A Good Sign

Tags

Left Hand Brewery, White Rock Trail

The best thing I can say about my runs this weekend is that I got a haircut.  After letting my hair grow long over the winter, I’m back to short.  Not quite my typical buzz cut, but feels good running in the hot air.  I believe my running hat fits better too.

My pace hasn’t improved though.  I don’t know what happened but I slowed down a week and a half ago and can’t seem to get my speed back.  I can’t say for sure if it’s this little abdominal injury.  The pain from that recedes within the first mile to where I don’t notice it.  Being my core though it might be stealing my strength.  I don’t generally consider any issues above the knee to even be a running injury.  I have my PT visit scheduled for Monday.  It’ll be interesting to find out some details.  He’ll likely tell me it’s from turning 51.

I squeezed 3 quarter mile fartleks into my 7 miler Saturday.  Ran them in under a 6:30 mile pace.  I felt like I was nearly sprinting.  Hoping that will help my legs break out of this slow funk.  I have some tightness in my right hamstring now.  That’s something I’ve had before in some marathons so I need to stretch that puppy out.  A few other areas hurt too after those fartleks.  Interesting how running fast can highlight problem areas.

I ran the White Rock Trail this morning.  I literally ran into Keith on the trail, after having told him to run without me when he pinged me around 8am.  Pretty funny since we don’t normally run that trail.  Not sure why I wanted to run by myself today.  Maybe because I knew I’d be running so slow.  I maintained a decent pace though – 9:18 per mile for 12 miles.  What really felt good though was how strong I felt running up the hills.  My heart was never pounding like a drum and I was quick to recover after reaching the top of each hill.  This is a really good sign that I’m in good shape.  That’s what I like about this course.  After running this trail for 24 years, it serves as an indicator of my conditioning.  I have to be in half way decent shape just to complete the course without walking.

I’m kissing Jabe in this pic at the Left Hand Brewery to celebrate the completion of her USATF running coach certification.  And because I’d quaffed a few beers by that point.  This is my last weekend of prep for the Bolder Boulder 10K on Memorial Day.  I suspect I’ll start to taper next weekend.  I don’t know that I’m ready for the Steamboat Marathon the following weekend.  I’ll just run it slow.  I’m good at that.  My buddy Chris Price ran his first ever marathon today – the Colfax Marathon.  He ran it in 3:46 – an 8:40 pace.  Pretty impressive.

PT Time

Tags

physical therapist

I’ve come to the realization that I’m injured and I need to seek medical advice.  I began to feel a stitch in my lower abdomen back in February – sometime between the Austin Half and Moab.  I guessed it was scar tissue that flairs up now and then from an injury I incurred in my college days.  It was in that general area.  I thought situps would help mitigate the pain but they haven’t.  Instead, the pain has steadily grown – shooting upwards into my ribs and downward into my testicles.  Enough said. I need a quarter mile to half mile on runs before the pain recedes enough to allow a normal stride and pace.  And the pain is with me all day now, not only during runs.

I’d like to think I’ve matured enough to understand the value of seeking medical treatment.  To not be concerned about missing a race that cost me $100 in registration fees.  I haven’t.  So I’m looking for a doctor that I’m confident won’t tell me, “It’s hard to say what it is Ed, just take off the next six weeks.”  That’s what so many of them do.  They offer the option of a $3000 MRI that insurance covers only 80% of, and tell you to stop running.

Gadget Girl and my buddy Chris both see a local Physical Therapist whom seems more in tune to a runner’s desire to train through an injury.  I’m going to setup an appointment as soon as I can get in to see him.  The old Ed would wait until after the Bolder Boulder and Steamboat Marathon so that there would be no risk of missing those events.  But I have matured slightly.  Or maybe it’s just that this injury has got me by the balls.  After reducing my average training pace down to 8 minutes per mile, I’m suddenly back up to 8:40 per mile.  I need to fix this.

Chautauqua

Tags

Boulder, Chautauqua, Jabe's Running Group, Mesa Trail, trail runner

Keith and I ran the Mesa Trail again this Saturday, but in the reverse direction.  We started and ended at Chautauqua Park in Boulder.  This enabled us to breakfast at the Chautauqua Dining Hall.  This place doesn’t get much press, one of Boulder’s hidden gems.  We didn’t feel under-dressed in our sweaty running gear and muddy shoes.  Although I’m not sure it’s possible to under-dress anywhere in Boulder, except maybe the Flagstaff House restaurant.  We were here because of Susan’s (Keith’s wife) birthday.  She was running with Jabe’s Running Group – an incredibly social network of runners in my neighborhood.  They launched from the South Mesa Trailhead and joined us for breakfast at Chautauqua.  With seven runners and several other hikers and friends, we pwned the place.

