The Running Man

So my plan for today was to get up early when Annie gets up to get ready for her church job and to head out and get my 11 mile run in before coming back to pick her up and head to DC for the day.

Unfortunately, I overslept and didn't even get back to my apartment (we live in the same building but in different apartments...it's a long story) until 9 AM and then had to eat my breakfast of a glass of water and a Power Bar, then get ready for the run. By the time I got to the Inner Harbor where I start my runs, it was almost 10 o'clock, not nearly enough time to complete a good 11 mile long run. So, instead I pushed my time to the limit and did a 6 mile run out to Ft. McHenry and back. I think it was a blessing in disguise because my legs felt sore and tired from the get-go. While I think it wouldn't have prevented me from hitting 11 miles, I think I would have been really sore had I gone the distance. So, I'm not too broken up about not being able to go 11 miles today; I'll get it in next weekend.

I watched two running movie last night: Prefontaine and The Running Man. Before I justify The Running Man as a running movie, let me say that overall I liked Prefontaine a lot. I thought Jared Leto did a great job playing Pre and the movie did a good job chronicling his life. Some of the dialogue and acting were not that good, and at times I got the feeling that this was a made-for-TV movie rather than a studio film, but those moments were few and far between.

The Running Man, a dystopic sci fi action movie starring everyone's favorite Austrian, Arnold Schwarzenegger (i.e. "The Governator"), is totally a running movie and not just because running is in the title. Oh no, there is tons of running in this movie, from the beginning to the very end. For those of you who haven't seen this totally kick-ass film, check it out HERE. Trust me, there's tons of running...mostly away from psychopathic guys with chainsaws, flamethrowers, electric bolts, and a hockey stick with a sword for a blade. But it's running nonetheless! If you haven't seen it, I would suggest a viewing when you want something that doesn't require too much thought and involves a beautiful woman doing situps in lingerie at one point (I think this was this actress' only film as i've nevr seen her before). AND, you can say it's all good because the movie is really about RUNNING.

Baltimore: Come Take Your Life Into Your Own Hands!

Annie's show in Washington begins this afternoon so she's down there now on stage, I imagine. She has another show at 8:30 and then she'll be home. I spent some time this afternoon at the Baltimore Sun Travel Expo, which is being held at the Baltimore Convention Center all weekend. Thankfully my wedding duties are few and far between but the major one is planning the honeymoon, which I think will take lots of research. This was my first foray into that process and I got a good sense of what's available and what we can afford. We're looking to just go to an All Inclusive resort so we don't have to worry about anything...especially after worrying about this wedding for so long! As long as there are some activities for me to do while she sits on the beach, I'll be fine.

Before that I finally got out and did 5 miles this morning. It went just fine and nothing out of the ordinary occurred. It was a balmy 34 here, but it didn't feel that cold, even though I was in shorts. Tomorrow I have an 11 miler scheduled so I'll have to get up early and get that done since we're heading to Washington around noon tomorrow to meet my parents so they can see Annie in her show. If I'm out the door by 9 at the very latest, I should have plenty of time to get the distance done.

Finally, after trying to make it happen, I just wasn't able to get to see The Spirit of the Marathon on Thursday night. I think I am now the only runner in the DC/Baltimore area who hasn't seen it, but Annie had the car that night since she was at rehearsal in Washington, and the only way I could get to see the movie would have been to take the light rail out to Hunt Valley. If you've never been to Baltimore, or taken the light rail, trust me when I say that it's not the best idea to take the light rail after a certain time of night. In fact, while going out there would have probably been OK, coming back would have been the most sketchy part. So, I passed on that and will get the DVD from Netflix when it comes out. In the end, while I really want to see the movie, the reviews from the bloggers I frequent have ranged from Good to "Eh". Most agree that it's an interesting study of the different types of runners who compete at these huge marathons, but some feel that it wasn't necessarily "inspirational." Many of these folks readily admit that they don't think the movie was aiming to be some hugely inspirational event, but was more trying to identify what makes certain people really OK with running 26.2 miles voluntarily while others only wish to cheer them on. Based on those reviews, I don't feel quite as bad about missing it in the theatres, although to see it with a bunch of other runners would have been fun, I think.

