I read something today on the nyc marathon site about tapering and it was espousing that you should only run your race pace maybe once a week total from here until race day..... oops.
I ran a simple 5 miler today in 43 minutes... my race pace is 9 minute miles... the pace i ran today (while i THOUGHT i was running slower than a 9 minute mile .. was 8:45 minute miles...
oops...
I'll try harder to run slower from now on ;P
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
whoa, from 37 to 39 in 2 hours!?
This last Saturday I did my final long run prior to the tapering phase of my training.
It was about 15 miles and, remarkably, I was able to do 3, 5 mile loops all at faster paces each time (a progression run).
More remarkable was the temperature...
I started at 8am or so and it was 37 degrees... By the time i was done (an unspecified amount of time later) it had gone all the way up to 39 degrees.
Well, should NYC be really cold on race day... hopefully this will have prepared me. If not, I'm joining the Navy SEAL's...
It was about 15 miles and, remarkably, I was able to do 3, 5 mile loops all at faster paces each time (a progression run).
More remarkable was the temperature...
I started at 8am or so and it was 37 degrees... By the time i was done (an unspecified amount of time later) it had gone all the way up to 39 degrees.
Well, should NYC be really cold on race day... hopefully this will have prepared me. If not, I'm joining the Navy SEAL's...
TAPER!
Hallelujah, praise the lord... my taper has arrived, much like a christmas gift I waited for as a child.
Why is this so important to me? Well, there are a number of reasons:
- shorter runs
- more time with my family, as a result of shorter runs
- less emphasis on logging the high miles
- more emphasis, heavy emphasis really, on knowing what my race pace feels like so i can recreate it.
- milestone closest to the actual event
- even closer to wearing new running shoes (right after the race really)
- let the healing begin...
This last one is the most important really. The taper is not so much about reducing training in order to peak or something... that's just a nice side-effect. The taper is meant to allow the body (muscles, bones, cartilage, blisters etc.) to HEAL. I know that might sound silly right? Why would a runner, a theoretically in-shape being, need to recover from something? Is there a real injury that every marathoner has that we don't know about?
Well, to be quite honest, yes. Each marathoner who works hard and piles on the miles is doing some level of damage to their muscles at the very least. The good news is that all that stuff heals during "recovery" which might be a day off a week or two. The bad news is that your body never fully has time to heal enough to get back to where it was before. Believe me, this is true.
The Taper is meant to allow your body to take a break prior to the big event. Reducing weekly mileage by 10-50% has a DRAMATIC effect I'm here to tell you. Whole muscle groupings complain less (if at all) anymore. Seemingly insurmountable aches and pains reduce to mere inconveniences that sporadically pop up from time to time unexpectedly (if at all).
All that said, I'm REALLY happy to be tapering - but not for any of those silly technical reasons... I like it because I can be lazy (to some extent) and, in this case in life... it really pays off to be lazy :)
Why is this so important to me? Well, there are a number of reasons:
- shorter runs
- more time with my family, as a result of shorter runs
- less emphasis on logging the high miles
- more emphasis, heavy emphasis really, on knowing what my race pace feels like so i can recreate it.
- milestone closest to the actual event
- even closer to wearing new running shoes (right after the race really)
- let the healing begin...
This last one is the most important really. The taper is not so much about reducing training in order to peak or something... that's just a nice side-effect. The taper is meant to allow the body (muscles, bones, cartilage, blisters etc.) to HEAL. I know that might sound silly right? Why would a runner, a theoretically in-shape being, need to recover from something? Is there a real injury that every marathoner has that we don't know about?
Well, to be quite honest, yes. Each marathoner who works hard and piles on the miles is doing some level of damage to their muscles at the very least. The good news is that all that stuff heals during "recovery" which might be a day off a week or two. The bad news is that your body never fully has time to heal enough to get back to where it was before. Believe me, this is true.
The Taper is meant to allow your body to take a break prior to the big event. Reducing weekly mileage by 10-50% has a DRAMATIC effect I'm here to tell you. Whole muscle groupings complain less (if at all) anymore. Seemingly insurmountable aches and pains reduce to mere inconveniences that sporadically pop up from time to time unexpectedly (if at all).
All that said, I'm REALLY happy to be tapering - but not for any of those silly technical reasons... I like it because I can be lazy (to some extent) and, in this case in life... it really pays off to be lazy :)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
side project - which one?
Some of you know me well, some very well, some only a little.
I think that even the folks who know me a very little know that I'm happiest when occupied. I'm also very content when striving for seemingly unattainable goals. That said, I typically have a couple side projects going in my life.
- Most know that me and Lisa (the wife) have another kiddie on the way - a boy! We are due late January 2009.
- All of you know I'm running the NYC marathon on Nov 2nd.
