An update, some thoughts, some links

Update:  Last weekend I ran the Punxsutawney 50K (a great trail-run ... I think it harkens back to the true spirit of long distance trail running, resisting the forces turning the best-known ultras into overblown commercialized productions, but I digress ...). This was my 6th finish on that course, and it's interesting to have a long-term benchmark of what the years and aging process can do to you ... Although it was my slowest pace yet for an ultra, it was actually pretty consistent with what I've done there the last few years.  On a more subjective level, the course this year was very very wet and muddy (there were extremely heavy rains on the days leading up to the event) and I honestly have never felt better/stronger covering that course.  So I take it as just another victory - for the guy at the back of the pack.

Some Thoughts:  We had visitors the week before the Punxsy, where I justified missing training by calling it a taper - then the week after Punxsy I definitely lightened the training load for recovery ... I need a good week this week to get back into training for fall racing!

Some Links:  I've been searching the web for Comrades info (the great South African ultra-running event), and as usual allowed myself to get sidetracked with other interesting bits. One was Amby Burfoot's blog, which yielded a couple of interesting ideas on training.  Amby Burfoot's story of his own Comrades run is here:   http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-281--11867-1-1X2X3-3,00.html  

It's a little ominous to be reading of a past Boston Marathon winner working so hard to beat the cut-off at Comrades.  

I found Burfoot's thoughts on different training methods revealed in another blog entry of his, talking about Alberto Salazar's win at Comrades in 1994 (an amazing sequel to his much earlier marathon wins).. "These days Salazar coaches a handful of top U.S. distance runners. He gives them their workouts. But if you want to know the truth, workouts are like peanuts at a baseball game. Everyone's got them, and they're pretty much the same. Salazar's workouts are no more magical than those doled out by Terence Mahon, Greg McMillan, the Hanson brothers, the supposedly high-concept Italians, or the low-concept, high-success coaches in Kenya and Ethiopia."

Bart Yasso (of Yasso 800 fame) had his own Comrades chronicled in a series of videos by RunnersWorld.  Video number #2 in the series is a good overview of Comrades.

Bart Yasso vs. Comrades video

I'm planning to run Comrades in 2012 ...

Falling Down - "That's ultra!"

Falling down - it's going to happen if you spend time on trails.  I like this example of how Dakota Jones handles it, writing in the Oct 2010 "Ultrarunning" magazine about running rim-to-rim-to-rim at the Grand Canyon.  He says ...

"I was running down the south rim as the sun was running up the east and I kept looking at the fantastic rays of light spilling over the horizon until one of those awful waterbars that comprise the trail got the best of me and sent me sprawling down the trail.  That's enough to piss anyone off, and I was no different.  Banged up my knee and my hip and scratched the hell out of my palm, but also gave me an excuse to enjoy the view momentarily."

Talk about seeing the bright side of the situation ...

My next example isn't falling down exactly, but it shows the spirit of Andy Jones-Wilkins dealing with some adversity well into the 2009 Leadville 100 miler.  Hard times for sure, but I only hope to handle adversity this well.

Falling down - another thing to work on doing better ...

Running faster

I used to run some road races (mostly 10K runs) every year, but since getting the trail running bug I've almost completely dropped out of the road racing scene.  Two weeks ago though, I laced up my shoes for a nice 8K (5 miler) that I've done several times in the past.  Running conditions were good, I ran hard and ran a well-paced race, and really did the best I could - but my time was slower than I hoped. 

Part of the reason may be running form.  Here is video of Ryan Hall describing his idea of good form

and here is an editor from Runner's World talking about running form.

  

When I'm running fast I do think about Ryan's 'cycling' concept, and the high knees.  But, lots of long slow running seems to bring with it a distinctly different form.  In the name of efficiency, endurance runners often return their feet with a minimum amount of lift, very low to the ground.  Witness trail runners tripping over roots and rocks that are barely there ...

But the big reason is that you get good at doing what you train to do ... and if you train slow, you race slow!  In my recent race, I actually  ran 1 1/2 minutes a mile faster than what I've been running on my long training runs.  Greg McMillan has a calculator that recognizes the relationship of optimum training pace to your current race pace.  http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm When I plug my 8K time into the calculator it shows my "correct" long run time is indeed about 1 and 1/2 minutes per miles slower than my race pace.  My long run training pace was exactly what I needed to run that (slow) race pace.

So where does this leave me?  I started this training cycle with three months of good endurance base building.  I believe I would benefit from continuing in the base phase - I still have quite a few pounds to lose ... but I'm going to shift my focus a bit.  My base phase has had me spending a lot of time on foot each week.  I'm going to try to keep the mileage about the same, but include some faster paced tempo runs.  I'm also picking some training routes that have me running over hills quite a bit, to get ready for the Punxsutawney run.

I've got some long runs coming up on the calendar:
Punxsutawney 50K  - 10 Sep 2011
JFK 50 mile  - 19 Nov 2011

Running Stuff

People say running is an easy activity to do because you don't need much special equipment.  That said, after running for some time you do accumulate a lot of stuff.  This is what I use the most.

Shoes - I run in Brooks Cascadia shoes.  This is a 'trail' shoe, but I do almost all my running in them.  I think they are very flat, having a low heel even for running shoes. I don't track mileage per pair, but when I've worn down a few of the lugs on the sole to almost nothing I get a new pair.