Anyway, I've signed up to be notified when it's coming out on DVD, so hopefully I won't have to wait too long!

Eating Goo or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Carbs

The deeper I’ve gotten into running, the more involved I have discovered the whole affair to be. For instance, when I first started running, I bought a pair of Nike Air Pegasus shows because they looked cool and were the right price. Unfortunately, they gave me a nice blister and pinched my feet when I tried to run in them. Even the second pair (Adidas this time) I bought at a local DSW didn’t fit properly and gave me horrendous arch pain that lasted after I had gotten rid of them. Finally, after doing some reading, I realized I’d have to get actual RUNNING shoes if I was going to really do this thing over long distances. So I went to Falls Road Running in Mt. Washington, splurged on a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7’s and have run happily ever after since.

If nothing else, this taught me that there’s more to running than just going out and trotting around for an hour three times a week. One of the most intriguing areas of running that you only discover once you really start running long distances (or for long periods of time) is the fueling strategy. When you watch a marathon on TV or even the Ironman on NBC, you never see the runners, elite or middle of the pack, refueling, even though I’m pretty sure everyone does it at some point in the race. Maybe the elites don’t because they’re only out there long enough to totally deplete their glycogen and then they’re done. But for most runners, the need for a supplementary fuel is acute. Most experts say you should refuel every hour you’re running. I think that’s about right for me, as I usually get tired around 6.5 miles on my long runs.

To that end, I have spent much of my half marathon training program trying to find my ideal fueling strategy. After reading numerous articles in Runner’s World, posts on several blogs, and the opinions of authors such as Hal Higdon, I had a lot of ideas for what to try and how to do it. Basically, I just had to try them out on my runs and see what worked.

My first foray was actually into pre-run fueling. I’ve found that one energy bar about 45 minutes before my run works just fine as I’m not a fan of having a lot of food in my stomach before running. The bar is just enough, with a full glass of water, to keep me from getting hungry on the course while providing a huge amount of carbs for my liver to transform into glycogen to be burned on the road. Flavor-wise, Clif Bars are my favorite. They taste the closest to real food and look more like something out of nature. My favorite flavors (of the ones I’ve tried) would be Cool Mint Chocolate (I love mint and this tastes like a Hershey’s Mint Chocolate Chip candy bar! Best bar I’ve ever eaten), Blueberry Crisp (again, very tasty as I like blueberries a lot), and Spiced Pumpkin Pie (I had this in the Fall, so it was extra good).

In terms of mid-running refueling options, I again have to go with Clif. I initially bought a few of their gel packs to try out. While they really work in terms of refueling and keeping exhaustion at bay, I personally didn’t like the consistency of the gels. I think also I’d have to stick with Mango or Razz or some other flavor rather than something richer like Vanilla or Chocolate. Then I read about their relatively new Clif Gel Shot Blocs , which are basically the gel shots in cubical form. They look like fruit snacks! You get six blocs per package and should use between 3 and 6 per hour of running, depending on how many you need to refuel adequately. Every three pieces has about 24g of carbs. I found that if I take four, I feel pretty good. They’re easy to chew up, taste good, and don’t upset my stomach. Perfect! I’ve only tried Lemon Lime, but I have high hopes for the other flavors.

While I haven’t tried other companies’ gels or bars, I really don’t have a desire to since Clif’s products sit so well with me and work great. I’m hoping that they’ve got a booth at the expo for the National Marathon so I can stock up for the summer and fall running season. Unfortunately, the National Marathon is only offering GU gels at some of their water stops, which is better than most marathons, I agree, but will require that I take my own fuel along with me. No biggie, as the shot blocs are really portable.

In short, if you’re trying to work out your fueling strategy, the best thing to do is to test different products on your training runs and find one that works for you and then incorporate that into your race preparation.

