wikipedia claims that 205.8 - (0.685*age) was deemed by some study to be the best formula, though they say there really is no acceptable formula (this one had a standard deviation of about 6 bpm). This would yield a max of 185.
With this info, RunnersWorld UK lists how you come up with running zones (http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=176). They use your "working heart rate", or your max minus your resting, as the key for the computations. As they put it, long runs (aka, Saturday morning runs) should be between 60%-70% of your max. To compute that, you take 70% of your working heart rate (here I use 185 as max and 44 as resting), and I get 143 as my heart rate. I would have to run HELLA SLOW to get my HR that low on Saturday morning. If I assume my max heart rate is around 197 (one formula said it should be), 70% lands me at 151 (possible, though still slow pimpin'). Regardless of my exact max, 166 (my cruising HR on Saturday) seems fast, close if not over 80% which is more so a tempo or long fartlek rate. I may try to slow it down, and maintain the slowness and see how I feel. 12 miles on Saturday. Sounds long, but after 18, it should be awesome!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
18 miler - PUKE UP!
Key Words: 18 miler, Puke on the 59 Overpass, 166 BPM
Word Count: 1400 or so (come on, it was a long run, give it a read .. esp if you have opinions on heart rate)
So last Saturday was the HoustonFIT Chicago Marathon training program 18 mile run. As it has taken me three days to write this, it was clearly a rough event. First, as I'm not sure of the tone I am going to write this in, in case its overly negative, let me say I'm glad to be healthy enough to be able to run 18 miles in Houston's August heat. Lord knows I don't take care of my body or health the way I should (damn those vices!), but thankfully, I'm still up to the task. So there, onward to 18.
The Friday before the run was our fantasy football draft, and for that reason, I should not have been as sleep deprived as I was. After football drafts my mind is so busy racing with what could-a, should-a, that I have a hard time enumerating sheep. So it was with maybe five hours of sleep on Friday night, and 10 over the past two days, that I toed the line at 4:30AM for our run.
This was my first run with the new heart rate monitor. My goal was simply to learn about my body: what rate did my heart like when I was cruising, did it spike up during the painful parts, could I use it to force myself to run through difficult stretches of asphalt? As Larry and I (my running partner at the start of runs of late) headed to Luke's Locker my heart rate steadily climbed, settling in at a game 166 or so per minute. Much to my pleasure I noticed that I could foretell when my HR had climbed or fallen more than a couple of beats. Once I suddenly felt cool, calm, collected ... I looked down and my HR was a mellow 150! 3.5 miles to Lukes, somewhere around 10:20 or so a mile.
After Lukes we were to run to the Rice loop (6 total miles) and do one Rice Loop (3 miles), one Herman Park Loop (3 miles) and return to Memorial (18 total). Note therefore, that this could easily be a 12, 15, or 18 mile course. The big secret from our last 15 mile run was that I didn't do 15 miles; I only did 14! (scandal!) So I was committed to doing 15, and really wanted 18. I have been more and more vocal about the silliness of our 21 mile training run three weeks prior to Chicago and I will certainly not run it. This, if I made it to 18, would surely be my longest training run.
Things went well to Rice, with my HR staying pegged at 166. Some of Felix's crew (including his wife Sylvia) were running with us. It turns out that Felix is apparently running Chicago!?!? I had no idea. Anywho, I jockeyed with them a bit, and after they left the aide station at mile six ahead of me, I chased them around Rice. This is where the heart rate monitor came in handy. Right before mile nine, I had an urge to go ahead and decide to only run 15. I looked at me HR; 165, nope, doing 18. I had an urge to walk; HR was 166, nope keep on trucking. After a few more "urges", I calmed down and pulled into the nine mile stop under decent control. I had either just fended off a silly desire to run less, or fended off a smart desire to cut things short on a day when I wasn't at my best.
Then things went horribly wrong.
The HRM strap was irritating me a bit, so I took it off. This made my watch very angry. That made me very angry. My stomach got angry! ME HAGS MAD!!!! Suddenly I didn't feel well. My ears throbbed, my stomach churned, my head was buzzing. I figure the stress (which was silly) over the HRM was not what my body wanted while being so taxed, and it revolted accordingly. I grudgingly reset the watch, strapped back up, and headed out for my Hermann Park loop.