This running-centered, real-world social event leads me to think of the virtual social discussion from the Trail Runner Magazine’s current blogging topic:  Social Media – Bane or Boon to Trail Running.  It seems unlikely any blogger would respond “bane”, and I’m no exception.  I’ll tell you how I leverage social media.  When I plan to run a trail, as part of an event or otherwise, I query hiking and running blogs for trail descriptions.  It’s the rare trail race web site that describes an event to the detail I desire.  I’m happy if they provide an elevation chart, but those can be misleading.  Many event web sites are so poor in content I wonder why they bother.  I’m waiting for the year the Boulder Marathon figures out how to add links to their sponsor logos.  Even the good ones though, like the IPR from Ouray to Telluride, are no substitute for a verbose, segment-by-segment writeup by a good blogger.  I want more than a description, I want to read the experience.

The information I look for in a running blog includes advice on how to prep for the event.  How to optimally run the course.  Especially tips on the best eateries in the vicinity.  It’s difficult to say exactly what detail will turn out good-to-know.  Copious comments might contain content that I would not have thought to consider.  This is where the social aspect comes into play.  Social media is a boon to communication.  And communication expands the potential of whatever it’s focused on.

I can imagine worse case scenarios wherein word-of-mouth leads to more popularity than a trail or event can support.  You see this with some big road races; they start out small and become huge as a consequence of their successful operations.  Trails generally control this by setting limits on participation.  I don’t know how trail events establish these limits – probably experience.  I think the Imogene Pass Run has a weather related cutoff time to get runners over the pass.  Regardless, I don’t think trail running suffers any adverse affects from social media.  It’s all good.

From the WordPress stats my blog receives, I find many readers come from searches on upcoming events.  No doubt, they query blogs for the same reasons I do.  Search terms contain the race name along with the word “training” or “review”.  Immediately after the event, searches contain the race name along with “results” and “photos”.  Of course I don’t see as many searches for this as I do “sexy trail runner” and “runner porn”, but that’s the Internet for you.

My runner’s story is a prime example of running related social media.  It extends my enjoyment of trail running with another enjoyable hobby of writing.  Perhaps posting these pics of my friends on the trail today enhances our collective experience.  That’s Keith in the first two pics, he’s navigating a treacherous snow-covered bridge in the second.  The trail was more mud today than dirt from Wednesday’s half foot of snow.  We could only average a 12 minute pace for ten miles.  Eve, in the third photo, dared to wear brightly-colored gear despite the mud.  She later said the conditions made her feel like a kid.  Jabe is clearly enjoying herself as she wades upstream on the trail in the fourth photo.  And the final pic captures our birthday runner Susan leading Jen in both conversation and running on the snow covered trail.

I missed snapping a shot of Suzy, and unfortunately she didn’t have time to join us for breakfast.  It was a two hour run.  I will say the real world social aspect of running beats this virtual social media stuff hands down.  The girls told hilarious stories and the food at that place was awesome.  So were my two Bloody Marys.  The virtual world is no substitute for drinking after a satisfying ten mile trail run through snow, ice and mud.  Sharing pictures is a nice benefit of social media.  It helps to remember the experience.  Not as good as being there though.

Fast Start

Tags

Boulder Distance Classic

This weekend began by meeting up with the neighbors at Paul’s new restaurant on Main Street, Joes. While they have more elegant seating up front, we sat at the picnic tables in the bar area. Good menu and I have no doubt this place will do well. Especially when the rooftop opens up. Very enjoyable evening although I didn’t need all those beers before a big run the following morning.

Still, I feel fine this morning. Good enough to line up near the starting line for today’s Boulder Distance Classic 15K. I must be getting cocky – I haven’t lined up this close to the start in decades. The elites show up in force today and it’s pretty cool to be standing next to them. I know this will make me start out faster than normal and I’m good with that. My plan is to push a 10K and then cool down the remaining miles. I originally was going to warmup the first mile and then run 6 miles hard, but I change my mind after lining up to go out fast from the start. The first plan would be easier on my body, but this plan will better simulate the Bolder Boulder 10K.

Today’s workout is to see how close to a 7 minute pace I can hold for 6 miles. I’ll coast in the final 3 miles for a cool down. The weather is unbelievable given all the snow we’ve had lately. It must be about 60° at the start of the race. I’m wearing blue Nike Dry-Fit shorts and the short-sleeve Brooks running T-shirt that came with the registration packet. The shirt is an unattractive green and doesn’t match well with my blue shorts, orange socks and orange hat, but I like wearing the race gear when I can. I’m comfortable standing at the start with the single short sleeve shirt.

I know I’m running way fast the first mile. I’m breathing hard. Still, I’m surprised when my Garmin reports a 6:40 pace. I am happy to know now that I can run a 6:40 mile, but this is not an ideal time to discover such speed with 8 miles remaining. I know immediately this is a mistake and I’m going to suffer. I was hoping to run close to 7 minutes, and certainly not under 7:00. I’d have been good with 7:10 or 7:15.

I debate slowing down significantly on mile two in order to recover but decide I might as well simulate the conditions of that hill in mile two of the Bolder Boulder. I’m seriously winded and focus on my form. I try for a 7:20 to average my pace out to 7 even. Mile two comes in at 7:18. Okay. I might be able to salvage this thing.

