Stalking 50

Barefoot Run: 3.1 miles on wet asphalt

Weather: Overcast, humid, cool. 43 degreees, 93% humidity. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, long-sleeved T, jacket, hat.

A hectic morning but I managed to squeeze in a barefoot run before work. I was a little distracted at first, and the surface felt rougher than usual. That sensation went away as I warmed up and relaxed into the run, though I did exfoliate some dead skin off my left foot on the wet, cold asphalt. Oops. Got to watch that technique.

My time and HR was nice. The first (distracted) mile was about 10:30. Miles 2 and 3 were 9:51 and 9:44, respectively, with average HRs of 137 and 139. Not bad.

Average HR for the entire run: 135

Walk: 3 miles (Interstate Bridge Loop)

Weather: Overcast, breezy, 50.

Lunchtime walk crossing the Columbia River into Oregon on the downstream side of the Interstate Bridge, looping under the freeway and then back to Vancouver on the upstream side. I pushed the pace a little (I averaged a 16:50 pace for the whole distance, including climbing up the hump on the bridge coming and going), but it felt pretty smooth.

Mark,
One of my closest friends, Pat, has a running blog. He was my college roomate eight billion years ago and got pretty serious about running post-college after we were done with soccer. Anyway, he has a blog he keeps up daily and also does podcasts from time to time. His guest tomorrow? Dr. Phil Maffletone. I immediately thought of you when I found out because everything I know (admittedly, not too much) about MAF Tests and The Method comes from you! I've always been intrigued by what I've learned secondhand from you about low HR training although I've never once done anything about it for myself formally. But.....Pat is looking for questions to ask Dr. Phil! Go to Pat's site and post something and you can - through Pat - get some feedback and answers from the guru. I'm hopelessly biased because he's my buddy but I also think being a subscriber to Pat's blog is fun. Every day you get a new email from him with his wide ranging musings on all things running. By the way, another future podcast guest? ME! So the quality of guests is kind of peaking with Dr. Phil and then going straight downhill. Here's the link:
http://run5kaday.com/

Chris M wrote:Mark,
One of my closest friends, Pat, has a running blog. He was my college roomate eight billion years ago and got pretty serious about running post-college after we were done with soccer. Anyway, he has a blog he keeps up daily and also does podcasts from time to time. His guest tomorrow? Dr. Phil Maffletone. I immediately thought of you when I found out because everything I know (admittedly, not too much) about MAF Tests and The Method comes from you! I've always been intrigued by what I've learned secondhand from you about low HR training although I've never once done anything about it for myself formally. But.....Pat is looking for questions to ask Dr. Phil! Go to Pat's site and post something and you can - through Pat - get some feedback and answers from the guru. I'm hopelessly biased because he's my buddy but I also think being a subscriber to Pat's blog is fun. Every day you get a new email from him with his wide ranging musings on all things running. By the way, another future podcast guest? ME! So the quality of guests is kind of peaking with Dr. Phil and then going straight downhill. Here's the link:
http://run5kaday.com/

Sounds cool, Chris! I will have to think up something good.

FWIW, I think you might benefit from low HR work. Extra conditioning of those slow twitch muscles might make a huge difference in the last 10 miles of the marathon.

Update: And, done! These are the questions I posted.

1) There has been a lot of debate lately over the volume of training and its affect on health, with some researchers saying that running more than about 20 miles away does not improve health and longevity and can actually be harmful. Given your desire that fitness and health be balanced, what do you think about this issue?

2) People usually think your training approach only allows low-intensity training, but I have read where you have written about the risk of becoming anaerobially deficient. Can you elaborate on that? Is there a place for speedwork in The Maffetone Method?

3) How well does your endurance-based training work for ultra distances, both in terms of training for the event and participating in it?

I hope he has interesting things to say.

Low HR Run: 90 minutes (8.29 miles)

Weather: Overcast, some rain, breezy. 51-52 degrees. Gear: Altras, shorts, long-sleeved T, jacket, hat. Fuel: Snack before, Gu at halfway point, glassy-eyed in last mile, and ate everything in sight when I got home. Weird!