I could no longer resist the urge to walk during this part. I started jockeying with some fast 5/1 runners, and came across a walking Larry; people around me walking makes me want to walk, so I did. Somewhere around Hermann I realized that I probably should have only did 15, but as I was committed, I hobbled on into the 12 mile stop. My HR, though my speed was starting to drop, was hanging at 166 or so while running. In a sign of decent aerobic fitness, my HR would drop the required 20 beats or so during the first minutes of a break (I believe that's a traditional measure of fitness :).
From 12 back to the park was an exercise of triage; running when I could. I ran with Larry some, Alaina's Greg some, and Alaina herself worked the Lukes aide station and ran Greg in. I was generally doing 5/1 (five minutes running, 1 minute walking), though I certainly took liberty with the lowering the 5 and increasing the 1. Then came the puke. Thankfully not mine, nor that of another running, but as I was coming to the 59 overpass, I realized I was about to step in a puddle ... of puke! I quickly realized the puddle likely came from the guy passed out in the car next to said puddle! Hopefully he was alive. I say that out of concern, and because I, as best I could in my state, laughed my ass off! With a fleeting smile, the run continued. Somewhere after Lukes, probably around mile 16, I was weary of some of the pain coming from my right achilles. As this was the one that troubled me before this year's Houston Marathon, I simply hoped to get back in one piece. It twas truly a slow march down Blossom!
I made it back to the park in about four hours. The HoustonFIT seminar was over, the tent was being broken down, but the Fall Group aide station was still up, serving those us of limping back to our starting point after a long 18 miles.
For only the second time I can recall, I got a wee bit faint after this run. Not as bad as the infamous "Hotter Than Hell 25K" from 2005, but my head was buzzing, my ears felt full of blood, I had an undeniable urge to sit down. I quickly gave Larry his promised sample of Endurolytes and headed back to my car. The "Party in the Park" was on Sat. morning, but get this, I was too tired to go get free St. Arnolds beer! Yep. You read right. I was blasted.
So what does this mean? Well, I'll go into Chicago with a clear conscience. I made it 18 miles. Some running, some walking, some jumping of puke puddles, but I made it. Forgiving myself the runs missed due to injury, and assuming I make the remaining long runs, I'll be as ready as I can be. As for the heart rate monitor, I'm glad I got it. I still need to do lot's of runs with it, particularly in colder weather, and see what it turns up.
The biggest head scratcher of all this is how my heart rate stayed steady during the miles when I suffered so much. Does this mean there is no tie to heat and heart rate? Why didn't my heart rate drop? Was my cardiac system just blasted, so it was running fast? It could be that the "aerobic" part of my heart rate was lower, and the extra beats were a futile attempt to get blood to my skin where it could be cooled. With some tempo and speed runs under my belt, I hope to verify that the high 160s is where my heart wants to be (lower if possible, of course). With some cold runs, I can start to verify if there is a link between my heart rate and performance (i.e., the heat will be out of the equation). If there does prove to a link, I could us the HRM on race day to stay in a cardiac "happy place" and hopefully keep the engine purring for longer than I have in the past. Heart rate is, they say, the only true measure of how hard you are working. But "they" have been known to be wrong!
No speed workout today; thunderstorms. Probably good though, the legs have been a little tired. Jumping puke puddles at mile 14 is hard work!
Word Count: 1400 or so (come on, it was a long run, give it a read .. esp if you have opinions on heart rate)
So last Saturday was the HoustonFIT Chicago Marathon training program 18 mile run. As it has taken me three days to write this, it was clearly a rough event. First, as I'm not sure of the tone I am going to write this in, in case its overly negative, let me say I'm glad to be healthy enough to be able to run 18 miles in Houston's August heat. Lord knows I don't take care of my body or health the way I should (damn those vices!), but thankfully, I'm still up to the task. So there, onward to 18.
