A Very Odd Injury

I delayed writing a week in review post not for any bad reason, but because I wanted to have enough time to fully go through the last four or five days because it's been pretty mystifying from this sore knee standpoint.

So, my general plan had been to to rest on Thursday and then do an easy 5 miles on Friday. On Thursday, the knee felt OK. Only the occasional bruised feeling and only at seemingly random times. In other words, it might twinge when I went up the steps, but not down. And then I'd go up the steps again and it'd feel fine, but then twinge when I was walking on flat ground. There was just no predictability, but I would say the discomfort was at most a 2 out of 10, so I thought I'd likely be able to run on Friday.

But then I woke up Friday morning and it just didn't feel great at all. Not like I couldn't walk on it or put weight on it, but it just didn't feel good. The twinges of discomfort were a bit more frequent, even though I hadn't done any physical activity on Thursday to aggravate it. It really didn't feel much better after I got home from work but again, discomfort probably 2 out of 10, so not bad. Just worrying, I guess. I was worried that running on it would make it much worse and risked something that would prevent me from running for a week or longer. So, I decided to take another rest day and I put some ice on it, etc.

I woke up on Saturday and it felt better, but still not 100%. Far fewer periods of discomfort but I just didn't feel totally confident. But, by the afternoon, I decided to head out for a very easy 4 miler with the intention of keeping it very slow and turning around or even walking back home if I felt significant or sustained pain.

But, it really didn't feel bad at all on the run and I made it the full 4 miles at a leisurely pace. There were maybe 3 or 4 times when I felt a bit of

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".

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.

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,

Flamed Out...Like a Boss!

This weekend, I'll admit, I fell off the wagon. I suspect many runners go through this sort of post-race drift. Where your body is no longer as exhausted and tender as it was the 24 hours after your race, but your mind remains in a stupor.

I ran a few times last week, but nowhere near to the schedule I had set for myself. I kept saying, "Well, another day won't hurt. I need tor est. I'll get my long run in on Saturday/Sunday and it'll be fine." The same could be said about yoga, which I skipped on Thursday. Thursday was also my wedding anniversary, so it was a convenient screen to cover up my own laziness. In the end, I went through this weekend having logged 5 measly miles, versus the 15 I had aimed for, plus the Sunday morning yoga class.

But, like I said, I think that's to be expected somewhat and I'm past the point of beating myself up over it. Instead, I chose to re-focus on this week of training. This morning I got out for my usual 4 miler, but made the rookie mistake of trying to run it hard, which was dumb. What's worse, I KNEW it was dumb as I was doing it. Yet I continued on anyway. Needless to say, I flamed out in fine fashion on the return trip up to Mt. Vernon, although my overall time was still completely fine. So, I probably won't do that again for a few months...I hope. But it felt great to get back out, and the unseasonably warm weather (it's nearly 80 here today) made the dark pre-dawn run less painful. January's runs won't be so enjoyable, I think.

Training for what, you might ask? Well, nothing quite as singular as a half marathon, although I'm going to keep my eyes out for a half sometime after the first of the year...maybe in DC, we'll see.

No, between now and December 31, I'm focusing on some shorter races interspersed throughout the holiday season. The next likely candidate is a 5K in Charleston, SC, where my family is meeting for Thanksgiving. My uncle as rented a house on the beach near Charleston, and the $30 entry fee, coupled with the proximity and flat course, should make for a good race. That's about a month away.

After that, there's a 5K up in Towson called the Man Cave 5K, that looks fun. It's partially sponsored by the Big Screen Store (sells ungodly large TVs, recliners, and obesity), so some of the door prizes include a huge TV, recliners, beer, wings, etc. I have no hope of winning an age group prize, of course...but I'd take a free new TV that would be way too big for our apartment. I've not signed up for this race yet, though. Still tentative.

I did register for the 2012 Celtic Solstice 5 Miler on December 15. It's a great local race, and the typically bitter cold weather keeps a lot of unserious runners away. Not that I'm some hard core runner, but you get fewer walkers out there when it's 8:30 AM and below freezing. You got to REALLY like to run to do that to yourself! The way the registration works is they open it up to runners who want the race premium, which is usually a really nice shirt or, in recent years, a jacket. It's nice, but they also charge $65 for the race for those folks. To each their own...those entries help keep the non-premium entry fee low for the rest of us, so who am I to complain?

