Road to Nowhere

I took a slightly unscheduled rest day this morning so I could spend about 90 minutes clear-cutting our side yard, which has gotten seriously overgrown over the past couple of years. So overgrown that it was pretty much impenetrable. We have a big 2-yard dumpster we've been using for clearing out clutter, so this was the time to do it.

I'm sure I won't win any landscape maintenance awards for it: I hacked my way to the gate, cleared some plants from both sides of that, then used loppers and shears to either seriously cut back or mow down everything in my path. Then I gathered it up and hauled it to the dumpster, dripping sweat all the way.

I didn't take a before photo, but suffice it to say that all you'd see was bushes before.



Did I say this was a rest day? Nevermind...

It actually good to do some hard physical labor. I've been reading about some of the early ultra runners and was struck by how they didn't necessarily focus entirely on running. They'd go out for a four-hour run and then work in the yard for a couple hours more, essentially extending the benefit of the endurance-based workout even more. I've seen some writers suggest using that approach even now, but mostly you just see the top ultra folk running insane distances. When they're not running, they're speed climbing mountains. Crazy.

Speaking of crazy, I started attaching dates to the training plan from a couple of pages back - it looks like training would begin in earnest in about three weeks. I just need to get my body ready to be able to start with about 35 mpw at the get-go. Gulp!

I also took another look at the elevation profile....


... and the course map (click here to see it) and managed to get myself nice and anxious already.

It's a point-to-point course so it's a long ways from the start to the finish, and it shows. The exact course is different (you're on a riverfront bike path rather than the streets), but the first half of the race more or less tracks the course of CIM backwards -- from a couple of miles from the finish in downtown Sacramento to -- and past -- where the race starts. Then, after nearly a marathon distance on pavement, it switches to sometimes technical singletrack. For another 25 miles. Eeek.

Oh well. At least the Altras I have are supposedly good on trails as well as pavement, though I might want to switch to trail shoes at the midway point.

I suppose the fact that I'm thinking about cross training and shoe selection sort of counterbalances the sense of terror I get thinking about this...

Having run the entirety of the trail part, I can tell you it only gets better as you go farther. The best stretch is between Rattlesnake Bar and the bottom of Cardiac, which is probably around mile 41-48? So you'll be good and delusional by then. The American River path is beautiful, as well, and very pleasant to run on. It's quite hilly, though. Not big hills, but short, steep 20' hills. They suck.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Having run the entirety of the trail part, I can tell you it only gets better as you go farther. The best stretch is between Rattlesnake Bar and the bottom of Cardiac, which is probably around mile 41-48? So you'll be good and delusional by then. The American River path is beautiful, as well, and very pleasant to run on. It's quite hilly, though. Not big hills, but short, steep 20' hills. They suck.

Short, steep hills? Ooo. Sounds a bit like Tecumseh. Except those hills were more like 200' - over and over again. But given the terrain, switching to trail shoes (possibly the Lone Peaks) somewhere after Mile 26 might be the better choice.

Delusional? Well, that could be entertaining. No wonder you offered to pace me.

(One other thing, since the weight loss thread is on hiatus. I was 159 this morning.)

Woot! Two runs this morning, courtesy of our friends at Nike!

Warmup: .78 miles at 8:35/mi pace (avg HR 144, max 155): A few laps around the field at the Bo Jackson building, to warm up for the 5k and get a feel for the shoes I was wearing (Lunar Racer 2s). Then, I had to fill out a perception survey form on the shoes themselves. It's harder to do when they're shoes you've worn for a long time rather than something totally new and experimental, btw.

Race (well, sorta): 3.12 miles (and a PR!)

Weather: Overcast, mild. Gear: Lunar Racer 2s, shorts, T. Fuel: Post breakfast.

I headed over to Nike this morning to try out for another hitch with its Dynamic Testing Team. Part of the tryout was a 5k run on a brand new Geoff Hollister Running Trail, made up of a nice decomposed granite trail through the woods near the Nike World Heartquarters campus in Beaverton.