Baby Steps and Free Booze

Today was a mixed bag overall. Work sucks right now because we’re working on a big project that should take two solid weeks to complete and it has to be done in about half that time. Awesome. And by awesome, I of course mean totally crappy. So the job is sucking additional energy from me for the time being.

Running-wise, I again failed to get out the door this morning. However, not all was bad news. I went to sleep around 10:40 last night and while Annie woke me up around 12:30 after coming into my apartment and taking some cookies after returning from rehearsal in Washington, I got a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling only slightly tired, rather than the utterly exhausted feeling I usually have when I go to sleep late and try to wake up early. I’m not sure what kept me from running this morning, but it certainly wasn’t my bedtime, so that’s a very small improvement. My goal is to actually get a run in tomorrow morning. I think it will also help me feel better when I’m slaving away on this project at work.

It’s gotten colder here this week too, which might have had something to do with my return to bed this morning. Mind you, it’s not northern Midwest cold or anything, but still colder than average for Baltimore. It snowed today as well, although it only stuck to the ground and not the roads and sidewalks. Tomorrow morning promises to be pretty chilly but I need to get my Unerarmour compression shirt on and my shell from REI and my running tights and suck it up.

Yes, that’s right, I run in running tights when it’s particularly frigid. I know some men feel that tights are for women only, but I can tell you that when it’s freezing out, tights are world’s better than wind pants. They keep the heat next to your skin, repel sweat to keep you warm but still ventilated, and don’t swish annoyingly as you walk or run. Perhaps you are worried about people staring or laughing at you in your tights? Well, when you run at 5:45 AM, there are very few people out to laugh at you. And even then, they’re mostly not aware of you because, like you, they hate being up at 5:45 and are barely awake. I’ve never had someone make a smart-ass comment about my wearing tights. In fact, the only comments I’ve gotten are from Baltimore homeless crazies and I discount those because they probably think I’m a large yellow hippo coming to take their candy corn or something. Thus, running tights are not going to get you ridiculed and have far more utility than wind pants or sweat pants.

Other than that, not much else to report. The Kelly St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock 5K is coming up and I’m pretty fired up. Last year I watched from my apartment (I live 30 floors up) as people ran this race down Charles St to the Inner Harbor and was instantly jealous of their running ability and their cool green T-Shirts. I think that might have been the subconscious seed that grew into my starting to run in June of last year. I’m going to map out the race on Map My Run and post it here during my race report and will definitely have many pictures from the first race of my 2008 running season. And, after the race, Miller Lite is giving away free beer! Upside all around!

Next post will tackle my search for a reliable and tasty refuelling strategy for the upcoming half marathon. I know, contain your excitement. All good things come to those who wait.

A Long Post, but Worth It...In my Opinion

After a week (yikes! A week!) without running for one reason or another, I got my ass back in the saddle this weekend. The combination of laziness (see my previous post) and the crappy weather that graces the Eastern Seaboard this time of year kept me from running last week and it sucked.

From my last post, I have progressed to stubborn resolution to get my runs in each week leading up to the National Half Marathon. To that end, I knew that I’d need a few days to run and get my body used to the grind again. Even a week off from running (voluntary or otherwise) can allow your body to lose some of its fitness, and that was certainly the case with me. Saturday I went out for a simple 5-miler to get back in the swing and to gauge where I was in the fitness spectrum.

I found that I was further behind than I anticipated, as I was winded by mile 5. Yet I slogged through and wasn’t too worse for the wear. I’ve been blessed with very few injuries since I began running last summer, and I certainly have no major injuries to report; just the normal wear and tear injuries. One of the most annoying has been a “hot spot” on the inside of my left foot, near the ball of my foot. It’s where the big toe joint is, only on the side of the foot. Last summer it was getting worn down and, thanks to a crappy insert from Dr. Scholl’s, a nice blister formed there. It healed just fine until in early January, when I wore some new socks that I had gotten for Christmas. The irony is that the socks are designed to prevent blistering by putting more padding on areas such as my hot spot. Unfortunately, the point where the padding stops and the regular material begins is right at my big toe joint. This makes no sense to me, as these socks are sized for larger feet (I wear a size 14), so one would think that the padding would be designed to reach further down the sock as well. But no, this is not the case. As a result, my hot spot has continued to bother me since then. My run on Saturday further aggravated it.

