A Hot and Hilly Race

The Run with the Devil race turned out to be hotter and hillier than I had hoped, even at the 7 AM start time for the 10k. I then made things more difficult for myself by starting out too fast, trying to hang with the frontrunner - a 5:57 first mile split - ouch. Then 6:23, 7:02 - crashing, 7:05, 7:15, 7:34 out of gas. So I really fell off near the end. Still managed around 43 minutes and 6th place out of about 50, I believe. So not as fast as I wanted - 42 was my goal - but I'll chalk it up to the heat and hills and jackrabbit start.

I volunteered the rest of the day and that was fun. They had a half, full marathon and 50 miler going on in the 108 degree midday heat. Quite brutal, entertaining to watch though.

The tooth fairy was on hand kicking some assphalt:



This lady was running 50 miles on one leg, very inspiring:

10 miles at 6:54 pace at Pittman Wash

I need to start posting my Garmin info again. It's the mile splits that I find most interesting. This most recent run had very consistent 6:55 splits, which is what I've been aiming for. Well, 6:45 splits.

Similar weather and terrain to the race tomorrow, so I think this run bodes well.

The long run puts the tiger in the cat.

Big race this weekend

Calico racing is putting on the "Run with the Devil" 50 mile, Marathon, Half marathon, 10k and 5k this weekend out at Lake Mead this Saturday. The idea is to have a hot race that makes for a good story to tell for the extreme ultrarunners who dig this sort of thing. The marathon starts at 10 am, the half at noon, so temperatures should be above 100 out there by the treeless, shadeless lake on the blacktop road that follows the north shore. A lot of participants are those thinking of doing Badwater in Death Valley, this gives them a good idea of what to expect. A bunch of hell sent nastiness, heh.

I'll be both running and volunteeribg, but since I'm not feeling that extreme lately I'll be doing the 10k that starts at 7 am. My goal is a 6:45 pace maybe slipping down to a 6:30 for the last mile, but perhaps not - the course has rolling hills that slow things down. So a 42 is my goal. I will do a medium intensity 8 mile run with the running group today and then swim a half mile tomorrow, which should leave me fresh enough for the race on the following day.

I'm volunteering at the 11 mile aid station for the poor hard core souls attemptung the marathon and 50 miler, I'll have my iphone handy and try to take a few pics for voyeuristic amusement. If you believe the study Dean Karnazes included in his book about optimum marathon temps, this race will be 60 degrees ABOVE ideal temp - so these runners can expect a 50% worse performance than one would hope for on a nice cool day - and then there are lots of rolling hills. Ouch.

I'm looking forward to that part, watching these mad men and women try to bang this thing out. I'll also be offering them plenty of water and ice - so it won't all be shameless gawking ;)

Reading about Running

I just finished Dean Karnazes' "50 marathons in 50 days" and am still absorbing the individual short stories and excerpts of "the Runner's Literary Companion". And then it's "Once a Runner", "The Runner's Handbook" and "Chi Running".

Also I should get "Spirit of the Marathon" on DVD in the mail in a few days.

So lots of running media over here! Any favorites anyone out there has?

3 things that are working for me, 3 that are not

Working:
1. Ten mile runs at dusk at Wetlands park - love that run! Got in a 6:55 avg pace yesterday. It was only 90 degrees and that trail is flat and fast.
2. Reading about running. Almost done with Karnazes' 50/50 book, with several more on the way via Amazon.
3. Icing my leg muscles and soaking the legs in cold water baths. I've read about this in Runners World many times and you know what - it totally works! Feels great after that first icy minute.

Not Working:
1. Fast food. Oh Mcdonalds with your awesome iced coffees and double quarter pounders with cheese, how you tempt me...
2. Just bad eating habits in general. I like to eat. Lots. It slows me down.
3. The heat, vegas in the summer. A 90 degree day is unusually cool. But I'm dealing with it.

New shoes update

I did 10 miles at the wetlands at 7:15 pace last night and once I got rolling the new Adidas felt...almost exactly like the old Shox. Ha.

New Pair of Wheels

I'm a huge fan of the Nike Shox, I have 5 pairs. I like the large cushioned heel and the support all throughout the front and sides of the shoe - your foot feels enclosed and protected as if in a light plastic boot. With all the heel slamming I do, I love seeing those solid rubber pistons in the heel, shielding my feet and joints from the rock hard concrete and asphalt roads.

BUT it was time for a new pair and I've gone with another shoe - the Adidas megabounce 09s. Three reasons:

1. I tried both in store and the megabounce felt much more cushioned, and, well, bouncy. That's got to be a good thing in a long distance running shoe.
2. They were 20% cheaper. I go through a lot of shoes and I'm not a fan of what Nike charges for the Shox.
3. They felt lighter.

I'll report back on how they do after a week of running.

Easy 6 mile run at 92 degrees - for the joy of running

Reality check: sometimes I think I push myself too hard with the running and create a hypercompetitive mindset that is counterproductive. Ie, if I don't run 15 miles hard at tempo pace then it's nothing. This is a bad attitude. No one is superhuman and no one can keep up day after day of pounding hard workouts. It's not physically or mentally healthy.

Today I ran an easy 6 miles at the park, without my ipod or music, at a relaxed pace, and just watched the rabbits and birds and sunset and listened to the trees sway in the breeze. Just for the joy of running. It was great.

41 degrees

Another cool factoid from the Karnazes book: the US Army did a comprehensive study of 6 major marathons with data from the past several decades and found that cold weather is best for optimal long distance running performance. 41 degrees is the optimal temperature for the marathon. And every degree above 60 is roughly equivalent to minus 1% in performance because of the negative effect of the heat. A good reason to skip the summer marathons and save the big races for fall and spring.

