Mid-Week Training Update

While the first couple days of the week were great weather, it's now been raining here for the better part of 24 hours, with a 70% chance of rain all the way to the weekend. What better sort of weather in which to hunker down and update the training week quickly.

After taking Monday off, my upper leg felt much better by Tuesday evening, so I got a good 5 miler in without any trouble. No residual soreness or anything like that, which was good.

Wednesday I came home from work and changed but as I was walking out the door, I felt a few stray rain drops and decided to check the radar to see if the rain we were forecast to get was arriving in force. About 5 minutes after I went back inside, sure enough a downpour blew through and dumped rain for about 10 minutes before tapering off. The radar looked like I had a nice chunk of, if not clear weather, then just showers in which to get my 4 miles in, so I headed out.

That went according to plan for about 1.5 miles before sure enough the skies opened up again. At one point in my run, I could look west and see downtown Baltimore about 3 miles away. But when I got to that point, the buildings were already fading into the oncoming rain and within a few seconds, I couldn't see them at all. It was maybe 5 minutes after that the skies opened up and I got totally drenched.

But at that point, I was already soaked, so I just kept going and finished the run. It really didn't get too miserable (temps were in the high 60's with little wind) until I ran back across a busy overpass.  Then I had cars going past me at 40 mph.

I definitely ran the route a lot faster than normal, though, probably because of the weather, but I definitely felt the stress in my right leg afterward. A bit of the same discomfort in my upper leg, but also some warning pains in my lower leg that if I'm not careful, may become shin splints I fear.

So, given that it's windier and still raining today, I'm not totally heartbroken to take today off. I may go ahead and bag tomorrow too and then run Saturday just to be extra cautious, as shin splints can take a devilishly long time to heal. All the more evidence that I need to take it easier than I think I do in order to avoid injury while I continue to increase my mileage.

The Week Ahead: Debate Edition!

Just kidding. The last thing I'm going to do is start filling up this space with more junk about the Presidential Election. Ugh.

At any rate, last week's training went well overall and I was really pleased with how my 10 miler came out on Saturday afternoon. I wrote up semi-detailed notes in my Running Ahead log, so check that out if it's of interest. Basically, the biggest improvement came from the nearly 2 hour nap I took before going for the run. Conclusion: More sleep means better runs. Duh.

The one down note came actually after my run yesterday. I went for a short 3 mile run just to see how my legs felt, etc. During the run everything felt OK. Legs weren't all that tired, but I felt slow, even though my watch said otherwise.

But afterward, I had a very slight amount of discomfort on what I think is the top of my tibia, on the outside of my right leg. It's not the knee. It's not in the joint (i.e. runner's knee or something like that). It's not on the side of the knee (i.e. not ITB syndrome). It's not down my sin along the tibia (i.e. not shin splints). It feels like a slight bruise on the top of the tibia. Not bad...maybe 2 out of 10 in pain, and it's only intermittent.

Doubt vs. Confidence

For me, as I ramp up my mileage and try to become a slightly faster runner, the self-doubt that creeps in whenever we do something new becomes more pronounced, second only to the physical stress required to get better. We become accustomed to seeing others do something incredible like run a marathon or an ultramarathon, and thinking, "I could never do that!". Which is a normal response, I think, to some extent. Disbelief is part of wonder in some ways. If we believed anyone could run 100 miles, it wouldn't evoke so much wonder and admiration when we see men and women do it.

But I think it's when that thought crystallizes into what we think is knowledge that it becomes doubt. We go from exclaiming, "I could never do that" to "I could never do that! I'm too lazy/overweight/busy/ etc." And then we start believing that. I know I'm definitely guilty of this and it's probably going to be a much bigger part of my training and running experience as I move past the 10 mile mark in my long runs.

For example, last week I kept having nagging doubts going into my long run. What if I can't run the whole distance? What if I run too fast and flame out? Etc. I think that definitely impacted my run to some degree, as it was overall OK, but not what I was hoping. I ran too slowly, my stomach felt bad through much of the run, and I just didn't feel confident.

And that's the interesting part: confidence and doubt are two sides of the same coin, yet you can definitely have too much or too little of each. Overconfidence can prove as costly as being too doubtful of your abilities. Yet doubt in many ways is fuel for our desire to test ourselves and our capabilities, both physical and mental. I don't know if I will be able to run a marathon someday, but I'm fairly confident with the right training I can. So I'll go do it. I doubt I could ever run an ultramarathon, but I'll go attempt that someday as well.