I haven't run a 5k in quite a while, and I haven't done anything resembling speed work in a very long time, so I should have been pleased when they said, "Now, we're not looking for PRs or anything. Just run it."

Riigggghhhht.

I ended up setting a new PR (not by much, but still), while keeping my heart rate well below the gut-cleansing intensity that a "real" 5k race might prompt. Still... dang. That was sort of uncomfortable! I started around a 7/mi pace (avg HR of 165, max 172), but fell off and ended the mile in 7:28. Mile 2 was 7:44 (avg HR of 174, max of 178). Third mile, 8:00 even (avg HR of 177, max of 182). I did the last bit (measured at .12) at a 6:43 pace, peaking with a kick at a 6:04/mi pace (avg HR 184, max 187). My final time was 24:01. It beat my previous PR by about 11 seconds.

Not bad for busting out a 5k with no training.

Average HR for the whole affair: 173.

Woohoo, Mark! and I like the "landscaping".

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Woohoo, Mark! and I like the "landscaping".

Thanks on both counts, Michele! It's amazing how much even a sorta-high effort 5k can have. I'm ready to take a nap!

Mark B wrote:

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Woohoo, Mark! and I like the "landscaping".

Thanks on both counts, Michele! It's amazing how much even a sorta-high effort 5k can have. I'm ready to take a nap!

You're ready for a nap! I napped all afternoon after my half. I feel like I ran a full.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Woohoo, Mark! and I like the "landscaping".

Thanks on both counts, Michele! It's amazing how much even a sorta-high effort 5k can have. I'm ready to take a nap!

You're ready for a nap! I napped all afternoon after my half. I feel like I ran a full.

And I would. Except my reporter and the copy desk might give me the stink eye if I did. Maybe I'll be lazy tomorrow and sleep in after today's night shift and just run a little longer on Monday.

Congrats Mark! What a great place to run...

and the napping sounds awesome!

E Greenie

EugeneGreenie wrote:Congrats Mark! What a great place to run...

and the napping sounds awesome!

E Greenie

Hi, Greenie! A nap did sound great, but plenty happened at work last night to wake me up.

There was a fire at a local hotel, and firefighters arriving on scene were surprised to see a guy standing on the roof of the burning building, waving his arms. They were even *more* surprised when the guy (who is now accused of setting the fire) pushed their ladders away when they came up to help him and deal with the fire. They got the fire out another way, and the guy spent the next four hours on the roof talking with negotiators until he finally gave in and came down a ladder truck's ladder ("He can't push that one down," one sheriff's sergeant noted.) and was taken into custody. I had a reporter and photographer on scene, and I was live tweeting updates and refreshing a web story all night long as the story unfolded.

The story, which includes some outstanding photography, can be seen here if you're curious.

I remember when it wasn't so long ago that there was only one point of publication a day for newspapers. Local TV stations would have two or three points (morning, evening and late night shows). Local radio would have hourly newscasts in drive time. Now? The expectation from news consumers is full and immediate coverage, 24/7, 365 days a year. (For free, of course.) If you ever hear some business analyst talk about the concept of disruptive change, the news industry is smack in the middle of it.

---

I'd normally run on Sunday, but I got up early to head to Nike yesterday and needed to get a little extra sleep. Besides, my legs are feeling the effort from yesterday's 5k, and my rolling total of miles/activity for the past week was threatening to spike too quickly from the previous week.... so a rest day seemed in order.

Interesting note about the 5k. I looked at Maffetone's chart that correlates MAF test results with 5k times, and found that I ran slower than one might expect for someone with my first mile MAF pace. Either I ran that .8 mile warm up too fast and burned myself out a bit (entirely possible), or I'm somewhat unbalanced and deficient in the anaerobic area (even more possible). Or I was simply not used to the feeling that comes with more intense running.

At any rate, it's more interesting than worrisome. And I think the hills I plan to be doing over the next many months will help boost the VOMax a bit.

