Saturday, December 28, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Dopey Challenge: The Simulation
I'm FINALLY at the point where I'm tapering for the Dopey Challenge. It seems like it's been forever and a day to get to this point, but I'm here at last. Getting here has been a challenge in and of itself.
To recap: I registered for this set of races back in early April. I ran the Rock N Roll Marathon in New Orleans in late February of this year, and swore I wouldn't run another full marathon. Between the huge time commitment to training for the marathon, the lingering IT band issues that had me limping from Christmas until the race, and the post race soreness and lengthy recovery period I didn't feel the need to try and run 26.2 miles again. It was definitely a "bucket-list" kind of thing for me at that point, and I had crossed it off the list. I had also started dabbling in triathlons, and found that I really enjoy the cross training even though I'm a horrid swimmer.
But April 9th, I got the email from RunDisney announcing the Dopey Challenge. And my enabler (and wife's boss) made the mistake of calling me and asking me if I wanted to run it. I started thinking about it and the idea of a marathon through all 4 Disney parks seemed kind of fun. And adding to that the 5K, 10K and Half-Marathon? That sounds like ultimate bragging rights. So I talked to the wife, whose reaction was "Another Disney Vacation? *Sigh* Sure, why not?", and the kid ("We're going to Disney again? YAY!!!!") and they were both onboard with dealing with my training as well as another trip to the House of Mouse. I had to sweeten the deal a bit for the wife with a spa day at the Grand Floridian Spa, but otherwise they were both completely on board for the trip.
There was one other minor instance of bribery involved. Disney also runs kids' races that weekend. My daughter wanted to run a race as well, so I signed her up for the Disney Kids' Race and the Mickey Mile. The Kids' Race is a 200M sprint for kids in her age group, and the Mickey Mile is a mile fun run around the Wide World of Sports complex. She'll get her own bibs and medals for finishing, just like Dad. Needless to say she's excited as well.
I did my last Triathlon at the end of May (Big Easy Sprint Tri) and while I had a horrid swim I still had a respectable finish on the strength of my run. I then took off a couple weeks before beginning training in earnest for Dopey. Through June, July, and August I built my endurance and durability up with several weeks of training 5 and 6 days a week, but spread out between the pool, the bike and running. I followed a couple swim training plans from Swim Smooth and a running plan I had found online by a trainer from Purdue and sprinkled in some bike rides as well. My peak mileage running in this phase was 17 miles (on a brutally hot August morning). At the end of August, I took another planned break of a week at the beginning of September (and took my wife to Vegas for our 10th Anniversary to have Elvis renew our vows at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign) before diving head first into Hal Higdon's Dopey Challenge plan.
Higdon's plan was basically one of his marathon plans altered to have several weekends of back to back (to back [to back]) long runs, as well as stepping back mileage every other week with cross training on the second weekend day (yay, more bike time!) In the middle of this was the Jazz Half Marathon and the Gulf Coast Half Marathon on back to back October weekends. I decided I'd rather race those two races than follow the plan for those weekends. I even posted my second best HM time at the Gulf Coast Half and got to hang out with some friends I haven't seen in a long while.
November and December, though, were all Dopey Challenge focused. Starting the second weekend of November I'd do three days in a row of increasing mileage (2, 7, 17 and 3, 8, 18 that turned into 20) with a step back long run of 11 miles. My mileage total for November was 133 miles, by far the most I had run in a calendar month. But I came through it injury free with minimal soreness and still felt fairly fresh.
December was the toughest though. It started off easy enough with a relatively short 12 mile run the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The following weekend got a bit nutty as I went 4 miles on Friday, 9 on Saturday followed by my daughter's last piano lesson before her recital...
Oh yea... while I was doing all this running I was also getting my daughter ready for her Christmas piano recital. I made the mistake back in mid-summer of finding an easy arrangement of Fur Elise that she started learning. That led to her piano teacher recommending a couple books of classical music for a beginning piano student because she liked it so much. She picked up the arrangement of Ode To Joy fairly quickly as well and then (in her words) she said she wanted to learn "duh duh duh DUUUHHHH" (Beethoven's 5th). With her recital coming up and her knowing all three pieces were by the same composer, she wanted to do all 3 at the recital. None were even close to stage ready at this point. Maybe Ode To Joy she could clean up to perform... Possibly adding Fur Elise... But there was no way she'd get all three down. She wasn't hearing it though. She wanted to do all three, she had the order she wanted to do them, and she even figured out how she wanted the pieces to be segued into each other. Discussing minor chord resolutions with her teacher who is about a gazillion times the musician I am and an eager 5 year old who knows nothing about theory (yet) made for an amusing Saturday afternoon at her lesson. "We need to finish on the sad chord because Fur Elise sounds happy, OK?" I thought I was in some weird Twilight Zone episode.
Anyway, back to the running. That Sunday I was scheduled to do 19 miles, but I went 22. I did the extra 3 miles mainly as a test to see how I'd feel the following day (not bad) as well as push through the magical 20 mile barrier once before Dopey. The weekend of the recital I did an easy 13 miles on Saturday, preceded by a Tweet of "Remember when 13 miles was OMGWTFBBQ long?" Sunday was scheduled for an hour on the bike, but it was cold and raining so I took an extra rest day.
My mid-week runs through November and December had been a 5 mile recovery pace run on Tuesday, an hour of speed work on Wednesday, and a 5 mile half-marathon pace run on Thursday if that weekend wasn't a back to back. If it was I'd do an easy 5 on Tuesday and a quick 5 on Wednesday.
This last weekend was a simulation of Dopey. The #runchat and #dopeychallenge groups on Twitter were all looking towards this weekend with a mix of anticipation and dread. To be honest, I was leaning to the dread side. The Sunday I went 22 miles, it felt like it took me forever to get my legs back under me after my 9 mile run on Saturday. In all honesty though, I ran a too hard on that 9 mile run. It was cold and I wanted to just get it done. My pace on the 22 mile run was a bit slower than I would have liked and even though I didn't fade much at the end, I was definitely sore and tired. That experience had me concerned about the Dopey Simulation Weekend.
Thursday, I left work at 5:30, battled the traffic past the mall to get to the gym, and knocked out 2.5 miles on the treadmill before heading home. I purposely kept my pace slow in hopes of maintaining some gas in my tank. Friday morning I got up and did a 5 mile loop through my neighborhood. I honestly felt fantastic on this run, but found myself running a bit too fast. I was concerned that I'd blow myself up for the weekend but at the same time it felt good to be running a sub-8:00 pace. I finished the 5 mile run, went home and got my wife's Christmas present together (new washer/dryer and painted laundry room). After that I picked up the prodigy from Nana's (my Mother In Law) and went home to play some video games while we waited for my wife to come home to her surprise. I stayed hydrated throughout the day and ate fairly carb-heavy all day in hopes of keeping my glycogen stores up.
Saturday, it got real. I had a couple things in mind for my 10 mile run. Don't go out fast. Don't push my pace. Don't get injured. Don't run like an idiot. I watched my pacing closely, held about a 9 minute mile keeping my heart rate in the low 140s and finished up my run in a little under 90 minutes. And instead of bumming around the house, I quickly took a shower and met the family out for lunch. After a carb heavy lunch and dinner, I settled in to watch the New Orleans Bowl (Geaux Cajuns) and finally crashed out about 10 minutes after the game ended.
I woke up Sunday feeling refreshed and not sore at all. This was a good thing®. Weather on the other hand, wasn't as good. A cold front had moved through the area and stalled out meaning we were getting some rain. When I got up, it looked like the front had moved through and the rain was over.
It wasn't.
I ate a bowl of oatmeal, got dressed, and headed out for my 20 mile run. I settled in pretty quickly at about an 8:45 pace which crept down to around 8:30 over the first few miles. Everything looked to be lining up for a really strong 20 mile run... Until about mile 8.5. That's when I felt the first couple drops. And I only had one choice being I was so far from home: Just run.
At first the rain was really light. From about mile 9 to around mile 12 it was barely a drizzle. But the skies were getting darker, wind was picking up, and I could hear the occasional clap of thunder. Between miles 12 and 14 the rain got progressively heavier. By this point it was just shy of a downpour. Since there was no shelter until the playground a couple miles ahead, I was forced to continue running. I saw two women who I had seen earlier on my run and we waved and laughed at each others' stupidity for running in the rain. I stopped at the playground which is about 4 miles from home to check a radar on my phone and saw I had finally gotten north of the storm. But now I was completely soaked from head to toe. I cruised home the last 4 miles, got pointed at and laughed at by a neighbor on his way out and hit the magic 20 mile mark at 2:49:56 for a pace of 8:30 per mile. And I had found that my wife left some towels for me on the porch so I could dry off and not track water and dirt through the house. :)
Surprisingly, I felt good all day yesterday... Well except for the last 2 minutes of the Saints game. I didn't feel like I had been run over by a truck, didn't need a nap, and entertained some friends in the evening. I'm a little sore today but it's completely manageable. I'll knock out a couple short midweek runs this week, do 12 on Saturday, get a couple even shorter midweek runs next week with 8 on that Saturday, and then it's off to Walt Disney World for 48.6 miles in the Happiest Place On Earth.
And about the recital? Well, judge for yourself:
It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney
To recap: I registered for this set of races back in early April. I ran the Rock N Roll Marathon in New Orleans in late February of this year, and swore I wouldn't run another full marathon. Between the huge time commitment to training for the marathon, the lingering IT band issues that had me limping from Christmas until the race, and the post race soreness and lengthy recovery period I didn't feel the need to try and run 26.2 miles again. It was definitely a "bucket-list" kind of thing for me at that point, and I had crossed it off the list. I had also started dabbling in triathlons, and found that I really enjoy the cross training even though I'm a horrid swimmer.
But April 9th, I got the email from RunDisney announcing the Dopey Challenge. And my enabler (and wife's boss) made the mistake of calling me and asking me if I wanted to run it. I started thinking about it and the idea of a marathon through all 4 Disney parks seemed kind of fun. And adding to that the 5K, 10K and Half-Marathon? That sounds like ultimate bragging rights. So I talked to the wife, whose reaction was "Another Disney Vacation? *Sigh* Sure, why not?", and the kid ("We're going to Disney again? YAY!!!!") and they were both onboard with dealing with my training as well as another trip to the House of Mouse. I had to sweeten the deal a bit for the wife with a spa day at the Grand Floridian Spa, but otherwise they were both completely on board for the trip.
There was one other minor instance of bribery involved. Disney also runs kids' races that weekend. My daughter wanted to run a race as well, so I signed her up for the Disney Kids' Race and the Mickey Mile. The Kids' Race is a 200M sprint for kids in her age group, and the Mickey Mile is a mile fun run around the Wide World of Sports complex. She'll get her own bibs and medals for finishing, just like Dad. Needless to say she's excited as well.
I did my last Triathlon at the end of May (Big Easy Sprint Tri) and while I had a horrid swim I still had a respectable finish on the strength of my run. I then took off a couple weeks before beginning training in earnest for Dopey. Through June, July, and August I built my endurance and durability up with several weeks of training 5 and 6 days a week, but spread out between the pool, the bike and running. I followed a couple swim training plans from Swim Smooth and a running plan I had found online by a trainer from Purdue and sprinkled in some bike rides as well. My peak mileage running in this phase was 17 miles (on a brutally hot August morning). At the end of August, I took another planned break of a week at the beginning of September (and took my wife to Vegas for our 10th Anniversary to have Elvis renew our vows at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign) before diving head first into Hal Higdon's Dopey Challenge plan.
Higdon's plan was basically one of his marathon plans altered to have several weekends of back to back (to back [to back]) long runs, as well as stepping back mileage every other week with cross training on the second weekend day (yay, more bike time!) In the middle of this was the Jazz Half Marathon and the Gulf Coast Half Marathon on back to back October weekends. I decided I'd rather race those two races than follow the plan for those weekends. I even posted my second best HM time at the Gulf Coast Half and got to hang out with some friends I haven't seen in a long while.
November and December, though, were all Dopey Challenge focused. Starting the second weekend of November I'd do three days in a row of increasing mileage (2, 7, 17 and 3, 8, 18 that turned into 20) with a step back long run of 11 miles. My mileage total for November was 133 miles, by far the most I had run in a calendar month. But I came through it injury free with minimal soreness and still felt fairly fresh.
December was the toughest though. It started off easy enough with a relatively short 12 mile run the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The following weekend got a bit nutty as I went 4 miles on Friday, 9 on Saturday followed by my daughter's last piano lesson before her recital...
Oh yea... while I was doing all this running I was also getting my daughter ready for her Christmas piano recital. I made the mistake back in mid-summer of finding an easy arrangement of Fur Elise that she started learning. That led to her piano teacher recommending a couple books of classical music for a beginning piano student because she liked it so much. She picked up the arrangement of Ode To Joy fairly quickly as well and then (in her words) she said she wanted to learn "duh duh duh DUUUHHHH" (Beethoven's 5th). With her recital coming up and her knowing all three pieces were by the same composer, she wanted to do all 3 at the recital. None were even close to stage ready at this point. Maybe Ode To Joy she could clean up to perform... Possibly adding Fur Elise... But there was no way she'd get all three down. She wasn't hearing it though. She wanted to do all three, she had the order she wanted to do them, and she even figured out how she wanted the pieces to be segued into each other. Discussing minor chord resolutions with her teacher who is about a gazillion times the musician I am and an eager 5 year old who knows nothing about theory (yet) made for an amusing Saturday afternoon at her lesson. "We need to finish on the sad chord because Fur Elise sounds happy, OK?" I thought I was in some weird Twilight Zone episode.
Anyway, back to the running. That Sunday I was scheduled to do 19 miles, but I went 22. I did the extra 3 miles mainly as a test to see how I'd feel the following day (not bad) as well as push through the magical 20 mile barrier once before Dopey. The weekend of the recital I did an easy 13 miles on Saturday, preceded by a Tweet of "Remember when 13 miles was OMGWTFBBQ long?" Sunday was scheduled for an hour on the bike, but it was cold and raining so I took an extra rest day.
My mid-week runs through November and December had been a 5 mile recovery pace run on Tuesday, an hour of speed work on Wednesday, and a 5 mile half-marathon pace run on Thursday if that weekend wasn't a back to back. If it was I'd do an easy 5 on Tuesday and a quick 5 on Wednesday.
