Building A Better Bumblebee

Mark B wrote:

Tom H wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Whew. Okay. Got that off my chest. Maybe patience will come a little easier now. Maybe.

Good luck with that, getting it off your chest so that patience comes easier .

Yeah, it'll probably work about as well as it usually does.

Well, you can at least get it off your chest.  I think there are many things in life that are subject to Over-Exuberance Syndrome   Do you get to run again tomorrow? (Sun?)

Penelope wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Tom H wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Whew. Okay. Got that off my chest. Maybe patience will come a little easier now. Maybe.

Good luck with that, getting it off your chest so that patience comes easier .

Yeah, it'll probably work about as well as it usually does.

Well, you can at least get it off your chest.  I think there are many things in life that are subject to Over-Exuberance Syndrome   Do you get to run again tomorrow? (Sun?)

So true. Moderation is important, but so inconvenient.

And yes, I do get to run Sunday. Look below.

Low HR Run: About 60 minutes (4.75 miles)

Weather: Partly cloudy, surprisingly mild. 47 degrees. Gear: Lunas, shorts, long-sleeved T, jacket, hat. Fuel: Just coffee

My longest run in quite some time. I met up with my training partner at the Salmon Creek Greenway Trail, just as the sun was painting the clouds pink. It was a very pretty morning, and it was significantly warmer than expected. Luckily, I'd checked the temperature before I left and ditched the tights and pants in favor of shorts. I wore my Lunas.

I'd seen some instructional video lately about the need to keep lose and fluid while running, so I made a conscious effort to not tighten up my wrists like I tend to do sometime. I could feel the relaxation mirrored in my ankles. It was a good sensation.

We ran out about 25 minutes before deciding to head back, not wanting to do too much, too soon. We ended up with just over an hour of running time - with a couple of brief walking breaks - and a decent distance.

The terrain rolls a lot along the greenway, so I didn't do the greatest job of nailing my heart rate target. But it wasn't too far off, so it'll do for now.

When we finished, I turned around and saw this view:



Ahh... I have missed this so much.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 132

Good to hear you're enjoying some longer runs...nice view!

nkrichards wrote:Good to hear you're enjoying some longer runs...nice view!

Agreed!

nkrichards wrote:Good to hear you're enjoying some longer runs...nice view!

Thanks, Nancy! Views like that are one of things I've missed the most over the past few months.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:

nkrichards wrote:Good to hear you're enjoying some longer runs...nice view!

Agreed!

Thanks, Michele! I know I have to build up more slowly than previously this time. That's partly because of what happened when I tried a fast build-up earlier this year (I always did learn the hard way) but mostly because I'm asking my body to learn how to run using muscles that have never really been put to work. The potential is exciting, but it's very much like starting all over again.

XT Day

I toyed with the idea of heading out for another run but decided instead to do some cross training, focusing on my hips, core and calves with these exercises:

-Modified clamshells, 50 per side.
-Side leg lifts, 50 per side.
-Inside out leg circles, 50 per side.

The first two mostly work the glute med. The last one works the glute med and gives a strong boost to the glute minimus.

-Bridges, 50, with special attention on activating the glute max.

Wow, that's a weird place to feel the burn.  

-Single-leg heel lifts, supported, 2x50 on each leg.

Those last 10 on each side were quite difficult. My legs were nice and noodly afterwards.

-Single-leged, lock-kneed "stork" (or stress position) stance: 8 minutes per leg.

Woot! A record! And totally unexpected, considering the other work I'd done. Still, that last minute was less than comfy.

Low HR Run: 30 minutes (2.31 miles)

Weather: Overcast, damp, balmy. 58 degrees. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. (Briefly, jacket and hat)

Squeezing in a barefoot run before work this morning, unsure about when I'll get out for the rest of the week. It was overcast, surprisingly mild, and damp. We had rain come through overnight, and more is on the way. I managed to hit the window of dryness.

I'm trying to remember to stay loose and relaxed, and I had halfway decent results. I'm still dissatisfied with my heart rate levels, though. They creep up too much on the little ups and downs as I go around the block.