Hi Mark,

I totally agree with the concept of disruptive change. I see it every day at work along with the genera incivility that permeates our culture as a result. The first time I noticed it was when I worked as graphic designer, and we got computers, and all of a sudden something that had taken weeks, only took days. I call it the FedEx effect...I feel like part of my job at work is to remind people that we can be civil to each other...that there are rules of engagement in business, and they need to be followed, and no, you are not going to get to see my boss just because you are being incredibly pushy....but I will say it in a nice way

As for your 5K, I would not worry too much about the charts....it sounds as if it was a total gift PR and an amazing indicator of your fitness and the work you have put in to recreate yourself as a runner.

Be proud.

E Greenie<--another fabulous day in paradise

EugeneGreenie wrote:Hi Mark,

I totally agree with the concept of disruptive change. I see it every day at work along with the genera incivility that permeates our culture as a result. The first time I noticed it was when I worked as graphic designer, and we got computers, and all of a sudden something that had taken weeks, only took days. I call it the FedEx effect...I feel like part of my job at work is to remind people that we can be civil to each other...that there are rules of engagement in business, and they need to be followed, and no, you are not going to get to see my boss just because you are being incredibly pushy....but I will say it in a nice way

As for your 5K, I would not worry too much about the charts....it sounds as if it was a total gift PR and an amazing indicator of your fitness and the work you have put in to recreate yourself as a runner.

Be proud.

E Greenie<--another fabulous day in paradise

Aw. Thanks.

Long run: 12 miles (the hard way)

Weather: Sunny, increasingly warm, windy. 62-72 degrees. Gear: Altras, shorts, T. Fuel: Post breakfast, 1 granola bar. Took two Gu (45 and 90 in), and consumed one handheld of nuun/water.

I didn't feel like a trail run this morning - probably more accurately, I didn't feel like driving to a trail this morning - so I decided to test myself with a long run on just about the hardest, hilliest route I could devise from my house. It runs north into the hills, west toward the Columbia River, then back up from the lowlands to my house.

I wore my HR monitor and tried to find a way to apply low HR principles to steep hills. I gave myself a few extra bpm, letting my HR go up to 145 on the hills, as long as I could get the trend to reverse by slowing down. Once I crossed over to 146, I'd walk until my HR fell to about 132, then I'd start again.

It worked pretty well, though it became increasingly difficult as the miles went on and the morning warmed up to get my HR close to 138 on the downhills and flats. I slowed a lot but still averaged a HR of 142 in three of the final four miles. It will be fun to compare my performance on this route now to a few months from now, when I'm in better condition and the temperatures are cooler.

Here's the map and elevation chart. There was about 1,300 feet of climbing on the route.



If I get totally masochistic at some point, I could easily imagine running to Mile 8.5 on the map above (the top of Llama Ridge), turning around and retracing my path.

Walked the first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for the entire run: 138

I doubt I climb 100 feet in most of my long runs.

ounce wrote:I doubt I climb 100 feet in most of my long runs.

Well isn't this the elevation profile of the Houston Marathon? _______________________________________________________________________

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:I doubt I climb 100 feet in most of my long runs.

Well isn't this the elevation profile of the Houston Marathon? _______________________________________________________________________

One would think so, but Chicago is actually flatter. Except for an overpass between miles 14 and 15, if you're seeing an elevation change, you're near either White Oak Bayou or Buffalo Bayou.

I bet that was a beautiful run. Good job Mark.

Cool run!

Looks like the elevation map when I head down the road running the hilly route. Always a good feeling to get into some flat like that near the end!

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:I doubt I climb 100 feet in most of my long runs.

Well isn't this the elevation profile of the Houston Marathon? _______________________________________________________________________

One would think so, but Chicago is actually flatter. Except for an overpass between miles 14 and 15, if you're seeing an elevation change, you're near either White Oak Bayou or Buffalo Bayou.

Really? That's probably a welcome elevation change. I have to admit I stole the perfectly flat elevation profile gag from something I read about the Chicago Marathon. That lack of variety may allow for fast times, but it must really cook your legs.