This last weekend was a simulation of Dopey. The #runchat and #dopeychallenge groups on Twitter were all looking towards this weekend with a mix of anticipation and dread. To be honest, I was leaning to the dread side. The Sunday I went 22 miles, it felt like it took me forever to get my legs back under me after my 9 mile run on Saturday. In all honesty though, I ran a too hard on that 9 mile run. It was cold and I wanted to just get it done. My pace on the 22 mile run was a bit slower than I would have liked and even though I didn't fade much at the end, I was definitely sore and tired. That experience had me concerned about the Dopey Simulation Weekend.
Thursday, I left work at 5:30, battled the traffic past the mall to get to the gym, and knocked out 2.5 miles on the treadmill before heading home. I purposely kept my pace slow in hopes of maintaining some gas in my tank. Friday morning I got up and did a 5 mile loop through my neighborhood. I honestly felt fantastic on this run, but found myself running a bit too fast. I was concerned that I'd blow myself up for the weekend but at the same time it felt good to be running a sub-8:00 pace. I finished the 5 mile run, went home and got my wife's Christmas present together (new washer/dryer and painted laundry room). After that I picked up the prodigy from Nana's (my Mother In Law) and went home to play some video games while we waited for my wife to come home to her surprise. I stayed hydrated throughout the day and ate fairly carb-heavy all day in hopes of keeping my glycogen stores up.
Saturday, it got real. I had a couple things in mind for my 10 mile run. Don't go out fast. Don't push my pace. Don't get injured. Don't run like an idiot. I watched my pacing closely, held about a 9 minute mile keeping my heart rate in the low 140s and finished up my run in a little under 90 minutes. And instead of bumming around the house, I quickly took a shower and met the family out for lunch. After a carb heavy lunch and dinner, I settled in to watch the New Orleans Bowl (Geaux Cajuns) and finally crashed out about 10 minutes after the game ended.
I woke up Sunday feeling refreshed and not sore at all. This was a good thing®. Weather on the other hand, wasn't as good. A cold front had moved through the area and stalled out meaning we were getting some rain. When I got up, it looked like the front had moved through and the rain was over.
It wasn't.
I ate a bowl of oatmeal, got dressed, and headed out for my 20 mile run. I settled in pretty quickly at about an 8:45 pace which crept down to around 8:30 over the first few miles. Everything looked to be lining up for a really strong 20 mile run... Until about mile 8.5. That's when I felt the first couple drops. And I only had one choice being I was so far from home: Just run.
At first the rain was really light. From about mile 9 to around mile 12 it was barely a drizzle. But the skies were getting darker, wind was picking up, and I could hear the occasional clap of thunder. Between miles 12 and 14 the rain got progressively heavier. By this point it was just shy of a downpour. Since there was no shelter until the playground a couple miles ahead, I was forced to continue running. I saw two women who I had seen earlier on my run and we waved and laughed at each others' stupidity for running in the rain. I stopped at the playground which is about 4 miles from home to check a radar on my phone and saw I had finally gotten north of the storm. But now I was completely soaked from head to toe. I cruised home the last 4 miles, got pointed at and laughed at by a neighbor on his way out and hit the magic 20 mile mark at 2:49:56 for a pace of 8:30 per mile. And I had found that my wife left some towels for me on the porch so I could dry off and not track water and dirt through the house. :)
Surprisingly, I felt good all day yesterday... Well except for the last 2 minutes of the Saints game. I didn't feel like I had been run over by a truck, didn't need a nap, and entertained some friends in the evening. I'm a little sore today but it's completely manageable. I'll knock out a couple short midweek runs this week, do 12 on Saturday, get a couple even shorter midweek runs next week with 8 on that Saturday, and then it's off to Walt Disney World for 48.6 miles in the Happiest Place On Earth.
And about the recital? Well, judge for yourself:
Merry Christmas everyone.
It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney
Friday, November 29, 2013
Adversity, Heroes, White Flags (or lack thereof), and Not-So-Easy Awesome
Remember this guy?
No, he's not some actor playing the role of a Saints player for bad sports movie set in NOLA. Granted, the flowing locks and good looks can make one think just that.
That's Steve Gleason.
For the readers of my blog who are football fans, Saints fans, or New Orleanians, you probably know who Steve Gleason is. But for the rest of you...
Steve was a professional football player for the Indianapolis Colts for a training camp and was signed by the Saints after he was released. It was in New Orleans that Steve found his niche in the NFL as a Special Teams ace and also played some Safety. But his personality truly endeared him to New Orleans. He came across as a bit quirky, doing things like being spotted in Uptown riding a bicycle with a leather football helmet or claiming to be a high rise building window washer in college. His playing style also made him a fan favorite, as he would give 110% whenever he was on the field. He was never the best player on the team, but he made up for it through his fearless play style and enthusiasm for the game.
Sometimes too enthusiastic. Google Steve "Falcon Punch" Gleason. :)
But one play as a Saint cemented Steve's legacy as a hero to the city forever.
On September 25, 2006, the Saints returned to the Superdome for the first game after Katrina. It was an incredibly emotional night. There was live music outside the Superdome during tailgating, a countdown to the Dome being reopened, a pregame concert featuring The Rebirth Brass Band, Green Day, and U2, and a game against the hated Atlanta Falcons.
For me personally, it was the first Saints game I had ever been to where my Dad wasn't on the sideline doing X-Ray duties. He had passed away 5 months prior. My Mother had also died the prior year, about 2 months before my Dad. This was while I was temporarily living in Jackson, MS away from my wife because of the devastation of Katrina forcing my employer to have us working elsewhere until we could get back downtown. Needless to say it was easily the worst year of my life, and that was with us sustaining minimal damage from the hurricane in comparison to so many others.
While the chorus of "When September Ends" rang out in the Dome, I was an emotional wreck. That game was the first taste of normalcy for me in over a year, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. U2 closed the pre-game concert with "Beautiful Day" to the roars of 70,000 Who Dats though, and it was like a switch had been thrown... Now it was time for football.
This was an unusual season for the Saints. After a year as the NFL's nomad team thanks to Katrina, they had hired a new coach, signed a new QB (who would go on to lead the team to a Superbowl win) and pieced together a team of free-agents who weren't household names but were smart, solid players. And in the draft they uncovered a gem of a wide receiver and drafted the most explosive offensive weapon coming out of college. Nobody expected this remade team with a rookie head coach to do anything, but they were 3-0 going into this game.
Atlanta had the ball first. And on 3rd down on their own possession, Michael Vick had the ball stripped which brought up 4th down.
Then this happened:
It was INSANE. I've never heard the Dome that loud. Ever. It was that moment when everyone in New Orleans had figured out we'd be back. And we are.
It was all triggered by Steve Gleason coming through the line and blocking that punt. That moment has been immortalized outside the Superdome now with a statue.
(Here's where the story sucks)
About a year after that punt block, Steve retired from the NFL, got an MBA, and went to work for a company out of Baton Rouge. In the meantime the Saints went on to win a Superbowl and become something of a media darling (pre-bounty scandal). A year or so after the Superbowl, Steve went public with some bad news.
He had been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gherig's disease.
What is ALS?
Nobody could have faulted Steve if he had not gone public with his diagnosis, and instead opted to just quietly fade away. But he went public with the mission to fight ALS, bring awareness to the disease, and do what he can to help others who suffer with the disease.
Steve and his family founded TeamGleason.org. Their mission is here.
So what does all this have to do with me, and my running idiocy?
Steve's courage in the face of ALS has been very inspiring to me. I've shown my support for Team Gleason through buying their shirts from Fleurty Girl and Tasc Performance. I've worn the shirts in a couple races. I've even gotten to meet Steve on a couple of occasions after races. (And I PR'ed at both 5K and 13.1 distances in a Team Gleason shirt. Causation or coincidence?)
But for the Dopey Challenge, I figured it was time to try to do more to help. So with the help of Lauren from Team Gleason, I've set up a fundraising site to raise donations to help Steve and his organization. I'd like to raise a total of $500, which would work out to be about $10 a mile for all the miles I'll run while in Disney for the Dopey Challenge.
Russ Runs Abita (And Disney) for Team Gleason!
I hope you can put up a couple bucks to help out Team Gleason. It's a great cause.
From adversity, heroes are born.
That's Steve Gleason.
For the readers of my blog who are football fans, Saints fans, or New Orleanians, you probably know who Steve Gleason is. But for the rest of you...
Steve was a professional football player for the Indianapolis Colts for a training camp and was signed by the Saints after he was released. It was in New Orleans that Steve found his niche in the NFL as a Special Teams ace and also played some Safety. But his personality truly endeared him to New Orleans. He came across as a bit quirky, doing things like being spotted in Uptown riding a bicycle with a leather football helmet or claiming to be a high rise building window washer in college. His playing style also made him a fan favorite, as he would give 110% whenever he was on the field. He was never the best player on the team, but he made up for it through his fearless play style and enthusiasm for the game.
Sometimes too enthusiastic. Google Steve "Falcon Punch" Gleason. :)
But one play as a Saint cemented Steve's legacy as a hero to the city forever.
On September 25, 2006, the Saints returned to the Superdome for the first game after Katrina. It was an incredibly emotional night. There was live music outside the Superdome during tailgating, a countdown to the Dome being reopened, a pregame concert featuring The Rebirth Brass Band, Green Day, and U2, and a game against the hated Atlanta Falcons.
For me personally, it was the first Saints game I had ever been to where my Dad wasn't on the sideline doing X-Ray duties. He had passed away 5 months prior. My Mother had also died the prior year, about 2 months before my Dad. This was while I was temporarily living in Jackson, MS away from my wife because of the devastation of Katrina forcing my employer to have us working elsewhere until we could get back downtown. Needless to say it was easily the worst year of my life, and that was with us sustaining minimal damage from the hurricane in comparison to so many others.
While the chorus of "When September Ends" rang out in the Dome, I was an emotional wreck. That game was the first taste of normalcy for me in over a year, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. U2 closed the pre-game concert with "Beautiful Day" to the roars of 70,000 Who Dats though, and it was like a switch had been thrown... Now it was time for football.
This was an unusual season for the Saints. After a year as the NFL's nomad team thanks to Katrina, they had hired a new coach, signed a new QB (who would go on to lead the team to a Superbowl win) and pieced together a team of free-agents who weren't household names but were smart, solid players. And in the draft they uncovered a gem of a wide receiver and drafted the most explosive offensive weapon coming out of college. Nobody expected this remade team with a rookie head coach to do anything, but they were 3-0 going into this game.
Atlanta had the ball first. And on 3rd down on their own possession, Michael Vick had the ball stripped which brought up 4th down.
Then this happened:
It was INSANE. I've never heard the Dome that loud. Ever. It was that moment when everyone in New Orleans had figured out we'd be back. And we are.
It was all triggered by Steve Gleason coming through the line and blocking that punt. That moment has been immortalized outside the Superdome now with a statue.
(Here's where the story sucks)
About a year after that punt block, Steve retired from the NFL, got an MBA, and went to work for a company out of Baton Rouge. In the meantime the Saints went on to win a Superbowl and become something of a media darling (pre-bounty scandal). A year or so after the Superbowl, Steve went public with some bad news.
He had been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gherig's disease.
What is ALS?
Nobody could have faulted Steve if he had not gone public with his diagnosis, and instead opted to just quietly fade away. But he went public with the mission to fight ALS, bring awareness to the disease, and do what he can to help others who suffer with the disease.
Steve and his family founded TeamGleason.org. Their mission is here.
So what does all this have to do with me, and my running idiocy?
Steve's courage in the face of ALS has been very inspiring to me. I've shown my support for Team Gleason through buying their shirts from Fleurty Girl and Tasc Performance. I've worn the shirts in a couple races. I've even gotten to meet Steve on a couple of occasions after races. (And I PR'ed at both 5K and 13.1 distances in a Team Gleason shirt. Causation or coincidence?)
But for the Dopey Challenge, I figured it was time to try to do more to help. So with the help of Lauren from Team Gleason, I've set up a fundraising site to raise donations to help Steve and his organization. I'd like to raise a total of $500, which would work out to be about $10 a mile for all the miles I'll run while in Disney for the Dopey Challenge.
Russ Runs Abita (And Disney) for Team Gleason!
I hope you can put up a couple bucks to help out Team Gleason. It's a great cause.
From adversity, heroes are born.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Gulf Coast Half Marathon Race Report
Yes, I ran two half-marathons in 8 days. No, I'm not crazy.
Let's back up a bit...
My long runs for the past two weeks were 15 and 9 miles. The 15 mile run fell on the weekend of the Jazz Half Marathon in New Orleans, so I opted to run that instead. The 9 mile run fell on the weekend of the Gulf Coast Half, and since I haven't run that race yet, I figured I'd give it a go.
One other reason I wanted to run this was a friend of mine from college had registered, and we haven't hung out in a while. He's also a fan of the Post Race Cheeseburger®, so we made plans to have lunch at the Abita Brew Pub. Beer and cheeseburgers? Oh, yes.
I did do a bit of a mini-taper prior to the Jazz Half, opting to forego my 3 mile run on Thursday and the 5 mile run that was supposed to be Saturday. I kept the light training schedule the following week, doing an easy 3 miles on Tuesday and a 6 mile Tempo Run on Wednesday. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I loafed. I'd liked to have gone for a bike ride Saturday, but it was Monster Mash which meant I had to put in some Daddy time with Brynn. We hung out in the morning while the wife went to the park to set up, then Brynn and I went to piano and had lunch before going to Monster Mash.
Off-topic, but I saw something at Monster Mash that gave me hope for today's youth. The band was a group of kids between 12-14, playing honest-to-God Rock N Roll. Guns N Roses, Seether, Bush, Metallica, Green Day, etc. And they weren't bad at all. Hopefully they're not the only 5 kids in St. Tammany Parish playing real instruments. It was refreshing to see them playing instead of some 50 year old guys in Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts.
As I said in my last post, the weather for the Jazz Half was downright miserable for a long run. This was not the case for GCHM. A few days before the race a cool front passed through, and was reinforced a couple days later by another front. This led to race day temps in the mid-50s at the start of the race, with a breeze out of the north. It's hard to imagine better running weather. Maybe less wind, but that's about all I can think of. It was simply a gorgeous morning.
I started my day out with my usual pre-run breakfast of Froot Loops and some Nuun hydration enhanced water. After that, we loaded up the SUV with us, the kid, and the poodle and headed to the start at Fountainbleu State Park. I didn't have any pre-race jitters as my attitude going into this race was "training run". I did have pre-race bladder though, and ended up standing in line for 15 minutes before I could get into the start corral.
Since I was more interested in being social than I was in trying to squeeze every second I could, I lined up at the back of the corral with John and another friend, and waited the few minutes before the start. However, when the gun went off I left them and started picking my way through the crowd to find a hole to run in. It took about the first two miles or so to get a place where I wasn't zig-zagging constantly. I also was able to find someone to pace off of who was going a touch faster than I intended to, so that was perfect.