My legs are heavy though and I’m deep in oxygen debt. Shoot, even my arms are heavy. I try to hang on but feel my pace slowing down. The 3rd mile comes in at 7:29 and I think to myself it would be great if I could hold a 7:30 pace for another three miles. That is close to what I believe to be my lactate threshold. It’s hard though to maintain my lactate threshold when I’ve already significantly exceeded it. The 4th mile comes in at 7:39. Not too far off. My breathing finally calms down in the 4th mile which gives me confidence. Technically I just have two more miles to worry about since I’m only trying to run hard for a 10K.

I run the 5th mile in 7:52 and my 6th mile in 7:53. Nice consistency but this is disappointing. I felt like I was running faster but my legs were spent. I’m simply not able to fully recover from that fast start. Good lesson I guess. I think what I’ll do in the Bolder Boulder is start near the back of my wave. I’ll leverage the crowd of runners to throttle my speed. My best hope for running a 10K under 44 or 45 minutes is to run a steady pace each mile.  Ideally I’ll run my first two miles in a 7:10 or 7:15 pace. It does help knowing I can start off faster, but I also know how such a fast start will contribute to an overall slower time.

I maintain my speed for about a half mile after the 6th mile. I finally slow down to a cool down pace after hitting the sizable hill around 6.5 miles. I expect to slow down to an 8.5 mile pace but run mile 7 in 8:03, mile 8 in 8:14, and the final mile in 8:25. A number of runners kick past me. I can tell several of the guys are in my age division but I don’t care. I’m done racing.  I appreciate that the final half mile is downhill, but I still coast in.  My legs are toast.

My final time is 1:13 which is a good 4 to 5 minutes slower than I would have run if I’d simply maintained my typical pace.  That’s fine, I wasn’t racing but rather running a very specific workout in preparation for the Bolder Boulder.  I now know I can start out well under a 7 minute pace.  And I also know not to do that.  That hurts.

Most runners in this event were stoked about the weather.  This event has a history of cold and snow.  The best part for me is the huge turnout from my neighborhood.  It was a rocking celebration in the beer garden afterward.  Keith finished shortly behind me so I was able to turn around and get some pics of him finishing.  That’s Keith up top.  Then Jabe in the beer garden and Steve and Jen in this final pic.  The food was incredible too; hard to believe given the affordable entry fee.  And no limits to the beer.

Everyone made me feel good by complimenting my running blog.  And I met Beth who writes a running blog I read occasionally called Shut Up and Run.  That title describes her blog fairly well.  I got compliments on my weight too.  Everyone seems to think I’m losing weight.  I have maybe a bit but I think it’s my face that is finally starting to thin.  And really, I’m partial to my fatter face because I think it takes better pictures.  I wouldn’t mind losing my double chin but it’s not diminishing on par with my thinning face.  Life is cruel that way.

I spent the rest of the day celebrating Ellie’s birthday.  She had a good day.  I’m totally spent.  I hope to run some super long distance tomorrow – at least 15 miles.  My focus is turning past the Bolder Boulder to the Steamboat Spring Marathon on June 2nd.  Time for mileage to trump my speed workouts.

Big Weekend

Tags

Bolder Boulder, Steamboat Springs Marathon

Am I the only one whose weekends are bigger than their week?  Some Sundays I can’t wait for Monday to roll around so I can recover.  We don’t have to be talking about running.  My weekend’s invariably are jam-packed with events or projects or something.  This weekend is about running though.  I only ran every other day during this week.  I’ll squeeze in twice as many miles in two days beginning tomorrow than I ran in the five preceding days.

I could only make time for a 3 mile run yesterday.  So I ran it fast in my minimalist flats.  Averaged a 7:14 mile, which quite frankly has me a bit concerned.  That is way fast for me but I don’t know if there’s enough time before the end of May to pare that down to 7:00 flat for a 10K.  I did run my 3rd mile in 6:58 but my first mile was in 7:30.  I’m not sure I can start out faster than that which means I’ll need to run much faster on subsequent miles.  And the second mile in the Bolder Boulder is uphill and can be quite challenging after running the first mile fast.  I might have to reset my expectations to a 7:10 minute mile pace.  Tomorrow’s Boulder Distance Classic 15K will provide more feedback on what I can expect for a 10K on Memorial Day.

I’m following up tomorrow’s 15K with a 15 miler on Sunday because I have a marathon planned a week after the Bolder Boulder.  I need distance training more than speed at this point in time.  Running that 10K fast would be nice, but I need to survive that marathon.  Priorities.  Speaking of which, this weekend isn’t even about me.  It’s Ellie’s birthday weekend.  Presumably I should be making some time for her.  I will.  Big party Saturday.  Meanwhile, my Garmin is attached to a power source charging for tomorrow.

15K at the Boulder Res

Tags

Bolder Boulder, boulder half race photos, Jabe's Running Group, Massage Envy, prints4sale, Shannon Dunlap

I’m running the Boulder Distance Classic Saturday morning.  This is not something I had planned until a week or two ago.  I couldn’t resist the affordable registration fee.  It’s an unusual distance at 15K – or 9.3 miles.  I’ll leverage the event and crowd to make it a speed workout.  I might use the first mile to warm up and then see how long I can hold a 7 minute pace.  Maybe a 7:10 pace.  That’s probably more realistic as a speed I can maintain.  Shoot, a 7:20 pace would be an improvement and anything under 7:45 will be a decent speed workout.  So it’s settled then, a 7:30 pace.