"50 Marathons in 50 Days"

I'm reading the above titled book by ultrarunner Dean Karnazes and it's great, I would highly recomend it. While not a brilliant writer stylistically - I'm being polite there - Karnazes manages to pack in a lot of useful advice and insights into how to run long distances successfully. Asides from the very impressive feat of running 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days without dying or suffering severe injury, which makes for an interesting story and entertaining read.

Here is a short piece from page 94 that details 4 running tips from the legendary running coach and Nike founder Bill Bowerman:

1. Obey the hard/easy rule. You'll build fitness faster if you do three hard runs and three easy runs per week than if you do six moderate runs.

2. Practice rational goal setting. Set goals that you are confident you can attain, but aren't certain you can attain.

3. Treat yourself as an experiment of one. Don't blindly copy the way others train. Try new workouts and methods often, keep those that work for you and discard the rest.

4. Train at your goal pace. If there's a certain time you want to achieve in a race - such as a 4 hour marathon - figure out the pace you need to sustain to achieve it and include workouts at this pace as a regular part of your training.

I think the latter two points are especially useful.

Training goals June '09

Yesterday I was reading in Running Times magazine about how you should focus on pushups instead of situps to strengthen your core. Their rationale was that the stress put on the spine by an excessive number of situps can cause permanent damage and contribute to herniated discs. Scary thought. Pushups are supposed to be easier on your back because all the bending is done at your more flexible arm and shoulder joints. While clearly your arms are doing a lot of the work, the abs end up being exercised as well if you maintain good form with a straight back and tight stomach.

So I'm thinking of reversing my training plan of no pushups/only situps that I've Bern following the last 5 months. If only as an experiment, I'd like to see what happens if I cut out my situps and the potential for spinal injury they might (or might not) lead to, and focus on 100 pushups a day.

My goal is to lessen stress on my already running compressed spine but maintain core strength.

Most of my exercise comes from straight running but it will still be interesting to see what affects this tweak has.

Originally I had dropped pushups from the regimen after I noticed that very few marathoners had large arms. But this observation may have been flawed. I have recently noticed quite a few strong distance runners with very developed shoulders and upper arms, especially the deltoid/tricep area. Examples include Brian Sell, Ryan Webb, Dean Karnazes and just about every triathlete I've ever seen.

So for a number of reasons I'm back on the pushup bandwagon and giving up on the situps. I will make an effort to chart how this change affects my running.

13.1 miles at 7:02 pace

I had a good solid tempo run Saturday morning at Wetlands park. My goal was to run 7 min miles and then drop to a fast pace at the midpoint for a mile, and then see if I could return to tempo and finish at pace. My splits were: 7:05, 7:02, 7:00, 6:54, 7:01, 7:04, 7:01, 6:20, 7:02, 7:00, 7:03, 7:15, 7:35. So the mile 8 drop to 6:20 felt good and I was able to hold on until the last mile or so when the heat began to get to me. I feel good about this run and felt great afterwards.

My near term goal asides from the possibility of running a tri relay is to get comfortable with 7 minute pace with occasional dips down to 6+ territory. I would like to be able to dip down to 6 at least three times in say a race like a half marathon. This training in my mind would make it possible to accomodate a few large hills and a strong finish. In other words I want to be able to nail 7's which I feel is a very natural and ideal pace for me, but to also train so that I have a reserve that allows me to break out from time to time as race conditions merit.

This is my near term goal and I feel if I can make that happen I will be a stronger distance runner and chalk up some solid PR's.

Silverman Ironman Triathlon Relay

The triathlons do sound fun and I would like to do one. The problem is I'm not a great swimmer or biker. A solution? Run a tri relay? I'm talking with a swimmer and biker right now about teaming up for Nevada's premier tri event, the Silverman. This ironman distance (2.4 swim, 112 mile bike, full marathon run) takes place in November and is always well attended with lots of spectators. It's something I could not do alone, but as a relay it's a real possibility. Plus it's more fun being part of a team. Hopefully this game plan will come together over the next several weeks and I'll be able to make this happen.

10k at 6:38 avg mile pace at 98 degrees

After work I did a quick run at Wetlands park, a 10k in 41 minutes. I felt fresh and relaxed after taking a rest day yesterday and finally having recovered from last weeks relay elevation and incline quad busting craziness.

After the run I met some friends for a half mile swim - am I entertaining thoughts of taking the triathlon plunge? No - I'm a terribly slow swimmer. A tri relay though - I think I could hold down the running leg pretty solidly.

Relay Pics

So I had never done a relay race and this was fun. I found it more entertaining than the usual individual race, more about the team and having a good time. I was running with the "Wild Bunch" and we did all right, finishing somewhere in the middle of the pack and managing to not have anyone drop dead of fatigue, heart attack or frustration. I had 3 legs, none of which was particularly long, and passed the runners for several other teams on each of my segments. My pace numbers were not particularly good for the most part, and I attribute this to the elevation (6000' in beautiful Lake Tahoe, NV) and the many hilly sections - there was a lot of steep incline. I believe my second leg was 1500' up in 4 miles with no downhills. So I looked at this race as a conditioning experience, and when I got back to Vegas yesterday and went for a moderate 8 mile 7 minute pace run, it did feel like the air was thicker and made for easier breathing - although my quads were shot.

But my favorite part? The costumes that some of the more creative of the other teams wore. Especially "Las Mamacitas", "Pink Bunny Death" and "Five Chicks and a Cop":



Isn't that just lovely?



The team on a beach on Lake Tahoe in our relatively tame outfits - but hey, we had a good time.



Striking a pose on the lake front. I don't get away enough and this was a nice opportunity to do that.