My First Brick

This week marks the first official week of a 20-week training program to get me ready for the Timberman Half-Ironman.  Monday I did an upper body workout.  Tuesday I swam a mile and ran 40 minutes while pushing the boys.  Today the plan was to ride my bike 90 minutes (an hour before work and 30 minutes after).

Being that I was riding outside at 5:00am it was still dark, so I needed to use a headlight on the bike.  It works okay, but it doesn't give you long range visibility.  This was not too big of a problem except for spotting potholes in time...I hit one near the Saratoga Racino and slightly bent my front wheel, but all systems were still go, so I continued on.  About 9 miles into my ride I found myself on Henning Road and didn't see another pothole that was apparently a bit deeper than the first.  So deep, in fact, that I got two flat tires when I went over it.  I didn't wreck, luckily, but when I came to a stop I realized I was roughly 3 miles from home and if I were to walk there would be no way I'd be back quick enough to make it to work on time.  Also, it was only about 5:40am, so calling Becca to come pick me up was out of the question too.  And, for those of you wondering why I didn't fix the flats and ride home, it's because my seat wedge pack is still on its way in the mail.  So, with no other options left, I decided to run, which made this my first brick workout (a brick workout is when you go directly from the bike to running).

My running shoes for today

For anyone who's ever worn bike shoes before, you know that even just walking around in them isn't the easiest thing to do.  In fact, I don't think I've ever walked more than 20 feet at any one time in these shoes before today.  Pushing the bike along with my left hand I ran all the way home and managed to keep a 10 minute pace.

Surprisingly, none of this discouraged me this morning. I felt good and was in a great mood afterwards.  And, to my surprise, my legs didn't feel like jello when I switched from the bike to the run!

Have any of you had something try to get in the way of your workout?  What did you do to get through it?

Committed

With a 4 year old and a 6 month old you sometimes don't get nearly enough sleep.  Last night the last time I looked at the clock was 12:30.  The only issue with that was that I wanted to get in a one hour run and that meant getting up and out the door by 5:00.  Luckily, Elliot woke me at 4:40, so I had plenty of time to get out the door by 5:00!  Other mornings I would have admittedly stayed in bed, but I've been reading The War of Art and one of the author's points is that the person who is truly dedicated to a task will show up even when they don't want to.  And, wanting to hold myself to a higher calling, I really don't want to give in to resistance and not train the way I know I need to.  The pro shows up and does the work, knowing that work done today will feed the bigger calling, which for me is doing well in the Half-Ironman.

Today's weather was a far cry from last week and I actually had to bundle up to keep me warm for the 20 degree run.  Once I got warmed up it was a really nice run.  I forgot about how tired I was and just settled into the dark silence of the morning.  There were a few people out and I even got passed by one runner, but I left my ego aside and kept the pace that would maintain an aerobic heart rate zone for the entire hour that I ran (my ego is also telling me to not share that this runner was also female and a good deal older than me from what I could tell).   If you want to see the route I took, click here.

One of my prevailing thoughts was about what works for improved performance.  There are so many theories out there and so many different methods that have all been tested and have merit.  Part of me wondered what would work best for my body since I've had good results with a lot of different regimens.  As I posted before I'm training in my aerobic zone under the tutelage of Mark Allen in order to build my aerobic base and to hopefully get to where I'm running a fast pace with a low heart rate.  This method requires a fair amount of time to show whether or not it works, so part of me is terrified of spending all this time on the wrong plan.  But, I'm committed to it and am doing what I can to have patience with myself and my runs.  I will be having one interval session a week, so we'll see if that calms my nerves a bit.

Has anyone out there dealt with this?  What training techniques have had the best results for you with endurance races?

Slowing Down to Go Faster

As mentioned in an earlier post, a friend of mine and I are competing in the Timberman Half-Ironman.  We're getting our training schedule from Mark Allen Online and Mark is a big proponent of training with your heart rate no higher than your maximum aerobic heart rate, which for me is 149 beats per minute (if you want to calculate your maximum aerobic heart rate, go the bottom of this post).  Allen still says to do 15-20 minutes per week of speed and interval work in each activity, but that we really need to build a good base to carry us the 70.3 miles.  He also claims I will experience an increase in my pace and after just a few weeks should see a dramatic improvement in the speed I can go at a lower heart rate.

I strongly believe in the benefits and effects interval training can have on a person, but I also buy into this low HR approach.  In 2009 when I started back running, I took my time.  I just cared about getting out and going for long easy runs.  After about 5 weeks of this, I tested out my speed and found that I had improved my mile time by 2 minutes!  For some reason I didn't keep doing what I was doing and decided to train at a faster pace.  You might be able to figure out what happened, but the long and short of it is that I didn't get any faster and started experiencing a lot more aches and pains. This has occurred in another area of my life too.  I once followed a workout routine for 3 months where I went for high reps with low weights.  In that time, my bench max went from 195 to 285.   I was so psyched about how much I could lift that I switched to heavier workouts and guess what...the gains stopped.  

It seems to me, the only thing standing in my way is me and my ability to set my ego aside and take things slow for a little while.  Mark Allen talks about how hard this is on our egos and that's why many will never train this way.  To keep our heart rate low usually means we have to slow way down.  For me it means I have to keep my pace at 9:30 - 9:40 per mile for now.  That's dreadfully slow, but I think I'll be okay with it just as long as it's still not that slow a month from now.  

Training slower also means that I have to either slow down my running partners or trail behind.  Last night in our family run, Becca ended up having to leave me in the dust a couple of times because I had to keep my pace down while pushing the boys...thanks for your patience, honey :-)  

I'm excited though at the prospects here.  Along with the Vegan Challenge, I have high hopes for where I'll be a month from now in my abilities.  