Luckily, I don’t get really painful or even long-lasting blisters there. The area puffs up after the run, but is never very painful, just uncomfortable. Despite what experts say, I end up popping it to drain the fluid out and then disinfect it and cover it with a blister pad. The next day, it’s fine. Saturday’s run, however, didn’t result in any puffing, but just the beginning of what I hope is callusing. However, to protect the area, I am starting to wrap it in athletic tape to create some more padding. On longer runs, I may use some gauze or other jerry rigged system to prevent a really bad blister. On the whole, however, it’s not enough to prevent me from running.

The only other ache would be the usual tightness in my calf muscles, but I think this will decrease as they get used to running again.

On a side note, my step father got a really great tip for icing an injury from his physical therapist. The tendon in his right index finger tore several months back and he finally got surgery on it to repair the damage and clean out the scar tissue. So he’s had to go to a physical therapist (who himself had to go through extensive therapy after being paralyzed in a mountain biking accident, which is truly amazing). Anyway, the therapist said to get an ice bag and fill it with a solution of two parts water and one part rubbing alcohol. Put that in the freezer for a couple hours. The alcohol will keep the water from totally freezing and you’ll have a thick slushy ice pack that will mould to whatever body part you put it on. Plus it’s really cold so you can use it longer. I used this yesterday after my run and it worked really well. Plus, there’s no dripping to clean up.

Yesterday I ran an easy 8 miler, which turned into a 8.7 miler because I reached 8 miles way before the point I wanted to. So I kept going until I reached my usual stopping point, which came out to be about 0.7 miles further, according to the Garmin. I felt pretty good after the run, and only had to ice my calves a little bit directly afterwards (see my new ice pack tip above!). Here are the splits:

Mile 1: 8:59
Mile 2: 8:42
Mile 3: 9:11
Mile 4: 9:23
Mile 5: 9:28
Mile 6: 9:05
Mile 7: 9:10
Mile 8: 9:05
Implied pace for 0.7 miles: 8:51

Total: 1:19:09
Average: 9:07

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On another note, the National Marathon and Half Marathon has a new sponsor. I guess Wirefly couldn’t pay the bill or something because the event is now called the SunTrust National Marathon & Half Marathon. I hope that they didn’t order the shirts already, as I don’t want a stinking Wirefly logo on my technical shirt. I’m glad that they have a new sponsor for a few reasons. First, Wirefly seemed to be a poor man’s sponsor. By that I mean, the National Marathon is a relatively new event, having been run only twice before and so it’s understandable that the organizers would get any sponsor that would have them. However, the success of the event, and the generally good press it’s gotten from runners, has helped the event grow and thus, the need for a sponsor willing to shell out more cash for a better event became more acute.

I know that SunTrust sponsors the Richmond Marathon and the Rock N’ Roll in Virginia Beach, and I would assume other big marathons in the South, so having them sign on to the National Marathon is a great sign for the event. Plus it adds more credibility to the event as a solid, enjoyable and well-run event. All good things, to be sure.

This makes me even more excited to experience the race next month, as my confidence in the running of the whole weekend has increased now that SunTrust has signed on. Hopefully my confidence will be well-founded.

For those so inclined, click here for the press release.

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To that end, I have finalized our travel plans for the half marathon weekend. Even though Washington is but an hour’s drive away from Baltimore, the fact that the race is being held at 7:00 AM at RFK stadium made both Annie and me think it might be worth the extra money to stay in the city the night before to save us from having to wake up at 4 AM or some other ungodly hour.