Doubt asks the question, "You think you can do this?"

Confidence helps us answer, "Yes. Here, let me show you."

Of course reaching that point mentally isn't quite as easy as typing it out, but that's the point and it's definitely a critical part of training for long distance running. Certainly you have to have the strength of body to run 26.2 miles or 50km or 100 miles. But you also have to be able to face those doubts and use confidence akido to turn them to your advantage.

This weekend, I'm using my long run to try and work on this confidence/doubt balance, in addition to better fueling and a slightly faster pace.

Week in Review & the Week Ahead (9/19/16 thru 9/25/16)

This was a pretty successful week for running, although I made several adjustments to the plan as the week went along. This was more to do with planning for the weekend schedule than anything else. All the data (distances, times, paces, weather, whatnot) are on my RunningAhead log.

Tuesday (9/13/16): Easy run, 5 miles. My legs felt fine after giving them the full Monday off after the race on Sunday. On Monday, I contemplated going for a run, but forced myself to stick to my plan, which was definitely the right decision. In the past, I have made the mistake of overtraining and then getting injured to one degree or another. I'm determined not to do that this time around. 

The run felt good and I ran the entire way, which was great. Weather was nice and dry and much more fall-like, which was good. The pace was a bit too fast for what I would like to see when I run "easy", but that's OK. I made the mistake of not having a snack when I came home before heading out to run, which meant I was really hungry the entire time. Reinforced that as I get faster or simply run longer distances, nutrition will be a bigger factor. 

Wednesday (9/14/16): Hill repeats 6 by ~400 meters. A solid workout, as I tried not to strain too much and run so fast that the later repeats were slow and low quality. I had a snack before going out and that helped a lot. I also had some chocolate milk when I came ba

Running to Live Longer, Not Necessarily Faster

The primary reason I run is because I enjoy the challenge (pushing to go farther and/or faster), and I find it's relaxing and enjoyable. But a big secondary reason I run is because it makes me feel better and because as I get older, I want to be healthier.

When I was young, like many of us, I didn't really have to do much to stay trim and feeling good. That's the blessing of youth. The curse is of course not being self-aware enough to truly enjoy it! But now, about a decade out from college, my metabolism has slowed ever so slightly and I can't eat ramen and pizza 7 days a week and not have it show up in my cholesterol and blood pressure numbers.

In fact, a slowly growing waist size was my impetus for starting to run back in 2007, although I luckily found that I really liked running, even though it hurt and is tough going. And gaining like 15 pounds last year gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get back to running in 2016, which has helped me rediscover why I really loved the sport to begin with.

So in the shorter term, my health goals for running are more weight based.But longer term, staying active and establishing lifelong habits like running I think will help me, quite honestly, keep ticking along for a longer time. Studies, like a comprehensive one done in Denmark (link to NYT Well blog posting about this, which contains a link to the actual study) and the results of which were published last year, bear that out. That study found that people who jogged at a moderate or slow pace for 1 to ~2.5 hours per week tended to have

Experimenting with Fartleks (Insert Joke Here)

I took yesterday as a total rest day, as even though my legs felt OK and probably would have been fine for a run, I wanted to stick to my original plan of taking the entire day off before running this week. I'm glad I did because while I felt OK yesterday, I feel even better today and feel totally confident that I'll be fine with my planned 5 miler this evening after work.

To follow on to my Run to Remember 11k race report, now that my mileage is a little bit higher, I'm going to integrate more speedwork into my weekly runs over time to get a bit faster and stronger and b.) see what types of workouts work best.

So this week I'm going to do some hill repeats of 0.25 mile each on Wednesday, and then try a fartlek run on Friday to vary my run pace a bit and see how that goes. I imagine it'll take me a couple tries to calibrate what sort of fartlek run is the most successful/useful for me, but over time I think it'll help me develop more speed, especially as we get into the drier, colder months.

So, my plan for this week of running (9/12/16 thru 09/18/16) is:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 5 miles easy
Wednesday: 5+400m (appr.) hill repeats with 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down
Thursday: Off
Friday: 6 miles fartlek
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 10 miles long run

I may end up running on Saturday if I feel good as well. Another goal is to get up to running 4-5 days per week consistently, and eventually 5 days weekly.

