Holiday Running, Part 2

OK, Mandy sends the following:

"look how cold it looks! don't i look miserable? i was gonna post it on the blog but i couldn't figure out how. feel free to put it on there so the others know how awesome i am and start picking up their game a little."

It does look cold - I checked the weather, it looks like it was in the upper 30's or lower 40's up in Trumbull, ConnectFouricut today.

Anyone think they got a more epic running experience? Email me your pictures, or leave the details in a comment...

Holiday Run Reporting

OK, so we have Team Spee members flung across the far reaches of the world - Jean's in Montana, Eve's on a farm in O-hi-O, Mandy's Connecticut-bound, Christina's going to some weird place called "Fort Worth."

But people are not slacking. Jean's already run 5 in Montana. Mandy's hooking up with a running group called the Pequot Runners in Southport, Connecticut. We're hoping for a picture of Eve running behind her tractor/snowplow-driving sister.

Even if you're not in some exotic, far-flung locale, get your runs in. These are weeks where people get a bit lost.

So, get out and run, and report back here in the comments. maybe you'll encourage some of your worthless, slacking peers to put the pie down and run.

Much love,

Rob

Eat, Damn You!

OK, look, you all know that I have a certain amount of ego and pride involved in having people follow my lead and advice. But honestly, I know what I'm doing, particularly when it comes to eating and the things that happen after we eat, and the connection of those things to running.

If I tell you that you need to eat before a really long run, trust me, and make it happen. Here's the stuff I've been hearing:

Excuse: "I didn't have time to eat this morning."
Exemplar: Jacala
Reality: "I barely rolled my ass out of bed twenty minutes before I had to show up for the run."
Result: Initially, the only consequence is that you look like an idiot sucking down a Gu at mile three. Eventually, the pain of an empty stomach with that unholy gel crap pasted to one corner of it is going to make a run miserable. There is no substitute for real food.
Solution: Get your aforementioned ass up and eat. Eat a bagel, a packet of instant oatmeal. Whatever. Eat, damn you!

Excuse: "I don't like to/can't eat in the morning."
Exemplar: Carmen
Reality: She probably really doesn't want to, plus she's probably not eating enough to start with.
Result: "I felt like I was floating sideways during the run. Is that normal?"
Solution: Get up early, call Jacala to wake her ass up, and fix yourself something to eat. Experiment and find something you can stomach.

Excuse: "I had two chicken strips after working all day, an hour before going on an 18 mile run." Exemplar: Mandy
Reality: Well, yeah, she worked all day long at Shady Grove, and has to rush to get her long run in at night, so she doesn't have time to eat a proper meal. Also, pushing herself too hard to lose weight while she's in training.
Result: Getting dizzy and taking a seat in the middle of North Loop just past mile 11. Yuppie women drivers in Porsche SUV's having to put their cell phone calls on hold to ask if you're OK. repeating two more times during the run. Eventually, possibly passing completely the hell out. Though, I have to say, mad props for finishing the run the other night.
Solution: Either start running hella early in the morning, or an hour and a half before your run, have something with some carbs in it ready to stuff down - maybe a Hippie Sandwich or some rice dish or something. Hell, mix up a packet of instant oatmeal and grab a bite of it when you can, or get someone to cover for you for ten minutes while you stuff your sandwich hole.

Problem: "I've been running at a solid pace, but now I have to stop and take a five minute break in a dismal porta-potty."
Exemplar: Daniel
Reality: Guessing, but given some of the other evidence (ahem), I'd say he's also rolling out of bed and cramming food down with just enough time to be ten minutes late for the run.
Result: Poopy problems. And when you have to go, and you keep running, things tend to change from solid to other states entirely... And during a race, you lose time.
Solution: Get your ass out of bed, eat immediately, and leave yourself time to digest. Period.

Here's the thing - we're getting into distances where your weaknesses, particularly the consequences of your habits, will be exposed. If this happens sometime in January, you don't leave yourself much time to figure out what change is going to work for you. You don't want to be experimenting on race day. I've seen it happen, hell, I've done it, and it is almost always a bad, bad idea.

Now is the time to start experimenting with what you eat before a long run or race. You want some healthy carbs that your body is going to be able to access during your run. I've found oatmeal to be ideal, particularly if you control the portion by using instant packets. If I eat early enough before a really long run, I'll go with two packets. If I'm in a rush, I'll at least go with one.

You need to start getting in the habit of eating right the night(s) before. Apparently, what you eat two night before a long run or race is particularly helpful. Again, carbs like pasta are a good thing. Avoid the cream sauces and big salads that could lead to digestive issues. Eat early the night before your run, so things will get digested.

The morning of the run, get up early enough that you can eat and have about an hour to hit the water closet before you leave for the run. Trust me on this.

Look, you guys are working really hard, and you have been for months. Don't jack it up and short yourself by doing stupid things like not eating right, smoking too much, or skipping runs. you owe it to yourself, and to your running buddies who sort of depend on you to be out there with them. You know what I'm gonna say... DON'T SLACK!

"Spirit of the Marathon", Coming Soon!

Team Spiridon is proud to team up with the Dick Beardsley Foundation for the premiere of Spirit of the Marathon, on January 24, 2008, at the Gateway Theater at Stonelake. Running legend Dick Beardsley, who has an appearance in the film, will be in attendance at the screening, and at an event prior to the screening that will be open exclusively to those who purchase tickets from the Foundation.

Spirit of the Marathon is the first ever non-fiction feature film to capture the drama and essence of the famed 26.2 mile running event. Filmed on four continents, the movie brings together a diverse cast of amateur athletes and marathon luminaries.

As six unique stories unfold, each runner prepares for and ultimately faces the challenge of the Chicago Marathon. More than a sports movie, Spirit of the Marathon is an inspirational journey of perseverance and personal triumph; a spectacle that will be embraced by runners and non-runners alike. Visit http://www.marathonmovie.com/ for more information on the movie.

The Dick Beardsley Foundation is a community-based non-profit dedicated to providing grants to those who need help in seeking treatment for chemical dependency, and to educating the public about the realities of chemical dependency. The Foundation relies on tax deductible donations to function. This is a great opportunity to help the cause, see a uniquely inspirational film, meet one of the great runners of our time, and be entered for some great door prizes.

Tickets for the full event are only available through the Foundation for a minimum donation of $15 per ticket, with proceeds from these sales benefitting the Foundation. To purchase your ticket, go to www.dickbeardsleyfoundation.org, and make sure to indicate in the note field that your donation is for Spirit of the Marathon tickets.

The movie is only showing for one night at 400 theaters nationwise, and at only three local theaters (if you count Round Rock, which, as you know, I usually don't. Just kidding, guys. Sort of.)

More information on the movie and event will be available on this site, as well as the Foundation and Spirit of the Marathon websites in the coming weeks.

As Promised (Late)

Remember back when it was warm? No, not Monday. Further back.

Running In The Margins

So, I just want to talk about Saturday's run, and just what the hell all that was about. This is a little rough because, you know, I'm supposed to be working right now, but try to bear with me...

To some extent, this was one of the few runs that I wanted to do out of a sense of nostalgia, not just for my own memories of running it in some previous running life, but for the memories of the area I grew up in. I don't cherish everything about my Westlake years, but the chunk of the run to the northeast of Bee Caves covers the territory that contains a lot of the people and things I did appreciate about Westlake - the older, less... Westlakey neighborhoods, the quiet, the views, and yes, the hills. We ran within sight of the house I lived in for over a decade and a half, and I was riding up the hills to my friend's house on Terrace Mountain over 20 years ago (so I don't feel anyone has any superior claim to them).

Still, as you all saw, it's also a potentially dangerous run, and a pretty intensely difficult one. I was confident in everyone's ability to knock it out, though, and everyone, to some extent, did.

If you had a rough time, didn't finish, hated how long it took you, or felt horrible during or after the run, you really need to not despair. This was an unnecessarily difficult run, period. Yes, there is a tremendous benefit to training on hills, but this run is extreme. On top of that, you ran it in difficult conditions, in that stifling humidity.

But I really wanted us to run this, so much so that, last night, fifteen weeks into this training, I pulled out my biggest and most irresponsible coaching mistake. I was determined to run it, Christina had committed herself to coming with me, and then I pressured Mandy and Jean into running it with us.

Ah, the vital piece of information here is that we didn't start until 6pm, from Whole Foods.

Clearly, I would never have done this with the group, or, no offense, with many of the individuals in it. But I've run a lot with these particular people, and I let myself and my desire to run the course get me too far out of the responsible mindset. We had extremely bright flashlights and specific instructions, but still, it was just a bad idea.

It was a pretty heinous run, in terms of traffic. The little bit of Stratford we weren't able to divert around was a bit nerve-wracking, and the short stretch on Redbud between the top of the hill and the convenience store was particularly scary.

Jean and Mandy had the sense to abort the run, turn around, and head back, still getting in a pretty decent run.

Christina was game to try to complete the run with me, so we did. The temperature dropped tremendously, and we were fairly numb for most of the time, especially up on Terrace Mountain.

So why the hell did I make you do it? Why was I so rabid about doing it myself that I was a bit irresponsible enough to drag Jean, Mandy, and Christina along on it last night, in the dark?

