Carbo Loading Time!

I'm two days away from the Empire State Marathon, and so it's time to start turning my attention to carbo loading. I did some reading and thought I'd share what I found.

Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an article in the NYTimes that cites a number of studies that claim that a short, intensive carbo loading the day before the race is the best method:

In both studies, carbohydrates eaten at breakfast on race day, during the race itself or on days earlier in the week were relatively unimportant. It was primarily what people ate on the day before the race that mattered.

Okay, so focus on the day beforehand. Which can be a problem, given that I'll be travelling and away from my pantry. So what types of food should I pack or search out?

I often tell people to choose relatively concentrated sources of carbs, like juices, pasta, rice and sweets,” Mr. Wilson [a graduate student at the University of Minnesota who led the study] says. “That way, the volume of food needed isn't so enormous.” In addition, he says, “lower-fiber foods may be good, since that could reduce the potential for stomach distress during the race.” 

Dimity McDowell, writing in Runners World, provides me a detailed list:

"Tortillas, oatmeal, bread, pancakes, waffles, bagels, yogurt, and juice are all easy-to-digest options. Many fruits are high in carbs but are also high in fiber—and too much can cause stomach trouble midrace. "Bananas are a low-fiber choice," says sports nutritionist Ilana Katz, R.D. "And you can peel apples, peaches, and pears to reduce their fiber content." She also gives her clients permission to indulge in white bread and baked potatoes without the skin since both are easily digested.
Ryan suggests steering clear of high-fat foods—like creamy sauces, cheese, butter, and oils—as well as too much protein. Both nutrients fill you up faster than carbs and take longer to digest, she says. Pick jam—not butter—for your toast, tomato sauce in lieu of alfredo sauce on your pasta, and frozen yogurt instead of ice cream for dessert.

Cool - I can work with that. I absolutely love bananas and bagels anyways, so shouldn't be a problem. But how much should I be eating? The NYTimes article states that

...few of the runners in either study actually consumed enough carbohydrates to benefit, even if they thought that they were doing so. In both studies, the minimum effective “dose” of carbohydrates was at least six or seven grams for every kilogram of a person’s body weight, or about a quarter-ounce of carbohydrates for every 2.2 pounds of body weight. By that formula, a 220-pound runner would need to consume at least 25 ounces, or more than 700 grams, of carbohydrates on the day before a marathon to finish faster.

The Runners World article provides guidance along these lines:

At this point, 85 to 95 percent of your calories should come from carbs, says Katz. Ryan recommends eating about four grams of carbs for every pound of body weight (for a 150 pound runner that's 600 grams—or 2,400 calories—of carbs per day). 

What’s interesting is how this affects your weight:

Be prepared to see a number that's at least four pounds more than your usual weight. The extra pounds mean you get a gold star for carbo-loading properly. "With every gram of stored carbohydrate, you store an extra three grams of water," says Katz.

I think I've got enough for a plan now. But i'm curious: what kind of foods you you carbo load on? Let me know in the comments!

Marathon Nutrition Strategy

One of the challenging aspects about the marathon is how to take in energy as you're running. This is important, because as Sara Latta's article details, most runners only have ~2,000 calories worth of glycogen stored in the muscles and liver, enough to get you to about mile 20. Once you deplete your glycogen reserves, you hit the Wall, where your body moves from burning glucose to burning fat, a much less efficient energy source. Latta writes:

"...burning fatty acids requires plentiful oxygen, so as fatty acid metabolism increases, your heart must work harder to pump more oxygen-carrying blood to the muscles. It may be difficult or impossible to maintain your pace, especially if you've lost enough water through sweat to become even slightly dehydrated (this causes your blood to become thicker and therefore harder to pump). ”

Sounds unpleasant! And it is - I've been there. Your limbs feel heavy and the mind becomes stagnant as the body focuses its energy elsewhere. So the trick is to take in enough glucose during the run to prevent or delay this turnover as long as possible. As someone that has a tricky stomach, this has been a challenge for me. How to best replenish my reserves as I run without sparking GI?

I've tried a few things over the years. These include:

1. Acceleraide. Typically, I've drank the Orange flavor in my hand-held, but have also used other other sports drinks like Gatorade, etc. This appears to be effective, but I've encountered two issues with these sports drinks:  
• Sweet. After a while, the thought of drinking more flavored drink is just nauseating – I just want water! Wish there was a way to carry just a shot or two with me.
• Sour stomach. All of the carbs in the liquid doesn't always sit well.
2. Gels. These are the most efficient method for immediate energy that I know of. I've used a number of different flavors and styles, but have mainly stuck with GUs. My issues with them are:
• Flavor. These can range from horrible (Salted Watermelon!) to excellent (Salted Caramel!)
• Caffeine. While at times it’s nice to have this added energy, caffeine can upset my stomach, especially on a relatively empty stomach on early morning runs. 
• Too quick? At times, the energy hits me so quickly I sometimes feel shaky or jittery.
3. Chews. My favorite. I find that the chews are a good balance of energy and slower digestion. My only issue here is that they’re very sticky and bulky, so not always easy to carry around. 