I'd normally do a 60-minute run on Thursday, but I have a day shift tomorrow so moved my midweek sorta-long run to today. It was rainy during most of the first half, and dry but breezy on return trip. I was well under 10 minutes in my first mile after my warmup, which was nice to see, and the falloff wasn't totally horrible in the mile that followed.

I was feeling hungry when I hit the turnaround point, so I took a Gu. That kept the energy level more even on the way back, but I started to get glassy eyed in the last mile and couldn't stop thinking about eating. When I got into the house, I made lunch immediately but couldn't control a craving for meat and devoured a package of grilled chicken breast. Guess I wanted protein.

Something weird happened in that last mile. I noticed my HR dropping but my speed increasing. I noticed it because my legs were starting to complain a little about going faster -- even though the effort level was relatively low. Interesting and hopefully a good sign.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 134

Hill Workout: 30 minutes @ 12% grade for 1.65 miles
Gain (estimated): ~1,045 feet

Weather: Indoors on treadmill. 68 and sweaty. Gear: Altra Instincts, shorts.

Not much time for a workout this morning, so I decided to kick off the "build" portion of my MH 50 preps with a challenging power hike on the treadmill.

I set the mill at its maximum grade - 12% - and worked the speed until I was in the 138-143 range on heart rate. I was able to keep it at 3.3 mph (about an 18:10 pace) for about 20 minutes until my HR started rising to 145 or so. I'd ease back to 3.1 mph and let my HR fall, then bring it back up again.

It was quite a workout. I had sweat dripping off everything by the time I was done. But it felt pretty good.

I used an online calculator to figure the elevation gain, and it worked out to about 1,045 feet in a half hour. Whew!

So, it's March now, which means we enter the second phase of our little experiment...

Mark B wrote:January-February: Base Period, long runs increasing from 12 currently to 20 miles.
March-April: Build Period, with long runs in the 20-24 mile range.
May-June: Peak Period, with long runs in the 25- to 31-mile range.
July: Taper/Race, cut back for race on Saturday, July 13

As Mike wisely suggested earlier, this Build Period is also a time when I start adding in hill work. I will try to do at least one and maybe more than one of my running workouts on hills. I don't have any mountains I can climb nearby, but there are some dandy sections of steep rollers out in the country near my house. And today, I actually did a pure hill workout on the treadmill - and I felt it for hours afterward. So I can make hills work.

After such a fast build-up over the past two months, it might feel a little weird not adding too many miles to my long runs for the next two months. My goal is to do two longs, one stepback, two longs, one stepback, etc., and work my way up to about 24 miles total.

The other challenge will be adding in trail work. I want to do it soon, but the way I have it worked means that I'll be jumping into a 20-mile trail run right out of the box. It should be fine, but it's a little stress-inducing. The other complication is schedule. I need to drive at least to Portland to find a good trail for extended runs, and that adds at least an hour to my time commitment for a long run. That'll bump into other obligations, so my challenge will be figuring out how to make it all work. So not all of my long runs these next two months may be on trails.

I think the Base Period went well. I achieved my long run goals and extended my weekly mileage (when you count walking) to close to my all-time record levels. My goal now is to consolidate and build on those gains. Onward!

ps. One last note: There has been no change in the wait list on the Mount Hood 50 for a couple of weeks now. I see on the race's Facebook page that their drop date is actually March 15, not March 1, so I'll have to bide my time a little more, and keep the process going.

Low HR Run: 7.08 miles

Weather: Overcast, chilly and damp. 34-38 degrees, 97% humidity. Gear: Altra Instincts, tights, T, pullover, jacket, hat, gloves (stowed). Fuel: Grape Nuts and coffee before. Carried water.

Got a run in with my training partner, who hasn't been running much lately, so this ended up being a lower-than-usual HR run, with no average HR rising above 135. Even so, the paces weren't bad, even though he had to walk a few times when my buddy's knee complained.

We turned around right as the sun was breaking out from the first layer of clouds. I managed to get a nice photo of it.



I felt tight and out-of-synch the whole time. Didn't help that it was chilly and damp, and that it warmed up to the point to where clothing for chilly and damp was suddenly too warm and damper. Felt kind of fussy, and couldn't help but think, geez, and I'm set to do 20 tomorrow? I know it'll be better, but sheesh!

Walked first 5, last 5 (or so). Average HR for entire run: 127 (!)

