I was “supposed” to do 11M today but I was feeling good and tacked one more mile on. 12M seems like a more meaningful distance than 11M and it was kind of fun pushing the pace over the last few miles, which I’m convinced is important both physically and mentally when looking ahead to strong race finishes. 1:50 for 12M isn’t exactly blazing but it was nice to run it, finish fast, and have plenty left in the tank.
I know I need to keep myself focused on the most immediate goal: a strong marathon performance in St. George on October 1st. That’s the “A” race of the year and I am properly excited about it. The hardest training miles are still ahead but the last nearly 6 weeks have been going really well. Well enough, in fact, that I’ve had some trouble keeping my mind from thinking about the “what’s next” post-marathon. I know I want to get back to where I believe my strengths lie – in long, often solitary, and usually more rugged, uncertain terrain. And there are some events/adventures – organized and otherwise – that I can’t get out of my head.
The 3 great America trails – The Continental Dive Trail, The Appalachian Trail, and The Pacific Crest Trail – are all intriguing. Each takes months of significant daily hiking, usually more than half a year to do the entire route of just one trail. Combining extra-minimalist, light-weight gear and a good bit of running, the time can be cut in half or more. In either case, this is something to contemplate for the not-so-immediate future, maybe a few years down the line when I can get enough fitness, experience, family-and-friends’ support, and logistical issues arranged. But, if you are reading this and think that a day, week, or long out cruising through the woods sounds good sometime maybe around 2015, let’s talk.
As something of a warm-up, life circumstances permitting, I’m seriously considering giving the significantly shorter (85M) Enchanted Circle a shot in 2012, probably over 3 days but maybe in just two. I’ll need a couple enthusiastic crew members and welcome some runner companions. How about you?
Today’s 7M “hill” workout was a return to one of my semi-regular treadmill sessions called “Walk in the Park”. It goes up to 8% incline at the peak, with almost 3 miles of the 7 at 5% or greater incline. It’s a solid strength workout and I think my 1:07 for 7 miles was just about the right effort. Here’s what the profile looks like:
Over the last couple of runs I’ve watched Running America, a documentary that covered the 2008 trans-America record-breaking run attempted by Charlie Engle and Marshall Ulrich, two living legends in endurance sports. The movie was good – though not as good as Running the Sahara from 2007 – but one of their event sponsors caught my attention. In passing shots in the movie you see a Vitamix blender churning up liquid nutrition in the background. I’ve been hearing about the magic of these machines from a variety of sources lately, most notably my Boston-transplant, life-long buddy, and occasional travel companion, William Brokhof. If he’s a fan, I know the product has been properly vetted.
I’ve long been a fan of protein shakes. I started drinking them back in high school to pack on weight and continue to drink one more days than not in hopes of getting some of the nutrition I can’t otherwise fit in with “real” food. My “high quality” KitchenAid blender recently started spitting out pieces of once-hardened rubber from the blender-motor coupling, which has rendered it useless, at least for blending. (Sagan and I are contemplating other uses for it, since the motor still works and we like to re-purpose household objects for mostly safe father-son projects.) For the time being, I’m working with another smoothie-specific blender but come next Friday, thanks to Costco’s semi-annual Vitamix sale, I’ll be the proud owner of a blender that can spin up to 240mph – fast enough to create enough heat to produce soup, should I choose to leave contents spinning for a few minutes.
In eager anticipation for lots and lots of blending, I’ve been whipping up all sorts of smoothies. The recipes, usually done without forethought or consideration for flavor, have run the gamut. Most have some soy milk, whey powder, and ground flax seed but lately I’ve been throwing in everything from sweet potatoes to broccoli to piles of field greens. Now, pretty much all of my smoothies have some fresh, organic vegetables, along with whatever fruit is handy (strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and bananas are the go-tos but I’m not afraid to toss in blackberries or pears or pineapple, depending on what is around). Though I genuinely enjoy vegetables and salads, often it is hard to get the quantity of what I need in a day. Fitting the equivalent of a restaurant dinner-sized salad into a drink, however, is easy, cheap, and fast. And, most of the time, they end up tasting pretty good, too. Dark chocolate-covered espresso beans blended with orange juice, however, may be an acquired taste.
I mentioned to burgeoning runner and friend, Josh Wallach, that I was going to hit another “downhill” run on the treadmill today. He was curious how that’s achieved. While my treadmill does allow for decline of -2%, that’s really not enough to simulate the kind of negative grade found on many race courses, including the ones I’m running this fall.
To get closer to what I’d guess is around -7% grade, I prop the back of the treadmill up. While on a recent trip to Orlando, I did it with towels but free weight plates make for a more solid platform so that’s how I do it at home. Though tough on the leg muscles and connective tissue (kind of the point), I really like this kind of workout. It makes running a 6:40/M pace feel like 8:00/M pace and I know the resulting soreness means I’m getting stronger right where I need to. Today’s 6M took 44 minutes, which included an easy first mile. Normally, on a flat-to-rolling course, that sort of effort would push my cardio at least a bit but there was no point where I really felt like I was working hard. The question remains: how will that sort of downhill running feel after a couple of hours? I don’t know but I feel good knowing I’m taking the steps to have my body ready to try.