I found a decent deal on a nice room at the Four Points Sheraton Washington D.C. Downtown near Capitol Hill using my AAA membership. It’s about the same as most of the other accommodations I was looking at, although this hotel gets 3 ½ stars, I believe, so I think I am getting a good return on that money. Plus Sheraton has some insane beds, so I think I will sleep really well the night before.

Logistically it was the best choice as well. RFK stadium is on the Blue and Orange lines on the Metro, but we’ll drive to Forrest Glen Metro stop, on the Red line, and leave the car there and take the Metro into DC to save on parking. So, I needed some place that was close to both lines. Some places were close to one, but not convenient to the other. However the Four Points Sheraton is on K Street NW, and about three or so blocks from Metro Center, which is the crossing point of the Red AND Blue and Orange lines. Perfect!

With that out of the way, we’re ready to go. Now I just need to make sure I finish my training properly.

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Finally, I was going to write about the utility and stylishness (such as it is) of running tights. I’ve read several posts on various blogs about this issue, as tights are a good option when the temperatures get low. However, this post is already long enough so I will save that topic for another day, probably tomorrow.

Frustration with the Weather and My Own Laziness

Again, I have utterly failed to keep to my desire to post more often than once a week or less. Add that to the list of things I am going to have to work on in the coming month. The top thing is getting a reliable and functional running schedule established. I think I picked a poor time to start really training (winter) because I have had trouble getting out the door in the mornings during the work week.

Let me be totally honest when I say that I hate getting up in the morning. I’m a night owl and Ihave always hated mornings. The ironic part is that I like the solitude of the morning and the calmness of that time of day. But I also like the calmness of 2 AM too. In college I rarely went to bed before 1AM, and that trend carried over into graduate school in London. Now that I’m working, of course, my bedtime has moderated considerably and I am usually in bed by 11:30 on work nights. However, this does not make it any easier to get up in the morning for work. That trouble is only compounded by having to wake up almost 90 minutes earlier if I want to get a run in before work.

Most people get to work around 9 AM or so. Most of the people at my firm get to work between 7:30 and 8, including me. Thus, it makes morning running that much earlier. Thankfully I can walk to work, otherwise it would be even worse! As it stands, the combination of waking up early, the darkness of winter mornings, and the general crappy weather that comes with January and February in Baltimore make it damn near impossible to get out of bed in the morning. The last few weeks have been particularly horrible. When it’s relatively warm outside (i.e. mid 30’s to 40’s), the wind is blowing and it feels like 20 or it’s raining, or both. The rest of the time, it actually IS 20 outside and the wind is blowing. These are not impossible conditions to run in, I know. But at 5:30 AM, with another 90 minutes of darkness before the first sliver of dawn creeps over the horizon, it’s very daunting.

Of course there’s always running at the gym, but I get so bored with that. Plus, it’s not necessarily the cold that keeps me from running, although running in 15 mph winds can be harrowing. It’s the combination of darkness, cold and the ungodly hour that kills me. If it was light outside, I think it would be markedly easier to motivate myself. Running at the gym would just further discourage me, I think. I could run in the middle of the work day, but then I’d be taking two showers a day, which is another thing I don’t like doing. Plus it would take a good 90 minutes out of my work day and be a general nuisance. I could also run after work, but I’m so tired after work that all I want to do is come home, eat dinner and sit on the couch and read or watch TV and relax. So, I am left with the only time of the day open for running on a daily basis: the morning.

This is all by way of saying that I need to suck it up and dig deeper to get out of bed because I have under 6 weeks left before the National Half Marathon and next weekend is an 11-miler for which I need to be ready. Once winter starts to abate and the morning temps warm up a little more and the wind goes away, I think it’ll be much easier. Unfortunately, that won’t happen for another month, and even then, it’s not going to be like living in Miami.

As for the rest of this week, I think it’s still salvageable. I have to take Annie to the train station tomorrow so she can get up to New York for an audition, so I will be back in time to head out for a run before work. I’ll already be awake so I have no excuse not to head out. Saturday is going to be cold, but not arctic, so I think I’ll be able to get another 5 miles in. Sunday is a nice and easy 8-miler, and since we have Monday off for President’s Day, I’m hoping I’ll feel good enough to hit another 5 miles then as well.