Carl Jung talks about the recurring theme in our mythologies of heroes leaving the familiar world, and spending time out in the social or physical margins of existence. Voluntary or not, it's what they have to do to get sort of freed of the secular and the mundane, face adversity, and end up learning stuff that makes them more complete.

To some extent, this run was your forty days in the desert, your time in the forest in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"... uhh... your time in medieval Japan ("Heroes", anyone?). I hope you all got a sense of the quiet up there, got glimpses of how far away the city was, and maybe caught some glimpses of deer doing their deer thing. I have to say, it was all incredibly beautiful in the dark last night.

I felt it was an important run to put everything in perspective, because it imposed a bit more adversity on us than we're used to, and how we deal with adversity is important for our confidence. If you got through the run OK, then you should have a good sense for how tough you are, and what you're capable of. And if you didn't get through it OK, then you are in a position to choose to put the bad run in perspective, a skill you need to have as a runner, and no doubt as an individual.

Those of you that ran 10 on this course should now know that you can absolutely run a half marathon - not just barely get there, but really run it.

The marathoners that ran 16 on this course don't necessarily get the certainty of being able to add 10 more, but I expect you'll be unimpressed with 18 next week. After that, you get 20 miles, and will really know that you're in striking distance of slaying the marathon dragon.

If you had a hard time, or it shook your faith, then that's just as good for you. First, you need to question your training - have you been keeping up with your runs? Have you been making the weekday workouts where you get to really build your strength? Is there something you feel you're not getting from the training, the schedule, or to be fair, from me?

After that bit of questioning, you really need to appreciate the run for the unreasonably difficult one it is. Think back on it, and you'll find there's the big picture - involving the course, whether you were in proper condition for it, and the attitude with which you approached it - and you'll find there were also a number of smaller choices you were faced with along the way when confronted with difficulty. You need to appreciate the times you chose to push through, and identify what it was about the times you chose to let up or stop. There might be very good reasons for those choices. And with the benefit of hindsight, you might find you handle some of the choices differently next time.

What's important about this route is that it was not so much about the mileage, or the effectiveness of training in the hills, but more about exercising your will. It is very easy to go out there and plod through the miles, letting them have their way with you. But that's running without a heart or sense of will, and that's how you get beaten down psychologically.

I think it's better to accept the difficulty and choose to impose your will on the miles, and the route, and the hills. We are at the distances now where the runs become more and more a matter of will, and your ability to make those choices about how you face what gets thrown at during them.

This may be by far the hardest route we run in training, but it is not necessarily going to be the hardest day you have in your running life. But when you find yourself back at those moments of doubt, you're going to be able to go back to this run, and the fact that you finished and felt strong, or maybe that you barely got through, or even that you only succeeded in some moments of it and not others. Today's victories will give you the hope and confidence to fight the future battles that you are inevitably going to face. And, I don't think this reasoning only applies to running.

Daniel and I were talking as he finished his celebratory post-run cigarette Saturday morning (I'm not even going to get into that right now). He's run four marathons, I think. We talked about how empowering it is to run these distances, and how you start thinking...

"If I can do this, why am I living the rest of my life the way I
am?"

"I can run 13 miles, I can commit to training in any conditions for six
months to do it, so why am I working so hard at a job I hate?"

"I can feel how real and powerful my will is, pushing me through the hard
workouts, and through the wall at 22 miles, so why am I living without
passion?"

I know, I know, I'm being preachy - more of it will come in the next couple of months. Sorry. Running doesn't have to be all serious and tied in with the rest of our lives. It can and should be a thing unto itself. But I believe the sort of Zen concept that we should be focused and practice things for their own sake, and in doing that, we find principles and gain perspectives that apply elsewhere.

The movie we're watching Thursday night has a line that I'm not sure is an actual quote from Bill Bowerman or not, but still:

“Running, one might say, is an absurd pastime upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in the kind of running required of you to stay on this team, perhaps you’ll find meaning in another absurd pastime: life."

Half-Marathoning, South Texas Style

OK, here's Mirsa's race report...

Just so you know how dedicated I am... I woke up at 5:30AM in the morning (dragged my reluctant Mother from San Benito) to go the 2nd Annual Fiesta Marathon in McAllen.

This marathon is considered a qualifying event for the 2008 Boston Marathon! For anyone trying to qualify, this was the race to seal the deal because the course didn’t have a whole lot of topography (really flat). The palm trees makes for nice viewing instead.

It was a beautimas day. Cool morning. The race started mas or menos 7am sharp. By the end of the race, it was probably high 80s.

Racers participated in the Full Marathon, Half Marathon, Relay, Walk/Jog 5K, or the 1-Mile kids race. Lots of categories for a whopping total of about 1000 racers. And although it seemed bigger, it was mainly because there were probably more spectators than runners.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. My Mom, in the end, enjoyed it as well and glad she tagged along. For the rest of the day, she told all my raza family (tios, tias, primos, etc.) that I ran a marathon. I had to keep correcting her that I ran the HALF marathon. She said, "Whatever, it’s all the same." (In Spanish, of course.)

Frozen Turkeys, Running

Some of us made it out to the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day - Matt, Cassie, Carmen, Christine, and I. Yes, it was freakin' cold - just a little over 40 degrees, but with very moderate humidity. I know plenty of us (AHEM!) decided it was just too cold, and bailed on the race, so much credit to the people who showed up.

Matt's been struggling with lots of injuries and issues, and I was a little concerned about how he'd hold up, but he ran a 49:55, just edging under 10-minute miles.

Carmen showed up wearing some odd pink leg-warmers with puffy tassels. They may have helped, but certainly didn't slow her down - she stormed up the steep climb on 11th street, and roared back to a 55:32 finish. I continue to be amazed by her progress since that first day out at Zilker this summer.

Not to take anything from anyone else, but I have to say I was tremendously proud and, yeah, surprised, by Christine. You'll recall she finished the IBM 10K in 1:40:51. She's been working hard, though, trying to do less of the Christine Shuffle, and more of a true running stride and form. Thursday, we saw the results. I figured I'd see her at about an hour and a half into the race, particularly given all the hills. Imagine my surprise when she appeared on the 11th street hill at about an hour and twenty minutes in. She ran with me up the hill, and Carmen joined us. We paced her in, and kept her moving until the last downhill stretch to the finish, where she finally cut loose and was striding pretty quick to the finish line, probably just to get away from us and our nagging.

It turns out it had taken her over nine minutes to get through the start line, making her time an estimated 1:12 or so - a huge improvement for her. More than anything, though, I was really happy to see her dig in and push herself when she really badly wanted to stop. Doing so, she's opened up a whole new realm of running, and probably, hopefully, of her own life.

As for me, I just love the cold, because I can breathe. I knocked 3:51 off of last year's time. It also showed how much easier it is to put yourself through some discomfort when your heart is happy in general.

So, it's going to be tough to get up in the mornings, or out in the evenings, when it's cold, and sometimes even wet. But it's all part of what you've committed to, and it's an important part. Just like getting up early, it's a battle you have to fight that you can win simply by making a choice to do it. Once you clear that initial hurdle, you'll often even end up having a good day.

And, obviously, running in bad conditions builds the mental and physical toughness to persevere, regardless of the weather or the situations that will someday inevitably be thrown at you.

Remember what Bill Bowerman said - "There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."

Dick's 1982 Boston Finish

OK, Jill just sent me this link, and I had to put it up here - I'd always read about it, but never seen it... Here's the link.

Don't forget about his foundation. We all know people affected by chemical dependency, and we probably all know people who wouldn't be able to afford to get good help for it. The foundation is a great idea, and is a little guy in the sea of charitable organizations out there. Let's help it out.

Team Spee at Race For the Cure

Picture coming soon...

Aside from some pre-race confusion that prevented us from running any warmup or drills, Team Spiridon had a great day at the Race for the Cure. The air temperature was perfect, though the solar heating made it slightly warm, and the course, despite some changes that resulted in more hills, was still pretty fast.

Eve destroyed her previous best of 31:51, set at last year's RFTC, with a 28:35, running almost a minute per mile faster than the pace she ran in her two-mile time trial.

Paul picked up a substantial PR, coming tantalizingly close to breaking below 29 minutes, with a 29:00.4.

Daniel came through in 26:15, faster than her two-mile pace, and almost a minute faster than what his time trial predicted.

We never saw Jean, because she was running with an organization, the Young Hot Female Executive Association or something, but I talked to her after the race. She ran untimed, because she wasn't able to pick up her chip, but finished somewhere in the 30-31 minute range, beating her previous best, and finally cracking the 10 minute mile barrier, also faster than her two-mile time trial pace.

Carmen and Jacala finished together, at 35:01, and 35:02, respectively. It was Carmen's first race, and a new personal record for Jacala.

Michele, who hooked most of us up with the Freescale team (and a substantial discount), finished the run, at her 19th week of pregnancy, with the little guy kicking around inside.

I have to brag a bit - my 61 year-old mom, who is sort of an honorary member of Team Spiridon, ran the race with me last year in 37:18, which I was very impressed with, it being her first race ever. She didn't do any more races until this one. She is a bit of a workout freak, and she recently dropped weight to about 105 (she's 5'2"). Today, she ran hard, though she thought she could probably have run a little faster. She also saw the sign for mile 3, thought that was the end of the race, and stopped. She walked about half the remaining distance before she figured it out and ran again. Still, she finished in 30:54. If I can get her to do some proper training, she'll be a serious competitor in her age group.