At the 5 mile point, we passed in front of the Barley Oak, a lakefront tavern with an impressive beer selection. For some reason though, they were only giving out water and gatorade at the hydration stop in front of the place. I inquired about beer, but nobody would help me out.
I'm a water-station walker. I'll walk the 15-20 seconds it takes to gulp down a cup of water and then start running again. It's a strategy I picked up in Hal Higdon's Marathon book, and it's served me well. However, it makes the first few miles of a race comical as I pass and get passed and repass the same group of people over and over. At this race it was a woman in a red tank top who seemed to be the pass/repass victim. At least until about the 6 mile water stop. I walked this one to drink a water and eat a Gu, and finally got ahead of her enough to keep her at bay the rest of the race....
Either that or I had a decent negative split and she faded. Whatever.
Mile 8 passed in front of the local running store, Varsity Sports Mandeville. They're conveniently located next door to The Broken Egg Cafe', and there was a decent crowd gathered there to watch the race go by. It's always better to run in front of a bunch of people cheering.
Somewhere around mile 10 a guy I passed made a comment about how fast it seemed my cadence was. Short legs like mine and a sub-8:00 pace tends to have that effect.
It's also around mile 10 that I start figuring out about what I can finish at. I checked my time and saw a 1:45 finish was possible. I knew the remaining course well, as I run it regularly in my training. I was feeling strong. I'd hydrated well throughout the race. But it was a training run, so I laid back and kept an easier pace to conserve energy and not risk injury.
No I didn't.
I saw my 10 mile time, did some quick math in my head, thought "If I can push a 7:45 pace the last 3 miles, I'll finish right at 1:45"...
So I went for it.
Keep in mind, I haven't run a fast 10+ mile run since last year's Jazz Half. After that race all my training was for the Rock N Roll Marathon and was focused on distance and building an endurance base. After RNR, I did a couple sprint Tris which kept my runs under 6 miles. Then it got hot when I started training for Dopey, so my pace was way down compared to this day. But I felt good and the weather was cooperating, so I pushed my pace to finish.
Going back into the park, there was a nice crowd gathered at the last water station. Their enthusiasm was a nice boost. People were also parking and walking next to the course and were cheering as the runners entered the park. The last 1.5 miles were fantastic.
My wife, the kid, the poodle, and Denis's family had set up at about the 13 mile mark. I spotted them and waved as I ran by. Waved meaning "acted like an idiot yelling at them as I passed". I'm sure I looked ridiculous. But it was fun.
I crossed the finish line at 1:45:06, got my water, my bottle opener medal, and took a picture before heading to meet up with the family. I felt great post race... not at all fatigued or overheated. We hung out at that spot waiting for Denis and John to finish, then hit the post race party to watch the awards presentation and have a beer.
Overall, this was 100x better than the Jazz Half was the weekend before. Better weather, better performance, better post-race beer (Thanks Abita), and so conveniently located. Chances are I'll do this race again next year.
The bad though, was since it had been a year since I ran that hard for that long, I was incredibly sore the next day. My calves felt like they were on fire and every step hurt. Even today, 5 days later, my right calf is still not very happy with me. I cut my mileage back this week on all 3 of my runs and I've been walking as much as possible at work, but the lingering soreness just won't go away.
That's gonna make tomorrow's 6 mile run and Sunday's 16 mile run so much fun.
Not.
Whatever. Nobody ever said this stuff was easy.
"Face your life, its pain, its pleasure, leave no path untaken." - Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
Let's back up a bit...
My long runs for the past two weeks were 15 and 9 miles. The 15 mile run fell on the weekend of the Jazz Half Marathon in New Orleans, so I opted to run that instead. The 9 mile run fell on the weekend of the Gulf Coast Half, and since I haven't run that race yet, I figured I'd give it a go.
One other reason I wanted to run this was a friend of mine from college had registered, and we haven't hung out in a while. He's also a fan of the Post Race Cheeseburger®, so we made plans to have lunch at the Abita Brew Pub. Beer and cheeseburgers? Oh, yes.
I did do a bit of a mini-taper prior to the Jazz Half, opting to forego my 3 mile run on Thursday and the 5 mile run that was supposed to be Saturday. I kept the light training schedule the following week, doing an easy 3 miles on Tuesday and a 6 mile Tempo Run on Wednesday. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I loafed. I'd liked to have gone for a bike ride Saturday, but it was Monster Mash which meant I had to put in some Daddy time with Brynn. We hung out in the morning while the wife went to the park to set up, then Brynn and I went to piano and had lunch before going to Monster Mash.
Off-topic, but I saw something at Monster Mash that gave me hope for today's youth. The band was a group of kids between 12-14, playing honest-to-God Rock N Roll. Guns N Roses, Seether, Bush, Metallica, Green Day, etc. And they weren't bad at all. Hopefully they're not the only 5 kids in St. Tammany Parish playing real instruments. It was refreshing to see them playing instead of some 50 year old guys in Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts.
As I said in my last post, the weather for the Jazz Half was downright miserable for a long run. This was not the case for GCHM. A few days before the race a cool front passed through, and was reinforced a couple days later by another front. This led to race day temps in the mid-50s at the start of the race, with a breeze out of the north. It's hard to imagine better running weather. Maybe less wind, but that's about all I can think of. It was simply a gorgeous morning.
I started my day out with my usual pre-run breakfast of Froot Loops and some Nuun hydration enhanced water. After that, we loaded up the SUV with us, the kid, and the poodle and headed to the start at Fountainbleu State Park. I didn't have any pre-race jitters as my attitude going into this race was "training run". I did have pre-race bladder though, and ended up standing in line for 15 minutes before I could get into the start corral.
Since I was more interested in being social than I was in trying to squeeze every second I could, I lined up at the back of the corral with John and another friend, and waited the few minutes before the start. However, when the gun went off I left them and started picking my way through the crowd to find a hole to run in. It took about the first two miles or so to get a place where I wasn't zig-zagging constantly. I also was able to find someone to pace off of who was going a touch faster than I intended to, so that was perfect.
At the 5 mile point, we passed in front of the Barley Oak, a lakefront tavern with an impressive beer selection. For some reason though, they were only giving out water and gatorade at the hydration stop in front of the place. I inquired about beer, but nobody would help me out.
I'm a water-station walker. I'll walk the 15-20 seconds it takes to gulp down a cup of water and then start running again. It's a strategy I picked up in Hal Higdon's Marathon book, and it's served me well. However, it makes the first few miles of a race comical as I pass and get passed and repass the same group of people over and over. At this race it was a woman in a red tank top who seemed to be the pass/repass victim. At least until about the 6 mile water stop. I walked this one to drink a water and eat a Gu, and finally got ahead of her enough to keep her at bay the rest of the race....
Either that or I had a decent negative split and she faded. Whatever.
Mile 8 passed in front of the local running store, Varsity Sports Mandeville. They're conveniently located next door to The Broken Egg Cafe', and there was a decent crowd gathered there to watch the race go by. It's always better to run in front of a bunch of people cheering.
Somewhere around mile 10 a guy I passed made a comment about how fast it seemed my cadence was. Short legs like mine and a sub-8:00 pace tends to have that effect.
It's also around mile 10 that I start figuring out about what I can finish at. I checked my time and saw a 1:45 finish was possible. I knew the remaining course well, as I run it regularly in my training. I was feeling strong. I'd hydrated well throughout the race. But it was a training run, so I laid back and kept an easier pace to conserve energy and not risk injury.
No I didn't.
I saw my 10 mile time, did some quick math in my head, thought "If I can push a 7:45 pace the last 3 miles, I'll finish right at 1:45"...
So I went for it.
Keep in mind, I haven't run a fast 10+ mile run since last year's Jazz Half. After that race all my training was for the Rock N Roll Marathon and was focused on distance and building an endurance base. After RNR, I did a couple sprint Tris which kept my runs under 6 miles. Then it got hot when I started training for Dopey, so my pace was way down compared to this day. But I felt good and the weather was cooperating, so I pushed my pace to finish.
Going back into the park, there was a nice crowd gathered at the last water station. Their enthusiasm was a nice boost. People were also parking and walking next to the course and were cheering as the runners entered the park. The last 1.5 miles were fantastic.
My wife, the kid, the poodle, and Denis's family had set up at about the 13 mile mark. I spotted them and waved as I ran by. Waved meaning "acted like an idiot yelling at them as I passed". I'm sure I looked ridiculous. But it was fun.
I crossed the finish line at 1:45:06, got my water, my bottle opener medal, and took a picture before heading to meet up with the family. I felt great post race... not at all fatigued or overheated. We hung out at that spot waiting for Denis and John to finish, then hit the post race party to watch the awards presentation and have a beer. Overall, this was 100x better than the Jazz Half was the weekend before. Better weather, better performance, better post-race beer (Thanks Abita), and so conveniently located. Chances are I'll do this race again next year.
The bad though, was since it had been a year since I ran that hard for that long, I was incredibly sore the next day. My calves felt like they were on fire and every step hurt. Even today, 5 days later, my right calf is still not very happy with me. I cut my mileage back this week on all 3 of my runs and I've been walking as much as possible at work, but the lingering soreness just won't go away.
That's gonna make tomorrow's 6 mile run and Sunday's 16 mile run so much fun.
Not.
Whatever. Nobody ever said this stuff was easy.
"Face your life, its pain, its pleasure, leave no path untaken." - Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
Monday, October 14, 2013
Jazz Half Race Report
It's amazing how much can change in two and a half years.
It was the Jazz Half Marathon in 2011 that prompted me to try my hand at this running thing. I was turning 40 that year and wanted to find something somewhat silly to try to commemorate the occasion, and a non-runner running a Half Marathon seemed like the perfect thing.
A year later, I ran the Jazz Half again. That time, instead of it being a "see if I can" challenge, it was "how fast can I?" A 50 degree overcast morning with a bit of a north breeze was the setting that morning as I broke the 1:40 barrier by 7 seconds, beating my half-marathon PR by nearly 8 minutes and surpassing my target for the day by 5. I couldn't have ordered a more perfect morning for a race.
This year, however, my mindset for this race was quite different. Knowing I could go the distance, and not peaking for this race, I went into the race of the mindset to treat it as a fast(ish) training run and nothing more. Granted, I'd like to get a nice time, but it wasn't a priority. My taper consisted of not working out Thursday night to instead decorate my wife's branch for her 40th birthday. I didn't even guilt her and the kid into waking up early to come across the lake to the race, instead opting to drive myself over. If anything, the race was to be as much of a non-event as possible.
On top of the lackadaisical attitude, I had also been fighting off a touch of a cold or something, so I hadn't been feeling 100%. It wasn't bad enough to keep me home from work or running, but I certainly had felt better. It was probably for the better, since not feeling great would keep me tempered.
I wasn't feeling too great at all the night before the race, and went to bed way earlier than I typically do (9 PM) and crashed out despite the wife/kid/poodle mulling about in the bedroom. I set my alarm for 5AM on my alarm clock and my phone for my wake-up, but I ended up not needing them. 4AM came along and I was awake and unable to go back to sleep. I got out of bed about 4:15, ate a bowl of Froot Loops, and gathered up my stuff for the race. I was so unconcerned about the race that I didn't get my stuff together the night before as I typically do. So lame. I left the house about 5:15 to pick up my buddy Justin and head over the lake to downtown New Orleans.
We got to Lafayette Square at about 6:20, which gave us plenty of time to utilize the facilities, figure out what was what, and mentally prep ourselves for the race. I ran into my wife's boss and talked to him for a few minutes, as well as an acquaintance I know through my college buddies. As the start time neared, I tried to find myself a slot in starting area near the 8:30 runners, but unlike last year they didn't have any markers up for self-seeding. Bummer.
The past couple years, the race director would start the half-marathon, then about 15 minutes later the 5K would start. This year, they opted to start both races together for some reason which just led to an extremely congested starting area. They also changed the course from starting on Poydras to starting on Camp St. and making an out and back on both Convention Center Blvd. and Poydras in front of the Superdome before heading out St. Charles. For the record, I was NOT a fan of the course change nor the mixing of the 5K runners and 13.1 runners. It made for a very congested start and I was dodging people for 2.5 miles before getting some space to run in.
Another change made this year was moving the race up on the calendar by 2 weeks. I'm not sure what prompted that change, but based on Facebook commentary, it was not a popular choice. At the start of the race, the weather was clear, sunny, close to 80 degrees, and about 95% humidity. Or in other words, not ideal running weather. There was a bit of hope for a reprise from the heat, but by Thursday last week temps were creeping back up and the humid air had moved back in. Needless to say, the weather sucked out loud for running.
So.. Onto the run...
Like I said earlier, the 5K runners and 13.1 runners were starting together, and people were self-seeding with no guidelines as to pace. This made for a VERY congested start. It wasn't until after the U-turn on Poydras (about 2 or so miles in) that I was able to find some space to run where I wasn't going in between or around people. At St. Charles, the half-marathon split off from the 5K and I was finally able to run unimpeded from that point on. I felt relatively good up to this point, but the conditions were definitely making for a challenging day. I was watching my pace every half-mile and was staying in the 8:30-8:45 range which was a bit slower than I was hoping for.
The second segment of the race (St. Charles to Audubon Park) was solid. My pace never wavered even though it was slower than I wanted. I hydrated at every water stop (luckily they were more plentiful this year than last due to the heat) and ate a Gu at the 6 mile mark. I also seemed to pass a lot more folks than were passing me which was a good sign, but still too early to be a real confidence boost.
The third segment of the race around the Audubon Park loop was fantastic. The park makes for a great backdrop to run. It's heavily shaded by the old oaks, has a wide path, and the surface is smooth blacktop. It was here, though, that I was passed by Gumby.
Yes, there was a guy running in a Gumby costume. And he passed me around the 8 mile water station. I wasn't too concerned because I knew we had to go back downtown via St. Charles and it was going to be miserable for him.
Coming out of Audubon Park onto St. Charles for the last segment, it was apparent this stretch was going to suck. The temperature was rapidly climbing and the course down St. Charles back to downtown was directly into the sun. And while St. Charles Ave. is famous for it's oak tree canopy, it doesn't help much when the shadows are cast onto the sidewalk and not the street where we were running. It was here that I started seeing my pace fade, even dropping into the 9:10 range for a bit.