The Friday before the run was our fantasy football draft, and for that reason, I should not have been as sleep deprived as I was. After football drafts my mind is so busy racing with what could-a, should-a, that I have a hard time enumerating sheep. So it was with maybe five hours of sleep on Friday night, and 10 over the past two days, that I toed the line at 4:30AM for our run.
This was my first run with the new heart rate monitor. My goal was simply to learn about my body: what rate did my heart like when I was cruising, did it spike up during the painful parts, could I use it to force myself to run through difficult stretches of asphalt? As Larry and I (my running partner at the start of runs of late) headed to Luke's Locker my heart rate steadily climbed, settling in at a game 166 or so per minute. Much to my pleasure I noticed that I could foretell when my HR had climbed or fallen more than a couple of beats. Once I suddenly felt cool, calm, collected ... I looked down and my HR was a mellow 150! 3.5 miles to Lukes, somewhere around 10:20 or so a mile.
After Lukes we were to run to the Rice loop (6 total miles) and do one Rice Loop (3 miles), one Herman Park Loop (3 miles) and return to Memorial (18 total). Note therefore, that this could easily be a 12, 15, or 18 mile course. The big secret from our last 15 mile run was that I didn't do 15 miles; I only did 14! (scandal!) So I was committed to doing 15, and really wanted 18. I have been more and more vocal about the silliness of our 21 mile training run three weeks prior to Chicago and I will certainly not run it. This, if I made it to 18, would surely be my longest training run.
Things went well to Rice, with my HR staying pegged at 166. Some of Felix's crew (including his wife Sylvia) were running with us. It turns out that Felix is apparently running Chicago!?!? I had no idea. Anywho, I jockeyed with them a bit, and after they left the aide station at mile six ahead of me, I chased them around Rice. This is where the heart rate monitor came in handy. Right before mile nine, I had an urge to go ahead and decide to only run 15. I looked at me HR; 165, nope, doing 18. I had an urge to walk; HR was 166, nope keep on trucking. After a few more "urges", I calmed down and pulled into the nine mile stop under decent control. I had either just fended off a silly desire to run less, or fended off a smart desire to cut things short on a day when I wasn't at my best.
Then things went horribly wrong.
The HRM strap was irritating me a bit, so I took it off. This made my watch very angry. That made me very angry. My stomach got angry! ME HAGS MAD!!!! Suddenly I didn't feel well. My ears throbbed, my stomach churned, my head was buzzing. I figure the stress (which was silly) over the HRM was not what my body wanted while being so taxed, and it revolted accordingly. I grudgingly reset the watch, strapped back up, and headed out for my Hermann Park loop.
I could no longer resist the urge to walk during this part. I started jockeying with some fast 5/1 runners, and came across a walking Larry; people around me walking makes me want to walk, so I did. Somewhere around Hermann I realized that I probably should have only did 15, but as I was committed, I hobbled on into the 12 mile stop. My HR, though my speed was starting to drop, was hanging at 166 or so while running. In a sign of decent aerobic fitness, my HR would drop the required 20 beats or so during the first minutes of a break (I believe that's a traditional measure of fitness :).
From 12 back to the park was an exercise of triage; running when I could. I ran with Larry some, Alaina's Greg some, and Alaina herself worked the Lukes aide station and ran Greg in. I was generally doing 5/1 (five minutes running, 1 minute walking), though I certainly took liberty with the lowering the 5 and increasing the 1. Then came the puke. Thankfully not mine, nor that of another running, but as I was coming to the 59 overpass, I realized I was about to step in a puddle ... of puke! I quickly realized the puddle likely came from the guy passed out in the car next to said puddle! Hopefully he was alive. I say that out of concern, and because I, as best I could in my state, laughed my ass off! With a fleeting smile, the run continued. Somewhere after Lukes, probably around mile 16, I was weary of some of the pain coming from my right achilles. As this was the one that troubled me before this year's Houston Marathon, I simply hoped to get back in one piece. It twas truly a slow march down Blossom!
I made it back to the park in about four hours. The HoustonFIT seminar was over, the tent was being broken down, but the Fall Group aide station was still up, serving those us of limping back to our starting point after a long 18 miles.