- All of you know I'm soliciting donations for my favorite charity right now :)
- Not many know but, I also am finishing a basement room (previously an unfinished work room) into a full-on bedroom for guest - because the 4th bedroom will become babies room and we still need a guest room.
ON that subject - I've been able to do the demolition of what was in there previously, framed the room with 2x4 studs, replaced a window with an energy efficient one, relocated all the wiring and also partially insulated (as of yesterday).
While running provides some level of stress relief and balance, doing home improvement provides somewhat of an artistic outlet as well.
Not sure why I'm sharing this with the world per se - guess I'm just overly proud of what we are accomplishing as a family lately (I say this because both my son and daughter and also my wife are helping build this room).
busy, busy :)
I think that even the folks who know me a very little know that I'm happiest when occupied. I'm also very content when striving for seemingly unattainable goals. That said, I typically have a couple side projects going in my life.
- Most know that me and Lisa (the wife) have another kiddie on the way - a boy! We are due late January 2009.
- All of you know I'm running the NYC marathon on Nov 2nd.
- All of you know I'm soliciting donations for my favorite charity right now :)
- Not many know but, I also am finishing a basement room (previously an unfinished work room) into a full-on bedroom for guest - because the 4th bedroom will become babies room and we still need a guest room.
ON that subject - I've been able to do the demolition of what was in there previously, framed the room with 2x4 studs, replaced a window with an energy efficient one, relocated all the wiring and also partially insulated (as of yesterday).
While running provides some level of stress relief and balance, doing home improvement provides somewhat of an artistic outlet as well.
Not sure why I'm sharing this with the world per se - guess I'm just overly proud of what we are accomplishing as a family lately (I say this because both my son and daughter and also my wife are helping build this room).
busy, busy :)
Each time there is something new....
Each time I think about running these days I dread the next one... It's getting harder and harder to get motivated as I get towards the end of my 18 week training schedule (which was preceded by something like 12 weeks of half marathon training if you remember..).
That said, each time I drag my sore muscles and bones onto the nearest road or trail something new happens.
Generally I see something that stops me nearly in my tracks (like the beautiful afterglow of the sunset in the west over the Rockies tonight - very orange and black :). Other times I run faster than I expected up some hills I used to think were tough and gnarly - again just like tonight.
Mostly, the outcome of each run (that only seems like something new) is the stress relief or balancing effect it has.
For instance, I sat in a meeting at work today that just went on and on and generally frustrated me to no end because it seemed very much pointless. Add to this the fact that the stock market dropped another 500 points today and you have the makings of a distracted father of 2 (soon to be 3!) - at the very least.
Tonight I ran a 6 mile loop starting at home and figured I would suffer dramatically from border-line intense soreness (lactic acid build-up) in my calves. Umm, not so much really... I ran something like a 9:30 minute mile throughout.. (my race pace is a 9 minute mile)... weird, but very good. Also, I noticed that I'm running the hills faster and with less effort even. Then there was the sunset.
Problems solved for the day really. All the stress melted away on the run honestly.
And yes, the sunset literally stopped me in my tracks at the end of my run as I was cooling down :)
Ever dread going out to run? From runners I generally hear that 99% of the times they dreaded it and still found a way to go out and run, it was worth it when they came back with more energy and less stress.
That said, each time I drag my sore muscles and bones onto the nearest road or trail something new happens.
Generally I see something that stops me nearly in my tracks (like the beautiful afterglow of the sunset in the west over the Rockies tonight - very orange and black :). Other times I run faster than I expected up some hills I used to think were tough and gnarly - again just like tonight.
Mostly, the outcome of each run (that only seems like something new) is the stress relief or balancing effect it has.
For instance, I sat in a meeting at work today that just went on and on and generally frustrated me to no end because it seemed very much pointless. Add to this the fact that the stock market dropped another 500 points today and you have the makings of a distracted father of 2 (soon to be 3!) - at the very least.
Tonight I ran a 6 mile loop starting at home and figured I would suffer dramatically from border-line intense soreness (lactic acid build-up) in my calves. Umm, not so much really... I ran something like a 9:30 minute mile throughout.. (my race pace is a 9 minute mile)... weird, but very good. Also, I noticed that I'm running the hills faster and with less effort even. Then there was the sunset.
Problems solved for the day really. All the stress melted away on the run honestly.
And yes, the sunset literally stopped me in my tracks at the end of my run as I was cooling down :)
Ever dread going out to run? From runners I generally hear that 99% of the times they dreaded it and still found a way to go out and run, it was worth it when they came back with more energy and less stress.
Monday, September 22, 2008
just when I thought it would get boring...
If you didn't know already... I'm a BIG fan of switching jobs every 5 months or so to keep things lively and, well, crawl up the income ladder as fast as I can while still having fun... Some of you know exactly what I mean while I'm sure others think I'm crazy...