Some of my Prospect neighbors will be running.  Jabe’s Running Group will be there.  I think I’m most excited that the course isn’t over the same old back roads of every other Boulder Res event.  Rather, it’s mostly trail and loops back around Coot Lake and the irrigation canal on the north side of the Res.  I haven’t run that trail since I had my Texas dogs, Teddy and Tara.  I miss running with those dogs; they used to keep me in shape.

Whatever pace I’m able to hold, I should try to maintain it for at least 6 miles.  That will make for an excellent Bolder Boulder training run.  I need to get out this week though to log some miles.  Never-ending night time calls to Japan and the rest of AP are getting in the way of my evening routine.  Work needs to settle down.  Or I need to start running around 3 in the afternoon.  That might be the answer.  Running must be prioritized with everything else if I’m going to meet any of my goals this summer.  Good Lord, I have a marathon in 6 weeks.  All this focus lately on speed; I can’t forget distance.  I need more time in the day.  While I’m whining, it wouldn’t hurt if it could stop snowing and warm up a bit.  Weather willing, I think I might follow up Saturday’s 15K with a 15 miler Sunday.  I do that, then I’m scheduling a massage with Shannon too.

I did get in 7 miles today.  Couldn’t run a speed workout on the LoBo Trail though.  The snow was mostly melted and because of that it was wet.  It was like slogging through a muddy river bottom.  Averaged an 8:19 pace and held that fairly steady.  My first two miles were both 8:14.4.  Exact to the tenth of a second.  That’s an official race photo above.  For anyone who ran the Boulder Half, the race pics are available at prints4sale.com.  Photographer Jason Powers caught two pics of me airborne.  I love that.

Lactate Threshold

Tags

Bolder Boulder, fartlek

My training for the Bolder Boulder is a bit behind schedule.  Work, taxes, and other priorities have taken precedence.  I have four workouts now though that I have timed and I’m seeing a drop in my average pace.  I wouldn’t say it’s enough to note a drop in my lactate threshold, which is the goal, but I feel good that I’m measuring my progress.  I also gained some confidence after getting in a speed workout today.  It wasn’t a fartlek but rather a two mile warmup followed by three miles at my half marathon race pace, followed by a two mile cool down.

I averaged a 7:27 mile pace for the three miles I ran today at race pace.  I would say that is my current lactate threshold.  It compares with my three half marathons I ran this year.  I ran a 7:48 pace for Boulder, a 7:31 pace in Moab and a 7:23 pace at Austin.  I might not have enough time to lower this down to 7:00 even, but that’s my goal.  I have five weeks.

Mesa Trail

Tags

Boulder, Katja Broecker, Mesa Trail, Trail Runner Magazine

I could do my taxes.  Instead I’m writing my blog.  That tells you most everything you need to know about me.  But this post isn’t about me.  I’m participating in a blog discussion with TrailRunner Magazine with the subject set as, “Can trail running develop into an unhealthy addiction?”  Wonder if there’s a social networking term for group blogging like this.  I know, TrailRunner Mag’s question sounds rhetorical.  Absolutely it can be habit forming.  Seems redundant though to say unhealthy.  Addictions generally carry a negative enough connotation with them rendering that adjective unnecessary.  Or is it?

Running by itself can be addictive.  The endorphins that release into the body after 45 minutes or so generate a nice buzz for the vain, skinny, hypocritical road runners who tell you they do it for their health – in between buying inserts from the local PT dealer and scheduling their next MRI.  The law hasn’t yet caught up to these junkies.

Let’s be clear though, trail runners are different from road runners.  We don’t sit around after our runs in a stoned stupor; our runs themselves are Henry David Thoreau inspired transcendental experiences.  A road runner’s addiction is a trail runner’s discipline.  If addiction represents a habit formed by incessant trail running, then certainly we are addicts.  We are not fair weather runners.  We fling spring mud and wander through winter whiteout conditions nearly naked in shorts.  Addiction is a tool leveraged by weak minded road runners in their hope to form a healthy habit.  The disciplined trail runner keeps the mind soberly focused on prepping the appropriate gear to the forecasts from their Weather Channel app.  The trail runner’s romp though adverse conditions and challenging terrain is as conscious a decision every time as the sun rising in the morning and setting over the horizon at dusk.  You will not find a more controlled and deliberate habit.

What could be unhealthy about it?  Are trail runners dazed in a foggy haze in social environs?  I lived in the athletic dorm one semester in college and recall a roommate who could talk about nothing other than his workouts.  I found him boring beyond belief.  Vain and narcissistic people find their way in sports.  There’s a reinforcing affinity between their personality and the workouts.  That’s not a result of the repetitive nature of running the trail day in and day out.  They’re simply self-centered.  The repetition that forms the habit – that establishes the addiction – is a beautiful thing.