My tactic will be to rely mainly on chews and water. While I’m going to carry a GU or two with me, in case I need big boost of glucose for the later stages of the race, i'm going to avoid it if I can.

What do you think? What worked for you? Send along any advice you have in the comments.

Related Posts:
Don't Drive the Boat: My Nutrition Strategy for TNF 50 DC
To Supplement or Not to Supplement

Running to the Empire State

The itch is getting scratched! I just committed to lacing up for the Empire State Marathon in Syracuse, NY on October, 19th. I've wanted to give 26.2 another go ever since my first attempt ended with a knee injury and a 12.5 min/mi pace.

So my training cycle is starting anew. I’m starting off with a solid base, having averaged 4 runs and ~23 miles a week since the MPP half in March. The goal now is to start ramping up the mileage, mainly through longer runs on the weekend. It will be challenging as I’m in the process of moving my family to a new house, but I can't think of better motivation to get out the door.

My initial thinking is that i'd like to finish between 3:45 and 4:00 but we'll see how I feel in a few months. Regardless, look for some posts in the future as I determine what my training plan will be and how my experience of training for this race will be different than training for the KBVCM.

Related Posts:

Running as Practice

Race Report: Vermont City Marathon

Thoughts on the Boston Marathon

What started out as a fun day with my son cheering on famous runners, friends, and complete strangers turned quickly into a stomach churning afternoon when the news of the reprehensible carnage came in. Like a lot of people, I got caught up in the fear and terror and spent a night distracted by news reports and rumor mongering. But after a few days of sleep and reflection, I choose to reject the fear sowed by these cowardly terrorists and instead focus on the strength of my great nation and people of my adopted hometown. When I'm healthy again, I will continue to run races without fear. And i'll be down at the marathon again in 2014, supporting it in every way I can.

Many people with more talented pens than I wrote much better reactions than I could ever hope to do. Here are some of the best.

Patton Oswalt:

“I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths. But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. … This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.
But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago,”

Heather Hurlburt , on combating terrorism like being a marathon

We don't know who planted those explosive devices, but, as former West Point academic Brian Fishman reminds us, we know what those who resort to terror's indiscriminate violence want:

Terrorists kill for two basic reasons: They want to disrupt and destroy institutions or symbols of a political order they despise and they want to intimidate people not touched by the attack directly. 

... My fellow Americans, our hearts are broken, but the state of our union is strong. Maybe stronger than it was yesterday, before we saw those pictures of our fellow-citizens running from the race to the fallen.
So what about sowing fear and division among the rest of us, terrorists' other goal?
Americans of every political stripe have been calling out speculation and scapegoating as fast as it happens. Bostonians of every faith and race have come together to mourn their losses and celebrate their heroes. Maybe the attacker or attackers, whomever they are, didn't know Boston's difficult history of race and religious relations, maybe they did – but for those of us who do, this unity is especially beautiful to see.
That's pretty good for mile one. But we have so many hard miles ahead. Not turning on each other, or our institutions, or our own freedoms, whatever the truth behind these terrible attacks proves to be… can we keep it up?

And finally, my friend Norb, writing on Facebook. He watches the race from the other side of Route 135 than I do:

For those of you who don't know, I live a short walk from the mile 4 water stop on the Boston Marathon route in Ashland, MA. In the years I don't have to work, I take in the race with my kids. It's always quite amazing to stand on the hill there and watch a wall of people running towards us.
But then the fun begins. We pick out people to shout encouragement to. Maybe they have their name on their shirt. Maybe they're wearing their country's flag. Maybe they're just wearing pink sneakers. If we can find a way to address you, we will shout our encouragement at you as you run past.
And that will continue from mile 4 (and earlier), all the way to the end of the race. People you have never seen before, and will probably never see again, shouting heartfelt - and often hilarious - encouragement to those souls crazy enough to run 26.2 miles through our home towns.
It's one of those things that makes Boston Boston. It's why I love living here, and would never consider moving anywhere else. And no act of terror is going to change that.
Therefore, while I grieve for those people killed and injured today, I will say this to all you runners: I'll see you next year. And the year after that. And the year after that, too. Because for every "real" athlete out there running the race, there are five running it because they lost someone to cancer, or want their schools to have better technology, or any of a thousand other noble causes that drive people to test themselves against the Boston Marathon.
So, next year I will stand on the hill up by Ashland High School and watch that wave of crazy people washing down Union Street. And, while my smile may be a little sad, it will still be a smile. And then I'll go down and shout myself horse at the crazy people, helping them stay crazy enough to keep running for another 22.2 miles.
Because we're Boston. It's what we do.

The Evolution of My Running

It’s been almost a month and a half since the New RiverTrail 50k.  It’s been a month and a half since I have been training for anything, running hard or seriously or even blogging about running.  And yet, I’ve never been more “in love” with running.

The NRT 50k was an evolution of sorts in my still-young running life.  Sure, I started to come apart towards the end, probably didn’t fuel well enough and am still somewhat hobbled by the physical after-effects of training for and racing in that race.  Regardless, it can be counted as no less than the best running experience I have had to date.