However, historically you've been able to register for this race without the premium, which makes it really affordable. As in, it used to be $20 for a well-organized race with a nice post-race spread. Now, it's $30, but that's still a nice bargain for this race. As it got more popular, they instituted a waiting list for this option. Usually by mid-November, they'd open it up to the waiting list and you could register for the lower price (sans premium, obviously). I've always done this, as I just want to run the race. This year was no different; I registered for the  wait list way back in August. Last Friday, they sent the first 100 people on the list an e-mail with a password to use on Active.com to register early before they opened the race up. So I went ahead and registered on Friday to secure my spot. A. has no desire to run this race due to the cold weather, so she didn't register.

Beyond that, who knows? We're spending the final week of the year in Cincinnati, so we'll probably seek out a race while we're out there as well, but that's well down the road. For now, I need to make sure I get up tomorrow and get to the gym to re-start my dormant interval training routine!

Ending Training on a Strong Note

With work being incredibly hectic the last week or so, I haven't had much time to sit down and craft my usual Homeric-poem-level post. But I have a lull in the storm now, so thought I'd put a few words together.

This past Sunday was the final long run before the half marathon. I had started out the week with the intention of going 12 miles, a recent high for a run. But as the week wore on, I started thinking it would make more sense, and be less onerous, to scale it back a bit and maybe do 9 miles. When Sunday rolled around, it was cold and rainy here in the East, so I didn't get out the door until nearly noon.

But it turned into a perfect running day: mid-50s, dry, cloudy with a breeze. The later start actually helped a lot, I think, because I had time to eat breakfast before heading out. I went with a wheat bagel, PB and honey, along with some water. I went with that after reading an interesting (and timely!) article in the recent Runner's World (can't find it online, for some reason) about pre-race, race and post-race nutrition. It suggests eating several hours before your race and focusing on carbs, to a degree. They suggested the bagel, so I thought I'd try it. And they cautioned against coffee, as it can lead to "distress" while on the course.

I think it really helped me, as I ate maybe 90 minutes before my run, so I had time to digest. I went out with the goal of 9 miles and running at a pace that felt slower than what I thought was reasonable. My route was down to Ft. McHenry, around the Seawall Trail and then back.

 

 

By the time I got to the fort, my legs still felt really fresh. I thought, "you know, I bet I could go 10 instead of nine." That's only an extra loop around the fort, give or take. I ate four gel blocks after the first loop around the fort, along with some water, although the foolish part of my mind was saying I didn't feel like I needed them. But the rational part of me knew I was lucky to feel that way now; that by the time I got back into Federal Hill, I'd be bonking if I didn't get those new carbs in my system now. And, the Tropical Punch flavor tastes like Gushers, so it was like I was in 4th grade again. The second loop felt fine, and I was keeping a good handle on my tempo, focusing on going slow so I could run the whole time and not walk, other than stopping at the water fountain.

 

Another lap around and back through Fed Hill and my legs actually felt stronger and less tired than when I had started out. By the time I got back up Calvert Street, I was feeling it, because that's basically a mile and a half uphill climb, but I wasn't cooked or anything.

 

Basically, it was a solid long run and by the time I stopped, at about 10.4 miles, I felt confident that, had that been the half, I could have gone 13.1 without too much trouble. I was glad to get such a strong end to my long run training...I'm hoping that translates well to next Saturday. What was also encouraging was that after the run, my legs didn't feel as trashed as they have in the past. Maybe that's a combination of the deliberately slower pace and cooler weather, but I'd like to think having enough fuel from the breakfast and gels and sodium from the GU drink helped things as well. Overall, I just felt less beaten up after this run than in weeks past...maybe my body is finally adapting to the longer mileage? 



The Half Marathon Approaches...

This past weekend was the second to last weekend before the Freedom's Run Half Marathon and I was slated to complete an 11 miler for my long run. I've had to be pretty aggressive with my mileage ramp up the last six weeks or so, as I procrastinated too much back in July and cut my plan short on the back end as a result. I would have liked to have had a couple extra weeks to get a handful of 10 and 11 milers in and then have hit 12 miles this past weekend before "tapering" somewhat in the final weekend.

But, my laziness made that an impossibility, so I've had to add a mile per week to my long runs. The rule of thumb is to add no more than 10% of your total mileage to your long run per week, and back in August, that limit was definitely exceeded as I tried to get beyond the 6 and 7 mile range. It hasn't been optimal, but I've avoided any serious injury like runners knee or the like. The worst I've had thus far are some minor tweaks early on. But since I started practicing yoga, those aches and tweaks have started to disappear, which is great.

