Death match -- who breaks 19 mins first?

Everyone should realize that next weekend is homecoming at JMU. What does it all mean? It means the UREC 5K. A perfect opportunity for Zander and CJ to pull their dusty spikes out of the closet (i went there), lace 'em up and do battle. Who wants to be the first to break the middle age time barrier of 19 mins?

http://www.jmu.edu/recreation/Events/dukes5k.html

Half Ass 5k Training

I just completed a 4x400 track workout in preparation for a 5k I may or may not do this Sunday morning. My times were 1:24, 1:20, 1:22, 1:22. I rested around 90 seconds in between.

Then on Friday I'll do a 200 workout to tune up my kick.



UDATE:

Ran 19:56.

Race Report:: Clarendon Day 5k

I ran 19:20 Saturday which I was pretty pleased with given my "training". I came through 2 miles in 12:03 and needless to say the last mile was ugly and long. As Pat warned me before my first 5k last year, "It's that final .1 that really gets ya." I was able to pull out a furious mid-packer's kick to pass a pack of 5 the final .1 which included a 51 year old and my friend Tourist Mike.

Tourist Mike waxed me in the 98 degree 5k I ran earlier this summer. He's one of those naturally fit people who can run a fast 5k of pure fitness. He also doesn't really have a competitive bone in his body and appeared completely unphased by the race afterward while I was lying in the grass gasping for air.

The bottom corner of our race bibs contained a coupon for a free beer at Whitlows afterward. Over 100 sweaty people drinking beer in the back bar at 9 am was an interesting scene.

It's been 3 days now and my quads are still very sore.

I Can Still Compete Damn It Part 2 Damn It

After re-reading my first entry I like that I spelled Mary with two r's, fuck'em.

OK, so the instructor took the top ten runners in the group (I think there was about 25 total in the advanced) and we did a timed mile. I got really nervous, I wanted to finish the workout I started at the park. Here Are My Balls Shorts lead the first two laps and took us through at 2:40 - which felt crazy fast. I was surprised everyone in the group was still there. I started to think that maybe everyone held back at the park knowing that probably we would have this mile. Luckily after the 1000 mark, the pack thinned quite a bit. HAMBS dropped way back, leaving me and William & Mary girl. I was leading her around the turn, but she passed me at the straight and I heard the instructor say "here she goes".

Now I felt OK and I stayed with her. The whole workout, including the park, felt comfortable to me. I think the familiarity of doing a track workout and working out with a group made it almost easy. It's hard running by yourself nowadays. Waa.

Now back to the action: I could have passed her right back, she definitely did a short lived surge, but I decided to tuck in behind her (jason thought this was funny)... maybe she was going to bust out a 65 last lap? With about 300 to go she slowed, so I made my move and started going as hard as possible. After about 100 I was in PAIN. Arms, legs, stomach everything was on fire and stuff was coming out of my nose and mouth and W&M was still with me! Oh shit, that bitch, she tricked me! I barked at her, "Whore face whore head!" No. I did not do that, but I did dig down deep and was able to hold her off and beat her by 3 or 4 meters! I was dead. 5:37 was the final time. My sister later told me I was being obnoxious. She thought I looked like I could have easily beat her. I don't agree with her at all. I think I looked disturbing.

Authors notes:

Jason when I was on the phone with you a few weeks ago I told you I ran 6-8 miles a week. You reacted like I said 6-8 miles a day. Just to clarify - I said a week.

I don't know if the W&M girls name was really Tara.

I skipped the following day of Platoon, but did Friday and Saturday.

Redskins suck.

I Can Still Compete Damn It!

Jason browbeat me into posting my latest running adventure. I was going to start a blog about guys who used to blog on Dusty Spikes... I guess I can't now.

Last week my sister talked me into doing Platoon Fitness, it's a 6 day fitness course that meets at 6am in a field with a track and does army-like training for an hour, $25 for the whole thing. http://platoonfitness.com/ It's hard as shit. Day one is upper body, two - lower, three - cardio/running, four back to lower, then upper, and the last day is a combo day. I did the beginner level on all the days except on the cardio day. That day I went with the advanced group to throw down (after sizing them up quite a bit), and throw down I did.