And, your coach didn't slack, much as I wanted to, finally propelling my fat arse through the 25 minute total and 8 minute per mile walls, with a 24:48, 51 seconds better than my previous best. Almost as importantly, it finally put my age-graded percentile ranking into the top half (if you search your race results by name or bib number, you'll get more data, including your age-graded ranking.)

So, there are a few things we can all take away from today. First, we can see that sometimes, things go wrong before a race, like Carmen and Jacala having to spend half an hour trying to get their timing chips, through no fault of their own. That's even more reason to be on time for races, and to maximize your preparation of the things that are in your control.

Next, I think knowing the course and having a race plan was a benefit (anyone else think so?). We knew where the first quarter mile and half mile marks were, which allowed us to immediately check our pace, rather than waiting for the first mile to be over.

We saw the importance of the two cardinal rules of racing: don't go out too much faster than your pace (a key to your success today, Paul?), and run your own race, ignoring what other people might be doing. Once again, particularly running on some of the Capitol 10K course, we saw plenty of people blow past us on the downhills, only to see them again struggling on an uphill.

Finally, I think the fact that people were outrunning their time trial pace today, as some did at the IBM 10K, shows that your hard work and patience are making you faster, stronger, and more able to focus and push yourself harder. Yes, we ran time trials in higher temperatures and humidity, and it was a first time trial for many of you, but actual improvement is clearly a strong factor.

So, good job, everyone - I was extremely proud of how everyone did out there. We are ten weeks into training, with about 14 or so more to go - DON'T SLACK. You've all put in too much time, effort, and suffering to let up now. That means you make it to workouts, you get your own runs in, and it also means you take extraordinary measures to keep your body healthy.

NO SLACKING!

Help Yourself

For the marathoners and people who come to the Wednesday workouts, I've done a lot of waffling over time about when to put the next solo run. I originally had the marathoners running on Fridays, but that's the day before the long run. I switched it to Thursdays, but am not entirely happy with that. I know that I feel like I was beaten with a bag of oranges, or possibly more of the nasty persimmons Kellie bought last night, so I'll run tomorrow, and today will be my cross training day.

The ideal for those doing Wednesday workouts, I think, would be to make Thursday your cross training day, and then run Friday morning. That gives you time to recover a bit from Thursday, and to recover again for the long run Saturday morning. Running in the morning also ramps up your metabolism for the day, which is good if you're wanting to burn some fat. If anyone would like to burn some of mine, feel free.

So, someone asked yesterday if we should just be feeling sore full-time, now. Funny, because earlier in the day, I was thinking about how I was definitely in that phase of my training where I'm sore and feeling a little beat-up most of the time. Thing is, I also feel strong, and the soreness and beat-uppedness shouldn't be indicative of more serious issues, like muscle pulls or strains, shin splints, skeletal issues, or infestation by an incubating, parasitic alien.

I'll say again, we are in a phase where we have to take responsibility and start taking extra care of ourselves. This is half marathon and marathon training, not a correspondence course in, I don't know, incubating parasitic alien infestations. There are things we can do to minimize or eliminate our discomfort, and help ward off injury. I know I've posted about these things before, but they can't be said enough:

Ice baths - after long runs, even after hard weekday workouts. It alleviates a lot of soreness, and hastens recovery, so that the next run is not so horrible. I know some of you have become believers - would you please weigh in on this in the comments?

Stretch - I am the worst about this. For one thing, if you aren't very flexible, stretching doesn't seem very satisfying, and it can be a bit disheartening. We have to be disciplined and do it, though, especially as the weather gets colder. Light stretching before runs, then good stretching after every run. I like to try to stretch again a couple of hours after the run - we tend to get in our cars, go home or to work, and sit, making it as easy as possible for our leg muscles to tighten up. Tight muscles affect your stride, even your footstrike, increase the chance of some injuries, and generally makes life miserable. And with just 5-10 minutes a day, we could avoid a lot of that. Yoga is helpful - more on that in a moment.

Massage - Massage is another miracle worker. If you wanted to be completely serious about this running thing, you'd get them regularly. I know there's an expense factor. But even if you can get one once a month, it'll help tremendously.

Self massage is a good thing, too. No jokes, please. I'm checking on organizing a foam roller seminar that would cost some dough, but we'd walk away with foam rollers and some instruction on their use.

Get help now, not later - We all want to run, some of us are afraid of stopping and losing ground. But the algebra of this is simple - you can go get that pain looked at now, maybe have to sit out or minimize your running for a few weeks, or maybe just address it with rehab or changes in routine, or, you can ignore it and keep pounding at it, thinking the magical running fairies, or maybe your incubating, parasitic alien infestation are going to repair it, and end up injured, fat, and asleep on the morning of February 18.

Listen to your body - Facing and overcoming discomfort and fear, even pain, are attributes you need as a runner. But ignoring pain during training that is trying to warn you of an issue with your body is just stupid. Get to know your body, and pay attention to it.

Run softly - I keep our workouts on the streets, because that's what you'll be running your races on. Dick Beardsley was saying last week that he thinks people train on trails, then run distance on the street and their bodies aren't ready for it. I think with the great trail system we see here, that it happens a lot. I have a friend that runs ultramarathons on real trails, and will run the occasional marathon, and he talks about what a difference it makes when you aren't used to it. But there is a very real cost in impact and wear and tear on our bodies. So, on your solo run days, I encourage you to run on the trail, or even in grass. Take any opportunity to minimize the impact. You're also getting a slightly harder workout when you run on a surface with more energy absorption and less traction.

Cross train - When the calendar says "cross training", that's not like, some admonition to get to church (yeah, that was bad. sorry). You should be using that day to give your legs a break, particularly from impact,

I'm still failing to enact Phillip's suggested core training into our workouts, but I haven't given up on it. In the meantime, Jack and Adam's Bicycles, at Lamar and Barton Springs, has free core workouts on Mondays and Wednesdays, at 5:30pm. Free. Strengthening your core is going to help you run stronger, and maintain your form longer.

Also, some of Team Spee is already hitting the free Friday night yoga at Yoga Vida. Yoga is fantastic for flexibility and even building some core strength. I think all athletes should be doing yoga, actually - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gives a lot of credit for his unusually long basketball career to his practice of yoga.

There's more to discuss - nutrition is a huge consideration. And, maintaining your mental well-being, though clearly already a lost cause in general for many of you (OK, of us), is important to. And, at some point, we'll talk about how to deal with incubating, parasitic alien infestations, with the pain and the screaming and gurgling and exploding and the Sigourney Weaver and what-not.

Marathon Challenge on PBS Tonight

You may have seen this reviewed in Runner's World or the RunTex site - tonight, "Marathon Challenge" airs on NOVA:

What does it take for the average person to run one of the world's toughest races? NOVA finds out in a program that's both a human story and an intriguing scientific exploration of the way our bodies respond to intense exercise demands. Filmed in cooperation with the Boston Athletic Association, NOVA has been granted unprecedented access to the Boston Marathon course and will take viewers on a unique adventure inside the human body. Every year thousands of athletes from across the globe flock to Boston to run the city's marathon, known worldwide as the ultimate test of stamina and endurance. In the summer of 2006, NOVA began following 13 novices as they took the first step toward completing the 26.2-mile race in April 2007. The group of participants includes a variety of people from diverse backgrounds - a young woman running in memory of her mother, who died in a tragic car accident; a working single mom; even a former NFL linebacker - the unifying element is that not one of them is currently a runner. Over the nine-month training period, exercise and nutrition scientists and doctors at Tufts University use sophisticated technology to monitor the physical transformations that the participants undergo. Intimate interviews reveal the highs and lows along the way. The experience will demand a transformation of mind and body; NOVA cameras will be there, following every step.

It's showing at 7pm, then again at midnight (and in HD, which I'll be DVR'ing, if'n you miss it)
http://www.klru.org/Schedule/ViewProgram.asp?VsnID=173259

The interestingly controversial bits, at least for runner geeks (which you now all qualify as - I know you've been using BodyGlide and developing opinions about socks), are that they're coached by a woman that won Boston twice. RunTex's writer calls her "a drug cheat who was suspended for two years for failing out-of-competition testing", but, to be fair, that's not exactly true. From Wikipedia (verifiable):

In 1998, an out-of-competition drug test found Pippig had an elevated ratio
of testosterone to epitestosterone, and the German Athletics Federation attempted to ban her for two years. Pippig contested the finding on the grounds that her testosterone levels were normal, and that the elevated ratio was due to a low level of epitestosterone from a long battle with chronic bowel disease and other factors. This claim was supported by a variety of independent medical experts, and a German arbitration court ultimately dismissed the case.

The other thing is that the people profiled didn't have to qualify for Boston, which kinda stinks. Fact is, Boston does extend invitations to certain people - the editor of Runners World got one last year, felt guilty, and was determined to run it in a qualifying time. Don't recall if he pulled it off or not.

Anyway, it should be worth checking out, from a number of angles.

The Race Calendar Update

OK, so originally, I had posted a list of races I recommended you run during your training. I kind of want to revise and revisit that.