Long Run: 20.32 miles

Weather: Clear and sunny, with HUGE temperature swing: 36-56 degrees. Gear: Altras, shorts, T, jacket, hat, gloves (shed). Fuel: Two Picky Bars, 4 gu, S-Cap every hour. Drank water.

I wanted to hit the trails for this 20-miler but was limited by schedule conflicts and had to squeeze it in close to home. I ended up running it about 11 minutes faster than my last 20, which splits mostly in the 10s and HRs in the upper 130s. Not bad!

It was a pretty day, with a nice view of Mount Hood -- and a 20-degree swing in temperatures. I had to accept being a little chilled early on to keep from expiring later. The low 50s felt awesome, though.



Average HR for entire run: 135. Walked first 5, last 6 or so.

Walk: 2.2 miles

Weather: Cloudy, windy, some rain. 44 degrees, felt colder

A blustery lunchtime walk along the Columbia River. I sometimes walk 3.9 miles on Tuesday, but I'm pretty sore after my 20-miler yesterday, so it made sense to have an easier recovery walk. My 2.2-mile route felt right.

Barefoot Run: 3.1 miles

Weather: Cold and a little rainy. 41 degrees, 98% humidity. Gear: Bare feet, tights, T, pullover, jacket, hat.

My starting heart rate was about 20 bpm higher this morning than it was when I started my long run on Monday (75 this morning vs. 55 on Monday), so I tried very hard to relax as much as possible during this barefoot run. I ran out of fuel late yesterday afternoon and started feeling hungry and misanthropic, so I know I have not completely replenished my body's stores after the long run.

This run got a little easier as I continued. I hope this works the gunk out. My HRs were nice and even, and the paces were fine, especially considering how it was wet and chilly outside.

Average HR for entire run: 138

No time for a walk at lunch today, but it's probably for the best. As I put more time into the weekend runs, I might need to ease back -- or at least remain open to the notion of easing back -- during my midweek efforts. It'd be pretty stupid if I ended up too wiped out to do, say, 22 miles next Monday by refusing to let myself recover from the 20 on Monday.

Recovery I get - monitoring heart rate can help with that - but the fueling is getting trickier for me as the miles go up. I don't know if it happens to everybody, but when I let myself get too depleted -- either by failing to fuel properly during a long run, or insufficiently refueling afterward -- I lose interest in eating. Which, of course, only makes matters worse.

I'm still trying to find that balance, without jacking my blood sugar all over the place or eating so much that I start gaining weight. Suggestions from you high mileage folk would be greatly accepted. Help!

Low HR Run: 60 minutes

Weather: Sunny, breezy, mild. 50-52 degrees. Gear: Altra Instincts, shorts, long-sleeved T, hat. Fuel: Post breakfast, snack (choc pb and bread). Carried water in handheld.

Still working on recovery from Monday's big run. The weather cooperated by giving me a nice day - so nice that I didn't need to wear a jacket, so I experimented with my handheld running bottle and a waist pack big enough for my iPhone. Unfortunately, it was also so nice a day that the entire population of the metro area decided to go driving on my usually quiet roads. Arg!

Anyway, be it recovering from Monday, trying to get used to carrying a handheld, or being irritated at all the cars, I had a rough time getting my HR to where it was supposed to be. Tomorrow should be easier, though I'm debating whether to make it an extra hilly run or just do my Llama Ridge route, which is less extreme. Hm.

Walked first 5, last 4:40 (didn't want to stop running until I got to the top of a little hill). Average HR 134

Hill Run: 8.3 miles

Weather: Sunny, cool, breezy. 42-47 degrees. Gear: Altra Instincts, shorts, T, jacket (peeled), hat. Fuel: Just breakfast before, took one S-Cap, added nuun to water bottles.

This is my first real hill run as I prepare for the MH50. I headed north from my house, where drainages make for a series of steep but not horribly long hills. My goal was to keep my HR below my low HR target as much as possible, including on the uphills, to teach my body to keep moving efficiently even uphill.

It went well. I found a "granny gear" that let me grind up the biggest hills without my HR rising too far over 138. I'd hit 143, or even 144, but I could slow down even more and get the HR to drop while still be ostensibly "running" (though I think I could walk faster, at a lower HR). When I was on the downhills or flats, I was happy to see my HR drop below my 138 target.