Does anyone have some success to report with this training style?  Anyone think it's bunk and can back up their claim?

~The Mr.

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So if you want to calculate your maximum aerobic heart rate, there are several methods out there, but here's how Mark Allen's does it: 

1. Take 180 
2. Subtract your age
3. Take this number and correct it by the following: 
    -If you do not workout, subtract another 5 beats. 
    -If you workout only 1-2 days a week, only subtract 2 or 3 beats.     -If you workout 3-4 times a week keep the number where it is. 
    -If you workout 5-6 times a week keep the number where it is.

    -If you workout 7 or more times a week and have done so for over a year, add 5 beats to the number. 
    -If you are over about 55 years old or younger than about 25 years old, add another 5 beats to  whatever 

      number you now have.

    -If you are about 20 years old or younger, add an additional 5 beats to the corrected number you now have. 

Full Moon Morning Run

This morning I was out the door by 5:05 for a solo run.  I rounded the first corner and hanging out just above the end of the road was one of the most amazing full moons I've ever seen.  The best I can describe the color is that it was pale gold.  It was seemingly huge and looked like it was right out of a Lord of the Rings.  Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me, and even if I did I doubt I would have captured it's beauty.  BUT, my current Chrome background actually looks very close to what the moon looked like:

Just 10 minutes into my run and the moon had already set.  I was so lucky to get to witness it this morning.  The only unfortunate part was that it wasn't shared with Becca and the kids...I know they would of loved it, even if it meant I had to drag them out of bed before dawn :-)

What are some of the more amazing moments you've witnessed while out running or exercising?  I'd love for you to share them with me

Finding My Form

My run today was quick. I overslept and didn't get out the door till 40 minutes after the time I was hoping to leave. I was anxious to give my new shoes a good workout, but only managed a quick 2 miles. Also, the Garmin I'm testing was off a little bit. It said I was pacing at about 20 seconds slower than my actual pace. I was excited about my speed, but would have appreciated more accuracy.

My new Brooks Green Silence shoes

I'm really happy with my new shoes and will write a proper review once I've gotten a variety of runs in on them. But today, I want to talk about why I picked them.

A little over a year ago I picked up a copy of Tim Ferriss's book, The Four Hour Body. There's a section called Ultraendurance I: Going from 5K to 50K in 12 Weeks—Phase I & Phase II. He writes about running form and gets into detail about one style in particular that's supposed to be super-efficient and make you faster in the long run...The Pose Method. I did try this style in January 2011 while there was a good bit of snowcover and I ended up straining my left achilles, which Ferriss points out in the book could be an unfavorable side effect of using the technique. However, I still believed in a more efficient running style existing out there and wanted nothing more than to track it down.

Information on efficient running isn't that plentiful or easy to find. The closest thing I did find was posted by Newton Shoes, but the videos I found to be largely about how you needed their relatively expensive shoes to run like this. The majority of the other information I came across was based around the barefoot/natural running style movement, but I found little instruction for how to properly run barefoot. It seemed like the assumption was that if you wore the barefoot shoes your style would naturally change and all would be well...not so with me. I did try a pair of Nike Free Run+ 2s, but didn't change my form and my knees and shins could barely take it. I'll take the blame for not running properly, but I was frustrated with my inability to Google a solution that I could comprehend. So, I went back to a more traditional shoe.

More time went by until Runner's World published an article about Ryan Hall's running form and it talked about the midfoot/forefoot strike running style. This luckily sparked a lot more internet buzz and I was finally able to find more information that I was looking for, except for one thing...what shoes do you need to properly run like this? I started with Asics Gel Nimbus 12s, which are a good shoe in their own right, but not for forefoot running. Also, my feet fell asleep in these shoes, which really made my form fall apart. So, I returned them and made the switch to Brooks Ravenna 2s. I preferred how these felt over the Nimbus, and my feet never fell asleep, but they still weren't quite right for changing my form. I did stick with these shoes though for the last 5 months because they work great with my old running form and are very comfortable for just wearing around.

A week ago, I received a shoe sale promo from Road Runner Sports and luckily came across the Brooks Green Silence. The price was right and a lot of the reviews talked about how good this shoe was for midfoot runners. So, today I took my first quick jaunt in them and I believe I've found a shoe that works for making the switch to my form. The cushion is good, so I don't think this shoe would count as a barefoot shoe. But, the drop between the heal and the toe box is minimal, which makes landing on the balls of your feet much easier. I have to take more runs to figure this out some more, but I feel like I'm finally making big strides after almost 1.5 years of searching.

Has anyone out there struggled to find better form? What tips or links can you share with me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Does running with the family dog count as a run together?

Rocco - My sometimes running partner

Rocco and I set out for a short 3 miler this morning around 5:30 and boy was it chilly!  We did a 1.5 mile loop down to Broadway and back twice.  My legs felt a bit heavy and I was just sluggish in general, but I'm chalking that up to the 7 miler I ran with the fam yesterday.  Even Rocco was pulling as if to say, "why are you so slow today?"  Though he wasn't as good a training partner as Becca, and his conversation skills are mediocre at best, he did still keep me moving and seemed to know when to give a quick glance my way to let me know we need to pick up the pace.

We did have one close run-in with a Ford F-350 who was "stopped" at a light but felt it necessary to creep over the crosswalk as I was going by.  Not sure if he didn't see me or if he just wanted to make sure I was awake, but it definitely got me a bit fired up.