Las Vegas RnR Training - Week 6 and 7

Today is Turkey day.  Today is also mid-week seven.  Las Vegas RnR is ten days away ...  The last couple of weeks I focused on running not much else.  I think my bootcamp experiment last Saturday wasn't the brightest idea because although the soreness is gone, the legs feels tighter than they had.  I ran them too hard the last couple of weeks I think.  I read a post from Hal Higdon today about how a lot of people believe they have to train hard all the time.  I am probably one of these people lol.  I played dodgeball at the gym this morning it was a lot of fun.  My gym closed early for turkey day so when the game was over I found myself wondering where to go for my scheduled 4 miler ... I settled on the Everett marina and off I went.

It was a cold windy day out there.  I did the loop along the Navy base then via Grand avenue, Legion Park and back so the entire loop was about 6.5 miles ... It's a nice little route.  I ran it fast, under 56 minutes so it was close to my 10k pace.  I struggled some to keep the pace.  I didn't need to run that fast and I went over the schedule.  So yeah, I am one of these people that train hard all the time.  Could had use a easier run today.  Higdon advise recreational runners need days that they run short an easy, to run relaxed, to avoid burn out.  Seven weeks into the training I am starting to feel the strain.  I was wondering during my run if maybe I just need to train on a 6 - 7 weeks schedule rather than 8 to 12 weeks.  I seemed to be peaking at 8 weeks for the BBM and this time around it seems I have been the best at week 6 ... It'll be interesting to see how it goes for the Las Vegas marathon.  My goal is really for a strong finish.  That means not so much faster finish rather than finishing in better shape, stronger (less pain, less fatigue and less soreness afterwards).

Nevertheless I should  make sure I incorporate easy runs.  Maybe markup the scheduled easy days as a reminder.  Then if the day feels like a hard run then make it a hard one lol.  Now that I signed up for the last chance marathon Dec 31st, it'll be interesting to see how I feel with a 4 weeks training schedule.  Well ... Not much training in 4 weeks since the first is for recovery and the last for taper ...  But for now I should focus on Las Vegas, right? ... Run easy runs this week end ... easy runs next week ... Have fun in Vegas ... Meet people and run a great marathon !  

Well ta ta for now everyone ... Enjoy your Turkey day ... Happy feasting ... Happy running !

SBF-runs celebrates 1000 miles ran 127k cal burned!

De-Constructing JM ...

Today was my 4th therapy session and I took some time to reflect on how strong my body is growing.  Saturday morning I attended the Boot Camp class at Emerald City Athletic Club.   The format changed since the last boot camp I attended there a few months back.  We were herded on the basketball court instead of the group X workout room.  There were five or six instructors attending the entire group of 40 or so members of all shapes and fitness levels.  Throughout the class the instructors shouted they were gonna kill some quads and destroy some calves ... We did lunges, squats, jumps, laps and everything in between ... 100% legs.  I worked through the workout.  My knees held strong, my legs leapfrogged me through the last evolution ... Boot camp kicked my ass no doubt.  But I had more in me so I went out for my scheduled six miler.  Then later we went down to Seattle Pike's Market ... walked around a couple of hours, still I was standing strong.  That was Saturday.

Sunday morning came, I could barely move.  Couldn't recall when was last I had been so sore lol ... Nevertheless, with some encouragement from SGF I headed out for my 16 miler.  It was a slow start no doubt.  I worked out a local (flatter) route in my head.  The key to get me going and keeping me going the first few miles was ... small strides lol  I could feel my calves wanting to cramp, my IT band wanting  to snap out of my leg ... my quads yelling murder at me.  I stopped for stretching when the pain started to feel sharp and walk thirty seconds or so then started running again.   I will own up .. the last few miles I was singing along to some country songs ... there is so much drama in country songs even the pain of your legs falling apart is dull in comparison to 'em cowboys broken hearts lol  

Looking at the map of the run the route wasn't as flat as I expected ... 716 feet climb though which I maintained a good pace though throughout despite my legs' condition.  The average pace fluctuated more than my last runs yet I maintained marathon pace over the distance.  The run was hard because of the amount of soreness I had but the run didn't feel like a stretch either (no pun intended ... well yeah a little pun intended really ah ah) ... or maybe there was a stretch but I want to remember it less of a stretch lol ...  Strong body.  Stronger mind!