We ran to a park that looked a lot like Purcell to do a work out called "chase the rabbit". You get paired up with a partner and one of you sprints ahead on the park's gravel trail and then you have to catch that person before the trail ends, it's about a 400m loop. If you get caught you have to do "25 burpies" - which is a pushup jumping jack thing. I was not getting caught so the instructor kept pairing me up with better runners - like I was advancing through a video game. My last partner, who I think was the second best fit person there, was a tri-athlete of some sort. He had on tri-athlete shorts, aka "here are my balls shorts". I beat him easily and the instructor asked me if I wanted to try to beat Tara, who was the best runner in the group and she was wearing a WILLIAM AND MARRY T-SHIRT! I said "Let's go" and the instructor said not today because we did enough loops (we did about 6) and that we are going back to the track to warm down. Now Platoon instructors like to play mind games, they tack on reps when you think you are finished and such. When we got to the track the instructor said "Ok top ten rabbits on me. We are going to do a timed mile!"

I'll finish this post later. To be continued...

Racing Season

Racing season starts tomorrow with the Clarendon Days 5k. It's not by design that my racing season coincides with cross country season. It's more the new reality that it takes me 4-5 months each year to get through the nagging injuries and get to the point where I can run 3-4 30 minute runs per week. Sadly enough, 10-15 miles a week is what I consider fit these days and gives me the confidence I need to enter a few local 5ks. For tomorrow, I'll be shooting for sub-20, at best mid-19s if I execute my race strategy to perfection. I may not be competing for age group awards but I can guarantee a furious kick down the final stretch. What I lack in fitness, I will make up for in race strategy and familiarity with the roads and sidewalks of Clarendon.

Running at Sea

I was on a U.S Naval Ship for 10 days back in June. Needless to say, that's a pretty awful environment to attempt to run in. You have two options:

1) The flight deck: I was told it was 3 and 1/3 laps per mile on the hard concrete flight deck. You have to get in your run before 8 am since that's when flight ops start.

2) The Treadmill: I've never been the most coordinated person nor do I have what the sailors call "sea legs". Attempting to run forward while you are shaking back and forth has the potential for a very embarrassing ship experience.

I did run my first race of the season on Father's Day when they schedule a 5k on the flight deck at 8 am. I took 3rd place behind a marine and navy sailor. I'm proud to say I did not lose to any reservists.

Running at the beach sucks

I don't have much to expand on the title. It's just been my experience, when vacationing at the beach (any beach), the running is terrible. I am currently on a two week vacation in Emerald Isle, NC. To understand why things are so bad for my running right now, you need to know a little bit about Emerald Isle.

Emerald Isle is a beautiful strip of land south of North Carolina's Outer Banks. I've read literature that considers Emerald Isle the southern-most part of the Outer Banks, but I've never heard anyone say that they were going to the Outer Banks and mean that Emerald Isle is their destination. What is somewhat unique about this strip of land is that it faces directly South. So if you are facing the ocean, the sun rises to your left and sets to your right. Or, more relevant to this story, if you are running at 7:00 AM, you are running directly into the sun or away from it.

The first week of my vacation, I almost felt like I had some physical ailment. All I could muster was a 3 mile run (or shuffle depending on your perspective). I'm not in great shape, but I've been capable of running much further before this vacation. I had hoped to put in a decent number of miles while on vacation, since I didn't really have anything else planned for the entire two weeks. I just needed to do a morning run, then play with the kids the rest of the day. No other responsibilities.

The first week of my stay is in a fog of stumbling through slow 3 mile runs. I tried to track my misery this second week. Sunday the sun was exceptionally blazing for my four miler. I decided to run into the sun for the first mile, then two miles away from the sun, and finish the last mile running back toward the sun. I am sort of stuck just running straight out and back because the island is less than a quarter of a mile wide at the place I'm staying. At least breaking up the run like this gives me an extra 180 degree turn to break up the monotony of running in a straight line.

This seemed like a good plan until I turned around at the mile mark. Although I was running into the sun, I was also running into a breeze. Once I turned around, I lost the cooling effect of the breeze. I basically set up my run to have the longest segment in a sauna of heat and humidity, with the sun beating down on my back.

The next day, I was only going to run 3 miles. Feeling like I learned my lesson from the day before, I ran away from the sun for the first half. When I turned around, I realized that I had been running into a slight breeze. So I had to make my way back to the house running into the sun and with no cooling effect from a wind.

Another issue I have with running at the beach is that I've never stayed at a beach that had drinkable tap water. Being hydrated is nearly impossible. When I'm at a beach, I definitely enjoy consuming a decent bit of alcohol or ice cream (more ice cream these days than alcohol) neither of which is very good for your hydration. Bottled water doesn't come cheap when you're staying on an island. If I drank enough water to be hydrated for running, I would nearly double the expense of my trip.