Strangely, since running that race, the feeling I crave from running, the feeling I most want to feel when out for a run is the feeling I had at my lowest point in that race (mile 27).  I was down and out, just passing by the mileage marker of my longest ever run, under-fueled, limping and completely isolated (after having spent most of the first 3 hours of the race with some great folks).  I was struggling.

I just kept reminding myself, “I choose to do this, and I do it because I love it; This is what I’m here for, this is what I trained for.”

And the training paid off.  And that’s what makes me want to be back in that place, testing my training, testing my mind, my ability to persevere; testing my love of running.

The year is winding down now and there are no significant goals left to accomplish.  My mileage for the year will be well above the goal I had set at the beginning of the year.  I’ve run all the races I had planned to run.  I had some great experiences and some bad experiences.  Most importantly, learned a heck of a lot about how and why I run and running in general. 

Heading into 2013, I’m already focusing on a 24 week training cycle, starting the very first day of the year (just before that, actually), targeting at getting me ready for the North Face Endurance Challenge50 mile race in Washington, DC.  I’ll be lucky enough to run that race with Joel again, and we’ll go through our (vastly different) training cycles together as well.

Going into 2012, the focus was on running longer.  The hope was that I could run longer and lose only minimal speed.  What I learned, quite unfortunately, is that I lose quite a bit of speed the longer I run, much more than I had hoped.  Training for a 50 mile race is going to have to be about abandoning any idea of speed altogether.

I never fully grasped the idea of “running by feel” before the NRT 50k.  Call it a result of being under or over-trained for races, but the way I felt in races leading up to that one could only be characterized using negative terms.  If I were running by feel, I wouldn’t be running at all, it would seem.  But in stretching my runs out longer than I ever thought possible, I’ve started to realize just how amazing the human body is.  I haven’t quite determined if “running by feel” is fully coupling the body and mind, or fully de-coupling the body and mind.  The reality is that there are most likely times when coupling works best, and other times when de-coupling works best…  and it’s that adaptability that really defines running by feel.

Running by feeling really blows open the doors on my enjoyment of running, however.  Forgetting about the watch, about whether I’m running too fast or too slow for goal pace and focusing about my perceived effort has allowed me to become much more in tune with my body and with my surroundings.  This is especially true on trails, when not being in touch with my body and surroundings will result in a face plant.  Some days, after I get back from the run, upload it and see what transpired, I’m quite amazed at how much faster or slower the run is than what I perceived.  But I think the value of understanding how much effort you are exerting relative to how much energy you have in reserve, how to properly push the pace when you are hurting, and back off it (even when you are not hurting) to ensure you’re going to be able to finish and run the race you want to run is fully supported by training in this manner, and so it will be my motif during this training cycle.

I’m also working on my Metabolic Efficiency.  There was an article in October’s Ultrarunning magazine (one of the best running magazines out there, in my opinion, for runners of any distance) about how to train your body to become more efficient at burning fat as fuel.  This makes perfect sense to me.  If my stomach is off and I can’t take in calories for a period of time, I want to be able to keep pushing on without taking a huge physical or mental toll.  I want my body to operate as efficiently as possible in all conditions, and I realize just feeling comfortable on my training runs isn’t going to get me there.  So, for the past 2 weeks and for the next four, I’ll be eating a (vegetarian, as always) diet high in protein (with a bit more fat than usual) and lower in carbs than I normally eat.  I won’t fuel specifically for any training run, nor will I fuel during any training run.  Too, I’ll be running SLOWLY (so as to keep my heart-rate in the right zone for optimal ME training) and for a duration between 1 hr 30 min and 2 hrs for as many runs as I can.  This should lead right into the beginning the training cycle for the 50 miler, so the timing is perfect.  Generally, I would just build a cardiovascular base before a training cycle anyway, so it’s not terribly different from what I would normally plan, with the exception of the nutritional aspect.

Training for and racing in the 50-miler is going to take up the first half of next year.  I plan to throw in a 50k race in that time (hopefully the TARC Spring Classic) and possibly a fast half marathon with Todd (the Quincy Half again?).  Beyond that, I don’t yet know.  Maybe I’ll try for another marathon at the end of next year, see if I really can run as fast as I want to run for that distance?  We’ll see.  I think a lot depends on how the 50 miler goes... I could end up signing up for a 100 miler, or I could end up hanging up the shoes altogether.

But for now, I’m loving running more than I ever have, and I feel so lucky to have had such a great and relatively injury free year of consistent running (haven’t had a single week without logging at least one run all year).  I’m really looking forward to tackling the 50 mile distance and figuring out where I want to go with my running from there.  Onward!!