The mile 11 marker was a turning point though. I've always had the attitude that if I'm still on my feet, I can go 3 more miles, no matter what. Knowing I only had 2 left meant I knew I could push my pace and try to finish strong despite the heat. First off... Pass Gumby. Which I did at about 11.25 miles. Then it was suck up the misery and push pace. My half mile splits were back under 4:15 at 11.5, 12, and 12.5. I even skipped the whiskey shots at the 12 mile mark. Finally on the last stretch down Camp, I cranked up as much speed as I could to finish. I came across the finish line at 1:55, significantly slower than last year's time, but still under 2 hours. All things considered (weather, training, motivation, health), I'll take it.
This year's race, however, seemed to be done "on the cheap". There was no on-course timing like previous years. Also, there was no photography anywhere on the course, even at the end. The shirts this year were cheap t-shirts, not tech shirts like in prior years. Post race support consisted of a couple cups of water. There was a small post-race party with a decent band playing, but due to other circumstances I wasn't able to hang out too long to watch. Overall, it was a bit disappointing compared to previous years.
This race should be a destination type event due to the time of year and location. It seems that the promoters missed out on that somehow. Hopefully they'll take note of the criticisms of this year's race and make the appropriate changes for next year.
And as a final disappointment for the day... My Garmin for some reason crapped out and didn't record my run data properly. Bah.
As for me... Well, next weekend I'm running another half-marathon. :) Supposedly the weather conditions are going to me more conducive to running fast as well. This one is close to home, which means post-race cheeseburgers and beer at the Abita Brew Pub. In the famous words of Bart Scott... "CAN'T WAIT!"
“Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.” -Steve Prefontaine
Friday, September 27, 2013
It's Been That Long? Sheesh...
Wow, I didn't realize I hadn't posted here in over a month. Crazy. But it's been busy.
So let's recap what's gone on the past few weeks...
Ran a 5K race.
Met a local hero. Again.
Settled on a training plan for Dopey.
Celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary.
And my 42nd birthday.
Got a couple new Garmin gadgets.
And a bike.
Ran a bunch.
And lastly, got new shoes.
So let's work our way down from the top. First, the 5K:
This year was the second year of the Saints Back to Football 5K race. Last year I didn't do the race for some reason I can't remember, which made me want to run this year. What also made me want to run was a bunch of my college buddies were running and it's been a while since we got to hang out. I had a 6 mile run scheduled that morning, and a 12 mile the Sunday after. Instead, I did a 1.5 mile warmup and the 5K on saturday, and did a 13 (point 1) on Sunday.
The race itself was great. It started at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, went out Poydras St. towards the river, turned onto Decatur into the French Quarter, and then went back to the Dome where we made our way into the Superdome via the back service door to finish on the 50 yard line. The weather was hot (in August, in New Orleans? Who'dathunkit?), but the humidity was high enough to make it seem even hotter.
I've never had a 'good' 5K race. I've been DQ'ed, injured walking to the start, had to push a jogging stroller on a course that turned out to be 2 miles of trail running, etc. I figured this day would be similar, but it turned out to be my best 5K ever. I felt strong despite the heat, and finished in 23:20. That was good enough for 168th overall out of 4100+ runners, and 14th in my AG. It was nice to run a solid 5K that wasn't preceded by me flopping around in the lake and then riding a bike.
Local Hero:
The beneficiary of the race was TeamGleason, Steve Gleason's foundation to benefit ALS patients. Steve was a Saints player who executed the greatest regular season play in team history. Unfortunately, he announced a couple years ago that he had been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), which is a degenerative neuromuscular disease and has no cure. But instead of hiding and waiting to die, he's put forth all his efforts to bring about awareness of the disease, find new ways to enrich other ALS patients' (pALS as he calls them) lives, and has built a place where pALS can continue to live as independently as possible. He's also made a recent trip to Machu Pichu and climbed the mountain with some help from his friends and family.
Quite simply, the dude's an inspiration, and I've been lucky enough to meet him and his family on a couple occasions since his diagnosis. But more on him later...
Training Plan:
Back at the beginning of this blog, I had mentioned finding a training play for Dopey from a guy from Purdue and I had been following his plan over the summer. But some time in early August, Hal Higdon had published his plan based on one of his marathon plans. I used a Higdon plan to run the Rock N Roll Marathon back in February and felt great up to the race. I ran conservatively and still finished at my goal (4 hours-ish) and aside from soreness, felt great throughout and after the race. Based on my experience with Hal's Marathon plan, I feel like this plan will get me to the starting line healthy for the 5K, and I'll still be upright and (somewhat) smiling after the Marathon. I'm supplementing with some swimming and cycling cross-training, but I'm running 4-5 days a week primarily, and starting with a weekly mileage of about 27 and building to over 40. Also, Hal's Dopey plan started on 9/9, which gave me a weeklong break from Labor Day until the 9th, that I used for...
10th Anniversary:
I pulled off the greatest surprise of my life, almost got sidetracked by an ornery old car, and blew my wife's mind.
Our 10th anniversary was this year. We got married in The Bahamas by a Bahamian Christian minister in a tropical thunderstorm, and had a blowout of a party the weekend after when we got home. When my daughter was about 5 months old, we were ready to have her baptized, but our Deacon suggested we get married in the Catholic Church first. Since it was our 5 year anniversary that year, and it fell on a Saturday, we planned for our second wedding on our anniversary at the church. Later that night at dinner, my wife and I joked about going to Vegas for 10 years and getting Elvis to remarry us.
So I made it happen.
Not as I had planned of course. I intended to go down to the bar at the hotel, have Elvis pick us up in a pink Cadillac convertible before dinner, renew our vows at the Vegas sign, and bring us back to the hotel. But on our layover in Dallas, Elvis called to tell me the car was broken down and won't be back up until after 9 PM. So I rescheduled some stuff, but the car didn't come back to life that night.
Elvis (Jessie Garon was his name) offered to refund me the money, but asked that I give him until Saturday morning. I obliged since we were already there, but didn't think it was going to happen, so I told Shellie about the plans and why I made her get so dressed up to go to dinner.
The next day at noon, Elvis called back. The car was back running, and he could pick us up at 9. I told him let's do it, and told Shellie we were on. He picked us up in a pink '54 Cadillac Convertible once owned by Lucille Ball (imagine riding in that with Elvis driving on the Vegas strip on a Saturday night), brought us to the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, made a giant spectacle of himself (and us), and then gave us a ride down the strip after the ceremony was done. The whole thing was hilarious and one of the most stupidly fun things I've done in a long time. And yes those are Elvis glasses with sideburns we're wearing in the pic.
Garmin Gadgets:
For my birthday, Shellie got me a Garmin Swim and a Garmin Edge 500. I've used the Swim a few times and today was the first time I rode with the Edge, and I'm pretty impressed with both. The Swim is great since I suck at counting laps while I swim, and spits out some pretty decent data. The Edge is comparable in functionality to the cycling function of a Forerunner 310XT, and is simple enough to use. Once I get some more time with them I'll post some more details about both. Initially though, I'm quite pleased with both devices.
Bike:
And for my Anniversary gift, Shellie got me a new bike!! (Yay bikes) (Poor Shellie dealing with my birthday and our anniversary being 3 days apart.)
It's a Bianchi Via Nirone 7 105. Aluminum frame, Shimano drivetrain, nice wheels/tires, etc. I took it out today for a ride and got 35 miles in. Everything is great except the seat, which sucks. But I have a new one on order that ought to be here next week.
If anyone is in the market for a bike for a vertically challenged cyclist, let me know. I've got an old Bianchi Campione that would be a great bike for someone. Otherwise it'll go on my trainer for indoor cycling over the winter.
Yes, I'm a Bianchi fan. It goes back to my formative days of going to Gus Betat Bicycles with my Dad and seeing the Celeste Green Bianchis there. I had always wanted one, and now I'm on my second. Though this is the first one with the proper colors.
Ran a bunch:
I've been running quite a bit as well. My longest run over the summer was a 17 mile run. I did several runs of 13.1 miles or more, and kept about a 30 mile per week average despite the heat. Even in the heat, I'm doing a half-mary in the 1:54 range. Not my fastest, but considering the heat and the fact that it's not a race I'm OK with that. I'm registered for two half-marys in October, the Jazz Half on October 12th and the Gulf Coast Half on October 20th. Between now and those two races I'll try to squeeze in some speed work. I already planned to do those two races strictly as training runs, but I know when I'm on the starting line what's gonna happen... "Hey, nice day for a training... wait... THAT GUY PASSED ME!!!!" and then I'm gonna run like an idiot for an hour and forty minutes. Can't wait.
Finally... New Shoes:
Look up a bit to the first pic I posted. See the guy in the blue shirt with the GoPro strapped to his head? That's Joby. He's one of my best friends and was my roommate in college as well as my big brother in our fraternity. Joby, his then girlfriend/now wife, and I went to the expo for the Rock N Roll Marathon together back in February. While we were there we saw Brooks Running had set up a huge display with a couple treadmills and they were doing stride analysis and shoe recommendations. Joby and I had our strides analyzed and then took our shoe recommendations to the oh so convenient sales booth to try on some shoes. Joby bought a pair of shoes.
I didn't.
Not because I didn't want to, but because.... (Story of my life) they didn't have anything small enough.
Meh.
A couple months later I found myself in a Nike Outlet in Foley, AL and bought some shoes there that I've put just about 300 miles on since, but I've never "loved". So I bought the shoes Brooks recommended that day back in February. Hopefully they'll fit and will be comfortable to run in. I'll know in a couple days, as I've got a 4 mile run tomorrow and a 14 mile run Sunday.
I think that's everything. Well, there's one more thing, but I'll post about that in a separate post this weekend. Other than that, I think I'm caught up with all my goings-on in my training for this race in Walt Disney World.
I've been pretty active on Twitter talking to other runners, including several folks who are also running Dopey. One thing I've noticed recently, and that I love about running, is no matter how fast you are or how far you can run, there's someone who's also running who can be inspiring. I have a friend in Ohio who just did a 50 mile trail run in Michigan. His running stories are what got me interested in trying a race, and I can thank him for introducing me to the sport. Hopefully one day we'll get to run a race together. And by together I mean him finishing a marathon about 45 minutes before me, since he's qualified for and run Boston a couple times (including this year with the bombing) and I've got a ways to go before I could BQ.
Another guy I've chatted with on Twitter had lap band surgery, dropped a couple hundred pounds, had a knee replaced surgically, and still ran the Dumbo Double Dare at Disneyland. And despite having something go wrong with the new knee, still continues to run and put forth an incredible positive energy.
I'm gonna wrap this up here. There's a beer in the fridge with my name on it calling me quite loudly, and I'm a bit tired. Pay attention because in the next couple days I'm going to post again about something cool. In the meantime, get out and run!
Oh.. forgot.. My fortune from my post-sushi fortune cookie: Never Give Up Until You Reach The Finish Line.
Fitting.
Later.
R
Happiness is not something that is ready made. It comes from your own actions. - Dalai Lama
So let's recap what's gone on the past few weeks...
Ran a 5K race.
Met a local hero. Again.
Settled on a training plan for Dopey.
Celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary.
And my 42nd birthday.
Got a couple new Garmin gadgets.
And a bike.
Ran a bunch.
And lastly, got new shoes.
So let's work our way down from the top. First, the 5K:
This year was the second year of the Saints Back to Football 5K race. Last year I didn't do the race for some reason I can't remember, which made me want to run this year. What also made me want to run was a bunch of my college buddies were running and it's been a while since we got to hang out. I had a 6 mile run scheduled that morning, and a 12 mile the Sunday after. Instead, I did a 1.5 mile warmup and the 5K on saturday, and did a 13 (point 1) on Sunday.
The race itself was great. It started at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, went out Poydras St. towards the river, turned onto Decatur into the French Quarter, and then went back to the Dome where we made our way into the Superdome via the back service door to finish on the 50 yard line. The weather was hot (in August, in New Orleans? Who'dathunkit?), but the humidity was high enough to make it seem even hotter.
I've never had a 'good' 5K race. I've been DQ'ed, injured walking to the start, had to push a jogging stroller on a course that turned out to be 2 miles of trail running, etc. I figured this day would be similar, but it turned out to be my best 5K ever. I felt strong despite the heat, and finished in 23:20. That was good enough for 168th overall out of 4100+ runners, and 14th in my AG. It was nice to run a solid 5K that wasn't preceded by me flopping around in the lake and then riding a bike.
Local Hero:
The beneficiary of the race was TeamGleason, Steve Gleason's foundation to benefit ALS patients. Steve was a Saints player who executed the greatest regular season play in team history. Unfortunately, he announced a couple years ago that he had been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), which is a degenerative neuromuscular disease and has no cure. But instead of hiding and waiting to die, he's put forth all his efforts to bring about awareness of the disease, find new ways to enrich other ALS patients' (pALS as he calls them) lives, and has built a place where pALS can continue to live as independently as possible. He's also made a recent trip to Machu Pichu and climbed the mountain with some help from his friends and family. Quite simply, the dude's an inspiration, and I've been lucky enough to meet him and his family on a couple occasions since his diagnosis. But more on him later...
Training Plan:
Back at the beginning of this blog, I had mentioned finding a training play for Dopey from a guy from Purdue and I had been following his plan over the summer. But some time in early August, Hal Higdon had published his plan based on one of his marathon plans. I used a Higdon plan to run the Rock N Roll Marathon back in February and felt great up to the race. I ran conservatively and still finished at my goal (4 hours-ish) and aside from soreness, felt great throughout and after the race. Based on my experience with Hal's Marathon plan, I feel like this plan will get me to the starting line healthy for the 5K, and I'll still be upright and (somewhat) smiling after the Marathon. I'm supplementing with some swimming and cycling cross-training, but I'm running 4-5 days a week primarily, and starting with a weekly mileage of about 27 and building to over 40. Also, Hal's Dopey plan started on 9/9, which gave me a weeklong break from Labor Day until the 9th, that I used for...
10th Anniversary:
I pulled off the greatest surprise of my life, almost got sidetracked by an ornery old car, and blew my wife's mind.
Our 10th anniversary was this year. We got married in The Bahamas by a Bahamian Christian minister in a tropical thunderstorm, and had a blowout of a party the weekend after when we got home. When my daughter was about 5 months old, we were ready to have her baptized, but our Deacon suggested we get married in the Catholic Church first. Since it was our 5 year anniversary that year, and it fell on a Saturday, we planned for our second wedding on our anniversary at the church. Later that night at dinner, my wife and I joked about going to Vegas for 10 years and getting Elvis to remarry us.
So I made it happen.