So there you go: boredom, heat, humidity, and dehydration. A perfect formula for terrible running.

Barefoot Running Experiment

The phrase that best describes my experience with barefoot running is "it sucked." I went four weeks straight running roughly half an hour every day barefoot, then four more weeks trying to run in those Vibram Five Fingers shoes. After the first few runs I didn't go for more than a minute without wishing I was wearing my flats again.

Entering the second week of true barefoot running, I had developed rather painful blood blisters on the soles of both my feet, a nasty gouge in my left arch of unknown origin, and an inability to run faster than 10 min mile pace comfortably on pavement. I stuck it out for the whole month; it didn't get worse, but there was no sign of improvement. I also nearly fell multiple times on wet ground for lack of traction (both on the road and in the grass) , and I hadn't experienced real living until turning my ankle on a hidden tree root with no shoes on. All of that, and you get the pleasure of people looking at you like you are an idiot several times a run, which as it turns out is not far from the truth.

Running in the Vibrams was not much better. The blood blisters went away, and the traction was better, but it's just plain uncomfortable to run long or fast in them if you're not on a golf course. And you still have to be uper-conscious of where you are stepping as you go, so you can't really get going that fast--they don't do anything to shield your feet from rocks or sticks. I've read all the stuff about "re-learning" how to run more efficiently and improving your biomechanics, and there is plenty of merit to it I think, but I also believe even more strongly now that you can get the best of all worlds in minimal shoes like racing flats.

Maybe I can sell my Vibrams on craigslist.

5K in 98 Degrees

Jumping in a 5k race when you haven't run 3 miles in training is a bad idea. Running that 5k in 98 degree weather is an even worse idea. I decided to jump in the Crystal City Twilight 5k last night for fun and it was ugly. I managed a 22:58 but that required a slight surge the last .1 mile. To make matters worse, the tendinitis in my right knee has now flared up as a result of this all-out effort. Hard to believe I'm so far away from my 19:21 I ran last September when I was also out of shape. At least last year I would occasionally decide to run a mile fast on the track. This year, I've been running 2-3 times a week for 20-25 minutes total running at 9:00 - 9:30 pace. It's going to be a long road to the 18 minute barrier which was my original goal since I think that would give me a chance of an age group award (socks would be fine). For now, I'm content that I defeated all the 12 year olds and did not get beat by anyone pushing a stroller.

Not Quite Hasher Shape

I had the unpleasant realization last week that I'm not quite in good enough shape to run with the Hash House Harriers. The "Hashers" are an international group of non-competitive runners who mix running with drinking. Their "runs" are very similar to the Wild Turkey Trot we did in college except I don't remember us giving each other fun nicknames like Cunt of the Litter and Edgar Allan Ho.

The Hasher philosophy (beer drinkers with a running problem) is something I completely endorse. They celebrate the social nature of running while avoiding getting excessively competitive, serious, and lame. The only catch is that they run up to 5 miles during these social runs which include breaks to drink beer or shots. Lately, I've been lucky to get through a total of 25 minutes of running without my shins locking up or the tendinitis in my left me crippling me.

Perhaps this is my punishment for years of excessive seriousness and a failure to understand that running could actually be a fun social activity. Week by week I am gradually working my way up to 35-40 minutes of running without pain. Last Fall, I boldly stated in a blog my goal of winning an age group award (my inspiration was the socks that Marshall can now proudly display above his mantle). Nearly one year later I have the more modest goal of completing a Hash run. Instead of socks, my award will be a vulgar nickname which I will probably never write in this blog.

The Coach PH Plan

I met up with Coach PH for dinner a couple months ago and managed to get some free coaching from him. I explained to him my frustration with not being able to run more than 10-12 minutes without either 1) my shin muscles locking up or 2) My knee throbbing. His explanation was that I'm in much better cardiovascular shape than my body can handle . . or something like that. It seemed strange to think that after taking 8 years off running, I could still be strong cardiovascularly but it would explain all the stupid muscle injuries. He also said that the only way he's able to run now is to start off walking for 5 minutes and then rotate between walking/running.

My new running plan is to make sure I'm running very slow, painfully slow. I try to keep it around 9 to 9:30 pace. The walking/running intervals seems to be working better for me too. I'm up to 25 minutes of total running.