Running: Better Than Basketball

Slate recently published an interesting take on running. David Stipp put our accomplishment as endurance runners in perspective by claming that the marathon is the only sport that isn't a joke:

Hear me out, sports fans—I'm a basketball nut myself, and so the joke is as much on me as anyone. To see where I’m coming from, you can’t do better than examining basketball’s most physically talented player, Michael Jordan. He was hailed as nearly repealing the law of gravity, and during his prime he made rival players look as if they were moving in slow motion. But Air Jordan wasn't in the same league as a house cat when it comes to leaping. Consider how casually young cats can jump up onto refrigerators. To match that, a man would have to do a standing jump right over the backboard. And a top-notch Frisbee dog corkscrewing through the air eight feet up to snag a whizzing disc makes Jordan look decidedly human when it comes to the fantastic quickness, agility, strength, and ballistic precision various animals are endowed with.

There's no denying it—our kind started substituting brains for brawn long ago, and it shows: We can't begin to compete with animals when it comes to the raw ingredients of athletic prowess. Yet being the absurdly self-enthralled species we are, we crowd into arenas and stadiums to marvel at our pathetic physical abilities as if they were something special. But there is one exception to our general paltriness: We're the right honorable kings and queens of the planet when it comes to long-distance running.

It's a pretty inspiring take on our sport. Well worth a read!

Further thoughts on the Vermont City Marathon

Todd's excellent race report captures the energy and the beauty of the Vermont City Marathon.   As a newcomer to the race, I would add just a few additional impressions.

First off - the weather in northern Vermont is apparently totally psycho.  Just days before the race, forecasters had us on the edge of our seats, with predictions of either rain or, even worse, 90 degree heat.  Somehow, though, we were blessed with a beautifully clear day, with temperatures around 60 degrees at the start of the race, and no higher than 70 degrees four hours later.

I'd feared that the lack of starting corrals would lead to a difficult start, but most runners found appropriate places and the race opened up fairly quickly.  I very much enjoyed the first three miles, which were run through Burlington's town center as the town's Sunday morning brunch-goers cheered us on.

The next section, a six-mile out-and-back along the Burlington beltline, was gorgeous, but at times congested with runners going opposite ways along the same road.  I looked for Todd (who was well ahead of me) on the other side of the road but didn't see him; I did, however, manage to give Eric a high five.  It was awesome to come back into town at the end of loop and see family and friends cheering for me.

The next loop went south through the city, and much of this is a blur.  However, I loved the views across the lake on the last two miles of this loop.  The track got very narrow at sections, but I was well ahead of my pace group at this point, and so not feeling the crowds.  The loop ended with the "Assault on the Battery," and, despite all the hype, I didn't find this hill that challenging.  I just slowed it down a bit and let the cheering crowds -- and again, my family! -- provide the adrenaline boost to get me up the hill. 

The next eight or so miles were much more mellow as the race winded through a number of neighborhood streets.  Here, the spectators weren't here to cheer on a particular runner; they were camped out and partying and enjoying the show.  Finally, in the last couple of miles, we hit a quiet stretch on a bike path through the woods, and then the race was over.

There are a few things that could have been better -- more portable toilets, more evenly mixed gatorade, better organization post-race -- but it is hard to worry much about such small details.  The marathon was smooth, well organized, and the crowds couldn't have been better.  I only wish I'd carried a camera. 

Race Report: Vermont City Marathon

“My time, the rank I attain, my outward appearance — all of these are secondary. For a runner like me, what’s really important is reaching the goal I set myself, under my own power. I give it everything I have, endure what needs enduring, and am able, in my own way, to be satisfied. From out of the failures and joys I always try to come away having grasped a concrete lesson.”
- Haruki Murakami, from What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

I finally ran 26.2! The Vermont City Marathon was last Sunday, and your RR&RS bloggers all took part. I was particularlly excited to run the VCM for two reasons: one, I grew up in the Burlington area, and running the first few races as part of a relay team were so fun that I wanted to experience the race in its entirety, and two, I know that Burlington knows how to throw a party. And the VCM didn't disappoint on the latter! The day will filled with incredible sights that I don't have the time to list now, but short list of some of the more memorable ones were: wall-to-wall people lining the streets of the city to cheer us on, a clapping drag queen on Church Street, Eric and Mo’s wives with their “Dads of RR&RS sign, seeing a view containing both Mount Mansfield and Camel's Hump at once, and lots of bands ranging from the to the country rock ensemble on North Street playing “queen of hearts” to the random guys on the sidewalk strumming their guitars or blowing hot oboe riffs.

But all that was in the future. The three of us toed the start line filled with the confidence of a good eight months of training. So good, in fact, that visions of running a 3:30 filled my head, so from the gun, I ran with that pace group, luxuriating in my tapered legs, soaking in the crowd cheering us on, and enjoying seeing some of the old sights from my UVM days (Bove's, the beautiful house of the Fiji fraternity). As we worked our way onto the Burlington Beltway – an out-and-back on a closed freeway – the running started to get serious. Still feeling good, I slowly passed the 3:30 pace group on a downhill and sunk into myself for a bit, enjoying my music and trying to ignore the annoying footing on the canted freeway. Looking back on my splits now, I was running much faster than I had anticipated, but it sure didn't feel that way – I was cruising and feeling damned good doing it.