Mandy and I are still waffling (I think? I think we're waffling on waffling...) on running the Distance Challenge, which consists of these races:

1. Oct. 21 - IBM Uptown Classic K (sort of...)
2. Nov. 11 - EAS 10 Miler Run For the Water
3. Dec. 2 - Decker Challenge 20K
4. Jan. 6 - ARA 30 K Run of Death (OK, I edited the name - check out the course)
5. Jan. 27 - 3M Half Marathon
6. Feb. 18 - AT&T Marathon

Some of you ran the 10K, so, if you're willing to pay for your own chip (about $35), you can still run the whole series, if you're running the full marathon in February. You just have to get your chip and register by November 11, the day of the 10 miler.

Cost is one consideration - the 10 miler is $50, though RunTex has extended us a $5 discount (email me for the discount code). The money goes to an excellent cause - to help bring money to Gilbert Tuhabonye's village in Burundi.

The Decker Challenge is only $30 through October 31, then it goes up to $40. I'm checking on a similar discount there.

The 30K should be interesting, from the looks of the course. The 20 milers in the past couple of years have been epic, toughening experiences themselves. They seem to really strengthen bonds in running groups, and make for good stories. If you can get through this race, you're looking good for the marathon. I'd recommend it.

The 3M and Austin Marathon, are, of course, no-brainers.

For me, I may choose to run the White Rock full or half instead of the Decker Challenge, extending my half-unintentional Decker-avoiding streak. And, honestly, I'm still waiting to see what the Distance Challenge finisher's premium will be. I've heard rumors, and they have me less than excited. The cachet of running the series of races isn't quite enough of a pull for me, personally. Throw the jacket or even the goody-laden backpack from past years into the mix, and we'll talk.

For half marathoners, you're not going to want to run any of the races until 3M, because the mileage isn't really right for you. Many of you could run the 10 miler, but it would be a jump in mileage I'm not entirely comfortable with, and you certainly wouldn't be ready to push the pace for that distance, so you'd really just be running a route we run anyway, but paying to do it... But, you could say you finished a 10-mile race. Up to you.

Still, you should definitely try to pick some races up along the way. RunTex has a good calendar of upcoming events. If you want to know how to fit them into your schedule, talk to me. I do strongly recommend running both the 3M and the Austin Half Marathon, but you need to choose one of them to be your true goal race. Racing both of them all-out, with only three weeks in between, is tough.

Choosing which to make your goal is also a tough choice, because while 3M is faster, for many of you, it will be your first half marathon. It's pretty common for people to run the Austin Half, which is a more difficult course, faster than they ran the 3M, just because they have that first one under their belt. We can talk about all that later, though.

Again, running races is good experience - it gets you used to the logistics of a race, from what you eat the night before, to creating and solidifying you pre-race routine. And whether you think you're competitive or not, you need to be put into that race-day situation, to get a feel for the excitement and stress of running a race, and pushing yourself. For all the work you put into training, it would be silly to go into your goal race cold. Finally, it helps break up this long training period.

So, figure out what you want to do, talk to me about it, and start taking advantage of those early-bird discounts...

Dick Beardsley Recap, Thanks, and Thoughts

Thanks, everyone, for coming out last night to meet and hear Dick Beardsley. It was a great night for me, to be able to meet and talk to such an amazing guy - amazing not only because of his accomplishments and personal triumphs, but because of his persistent and obvious genuineness and care he shows for others.

I was also really proud for him to see and meet the folks I get to run with - thanks. He gave us a really nice shout-out on his blog.

I also have to give much love to Stacey and John at Conley Sports. These guys put on such a great marathon - I'm still very much a new runner, but I've hit a number of events, and studied others, and we're really lucky to have the Conleys and Christina Conklin in charge. They all care a lot about what the runners' experience, and it shows. Speaking is something he's clearly passionate about, but it's Dick's business, too. He wanted to do something for us at low cost, and Stacey and John stepped in and picked it up for us. In return, I hope we can roust some of you volunteers for the marathon - it's a great experience, and really rewarding to be on that side of the event.

For those of you that weren't able to make it - we missed ya, and you really missed some great stories and insights. We'll fill you in on what we can, and hopefully, you'll have a chance to meet him down the line.

I will say that I was struck (as I tried to say in my horrid and rambling introduction) by how unpretentious he was. I got the sense from his stories that he approaches running in the same way. He was clearly serious and competitive, but it sounds like he didn't overcomplicate things, and he had fun with it. I can get a bit over-serious about What It All Means. Dick was a good reminder to all of us to just frikkin' run, and the meanings will make themselves evident.

So, it's also interesting how Dick's experiences caused him to refocus his energies into helping others, whether it's runners, or people who find themselves in the cycle of addiction that he was in. I knew about his foundation before, but I don't think I had a very good sense of it until I heard him talk about his own experience with chemical dependency. Jim and I are now sporting Beardsley Foundation wristbands, and if anyone else is interested, let me know, or hit the Foundation website. At some point, we'll be making a contribution to the foundation, and perhaps we can help find volunteers to staff their waterstop at the marathon, as part of the 26 Miles for 26 Charities program (.pdf link).

This is also a good time to finally talk about adding another dimension to the pursuit of your running goal, and finding ways to have it benefit the community. One good way coming up is the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure. If you haven't done this race before, you should. For one thing, the course is fast. Far more importantly, it's an experience - everywhere, there's evidence of the impact of breast cancer, from survivors running the race, to people running in memory of people who have died. Thanks to Michele Streetman, we have the opportunity to run with the Freescale team for half price - $18, I think. There's just really not a reason not to run it. Email me if you're interested, and I'll get you the discount code and instructions.

The half marathon and marathon are also excellent opportunities for fundraising. A couple of years ago, we were able to raise over a thousand dollars in just five days for the daughter of a friend of mine who had died of a brain aneurysm a few weeks earlier. In that case, a bank account had been set up, and people just made their contributions directly to it. Some charities probably offer the infrastructure to take pledged donations. I urge you to seek out the causes that resonate with you, and start figuring out how you can make your run work for them. Share that with us on the Run, Drink, Repeat blog, and maybe you'll encourage some others to join you, just as Christina has already done...

As the training goes on, we'll try to give you more concrete ways to go about this sort of thing. Start thinking about it, and let's do what we can to make a difference. When you hit that wall in the marathon, or the point in the half where you want to slow down or stop, having that extra reason to go on might mean a lot. Because there might not be a kid to run over to make you feel better...

Wonderful, Wacky, Week 7

So, in the creation and juggling of training schedules, which would be much easier if I, you know, just stole them, this week is a weird sort of harmonic convergence of events. So, I'm sort of looking at this whole week as a sort of reset for us, and for me, too.

We've gone through seven weeks of training. A few of you ran with me during the summer, and some of you had actually trained with me for weeks before training began. A few people are handling injuries and life obligations, but are still with us in spirit, and some will even be making a comeback. The rest of you have all been training hard through this first period, which sort of lays the foundation for the next phases of training.

So, think about where you've come from, celebrate where you are, and let's think about where you're going. This week ends up being perfect for that:

Tonight, Dick Beardsley gives us The Big Picture. I suppose you can ask him why you get the funny blister on the third toe of your left foot when the moon is full, but he's got a lot more to share than that, about running, and about running as it might relate to our lives.

Tomorrow night, we have the RDR Intervals, or the Running-Drinking Repeats. I was hesitant to do this one officially. Pub runs can be a lot of fun, or they can quickly degrade into stupidity. I know, I've done it both ways. Pub runs, I mean. Tonight is not about drinking, but about us having some fun.

Saturday is a weird nexus between the half marathon and marathon training schedules. I originally had the marathoners running 12, and the half marathoners having a recovery week with 4-5 miles. But, the marathoners really have a recovery due, and the half marathoners can go up for one more week. So, everyone's running eight together.

The route runs through East Austin, and Carmen has offered up her house as a starting and ending and breakfasting point for the run. I think we'll do an Evite for it later, but the deal is, she and Kellie and maybe some other volunteers (Jacala should, as much as she talks up Tennessee and all) will be cooking up a post-run spread. Be ready to bring five bucks to contribute to the expense - pretty cheap for lots of good-quality home-cookin'.

There ya go. It's a good week. Enjoy it.

Dick Beardsley, Wednesday!

Note the 'stache...

This Wednesday, at 6:30pm, Dick Beardsley is coming to speak to Team Spee, at Little Mexico, a nice little Mexican food place on South 1st. Weather permitting, we'll start with a short, easy, 30-minute run at 6:30, then come back to eat, listen, and ask questions.

I urge you to check out Dick's story beforehand. It's an amazing one in so many ways, from his start in running (chicks dig letter jackets), to tying for first in the first-ever London Marathon in 1981, to the legendary Duel In the Sun at the 1982 Boston Marathon, with a time of 2:08:54, to his rising above a string of personal tragedies and chemical dependency.

We're incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity, so please do come out, and feel free to bring your significant others or kids. His fiancee, Jill, will be there, as well. She's a force of nature, herself, and they'll have copies of Dick's book, Staying The Course. Please also check out the Dick Beardsley Foundation, which provides education about and financial assistance for people to get treatment for chemical dependency.