Clearly, I have much more work do do.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for full workout: 127

Mark B wrote:XT Day

I toyed with the idea of heading out for another run but decided instead to do some cross training, focusing on my hips, core and calves with these exercises:

-Modified clamshells, 50 per side.
-Side leg lifts, 50 per side.
-Inside out leg circles, 50 per side.

The first two mostly work the glute med. The last one works the glute med and gives a strong boost to the glute minimus.

-Bridges, 50, with special attention on activating the glute max.

Wow, that's a weird place to feel the burn.  

-Single-leg heel lifts, supported, 2x50 on each leg.

Those last 10 on each side were quite difficult. My legs were nice and noodly afterwards.

-Single-leged, lock-kneed "stork" (or stress position) stance: 8 minutes per leg.

Woot! A record! And totally unexpected, considering the other work I'd done. Still, that last minute was less than comfy.

Nice job! And good to see you continuing to get out and feeling comfortable going a bit longer now and then.

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:XT Day

I toyed with the idea of heading out for another run but decided instead to do some cross training, focusing on my hips, core and calves with these exercises:

-Modified clamshells, 50 per side.
-Side leg lifts, 50 per side.
-Inside out leg circles, 50 per side.

The first two mostly work the glute med. The last one works the glute med and gives a strong boost to the glute minimus.

-Bridges, 50, with special attention on activating the glute max.

Wow, that's a weird place to feel the burn.  

-Single-leg heel lifts, supported, 2x50 on each leg.

Those last 10 on each side were quite difficult. My legs were nice and noodly afterwards.

-Single-leged, lock-kneed "stork" (or stress position) stance: 8 minutes per leg.

Woot! A record! And totally unexpected, considering the other work I'd done. Still, that last minute was less than comfy.

Nice job! And good to see you continuing to get out and feeling comfortable going a bit longer now and then.

Thanks, Nancy! Hope you had a good Thanksgiving. Looks like our balmy weather's going away for a while.

Yes, the runs are starting to come more naturally now, and extending them feels good. This is a more gradual return to running than usual for me, but I'm pleased with how it's going so far. I'll have a few less miles this week due to the holiday, but that's okay. It's sort of a step-back week, I suppose.

My goal is to keep building distance and strength through the end of the year. At that point, I'll be continuing to build, but with a progression toward some specific goals for next year. It should be great.

Low HR Run: 63 minutes (4.88 miles)

Weather: Clear and cold. 22 degrees. Gear: Lunas (with socks), tights, pants, T, long-sleeved T, pullover, jacket, knit hat, medium-weight gloves. Fuel: Only coffee.

Celebrated the Ducks' Civil War victory last night, so my body *might* have been a little reluctant to get going this morning. If my friend wasn't on his way over, I might not have gotten up. (Let's hear it for training partners!)

It was clear and cold, but the winds were calm. My toes got cold after a half mile but warmed up about a mile or so later and were fine for the rest of the run. If I can get my hands (feet?) on a slightly heavier weight set of wool Injinji's, I'd probably get them. But these worked.

The run was comfortable once I warmed up, and my HR held steady - which was nice. It ended up a couple of bpm higher than I wanted (140 instead of 138), but given the conditions and clothing, I suppose I shouldn't complain. The fact that it held steady throughout was a good sign.

Walked first 5, last 8 minutes or so. Average HR for entire run: 132

Low HR Run: 45 minutes on treadmill (3.1 miles)

Weather: Indoors, 70 degrees. Gear: Sandals, shorts, T (shed).

It was annoyingly chilly and gray outside and I felt a little off this morning, so I fired up Hulu+ on the wii and tried for a recovery-style run on the treadmill. I started off walking barefoot but changed my mind after a couple of minutes and slipped on my sandals.