I'm not sure if I can stand this routine very long since my natural tendency is to make a countermove whenever some chick blows past me on the track. Next time I see him I'll ask him about adding a full-tilt 200 into the plan (barefoot of course).

Barefoot

Attempting my first week of completely barefoot running starting tomorrow. Went 30 minutes pushing the stroller today sans footwear as a warmup. Been back running for about three weeks after taking all of the winter/most of spring off for no other reason than it was cold and/or I was lazy.

Chris, I envy you your ability to run without the watch. I have to admit that I am completely the opposite for better, or infinitely more likely, for worse. Because I still dislike just going for a run, I find myself playing competitive games with myself for no rational reason. One of my frequent routines is to run the eight or so minutes to the local high school track, do 2 x 200 with the second one being all out, then running home. It's either that or run with a radio. So far my best is roughly 32 seconds with the running start. I do not anticipate improving on this significantly and it hurts way more than it should. But for some odd reason I enjoy it.

I've also been known to run a three mile loop starting from my house as hard as I can, for no other reason than the weird satisfaction I get from having pushed myself really hard just because I can. I like to time these as well, not because I'm trying to match what we did in college, but because I enjoy competing against myself from two weeks ago, or whenever I ran the course last.

The important difference between what I do now and what we did in college is I don't really care about the result beyond it being a sort of hobby. Thankfully, I know I will never go into some dysfunctional roast set off by my running fortunes ever again. That's probably where Chris and my approaches intersect. Running is just something I do these days, not really who I am. And yes, I'm aware that last line reads like it was taken from a Lifetime movie script about hoarding or taking in stray cats or something.

So there.

Running Measurements

Judge Smails: Ty, what did you shoot today?
Ty Webb: Oh, Judge, I don't keep score.
Judge Smails: Then how do you measure yourself with other golfers?
Ty Webb: By height.

I just wanted to share how I've been running recently. The battery in my running watch died almost a year ago, and I haven't replaced it. Doesn't matter too much, I habitually run the same courses every time I go out. However, I've recently started doing some of my longer runs on courses I've never run or measured.

I don't sweat it too much. If I need to measure myself against other runners, I could use Ty Webb's approach with other golfers. Actually, I guess I would fair pretty well that way. Possibly better than by my running performance.

30 lbs heavier than college

Wow. It's been months since I wrote my last blog. That's probably one of the last times I ran, too.

I hit the scale today and realized that I am 30 lbs heavier than I was in college. That is so lame, especially since absolutely none of it is muscle.

I've now become one of those guys that looks at infomercials for workout help. Here we come P90X. Can't wait to bail on that program 2 weeks into it.

I suck at running....

I am trying to run, it is not easy. I am the most out of shape I have been in in my life. Though babies are not that in shape. They are fat and they can barely move. So I may have been in worse shape at a point ai cannot remember. 1 mile today and 20 situps.

No More Space Shoes?!?!?

Today I went to the Georgetown Running Company to purchase a new pair of shoes from that Ben Cooke guy. My original plan was to buy another pair of the Nike's "designed by NASA scientists." My beloved space shoes, aka Lunar Trainers, have been very good to me the past 6 months. Not only did I run my first race in 10 years wearing the Lunars; I also was able for a brief period this Fall to finally get over the hump and run a few weeks without injury.

As it turns out, the Lunar Trainers have been retired. The picture above is Ben showing me the replacement model which I had to reject after a 2 min treadmill jog test. I ended up buying the Brooks Glycerin after trying out the Nike Vomero and an Asics model.

Ben and I chatted awhile about the frustration of being constantly injured for no reason at all. That seems to be a common theme with a Dusty Spikes crew. Hopefully the Brooks will last me until Spring when I can attempt the Pat Anderson flats only training again.

Me vs. The Machine

This is the view from the treadmill where I do most of my so-called training these days. I'm not sure why I was so opposed to running on treadmills for years, but I've developed a pretty good relationship with the machine lately.

I seem to be more prone to injury when I run in cold temperatures. In fact, I'm pretty certain the distance team had twice as many injuries during the really bad winters when we were forced to run on half shoveled sidewalks for weeks and wear 3 layers of clothing before walking out the door.

Why was the treadmill never really an option? Were people sneaking in treadmill workouts wearing a disguise to avoid the harsh judgment they might face by members of the distance squad?