For only the second time I can recall, I got a wee bit faint after this run. Not as bad as the infamous "Hotter Than Hell 25K" from 2005, but my head was buzzing, my ears felt full of blood, I had an undeniable urge to sit down. I quickly gave Larry his promised sample of Endurolytes and headed back to my car. The "Party in the Park" was on Sat. morning, but get this, I was too tired to go get free St. Arnolds beer! Yep. You read right. I was blasted.
So what does this mean? Well, I'll go into Chicago with a clear conscience. I made it 18 miles. Some running, some walking, some jumping of puke puddles, but I made it. Forgiving myself the runs missed due to injury, and assuming I make the remaining long runs, I'll be as ready as I can be. As for the heart rate monitor, I'm glad I got it. I still need to do lot's of runs with it, particularly in colder weather, and see what it turns up.
The biggest head scratcher of all this is how my heart rate stayed steady during the miles when I suffered so much. Does this mean there is no tie to heat and heart rate? Why didn't my heart rate drop? Was my cardiac system just blasted, so it was running fast? It could be that the "aerobic" part of my heart rate was lower, and the extra beats were a futile attempt to get blood to my skin where it could be cooled. With some tempo and speed runs under my belt, I hope to verify that the high 160s is where my heart wants to be (lower if possible, of course). With some cold runs, I can start to verify if there is a link between my heart rate and performance (i.e., the heat will be out of the equation). If there does prove to a link, I could us the HRM on race day to stay in a cardiac "happy place" and hopefully keep the engine purring for longer than I have in the past. Heart rate is, they say, the only true measure of how hard you are working. But "they" have been known to be wrong!
No speed workout today; thunderstorms. Probably good though, the legs have been a little tired. Jumping puke puddles at mile 14 is hard work!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Tempo Time
Last Thursday was the third run of the week and my return to Felix's Finish Strong Thursday tempo runs. One mile easy, two miles hard, one mile easy. I wanted to the fast miles to be around 9 min/mile, and they ended up 8:56 and 8:45, so they went well.
I ran most of the fast miles with a gent I knew by face, but learned to be Dave. Dave is an older fellow who runs with HoustonFIT's main Yellow group and somewhat suprisingly, I seemed to wonder why I ran with HoustonFIT as much as I did. When I told him I was going to run Chicago and rejoin the main Yellow group afterwards, he simply responded with, "Why would you do that?". Ahhhh, well, cause it's my group and they are training for the Houston Marathon like will then be doing? Of course, the truth is people get kind of attached to the people and routine of their running groups. Dave suggested that I run with Houston Striders or similar year round group since they would be running mileage (~15 or so) that I was trained for post-Chicago. Felix and the Yellows will be more so be in the lower double digits at that time. It turns out that Dave has ran with many other running groups, so he probably doesn't feel obligated to stick with HoustonFIT. I suppose I could run with others and keep my post-Chicago mileage higher, but as I say, running isn't always about running. I enjoy the Yellows, so back I'll go a few weeks post-Chicago.
This Saturday was our 18 mile run. It was a chore, and as it was my first run with my new heart rate monitor, I've got lot's to say! I'm still stewing over what I learned during that run, so I'll have more to say shortly.
Last week was the first week, other than a marathon week, where I ran more than 30 miles in seven days time. For that reason, I'll probably just shoot for a couple of runs during the week; I'll probably skip Monday's easy run.
Almost time to try out my new, Auburn colored (War Eagle!) Mizuno Wave 7's. Perhaps I'll try Thursday's run with the new kicks.
I ran most of the fast miles with a gent I knew by face, but learned to be Dave. Dave is an older fellow who runs with HoustonFIT's main Yellow group and somewhat suprisingly, I seemed to wonder why I ran with HoustonFIT as much as I did. When I told him I was going to run Chicago and rejoin the main Yellow group afterwards, he simply responded with, "Why would you do that?". Ahhhh, well, cause it's my group and they are training for the Houston Marathon like will then be doing? Of course, the truth is people get kind of attached to the people and routine of their running groups. Dave suggested that I run with Houston Striders or similar year round group since they would be running mileage (~15 or so) that I was trained for post-Chicago. Felix and the Yellows will be more so be in the lower double digits at that time. It turns out that Dave has ran with many other running groups, so he probably doesn't feel obligated to stick with HoustonFIT. I suppose I could run with others and keep my post-Chicago mileage higher, but as I say, running isn't always about running. I enjoy the Yellows, so back I'll go a few weeks post-Chicago.