Shorts - Gotta be a little fashion conscious ... shorts have gotten a little longer since I started running (and I've gotten older).  My favorite shorts are Nike - soft! - but I just found the Brooks Cascadia shorts, which have great pockets for other stuff on long runs.  Lots of shorts have a little pocket for a key or ID card, but these have virtually a small 'cargo' pocket.

pocket stuff - I carry a credit card (a lot of my runs are planned around passing by places I can get something to eat), and a $20 bill for emergencies.  On runs toward the city I carry my metro fare card - it gives me an option to cut a long run short if I run out of gas and just want to get back home.  And I need the key to get back into my house.

water - On runs over an hour I bring water.  I alternate between a handheld bottle, the same bottle carried in a waist pack, and a full-on hydration pack.  My hydration pack is from North Face, and I can also remove the bladder and use it as a light running pack - good for carrying a towel and something to read at the pool.  The packs from Nathan 'Human Propulsion Laboratories' look pretty nice though - I like that they have small pockets for a little accessible storage on the front straps.

gadgets - I run with a Suunto T6C running watch, its heartrate chest strap, and sometimes the shoe pod which enables the watch to show distance and speed.  I use software on a PC (Firstbeat Athlete) that reads the data from the watch and gives me some input on how hard I've really been working (or not) and what I need to do to improve.  Looking at this data and trying to make sense of it all has provided a lot of new insights.  Other gadgets include a flashlight - I use a small 4 x 2AA battery powered light, that is cheap, bright, runs a long time for runs after dark.  I don't mind carrying it in my hand.

misc. - Socks - I like Wrightsocks.  A collection of 'technical' running shirts ... can't wear cotton running shirts anymore.  I like a hat with a visor if it's raining.  Sunglasses and sunscreen.  Occasionally a camera, and an iPod Nano (surprisingly the music only appeals to me on a shorter hard training run, not something long and easy).

I don't carry first aid gear - which would be emergency foot care.  In my experience, I haven't had the need for it  but when you need it you need it.

That seems like a lot of stuff, considering the most fun I have is running light!

The Plan

You only need to stick to the plan on the days you want to improve.

Weekly Summary

27 June – 3 July 2011 (52 miles)

Mon:  ran to Cassatt's and home (8 miles)

Tue:  Ran across Chain Bridge, C&O canal to Georgetown for salad, then home.  Saw a small green snake on the C&O canal – I literally jumped in mid-air to miss landing on him … (17 miles)

Wed:  Washington Lee HS track … did Cooper test (warm up & test ~ 2.5 miles)

Thu:  ran to McLean Family for breakfast, and back home (4 miles), later to pool and home (4 miles)

Fri:  Ran to Northside Social for a sandwich, took metro back to West Falls Church (9 miles)

Sat:  run around the neighborhood (9 miles)

Sun:  rest and recovery

Metrics, VO2 testing, weight and performance

Most runners keep a running log, recording their performance of daily runs and racing events.  The essence of the data is time and distance, which represent intensity and duration of training.  Many factors influence performance, including day-to-day changes in health (physical and mental well-being), rest and recovery, the weather (heat/humidity), and running course/terrain.

My current running watch - not just a watch, but "a sports laboratory on your wrist" - is a Suunto T6C.  When I connect my watch to my PC after a run, I see heart rate, respiration rate, altitude changes and rates, pace, and various calculated values including calories expended and EPOC. It even grades the run in terms of the Training Effect on my fitness level.  Looking back at my note that "you can't manage what you don't measure" I am clearly measuring the heck out of my runs.  Is it helping me train better? 

Wednesday night I went to the track and did a Cooper Test.  Essentially you warm up, and then run as far as you can in 12 minutes.  Then take the distance and use Cooper's table to find your VO2 max number (or see a web site like this one .. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/MinuteRun.html ).  Your VO2 max number is something that you could also obtain, along with some other valuable insights into your running physiology, by paying some $$$ to a sports laboratory.  VO2 is interesting because it predicts (correlates with) the best performance you can hope to achieve in your sport.  An individual's VO2 max number is a function of fitness and genetics - fitness is the only factor we can change.

VO2 max is a measure of how much oxygen you can use.  To measure it, a sports lab would want a runner on a treadmill to breath through a mask, and directly measure the air and oxygen inhaled and exhaled.  The difference of course would be oxygen used.  Note that this doesn't have much to do with lung capacity - all of us with healthy lungs can take in more than enough air, and exhale it right back out.  The trick is to get it across the lung-to-blood boundary, and to your muscles to support the work they are doing.  The amount of O2 crossing that boundary is driven by the demand of working muscles, and VO2 max levels will be reached when you are working those muscles as hard as you can.  So this test is going to be stressful!  A final adjustment accounts for differences in body size - a heavily muscled big person will have a larger amount of muscle than a smaller person, so VO2 max is reported on a 'per kilogram of body mass' basis to account for body size.

This is where my light bulb starts to glow ... If you want to improve your VO2 max (and predicted performance) upwards toward your genetic limits, you need to improve muscle fitness and decrease total body mass.  There are limits on how lean you can or should get, but if you're carrying excess fat that isn't helping your VO2 max number one bit.  Making the denominator in the VO2 ml / kg equation smaller may be just as effective as increasing muscle fitness in improving performance. 

Training plans generally follow a path of building a conditioning base, building strength and power, and peaking for an event.  There is no denying the need to train hard enough and specifically for the task you want to excel at.   It's nice when losing some weight is a side effect of that training process.  Losing weight could ultimately play just as large a role as increasing fitness in trying to achieve new performance levels.  The metrics I record in my log each week for weight and calories expended may be just as important as times and distances.