Bring a dry shirt, and please park directly across South 1st - not in their lot (it's small), and not in the neighborhood. See you there!

Spiridon Goes Uptown

If we looked a little thin yesterday at the long run, it's because a good chunk of Team Spee (we'll see if that catches on) were running the IBM Uptown Classic 10K this morning.

Quite frankly, I've hated this race for the past couple of years. It's tended to be in early October, and it seemed to be in the mid- to high- seventies, with near 100% humidity. The course used to feature the damned, damned, Great Northern (of The Damned). No sir, I didn't like it. Last year, it became the only race I ever quit. It was not for good cause, and I won't ever do it again, but it was not surprising that it happened in the Uptown Classic. Shame, because it was one of the better shirts ever.

But I, um, get off topic. This year, ironically, it essentially switched time slots with the Chicago Marathon, which luckily resulted in a cooler, slightly less humid morning. And, of course, we know how the switch worked out for Chicago...

There was also a new course, which was a bit odd: a narrow first mile for 1,860 runners; a run through the weird Domain Shopping Compound (Mandy's text yesterday from the Domain: "I feel like I'm in the Truman Show"); more grades and hills than you might expect up north, including a fairly challenging fifth mile; and, the kicker - 28 frickin' turns. Yes, 28 turns in a six mile race. With the narrow streets and variety of runners out there, the first mile was less than ideal to set or approach a personal record, with the crowds pinching and slowing at every turn, but the course gave back as much as it took, and we were well prepared.

Christina led us in at 53:55, setting, if I remember correctly, a personal record. In fact, let's get this out there - a "PR" is "personal record." You'll be hearing that a lot, I think...

After being 39 seconds too slow in the first mile, and seriously thinking about ducking into Borders or California Pizza Kitchen, or the Barney's that Kellie says is way unchic, I was able to PR by 25 seconds.

Eve's consistent work ethic continues to pay off, as she knocked three minutes off of her previous best, even though she missed her goal of coming in under an hour by just 24.8 seconds.

Mirsa followed up her strong, steady, and unrecommended seven-mile run yesterday with a 1:04:44.

Jean came roaring down the final stretch, smiling and looking strong at 1:08:37, a new PR for her. I think she's still finding her comfort zone, and I think there's "more fast" in there... I have to say, too, that it was an impressive finish considering this conversation, at 6:56am:

(Her husband, Bill answers her cell phone): "Hello?"
"Yeah, oh, hi, Bill. This is Rob, uh, Jean's running coach." (for some reason, saying this seemed weird)
"Oh, yeah, hi."
"Uh, so, I guess, are you guys on your way and stuff?"
Brief silence.
"Does Jean need to get up?"

Mandy was seconds behind Jean, getting in her 10K action before having to run off to work. I'm sure she said something funny today, but nothing leaps to mind. I'm further sure, however, that she'll have something to say about my saying that. I will say that she embiggened the spirit with her cromulent performance.

I have to say, Jacala was the surprise of the day. Don't get me wrong, she's been as dedicated and hard-working as anyone, but I did not expect to see her running in, looking comfortable and with solid form, just under the 1:10 mark. But I looked at my watch, and it was true. Official time: 1:09:55, in what I believe is her first 10K. Another runner that was just waiting to happen.

Paul came in at 1:12:49, which he has to be OK with, considering he's coming off an injury that still bugs him a bit, and that once again, contrary to my nagging, he did the seven miles yesterday.

And, finally, Christine. I hope no one minds the play-by-play, here, with the posting of times and all that. I don't want people to get hung up on comparisons and speed. Running is all relative - for everyone but the elites, no matter how fast you are, someone's faster. That can drive you, keep you always pushing for that next landmark in the collision of time and distance. That can be a demon if you judge the worth of your running on the fact that some people are faster. The fact that almost 2,000 people ran today is a testament to the fact that the relative nature of running is the beauty of it - finish times are, at best, just a crude meter of effort, and will, and perseverance, on the course that day, in training, and in the heart of the runner.

So, just a little before one hour, forty-one minutes and fifty-one seconds after we all started the race together, we all saw Christine round the 28th turn to come down the final straight to the finish. I love that we all get that her experience is no less what we're about than the time of our fastest runner. She's put the effort and commitment into her training, which shows in her physique as well as her running, and she put the effort in to finish the race today. She's come a long way, and she'll go further, and she'll get faster. Prediction for a spring 10K: 1:20 or better.

I was very proud of everyone that raced today, and continue to be really proud to be associated with every single one of you. You do the work, you make this group. It was the first race of this new season, and I was once reminded of how different my friends and my place in the running community are from what they were a year ago. Still, I would not trade this shirt or anything that comes with it for any of the others I saw today.

Geez, I'm a freakin' sap. Maybe I'm dehydrated...

Oh and, sorry for the lame title, but consider all the jokes I missed using:

1. For a post anticipating the race: "Eminent Domain"
2. "Uptown Cl-Asskicked"
3. Had something gone wrong with the race: "D'oh!main"

It just gets worse after that.

Got a race report? Let's hear it...

Jim Defeats Ten of Terror

Says... "Meh."

So, FYI for you marathoners, Jim ran the ten-mile course that is currently titled the "Ten of Terror", and survived... happily. What am I going to have to do to make you people suffer?

He reports:

"No way I was bailing on the evil bump (left of Barton Skyway) - I wanted the whole package. Cassarine Pass is Wilke's sister. She was mean and harsh, but I got over (two grades up, turn a corner and still more to climb). Barton Hills had a couple of nice bumps. I had hidden some orange water just before Wilke (drove by and dropped it off at 6:45 am on my way to whole foods just in case). Wilke felt like it was straight up. This was the only hill I had to partially walk. After Wilke, as you said, the reward was lots of downhill to the trail.

The Ten of Terror was an excellent challenge. I liked the middle harshness followed by the soft finish. I felt good through the end thanks to a crisp cool morning."

Hmph. I'm trying to arrange for temperatures in the 90's, with 134% humidity for tomorrow morning. And, like, Verne Troyer-sized hail, but the stupid meatierologists are projecting 54 degrees at 7am, 88% humidity. Phooey.

Well, I'll see you tomorrow, 7am, Whole Foods! (Unless you're running the 10K on Sunday, in which case you should only run 3-4 easy miles.)

Proof

Finally...

So, with the handing out of our new shirts this morning, our logo was officially unveiled. Though it was wonderfully rendered by a good friend's dad, from a design found by Eve, I know it's not incredibly creative. But the heart, the fire, and the wings are all images that are meaningful to what we are and what we do. Plus, it looks both pretty, and slightly gangsta.

There was, however, a noticeable dearth of comments or questions about the tagline on the back: "I will be proof."

Months ago, when just a few of you were running with me, and really, keeping me running and from crawling into a hole well-stocked with various beers and Tex-Mex entrees, it was hard to separate the act of running from recent events, and the loss of a community that I had made so much a part of my life.

There was sadness, and some runs were fueled by mixes of anger and a desire to leave everything behind me, and over the music in my iPod, I could hear Eddie Vedder screaming "saw things so much clearer, once you were in my rearview mirror."

Thinking about what was began to shift into thinking about what could have been, and that into what could be. I had an initial idea to call the group Mettle, and I envisioned posters advertising us, saying, "Prove Yourself." Mettle just didn't sound right, even though it captured what I think is important about what we do as runners.

But the idea of this as a vehicle for us to prove ourselves stuck. It's hardly a novel idea, but I think people lose sight of what makes running a noble endeavor that can resonate throughout our lives - the fact that no matter what level we're at, we are testing ourselves, and putting ourselves in situations that will require us to answer some very fundamental questions about who we are, and whether our belief in our better selves is stronger than pain and inconvenience.

Every time you make the choice to get out and run, you have proven something about yourself. Any time you choose the harder path, because it has a heart, you're proving something about yourself. If we can make these choices when we're running, then hopefully, we'll see it's not about a race, or being tough or macho or athletic - it's about our willingness to do the hard things because they have a real value, and because they say something about who we are. If we realize that, then hopefully, we do the same things in the rest of our lives. If we're willing to run the literal extra miles, maybe we'll be willing to go the figurative extra miles to help someone out, or do the right thing for others or ourselves, even though it's not easy or comfortable or the most profitable, because on any given day, over and over, we are faced with the chances to be proof, of ourselves, and of what we claim to believe in.

That kind of proof is first and foremost for ourselves, not for the judgement of everyone around us. But insofar as we live among people who will question and judge our character, then yes, we want our actions to be proof for them, as well.

Recently, I had a meeting with someone who had been a very prominent figure in my previous incarnation as a coach and as a runner, someone who first hired me to coach, and who taught me a good deal about how to be an effective coach, something I remain thankful for. He questioned a lot about what I'm doing, as a person, and as a coach, but he kept repeating, "Well, the proof will be in the pudding," which almost made me laugh, because in one stroke, it referenced my personal blog, and my focus on proof.

I do worry a little that people will see our shirts and think that this is all about proving a point to him, and to some other people. Whatever. I'm quickly re-learning that people are going to think what they want, and it just doesn't matter.