Here’s what it looks like:
It is always good to have a chance to be with family on special occasions. Having chosen to live many states away from where I grew up, it isn’t too often that I get to spend time with family. I’m glad I went but I have to say that travel can really take its toll. The return flight to Austin, in particular, was a rough one. Our arrival into ABIA wasn’t newsworthy but it certainly wasn’t comfortable.
With nothing more than an airport bagel sandwich as sustenance for the day of travel, I was hungry and generally unsettled. The cabin was warm and the air vents, even fully open, were pretty much just pushing around recycled bad breath of our fellow passengers. And the descent started bumpy and didn’t improve until the second or third bounce of the landing. Sagan was largely unaffected, Al was a trooper, as always, but I was something of a mess. At landing a looked down at the glossy cover of the book I had been reading, and it was streaked with the sweat from my clenched hand. Semi-ironically, the book is about travel of even greater distances and the section I was working through dealt specifically about the discomforts of being hurtled through the air:
(As an aside, Mary Roach is awesome. Part science writer, part humorist, she tackles topics including cadavers, the afterlife, and sex – separate books – with a wit, curiosity, and sensitivity all too often lacking even in pop non-fiction.)
So, as we landed mid-day the idea of walking to baggage claim was daunting. Hitting mile repeats was hard to fathom. But, by the time I got back home I knew that the only thing that would make me feel worse that doing the workout was not doing it. And, surprise of all surprises, it was arguably my best ever session of mile repeats. Like the prior Sunday, I was able to hit each of 5 in 6:22 but this time if felt better. None of the all-encompassing, gut-checking, deep digging pain that I’ve come to expect 3 or 4 reps into that workout. I finished the 5th mile absolutely certain I could do another rep or two without wrecking myself. And that, after the nearly puke-inspiring flight just an hour before, after the hot, 20-miler two days prior, after a long weekend of less-than-ideal over-eating and interrupted sleep. Go, Mike.
I routinely question what I’ll actually be able to do on race day. At times, a 3:15 marathon seems like it should be a gimme but a lot more of the time it is hard to imagine how I’ll be able to hold the pace those last 5 or even 10 miles. But if I knew that I could do it, what fun would there be in trying?
During my April trip to St. Louis I fit in a 10K race in Forest Park and was pleased to come away with a PR. Needing to get in a long run, I headed back to get in my first long effort on pavement in many months. It is one of the biggest urban parks in the country, with a 6M perimeter loop and a variety of connecting trails on the interior.
Austin’s 100+ degree days continue without a break so I was thrilled to get the chance to run outside without the heat. St. Louis had other plans and my run fell in the middle of a 3-day heat wave, with highs nearing 100 to go along with “generous” humidity. To mitigate the conditions as much as possible, I was up by 5am and on the trail at 6am. St. Louis buddy and fellow marathoner-in-training Brian Rockette dragged himself out for the early start and got me through the first nearly 7 miles, showing me the complete outer loop and bit more. Thanks Brian! That left me with about a half-marathon of miles to go, which I muddled through with the help of Ira Glass and the rest of the This American Life family.
After the hard 7M tempo run that finished about 12 hours before I started the 20M, my legs were tired throughout but I was able to get through the long run without having to dig too deep. The heat, even early in the day, wasn’t much fun and the 3:37 the run took required 10 gels, 2 Advil, and 3 salt tabs. All in all, a decent outing, and I didn’t have much post-run pain or fatigue, other than what would otherwise accompany a long run on little sleep.
Traveling can be tough on a training schedule. But, with family visiting St. Louis from California, Georgia, and New York for my Grandma’s 94th birthday, I figured I’d do what I could on the training front, hoping not to get too much off track. As it turned out, I was able to get in both of my scheduled runs and both went well.
Sometimes I just set a workout to see how I get through it. I expected this one to push me, as every Thursday session is supposed to. The goal for this one is an easy warm-up, with steady acceleration until I’m going about as hard as I can for a few minutes. Here’s what I knocked out, on a treadmill:
(Second number is miles per hour)
1M @ 6.7
1M @ 7.0
1M @ 7.5 (pace I ran 2010 Austin Marathon)
1M @ 8.1 (roughly goal marathon pace)
0.25M @ 8.3
0.25M @ 8.5
0.25M @ 8.7
0.25M @ 8.9
0.25M @ 9.1
0.25M @ 9.3
1.5M @ 7.5
So, 7 miles total with a good mile and a half faster than marathon goal pace. Though the last couple quarter mile stretches were hard work, I finished feeling good, knowing there was still plenty left.