Anyway, the 11 miler went as expected. It was tough, as my legs are trying to adapt to mileage that is growing a little too fast. I again went with the GU tabs. This time I had four gel blocks after about an hour and then the last two about 20 minutes later and that seemed to work well. My legs were really aching going into the 7th mile, just like the previous week, but the four gel blocks gave them new life and the additional two blocks made them feel almost fresh going into those final few miles.

Because I was going far this time out, instead of wearing my simple Timex wristwatch, I charged up and took my old Garmin Forerunner 305 that my parents got for me way back in '07 when I first got seriously into running. I mapped my run on Running Ahead, as always, and it came out to 11 miles. But the Forerunner said I ended up running just 10 miles, for some reason. I did go off course at different places, but not 1 mile's worth, to be sure. It was hard not to go off course around Patterson Park, given my relative unfamiliarity with those smaller streets. Check it out:

But, the reason I generally stopped using the Garmin in the first place is that it tended to lose its satellite signal when I was running through downtown Baltimore due to the skyscrapers. So, I'd get wacky pacing and elevation data for portions of my run. And even then, sometimes it would lose contact and not reestablish until I was well out of downtown, which may have happened here. I haven't installed the Garmin software on our new PC, so I can't go back and compare.

Nonetheless, I know I ran 11 miles, no matter what my Garmin might insist.

This weekend I originally thought I would try to hit 12 miles, but now I'm wondering if I should bring it back to 8 or 9 to "taper" in a limited fashion and not exhaust my legs less than a week before the race. We'll see how I feel as the week goes on. It'll probably be a game time decision on Sunday morning.

In other running news, looking at my monthly totals since I got back to really trying to consistently run, my distance is increasing nicely. July 2012, the first full month of getting back, I ran just 38 paltry miles (see discussion about my laziness and its impact on my training program now, above). August saw a nice improvement to 49.3 miles. But the real success was September, when both my required distance and motivation increased. Last month I logged 74.5 miles on the roads, which is very encouraging

Double Digits

This weekend marked the first time in a long time that my weekly long run reached double digit miles. A. and I both completed 10 milers this weekend out on the NCR Trail and it felt good to realize that although I'm not setting any land speed records, my body can handle the distance.

The run was about as good as I could have hoped. My goal was to keep to a roughly 10:00/mile pace and I got within a few seconds of that. Although I felt like my first 5 miles were slower than my second half. But that too was by design...I was afraid of going out too fast and then flaming out before I made it back to the car.

We both went five miles north and then turned around and came back to the parking lot at the trailhead we chose. The parking lot was already full when we got there around 9:30, so we had to park on the shoulder. But the trail was not that crowded with bikers and runners and walkers spaced out. In fact, once you got about 3 miles in, between parking areas, it was generally empty.

So I was able to keep a decently steady pace throughout and with the nice, dry weather, I wasn't laboring that badly. This week I tried out the GU sports drink tabs (one tablet in 16 ounces of water), and decided to eat 4 gel blocks rather than the three I did last week. The drink worked out well, although it's a little more bitter than the homemade Gatorade powder mix. Which is saying a lot because the powder doesn't have the extra sugar you get when you buy Gatorade (or any sports drink) in liquid form at the convenience store. The taste wasn't terrible though, as I like a slightly more bitter taste; too sugary and my stomach hurts. And it was definitely superior to just drinking water. I just had water last weekend for the 9 miler and despite the gels I still felt sluggish from the lack of salts as the run wore on. Sunday, I felt better, especially in those final few miles. Going with four blocks was also a good decision, as it gave me a little more energy to finish the run.

The biggest challenge of the run was simply the pounding my legs took over the ~100 minutes. This is something that I think will get better, but never really go away. I focused on maintaining something akin to decent running form throughout the run, which I think helped. But my legs definitely started to tire by around mile 6 or 7. By mile 8, they were hurting and by the end, I was in straight up pain. Few things felt better than sitting down on a bench after finishing the run.

The good news was that while I was sore the rest of the day, the aches and tired leg feeling were both gone by yesterday morning. No lingering pain of any sort, even after walking to and from work yesterday. This weekend is 11 miles, so the ramp up continues.

Weekend Running Review

Another weekend has come and gone well before its time, and that means I'm writing this from my desk on a Monday morning. Don't worry, I'm multitasking and writing this while I run a series of reports and chip away at a long term project, so I'm being doubly productive.