Weird thing is.. my job isn't getting boring...
Usually after 3 months or so.. I'm convinced I can train a domesticated monkey to do my job. By this time I generally feel as though I could take over the group and steer it towards ("align it with") my own ideas on how to do stuff ("strategic objectives"). So I generally leave and do just that.
This time around though, I must candidly admit that I am really and truly shocked on a regular basis. Now, this doesn't always mean that I'm shocked by something bad. Some would jump to that conclusion and assume I'm sticking around as audience for any comedic event that occurs on a daily basis (and it does) but, they'd be wrong. I quite often learn new things that I never thought I would care about. It, of course, is hard to give examples. In most cases I learn a ton from the way others approach problems - there are endless ways of doing this. Most cases also involve different interpersonal approaches really - which is truly interesting to see unfold.
It feels very strange but, well, I'm enjoying my job right now. Wow, I almost had to spit the words out there...
I think I have to lay down... I'm getting dizzy..
Weird thing is.. my job isn't getting boring...
Usually after 3 months or so.. I'm convinced I can train a domesticated monkey to do my job. By this time I generally feel as though I could take over the group and steer it towards ("align it with") my own ideas on how to do stuff ("strategic objectives"). So I generally leave and do just that.
This time around though, I must candidly admit that I am really and truly shocked on a regular basis. Now, this doesn't always mean that I'm shocked by something bad. Some would jump to that conclusion and assume I'm sticking around as audience for any comedic event that occurs on a daily basis (and it does) but, they'd be wrong. I quite often learn new things that I never thought I would care about. It, of course, is hard to give examples. In most cases I learn a ton from the way others approach problems - there are endless ways of doing this. Most cases also involve different interpersonal approaches really - which is truly interesting to see unfold.
It feels very strange but, well, I'm enjoying my job right now. Wow, I almost had to spit the words out there...
I think I have to lay down... I'm getting dizzy..
and the training keeps going... and going... and..
That's right, the training never ends.
I think I'm on a 19 week training plan and have a little bit more than 5 weeks left...oy.
Trying to find ways to get to motivated. I ran a half marathon yesterday in the hopes of getting motivated. The boulder half marathon to be exact. http://www.boulderbackroads.com
I didn't do as well as I would have liked but i was extremely disciplined in the race so hopefully that translates to a strong marathon in nyc. Motivating? not really... but was nice to run somewhere different.
I've logged more than 300 miles as of today (as part of this training plan)- on my way to 500 by the marathon....
That segways nicely to an injury update!
Knee problems are gone - hallelujah!
Hip pain/soreness is here... and camping out it seems...
Latest issue is overworked Gluteus Medius. Yeah, it only hurts when I... well, when i do anything requiring forward motion. The good news is that I have a great massage therapist, who should be paying me quite honestly - she inflicts pain on a regular basis (read: cleaves muscle from bone) but, like a good masochist... I suck it up and say - "if i were just in better shape this wouldn't hurt"... pfft. It would still hurt.
Other than that, the training continues. I'm up around 40 miles a week or so - which is about all the beating I can take until my next training plan begins.. which I'm targeting for December.
It isn't all doom and gloom honestly. I'm looking forward to the big race in NYC and being VERY healed up for that. I have my last long run happening this Saturday (22 miles) and am looking forward to winding down the miles after that and prior to the race.
I think I'm on a 19 week training plan and have a little bit more than 5 weeks left...oy.
Trying to find ways to get to motivated. I ran a half marathon yesterday in the hopes of getting motivated. The boulder half marathon to be exact. http://www.boulderbackroads.com
I didn't do as well as I would have liked but i was extremely disciplined in the race so hopefully that translates to a strong marathon in nyc. Motivating? not really... but was nice to run somewhere different.
I've logged more than 300 miles as of today (as part of this training plan)- on my way to 500 by the marathon....
That segways nicely to an injury update!
Knee problems are gone - hallelujah!
Hip pain/soreness is here... and camping out it seems...
Latest issue is overworked Gluteus Medius. Yeah, it only hurts when I... well, when i do anything requiring forward motion. The good news is that I have a great massage therapist, who should be paying me quite honestly - she inflicts pain on a regular basis (read: cleaves muscle from bone) but, like a good masochist... I suck it up and say - "if i were just in better shape this wouldn't hurt"... pfft. It would still hurt.
Other than that, the training continues. I'm up around 40 miles a week or so - which is about all the beating I can take until my next training plan begins.. which I'm targeting for December.
It isn't all doom and gloom honestly. I'm looking forward to the big race in NYC and being VERY healed up for that. I have my last long run happening this Saturday (22 miles) and am looking forward to winding down the miles after that and prior to the race.
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