The truth is all that matters, and one way or the other, we will shape the truth of who we are, individually, and as a team. I promise you I'll continue working hard to do that as a coach. Today, and tomorrow, and for the next five months, and on race day, and the days and years after that, you will be proof, I will be proof, and Team Spiridon will be proof, of ourselves, and of the things that are important. That's what I want us all to commit to, and that's all that really matters.

Sorry to be preachy. But this is important. So, let's hear it in the comments - what do you want to be proof of?

Gu Gu Blah Blah

Once you start getting into runs longer than 8-10 miles, it's time to consider taking nutrition during your run.

Even though you ate before your long run (right?), you're going to burn through the most easily accessible energy stores in your body, in the form of complex carbs and simple sugars. Solid food doesn't sit well for most people when they're running, and there's a premium on getting the necessary ingredients into your bloodstream as quickly and efficiently as possible.

There are different ways to approach this. The most common is to use energy gels like Gu, Hammer Gel, Power Gel, etc. They come in little foil packets, like little gu grenades. They have around 100-150 calories, 25 grams or so of carbs. They tend to have an 80/20 complex carb to simple sugar ratio, and they might also contain electrolytes, antioxidants, specific amino acids, and maybe even caffeine.

Lots of people have a hard time with gels - the consistency and taste. You kind of have to experiment with different brands and different flavors, because there really is a good deal of variation. Some people also just have a hard time with all that sugar and stuff hitting their stomach. Again, trial and error, which is why it's good to start figuring it out now. Personally, I like Gu. It's not grainy, and doesn't have too much of a funky aftertaste. The Vanilla Bean, the Chocolate Outrage, and usually for my last one in a race, the Espresso Love for that little kick of caffeine.

Clif also makes Shot Bloks, which are little chewable blocks with a gummi bear-like consistency. People vary, but some find them difficult to dispense (they come in a gummi bear-like bag), and difficult to chew. But a lot of people really like them, especially if they dislike the consistency and taste of gels.

Jelly Belly started marketing "Sport Beans", which are actually pretty yummy. Problem is, they're hard to chew while you're trying to breathe, and the package is again problematic - you have to try not to spill the beans, so to speak, and then roll up the remainder and save them for the next intake. I like them for training runs, when I might lolligag a little at a water stop and eat some, but to me personally, they're hardly even worth the trouble for that.

Some people will take bags of salted, mushed-up potatoes. Ask Phillip about that one, though I think he eventually abandoned it.

Then there was my friend Tom, who after trying everything else, started to simply stuff his pockets with Snickers bars. Granted, this was a 6'10", 310 pound guy that would burn 7,000-8,000 calories over the course of a marathon. The tricky part with candy is that the ratios of complex carbs to simple sugars may be less than ideal, so you end up with mainly sugar, which will give you a spike of energy, and a massive dropoff in energy soon thereafter.

The When and How Often Bit
Now, the instructions on your little gu grenade are going to tell you to take one before your run, and every 30-45 minutes thereafter. Then another one after your run. It cracks me up to see runners in a 10K, even a 5K, cracking out the energy gels. They're at the extreme end of the good argument that some runners overuse them. On the other hand, they may know their bodies well enough to find it helps them, or at least, doesn't hurt them. Still, I know I don't want the extra calories unless I need them, and in general, I'd suggest you start out using them conservatively.

Here's the deal - you need to take them as a preparatory or preventative measure, not as a curative one. Just like hydration and electrolyte levels, though, if you wait until you feel the effects of depletion, you're probably a little too late. It takes a while to get the effect, for that added fuel to get into your bloodstream and to the points where it can be burned. For me, a packet of Gu seems to hit in about 5-10 minutes, I think, and I'll burn through it in 20-30 minutes. Therefore, I like to take them about every 40-45 minutes, which comes out to roughly every 4 miles or so.

So, what you want to start doing is finding sort of your fuel-burning rhythm, so that you can take in nutrition at the right times, staying ahead of the curve to keep your levels ideal. For me, if I'm running a marathon, I'll take my Gu at either 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22 miles, or 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 miles. For shorter distances, I'll work backwards - for a half marathon, I want my last Gu about three or four miles from the finish, and there are usually water stops at every even-numbered mile. I like to get them every four miles or so, which turns out to be 30-40 minutes. So, I might take one at 10, and one at 6 miles.

I got cocky and tried to run Chicago last year with less... not so good. Thank god for spectators with bananas. I've missed gels on long runs and even in a marathon, and I regretted it.

So, I'd recommend going down to RunTex, REI, Jack and Adams, or Academy, and picking up a few different varieties to experiment with. This weekend's ten miler is a good time to start - plan on taking one at six miles, so you can get a feel for the effect.

For more info, I used this article as a source - it goes into a bit more detail. The same site also has a pretty good review of different gels.

"Dark. No Light."

I'm intending, as previously threatened, to move our workouts up to 6:00pm, to try to get us a little more daylight, what with the apparent shortening of the days by means of some black magic that liberals and conservatives can blame each other for, the falling-back clock action on October 28, and the gradual, evil lengthening of workouts.

Still, you're going to find yourself running in the dark. Unless we're all able to quit our jobs simultaneously (I'm in - anyone? Anyone?), it's just going to be a reality of running. So, let's be smart about it, by means of my beloved bullet points:

• Turn on your heartlight - Well, no, and I can hear Daniel and Matt singing that right now. Must crank up the new Radiohead album... Better. OK, so quite simply, get you some light, so you can see and be seen. Bettysport, RunTex, Academy, REI, all have varieties of lightweight blinky lights . The blinky LED's that go on the shoes are incredibly disconcerting to watch, but that noticeability is exactly what you want, and they even end up casting a little light in your path. REI even has some super-bright halogen headlamps that you can wear on your head, or maybe clip to your arm or waistband.
• Black is the new way to get your butt run over - Yes, you look cool, and you get to play Ninja Runner Person. But you'll never get to use your nunchuks if you get smacked by the car that you were stealthily invisible to. Wear light colors, with reflective stuff. Reflective vests are cheap, if you'll take alive and stupid-looking over dead and cool.
• Be actively visible - Run on the left, unless circumstances make this clearly the worst option. When you have cars coming at you, make eye contact, even wave at them. Make sure they see you.
• Take a buddy, or at least someone you can almost stand - Don't run alone. Simple enough. You're more visible, you have a spotter, you're less likely to get messed with, and if you see the other person fall into a gaping hole, you can go around the hole and continue your run.
• Step light - When you're running through a dark patch, don't assume that it's not the only patch of sidewalk in five miles that isn't clear. Confused by the double negative? Me, too. Point is, find the most lit path through the darkness, slow a little, pick up your feet, and step lightly, as if you're running across a rocky stream. If there is something, you'll have a better chance of recovering from it.
• Pick your route carefully - There are lots of considerations here. Stay out of deserted and/or dark areas, and clear of pothole infestations. Vehicle traffic can provide you a bit of light and security, but you need to steer clear of narrow roads, blind hills and corners, or high speed limits. Portions of the trail are OK, but it gets awfully dark. If you're close to the trail, you might be better off running downtown, or on South Congress.
• Run tough, act tough - One night last week, across the street from Whole Foods, one of our runners was accosted by someone who thought she looked good in shorts, but then wanted to see if she felt good, too. She tried to edge away and be polite. That's understandable, but if it's not going to work with a frat boy in a bar, why would it work with a possibly loony predator? If a comment gets made that's over the line, ignore it. Don't give them anything. If they persist or approach you, say, "Hey. Leave me alone, I'm running." Ignore him when he calls you whatever he calls you, as long as he walks off. Keep anything you say short, but be assertive and make the point that you're not going to be messed with. In the situation our runner was in, she could cross the other street, approach some other people, or even go up to one of the cars in the intersection, and start communicating with them - make sure he sees that people see you and him, and he'll probably move off. If you get in serious trouble, yell, and flag down a car.

Above all, use yer head. Be alert. I'd consider ditching the iPod for night runs in some areas, but if you choose to run with tunes, day or night, you have to take extra steps to be alert, period. But whatever, just be alert, be thinking, be aware of your surroundings. It's a good skill to have anyway, and if that's something you learn from running, then that's great.

OK. There you go. Please, take this stuff seriously.

Incidentally, the title is from... anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Dragon's Back - What All That Was About

I was really happy at the turnout and the results this morning - good job, everyone. Jim ran the eight mile course yesterday, Kellie has tonsilitis, which she thought was very 80's, but then, she's young - I didn't know tonsilitis actually existed outside of fifties TV shows.

Anyway, every Saturday morning, I say a bunch of stuff, you take off, and I realize all the things I didn't say. I kind of mentioned it this morning, but when I wrote a race plan for my runners for this year's AT&T Half Marathon, I used the analogy of a dragon, and it really sort of works for the marathon course, too. The course is challenging, but it's all about managing your race properly.

The hill on South Congress, which was in the first mile this year, but will be in about the second mile in 2008, is the mouth and head of the dragon. People will get all excited and charge crazily at that hill, and, like an overzealous knight, get immediately burned to a crisp/bitten in half.

Where we started this morning was at about mile seven of the 2007 course, and probably about mile eight of the proposed 2008 course. Marathoners are settling in for the long haul, half marathoners are over halfway done.

Then, you hit the dragon's back at Enfield. It bucks and undulates, and essentially, you just stay relaxed, and hold on through the hills.