When the base of your sport is so mental can there be too much mind over matter sometimes?  I think this training cycle the highlight has been anti-climatic.  As it isn't my expected performance or some of the great runs I had, it's the strength I am recovering/building in my body, it is how a few weeks of therapy is improving the quality of my run.  Because I know I have that power in me to burry pain and discomfort at such a deep level and remain functional I keep looking past them, but to the people that love me it may look like recklessness.  I could had been running myself into the ground just dealing with my knee pain on a mental level and fine with it.  But I am glad that in a moment of clarity I listened to the people that love me and sought help for my knees !

So I dedicate my de-constructing JM run Sunday to you !

Running, P90x, Ultra ... all coming up in 2012 :)

I started planning my next few months as far as target, waypoints and how I do I get there ... Target?  50k around July 31st.  Waypoints? Heroes half marathon 4/29/12, Three sisters marathon 6/9/12,  Seattle Rock and Roll 6/19/2012 ... How do I get there?  well my heavy training will start in February.  Half and full marathon become my long runs ... seeking feet on ground rather than PR for these races ...

After my Las Vegas RnR recovery week I want to start a cross-training program that will improve my strength and stamina.  I have long been interested by the P90x program. Based on "muscle confusion" it's seem geared toward people already in shape wanting to improve their look, at least that's how I see it marketed.  Looking into the program and its components I thought that i could replace some of the cardio components with running to merge the two.  I am not seeking to loose weight.  I want to stay around 165 - 170 like I am now.  Loosing body fat would be a nice by-product but not a goal unto itself.  So my though is that the food and cardio components are the least important for my goal.

I did an internet search for running training with P90x and found this blog article.  The article present an a P90x schedule altered for running.  Designed to get the most out of the P90x for your running.  I have not compared it to the "normal" P90x but it looks like it does not replace the cardio portion with running rather it compliments the P90x program with an altered maintenance running schedule.

I am pretty decided with trying P90x up.  One downside .. The Last Chance Marathon Dec31 in Bellingham, WA.  The P90x runner schedule does not include any running the first three weeks of the program whereas to run the Last Chance Marathon would require me to maintain my level of readiness this December, thus starting P90x mid-January.  I need next to transpose my 50k training schedule with the race dates I wanna do.  Because it is still early I haven't yet selected a 50k race.  Not worried there cause there are plenty of ultra races in the summer.

Happy running everyone :)

Las Vegas RnR Training, week 5

I have not updated the blog for a couple of weeks.  First, it's mid-training week 5 ... heading into the longest long run the 20 miler.  I didn't do cross-training nor strength training, deciding to focus on feet on ground instead, with the long run on Saturday evening through the early night.  Two reasons for not running in the morning, I was was busy with the kids soccer games in the morning and in the afternoon, leaving no time to run, and also I though running an early night 20 miler would be a great emulation of the Las Vegas night event.  The though behind it all was to see how my body react to the stress of long runs at night.

Matt team's played at Lynnwood's High School so I mapped a route back along the Everett-Bothel hwy ... through Everett, downtown Everett then Hwy 529 to end up 64th/hwy 528.  I ran most the stages separately before but never together like that.  Here the route (snapshot from RunKeeper.com)

I headed from Lynnwood High School north ... it had just gotten dark.  After rolling hills in a residential area I was headed down a long drop on 164th to join up a 3-4 mile long ascent up Everett-Bothell hwy.  The Everett-Bothell hwy ends in south Everett by Silverlake lake.  I have ran down then back up this hwy, but is was the first I ran it up like that.  The run though South Everett took me through my lunch runs' neighborhood ... Instead of running up Evergreen though I decided to veer east to follow Beverly blvd to Colby.  Following a new leg made the cold and dark run definitely more interesting.  The pavement on Colby is pretty beat up and I wouldn't run it again though.  At about mile 10 I removed my socks.  I was wearing running socks over my compression socks because of the cold but my feet were killing me.  Removing the running socks the pressure went away and I was back running through downtown Everett.  Up Broadway then hwy 529 ... a familiar route I ran first when I was training for the Heroes' half, my first half marathon in May.  I turned my music on for the final couple of miles for a little inspiration.  I think the up and down hills at the beginning of the route had taken quite a bite out of me so that the last half mile up the 528 hill was quite challenging ... But I went to my happy place and finished the run ... I phased out thinking out about nothing really, just that I needed to finish.