So I was surprised when I started feeling my calves around mile 10 as we turned onto Church Street. Not good. I've experienced this before in races: the calves tighten up because of the faster pace of the race and the extra pounding on the pavement. I slowed down and tried to drag my toes a bit in an attempt to stretch out the calves as I ran, but as we started south the situation wasn't getting any better.

My own personal cheering section!

One major highlight was mile 12, where my family gathered to offer me encouragement and water. After that, after this my race went sour. I knew I was in trouble because my calves were hard as rocks and not loosening up. I was drinking lots of water and Gatorade in fear of cramps. I was stopping  to stretch the calves. None of this helped. At the half-way point, I just tried to relax and enjoy the awesome scenery of the Adaronaks across Lake Champlain, and this distracted me enough to get me to the Burlington Taiko drummers situated at the foot of the course’s major hill: the assult on Battery.  Hearing the pounding of all of these deep drums was incredibly invigorating, and fueled what was a great run up the hill: it was actually a good rest for my calves. Unfortunately, as I crested the hill and started down North Ave around mile 16, I started experiencing sharp nerve pain in my right knee.

KBVCM Splits

I toughed it out for a while, but by mile 18, I was half walking and half jogging in an attempt to mitigate what was an electric nerve pain shooting from my knee. It was occasionally so debilitating that I literally couldn't run at all. Cursing my bad luck, I sunk into a dark place within myself as I struggled to keep moving, completely ignoring  the lawn parties lining the race route as we weaved our way through the suburbs north of the city. By mile 20, I was miserable and debating giving up. People were passing me left and right, and I wasn't even enjoying the families offering me water, oranges, watermelons and, in one extreme case, small cups of beer.

The turning point was at mile 22, when a guy in an oversized foam cowboy hat passed me, smiling and having a grand old time. This finally drove home that I wasn't going to achieve the time that I expected, and just needed to relax and focus on finishing. My dirty secret is that I’m a stubborn bastard at the core, so I vowed to keep moving the best that I could and finish the race even if I needed to walk the rest of the way. I felt like DeNiro chanting "I've come too far" in Midnight Run. So I soaked my head in a garden hose sprinkler, took a bathroom break, texted my wife to let her know not to expect me until after the 4:00 mark, and figured out a way to “run” that minimized the pain. This involved pumping my arms as hard as I could, which eventually lurched my legs into motion, and I alternated between this shuffling jog and speed walking for the last few miles. For this reason, the last hour of the race passed in a delirious haze - all I really remember is the pain, my thoughts as I struggled to keep moving, and a few more memorable scenes (incredulous joking with another slowpoke that we were doing this for Michelob; the woman wearing diamond-studded Mickey Mouse ears; an annoying sign claiming that "Pain is Weakness Leaving Your Body").

I wish I could say that I crossed the finish line and felt an incredible sense of accomplishment at my time of 4:15, but honestly I was just glad that it was over. I grabbed my knees and sucked wind for a few moments, tossed back a few chocolate milks and a banana, and worked my way over to my family, where the endorphins carried me through an over-loud and overcrowded “reunion zone.” It was a hot day and my kids were overstimulated, so we didn't partake of the end-of-race scene: we took some pictures and headed to my Mom’s house for BBQ and cold Magic Hat. Is there anything better than a cold beer in the sun after a long race?

It was a long race, and one that I enjoyed overall, despite the uncomfortable finish. Reflecting upon the experience, I've been pondering which concrete lesson to take away (as Murakami suggests above), and  the major one is how humbling running 26.2 miles is. I consider myself a pretty fast runner, and yet 343 runners passed me in the last six miles of the race! Still, I finished, which I didn't believe I could do even six months ago. I'm also surprised I let ambition take over my belief that running is practice, but next time i'll be more diligent about adhering to my pacing plan - really, just looking at the marathon as another long run. And there will be a next time, because at some point, i'm taking another crack at 26.2: I want to see what I can do with a healthy knee!

Cross-posted on Thought Ambience

Alberto Salazar: 14 Minutes (book preview)

In general, I don't read books about running.  I enjoy running -- but there are too many other interesting things to read about in my not-so-abundant free time.

Nevertheless, I am thinking of picking up 14 Minutes, the newly released memoir by Alberto Salazar.  Salazar won several marathons and set numerous records in his early 20's, but perhaps is most famous for his epic "Duel in the Sun" against Dick Beardsley in the 1982 Boston Marathon, a race he won by a mere two seconds.

Having drunken almost no water along the way, Salazar's weight went from 140 pounds to130 pounds.  He would recover, but he would never run so fast again.   As his body began to decline, Salazar began to train harder and harder, running sometimes close to 200 miles per week. 

Salazar, himself the son of a Cuban revolutionary, would eventually wander the world, seeking solace in Yugoslavia and South America. Finally, having retired from professional running, he returned to the States, where he took employment with Nike.  Today, as a running coach, Salazar is obsessed with running form.  Check out this detailed and fascinating New Yorker article about his work with Dathan Ritzenhein.

It's a fascinating life story, and so far, and the few reviews that have come in so far have been excellent.  The Wall Street Journal calls it "meditative and affecting, an engaging account of a true champion's rise, near-demise and arrival at peace."