Going into the weekend, our plan had been to get up early on either Saturday or Sunday morning and do our respective long runs on the NCR Trail. Because the trail is a popular weekend destination, and because the weather here in Baltimore has been excellent the last week or so, we would have to be up there early (as in, pre-8AM) to avoid parking on the shoulder and walking to the trail versus snagging a space in the lot at the trailhead. Not to mention that the trail gets more congested as the day progresses.

We decided to try for Sunday morning, as we both ran Friday morning and wanted a day between that and the long run. Unfortunately, we were up late Saturday night attending a gala concert for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, so we totally slept through the 7AM alarm on Sunday morning. So, I ended up doing my 9 miler around town instead, as I had other errands to run later in the morning.

My route (map and elevation chart are below) took me from our neighborhood out to Ft. McHenry and back, a route I hadn't run in quite some time. Unfortunately, I ran into some "intestinal distress" about 2 miles into the run, which made for an increasingly uncomfortable/painful run as the miles ticked by. By the time I was coming back from the fort, it was wearing on me for sure, and there are few places to make a pit stop along that route. I foolishly passed up the only McDonald's along the way, and every place else they generally expect you to be a paying customer in order to use the facilities. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any cash or a debit card along, so that option was out of the question.

The other notable development with this run was the beginnings of my fueling strategy. On Saturday morning, we drove up to our nearest REI and stocked up on gels and the like. A. wanted to try the GU Espresso-flavored gels, while I needed to get some shot blocks. We were able to find everything we were looking for and even got a "bulk discount" for buying a dozen different energy items.

We picked up a few of the espresso gels (which A tried and liked a lot), some Power Bars, a half dozen Clif shot block packets, and a tube of recovery drink tablets. I thought I'd try them as a possible alternative to my homemade Gatorade. If they seem to provide better in-running hydration, I may switch. But if not, it's definitely more economical to just mix up my own stuff at home.

But yesterday I just used the shot blocks (tropical punch flavor), and was pleased. Counting yesterday, I have four long runs remaining between now and the half marathon. So, I started yesterday by just eating the minimum recommended (3 blocks). They tasted like fruit snacks (think Gushers or the like), and about 10 minutes after eating them, I felt less tired, particularly in my legs. I think I could have eaten one or even two more and felt better, but I don't want to eat all six and then feel sick. But overall, sticking with three or four blocks midway through the race should be fine. Next week, I'll use the GU tablets and see how that goes.





We're going to try to make it out to the trail this weekend. I'm thinking on Saturday morning, since we may go to the Maryland Renaissance Festival on Sunday, and the last thing I want to do is run 10 miles and then spend another half day on my feet. I want to be able to enjoy my turkey leg, mug of ale and time in ye olde tymes!

2012 Blue Moon Run Race Report

Our local running store, Falls Road Running, runs a series of races throughout the year and the Blue Moon Run is one of those events. Of course, they only hold it every few years, given the rarity of a blue moon. In fact, I think after this one, the next blue moon won't come around until 2015. At any rate, this was my first time running this race. It, like many of the other Falls Road Running races, was pretty informal, although you did have to register. But there were no race bibs, so I'm certain there were numerous people who ran it who didn't pay the affordable $15 registration fee, most of which went to restoring parts of the trail.

The race was a simple out and back route along the North Central Rail Trail and was billed as being six miles total. That was perfect for both A. and me, as we were looking for a six mile long run for that weekend. Since the run was being held at night (under the blue moon, obvi), I really wasn't worried about getting a solid time. I just thought it would be cool running at night.

So we headed out to Hunt Valley, MD, which is about a 25 minute drive from our apartment in Baltimore City, parked and got on the shuttles taking runners to the trailhead, as the parking lot there was too small. I thought there'd be maybe a few hundred runners doing the race. I was wrong. I heard a final tally of over 700 runners! On a trail about 7-8 feet wide. And on an out and back route, which meant two-way traffic. But we got our glow sticks and waited for word from organizers about where and how to line up.

As I said, Falls Road Running events tend to be informal, and much of the time that's fine, as a.) you're running in the daylight and b.) the course can handle the number of runners. Neither was true this time, unfortunately. Nobody made any announcements, although at one point I did see someone with a bullhorn saying something, but it was so garbled nobody paid any attention. People just started lining up on the trail at some point, so we did too. Then suddenly, the pack lurched forward and we went with it, thinking the race had begun. It had...but with walkers up front blocking the trail, traffic backed up quickly.