Looking back a week later, this was a pretty good run.  My elevation change was 1280 ft which is the most change I ever run, and my average pace of 10:32 was dead on for the Las Vegas RnR time target.  As they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here is the elevation map ...

The green represent the elevation change while the blue line represent my pace.  My pace is pretty regular throughout ... the spikes are tell tell sign of my walking breaks ... Most the elevation change occurred in the first half of the run thus the added fatigue at the end.  The early dropped killed my quads and the uphill butchered my calves lol ...   The route is not representative of Vegas which I expect to be flatter since it is a Rock and Roll series run (usually easier, flatter course).  However looking to the future, I am eying doing the Three Sister marathon in Redmond, OR next June, a course similarly challenging so this was a good introduction to what to expect in such course.  Given that I must run the first half of the Las Vegas under 2:15 to beat the time limit cut off at mile 13, it is also a good idea what I may feel like towards the end of the marathon as I won't have the opportunity to run slower than pace at the beginning of the Las Vegas RnR like I did at Bellingham ... 

If you followed my training regularly you probably wonder why this run was not on Sunday.  Great question!  I modified my training schedule to run the longest runs on Saturday and follow by a six miler on Sunday.   This is closer to the ultra training philosophy to train one's muscles when they are tired.  It isn't an approach Hal Higdon may recommend I think, but most trainers that are out there do recommend to experiment what works with your body.  Each individual recovers differently.  I was very surprised I had quite an explosive run the following morning of this long a$$ run :)  I revised my training schedule to reflect the 6 milers on Sunday instead of Saturday for the 4 last weeks of the training.  This approach I believe is strengthening my legs quite a bit.  I hope that I won't be over-trained by the time the marathon comes ... but that's why one experiment different philosophy ...

My final take away from that week and that run Saturday in particular is ... eat more ... more carbs (can you say more pasta ? lol)!!  I was hungry by the time I started and the hunger never went away.  I needed to eat more than a regular day to support this run but had just a regular breakfirst and a Subway sandwich (albeit ... a big one) for lunch.  And I should had had that oatmeal cookie I was too lazy to go get on the way to the game ... I think I need to have like a full dinner sometimes around noon for the Las Vegas RnR rather than a lunch lol

Well that concludes the highlights of week 5.  Coming up soon I'll cover week 6 that concluded today with another great 6 miler :)

Run Acrross America ...

Running acrros America, from the Pacific coast to the Ocean, from Washington State to Delaware ... this would make for such an unbelievable bucket list item to complete.  This foot race is described as a 80 stage foot race across trails and 2000 miles of road ... averaging 42 miles a day ... wow

iRun ... Cadence

On October 27th I commented about a cadence to Mrs Cindie.  I downloaded the app to check it out shortly after that.  I didn't expect it would work much for me ... So here is my evaluation Mrs Cindie.

I was confused a little at first how to use it.  I didn't find the interface very user friendly.  Some other functionality has a twitter button although I am not quite sure what that does since I don't use Twitter myself.  I still don't know how to get back to home screen and the icons are not intuitive as far as their function.

But I did figure out that you have to choose between streaming music or your Ipod music.  When you use the app the first time it will require several minutes to scan your entire music library.  The music BPM is analysed then songs are organized by BPM.  I'd say 2/3 my library had no BPM found but considering I have over 2000 songs that still leaves 600+ songs for which the app did find a BPM.   Once that's done you can select you BPM using the slider and music starts playing.  The slider is actually a cool feature I love it.  Here is a snapshot of the slider:

The first time I used the app to play my music I was running a 6 miler.  I selected 160 and went with it.  I was surprised at the selection of songs ... Metallica, Josh Groban, Eminen, Nicki Minaj to name a few.  As wild as the line up was the music flowed really good with my run and I was impressed.  I tried different beat settings on subsequent runs.  I even did a run where I changed the BPM in the middle of the run.  The app created a new playlist immediately ... 

I streamed music the next run.  I selected 160 bpm.  The app gives you only one channel choice.  I was surprised it took a few minutes for the stream to start.  Once it did start it played only house music, which is fine but I like variety so I switched back to the music on my iPhone.  There is a genre filter you can use to limit the genre from which the music is selected, same genres as on your iTunes.  