To ask if trail running is an unhealthy habit is to suggest a healthy addiction is an option.  Have you watched an elite athlete run?  Up close?  I was following on the heels of 20 year old Katja Broecker in last week’s Boulder Half Marathon.  She passed me at 7 miles and I fell in behind her because her stride was so excellent, it sucked me in like a vortex.  She was mostly airborne, her feet touched down only long enough to satisfy the gods she was human.  I was behind and slightly to her right at 8 miles when she cut in front of me to grab a water at the aid station.  I was ready to throw my arms up to keep from colliding with her but instead she sipped her water at full speed, tossed the cup, and the space between us never closed by even an inch.  Who can do that?  I can’t.  That’s the exquisite form of an elite athlete and that level of skill comes only from training to the point your body has reached the level of art.  I have no doubt coming down from such a high is painful.  I know first hand what it feels like to be sidelined from injury.  The addiction left unfed worms its way through your mind until it’s destroyed all self-confidence.  Unwinding an addiction is ugly, but when it’s created beautiful art it can’t be bad.

Keith and I ran the Mesa Trail today from Eldorado Canyon to Chautauqua Park in Boulder.  And back.  About a 13 mile trail run over steep inclines and mud.  I know I’ve neglected certain things to be able to wake up early to run this trail.  Maybe it was asocial of me not to be out quaffing drinks with friends.  But if you ask me how I feel right now, I would not respond by saying I feel unhealthy.  I’m buzzed and I can’t wait to get back out to run it again.

Feet First

Tags

USATF

See that guy finish seemingly 6 seconds ahead of me?  Do you think his shorts are too short?  Via the technological wonder of Anti-USATF wormhole timing technology called chip time, I beat Chris Mihalik by 13 seconds.  You can’t see them but Mikki and Katja are up across the finish line ahead of me by 16 and 11 seconds respectively, panting like horses after the Derby.  Beat them too by 1 and 12 seconds respectively. Although after cyber sifting through the big race results data, I think the other girl I ran with is Dina Griffin, rather than Mikki, based on their halfway times.  If so, Dina finished strong to outpace me by 3 seconds.

The girls were out getting Ellie’s hair cut in Boulder, so I squeezed in an 8 miler for my first day of training for the Bolder Boulder on Thursday.  And per plan, I recorded the run with my Garmin.  I’m not going to bother linking to it, but the results are on my Garmin site.  I left the timer running about 7 minutes after I stopped running so disregard that pace on the last segment if you review it.  I did a 3 mile jaunt in my minimalist shoes Wednesday but that was a post Boulder Half recovery run in terms of loosening up.  Whenever I run that short, I take the opportunity to run in my minimalist flats.  Today was my first run based on my 7 minute BB training plan.

I went for distance because I had the time and could.  I felt good starting out and felt like I was going to run fast but slowed down after the first mile, mostly running a 9 minute pace.  Not an impressive start to my 7 minute pace plans but the distance was good.  One thing I did was concentrate on my foot work.  Whenever I did, I noticed my speed pick up.  What I mean by this is I would purposely block out all thoughts to focus on how I carried and landed my feet.  I concentrated on keeping my toes pointed downward and landing mid foot.  I could only do it for a few minutes at a time before my thoughts would drift to work or something else, but it was a good exercise.  I’m starting this 2 month training plan feet first and will move to fartleks when I have more energy.  I hope to be able to run fartleks at least once a week.  Maybe twice but I also want to have runs where I start out slow the first two miles and then gracefully speed up to my half marathon race pace.  I plan to run with my neighbors on the Mesa Trail Saturday.  That will focus on distance – likely over 10 miles.  Can’t ignore distance.  A week after the Bolder Boulder, I have a marathon in Steamboat.

Wave B

Tags

Bolder Boulder, Lance Armstrong quotes

I registered for the Bolder Boulder Tuesday in person at their 29th Street Mall location.  I’d tell you where exactly at the mall but I want you to have as much fun as I did trying to find it in 10° and blowing snow that evening.  I went in person to request the starting wave I felt I should be in – wave B.  This maps to my plan to run a 7 minute pace.  Of course, they don’t let just anyone walk in from the street and demand their starting wave.  They looked up my recent performances.  First I told them to look up Sunday’s Boulder Half.  “Not fast enough.”  Next I had them look up Moab.  “That’ll be $54.”  I got my race bib to start in wave B – #B037.  I still held a card in my hands from a race ran at sea level this year that I was ready to throw down on the table if necessary.

It’s never been my style to be so concerned about a starting wave.  When I returned to road races a few years ago, I ran them at my workout pace.  I treated the events as sort of a celebration of my fitness but didn’t necessarily race.  With no expectations other than a workout, I’d casually stroll up to the start and line up behind the best scenery.  And that hasn’t changed so much with the exception of the Bolder Boulder that is coming up because I have made a project of sorts out of increasing my speed at shorter distances.  Nowadays I consider a 10K to be a shorter distance.  Maybe I shouldn’t refer to it as racing because a 7 minute pace won’t be competitive, but it’s fair to say I’ll be racing myself – or the clock.