Not as I had planned of course. I intended to go down to the bar at the hotel, have Elvis pick us up in a pink Cadillac convertible before dinner, renew our vows at the Vegas sign, and bring us back to the hotel. But on our layover in Dallas, Elvis called to tell me the car was broken down and won't be back up until after 9 PM. So I rescheduled some stuff, but the car didn't come back to life that night.
Elvis (Jessie Garon was his name) offered to refund me the money, but asked that I give him until Saturday morning. I obliged since we were already there, but didn't think it was going to happen, so I told Shellie about the plans and why I made her get so dressed up to go to dinner. The next day at noon, Elvis called back. The car was back running, and he could pick us up at 9. I told him let's do it, and told Shellie we were on. He picked us up in a pink '54 Cadillac Convertible once owned by Lucille Ball (imagine riding in that with Elvis driving on the Vegas strip on a Saturday night), brought us to the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, made a giant spectacle of himself (and us), and then gave us a ride down the strip after the ceremony was done. The whole thing was hilarious and one of the most stupidly fun things I've done in a long time. And yes those are Elvis glasses with sideburns we're wearing in the pic.
Garmin Gadgets:
For my birthday, Shellie got me a Garmin Swim and a Garmin Edge 500. I've used the Swim a few times and today was the first time I rode with the Edge, and I'm pretty impressed with both. The Swim is great since I suck at counting laps while I swim, and spits out some pretty decent data. The Edge is comparable in functionality to the cycling function of a Forerunner 310XT, and is simple enough to use. Once I get some more time with them I'll post some more details about both. Initially though, I'm quite pleased with both devices.
Bike:
And for my Anniversary gift, Shellie got me a new bike!! (Yay bikes) (Poor Shellie dealing with my birthday and our anniversary being 3 days apart.)It's a Bianchi Via Nirone 7 105. Aluminum frame, Shimano drivetrain, nice wheels/tires, etc. I took it out today for a ride and got 35 miles in. Everything is great except the seat, which sucks. But I have a new one on order that ought to be here next week.
If anyone is in the market for a bike for a vertically challenged cyclist, let me know. I've got an old Bianchi Campione that would be a great bike for someone. Otherwise it'll go on my trainer for indoor cycling over the winter.
Yes, I'm a Bianchi fan. It goes back to my formative days of going to Gus Betat Bicycles with my Dad and seeing the Celeste Green Bianchis there. I had always wanted one, and now I'm on my second. Though this is the first one with the proper colors.
Ran a bunch:
I've been running quite a bit as well. My longest run over the summer was a 17 mile run. I did several runs of 13.1 miles or more, and kept about a 30 mile per week average despite the heat. Even in the heat, I'm doing a half-mary in the 1:54 range. Not my fastest, but considering the heat and the fact that it's not a race I'm OK with that. I'm registered for two half-marys in October, the Jazz Half on October 12th and the Gulf Coast Half on October 20th. Between now and those two races I'll try to squeeze in some speed work. I already planned to do those two races strictly as training runs, but I know when I'm on the starting line what's gonna happen... "Hey, nice day for a training... wait... THAT GUY PASSED ME!!!!" and then I'm gonna run like an idiot for an hour and forty minutes. Can't wait.
Finally... New Shoes:
Look up a bit to the first pic I posted. See the guy in the blue shirt with the GoPro strapped to his head? That's Joby. He's one of my best friends and was my roommate in college as well as my big brother in our fraternity. Joby, his then girlfriend/now wife, and I went to the expo for the Rock N Roll Marathon together back in February. While we were there we saw Brooks Running had set up a huge display with a couple treadmills and they were doing stride analysis and shoe recommendations. Joby and I had our strides analyzed and then took our shoe recommendations to the oh so convenient sales booth to try on some shoes. Joby bought a pair of shoes.
I didn't.
Not because I didn't want to, but because.... (Story of my life) they didn't have anything small enough.
Meh.
A couple months later I found myself in a Nike Outlet in Foley, AL and bought some shoes there that I've put just about 300 miles on since, but I've never "loved". So I bought the shoes Brooks recommended that day back in February. Hopefully they'll fit and will be comfortable to run in. I'll know in a couple days, as I've got a 4 mile run tomorrow and a 14 mile run Sunday.
I think that's everything. Well, there's one more thing, but I'll post about that in a separate post this weekend. Other than that, I think I'm caught up with all my goings-on in my training for this race in Walt Disney World.
I've been pretty active on Twitter talking to other runners, including several folks who are also running Dopey. One thing I've noticed recently, and that I love about running, is no matter how fast you are or how far you can run, there's someone who's also running who can be inspiring. I have a friend in Ohio who just did a 50 mile trail run in Michigan. His running stories are what got me interested in trying a race, and I can thank him for introducing me to the sport. Hopefully one day we'll get to run a race together. And by together I mean him finishing a marathon about 45 minutes before me, since he's qualified for and run Boston a couple times (including this year with the bombing) and I've got a ways to go before I could BQ.
Another guy I've chatted with on Twitter had lap band surgery, dropped a couple hundred pounds, had a knee replaced surgically, and still ran the Dumbo Double Dare at Disneyland. And despite having something go wrong with the new knee, still continues to run and put forth an incredible positive energy.
I'm gonna wrap this up here. There's a beer in the fridge with my name on it calling me quite loudly, and I'm a bit tired. Pay attention because in the next couple days I'm going to post again about something cool. In the meantime, get out and run!
Oh.. forgot.. My fortune from my post-sushi fortune cookie: Never Give Up Until You Reach The Finish Line.
Fitting.
Later.
R
Happiness is not something that is ready made. It comes from your own actions. - Dalai Lama
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Heat and Hydration
It's been hot.
It's August. It's South Louisiana. It goes without saying.
Nevertheless, it's been hot. HOT.
There's always a silver lining to it, and that's how much better I'll perform when the weather gets cool again. But it's tough to think about that when I'm sweating like the proverbial whore in St. Louis Cathedral. Dealing with the heat, however, is a different mental exercise. I feel like one thing I've gotten fairly decent at in this sport is just that. The biggest hurdle for me though was to simply accept it.
When I first started running, I dreaded running in the heat and bad weather and would instead find a treadmill at the slightest indication of less than optimal conditions. A 90 minute treadmill run in my garage got me to rethink that though. The sheer tedium of running in place for that long, even when the alternative was running in the rain, just wasn't worth it to me any longer. Luckily that was a mid-September run so I didn't have to think about it much beyond that point.
The following summer I was getting ready for my second Jazz Half Marathon, so the distance and time wasn't too bad. I was able to keep the bulk of my weekend runs fairly close to home on a 5 mile loop I have mapped out and would simply stop at the house, get some water, and carry on. This was fairly effective, but I got sick of running the loop, especially since part of it was crossing a fairly busy street twice per lap. This was the point I started experimenting with carrying water on longer runs, and eventually found that it wasn't too horrible.
The first thing I tried was a Camelbak Flash Flo LR 1.5L. It looks like a fanny pack with a blue tube coming out that you drink from. My initial thought was 1500ml was plenty and I wouldn't run out of water on a run. The reality though was 1500ml of water weighs about 3.5 lbs, and the belt and bladder that holds it weighs another pound, pound-and-a-half, and having all that sloshing around on my back for more than about 45 minutes sucked. That's not even getting into how much of a pain in the neck it was to clean the bladder thoroughly, thereby negating the chance I'd ever use anything besides water in the thing. I did like having the big pocket to stash keys and gels though, but I really didn't need anything that big. I found myself not using the Camelbak that much though, and instead just running shorter loops in the subdivision and stopping at the house for water. Which, ironically, is what I was trying to avoid.
That following Christmas, Mrs. Russ got me a Fuelbelt with two 10 oz. bottles and a little pocket. The pocket was great for carrying a couple gel packs, but I was a bit concerned about the limited capacity. It turns out, however, that it's almost perfect for my longer runs. On the Tammany Trace, there's several public water fountains (and bathrooms, but that's another post when I'm less sober), and they're spaced about 4-5 miles apart. It works out quite well for distances up to 20 miles (furthest I've run on the Trace). I can stop to refill one or both bottles as needed and I'm not carrying enough water for an army. The belt is lightweight and comfortable on longer runs, and the bottles are about as difficult to clean as a regular bicycle water bottle. Fuelbelt also makes a 4 bottle model, and I'd consider that if I didn't have the Trace to run on. I've been very happy with the Fuelbelt.
As for dealing with the heat, I think I've figured out a few things that have worked well for me.
First, and probably the most important, is to SLOW THE F*** DOWN!!! It took a 5 mile run with a heart rate monitor in 85 degree weather to see that running a sub 8:00 pace probably isn't the smartest idea. My average heart rate after that run was close to 180BPM. Great cadence tempo. Excellent thrash metal tempo. Not good for the ticker to run that fast for that long. I now do my tempo and interval work indoors, and keep my LSD (long slow distance) runs where my heart rate is in the 150s, which translates to about a 9:15 mile when it's hot. I did break this rule last weekend on a 10 miler, but it wasn't until I was 8.5 miles in that I realized it and when I got home and saw my pace I immediately thought I needed to make a visit to a looney bin. But I felt really good and it didn't get 'hot' until I was about 7 miles in.
Secondly, I'll pre-hydrate really well the day before a LSD run in the heat. Even the night before I'll make it a point to drink close to a quart of water overnight by taking some big gulps every time I wake up. And with my wife's snoring, that's easily 2-3 times each night. Whatever I don't finish I'll finish when I get out of bed before I do anything else.
Thirdly, I'll drink and gel on a specific interval... Every 2 miles I'll go to a walk and drink 4-5 oz. of water. Every 6 I'll eat a gel along with the water. I also leave the house with Gatorade and refill with water on my run. Loading up on carbs and electrolytes early seems like it would be beneficial before they get depleted.
Lastly, I'll try to make up for whatever I've lost as soon as I get home. On my last really long run (15 miles), I weighed myself in the buff before I left (yea, sear that mental picture in your mind), and again when I got home (now in a very sweaty buff). Based on my calculations I probably lost about 7 lbs. due to sweat loss, put 3 of those back in what I drank on the run, and needed to get another 2-3 back in me to not feel horrible the rest of the day. I immediately had a big glass of chocolate milk (probably 24oz.) followed by a substantial amount of water over the next couple hours while getting ready for church. I weighed myself once more post shower and was still about 1.5 lbs below where I woke up, so I took a bottle of water with me when we left. In retrospect, sitting in a crowded warm church probably wasn't the best idea because I still felt 'hot', but I was well beyond functional and sociable.
I'm sure there's some other things I could be doing, but this seems to work for me. Along with the hydration strategies, I'm also leaving the house as early as I can stand to be up, running in the shade, wearing a singlet instead of a t-shirt, relying on moisture wicking materials, wearing a white cap, etc.
It's all worth it though. That first 45 degree morning when I can go out and run a 7:45 pace for 8-10 miles is going to feel glorious. And hopefully the weather in Orlando in January will be somewhat winter-ish for the Dopey Challenge. My fingers are crossed, as I've read horror stories of both extremes.
Until then... slow down, hydrate, and sweat.
I'm adding a new section to my blog... Music reviews. This won't be a regular thing, but an occasional rundown of something new I picked up and enjoyed.
I picked up Buddy Guy - Rhythm & Blues last week and gave it a thorough listen-to on my run Saturday, as well as a couple play throughs over the weekend. I have to say... This pretty good stuff. I've not spent a lot of time listening to Buddy, but have always enjoyed what I've heard. This is no different.
This album is blues, all blues, and nothing but blues, and is quite good in all aspects. Buddy explores various feels and grooves and his playing fits so nicely over all of it. A couple of my favorite tunes are "What's Up With That Woman" and "I Came Up Hard". "What's Up With That Woman" is a killer nasty groove about a woman of questionable morals and exceptional skills. Buddy spices up the vocals with some nasty fills and a very tasty solo. Pay attention to the lyrical twist at the end of the tune.
"I Came Up Hard" is Buddy's autobiography condensed into a medium slow 5:28 blues. His fills are pretty straight forward but the solo is a fiery explosion of emotion... Just a simple song with great feel and emotion. Love it.
"Whiskey Ghost" is another great tune... Love the subdued swampy groove and lowkey vocals.
There's a few interesting duets as well... "Messin' With The Kid" with Kid Rock (OK), One Day Away with Keith Urban (meh), "Evil Twin" with the boys from Aerosmith (dig it, but sounds like an outtake from Honkin' on Bobo), and "Blues Don't Care" with Blues wunderkind Gary Clark Jr. (best of the duets, IMO).
There's some great tones on this album and it never gets boring. On the downside, it can be a bit formulaic, but it's 3 chords and 5 notes... Something is bound to repeat.
Overall, I'd give this 3/5 Gu Packets. Well worth the listen if you're a fan of Buddy, and a nice intro to Buddy if you're a new fan of Blues.
Watch my Tweets and this space. In a couple weeks I'm going to post about something Awesome. But it Ain't Easy....
We are never done with lessons. Not while we live - Mace Windu
It's August. It's South Louisiana. It goes without saying.
Nevertheless, it's been hot. HOT.
There's always a silver lining to it, and that's how much better I'll perform when the weather gets cool again. But it's tough to think about that when I'm sweating like the proverbial whore in St. Louis Cathedral. Dealing with the heat, however, is a different mental exercise. I feel like one thing I've gotten fairly decent at in this sport is just that. The biggest hurdle for me though was to simply accept it.
When I first started running, I dreaded running in the heat and bad weather and would instead find a treadmill at the slightest indication of less than optimal conditions. A 90 minute treadmill run in my garage got me to rethink that though. The sheer tedium of running in place for that long, even when the alternative was running in the rain, just wasn't worth it to me any longer. Luckily that was a mid-September run so I didn't have to think about it much beyond that point.
The following summer I was getting ready for my second Jazz Half Marathon, so the distance and time wasn't too bad. I was able to keep the bulk of my weekend runs fairly close to home on a 5 mile loop I have mapped out and would simply stop at the house, get some water, and carry on. This was fairly effective, but I got sick of running the loop, especially since part of it was crossing a fairly busy street twice per lap. This was the point I started experimenting with carrying water on longer runs, and eventually found that it wasn't too horrible.
The first thing I tried was a Camelbak Flash Flo LR 1.5L. It looks like a fanny pack with a blue tube coming out that you drink from. My initial thought was 1500ml was plenty and I wouldn't run out of water on a run. The reality though was 1500ml of water weighs about 3.5 lbs, and the belt and bladder that holds it weighs another pound, pound-and-a-half, and having all that sloshing around on my back for more than about 45 minutes sucked. That's not even getting into how much of a pain in the neck it was to clean the bladder thoroughly, thereby negating the chance I'd ever use anything besides water in the thing. I did like having the big pocket to stash keys and gels though, but I really didn't need anything that big. I found myself not using the Camelbak that much though, and instead just running shorter loops in the subdivision and stopping at the house for water. Which, ironically, is what I was trying to avoid.