My goal was to keep the HR at or below my target of 138, no matter now slow that meant. Which meant pretty slow, considering it was 48 degrees warmer than my run yesterday. And even that didn't quite work. Still, it was a little better, and I didn't have to use the bail-out option. I'll take that as a plus.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire workout: 129

Walk: 2.3 miles

Weather: Hazy overcast, chilly and breezy. 35 degrees, wind chill to 29.

A lunchtime walk, working the kinks out from some pretty aggressive cross-training this morning. It was cold and windy, and I had one layer too few, so I was walking with as much purpose as I can get. Needed to keep up the body heat!

The X-T involved side clamshells, leg lifts and leg circles, 50 each on each side (150 total); bridges x 50; single-leg heel lifts, 50 each leg x2, then another 30. I was quite wobbly when I was done. I didn't know if I'd be able to pull of a walk, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Looks like you strung together 3 days of good efforts and varied workouts...running, walking, XT, indoors, outdoors...the variety has to be beneficial.

nkrichards wrote:Looks like you strung together 3 days of good efforts and varied workouts...running, walking, XT, indoors, outdoors...the variety has to be beneficial.

Hope so! I'm trying to be good and keep working it from different angles. I know I need more than just running endurance - I need strength and stability, too. And a faster, comfortable walking speed would definitely help.

Barefoot Run: 4.25 miles (55 minutes)

Weather: Cold rain. 38 degrees. Gear: Bare feet, tights, T, pullover, jacket, hat, gloves (shed as I warmed up).

I'd been planning to do a barefoot run today, but it was 38 and raining outside -- just about my least favorite possible conditions (at least it wasn't windy) -- and I debated what to do. Finally, I decided that I should go ahead and try it out, doing laps around the block to give me the option to bail out or modify my foot condition if need be.

I lacked confidence and needed to put the conditions - and my feet - to the test.

In my walking warm-up lap, I was questioning my wisdom. Brr. If it's not fun to run barefoot, what's the point?

The first mile remained pretty chilly, but less so. I wondered if maybe it'd be okay, after all.

Before I finished my second mile, I was splashing in puddles and deciding to extend the run and head out of my safe, comfortable neighborhood.

Comfort? Pfft. Our whole world has been set up for comfort. We're comforting ourselves to death.

By the third mile, now a mile out from my house, I wanted to keep heading out but remembered how easy it is to get carried away and somewhat reluctantly turned around. Besides, I hadn't gone this far barefoot in months, and my HR was spiking as I was hitting the dips and rolls of my usual route.

By the fourth mile, I was still fine, and I extended the run slightly to take another lap around the block and splash through a few more puddles. How could I resist?


Hey, look! The splash shows my forefoot is hitting first! Woot!

Conditions test: Passed. Confidence: Restored.

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

ps. I experimented with different breathing patterns and was surprised and how much they could lower the heart rate. Even the 4-in, 20-out pattern worked for a while, until I started seeing spots. The 4-in, 5-out worked best, though it's going to take more practice to make it habitual.

Oh wow, people think I'm crazy for wearing shorts in that weather. Barefoot seems a bit more extreme but good for you.

That 20-out breathing is just crazy talk.  I think two cycles of breathing and I'd be flat on my back!  When I went to the unbalanced breathing I originally tried the 4 in/5 out and was fairly happy with it, but then tried a 3/4 and liked it even better.  You really were able to do the 20-out.  Wow.

Julie wrote:Oh wow, people think I'm crazy for wearing shorts in that weather. Barefoot seems a bit more extreme but good for you.

Shorts?!? That IS crazy, Julie! I may have had naked feet, but at least I had the sense to wear tights!  

Tom H wrote:That 20-out breathing is just crazy talk.  I think two cycles of breathing and I'd be flat on my back!  When I went to the unbalanced breathing I originally tried the 4 in/5 out and was fairly happy with it, but then tried a 3/4 and liked it even better.  You really were able to do the 20-out.  Wow.

I think I managed about four of five cycles of 4x20 before oxygen debt kicked in and I started gasping for breath, but the crazy thing was watching how my heart rate dropped like a rock while I did it. I wish I knew why that happened, because it might be really helpful.