This Saturday was our 18 mile run. It was a chore, and as it was my first run with my new heart rate monitor, I've got lot's to say! I'm still stewing over what I learned during that run, so I'll have more to say shortly.
Last week was the first week, other than a marathon week, where I ran more than 30 miles in seven days time. For that reason, I'll probably just shoot for a couple of runs during the week; I'll probably skip Monday's easy run.
Almost time to try out my new, Auburn colored (War Eagle!) Mizuno Wave 7's. Perhaps I'll try Thursday's run with the new kicks.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Seven and a Winner!
Key Words: Yasso, 90 degrees and loving it, Marshmallow Peep
Word Count: 371
I was expecting poor things of today's speed run. I had a mean bout of insomnia Monday night, and felt pretty weary as I was warming up at Lamar. The good thing was the temperature was a balmy 90 or so (I'll take it, 'twas around 100 last week), so I hoped my body would stop protesting somewhere along the way; off I went.
Surprisingly, to me at least, this was by far my best of the three Yasso sessions. My times were fast, though I wasn't going absolutely all out, and they didn't suffer through the repeats. The seven times were: 4:03, 4:05, 4:03, 4:01, 4:02, 4:03, 3:58. Officially, Chicago runners were to do 8 repeats this week, but I skipped seven last week in favor of the 1200x400. I certainly could have banged out another, but out of respect for the 18 miler this weekend, I stuck to my plan.
As far as my future and Yasso's, I'll probably do 10 repeats one of these days, but I don't see (weather permitting) it being hard to do 10 under my goal pace of 4:30. As I've said before, Yasso is a good workout, and it means you might be able to do your marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes, but not that you will. I'm certain that before my second marathon, when I PR'd in the 5k the weekend before the run, I could have smoked out some nice Yasso times; I still only managed 4:39 in the marathon.
On a nutritional note, I tried more honey today, completely forgoing my normal Accelerade prior to the run. This is clearly the source of my speed :) I'm not that much of a believer, but it at least seems like something I should keep trying. Intense though .... very crunchy! I feel as if there's a violated bee somewhere simmering with anger as I eat her prized possession. Perhaps I should be on the lookout for insect retribution on my long runs.
Finally, thanks to Jon, I now know what my outfit will be in next year's centipede race.
Word Count: 371
I was expecting poor things of today's speed run. I had a mean bout of insomnia Monday night, and felt pretty weary as I was warming up at Lamar. The good thing was the temperature was a balmy 90 or so (I'll take it, 'twas around 100 last week), so I hoped my body would stop protesting somewhere along the way; off I went.
Surprisingly, to me at least, this was by far my best of the three Yasso sessions. My times were fast, though I wasn't going absolutely all out, and they didn't suffer through the repeats. The seven times were: 4:03, 4:05, 4:03, 4:01, 4:02, 4:03, 3:58. Officially, Chicago runners were to do 8 repeats this week, but I skipped seven last week in favor of the 1200x400. I certainly could have banged out another, but out of respect for the 18 miler this weekend, I stuck to my plan.
As far as my future and Yasso's, I'll probably do 10 repeats one of these days, but I don't see (weather permitting) it being hard to do 10 under my goal pace of 4:30. As I've said before, Yasso is a good workout, and it means you might be able to do your marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes, but not that you will. I'm certain that before my second marathon, when I PR'd in the 5k the weekend before the run, I could have smoked out some nice Yasso times; I still only managed 4:39 in the marathon.
On a nutritional note, I tried more honey today, completely forgoing my normal Accelerade prior to the run. This is clearly the source of my speed :) I'm not that much of a believer, but it at least seems like something I should keep trying. Intense though .... very crunchy! I feel as if there's a violated bee somewhere simmering with anger as I eat her prized possession. Perhaps I should be on the lookout for insect retribution on my long runs.