T Miller wrote:I bet that was a beautiful run. Good job Mark.

Hi Tim! It was gorgeous, especially on that northernmost segment, when I ran toward the Columbia River. Once I cleared the drainages and got up on top of a rolling ridge, I had a great view of farms, horses, trees, etc. The sun was pretty warm, but there was also a fragrant 10 mph wind off the river that kept it comfortable. Ah, autumn.

Michael Enright wrote:Cool run!

Looks like the elevation map when I head down the road running the hilly route. Always a good feeling to get into some flat like that near the end!

I was needed that flat by the time it arrived. This is the longest I've gone in a while, and I did it on the most hilly route around. It was a nice run, but I'm feeling it a bit this morning! Glad it's a walking day.

The fact that I did the entire run in zero drop shoes might have something to do with the soreness... but the upside is, I was doing a pretty good job adapting my form and making them work for me.

Great job on the 5k, especially with little to no speed work training....you beat my PR by 34 secs!

By the way the Houston course is more like this:
________________________________/\_________________________

The spike being the overpass between 14-15 that Oz mentioned. There are actually a few tiny rollers at the start and a few thrown in around the course but that is it...Oz is correct Chicago is even flatter than Houston from what everyone tells me.

Joel H wrote:Great job on the 5k, especially with little to no speed work training....you beat my PR by 34 secs!

By the way the Houston course is more like this:
________________________________/\_________________________

The spike being the overpass between 14-15 that Oz mentioned. There are actually a few tiny rollers at the start and a few thrown in around the course but that is it...Oz is correct Chicago is even flatter than Houston from what everyone tells me.

Hey, Joel! Thanks. One thing I neglected to mention about my long, hilly run yesterday was that I purposefully did it while my quads were still somewhat sore from that 5k. I figured, if I'm going to do something where I spent hours running on tired legs, I'd better start reacquainting myself with the sensation. As it happened, the soreness went away after I warmed up. Which, I suppose, is a good thing to remember: It never always gets worse.

Joel H wrote:Great job on the 5k, especially with little to no speed work training....you beat my PR by 34 secs!

By the way the Houston course is more like this:
________________________________/\_________________________

The spike being the overpass between 14-15 that Oz mentioned. There are actually a few tiny rollers at the start and a few thrown in around the course but that is it...Oz is correct Chicago is even flatter than Houston from what everyone tells me.

Two of the 'few thrown in' are at mile 24 and are double underpasses which are not fun, indeed they are a great pain in the legs. It is the piece of the course I detest with a purple passion.

ounce wrote:

Joel H wrote:Great job on the 5k, especially with little to no speed work training....you beat my PR by 34 secs!

By the way the Houston course is more like this:
________________________________/\_________________________

The spike being the overpass between 14-15 that Oz mentioned. There are actually a few tiny rollers at the start and a few thrown in around the course but that is it...Oz is correct Chicago is even flatter than Houston from what everyone tells me.

Two of the 'few thrown in' are at mile 24 and are double underpasses which are not fun, indeed they are a great pain in the legs. It is the piece of the course I detest with a purple passion.

Underpasses are evil, no doubt. It's like they put them there just to piss us off. Which, given the sadistic nature of most race directors, is entirely possible.

Walk: 2.2 miles

Weather: Clearing, cool. 60 degrees.

A bit of active recovery on the schedule today: a lunchtime walk along the Columbia River. My legs are a little tight from yesterday's excursion - but not very.

Walk: 3.05 very windy miles

Weather: Sunny, windy! 21 mph with guts to 32 mph

A very windy day, so it seemed like a good day to put myself 70 feet above the whitecaps on the Columbia River and walk to and from Portland via the Interstate Bridge.

It was nice on the windward side of the bridge, if quite windy. On the leeward side on the return trip, however, got blasted by the exhaust, road grit and starling dropping residue. Mm. Tasty.

Thanks to the conditions, I pushed it harder than usual and got going at a decent clip.