Much of the first half of the race was stopping and starting and darting around joggers and walkers walking two or even three abreast blocking the trail. Much of the time, I just ran in the grass/bushes on the side to get around them, hoping I wouldn't step on a log or a rock or a turtle. A. and I ran together at the beginning, but I moved ahead after a few moments. But she reported the same frustrations as I had. By the time we turned around, runners were better spaced out, but I still dodged and passed people on my way back who by that time were walking. And I am by no means a speedy runner.

My run overall was good, but tough. After the first two miles, I was able to find some people to draft to pace me a bit so I could find a comfortable level of effort, and that carried me to the turnaround. Unfortunately, the turnaround was not really at 3 miles, but more like 3.5 miles. Which made a six mile run a seven mile run. Not a huge deal if you're already hitting 7 miles or more regularly, but we weren't at that point, so the miles coming back were rougher. Plus it was frustrating because with the darkness, there was no way to gauge where you were on the trail or identify many landmarks. Lighted mile markers (Just a stick with a number and some glow sticks) would have been a great addition.

Making it more burdensome was the humidity. While the temperatures cooled significantly out in the country, the humidity did us in. By the time the race began, temps were well into the 70s, which was an improvement considering that temps in downtown Baltimore that day had risen above 90. But the quick cool down caused fog/mist to form and that humidity got trapped beneath the trees on the trail. It made the trail much more humid than it otherwise would have been, although seeing the moonlight come through the trees and refract off the mist hovering above the tall grass was really cool; like something out of a ghost story. I was soaked through, as if I had been running through the rain, by the time I got to the finish.

Because of the dodging and weaving, and the extra mile (literally!) that I went, my time was north of an hour. But again, I knew going in that running at night with 700 other runners would not yield a PR, and I was fine with that. But the lack of organization at the trailhead created a lot of problems, I felt. Surely someone had to raise a concern about putting 700 people on that trail at the same time without any organization by speed or ability? Capping the race at 500 runners, and organizing them into several waves (fastest to walkers) might have at least made the congestion less acute. And at night, the lack of communication and organization is amplified. Remember, out on the trail, there are no lights at all, so it's pitch black save for the moonlight and glow sticks. You can't assume people will know where to go or what to do; you need to tell them. Apparently, somewhere afterward there was Gatorade, bananas, an granola bars, but we had no way to know that because there were no (lighted) signs or people telling runners about it. So we got on the shuttle thirsty and hungry, only to find some runners get on with snacks. Frustrating.

So, overall, the idea of running on a trail at night is better than the reality. We likely won't do that race again, although with proper planning and communication, it could be a very cool and unique event. As it stands, it was a near free for all with an improperly measured course and little organization beyond the shuttle buses (which ran relatively smoothly!).

Incommunicado

I don't even know if that's how you spell that, but I'll let it stand.

So, it's been what, a week or so since I posted last? Too long and that's more a product of being busy than slacking off. Work has generally been hit and miss, but I've been working steadily on some long term projects that have taken up more time than I thought, and I've gotten a few other items of more urgency added to my plate as well.

Plus, we spent a long weekend in the Midwest with the in-laws, so I really didn't have any opportunity to write anything from Thursday night through Monday. And I failed to pack my motivation to run, so you'll notice a nice four day gap in my training there as well.

Nothing very mind-blowing to report on the running front. I'm still mostly on track with my training for the half marathon and have a 7 miler planned for this Sunday, even though we'll be in DC for a wedding for the weekend. I'll post that route and elevation on Monday after we get back. I'm hoping I won't get off track with this run like I did with my run back in July. I'll be running mostly on Rock Creek Park Trail, so it'll be more difficult to go off the path this time around.

I have made good strides with my cross training, however. I started going to yoga classes at our nearby studio. My wife has gone for more than a year and has really liked it. Plus, she got me a free one-month membership for $15 (they normally want $99 a month!) to try it out, so I thought, why not? I can go to unlimited classes until September 15 and have gone to three thus far. And I have to admit that I really like it. It's pretty difficult for me, mainly because I'm about as flexible as a piece of steel. But also because I've never done (practiced?) yoga before. But, I've stuck to the beginners courses and have improved each time.

The challenge of the stretches and poses, mixed with the focus on relaxation of your mind and body appeal to me, I guess. At this point, of course, I'm just trying to make it through the class without falling over like an oaf, but I think as one practices more, you go beyond trying to physically do it and begin to focus on the mental aspects of yoga. Certainly, your improved strength and flexibility play a part in that as well.