That following Christmas, Mrs. Russ got me a Fuelbelt with two 10 oz. bottles and a little pocket. The pocket was great for carrying a couple gel packs, but I was a bit concerned about the limited capacity. It turns out, however, that it's almost perfect for my longer runs. On the Tammany Trace, there's several public water fountains (and bathrooms, but that's another post when I'm less sober), and they're spaced about 4-5 miles apart. It works out quite well for distances up to 20 miles (furthest I've run on the Trace). I can stop to refill one or both bottles as needed and I'm not carrying enough water for an army. The belt is lightweight and comfortable on longer runs, and the bottles are about as difficult to clean as a regular bicycle water bottle. Fuelbelt also makes a 4 bottle model, and I'd consider that if I didn't have the Trace to run on. I've been very happy with the Fuelbelt.
As for dealing with the heat, I think I've figured out a few things that have worked well for me.
First, and probably the most important, is to SLOW THE F*** DOWN!!! It took a 5 mile run with a heart rate monitor in 85 degree weather to see that running a sub 8:00 pace probably isn't the smartest idea. My average heart rate after that run was close to 180BPM. Great cadence tempo. Excellent thrash metal tempo. Not good for the ticker to run that fast for that long. I now do my tempo and interval work indoors, and keep my LSD (long slow distance) runs where my heart rate is in the 150s, which translates to about a 9:15 mile when it's hot. I did break this rule last weekend on a 10 miler, but it wasn't until I was 8.5 miles in that I realized it and when I got home and saw my pace I immediately thought I needed to make a visit to a looney bin. But I felt really good and it didn't get 'hot' until I was about 7 miles in.
Secondly, I'll pre-hydrate really well the day before a LSD run in the heat. Even the night before I'll make it a point to drink close to a quart of water overnight by taking some big gulps every time I wake up. And with my wife's snoring, that's easily 2-3 times each night. Whatever I don't finish I'll finish when I get out of bed before I do anything else.
Thirdly, I'll drink and gel on a specific interval... Every 2 miles I'll go to a walk and drink 4-5 oz. of water. Every 6 I'll eat a gel along with the water. I also leave the house with Gatorade and refill with water on my run. Loading up on carbs and electrolytes early seems like it would be beneficial before they get depleted.
Lastly, I'll try to make up for whatever I've lost as soon as I get home. On my last really long run (15 miles), I weighed myself in the buff before I left (yea, sear that mental picture in your mind), and again when I got home (now in a very sweaty buff). Based on my calculations I probably lost about 7 lbs. due to sweat loss, put 3 of those back in what I drank on the run, and needed to get another 2-3 back in me to not feel horrible the rest of the day. I immediately had a big glass of chocolate milk (probably 24oz.) followed by a substantial amount of water over the next couple hours while getting ready for church. I weighed myself once more post shower and was still about 1.5 lbs below where I woke up, so I took a bottle of water with me when we left. In retrospect, sitting in a crowded warm church probably wasn't the best idea because I still felt 'hot', but I was well beyond functional and sociable.
I'm sure there's some other things I could be doing, but this seems to work for me. Along with the hydration strategies, I'm also leaving the house as early as I can stand to be up, running in the shade, wearing a singlet instead of a t-shirt, relying on moisture wicking materials, wearing a white cap, etc.
It's all worth it though. That first 45 degree morning when I can go out and run a 7:45 pace for 8-10 miles is going to feel glorious. And hopefully the weather in Orlando in January will be somewhat winter-ish for the Dopey Challenge. My fingers are crossed, as I've read horror stories of both extremes.
Until then... slow down, hydrate, and sweat.
I'm adding a new section to my blog... Music reviews. This won't be a regular thing, but an occasional rundown of something new I picked up and enjoyed.
I picked up Buddy Guy - Rhythm & Blues last week and gave it a thorough listen-to on my run Saturday, as well as a couple play throughs over the weekend. I have to say... This pretty good stuff. I've not spent a lot of time listening to Buddy, but have always enjoyed what I've heard. This is no different.
This album is blues, all blues, and nothing but blues, and is quite good in all aspects. Buddy explores various feels and grooves and his playing fits so nicely over all of it. A couple of my favorite tunes are "What's Up With That Woman" and "I Came Up Hard". "What's Up With That Woman" is a killer nasty groove about a woman of questionable morals and exceptional skills. Buddy spices up the vocals with some nasty fills and a very tasty solo. Pay attention to the lyrical twist at the end of the tune.
"I Came Up Hard" is Buddy's autobiography condensed into a medium slow 5:28 blues. His fills are pretty straight forward but the solo is a fiery explosion of emotion... Just a simple song with great feel and emotion. Love it.
"Whiskey Ghost" is another great tune... Love the subdued swampy groove and lowkey vocals.
There's a few interesting duets as well... "Messin' With The Kid" with Kid Rock (OK), One Day Away with Keith Urban (meh), "Evil Twin" with the boys from Aerosmith (dig it, but sounds like an outtake from Honkin' on Bobo), and "Blues Don't Care" with Blues wunderkind Gary Clark Jr. (best of the duets, IMO).
There's some great tones on this album and it never gets boring. On the downside, it can be a bit formulaic, but it's 3 chords and 5 notes... Something is bound to repeat.
Overall, I'd give this 3/5 Gu Packets. Well worth the listen if you're a fan of Buddy, and a nice intro to Buddy if you're a new fan of Blues.
Watch my Tweets and this space. In a couple weeks I'm going to post about something Awesome. But it Ain't Easy....
We are never done with lessons. Not while we live - Mace Windu
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
The Call Of Shame
Ever had to make the call?
You know, that call? The "I'm too far from home and can't get back on my own" call?
It sucks.
Now... If I said I went for a long run on Saturday, and a short bike ride on Sunday, it would be natural to assume I made the call on Saturday, right? Long run, weather wasn't ideal (hot, thunderstorm, muggy, rain, etc.), seems perfect to set up the call of shame.
But no, the run went pretty well. I woke up early Saturday with the intention of getting out the door before it started getting too warm, but that didn't happen. As I was getting dressed to go run, I heard a clap of thunder and what sounded like a waterfall outside my door. Sure enough it was a torrential downpour. I couldn't see across the cul de sac it was raining so hard. I checked the weather, and there was one tiny little thunderstorm cloud that just so happened to be parked directly over Abita Springs. So I had my usual pre-long run breakfast (Froot Loops), filled the bottles on my Fuel Belt, put a couple Gu packets in the pocket and waited for the rain to let up. It finally did about 30 minutes later. In that 30 minutes though, I decided to try KT tape on my right knee for the touch of ITBS I've been dealing with since about January. I ended up shaving an odd pattern on the outside of my knee to facilitate taping it. I taped it up as per the instructions on their YouTube site, wrapped the band around my leg, and headed out the door.
When I left, it was probably close to 80 degrees at 100% humidity, and barely drizzling. Certainly not ideal conditions, but not horrible for July in SE Louisiana. At about the 5 mile mark though, the KT tape had given up and was just held in place by the strap I wear over my knee. I pulled it off and threw it away. The sweat and humidity was just too much for the adhesive.
I finished a 13.1 mile run (scheduled 13, Runner's Neurosis kicked in for the .1) in a little under two hours. I guzzled about a pint of chocolate milk, took a shower, and went off for the day to bring Brynn to piano and then go fight with a used up car salesman so my wife could buy a new SUV (Acura MDX, quite nice I must say).
Nope.. it was Sunday I had to make the call.
I just finished putting together a new tri-bike. I eventually found a frame to buy on eBay (NOS 2010 Kestrel Airfoil Pro) and put it together with components off of my Q-Roo Lucero as well as a couple other parts I wanted to swap out (bars, cranks). I finished up the bike last week, but I did my first week of "Dopey" running, so I ended up running every day last week and didn't get a chance to ride. I figured Sunday I'd put some Allen wrenches in my bag, ride, stop and adjust, ride, stop and adjust, etc. until I got everything feeling right, then I'd finish out 25 miles or so for the day.
I got to the two mile point, stopped and adjusted the seat position and angle. Felt better.
3 mile mark, further tweaked the seat. Felt really good.
3.5 mile mark, and I'm not feeling good in my shoulders or my back. I'm figuring the bars are a bit too low and the armpads are a bit too narrow. I couldn't do anything about the armpads, but I could flip the stem to raise the bars a bit and see how that would feel. But that would involve taking apart the handlebars and I didn't know if I wanted to do that on the road.
At 4 miles though, I figured why not. I've got tools. It's Sunday. I can do this in 10 minutes and be on my way. I got to Koop Drive, pulled off the Trace to a bench, and started disassembling my bike. It took all of about 5 minutes to get everything apart, get the stem flipped, and started putting it back together.
However, somehow I managed to cross thread two of the screws on the stem and couldn't get them to thread correctly after that. I fought with it for about 15 minutes before I conceded defeat. Being 4.25 miles from home wearing cycling shoes with Look cleats, I REALLY didn't want to walk back. And since it was so early, I knew my chances of seeing someone I knew were slim to none.
So, in shame, I pulled out my iPhone. I looked up my wife's number. I shook my head, then pressed the number for the house to dial it.
"Hey, I'm at Koop Drive. Come get me."
She's so loving and concerned about me though. Naturally, her first reaction was "Are you OK? Do I need to bring anything? Do I need to call 911? Are you hurt? Did you crash?"
I lie. That's not her at all.
"Why? What did you do?"
I told her about my mechanical issues. "Fine... But it's not going to be right away. I'm still in my pajamas and Brynn is asleep." Whatever.
I put the bike back together as best as I could and pushed it to in front of the playground. I ended up waiting a few minutes before she showed up in her brand new used MDX to bring me home.
"Brynn wants McDonalds for breakfast, and you're buying."
OK.
Not like I could object. It was the punishment for my shame.
Next time I'll call one of my friends instead.
HOWEVER, comma...
Road ID put out a cool app for those of us who tend to disappear for a couple hours on Saturday/Sunday for long runs or rides. It makes a lock screen for your phone with your emergency contact info, makes a link to a site where you can be tracked via bread crumbs on GPS, sends a link to that site through SMS, and automatically sends a message to your recipients if you stop moving for 5 minutes. I tried it this weekend and really liked it. It's free, and it's good piece of mind for those of us who have to go beyond the comfort of our respective neighborhoods to train. Go check it out.
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine
You know, that call? The "I'm too far from home and can't get back on my own" call?
It sucks.
Now... If I said I went for a long run on Saturday, and a short bike ride on Sunday, it would be natural to assume I made the call on Saturday, right? Long run, weather wasn't ideal (hot, thunderstorm, muggy, rain, etc.), seems perfect to set up the call of shame.
But no, the run went pretty well. I woke up early Saturday with the intention of getting out the door before it started getting too warm, but that didn't happen. As I was getting dressed to go run, I heard a clap of thunder and what sounded like a waterfall outside my door. Sure enough it was a torrential downpour. I couldn't see across the cul de sac it was raining so hard. I checked the weather, and there was one tiny little thunderstorm cloud that just so happened to be parked directly over Abita Springs. So I had my usual pre-long run breakfast (Froot Loops), filled the bottles on my Fuel Belt, put a couple Gu packets in the pocket and waited for the rain to let up. It finally did about 30 minutes later. In that 30 minutes though, I decided to try KT tape on my right knee for the touch of ITBS I've been dealing with since about January. I ended up shaving an odd pattern on the outside of my knee to facilitate taping it. I taped it up as per the instructions on their YouTube site, wrapped the band around my leg, and headed out the door.
When I left, it was probably close to 80 degrees at 100% humidity, and barely drizzling. Certainly not ideal conditions, but not horrible for July in SE Louisiana. At about the 5 mile mark though, the KT tape had given up and was just held in place by the strap I wear over my knee. I pulled it off and threw it away. The sweat and humidity was just too much for the adhesive.
I finished a 13.1 mile run (scheduled 13, Runner's Neurosis kicked in for the .1) in a little under two hours. I guzzled about a pint of chocolate milk, took a shower, and went off for the day to bring Brynn to piano and then go fight with a used up car salesman so my wife could buy a new SUV (Acura MDX, quite nice I must say).
Nope.. it was Sunday I had to make the call.
I just finished putting together a new tri-bike. I eventually found a frame to buy on eBay (NOS 2010 Kestrel Airfoil Pro) and put it together with components off of my Q-Roo Lucero as well as a couple other parts I wanted to swap out (bars, cranks). I finished up the bike last week, but I did my first week of "Dopey" running, so I ended up running every day last week and didn't get a chance to ride. I figured Sunday I'd put some Allen wrenches in my bag, ride, stop and adjust, ride, stop and adjust, etc. until I got everything feeling right, then I'd finish out 25 miles or so for the day.
I got to the two mile point, stopped and adjusted the seat position and angle. Felt better.
3 mile mark, further tweaked the seat. Felt really good.
3.5 mile mark, and I'm not feeling good in my shoulders or my back. I'm figuring the bars are a bit too low and the armpads are a bit too narrow. I couldn't do anything about the armpads, but I could flip the stem to raise the bars a bit and see how that would feel. But that would involve taking apart the handlebars and I didn't know if I wanted to do that on the road.
At 4 miles though, I figured why not. I've got tools. It's Sunday. I can do this in 10 minutes and be on my way. I got to Koop Drive, pulled off the Trace to a bench, and started disassembling my bike. It took all of about 5 minutes to get everything apart, get the stem flipped, and started putting it back together.
However, somehow I managed to cross thread two of the screws on the stem and couldn't get them to thread correctly after that. I fought with it for about 15 minutes before I conceded defeat. Being 4.25 miles from home wearing cycling shoes with Look cleats, I REALLY didn't want to walk back. And since it was so early, I knew my chances of seeing someone I knew were slim to none.
So, in shame, I pulled out my iPhone. I looked up my wife's number. I shook my head, then pressed the number for the house to dial it.
"Hey, I'm at Koop Drive. Come get me."
She's so loving and concerned about me though. Naturally, her first reaction was "Are you OK? Do I need to bring anything? Do I need to call 911? Are you hurt? Did you crash?"
I lie. That's not her at all.
"Why? What did you do?"
I told her about my mechanical issues. "Fine... But it's not going to be right away. I'm still in my pajamas and Brynn is asleep." Whatever.