Finally, I'm going to start doing some strength training on my off days, mostly things like runner-specific stretches or exercises (planks and whatnot), but also I would like to get back into yoga, which I did once per week way back in 2008-09 and really enjoyed, even though it kicked my ass. But that's an ongoing effort, so for right now, I'm labeling non-running days as just "off".

Run to Remember 11k Race Report: More Work to be Done

I ran the 2016 Run to Remember 11k this morning and my overarching conclusion is that I've got more work to do on improving my fitness, but I'm also happy to have completed the race and the distance.

This race has been held in Baltimore every September 11th since 2002, and is meant to honor those killed in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and aboard Flight 93, both victims and first responders alike. It's usually very well-attended (no different this year) and well organized (also no different this year). I've now run the race three times, the last being five years ago on the tenth anniversary. 

This year was the first year that they offered an 11k option. Or, I guess this is the first year I've noticed that this option is offered. I signed up because I thought it would be a good test of where my mileage and endurance stand. Plus 11k is an odd distance, but it's also one that would be fairly challenging, being almost 7 miles. I had done pretty well at the Memorial Day 5k I ran back in May, but this race would be more than twice as long. 

In the end, I took away some good things and some things I need to work on or improve. I finished in a little over an hour, but had to stop a couple times on the course to walk for about a minute or so each time, which killed my per mile pace. Some of that I attribute to simply not pacing myself appropriately, while some part of it can be blamed on a lack of fitness and the weather as well.

Run to Remember 11k Race Strategy

This Sunday is the 15th annual Run to Remember 11k/5k. I've signed up for the 11k and am really looking forward to it. I don't remember if they've always done the two race distances or if this is something they started recently, but I like it. I've run the 5k a couple of times in the past, and have enjoyed it. I'll write up a full race report after the fact on Sunday or Monday, but the main thing I wanted to outline was my general plan for the weekend and for Sunday.

After jetting over to pick up my race packet after work, I'm going to slog through the heat and humidity to get a 5 mile "easy" run in this evening. I took yesterday off, and intend to take tomorrow as a rest day as well, so even though it's awful outside (feels more like mid-July than early September), I got to get that run done. That's the bad news.

The good news is that it is supposed to cool off considerably by Sunday, but I'm willing to bet the forecast will be slightly off, and it'll still be really humid and steamy come race morning. This may actually be advantageous, as I've been running outside in this horrible soup for a couple months now, while a lot of the runners on Sunday will have been indoors on the treadmill, making for a very terrible wake up call. The race doesn't even start until 8:45, so it will likely be in the high 70's by then and should feel like the mid 80's with the humidity.

My plan is to go out slower than I think is fair, at least for the first 2-3 miles, for a couple reasons. First, this will ensure I don't flame out by mile 5 or 6 so I can finish strong. Second, it'll be very

Brooks Launch 3 Review

As I said in a previous post, I have a sliding scale when it comes to how much of full price I'm willing to spend on certain parts of my running gear. For shirts, it's rarely full price. But for shoes, I will pay full price to ensure I'm running in shoes that are comfortable on my feet, won't give me blisters, and will help me plod down the road.

I've always been a Brooks fan, but I think I may have found nirvana with the Launch 3. If you're only interested in reading the Launch 3 review, scroll down, as I marked it out specifically.

When I first began running back in 2007, I had no idea what shoes to buy or really any of the thinking that goes into buying the right running shoe for your foot. I basically just looked at Runners World latest shoe review and ordered a pair of Nike Air Pegasuses because they looked cool. The Pegasus has gotten tons of good reviews and no doubt they're well deserved, but they just weren't the right shoe for me. I got blisters and the toe box pinched, etc. It was a painful lesson that I needed to do a bit more research!

So I sent them back and went to my local running store to get properly fitted and to enlist the help of someone who knew what they were doing, because clearly I did not! There, they had me walk and then run around the parking lot, took various measurements, and asked me some basic questions about my experience in running (none!) and the like. Then they fitted me with my first pair of Brooks shoes, the Brooks Adrenaline, and it was like I was running on two little clouds. Tons of cushioning for my tender newbie feet, and tons of stability too. I was hooked, and I went through several more pairs of Adrenalines over the coming years before moving to Ghosts.

Gear Reviews and Views

One of the aspects of running and fitness blogs I enjoy, in addition to race reviews and the like, are gear reviews. They are a great way to get inside information on all sorts of things runners need from shoes to shorts to nutrition. Plus, having first-person knowledge of the pros and cons of various pieces of gear can be really beneficial if you're trying to make an informed gear purchase decision yourself.