As it stands, I sweat more in yoga class than I do while running (unless it's exceptionally hot out when I'm running, which is rare)! In fact, the only time I've sweat more was when I played squash in prep school and college. I went to a class last night and was dripping, literally, by like 20 minutes in. I weighed myself before and after class and found that I lost 3 pounds in 75 minutes! And this was not a "hot yoga" class! But, I drank a liter of water afterwards and felt really fine. Fine enough to head out for an easy run this morning.

I'm going to try to go twice per week until my month trial expires. After that, I plan on going at least once per week to the community classes they offer. The community classes are taught by the same instructors, but they're much cheaper. So, a monthly membership is $99, which is pretty high. We already spend $70 per month on the gym (that's for each of us...they don't have a family membership option, to my chagrin). Spending another $200 a month is a lot to ask, even though we both very much enjoy yoga. If you pay per class, it's $16. The community classes, however, are a cool $6 (cash only), which is much more reasonable. We can each go once per week and spend about $50 a month, which is a bargain.

Ideally, I'd like to go twice per week, but the community class schedule doesn't really fit my schedule wherein I could attend two classes per week, and I can find other things to use that ~$25 per month on anyway. So, I'm going to look into getting some sort of DVD program.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'll give it a few more weeks before I make any final pronouncements about yoga's ability to relax my muscles and mind and improve my flexibility, although I have felt great after all three classes. Even after the first class, which was painful and made me sore the next day, I felt good and slept like a baby.

New Comic Wednesday: Batman and Picard and Zombies

First, running: I had meant to get up and get my 3 miler in this morning, but I guess I turned my alarm off without realizing it, because when I awoke, it felt later than 6AM. And indeed, it was 7:10, which meant no run this morning. But, I may head out for an ultra-rare evening run to make up for the lapse. Or I may go to the gym and do it there, as further punishment for oversleeping.

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It's not often I actually get to the comic book store on Wednesday to snap up that week's latest new offerings. Usually, I hit Alliance Comics once every other Saturday or Sunday to pick up whatever new issues off my subscription list are waiting for me. I have to do this for a number of reasons:

1. While close by, driving from the apartment to Federal Hill on a Saturday afternoon is annoying. Parking is a pain and you're dodging hung over college kids stumbling out of doors for the first time at 1PM. Like I said, annoying.
2. If I went to the store every week, I'd be broke. I inevitably see something I want and risk impulse buying far too many issues.
3. A corollary to #2: spending that much money on comics would almost certainly incur spousal wrath. As most married men know or soon learn, a happy wife means a happy life. Words to live by. 

But this week was different. I had meant to go this past Saturday, but it just didn't happen. The logistics of my Saturday were such that I would not have been able to go to Alliance without doing serious backtracking or going out of my way. Despite driving an Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, I hate backtracking and avoid it whenever possible. Moreover, while I had one new issue come out last week (8/8), I thought I had two coming today, so waiting made more sense anyway.  So, today at lunch I walked down to Alliance and picked up some reading for the rest of the week.

Batman #12

Source: DC Comics

I am unclear if this is the final entry in the Court of the Owls arc, or if it's the one-off between CoO and the Issue #0 installment that's supposed to come in September/October. As you can see from the cover, it doesn't say Court of Owls, but I had seen somewhere that this was supposed to be the wrap up for the story. I'm guessing this will be a stand alone issue with a little bit at the beginning about the Court and then a small lead in at the end with the new Joker story arc coming in October/November, which I can't wait to read.

Walking Dead #101

Source: Image Comics

It feels like it's been months since Walking Dead #100 came out, and I guess that makes sense. They really pushed hard to get to issue #100 right before CCI back in early July, which probably exhausted everyone. Then they actually went to CCI and did panels, autographings, interviews, etc. And even still, issue #100 came out the second week of July (I think), and it's only been a month. It just FEELS longer after two months of getting a TWD book every three weeks or so.

I typically re-read the previous issue of all the books I get before diving in to the newest issue, just to refresh my memory and get my narrative momentum up. I'll definitely do tat with TWD #100 and #101, too.

The Massive #3



Source: Dark Horse Comics

 The story concept for The Massive is compelling (check out the review of issue #1 from CBR for a run-down), and I really liked the art throughout most of the first two issues. But it has been plodding along a bit, with so many flashbacks interrupting the present-day action, the story has advanced very little. I'm hoping that changes in #3, which has gotten good reviews.