I know from past Bolder Boulders that running back in the pack can really slow down your potential time.  Even if the wave is accurate for your pace, there will be tons of people you’ll have to pass.  It not only slows you down, you have to run farther by not running a straight line.  And it’s frustrating if you really do want to cruise.  I’ll tell you a worse story – not that it applies to this event.  I actually took 2nd place in my division at the Boulder Half.  This is according to chip time.  And really, what other time would count?  Well, apparently USATF sanctioned events go by clock time.  I beat 2nd place by nearly a half minute but he finished 6 seconds ahead of me.  He started on the line while I started in the back.  Whatever.  The rules are the rules.  At least I started behind some nice scenery.  Would have been nice though had they mentioned this detail in the FAQs, but I’m taking away from this experience that position matters.

I refer to this above as a project rather than a goal because that’s what it’s all about really.  The process.  I don’t intend to wake up on Memorial Day and hope to run a 7 minute pace.  Between now and then, I’ll perform the necessary actions to lower my pace by the requisite 30 seconds per mile.  Like Lance says, I’ll pump up the tires and fill the water bottles.  And on race day, I could dial in my time.  I’ll absolutely know what I can do before I do it.  Because I’ll have prepared for it.  Just like my buddy Keith followed a plan to gradually increase his distance before running his first marathon.  After he had run so many 20 plus mile workouts, Keith knew he could run 26.  He might have found religion in those couple of extra miles, but there was no doubt he could run the distance because he’d pretty much done it in the weeks and months leading up to the marathon.

I’ll do the same thing.  I’ll start wearing my Garmin on training runs.  I’ll be running a 7 minute pace on 8 mile runs before I line up on Memorial Day to run that pace for 6 miles.  So it won’t be arrogance or a cocky attitude.  There won’t be any nerves.  There’ll be some hope perhaps that I can exceed my expectations.  A 6 minute pace would be competitive at my age.  A boy can dream.

Top Speed

Tags

Bolder Boulder, Capitol 10K, fartlek, Kenneth Hausmann, plantar fasciitis, supplemental oxygen training

Karen snapped this pic of me with both feet airborne and Haystack Mountain in the background.  I’m partial to pictures of me airborne.  I don’t know why, just am.  But this relates to my story too.  And I know I blogged on this topic recently, but I’m still thinking about it after an email exchange with my buddy Ken.

My next planned running event is the Bolder Boulder 10K on Memorial Day.  Ken just ran the Capitol 10,000 in 45 minutes.  Good enough to place him 4th among 55 year olds.  After telling him it’s been 20 years since I ran that fast, Ken suggested my half marathon pace supports my ability to run a 45 minute 10K.  But my experience suggests otherwise.  I’ve documented this.  My pace doesn’t vary much whether it’s a 10K or a marathon.  I even tested my ability to run faster Sunday by pushing myself into oxygen debt in the first mile.  I can run a 7:30 pace all day long but I can’t hold 7:00 for more than a mile.

Don’t think I’m ready to throw in the towel though.  This just means I need to train for speed.  Ken suggested I train at a lower altitude and he’s right – that would work.  It’s not very convenient, but it would work.  I think.  I don’t understand the science behind it but you can push your heart rate higher at lower altitude where the air is thicker.  I suspect training for a 5K or shorter distance would benefit most if performed at sea level.  And I would think training for half marathons and marathons benefit from altitude – 4000 feet or higher.  10Ks are questionable and I am willing to bet a mix of training at sea level and altitude would be ideal for that distance.  And as that hybrid scenario suggests and I’ve already stated, spanning geographies is not very convenient.  Click on this link; there’s a company in Boulder that provides supplemental oxygen equipment to train at low or high altitude regardless of where you are.

But for a 10K, I should benefit by doing some speed work out on the LoBo Trail.  And per my earlier post on this topic, I intend to do that by running fartleks.  I did try a fartlek workout a couple of weeks ago.  I nearly lost my beans, but then that’s the point – adapting my body to recover from the limits of reaching my top speed.  I’ll try to do this more between now and Memorial Day.

I can tell you another method for improving speed is running with a foot strike that is mid to fore foot.  Avoid over-striding and landing on your heel.  I already land mid foot and don’t see myself changing much more to the ball of my feet, but I am sharing this as part of the discussion.  And this is where the airborne pic comes in.  Studies support the notion that the more time you spend with both feet airborne, the faster you run.  There are different techniques for achieving this flight, and one is the bio-mechanics of moving your center of gravity forward by avoiding heel strikes which stop your momentum.  It also helps to keep your toes pointed downward, which is something I am doing in this pic but also a technique I am still working on.  This is essentially a shorter stride which some people look at and think is less efficient, but it actually promotes speed.  Running occasionally in minimalist or barefoot running flats helps to teach this form.  I did this about a year ago, not to improve my speed but to recover from plantar fasciitis.  It worked.

I’m going to focus on the fartleks.  My goal is to run a 45 minute 10K two months from now.  Not to take away from Ken but a 45 minute 10K will not be nearly as competitive in the Bolder Boulder as the Capitol 10K in Austin.  This is freakin’ Boulder.  But it’ll feel pretty fast to me.