In completely unrelated news, Sagan dragged me down to Grandma’s basement for a bit of exploring. It is unfinished, as are many basements across the Midwest. Kind of musty, concrete slab, exposed rafters and conduit, entirely utilitarian, mostly for storage and laundry. As I walked around taking in the sights and smells, which aren’t exactly pleasant but remain full of nostalgia, I felt something soft crunch underfoot. Sagan and I were equally giddy with the source – one of two dead but reasonably well preserved baby mice. We did the logical thing in putting them in a decades-old Band-Aid box, for presentation first to Alison, then to Jason after we returned to his house. The next steps were unclear, as the dead mice kind of smelled as you’d expect but we didn’t want to waste the opportunity to do SOMETHING with them. This is the best we could come up with on short notice.
Pull-ups: 0 today (yup, zero!)/ 1,000 June
Push-ups: 268 today / 5,000 June
My admittedly arbitrary June solo strength challenge has come to a close. Today I finished my 5,000th push-up for the month; the 1,000th pull-up for the month was done two days ago. I feel pretty good overall and I think this sort of training, done periodically throughout the day as time and energy permits, is much closer to an ideal workout arrangement than the more typical concentrated gym time. It keeps the blood flowing all day long and is a great way of releasing stress and/or pent up energy when the need arises. The nice thing about push-ups, and to a lesser extent pull-ups, is that they can be done just about anywhere, without special equipment, clothes, or much space.
I’m giving myself a metaphorical hearty pat on my chronically exhausted back for ticking the box for the June goals. But July is looming. I’m now contemplating something for my core and 10 minutes of daily plank sounds like a reasonable idea. I’d say it is a little too easy for a goal but it would be on top of maintaining strength training, upping the running, and then there is still swimming and hiking and all the rest of life’s activities.
But, I’m reluctant to jump into anything until I find out what’s going on with a persistent pain/discomfort in my lower left abdomen. Whatever it is, it isn’t new. I can’t really remember it not feeling a twinge from time to time but the discomfort is increasing in both frequency and severity. It feels a little like a rubber band being snapped across doorknob, which wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t inside of my body. It’s nothing I couldn’t live with indefinitely but I want to be smart about taking care of myself, especially as training volume continues to increase. I’m pretty sure it is a minor hernia but at times it feels more like this:
Pull-ups: 0 today (yup, zero!)/ 1,000 June
Push-ups: 175 today / 4,732 June
Today’s session was tough. It is really only in the last month that I’ve consistently been doing structured, relatively fast running and it isn’t exactly fun. My preference, like most runners, is to just go out and run a comfortable pace for as long as it feels good, preferably somewhere with a view. Cranking the treadmill up to the predetermined 9.4MPH for 6 minutes, 22 seconds, then walking for 3 minutes and going again is tough, both mentally and physically. Today I did that 5 times and that 5th rep was some real pain. Even with warm-up, walk recovery between reps, and cool down, the whole workout was something under 8 miles but the toll on my body was easily like a casually run half marathon.
I’m running my mile repeats a bit faster than what I’d expect I could do for a flat 5K race pace (I’ve never actually run such a race), which might be faster than necessary to get the benefit. But, I’d rather err on the side of running the too fast in the speed sessions than too slow. I’ll have plenty of time for slow miles on the long run days and the recovery runs.
Pull-ups: 29 today / 1000 June
Push-ups: 175 today / 4,557 June
With 5 days to spare, today I hit my very arbitrary June goal for 1000 pull-ups. The daily pressure to get them in, despite run training and the rest of life, made at least a couple hundred of them feel like a real chore. But, it really didn’t turn out to be too rough, in large part due to varying grips from set to set and just knocking out 8-12 reps periodically throughout each day. I think I’ll keep doing them this way, though probably not every day.
Now, on to the last of the 5,000 push-ups for the month, which I expect to hit no later than Tuesday.
Pull-ups: 52 today / 971 June
Push-ups: 175 today / 4,382 June
For the last few years, each spring I’ve recommitted myself to swimming. I started out this season with about a dozen lap swimming sessions in the first few weeks, convinced I was going to keep it up all summer. But, with some out-of-town trips and the the more structured and increasing run training, again I backed off the swimming. Today I decided to get back in the water and I’m glad I did. Rather than tiring me out for my afternoon downhill running, it invigorated me. The 1-mile swim was super slow (39 minutes) but it really helped loosen me up, the water felt great and even an easy mile is a real workout.
After a meal break and some down time, I hit the 5M decline treadmill run, which took about 35 minutes. Again, not a killer (with the decline, the effort was more like 8+min/M on flat). Around the swim and run I got in a bit more than the daily quota of push-ups and pull-ups and after some food I was back in the water, this time for an hour of kid-throwing-gun-squirting-raft-wrestling fun.
A very nice, very full, very active day and I feel stronger and happier for it. With the weekly, always challenging mile repeats on Sunday and a step up in mileage next week, the day off running tomorrow looks just right.
Kind of Like Fun 