My paces were slower than on the flat, but what else would you expect? In fact, I was looking forward to these hills partly because they'd keep me from fixating on paces per mile. That's fun to do, but not all the time.

HR note: Remember on Wednesday, when my HR was elevated and wouldn't fall below 75 bpm before I started my run? Well, this morning, it fell as low as 51 bpm, while I was standing relaxing and getting ready to go. That was a nice confidence builder.

Less good for my confidence was what I saw when I looked at the scale before the run. I was starving again, but I made myself go upstairs and check my weight before I ate anything. Good thing I did, because what I saw killed my appetite. I was up several pounds. Yipes! So... however I've been fueling and refueling has been wrong. Got it.

My weight was 165 after my run (when I traditionally weigh myself, so I have an apples-to-apples comparison). Oh, and the perceived need for food and fear I'd bonk on my run? I was perfectly fine. Good to know.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for the entire run: 133

Total elevation change: 1,209 feet. Here's the chart to show the elevation profile.



My plan is to do one medium-long run on this route a week. That'll supplement whatever hill work I get once I finally get to the trails.

I thought of you today when the young 25 year old came in first at the Indy Mini 10k training race, running barefoot. 34:03.

It's good that you check your weight often, it's the only way to get and keep a handle on it.

dot520 wrote:I thought of you today when the young 25 year old came in first at the Indy Mini 10k training race, running barefoot. 34:03.

It's good that you check your weight often, it's the only way to get and keep a handle on it.

A 34:03 10K, barefoot? Impressive! It makes me want to try to do a shorter distance race barefoot one of these days, just for the fun of it.

As to the weight, alas, you are right. It's so easy to fall into bad habits. Why isn't it easy to fall into *good* habits? Oh well.

Low HR Run: 10.25 miles

Weather: Overcast, chilly, damp. 37 degrees, 97% humidity. Gear: Altra Instincts, tights, T, pullover, jacket, hat, gloves. Fuel: Grape Nuts and coffee before. Carried nuun.

A low(ish) intensity run with my training partner on the Salmon Creek Greenway Trail. I had expected we'd run up to 8 miles but ended up running 10 after discovering that the porta potty at Mile 2.39 of the route was out of TP! That meant we had to go until a better-stocked restroom at Mile 5, which meant a 10-mile run. It's amusing comparing my average HR before and after the pit stop... 'nuff said.

I was happy to see my HR percolating along at some points early on well below my target HR even though I was going at a sub-10 pace. I think it's going to be good practice running below my MAF target, so I can do it on race day. It also shows that the aerobic work I've been doing is doing its job.

I'm aiming for about 20 miles tomorrow (if time allows), so today's run will be a good start of a back-to-back. I hope to do this a lot between now and this summer.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 133

Mark B wrote:Recovery I get - but the fueling is getting trickier for me as the miles go up.

I'm still trying to find that balance. Suggestions from you high mileage folk would be greatly accepted. Help!

Stop eating on runs under ~20 miles. You may take fuel (and probably should) late in longer runs so that you don't bonk. And you may carry something on mid-distance runs just in case things get ugly. But routinely fueling during short runs fails to train your body to burn fat ... which is what we need to become efficient at for the marathon distance and beyond. You're topping up the glycogen and burning it instead. So cut it out. Not all at once, mind you, since as you know the body takes some time to respond to a change in stimulus.

Keep on going!

KBFitz wrote:

Mark B wrote:Recovery I get - but the fueling is getting trickier for me as the miles go up.

I'm still trying to find that balance. Suggestions from you high mileage folk would be greatly accepted. Help!

Stop eating on runs under ~20 miles. You may take fuel (and probably should) late in longer runs so that you don't bonk. And you may carry something on mid-distance runs just in case things get ugly. But routinely fueling during short runs fails to train your body to burn fat ... which is what we need to become efficient at for the marathon distance and beyond. You're topping up the glycogen and burning it instead. So cut it out. Not all at once, mind you, since as you know the body takes some time to respond to a change in stimulus.

Keep on going!

Thanks for the thoughts, Kevin. I can see your point. I have noticed after fueling diligently every 30 minutes on a long (20ish) run, the next time I ran a shorter distance, my body started getting grumpy for not getting a treat at the same frequency.