Some Thoughts

Yes, I realize it’s been more than a week since I posted. I have no excuse other than I kept forgetting to post while at work (which is the best time for me to post since I’m here all the freakinig time and my laptop sucks and takes forever). I hope to get better, though, I really do.

On a sports note, Annie and I watched the Super Bowl on Sunday. We actually met some of her friends at a local bar, where I ate Buffalo wings, drank cheap beer and watched the first half while she and her friends gossiped. The bar even had a complimentary buffet, but I didn’t know that until we were leaving! Unbelievable. However, we watched the end of the game at home and I have just a few quick observations.

1. This was probably the worst game the Patriots played all season. They’ve played games where their first half has been bad but they always rallied and finished strong. This did not happen on Sunday.

2. While the Giants played better overall and in fact seemed to want it more (according to Annie), they were not the cause of the Pats’ defeat. They beat themselves for the most part.

3. I don’t care that they made it to the Super Bowl, the Giants were not that good of a team the entire yea. And no, I don’t care that they won 6 in a row. The Patriots won 18 in a row. The Giants’ season was within a half of being over against my Redskins. The only reason they won was because the Skins find new ways to lose from time to time and like to try them out.

4. Eli Manning is now going to be officially the most overrated quarterback in the NFL. Not even Brady Quinn's hype from this season will approach Eli’s levels come this summer. He’s better than he has been in the past, but I remain skeptical.

5. Suddenly Tom Coughlin’s a genius? Four months ago every player on that team was either openly or secretly calling for his firing mid-season and now it’s a lovefest? I don’t think Coughlin’s a bad coach, necessarily, but we’ll see reality set in if the Giants start out 0-2 or worse.

6. I don’t blame Belichek (I know it’s misspelled but whatever) for walking off the field when they insisted on resetting the clock. The game was obviously over so he went out to shake Coughlin’s hand like the decent sport he is. Then they try to get everyone back to the sidelines so they can tick one lousy second off the clock when the Giants have the ball anyway? Idiocy always seems to find its way into each Super Bowl (Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction, Paul McCartney half-time show, the Steelers winning) and this year was no different. I would have walked off the field too. You’ve already lost a game you should have won and now we have to do a re-do for the final play of the game? Screw that.

That’s about it. Overall, an underwhelming Super Bowl. Not only did a team that had no business being there win, but sports history was not made. Some joker columnist on Yahoo! tried to insist that the Giants’ win WAS history, but that’s a lie designed to bring more significance to this game than it deserves. I’m no Patriots fan, of course, but would prefer to witness sports history than watch a underdog get lucky when the favorite plays like crap. As Forrest Gump said, “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

On the running front, I’ve made some real progress! I hit 8 miles last Sunday and 9 miles this past Sunday. The 8 miler got really tough towards the end, but I think that was because I ran too fast at the beginning and was only drinking water, and didn’t refuel. This week I took two bottle with me, one Gatorade and one water. I left the water bottle under a bench in front of my office and fueled with the Gatorade. I also took a Gel Shot along with me. I got to about 6.5 miles and then used the Gel Shot, which almost made me barf, but I got it down. It was a vast improvement! I wasn’t as tired coming into the 9th mile and actually had some negative splits, which is encouraging.

After my run, I also ate plenty and started rehydrating myself. The combination of the leftover carbs in my system from the Gel Shot and the fact that I drank 5 glasses of water when I was eating my Buffalo wings (they were hot!), made a dramatic improvement in my recovery time. My body felt fine yesterday morning. However, I had a mild blister on the inside of my left foot, which necessitated taking both Monday and today off. Tomorrow should be fine though, as it doesn’t hurt and I’m only taking another day to allow some more healing.

Overall though, I’m feeling good about the National Half and am confident that I’ll be ready for it.