Star Trek 100-Page Spectacular Summer 2012



Source: IDW

 And a relatively last-minute purchase. I grew up watching Star Trek: TNG and caught wind of this book yesterday while perusing CBR in the evening. I have not really gotten in to the Star Trek comics, mainly because they tend to focus on the original series, or the recent re-make of the original series movies. And while there is a Star Trek: TNG/Dr. Who crossover book out there, I'm not a Dr. Who fan and the book has gotten only middling reviews. I'm waiting for Jonathan Hickman's new Star Wars comic coming in January and would consider something similar with a TNG book if one ever emerged.

Anyway, this is actually two stories in one: a TNG story and a Voyager story. I was never THAT in to Voyager (I'd rank them as TNG, Enterprise, DS9, Original Series, Voyager) but will always take a Star Trek story involving the Borg. I have high hopes for this and may look in to other IDW Star Trek books if this is really good.

Everyone is Running Downhill Except Me

So, turns out that the men's Olympic marathon was on Sunday and not Saturday...who knew? In the back of my mind, I thought Saturday was not the right day, but I plowed ahead anyway. And within maybe an hour I realized I was wrong, but really didn't feel like logging in to Blogger and changing the post, etc. So, my bad. Somehow I doubt it made much of a difference.

But, for those who didn't blindly follow my post and not visit any other Olympics-related website the entire weekend, Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich won the gold medal, claiming that country's first gold in the marathon in 2:08:01. Silver and bronze were claimed by Kenyans Abel Kirui (2:08:27) and Wilson Kipsang (2:09:37).


However, American Meb Keflezighi came in fourth after being as far back as 19th around the halfway point in the race. That's a fantastic finish for Meb, who is 37 and was the silver medalist in Athens in 2004. He covered 26 miles, 385 yards in 2:11:06. Here's an article on Runner's World about his race. These were his final Olympics, and I'm happy to see he went out on such a positive note.

Anyway, this weekend saw some wonderful weather here (for August, of course), and I completed my 5.5 miler under a cloudless sky in high 70s temperatures and low humidity. The sun was intense and it was definitely toasty in the sunlight versus the shade, but compared to some runs earlier in the summer, it was nice. I ran around the harbor and down into Federal Hill/Locust Point before turning around and coming back up into Mt. Vernon.



As you can see from the elevation chart above, the route has some decent elevation changes and the final mile or so is all uphill as you climb from sea level at the harbor up into Mt. Vernon. But I swear every time I ran uphill, I passed several other runners going downhill. But then when I was running downhill, I never once saw anyone else running uphill in the opposite direction. More than once I was trudging uphill only to be passed by another runner cruising downhill at warp speed. They ran almost effortlessly as I seemed to drag myself up the side of a mountain. Yet I never got the reward of feeling (mistakenly) athletically superior to those poor saps heading uphill as I glided, as if on two little clouds instead of shoes, downhill. "Well, everyone's a freaking Olympic marathoner when running downhill," I kept thinking to myself. Yet that didn't take away the indignity.

OK, maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but still, when you run up a hill, you want SOME form of instant reward. "This will pay off in October" only does so much to take away the burn of the lactic acid in one's legs, you know. At some point, one needs to see someone else suffering a little to take away that sting. Yet on Sunday, it seemed I was stuck in some sort of runner's punishment where I run uphill and a.) it always feels awful and b.) never run downhill and feel satisfied that someone else is suffering too, which makes the next uphill feel more awful.

But, them's the breaks, I suppose. And really, it will all be worth it come October. Right?

Impromptu Tempo Run and Friday Misc.

My battle with myself over sleep schedules continued this week and impacted my running. I did well with getting enough sleep early in the week, but faltered on Wednesday night, going to bed after 11 PM with the intention of waking up at 6 for a run Thursday morning. Needless to say, it didn't happen. So, I needed to wake up this morning to make up for it.

Unfortunately, I awoke to a sky that was as dark as night...I got dressed and walked outside to see dark clouds rolling in overhead. I looked on the radar back inside and sure enough, a mass of heavy rain was moving in at 6:15 in the morning. I don't mind running in bad weather, so long as I don't start my run in bad weather. For instance, beginning a run with cloudiness that turns into rain a few miles in is no big deal. But it's demoralizing to begin a run when it's raining. By the time I did all that, it was nearly 6:30, so I decided t bag the outdoor run and hit the gym for a short tempo run. My 2 mile run got me finished about 7. Just in time to head back in pouring rain. Hooray! So, my tempo run was a little longer, as I ran home, getting soaked along the way.