I put the bike back together as best as I could and pushed it to in front of the playground. I ended up waiting a few minutes before she showed up in her brand new used MDX to bring me home.
"Brynn wants McDonalds for breakfast, and you're buying."
OK.
Not like I could object. It was the punishment for my shame.
Next time I'll call one of my friends instead.
HOWEVER, comma...
Road ID put out a cool app for those of us who tend to disappear for a couple hours on Saturday/Sunday for long runs or rides. It makes a lock screen for your phone with your emergency contact info, makes a link to a site where you can be tracked via bread crumbs on GPS, sends a link to that site through SMS, and automatically sends a message to your recipients if you stop moving for 5 minutes. I tried it this weekend and really liked it. It's free, and it's good piece of mind for those of us who have to go beyond the comfort of our respective neighborhoods to train. Go check it out.
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Training Talk
Enough with the introspective stuff... let's talk training today.
This past week has been the first 'real' week of training for Dopey, where my run volume has been appreciably higher than it has been in a while. It was also the first week with a progression of runs where distance increased each day in prep for running on tired legs for long distances 4 days in a row. The downfall from that is I haven't been able to do any other training at all. But some days you just need to be a 'runner' and nothing more. So let's look back on the past 9 days or so, shall we?
7/12 - 1500M swim workout, but was cut short at 1300M due to lightning. Yay summer thunderstorms.
7/13 - Rest. Not planned. Parental responsibility.
7/14 - 26 Mile bike ride. This was supposed to be a 20 mile ride. At about the 9 mile mark, I saw a friend of mine running and slowed down to say hi. He was out doing 20 miles in preparation for Ironman Wisconsin. So I figured I need to ride further than he was running, and did.
7/15 - Planned rest day. Needed.
7/16 - 2 mile treadmill run at Pelican Athletic Club.
7/17 - 4 mile treadmill run
This is a typical midweek pattern for me. The fun starts the next day.
7/18 - 2 mile treadmill run
7/19 - 3 mile run that went 3.1 because of runner's neurosis. I have a great 3 mile loop laid out in my neighborhood that works well for distances of 3 or 6 miles. Trying to run 9 miles on that loop makes me a bit nutty though.
7/20 - 4 mile run. Unfortunately a 4 mile run is awkward. Too many turns or repeated segments. And going to the Trace to do it means turning around after about 600 feet on the trace. I hate this distance. Still ran it under 32 minutes though.
7/21 - 8 mile run. Now I'm starting to put in some mileage. It was warm, but felt good on the Trace under the trees. Even slowed down enough to take a couple pics in downtown Abita Springs.
I need to do that more often. I know I'm training and getting ready for a race, but sometimes I just need to enjoy the scenery around me a bit while I'm out in it.
Back to the topic, I felt really good through all my runs, especially the 8 miler. I had to hold myself back quite a bit because I running a sub-8:00 pace early on. I probably could have carried it the whole run, but I'd be wiped out the rest of the day. When the races in Disney start, I'll have to hold back then as well, especially in the 10K and Half-Marathon. I can't go blowing myself up those two days and expect to have an enjoyable Marathon. And the last thing I want is to be in the middle of a death march through the Happiest Place On Earth®.
In other training related amusements, I did find another bike frame on eBay. This one was a Kestrel Airfoil Pro, 50cm, 650c wheel size. I scooped it up and a couple other incidental parts, and put together a new Tri-bike. The frame isn't UCI legal, but I have zero interest in participating in bicycle racing. It is light, and from a short shakedown ride yesterday, quite fast as well. I need to spend an evening with it on my trainer tweaking and adjusting to get my position right.
This week doesn't look nearly as intense in regards to running, so I'll get back in the pool a couple days as well. Mrs. Russ shot some video underwater of me swimming last weekend, and it's amusingly bad. My hips are probably 8-10" lower than my shoulders. It probably has something to do with the lack of bodyfat below my waist. Explains why the pull bouy makes things so much easier. I do have a 13 mile run next Saturday. Which will become 13.1 due to the runner's neurosis. Should be fun. :)
Congrats to Chris Froome on his win of the 100th Tour De France. His climb up Ventoux was the kind of climb that legends are born from. And also, congrats to Nairo Quintana on both the white jersey and polka-dot jersey signifying the best young rider on the tour and the "King of the Mountains". He's got a tremendously bright future in the sport, and I expect to see him in yellow riding into Paris in the next couple years. This was the first year I've watched the TDF in a while, and it was Nairo who had me captivated a couple weeks ago. Hopefully the drug controversies are done and we can go back to enjoying cycling again.
Stay safe and train hard. Those miles aren't going to run themselves.
Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view. - Yoda
This past week has been the first 'real' week of training for Dopey, where my run volume has been appreciably higher than it has been in a while. It was also the first week with a progression of runs where distance increased each day in prep for running on tired legs for long distances 4 days in a row. The downfall from that is I haven't been able to do any other training at all. But some days you just need to be a 'runner' and nothing more. So let's look back on the past 9 days or so, shall we?
7/12 - 1500M swim workout, but was cut short at 1300M due to lightning. Yay summer thunderstorms.
7/13 - Rest. Not planned. Parental responsibility.
7/14 - 26 Mile bike ride. This was supposed to be a 20 mile ride. At about the 9 mile mark, I saw a friend of mine running and slowed down to say hi. He was out doing 20 miles in preparation for Ironman Wisconsin. So I figured I need to ride further than he was running, and did.
7/15 - Planned rest day. Needed.
7/16 - 2 mile treadmill run at Pelican Athletic Club.
7/17 - 4 mile treadmill run
This is a typical midweek pattern for me. The fun starts the next day.
7/18 - 2 mile treadmill run
7/19 - 3 mile run that went 3.1 because of runner's neurosis. I have a great 3 mile loop laid out in my neighborhood that works well for distances of 3 or 6 miles. Trying to run 9 miles on that loop makes me a bit nutty though.
7/20 - 4 mile run. Unfortunately a 4 mile run is awkward. Too many turns or repeated segments. And going to the Trace to do it means turning around after about 600 feet on the trace. I hate this distance. Still ran it under 32 minutes though.
7/21 - 8 mile run. Now I'm starting to put in some mileage. It was warm, but felt good on the Trace under the trees. Even slowed down enough to take a couple pics in downtown Abita Springs.
I need to do that more often. I know I'm training and getting ready for a race, but sometimes I just need to enjoy the scenery around me a bit while I'm out in it.
Back to the topic, I felt really good through all my runs, especially the 8 miler. I had to hold myself back quite a bit because I running a sub-8:00 pace early on. I probably could have carried it the whole run, but I'd be wiped out the rest of the day. When the races in Disney start, I'll have to hold back then as well, especially in the 10K and Half-Marathon. I can't go blowing myself up those two days and expect to have an enjoyable Marathon. And the last thing I want is to be in the middle of a death march through the Happiest Place On Earth®.
In other training related amusements, I did find another bike frame on eBay. This one was a Kestrel Airfoil Pro, 50cm, 650c wheel size. I scooped it up and a couple other incidental parts, and put together a new Tri-bike. The frame isn't UCI legal, but I have zero interest in participating in bicycle racing. It is light, and from a short shakedown ride yesterday, quite fast as well. I need to spend an evening with it on my trainer tweaking and adjusting to get my position right.
This week doesn't look nearly as intense in regards to running, so I'll get back in the pool a couple days as well. Mrs. Russ shot some video underwater of me swimming last weekend, and it's amusingly bad. My hips are probably 8-10" lower than my shoulders. It probably has something to do with the lack of bodyfat below my waist. Explains why the pull bouy makes things so much easier. I do have a 13 mile run next Saturday. Which will become 13.1 due to the runner's neurosis. Should be fun. :)
Congrats to Chris Froome on his win of the 100th Tour De France. His climb up Ventoux was the kind of climb that legends are born from. And also, congrats to Nairo Quintana on both the white jersey and polka-dot jersey signifying the best young rider on the tour and the "King of the Mountains". He's got a tremendously bright future in the sport, and I expect to see him in yellow riding into Paris in the next couple years. This was the first year I've watched the TDF in a while, and it was Nairo who had me captivated a couple weeks ago. Hopefully the drug controversies are done and we can go back to enjoying cycling again.
Stay safe and train hard. Those miles aren't going to run themselves.
Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view. - Yoda
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Stupid eBay
I hate eBay sometimes. I really do.
Sure, it's great for finding oddball stuff here and there or getting a deal on last year's whatever, but it brings about a torture no other shopping experience can.
Let me back up a bit...
If you don't know me, I'm short. Not "kinda short for a guy" short, but straight up short. 5'3" to be exact. I'm outside of the bell curve on just about anything that involves sizes, so almost anything I have to buy that's sized has to be bought sight unseen on the internet. Shirts I'm usually OK buying off the rack, but that's kind of difficult also in that they're not cut for someone with a thin, somewhat athletic build and end up looking like a parachute if I'm not picky. Shorts I'll buy off the rack also, since they almost fit. But jeans, pants, shoes, stuff like that... Online since nobody stocks pants in a 29W 28L size. Or shoes in a 6.5.
Running shoes I can sometimes find in an outlet store. If I find a shoe I like I'll buy copies online though since outlets are so hit and miss on inventory. I went to a local running store to buy shoes once, did the whole gait analysis thing, got a recommendation only to leave empty handed because my size isn't one they stock and they'd "be glad to order for me". Well, I can order it myself and have it delivered to my house. Thanks anyway. At the expo for the Rock N Roll Marathon in February, Brooks Running set up a huge display where they shot a video of you running on a treadmill, showed it to you and explained what kind of gait you had, then recommended 2 or 3 models of their shoes that would work for you. My buddy and I did this and got recommendations. We walked over to where they were selling the shoes. He told the salesperson what he needed and in whatever size he wears, got the shoes, tried them on, and bought them. I got "sorry, we don't have anything that small in stock here". Blah. "But we can order them for you and you can pick them up at the store. :)" Double blah.
I never did get those Brooks shoes. I'm running in Nike Pegasus 29s I got at the Foley, AL outlet mall. I grabbed every 7.5 running shoe they had and went through them all to pick these.
Every size 7.5 running shoe in the store translates to five (5) pairs of shoes.
Yea.
So anyway, back to eBay...
A few months back after I got this idea of doing triathlons in my head, I found a bike on eBay that would work for a fairly reasonable price and bought it. It was a fairly old design though and not particularly pretty, but it's aero and pretty fast. I tuned it up, made some sizing adjustments to try to get it to be comfortable, and have ridden it a few hundred miles and in two races. It doesn't have the sex appeal some newer tri-bikes have, but it serves its purpose well.
One drawback to the bike that's related to my (lack of) height is that it uses 650c wheels instead of the standard 700c size. So it's not common to find tires in local shops (recurring theme here), or fancy wheels. Periodically I'll get on eBay to see if I can find a cool wheelset or tires or something, but haven't come across anything yet. But the other day when searching eBay for "650c wheels" something came up that was even better than wheels.
It was a Cervelo P2 49cm frame and fork. Like this:
"It never gets easier, you just go faster." ~ Greg LeMond
Sure, it's great for finding oddball stuff here and there or getting a deal on last year's whatever, but it brings about a torture no other shopping experience can.
Let me back up a bit...
If you don't know me, I'm short. Not "kinda short for a guy" short, but straight up short. 5'3" to be exact. I'm outside of the bell curve on just about anything that involves sizes, so almost anything I have to buy that's sized has to be bought sight unseen on the internet. Shirts I'm usually OK buying off the rack, but that's kind of difficult also in that they're not cut for someone with a thin, somewhat athletic build and end up looking like a parachute if I'm not picky. Shorts I'll buy off the rack also, since they almost fit. But jeans, pants, shoes, stuff like that... Online since nobody stocks pants in a 29W 28L size. Or shoes in a 6.5.
Running shoes I can sometimes find in an outlet store. If I find a shoe I like I'll buy copies online though since outlets are so hit and miss on inventory. I went to a local running store to buy shoes once, did the whole gait analysis thing, got a recommendation only to leave empty handed because my size isn't one they stock and they'd "be glad to order for me". Well, I can order it myself and have it delivered to my house. Thanks anyway. At the expo for the Rock N Roll Marathon in February, Brooks Running set up a huge display where they shot a video of you running on a treadmill, showed it to you and explained what kind of gait you had, then recommended 2 or 3 models of their shoes that would work for you. My buddy and I did this and got recommendations. We walked over to where they were selling the shoes. He told the salesperson what he needed and in whatever size he wears, got the shoes, tried them on, and bought them. I got "sorry, we don't have anything that small in stock here". Blah. "But we can order them for you and you can pick them up at the store. :)" Double blah.
I never did get those Brooks shoes. I'm running in Nike Pegasus 29s I got at the Foley, AL outlet mall. I grabbed every 7.5 running shoe they had and went through them all to pick these.
Every size 7.5 running shoe in the store translates to five (5) pairs of shoes.
Yea.
So anyway, back to eBay...
A few months back after I got this idea of doing triathlons in my head, I found a bike on eBay that would work for a fairly reasonable price and bought it. It was a fairly old design though and not particularly pretty, but it's aero and pretty fast. I tuned it up, made some sizing adjustments to try to get it to be comfortable, and have ridden it a few hundred miles and in two races. It doesn't have the sex appeal some newer tri-bikes have, but it serves its purpose well.
One drawback to the bike that's related to my (lack of) height is that it uses 650c wheels instead of the standard 700c size. So it's not common to find tires in local shops (recurring theme here), or fancy wheels. Periodically I'll get on eBay to see if I can find a cool wheelset or tires or something, but haven't come across anything yet. But the other day when searching eBay for "650c wheels" something came up that was even better than wheels.
It was a Cervelo P2 49cm frame and fork. Like this:
Ooh... purty....
The auction price started at $500 with $70 for shipping. The pictures of the frame were clear and there was some normal use scuffs and a couple chips, but it was in really good shape. That got me thinking...
I've got my tri-bike that I could use the parts off of to build this frame out and I'd be on a modern TT bike for way less than half the cost of a comparable new bike. And I'd get to build it. I love to build stuff. This is too good to be true! I put the frame on my watch list and started doing some homework. Over the next couple days I'd probably built and rebuilt this bike in my head a dozen times. I'd found an aerobar I liked, a hydration system I liked, figured out what components I'd reuse, and what I'd replace, and decided I wanted to buy the frame. I use a sniping program to bid on eBay, so I loaded it up with the auction number, put in my max bid for the frame, and told it to place the bid with 15 seconds left on the auction. All I had to do at this point was wait.