So it sounds like you don't subscribe to the "fuel early, fuel often" approach I have read about for ultras... or just not in training?

Fuel early, fuel often in ultras. Just not in training.

KBFitz wrote:Fuel early, fuel often in ultras. Just not in training.

I see. I about to head out for a long trail run. I will try your approach and see how it goes.

KBFitz wrote:Fuel early, fuel often in ultras. Just not in training.

Interesting I use this strategy in marathons, but take a lot less fuel in training i.e. nothing under 13 miles except water and/or sports drink; one gel or equivalent in runs 13-17 miles and maybe two in runs up to 21. I usually begin taking gels around 1 hr in when racing a marathon.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:

KBFitz wrote:Fuel early, fuel often in ultras. Just not in training.

Interesting I use this strategy in marathons, but take a lot less fuel in training i.e. nothing under 13 miles except water and/or sports drink; one gel or equivalent in runs 13-17 miles and maybe two in runs up to 21. I usually begin taking gels around 1 hr in when racing a marathon.

Thanks for that, Michele. I can see the benefit of stretching it out. I think I may have been encouraging my blood sugar to gyrate by starting the fueling too soon. Even with a higher level of exertion today, I was able to go a lot longer without a sense of bonking by NOT fueling. It's counterintuitive, until you think about sugar rushes/crashes.

Trail Run: 20.2 miles

Weather: Overcast, a little rain, cool and damp. 46 degrees. Gear: Altra Superior, shorts, T, jacket, hat. Fuel: Big breakfast with coffee. Fueled at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30. S-Caps at start and every hour. Drank 48 ounces of nuun from Camelbak.

I was extremely stressed out about this run. (I've been less stressed before racing marathons.) I had a narrow window in which to do it, thanks to a parent-teacher meeting this afternoon, I'd run 10 miles yesterday, and I was wearing new shoes, carrying a new Camelbak and trying a new fueling system. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, not much, actually. I waited to fuel until 90 minutes into the run, trying to follow Kevin's advice. I felt pretty good up to that point but was starting to fade. The fuel helped. I wanted to go another 90 minutes but could only hold out for an hour. That happened the next time, too. Well, better than dribbling in fuel every 30 minutes. It's a start.

The shoes (Altra Superior trail shoes) performed admirably. They're a pretty lightweight, zero-drop trail shoe with a thin rock plate. They handled the trail pretty well, though they didn't give me great traction in the clay-rich mud I encountered on the trail. Of course, I'm not sure much of anything would work. I only skidded once or twice, and it tried unsuccessfully to suck my shoe a few times, too. They're not enough if the trail was REALLY rocky, but for mixed rocky bits, it was okay.

The shoes, after the run:



I made a point of power hiking the big hills, and was still WELL above my target HR. Some of those hills are steep!

The run itself went fairly well. I paid attention to my HR, letting it climb to about 143 or so before slowing to a walk on the hills. That got harder to achieve as I fatigued, but that's not a surprise. I will say that somewhere around Mile 18, feeling the fatigue and soreness, I thought about how I couldn't imagine going for another 32 miles like that. Well, it's called training for a reason, right?

I got the run done (opting for just over 20 rather than trying to push it up to 22), got home, showered, dressed and ready with a few minutes to spare before having to leave for the meeting. Success!

Walked first and last 5 (or so). Average HR for entire run: 140.

Finally, here's the map and elevation profile. I suspect that my *actual* elevation gain and loss wasn't quite as much as it says here. It'd be cool if it was, though.



The elevation profile itself, however, is exactly the way the run was. Can ya guess where I walked?

Walk: 3.9 miles

Weather: Overcast, mild but muggy. 56 degrees

A walk out along the Columbia River to the former Kaiser Shipyards and back. I had planned to do only 2.2 miles but my legs were appreciating the walk, so I extended it in what I guess you'd call enhanced active recovery.

Feeling tired but otherwise pretty good after yesterday's long trail run. After two hard weeks (47.3, 49.4), this one will be stepped back to consolidate the gains. It's an approach I saw in the Ultraladies plan Kevin mentioned in a different thread, and it seems to fit my notion of what I should be doing at this point.