Return to Glory

Tags

Boulder Spring Half Marathon 2013, elite runners, Katja Broecker, Mikki Osterloo, Scott Babb, Shannon Dunlap

Sunday starts out with coffee and 40°.  First big race decision is what to wear.  I would normally opt for a long sleeve tech T-shirt, but I want to wear the jersey that came with my registration and it’s short sleeved.  I go with that and layer a gray cotton T-shirt underneath.  Layering turns out to be a good call as the wind picks up at the Boulder Res to what feels like 20 miles an hour.  Rain was anticipated as well but the clouds are stuck over the mountains of the Front Range.  It’s mostly sunny and warms up to 44° as the gun starts us down the back roads of Boulder County.

I begin near the back and crawl my way out of the Boulder Res to the road.  There, I begin running in earnest.  My plans from my last post haven’t changed.  I want to start out fast.  I already know I can run between 7:30 and 8:00 per mile assuming I start out slow.  I want to test if I can start out fast to see where my limits are on hitting oxygen debt.  And once I hit it, can I recover.  This is risky because not training for fatigue, I don’t know that I’ll be able to recover.  The second half of this race could be brutal if I truly run per plan.

And I do.  I don’t wear my Garmin by choice so I don’t really know my pace.  This was another tough decision.  The Garmin would give me great stats to relate in my blog.  But I don’t care about my blog.  I don’t care about you.  This is about me and I don’t want to race a clock today.  I want to feel my body.  And after the first mile, my body is friggin winded beyond belief.  I don’t know how fast I was running but I would guess that after I exited the Res I began running under a 7 minute pace.  Too fast.

The second mile finishes up a long hill and I manage to maintain a strong pace.  Not that I know my time but I have yet to catch my breath.  I don’t have a good sense of how long I can hold this pace.  I really only want to keep this up for the first half – 6.55 miles – but at this point I modify that initial goal to 3 miles.  I should simply slow down to recover, that’s a legal part of my game plan.  If at any point I’m winded and dying, slow down.  But I’ve passed hundreds of runners in these first couple of miles and feel like I’m now running with others who are a good match for my normal pace.  I hang on.

I start talking to a runner from Cheyenne about the wind.  People from Cheyenne are experts on this topic.  At 3 miles he tells me we’ve been averaging a 7:20 pace.  I figure I likely started a half minute behind him so I’ve been running faster.  I can’t imagine holding this pace but at this point in time I begin running behind a girl – twenty something – and I match her pace for the next couple of miles until she stops to pee.  I catch up to another girl about the same age and stay with her to the turn around point.  There are only about 4 women running ahead of her and she knows them all – cheering them as they pass slightly ahead of us on this out-and-back course.

That means she is one of the top women runners and I suspect that’s why I having been pairing myself with the women.  As elites their form is noticeably better than most of the guys around me.  And she’s running my pace.  I slow down a bit at the turn around for my first sip of sports drink and an orange wedge.  The turn around is up hill until the 7 mile mark and I keep it slow.  Upon cresting the hill though I discover I’ve caught my breath.  First time this entire run that I can breathe normally.  I was resigned to sort of coast my way back this second half but shoot, I feel pretty good.

I hear footsteps behind me and soon am passed by bib #110 in all black and she is clearly another elite woman runner.  I can tell because watching her run, her perfect form, her footfalls tapping the road like stones skipping across a lake is like watching an artist.  She runs past me and I’m not thinking about racing but I’m drawn by the beauty of the sport and surge after her.  I believe she is in position 6 overall and by the 8th mile we overtake the girl I’d been running with, moving this new girl into 5th place.

I depleted my strength too much with my fast start to ever be able to race someone at this point in the run should they challenge me, but I find my stride and surge past this elite chic around mile 10 – somewhere while running toward Haystack Mountain.  I’m not naive and expect her to pass me back before this gig is over.

That’s fine because at this point I know, while I may slow down a little, I’m going to be able to maintain a decent pace the rest of the way.  Without wearing my Garmin I know I’m going to finish under 1:45, maybe 1:40 although this run is harder than Moab.  It’s 1000 feet higher in elevation, hillier, and my fast start has everything weighing heavy.  Even my arms feel heavy by mile 12.  This isn’t the painful disaster I imagined though could result from starting out fast.

And I’m totally satisfied with that start strategy.  I was completely winded the first 6 miles but it felt good.  It took me back to my teens with how it felt to race.  I was a bit worried after 3 miles when I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.  The pleasure of the pain was clearly gone by 4 miles.  But I did recover after the turn and this run is turning out to be a good one.  Still, the hill at mile 12 takes its toll and I decide to cool down the final mile.  The two elite girls catch me the final half mile and I let them considering we’re headed into the last sizable hill.  It slows them down too though and Katja, the elite in black, has dropped back behind the other girl she’s been racing – Mikki.  It doesn’t appear Katja is going to catch Mikki with this hill and in fact, she doesn’t.  Technically I beat them both chip time.

I see my family near the finish and put on a smile for pictures.  I cross the finish line in 1:42 and feel fine.  Smart decision to cool down.  I’m surprised to find I finished 3rd in my age group and receive my first racing award in about 30 years.  Technically I placed 2nd for my age group in last fall’s Boulder Marathon but not being used to being competitive I went home before they handed out trophies.  And the race Director won’t return my emails so I’ve never picked up that award.  This plaque will find a nice home in my den.  I ended my winter half marathon trilogy with a massage from Shannon Dunlap at Massage Envy.  She knows runners and stretches the tight muscles along with the massage.