That's what you all covered today. The 2008 course, as currently proposed, is a little easier on the half marathoners than the 2007 version, because you'll keep going straight on Enfield, like you did today, rather than turning on Exposition and hitting another long, grinding uphill to Windsor.

For the marathoners, you get that hill, then the super steep one you saw up to Randall's and Casis Elementary, then another one up to 35th, then another over Mopac - then the course changes dramatically, and you're just a couple of miles from the start of the Northern 7 run that we did a couple of weeks ago.

Today, you rode the Dragon's back, and got some flat and downhill for a while, then had another beast of a hill coming back up Windsor - you won't see that or really a hill like it past mile 10 or 11 of the marathon. It was a tough run today, but you've seen the worst the course will throw at you in terms of a stretch of hills.

We'll be running that portion several more times, as well as other parts of the course. Again, nothing flattens hills like familiarity. Get to know the neighborhoods, the hills, the street itself over the next few months, and on race day, the dragon will be a lot less intimidating.

Good job today, everyone! I'll be populating the rest of the calendar soon, but we'll be doing some moderate speedwork this week, either on the track or on the road. This coming weekend, full marathoners will hit double digits - 10 miles, the half marathoners will go six, and the upstarts will go five or six, all on a relatively flat course. Rest tomorrow, and get your other runs in this week - DON'T SLACK.

Hitting the Long Runs

So, this week, the marathoners hit a new landmark distance on the long run, while the half marathoners have a recovery week. Up to this point, you've all been building a solid foundation on which to build the rest of the training. Now, we start getting into some harder workouts, and some even more demanding mileage. You're up to the training, but now you really have to take responsibility to do all the things that only you can do to keep yourself working and healthy.

Hydrate Days Early (if not perpetually)
Once you start a run or a race, your intake of water and electrolytes are pretty much just to try to keep up. On a hot day, that might not happen. So, if you don't start off well-hydrated, and as or more importantly, with sufficient electrolyte levels, you're already, um, well, screwed. Sorry about the language, but speaking as someone who's taken that fun ambulance ride after a race, "screwed" is a really apt word.

Really, you should be getting 2-3 liters of water a day anyway, but at least make sure you're doing it for a couple of days before a long run.

But here's a twist for you - more runners die from hyponatremia, having abnormally low blood sodium levels, than dehydration. So, drink, but don't guzzle water during the run, and use some electrolyte supplements.

The USA Track and Field Federation published an advisory concerning proper hydration. It's a little dense, but we all need to be well-informed on this. Here's an important bit:

To ensure proper pre-exercise hydration, the athlete should consume
approximately 500 to 600 ml (17 to 20 fl oz) of water or a sports drink 2 to 3
hours before exercise and 300 to 360 ml (10 to 12 fl oz) of water or a sports
drink 0 to 10 minutes before exercise.

Nutrition
Like hydration, nutrition should be an ongoing, consistent thing, but let's be serious - I ate fried pickles, steak fries, and beer for dinner last night. Some days are like that. As the mileage gets longer, you'll start to find some benefit from regulating what you eat in the day or two before your long run. Really, the ideal time to get some carbs in you is a couple of days before a race or long run (not, as Michael Scott might instruct, minutes before the run). The night before, having a moderate amount of pasta is a good thing. Avoid overeating (why I don't cook for myself the night before a race or run anymore), and I'd suggest avoiding eating a lot of grease, or using a cream sauce, etc.

Eating a big salad the night before a run not only will fail to give you the stuff you need, but is likely to cause other problems... You know what I'm talking about. And, there's nothing wrong with having a beer or glass of wine, but too much of it will jack with your stomach in the morning, too.

On the morning of your run or race, ya gotta eat. Lots of you say you don't want to eat in the morning. Well, your body sure as hell wants you to, if you're about to make it run eight or more miles. Some of us may get by not eating much for a shorter run, but I know for me, and most people I know, you start running seven or eight miles, you need some fuel.

What people eat is highly individual, but you want carbs that you're going to be able to access fairly easily, but that won't burn up immediately. Most people go with a bagel with a littel peanut butter or cream cheese (if your stomach is OK with oil or fat that early), toast, or oatmeal. The timing of this is important... we'll get to that later...

At some point, you're going to want to take in more nutrition during your runs, but I don't think you need energy gels or anything for distances less than 10 miles, unless you're my 310 pound friend Tom, who probably burns through a stack of pancakes getting to his car to go to the run. If you want to bring a light snack for during the run, you might experiment with that. One friend brings "fruit leather", which sounded disgusting until I was starving on a run one morning.

Pooping and Peeing: Everybody Does It, and It's All About Timing
Here ya go, the promised (and apparently highly anticipated) bit about doing what you do when you do what you do.

#1. As in, Number One. Not as much of a problem, clearly. Most of you have figured this out by now, but here's a few points. Don't drink too much too late at night, or you'll have to keep getting up. For races, plan time to hit the long lines at the porta potties right before the race. When you're running a half marathon or marathon, try to use the facilities, but the fact is, the first mile or two of every marathon or half marathon I've seen has been lined with, uhh... urinators. Do what you gotta do. If you're chasing a time, and you gotta go... well, let's just say that people won't stop to... go. Then, they'll throw water on themselves when they can. If you do this, I don't want a post-race hug, and I jsut don't want to know about it. You better be qualifying for Boston or the Olympics to justify that, and if that's the case, you need a better coach, anyway.

#2. Here's where you get into issues. The night before a long run, you need to eat early, so the whole process can get moving. Before a 7am start time, I'll ideally eat a good dinner at 5:30 or 6:00, or at least no later than 7:30 or 8:00. Getting enough water helps, too. Then, in the morning, as soon as I'm up, I eat, to get what are hopefully the final stages of that process going. I plan my run morning schedule so I can have an hour between eating and, uhh, hopefully, delivery of the ordinance over the intended target (which is your toilet, and not a nasty porta-potty).

If you're on a long run and gotta go, just do it as soon as possible. Waiting will just make things worse, and mess up your run. I have more detail here, but just, please take my word for it.

Pace
Many of you keep talking about wanting to get faster. That's understandable and admirable, but dangerous and quite possibly counterproductive. The majority of you are still beginners, at least in terms of running distances over three to five miles. When you start running eight, ten, or more miles, it's a whole different ballgame.

Just. Be. Patient. Every single coach I've had, best to worst, has hammered that into me. Focus on running the distances, running them at the right effort level, keep making it to the weekday group workouts, and you will, eventually, get faster. If I'm doing my job, and you're doing yours, the speed will come. If you try to force it, if you run all your runs obsessing on your watch, you're missing the objective of the run, and you aren't even necessarily as likely to get faster. If you want to understand why this is so, check out this article by Greg McMillan.

When you come out on Tuesday or Wednesday, those are often your days to drop the hammer, but even then, you have to trust the workout, and run the proper paces. Then, I do expect to see you working hard. But otherwise, be patient. What good is a minimal increase in speed if you burn out or get injured and can't use it?

After the run
Again, now that we're getting into longer mileage, and even more demanding quality workouts, you have to take the responsibility of doing the little things after your runs, and really, every day, to take care of yourself. These things may be small, but they will make a tremendous difference in your recovery, and therefore, your ability to run again and stay injury-free.

• Stretch - When you're done with the run, just go ahead and stretch immediately. Stretch while you chat and drink water. I always forget or do the "I'll stretch at home" thing, which virtually never happens.
• Eat - Getting the right mix of protein and carbs in your body within the 35 or 40 minutes following your run will dramatically impact your recovery. Here's another great article by Greg McMillan, about post-run nutrition. Again, a lot of people don't feel like eating right after a run. Chocolate milk is supposed to be a good option for those people, or, believe it or not, a Slimfast shake.
• Take an ice bath - Unpleasant? Hell, yes. Effective? Hell, yes. Ask Jean or Matt - I think they'll both attest to how much better their recoveries have been lately when they took an ice bath. And if it's good enough for Paula Radcliffe, it's good enough for me (mmm... Paula...). Anyway, dump enough ice in the tub to really drop the temp into the 40's or 50's, and get in for 10-15 minutes. Wear a sweatshirt so your top half doesn't suffer. Drink some hot chocolate or coffee or whatever. In the winter, when I know the pool is cold enough, I'll just go get up to my waist in it, hang on the edge, and make phone calls. Lots of people like Barton Springs - it's better than nothing, but not really cold enough. Yes, there are some disbelievers out there. That's all I'm going to say about them, though. I will also point out that I found a disturbing number of people post videos of their post-run ice baths on You Tube. I did not watch any of them.
• Stretch again - Most of us run, stretch a little, maybe sit around and eat and talk, then get into our cars and sit with our legs bent up to get home. Within that first hour or two, we usually are doing everything possible to let our legs get tight. So, if I can remember to do it, I like to stretch again once, even twice, over the next few hours.

You should all be at the point, incidentally, where you call yourselves runners. You've earned that by virtue of your work, commitment, and sacrifices. Every single one of you are out there working hard for hours and hours every week. You've all made alterations in your routine, and very real sacrifices, to train. Don't let it all get derailed because you don't take a few minutes to stretch, or do footdrills, or throw down a breakfast taco after a run. Build these things into your routine, and be a student of running, learning the how and why of these things when you can. It's what runners do.