Finally, thanks to Jon, I now know what my outfit will be in next year's centipede race.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Be My Honey
Key Words: Stinger, Heart Rate Monitor, Tie Rack
Word Count: 500
35 minutes easy today. I was a bit of an anti-social runner, as I let know one know I was running, but the mood struck for a Bayou run, so off I went. I had previously laid out a route for three miles (staying on the path from Montrose and AP, all the way around the small end and back), so I added a couple passes over the Jackson Hill bridge and pretty much hit the time dead on. The run went well, no problems (I did step in a huge bat poo pile, but the homeless man was diligently sweeping up the poo slick as I came back by ... very considerate).
I tried the new hotness, Honey Stinger, before this run. This stuff is basically pure honey (first ingredient, honey, second ingredient, water; add a little salt and B vitamin for good measure). To that end, the stuff can, and does, crystallize in the packet; I had to crunch my way through the contents of the packet! It was basically two tablespoons of honey, so it was kind of intense, and obviously sweet! More calories than GU, and equivalent electrolytes, so it really comes down to simple (honey) versus complex (GU) sugars. The stuff didn't upset my stomach, so I think I'm clear to try it on a long run. Perhaps I'll regret forgoing slow release sugar (GU) for instant satisfaction (honey) .... 18 miles on Saturday seems like a good way to try it out!
I have a heart rate monitor in the mail. The Polar RS200. It is just a heart rate monitor, but it can bond with the Polar foot pod if I want to go that way in the future. Most important at this point is to know if I'm getting the most out of my runs. Heart rate is the only real-time measure of that, so I suppose I'm going to start down the path of heart rate training. I've never tried it before, but after a conversation with Pam on Saturday night, I'm convinced it is at least worth a shot. I should have it in time for Saturday ... should be interesting!
On a side note, I think I've planned out my next seven medals. This is important since that will complete my "tie rack of medals" enabling me to then retire a content little distance runner. Here we go:
Word Count: 500
35 minutes easy today. I was a bit of an anti-social runner, as I let know one know I was running, but the mood struck for a Bayou run, so off I went. I had previously laid out a route for three miles (staying on the path from Montrose and AP, all the way around the small end and back), so I added a couple passes over the Jackson Hill bridge and pretty much hit the time dead on. The run went well, no problems (I did step in a huge bat poo pile, but the homeless man was diligently sweeping up the poo slick as I came back by ... very considerate).
I tried the new hotness, Honey Stinger, before this run. This stuff is basically pure honey (first ingredient, honey, second ingredient, water; add a little salt and B vitamin for good measure). To that end, the stuff can, and does, crystallize in the packet; I had to crunch my way through the contents of the packet! It was basically two tablespoons of honey, so it was kind of intense, and obviously sweet! More calories than GU, and equivalent electrolytes, so it really comes down to simple (honey) versus complex (GU) sugars. The stuff didn't upset my stomach, so I think I'm clear to try it on a long run. Perhaps I'll regret forgoing slow release sugar (GU) for instant satisfaction (honey) .... 18 miles on Saturday seems like a good way to try it out!
I have a heart rate monitor in the mail. The Polar RS200. It is just a heart rate monitor, but it can bond with the Polar foot pod if I want to go that way in the future. Most important at this point is to know if I'm getting the most out of my runs. Heart rate is the only real-time measure of that, so I suppose I'm going to start down the path of heart rate training. I've never tried it before, but after a conversation with Pam on Saturday night, I'm convinced it is at least worth a shot. I should have it in time for Saturday ... should be interesting!
On a side note, I think I've planned out my next seven medals. This is important since that will complete my "tie rack of medals" enabling me to then retire a content little distance runner. Here we go:
- Chicago Marathon
- Houston 30k
- Houston Marathon
- Austin Half-Marathon
- Seabrook Saturday Half-Marathon
- Seabrook Sunday Half-Marathon (two medals for this one!)
A full tie rack by the end of March ... who would have thunk it? It is actually time to start considering the 2008 Hood to Coast and the 2008 London Marathon. Both take some serious advance planning, so I have to see if I really want to commit to either/both. Perhaps I should look into getting a new tie rack?
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