Can anyone comment who has read it already? 

KBVCM Running Technology

There are some neat technological perks for participants in the Burlington City Marathon:

• Athlete Tracking
• Subscribe to have real-time split and finish line data sent directly to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. 
• Designate up to 5 phone numbers to receive text messages. 
• Live Results 
• View leader positions, search for athletes, view pace, splits, finish line times, age group placing and overall results. 
• Athlete Video 
• View individual athletes crossing the finish line. Searchable by bib number, name (marathoners) and team name. 

While i'm not going to tweet or FB my stats, I like the use of technology to give observers just-in-time information. For instance, I'll be able to have my tracking information sent to my family so they'll know more about when to expect me at the spots on the course where they'll be watching. Fun!

Taper Time

less than two weeks remain before the race.  i've put in over 700 miles so far this year preparing for one single run, a fact which i'm finding a bit hard to get my mind around right now.  it's pretty clear that the journey is much more than a means to the end, as as todd pointed out, and i'm not terribly interested in stating my goals for the race, but i will say that i'm very happy with how training has gone.

i had some very memorable runs, most of them along the ever-beautiful charles river,

some of them with my co-bloggers todd and joel, a few really nice trail runs and a few really awful slogs as well.  through all of it, i can say i've never enjoyed running more than i do now.

i'm really looking forward to toeing the line in a couple of weeks, of spending a few hours running and then spending an evening with my close friends and family celebrating.

i don't expect the next two weeks to be easy; my mind and body aren't wired correctly for tapering.  i hope my legs will thank me on race day!

until then, happy taper time!!

Running as Practice

I’m running more than I ever have before in my life, and I’ve been running (relatively) regularly for 26 years. Ostensibly this increase in my amount of running is to get me prepared  for the Burlington Marathon, but the more I’ve run the more I’ve come to learn that it’s more than that - but before that, my training went through three distinct phases:

1. Running longer distances at my normal pace. When I first started training, I continued to build up my speed along with distance. This trend maxed out where most of my runs were run at 7:30-8:00 pace. This continued until a major calf injury slowed me down for a few weeks and then...
2. Running to a training plan. I downloaded a “beginners marathon” training plan, one that told me that I should be running 4-5 days a week, cross-training one day, and resting 1-2 days. I did this for a few weeks before getting discouraged in its robotic nature; it wasn't in tune with what my body or my mind required. So I entered my current phase, which is...
3. Slower running a few days a week. I now start off as slow as I can and slowly pick up the speed over the course of the run. This has enabled me to relatively quickly achieve distances that I have never done before (my first 20 miler, for example). I've cut back on the number of times I hit the pavement, which keeps me focused when I do run.

While all of this running, has me in good shape for the marathon (7 weeks away!), I no longer subscribe to the current thinking that “every run has to have a purpose.” It's just not how I roll. Planning when and the speed at which I needed to run was taking all of the fun out of it! Now that i'm going out with the only goal being distance or time (to run 20 miles, or to be jogging for 2.5 hours, for example) has been incredibly relaxing. To get all zen on you, this has taught me that the journey is it’s own satisfaction. In other words, while I’ll be excited to finish the marathon (hopefully beating Eric and Joel and drinking their scotch), it’s no longer what I’m running these long distances for. Rather, I’ve fallen in love with the story of the long run, of the sheer ego-destroying time it takes to run 16+ miles (there’s a reason that running makes us stupid).

I was inspired to write this after reading Weapon-Grade Ennui's posting on George Leonard’s Mastery, and his musings on how practice is neither glamorous nor interesting and thus the process can be its own payoff.  Money quote:

“…[Leonard] enjoys Zen parables. … [like] how you have to empty your cup before you can fill it, or how you have to let go of that cup of expertise to grab the quart on the table.

Someone aiming for excellence might roll their eyes at these Zen paradoxes. I am convinced by them. Maybe to get good at something, you have to not care if you ever do. The road is too long to be motivated by a destination you can only imagine and never see. The journey has to be its own satisfaction. I don’t fantasize about seeing my name on a bookstore’s shelves, anymore. I am more interested in learning how to pay attention to all the steps leading to it.”

This sounds about right. All of the writing and pondering and soul-searching that has lead up to my ability to not only run but like running 20 miles has been enjoyable in and of itself. I know this because I am looking forward to continuing my long runs even after May 27^th has come and gone, something that was inconceivable just a half-year ago. I’ve liked learning more about my body, my capabilities and my limits, and it’s made me a better person for it.