Hill's Hills, or "The Quagmire (of Appeasement)"

Great job on the hill workout this week. Phillip suggests calling it the Clarksville Wanderlust, Jean's calling it "Hill's Hills", and I'm thinking of it as the Quagmire. Vietnam and Iraq kinda ruined that word for us all, but "Family Guy" has redeemed it somewhat. A couple of definitions: "A soft, boggy or marshy area that gives way under foot..." "a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position: predicament."

It is just as hard a predicament as you make it, and everyone seemed to really work to get the most out of the workout.

For those of you wanting to make it up the route and workout are below. For those of you who did it, skip down and remind yourself what was important about this workout...

Here's the workout:

Warmup from Whole Foods - take Sixth Street west to the corner of Sixth and Highland. I'd take some water and drop it here.
Basically, you're going to alternate running pretty hard, then recovering.
Hard from the corner of Highland and Sixth, up Highland to the top of the hill, even with the beige brick house to your right, 701 Highland.
Easy to 9th street, turn right
Hard up 9th Street to Pressler, turn right
Easy down the hill to 701 Pressler
Hard to 6th, turn right
Easy back to the start

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1366716
Ignore the mileage - I didn't route all the loops on the map. It was a half mile warm-up, and half a mile cooldown. Four laps is about 2.2 miles, three laps is 1.65.

Half marathoners and upstarts run three full laps, marathoners four, then an easy cooldown back to the store -

back up Highland to 9th
Right on 9th
Left on Blanco
Right on 12th
Right on Lamar

Be careful with traffic, and get started as soon as you can - it's getting dark earlier now. Be particularly careful on 9th street - I'd actually stay on the right, and make sure people can see you. You will want to take some water and leave it on the corner of Highland and 6th.

Running the stretch on 9th Street has an added bonus. You're going to crest the hill before you get to the turn for the next recovery leg. Your brain and body are probably going to automatically slack when you hit the top of the hill - be conscious of this, and maintain your pace to Pressler.

I like this, because I want everyone to be thinking about not letting up too much at the top of hills. Think about it - you're using more effort to maintain a speed going uphill. When most people get to the top of a hill, they tend to let off the gas so much that they slow down. Why? If you were running the hill at the right pace, it was taking the normal amount of energy, plus some extra. When you get to the top, the energy required to maintain your pace is going to dip down naturally - there's no need to compound that by actually slowing down. Be patient, relax, but hold your pace. It's going to get easier, and you will get your breath back, unless you just ran it way too hard.

Now, on this workout, you are supposed to be cranking fairly hard, but that little stretch on 9th Street is a good way to train yourself not to let up too much at the top.

When you're running hard down Pressler, make sure you are doing it with fast turnover, and keeping the impact to a minimum like we've talked about before. Again, the maximum amount of force isn't actually simultaneous with your footstrike - it's a split second later, as your weight moves more fully over the foot, and your shoe and joints compress. Experiment with keeping your form correct, and pulling through and up out of the stride to minimize that.

On the hard parts of Highland and 9th Streets, you should be at a good, hard pace - you should be breathing hard at the end, but you shouldn't have to stop and totally suck wind. Don't stop and walk, just slow down, relax, and learn to trust that your breathing will catch back up before you have to do your next one.

Report from the (Ultra) Marathon Relay

OK, I've delayed reporting on Sunday's Silicon Labs Marathon Relay because... we're not entirely sure how it went. Take me, for example - I either permformed miserably, with my slowest 10K in two years, or I did OK, or I blew away my personal record and finally broke through a wall I've been working on for a while.

Mandy, Jean, Jacala, and Staci E. were on one team with me. Phillip and Kelly ran with my old marathon buddies, the P'Dipps, and Mirsa ran with her sister and some other friends. Hopefully, they'll all add their individual stories and observations to this (hint).

Going through my usual race morning ritual, I got up, immediately made breakfast, and turned on News 8, the quality of which I only find acceptable when I need to know the weather at 5:48 am. The first words out of the weatherman's mouth: "It is really uncomfortable out there right now." He went on to talk about all the places around Austin with 100% humidity. Swweeeet.

Auditorium Shores was sporting a very festival atmosphere, with brightly colored canopies everywhere, live music from some surprisingly good kid bands, and moonwalks that I was dying to go jump around on.

Mandy ran the first leg, a 12K leg that measured around 7.5 miles, and came through in 1:23:49, averaging a nice 11:11 per mile.

Staci hopped in for the next leg, which was allegedly 10K, or 6.2 miles. She came in at 1:07:43. In April, she and Rosemary had run the Texas Roundup 10K in 1:00:04, so she was disappointed. ironically, had she come in at her previous best time, she would have come in with the last runner from the RunTex team, which won with a 2:25:04 overall time. Their time was four minutes shy of the record... or was it?

Staci handed off to me, and I took off. I was not up for this race, for some reason. The legs felt weak. But I knew Jacala would be waiting to run the next leg, so I couldn't slink off and run back to my car. Plus, my keys were back at our base camp. I wanted to do no worse than my PR (personal record), but I really wanted to finally break through and run less than 9 minute miles.

First rule of racing? Don't go out too fast. At the first, and only, mile marker for the 10K, I checked the watch... 7:52. Oops. To put this into perspective, I averaged 8:01 per mile in my time trial. Clearly, this was a very bad thing.

I decided I would slow down, use the cushion I had just stupidly built, and try to average 9:10 or so for the rest of the race, even knowing the reality of the exponentially detrimental effect of going out too fast. But let's be optimistic, and check our time at mile two... except there were no other mile markers for the 10K or 5K courses. There was also the issue that the maps for the course didn't show which direction we would be running in, so the race plan I had in mind and sent to the team was almost completely useless. At the topside of the loop around the Capitol, there were no course monitors or signs, just some cones. I turned around to the people behind me, and we all shrugged at each other, and turned.

I ran the stupid, stupid stretch on Cesar Chavez. Ugh. Don't get me wrong, I believe we're in this for the challenge, and we shouldn't complain about the topography of the course. But do 2/3 of all the races in Austin have to run up Cesar Chavez? I mean, really?

So, I got in at 1:00:09 by my watch, and was annoyed. Jacala took off. Staci and I wandered around, talked to Jean, and avoided the table full of free hamburgers by the Lean Beef Council or whatever. Staci got a free electronic jumprope, which has to be one of the most absurd things I've ever seen.

Jacala came in at 40:09, according to official timing, and she looked smooth and strong at the finish. We missed Jean going out, because at noon, they made everyone still waiting to start the last leg go ahead and go, so they could make the 1:00pm course closure time. As much as they tried to appeal to beginner runners, and as many as took them up on that appeal and were out there working hard, the course needs to be open longer. We were really not all that slow, but by the time Jean was running, one station had long run out of water cups, and was just splashing people with water instead, and the great folks from RaceWorks (who have to work in the time constraints dictated by the race director) were having to start to tear down while people were still coming across. This doesn't really do a lot to inspire beginning runners.

We caught Jean coming back in, and she, too, looked really strong at the end, and she was working hard, pushing a nice pace. Because she had to start before Jacala came in, she has no official timing (as much as she'd love to claim the posted 28:21), but I believe she said she was out there for 40-45 minutes.

So, with the exception of Mandy, we were all a bit confused and disappointed in our times. Then we started hearing rumors that the 10K course was 6.6 miles, not 6.2. We started wondering if the 5K was long, as well. Of course, we all thought of the line from last week's "The Office" - "5K is not 5,000 miles, Michael...

Phillip ran the "10K" in 59:25.3, Kellie in 1:05:23, and Mirsa ran the 12K in a great 1:15:05, averaging 10:01 per mile.

So, here's the thing. The RunTex race report said, "the course was nearly a mile long. Apparently, the 5K course was the culprit, measuring about 3.5 miles, and while the 10K leg was supposed to make up for that with a 5.9 mile short course, that did not happen." Huh? Wha?

Meanwhile, the official timing by RunFar claims a total distance of 28.1 miles, showing the 10K course as 6.8 miles long, rather than 6.2. People are claiming their GPS devices reported everything from 6.6 to 6.8. We're still waiting on RunTex to respond to the questions on their forum, or issue some sort of clarification.

Regardless of whether that happens and what it reveals, here's what we can learn from this. First, plan and visualize your race. Then, be prepared for it to quite probably all go wrong. People work hard on these races, but they make mistakes. You work hard, but you'll be making plenty of mistakes (7:52? What the hell was that?). Once you're out there, though, you either give up, or you adapt and make the best of your day. Clearly, there's only one option, especially if you don't have your car keys with you.

And then there's the issue of how you judge yourself. In this case, we may have done great, or we may have done OK, and initially, we thought we had done badly. Time will always be a source of joy or disappointment for us, but we have to keep it in perspective. If it was a true 10K course, and I ran my worst time in two years, or if I set a new personal record, the only thing that matters either way, that really says something about who I am, is whether I pushed myself enough on that day, in those conditions. Again, times are rarely adequate or accurate measures of the human heart, will, or character.

And finally, in the end, I had a good day with some great runners and friends, in the first race where Team Spiridon showed up and represented. I'm really proud of how we all did, and I can't wait for the 10K on October 21...