Yet Another Beer Run

Tags

Boulder Half Marathon

I’m gaining quite a collection of Boulder Marathon and Half Marathon beer glasses.  This is my fourth.  Each one is a different color.  Spring 2011 is red, spring 2012 green, and fall 2012 where I ran the marathon is orange.  And then of course the shirt colors match.  Time to start thinking about my race strategy.

I don’t feel the need to run aggressive like I did at Moab 3 weeks ago.  I’m still so happy with that performance, I could jog Sunday at my workout pace – around 8:30 per mile – and feel good about my winter half marathon season.  But then it would be a shame not to match my Austin performance in January and Moab race in March with an equally impressive run.  And that doesn’t mean I need to run quite as fast.  I believe it will be on par if I simply beat my previous times in this event.  And like previous Moabs, I’ve never run the Boulder Half especially fast.

I recall having a satisfying run in 2011 because of the negative split where I ran the second half 5 minutes faster than the first half.  The total time was 1:48 or an 8:19 per mile pace and is faster than my spring 2012 time.  I honestly expect to run under an 8 minute pace this weekend.  And I’ll play it according to how I feel the first mile or two, but I believe I’m in decent enough running shape that I’ve established a range that I can expect regardless of how I feel.  I think that range is 7:30 to 8:00 per mile.  Which is to say I will run a bit faster than my standard workout pace of 8:30.

I could be setting myself up for a disappointment considering I haven’t run all week.  But part of the reason for blogging this expected time ahead of Sunday is to commit myself.  Sure I’ll look foolish if I finish closer to 2 hours but I seriously believe I’ll break 1:45.  Question is, by how much?  Or what really has my interest is the strategy of the course.  The Boulder Half is essentially uphill on the 6.55 miles out and downhill on the return.  I’ve run a negative split on this course before and it’s apparent the elevation gain and drop lends itself to such a strategy.  I can’t commit to this but what I want to do is run the first half faster than the second.  I want to go out hard.  Not sure why since doing so suggests the second half will be work, but this is how I hope to run it.  We’ll see Sunday.  Karen and Ellie are talking about coming out to the Boulder Res to watch.

Nordic Skiing

Tags

Breckenridge, Frisco Nordic Center, snowshoe, Summit County

Tapering is when you reduce your mileage or the intensity of your workouts before a big event.  I’m going a full week without running before the Boulder Half this Sunday.  I couldn’t run last weekend because I was painting the living room.  Running is a hobby, but making Karen happy is job #1.  Then, for whatever reason, I was too exhausted Monday to run.  I just sat down after dinner cradling my beer.  Feel great now that I’m up in Summit County on vacation, but I won’t be running.  I can tell you though, tapering has never been so active.

We Nordic skied at the Frisco Nordic Center.  First time for Karen and Ellie and my first time since 8th grade.  We took a family lesson which was smart.  I feel like I got the hang of it and am hooked.  I have no doubt I’ll be buying some gear.  This is so pleasant, it beats snowshoeing big time.  Didn’t hurt that we had fresh snow from the day before and roll-up-your-sleeves sunshine.  We’ve snowshoed at the Nordic Center in Breck before – same owners – but Frisco has tons more terrain along Lake Dillon.  Steve, our instructor, gave us some great tips.  We learned the basic motions, including double-polling and a scooter technique.  Ellie was a natural.

We plan to alpine ski tomorrow at Copper but I could do Nordic again.  I shouldn’t totally discount the hot tub but I’m not at all tired from the 90 minute routine.  Nordic skiing is totally a running motion and my muscles feel fine.  If anything, my ankles might be a bit fatigued.  I can see how this would be fantastic off-season conditioning to support my running.  And there are some nice places for cross country skiing in Boulder County.

There’s a spa in our lodge but I don’t plan on taking advantage of it.  I’m pretty relaxed without it and my body has recovered this week from not running.  Copper might make me stiff but I’m still looking forward to my post-race massage planned for Sunday afternoon.  Nice Spring Break.

Ladder Workout

Tags

paint

Keith invited me to join him Sunday on a 15 mile run.  This weekend was gorgeous and it would have been nice to get out on the trail, but I opted instead for a ladder workout.  That is, I painted my living room.  And I’m not making this up, my legs are exhausted.  I didn’t have time for a run this weekend but I can tell you my legs got in some weird ladder workout.  I painted sans shoes because I didn’t want to get paint on any of my foot wear.  I must have done the equivalent of 10,000 toe raises.  Not sure how that’s going to help me exactly, but my legs did not take the weekend off despite not running.

I’m certain standing on the ladder barefoot exercised some muscles that I rarely stress like this on my distance runs.  Nothing feels strained, that would really be stupid if I were to injure myself painting.  I suspect my calves will benefit from this.  We’ll see in next weekend’s Boulder Half.  Not running shouldn’t hurt me.  I won’t be running at all this week.  Well, maybe tomorrow but otherwise I’ll be skiing up in Breckenridge.  Bet I won’t be the only runner next Sunday with a ski tan.