Cross Posted on Thought Ambience

from 5k to ultramarathon?

after having taken an extended break from running to heal some injuries, fix some health issues and pursue some other interests, i start back just before 2010 turned into 2011.  i had been off for over a year and to say i was out of shape would have been putting it mildly.  case-in-point i signed up for a 5k (Ras na hEireann) with Todd, trained a bit but ultimately got injured (pulled hamstring) and had to pull out of the race.  a pulled hamstring training for a 3.1 mile race.

and now i've set my sights on two big races for 2012, the first is the Vermont City Marathon, a good 'ol 26.2 miler and the second is the New River Trail 50k, which would be my first ultramarathon.

am i nuts?  debatable; but is this possible?  YES!!!  absolutely.

firstly, think of Joel.  the first race he EVER ran was the 2011 edition of the New River Trail 50k.  and, not surprisingly, he recovered enough to start training for the 2012 Vermont City Marathon as well.

secondly, while the longest race i did in 2011 was 4.2 miles (beyond that it were just a handful of 5ks), i USED to race much longer races (albeit triathlons).  my body has certainly endured hours of punishment at the hest of sport.

the real question is, can it handle hours of punishment from running alone?  that's what i'll find out over the course of less than a year.

after taking a break for the latter part of summer and the early part of fall, i've now started a training program that i think is going to get me from 5k fitness to ultramarathon fitness.  i'm not planning to run a crazy, mountainous 100-miler (though i won't rule it out for the future :), just a relatively flat, 31.1 miler in October of next year.

as for how i'm gearing my initial training for this, i'm focusing so much less on going faster, not even so much on going farther and so much more on going longer.  it's a new kind of running for me and a very enjoyable switch.  i set out without considering pace at all and simply try to run for a longer period of time.  your typical Long Slow Distance runs without set goals other than to continue to increase my weekly mileage by a reasonable level each week (10%).

i plan to update this blog with my progress along the way and use it as a way to keep myself honest.  i know if i write it here, at least Todd and Joel will hold me to it!!

Related Posts:
Race Report: New River Trail 50k
It's On!
why i run races i know i won't win
Post Ultramarathon Recovery

Tune-up Races

As a part of a marathon training plan, many runners will schedule a "tune-up race."  This is a race about two months before the marathon, which is somewhere around the same distance as the runner's longest recent run.  For most, this means that a half marathon will be ideal. 

The purpose of a tune-up run isn't to go out and run your fastest possible half marathon.  To do that would put a lot of stress on the body (possibly causing injury), and in any case wouldn't do much to help prepare for the marathon itself.  Rather, the goal of a tune-up run is to go out and run at your intended marathon pace, using the experience to practice pacing, to gauge fuel needs, and to otherwise prepare. 

Of course, you could also do all of that by by yourself on any given Saturday.  But if you want to do well in a full marathon when you are surrounded by 20,000 competitors, there is at least some value in doing the "tune-up" in a similar environment.

Just how much value?  In my case, I can't imagine that I would get on an airplane - or even drive 100 miles - just to take part in a tune-up race.  But, as luck would have it, the SunTrust Rock 'n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon is scheduled for March 17 -- ten weeks before the Burlington Marathon -- and the starting line, at RFK stadium, is a ten-minute jog from my home.

It is not a cheap race, though.  $95 if I sign up before December 31st, with fees going as high as $145 thereafter.  And in the past, runners have commented that it has been an organizational disaster.  Sure, some of the complaints from runners are trivial.  (For instance, folks who ran the full marathon complaining about the fact that half-marathoners received the same finisher's medal.  Really?)  But on the other hand, when multiple runners noted that there wasn't even enough water to go around at the finish line, it makes you wonder just what you are paying for.

That being said, this will the first year that the Rock 'n Roll Marathon Series is helping to organize the event, and they seem to know what they are doing.  Plus, the race is on St. Patrick's Day, so there should be some good post-race parties.

Is anybody else game? 

Related posts:
Training Plans

Live-Illustrating the New York Marathon

In case you missed it: illustrator Christoph Niemann sketched his way through the New York Marathon.

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/new-york-city-marathon/

In particular, check out mile 23.8.

the importance of cross-training

for specialized, well-trained athletes, cross-training may be counter-productive.  but for those of us who sit in a chair on a daily basis and grind out an honest day's work before we hit the less beaten path, or at least for ME, cross-training is as important as it is time consuming.

i say time consuming because other people may ONLY want to run (for example).  for them, anything that gets in the way of running, which is done in the precious commodity called "free time", is a bad thing.  i happen to really love cycling.  i've been cycling longer than i've been running.  the thing i think i like most about cycling is that i can do it for hours on end without feeling like i'm going to crumble into pieces.  i cannot do that on the run yet.  i'm training to be able to do that, but i'm not there.  but i think it's important, when training to do that on the run, to teach your body how to suffer for hours on end.

i've learned through unfortunate experience that you cannot simply go from someone who runs 5ks to someone who runs marathons.  instead of "you", i should say "i"...  maybe some people can do it, i cannot.  i think modern conventional wisdom indicates a 10% increase is about right per week for mileage, nothing more.  after a good first half of the year of training, i tried to ramp my mileage up more quickly than that.  now i sit and type more than i run due to injury.

reason number 1 why cross training is important to me:

when i cross-train, i get injured less.  during the years i was racing triathlons, i don't remember ever being injured.  i remember a lot of pain, a lot of soreness and lot of weeks when i decided to take it easy due to a feeling of being burnt out or physically wasted, but i didn't get injured to the point where i needed to stop for any significant amount of time.