An interesting side story: there were two people (one man, one woman) working out with a trainer while I was there. They were downstairs at first, but then ran up the stairs and did a jogging circuit around the gym. Then they came upstairs to the treadmills. At one point, they got on the treadmill and proceeded to run way faster than they were capable of running. The woman was beside me and I could tell she was going faster than her legs could carry her because her feet were pounding on the treadmill as the mill took her feet out from under her. Luckily, the trainer was there and slowed it down for her. Otherwise...well, you've seen the YouTube videos of people getting swept off treadmills.

This sort of thing continued for about 10 minutes and the woman would speed back up, only to start grunting, gasping, crying out and wailing until the trainer slowed it back down. Then she'd keep saying, "It's too hard! I can't do this!" and so forth as she walked to catch her breath. Then they chatted about preseason football and the Real Housewives show on Bravo. Then he'd speed her back up and the weird cycle would begin again. I kept thinking the woman would realize how much energy and breath she was wasting with the melodrama and chatting, but it never happened. Eventually, the shenanigans ended and they moved on to some other part of the gym.

Ain't nobody got time for that.

In other news, tomorrow is my bi-weekly comics run, and I'm looking forward to picking up this month's Batman issue, which has gotten strong reviews all around. I found the first trade paperback combining the first seven issues of the comic (this month is issue #12) at the local library, so I now only need to read issues #8 and #9 to be fully caught up. All the issues are strong, but I think issue #5 is perhaps one of my favorite comics ever. Full stop.

This weekend is Wizard's World in Chicago, which is their comic-con. Here is an interview with Greg Capullo (lead artist of Batman) from the Chicago Sun Times.

I'm also picking up The Massive #3. The jury is still out on this book, and the third issue will be pivotal in determining whether I continue to read the book or not. It got a good review on Comic Book Resources, but I feel they engage in grade inflation to maintain access to creators and artists, so I will see for myself.

Dark Knight Cannoli Smuggling and Weekend Training Schedule 08/03 - 08/05

Another week is gone and another two days without having to sit at my desk are just a few tedious short hours away. I have no desire to work on the project(s) that sit before me, so I'll write this instead and kill some time. See? Positive thinking!...

Anyway!

It'll be a busy weekend, both running-wise (hoping!) and otherwise. I had meant to finally get back to my weekly interval training at the gym I pay to not go to, but staying up late to watch the Olympics on Tuesday night killed that ambition. So, I rescheduled my return to the treadmill for tomorrow, after a volunteer orientation at the Maryland SPCA in the morning. I'll start out modestly, maybe going for four or five 400m repeats and seeing how I feel. Then I should be able to get up early on Sunday and get a five-mile "long" run done, as we have no commitments to speak of.

"But wait," you say. "Interval training and a long run on back to back days? Is that wise?"

Well, maybe not. But hear me out. First, neither training session is going to be particularly grueling. I mean, 4X400 is very meager in the grand scheme of interval sessions. Second, a five mile run is not going to wear me out. Third, I do what I want. Taken together, this means it'll be fine.

Outside of running, we'll be going to see The Dark Knight Rises tomorrow night. I'm really excited to see this movie, as my previous comments about Batman will demonstrate. I've heard mostly good reviews and the bad reviews have generally gone with the "the movie is just too unrealistic." To which I say, it's Batman...a guy who dresses up like a bat and fights crime. If you want realistic, I'm sure there's an independent movie theatre showing some French documentary on dissident Algerian poets nearby. If you pay to see a movie based on a comic book, well, you should try harder to suspend your disbelief, is all I'm saying. Nonetheless, I'm excited.

Even more exciting will be our theatre fare. We go to a theatre down in the Harbor East neighborhood of Baltimore, which is the super yuppified part of town. As in, you can buy Hagen Daaz for $10 and then go buy "designer" flip flops for $100 next door before buying a $35 "designer" T-shirt next to that. But the movie theatre is awesome! The seats are large and comfortable and because it's in a part of town made up mostly of young couples or old empty nesters, you get very few obnoxious people (i.e. kids and teenagers) messing up the movie. Plus they have a decently-enforced no cell phones and no texting policy. They throw you out if they catch you. And the tickets are just as expensive ($10) as any other theatre. So, win.

The theatre is also near the Little Italy neighborhood, so we're going to try to buy some cannoli to smuggle in to the theatre to enjoy. I think the "hiding in plain sight" tactic might work: get the cannoli and cookies in a nice box and put them in a shopping bag and just walk in the theatre. It might work.