While I waited, I distracted myself by looking at bike parts on eBay and reading threads on the Cervelo forum. I'd already assumed I'd be buying the frame for $500 since nobody else had bid on it and there was only a couple hours left in the auction. And each second that ticked by convinced me it was mine.
Then my bid got placed...
I'm not sure what happened, but in 15 seconds I went from scoring a killer deal on a great frame to utter disappointment as I got the email saying "Sorry you didn't win".
Apparently the whole "use a sniping program and don't bid until the last second" strategy was in place by another vertically challenged triathlete with a bit more disposable income than me.
Stupid eBay.
"It never gets easier, you just go faster." ~ Greg LeMond
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Training Talk
Last week, I said I had intended to make a post outlining some training, but changed my mind because of a friend's status on Facebook.
This week, I'm talking about training.
Right now, my training consists of working towards two goals:
1. The Dopey Challenge. 48.6 miles over 4 days at Disneyworld culminating in the Walt Disney World Marathon. Plus an extra mile in the Mickey Mile with my daughter.
and..
2. Build my swimming to a point where I can realistically start training for the Half-Ironman in New Orleans next April.
Tertiary non-goal: Get a better base of cycling fitness as well.
What I'm doing is following a training plan laid out by another blogger, but changing some things up on the non-running days for cross training and for working towards goal #2. This past week, my schedule was as follows:
Monday: Bike 30 minutes
Tuesday: Run 2 miles
Wednesday: Run 3 miles
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Bike 30 minutes
Saturday: Run 6 miles
Sunday: Core
What actually was done:
Monday: Swim Smooth's Stroke Correction Workout (roughly 1200M of swimming and drills)
Tuesday: 2 mile treadmill run (followed by a St. Peter's Dad's Club meeting at the Abita Brewery to sample some Abita Strawator)
Wednesday: 3 mile treadmill run
Thursday: Rest (in the form of cutting grass)
Friday: Swim Smooth workout
Saturday: 6 mile run
Sunday (Today): 20 mile bike
The good: Ran well all three days. The runner compulsion to make training runs into race distances creeped in and my 3 mile run became 3.1, and my 6 mile became 6.2 (5K and 10K respectively). I've got a touch of ITBS in my right knee and if I stretch a bit before I run and wear the knee band for ITBS it's not an issue (but wasn't the case last week since I neglected the band on a 5 mile run).
The bad: It was still over 90 degrees when I started cutting grass on Thursday evening. I probably burned more calories and did more work than if I had run 5 miles. But my yard looked AWESOME!
The ugly: The two swim workouts. The swimming would be fine if it weren't for the need to breathe, but I can't ever find a comfortable rhythm to my breathing that would allow for me to swim continuously for more than about 100 meters. I'm guessing at some point it'll get better, but as of now, it's not. It's a humbling experience too, especially since I feel like I'm a decent runner and can run for hours. I'm not as fast as I want to be on a bike, but I can ride for hours as well. But swimming is a completely different animal.
I remember when I was doing martial arts, and would meet people who were interested in trying out a class. One of their primary objections would always be "I'm not in shape for kickboxing/ju jitsu/tae kwon do/hapkido/Brazilian jiu jitsu/judo, so I want to get in shape first before I try a class so I don't get embarrassed." My reply was always "the only way to get into fight shape is to fight". The logic was that sport specific fitness would be more of a factor than general fitness. I had seen a ton of guys come in who were in "good" shape and would be on the verge of puking halfway through a ju jitsu workout. Or in the case of my much younger than me cousin, actually puking in a Chik-Fil-A drive through after a ju jitsu workout. He was in good shape, but not in ju jitsu shape.
Of course, knowing how to do whatever it was we were doing in a martial arts class made it easier as well, so it was easier to get by on skill rather than fitness. I'm beginning to feel like swimming is a lot like that. The first time I sparred in a kickboxing class I gassed a couple minutes into the first round because I didn't have the skills. But as my skills developed, sparring became easier and it was less of an effort. I'm just waiting for my swimming (especially the breathing part) to get to that point. I think that once that happens, I'll be able to drastically increase my swim volume and get much better fairly quickly.
Next week looks to be a fairly low volume running week, so I'll get an extra pool workout in. The week after also looks to be low volume. However, the week of July 14th is the first "Dopey Drill Week" in my plan. 6 consecutive days of running, with an 8 mile run on Sunday the 21st.
CAN'T WAIT!
- "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great!"
-Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own
This week, I'm talking about training.
Right now, my training consists of working towards two goals:
1. The Dopey Challenge. 48.6 miles over 4 days at Disneyworld culminating in the Walt Disney World Marathon. Plus an extra mile in the Mickey Mile with my daughter.
and..
2. Build my swimming to a point where I can realistically start training for the Half-Ironman in New Orleans next April.
Tertiary non-goal: Get a better base of cycling fitness as well.
What I'm doing is following a training plan laid out by another blogger, but changing some things up on the non-running days for cross training and for working towards goal #2. This past week, my schedule was as follows:
Monday: Bike 30 minutes
Tuesday: Run 2 miles
Wednesday: Run 3 miles
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Bike 30 minutes
Saturday: Run 6 miles
Sunday: Core
What actually was done:
Monday: Swim Smooth's Stroke Correction Workout (roughly 1200M of swimming and drills)
Tuesday: 2 mile treadmill run (followed by a St. Peter's Dad's Club meeting at the Abita Brewery to sample some Abita Strawator)
Wednesday: 3 mile treadmill run
Thursday: Rest (in the form of cutting grass)
Friday: Swim Smooth workout
Saturday: 6 mile run
Sunday (Today): 20 mile bike
The good: Ran well all three days. The runner compulsion to make training runs into race distances creeped in and my 3 mile run became 3.1, and my 6 mile became 6.2 (5K and 10K respectively). I've got a touch of ITBS in my right knee and if I stretch a bit before I run and wear the knee band for ITBS it's not an issue (but wasn't the case last week since I neglected the band on a 5 mile run).
The bad: It was still over 90 degrees when I started cutting grass on Thursday evening. I probably burned more calories and did more work than if I had run 5 miles. But my yard looked AWESOME!
The ugly: The two swim workouts. The swimming would be fine if it weren't for the need to breathe, but I can't ever find a comfortable rhythm to my breathing that would allow for me to swim continuously for more than about 100 meters. I'm guessing at some point it'll get better, but as of now, it's not. It's a humbling experience too, especially since I feel like I'm a decent runner and can run for hours. I'm not as fast as I want to be on a bike, but I can ride for hours as well. But swimming is a completely different animal.
I remember when I was doing martial arts, and would meet people who were interested in trying out a class. One of their primary objections would always be "I'm not in shape for kickboxing/ju jitsu/tae kwon do/hapkido/Brazilian jiu jitsu/judo, so I want to get in shape first before I try a class so I don't get embarrassed." My reply was always "the only way to get into fight shape is to fight". The logic was that sport specific fitness would be more of a factor than general fitness. I had seen a ton of guys come in who were in "good" shape and would be on the verge of puking halfway through a ju jitsu workout. Or in the case of my much younger than me cousin, actually puking in a Chik-Fil-A drive through after a ju jitsu workout. He was in good shape, but not in ju jitsu shape.
Of course, knowing how to do whatever it was we were doing in a martial arts class made it easier as well, so it was easier to get by on skill rather than fitness. I'm beginning to feel like swimming is a lot like that. The first time I sparred in a kickboxing class I gassed a couple minutes into the first round because I didn't have the skills. But as my skills developed, sparring became easier and it was less of an effort. I'm just waiting for my swimming (especially the breathing part) to get to that point. I think that once that happens, I'll be able to drastically increase my swim volume and get much better fairly quickly.
Next week looks to be a fairly low volume running week, so I'll get an extra pool workout in. The week after also looks to be low volume. However, the week of July 14th is the first "Dopey Drill Week" in my plan. 6 consecutive days of running, with an 8 mile run on Sunday the 21st.
CAN'T WAIT!
- "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great!"
-Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Of Bees And Horses
In some training article or book I read, I found a fable-esque story about a bumblebee. According to the tale, some scientists and astrophysicists at NASA couldn't figure out how bees fly, as their wings were too small to generate lift. But bees don't know they can't fly, so they just do.
Also in the same article, the mentality of a racehorse is discussed. They blindly follow their trainer and only do what he wants them to do. Nothing more, nothing less. And on race day they go out and do their absolute best with no worries that they've lost fitness from their pre-race taper or concerns that they haven't done enough for their race.
The moral of both stories is fairly obvious... Always believe you can do whatever you set out to do (the bee), and trust in your training (the horse).
One reason why I was never attracted to running is I never could figure out what to do. Obviously, run for a little while, then run further the next time, ad infinitum. But I'd try it and within 2 weeks I couldn't walk because I'd overdo it, then think "this running stuff kills my legs" and quit. It didn't make sense to me since in my experience with cycling I could ride however far I wanted whenever I wanted and never really dealt with soreness or injury.
Every January, the (Some)Times-Picayune would publish a training plan in advance of the Crescent City Classic. 3 plans actually, aimed at walkers, joggers, and runners. I didn't understand the logic behind the plans, as one wouldn't cover the distance, another would go way over the distance, the mileages seemed haphazard, etc. But I'd set out to follow the plan, do so for maybe two weeks, and then fall off sometime in late January on a particularly nasty day when it was 40 degrees and raining. Then a week before the Classic I'd try to cram 3 months of training in 4 days, and go do the CCC and not be able to walk the week after.
Finally a couple years ago I got smart when I found the MiCoach site and app. I saw that you could build a training plan based on goals and distance, set your training days, your long run day, etc. Since I didn't know any better, I took the mentality of the racehorse and just followed the training plan, and lo and behold, completed a half-marathon. I actually did it twice, as the day of my last long run I covered 13 miles and change. Based on that experience, and that of a couple races after, I figured out that a good plan was critical to success in endurance sport.
Since that first race, I've used a couple other MiCoach plans with great success, as well has Hal Higdon's Marathon Novice 2 plan for the one marathon I've run. I even built my own plan for the Big Easy Sprint Tri as an exercise in plan building, since the distances weren't daunting and I already had built a decent endurance base.
The unique circumstances of the Dopey Challenge, however, led me back to searching for a plan. I don't trust my novice skills at building a training plan for something like the Dopey. I also don't think that a standard marathon plan is sufficient because of the 4 consecutive days of running in the challenge, so I was hoping to come across something similar. Jeff Galloway is the "official" running coach for Disney Running, but his training plan seems to be aimed at run-walkers and is focused on just finishing the races. I looked at his plan and felt the volume was way too light for someone with my level of fitness and endurance (or lack of common sense), so I had to find something else.
Some Googling led me to Brian Johnson's blog, where he's laid out a plan for both novice and intermediate runners. Brian studied exercise science at Purdue and reading some of his blog posts leads me to believe he knows what he's doing... And he's giving away his knowledge for free! He's also a Disney running fan and has done a Goofy Challenge, so he's familiar with what this event will entail. His plans make sense to me, since he's taken into account the volume of the races, the unique challenge of running 4 days in a row, doubling mileage each day, and the necessity of cross training in preparation for something like this.
I felt his intermediate plan fits me to a 'T', but when I backed it up on a calendar, I found it starts in mid July. His novice plan started in June. My last race was at the end of May, so what I'm doing is following the novice plan for now to maintain fitness, and when the intermediate plan starts I'll go to that. I'm also swimming in place of core training, since swimming is good for the core, and I need the practice because my swimming is so mediocre. I also plan to sprinkle in some long bike rides where I can simply because I enjoy long bike rides when I have the opportunity.
I'm still surprised to see such a comprehensive plan laid out and given away for free. Brian has done a great job putting his plans together. They're well thought out in building mileage, accounting for the unique challenge of running 4 days in succession doubling the distance each day, and for recovery. Maybe I'll get to meet Brian in Disney before the marathon to say thanks.
The past couple weeks of training have been mostly non-eventful. Running distances have been fairly short (2-5 miles) and I've gotten a couple swim workouts in each week. Swimming isn't nearly as gratifying as running, especially in this age of GPS tracking. If you go do a 5 mile run and use a GPS app or device to track your run, you can look at a map of the run on a computer and see how far you went. But the pool is just that... a pool. And the distances don't even sound impressive. "I swam 1500M this morning". Whoopee... I ran 7 miles. Look at my map of my run.
In the "cheap bike aficionado" department, I scored a bike off Craigslist this week. Both of my bikes, the Bianchi (aka The Sexy Italian Bitch©) and the Quintana Roo (which is still nameless as of now) both have Look pedals, which means special shoes when I want to ride them. They're also quite comfortable at a faster pace, so that means the wife on her hybrid isn't keeping up. So I'd been on the lookout for a mountain or trail bike to ride with the family, but I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on it. That pretty much left me looking at used bikes on Craigslist or eBay.
Thursday, I found an ad for a Trek "Series 3" located near Tulane University in Uptown New Orleans. I sent the guy a text and he still had it, so I made plans to stop by to take a look at it on my way home. In doing some research (looking at BikePedia and comparing pictures to the picture on Craigslist), I figured out the bike is a couple year old Trek 3500. Basically, an entry level bike with entry level components. And a retail price of $379. Pretty much what I was looking for. I offered the guy a few bucks less than his asking price because the bike was in fairly rough condition (and he said his price was negotiable), and came home with a cheapie beater mountain bike to putt around on with the family.
Took all of about 12 minutes for a picture of it on Facebook to lure in the obvious "was it cheap because it's a kids' sized frame?" joke as well. Obvious joke was obvious.
Finally, I want to send some congratulations to my cousins Danielle and Tabitha for running a 5K today. Between the emails and Facebook messages, I've felt just a little like a coach or a trainer for them in this adventure. Both have thanked me for my help and cited me as an inspiration, but in reality they're inspiring me. Having family take note of what I'm doing and feeling like I can help them chase new goals just makes me want to go further/faster so I can learn more about this sport and hopefully get others to take on some of the same challenges. I got involved in running just as a way to stay active and fit for myself, and it's pretty neat that I'm inspiring others to do the same thing. That said, I probably ought to send some thanks to my friend Alan (Hackker) because it was his posting about his running that got me curious enough about running to actually consider trying it, and also my wife's boss Denis who urged me just enough after the last CCC I ran with him to try a longer race, and to also run a marathon.
It's also Denis's fault that I'm doing the Dopey Challenge. He called me after the two beer threshold had been reached where I stop considering the implications of committing myself to something that could result in injury or bodily harm. So, to Denis, thanks bro!
Always pass on what you have learned - Master Yoda
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