To be fair, I doubt treadmills in 96 had the TV monitors connected to them and I definitely didn't own an iPhone loaded with podcasts, audio books, and songs purchased for 99 cents. Even with all these entertainment options, I still find myself bored after 10-15 minutes. Luckily I discovered some entertaining podcasts that will hopefully distract me enough for the next 4-6 weeks until it gets warmer and I can run 20-30 min. without shin or knee pain.

Milestones

I've had a couple of breakthroughs recently, so I thought I would share them here. No, I don't have any races or workouts to report newfound strength or speed. These milestones are more like a change in mindset.

First, I have been running in sub 35 degree weather... in shorts. Something happened to me after college. If it was under 45 degrees, I would dress for running like I was going ice fishing. I actually thought that age causes you to have less tolerance of cold temperatures. Recently, I have changed my attitude about running. I don't have the same level of dread when I have to go against something that is somewhat uncomfortable. I don't know what this really means, but I thought it was worth reporting here.

The other milestone, is that I've broken one of Jason's new Rules for three weeks in a row. I've run more than 30 miles each of those weeks. I'm approaching running differently than Jason these days. He wants to see how fast he can be on less than 30 miles a week. I know that if I attempt that, I will get hurt. I have realized that my body reacts better to running slower and longer than shorter and faster. So although I've increased my mileage, I've really had to let go of my ego. Especially on these many mornings where I've been running on a treadmill in the gym amongst the competitive soccer moms.

The Rules

After I quit running, I went through a long phase when I absolutely hated the sport and was glad to hang up the spikes. That seems to be a common theme with most former college runners I've spoken to. After many 15 minute runs (without iPod) I believe I've identified the reason. The reason is that 90% of running SUCKS! In fact, the suck ratio is probably even higher if you were constantly injured and forced to spend weeks in the training room every year. I was at least lucky enough to usually get injured at the same time one of the hot gymnasts or soccer players were also injured.

Once I started running again - my motive being weight loss and a reduction in heartburn - I realized that perhaps running didn't necessarily have to suck. Maybe, my hatred was related to our absolute obsession with running and lack of any type of perspective that would allow us to realize that a bad workout in Purcell had absolutely zero effect on humanity.

The simple solution was to come up with rules to eliminate those things we all did that made running suck. Here are some of the rules I came up for myself:

1) Running in Sub-35 degrees. I don't remember once running on a treadmill due to frigid temperatures in college. What was the point? I think it was some faux bravado and a little insanity. The worst was when we'd cover our entire face because it was so cold that any type of exposure could cause frostbite. I did violate this rule once two weeks but that was Foster's fault for telling me he ran 20 miles the previous week. Thanks Train!

2) Two a Day Training. Not only was running early in the am miserable, I'm not even sure if I got any value out of it. In fact, I think running with tight muscles triggered the injury that forced me to quit running.

3) Ice Therapy. I've recently completely violated this rule. I bought a huge quantity of those stupid paper cups and have began icing my knee. It's pretty horrible but hopefully I won't start the ice/heat contrast therapy.

4) Running while sick. I'm not talking about a tad under the weather. I'm talking about dragging yourself out the door despite the fact that you probably have a fever. This rule will be the easiest to abide by.

5) Always running the planned amount. I have no problem cutting a run short if I planned on going 30 but realize I feel like shit. This rule also includes that stupid extra loop around the block to get 30 instead of 29:28. I've mostly been true to this rule but am fighting my instinct.

6) Running in cold rain. Originally the rule included any rain but I got caught in a couple downpours this Fall and didn't exactly turn around early. Running in 40 degree rain in the Winter is just horrible and doubt I'll break this anytime soon.

7) Over 30 miles a week. As long as I can exceed this threshold without violating the other rules, I could potentially see myself sneaking in a 35 mile week sometime but I'm in no danger now.

I'm sure there's more rules but I need to go get in another ice cup massage before bed followed by 4 or 5 Ibuprofin. So what did I miss?

Comeback to the Comeback

I started running a couple weeks ago after a 6 week "off season". My first run was horrendous and I had to break a couple of the rules I set for myself when I started my "comeback", but that's subject for a separate blog.

One of the nice surprises I had during my attempt to run again was a knee injury. Seriously? It's one of those nagging overuse injuries you used to get when you exceeded your mileage breaking point except I'm simply trying to squeeze out 15-20 min runs 3 times a week.

To nurse my injury I've resorted to running laps around the astroturf at the high school down the street.

week 2 mileage: 8 miles (I rounded up)