So poor GUI, great functionality.  For a couple of bucks I say it's worth giving it a shot.  It will taker the thinking out of selecting your music so that you can concentrate and the more important "running stuff" !!

Can

What makes an athlete is more than just his physical conditioning, it's deep inside him he will go to the end and then some ... You don't stop because you are tired, or don't feel like training, or because it hurts.  You keep pushing ... Sometimes you push against all odds.  I was gonna blog about my 21 miles long run yesterday night and a follow 6 milers today ... Then I read this article about a dad and his son.  Just read this article.  The link doesn't work but an acquaintance had the video posted on her wall, which I shared on my FaceBook [i don't know how to share the link on the blog lol ... No all that tech savyy after all lol) ... You have to see watch it!  Whern the going get tough on my next marathon I bet you I will think of them ...

Tired :(

Long day today ... I wanted to blog a little but I think i'll be better off getting some sleep ... Rest is an important part of training as well ... So happy dreamin' everyone !

So Many Miles, So Little Time .... What Is a Beginner Runner to Do ???

I read this FaceBook post from Hal Higdon’s page this morning as I was going through the last few days of FaceBook while I was gone to the Bahamas ... 

“Elite runners average more than 100 miles a week, but recreational runners need not run that far to achieve success.  Each person has to determine what’s important to him and use that as a guide to dictate training level.  Dr Ken Cooper suggests that 15 miles a week will get you all the fitness you need to maintain good health and insure longevity.  Run more than that, Ken claims, and you’re doing it for other reasons.”

This post stood out when I read it.  Different people run for different reasons.  Most recreational runners start running for the health benefits though.  And the likelihood is you are considering or started running for the same reason ... maybe to loose weight or enjoy more energy that comes with exercising or even because you want to fight off the onset of sedentary lifestyle ... But often time beginner runners worry about how long or how far to run.  Whatever your drive is do not get caught up in time, or distance when you get started.  Nowadays there are several easy to use mobile apps that will structure you walk/run intervals with vocal prompts that takes the thinking out of getting into running.  But more importantly how do you build running from a chore to an enjoyable habit in your life?

It is important that you start by scheduling your runs into your day to day schedule to get because this will help you making an habit of running.  Pick a time during the day that will be beneficial to you and also a time of the day where your are the most alert if that is possible.  If you are not a morning person schedule the time in the afternoon or evening.  If you work a 9 to 5 type office job, see if you could run on your lunch.  This will help you starve off the habitual 2 pm crush by revitalizing you and offering a nice break from the job’s boredom or the stress of the office.  If you like your weekends free or have not set days off then run only during your working week ... A lot of runners like running on week ends however it may make more sense for you to run during the working week.  Week ends can be used for an added break in your running week.  If you plan three runs a week ... then  a good schedule could be Monday / Wednesday / Friday for example.  This will offer you a day of recovery for each day you run plus Sunday can be an extra rest day.

You could start on the treadmill or find a short route that you will enjoy near your house.  I enjoy running outside myself but beginner runners might find the treadmill a great option to start running in the privacy of their home and be protected from the elements (rain ... cold etc...)  Of course without a treadmill at home you would have to join a gym to use their equipment where I recommend just running outside then.  One fun thing to do is drive around your neighborhood and chart a route.  You will now the distances of the major waypoints.  You will find passing waypoints is always a great booster when you run.  

Most importantly don’t get stuck on how many miles you can run now, or how many you have to run.  Once you are in an habit of running this will just “fall into place”.  Even if it seems daunting now that Doctor Cooper recommends to run 15 miles a week to get the health benefits your are sinking, when you run 3 or 4 days a week regularly think it’s only 4 to 5 miles a day.  I suggest that you will get great benefits just being out there running 9 - 12 miles ... and you could be easily reaching that level within a few weeks of having started running by running just 3 miles three to four days a week !

So get out there and just do it!  happy running ya’ll ! 

Las Vegas RnR Training day 23

Wow ... Day 23 already? Yesterday was rest day. Well not really wouldnt call 12 hours in a plane rest ... My legs are sore from a boot camp class i took on the ship ... So today is 4 miles run and strength training ... Its 30F outside and fog is just now lifting up ... Quite a change from the 77f 80% humidity from the Bahamas .., i am all bundled up and will tryout my new Brooks running jacket :)