the first half of this year, i cycled nearly as much as i ran.  i kept a pretty consistent running plan and cycled on the off days, sometimes cycling on days i ran (a "brick").  it wasn't until todd brought up the idea of doing a marathon that i started to focus on only running, ramping up the miles and staying away from the bike.  obviously, it's a combination of ramping miles and forgoing the cross training that led to injury (plus, i've been complaining about the calf for quite some time, so the seeds of this were already there).  but i do think if i kept more consistent about the cycling, i could have ramped the miles a bit faster (but still not as fast) and kept myself uninjured.

which leads me to the number 2 reason why cross training is important to me:

building a cardio-vascular base, a tolerance for pain and teaching your body how to burn fuel over the long "run".  i guess that's more like 3 reasons, but they all lead to the same thing...  preparing the body for going longer.  i've found that swimming is a very intense cardio-vascular workout and over the past few weeks of swimming, i feel like i've certainly maintained, if not improved my cardio by doing increasingly longer pool workouts.  i'm not a "pool runner", which seems a bit ridiculous to me, but a lap ticker... lap after lap of mind numbing crawl swimming.  the most significant jumps i made in increasing my pace (back in the day) came after i started adding serious swimming workouts to my routine.

out on the bike you go through periods of high-heart rate, lactic acid-injecting climbing followed by mellow downhills, with the grinding flats in between.  Massachusetts doesn't offer high mountains, but there are plenty of rolling hills to be found, plenty of climbing to be done.  it's a lot of little climbs, with a cumulative effect of crushing your legs and forcing them to recover quickly.  i think it's good to teach the legs to endure, produce, recover and then to do it all over again.

on a long ride, you also start to learn about the importance of nutrition and hydration.  this weekend, for example, i went out for a nice long ride where the bulk of my climbing was in the first half of the journey.  i felt great through all the climbs, good enough to push the pace a bit in the flats in between.  but when i got to flatter roads, i started to tank...  my body had burned up whatever fuel was left in the tank and needed more...  and it was very hard to take on calories.  my stomach didn't feel all that great, i had no appetite, but i managed to force down some food a bottle of water.  not long after that, i felt good again.  i think it's very good for the long run to teach your body that cycle.

maybe i'm just trying to find some way to be happy about my current non-running state of being...  but the more i bike and swim, the more i'm learning to trumpet these activities as crucial to my well being and preparation for running longer distances.  most importantly, i'm able to get out there and exercise...  and THAT is certainly something!!

The Marathon Monks

"There is an order of Buddhist monks in Japan whose practice is running. They are called the marathon monks of Mount Hiei. They begin running at one-thirty AM and run from eighteen to twenty-five miles per night, covering several of Mount Hiei’s most treacherous slopes. … The monks run all year long. They do not adjust their running schedule to the snow, wind, or ice. They wear white robes when they run, rather than the traditional Buddhist black. White is the color of death: there is always the chance of dying on the way. In fact, when they run they carry with them a sheathed knife and a rope to remind them to take their life by disembowelment or hanging if they fail to complete their route.

After monks complete a thousand-day mountain marathon within seven years, they go on a nine-day fast without food water or sleep.  …

I read about these monks in a book entitled The MarathonMonks of Mount Hiei, by John Stephens."

- Natalie Goldberg, from the Introduction to Long Quiet Highway 

Training Plans

There is no shortage of formal plans for the runner preparing for his or her first marathon. Whether you have three months or six months until the race, there's a plan for you. Whether you are ready to run six times per week or only have time for three runs per week; whether you want to top out your long runs at 18 miles or 22 miles, or not do the long run at all; whether you love or loathe speedwork; there's a plan for you.

But if you have just completed one race, and want to get ready for your second? Not so much.

I guess I could sit on my butt until New Years', and then start again from square one. Not that I ever really followed a formal plan getting ready for the 50K; I didn't have the discipline. Mostly, I just ran what I felt like running, while trying to incorporate the basic principles of a typical marathon training plan, including tempo runs, gradually longer long runs, recovery weeks, and the like. I also made a few adjustments, like running on trails and extending my longest run out to 25 miles.

I am eager to get out running again as soon as I can (meaning, as soon as I can walk normally). So, what will my basic principles be as I start to get ready for the Burlington marathon? I think that, on top of my shorter runs, two or three times per month I am going to run as far as I can at my target marathon pace of 9:10. (Last time I checked, I could hold that pace for about 10 miles). Plus, once a month or so, I am going to do a long run of three hours. Hopefully by spring, the 9:10 runs and the three-hour runs will merge into the same thing, and then I can make refinements from there.

But, I am still thinking this through, and would love to hear any suggestions!

It's On!

So the three authors of this blog have just committed to running in the 2012 Vermont City Marathon in Burlington next May. Quite a leap of faith for me, considering that I haven't run more that 10.5 miles in, well, basically forever.

Consider this an open challenge to myself to get in shape enough to not only finish, but finish well enough that I don't need to pay for the single-malt scotch that I'll be drinking, one way or another, the afternoon of May 27th, 2012.