With all that mind, I thought I'd start reviewing or at least describing the various gear I use in my running. My gear is a variety in that some of it is very low budget, while some of it is more expensive, or at least more expensive relative to the cheaper stuff I employ. 

But to me, deciding what to spend on running gear is similar to deciding what to spend money on when getting married. Assuming you don't have unlimited resources, you have to make choices about where to allocate your resources. Do you shell out big cash on flowers and maybe skip the videographer? Do you get the high end photographer, but go with the more modestly priced bakery? Etc. 

Running gear is a lot like this. You can choose to go top of the line on everything from your head to your toes and that's fine! You'll have the best gear at the starting line, no doubt.

Labor Day Weekend Training Review

It's now Sunday night, and with the bulk of my Labor Day weekend behind me (sadly), I thought I'd review how the main part of the training went. I still have a 4 miler scheduled for tomorrow, but that shouldn't be a problem. My real test was Saturday's 10 miler. So, how it go?

Thursday's 5 miler was uneventful. The weather was pretty cool, although not as cool as Friday and Saturday turned out to be. But still, much more comfortable than the usual Baltimore late summer weather of the Three H's: hazy, hot, and humid. My only slight concern was that I felt a little tenderness on my right shin, which I was worried might be the beginning of shin splints.

Friday's 3 very easy miles also went fine and my shin felt fine, which was a relief. I've been running in new shoes for the last week or so, and I think that will end up helping a lot, as my old shoes had many hundreds of miles on them and were several years old. The short run was perfect to keep my legs from feeling too stiff on Saturday, while also not over-taxing them before the long run. 

Saturday was the real test of the weekend. First time I have tried to hit double digit miles, even if it is under LSD run conditions. But it was a highly successful run and I'm very happy with how it went. I actually started the run at Ft. McHenry, which meant driving to the park and doing an out and back route. But I wanted to vary up my routes a bit so the runs don't get boring.

Labor Day Long Weekend Run Plan

The Labor Day long weekend is upon us, and I've got a fairly aggressive (for me) plan for running this weekend. To begin with, I'm taking Friday off so I'll have a nice extra-long weekend with four days away from the office. That gives me plenty of time to get some good running in, I think.

One variable that I hadn't considered (or really, that I HAD to consider) until yesterday, was Tropical Storm Hermine, which is right now battering Florida, but which will eventually make its way up the coast and reach eastern and central Maryland. It's still kind of uncertain as to just how far west the storm will track; farther east and we may only get some showers on Sunday; farther west and we'll get drenched. 

But, the forecast right now is calling for Sunday to be the rainiest day of the weekend, with Friday being great, Saturday less so, and Monday being fine. But the entire program here is built around my long run this Saturday, which will be my first 10 miler. I've hit 9.5 miles a couple times now, so I think I can do 10, albeit slowly. So, below, I've outlined my ideal running schedule for the weekend. 

Thursday (e.g. Earlier this evening): Easy 5 miles. Nothing crazy and it felt good overall. Kind of an introductory run for the weekend. 

Friday: 3 miles, SUPER easy. Nothing special, but I do want

Back! And (Arguably) Better Than Ever

What, a four-year gap between posts is like nothing! Cosmically or geologically speaking, it's barely a tenth of a second, really.

OK, so yeah, resurrecting this blog after a presidential term seems random, but it's truly not. Back in 2012, I'd been running for a while off and on, but consistency was a big problem and so I never really got back to the constant, scheduled running I enjoyed back in 2007-2009, to be honest. Without consistent running, there was little reason for me to consistently write, and so naturally the decline of one led to the decline of the other.

But, a lot has changed in the intervening 4 years. First, we moved from our crappy, small one-bedroom apartment with rodent problems in a busy, urban neighborhood with no parking. We bought a house, still in Baltimore City, but in a less busy, MUCH quieter part of town. It's got three floors, three bedrooms, and plenty of space for us. Plus, we pay $300 more per month for 3x the space and something we own outright. For us, that was huge and our rowhouse truly feels like home. Plus the house came with all-new everything from the studs up to the furnace and roof and two-level(!) deck. Plus a parking pad which, if you live in a city, you know is a life changer.

Second, I got a bit fatter, which actually was not a positive change in itself, but did provide the motivation to return to running with renewed commitment. Before moving,