I've used 4x5 in the past, but it doesn't always feel natural. I'll have to play with 3x4 and see how that feels. I think the benefit may be more of a mindful breathing using the diaphragm and core than any exchange of gasses. Maybe. It's a bit of a puzzle.

A rest day today, and I made sure yesterday to make sure I earned it.

I focused on strength and balance, doing my 1-legged stances for 7 minutes each side. That's challenging enough, even though I can steady myself to keep from toppling over, but I realized a way to make it much harder: Remembering to engage the gluteus minimus (aka, the "side butt") to keep the pelvis level. I realized that if I'd put my suspended leg down, it'd be bent, which meant I was just hanging on my hip joint.

It had never occurred to me until I saw an interview with Scott Jurek talking about one-legged stances. He's the one who coined the term "side butt," and he stressed how important it is to make sure you're engaging the muscles. I figure he probably knows what he's talking about.

Anyway, I adjusted my hip angle to even things up and *kapwing!* my weighted leg started shaking like a leaf in seconds flat! Oho! Defective technique revealed!

I'll probably have to roll the time back a bit once I know how to do it right.

I followed up with 3 sets of 50 heel lifts, leg locked, on each side. Those last few were tough, and I could see that my form was starting to break down. This is going to take some time.

MAF Test: 4.32 miles

Weather: Partly cloudy/foggy. chilly. 35 degrees. Gear: Sandals, pants, T, pullover, jacket, hat, gloves (shed). Fuel: Coffee and granola bars. No liquid during (needed it)

Now that I've started to get into a rhythm of running, it was time to do a MAF test so I can set a baseline for this new approach. I headed out to the track and met up with my training partner. I wanted to do at least three miles at my MAF level, and more if it felt good. I ended up doing three.



I missed my targets by a couple of bpm, but I got a good enough sense of where I am, and I was kind of pleased with a relatively limited fall-off over the three miles. It might have been better if I'd brought some water. I've been running dry lately, due to shorter distances, but for an effort like this, hydration matters. At least for comfort.

My toes were pretty cold for the first mile or so, but they warmed up. I also shed my gloves, hat and jacket as the run progressed and I tried to dump excess body heat. I'd hoped for temperatures in the low 40s (which some forecasts had predicted) but ended up having to add layers when I woke up to 35 degree weather.

I'm going to start a whole new table for this training, since I'm working on a new technique and building and conditioning new muscles. I could tell the difference on this run, in how fatigued I began to feel. Stopping at four miles total was an easy choice to make. I'm looking forward to getting to the point to where going longer feels easy.

Walked first 5, last 6 or so. Average HR for entire run: 131

I just went back and collected all my runs and XT/strength work for the past week, and I was happy to see that it was my longest week since the last week of March. (That was when my peroneal tendon went bad on me.)

I didn't log a bit of extra cross-training from yesterday afternoon, when I scaled the roof to put up Christmas lights.



It's a good job for folks who aren't afraid of heights and don't mind using their backside as a point of contact scooting around on the steeper parts. But when it's clear enough to see Mount Hood, the view is terrific from up there.



Kind wish I had a periscope to be able to see that view every day...

One downside was finding a spongy section of roof where we though a leak had been stopped a couple of years ago. Ugh. Apparently not. At least it's over the garage.

Water leaks at the Bowder household.  Now that's a novel concept.  Not.  That is a great view indeed.  I think you need to build a turret with a spiral staircase so that you can go to the top and survey your empire on a regular basis.

Tom H wrote:I think you need to build a turret with a spiral staircase so that you can go to the top and survey your empire on a regular basis.

+1.

That dropoff on the MAF test doesn't look too significant at all.  Though unless my arithmetic is wrong, are you starting from 190ish to calculate your goal HR?  Or are you really 40 and your profile is a liar?

Also, that first roof picture reminds me of Christmas Vacation.  Clark, get down from there!

Tom H wrote:Water leaks at the Bowder household.  Now that's a novel concept.  Not.  That is a great view indeed.  I think you need to build a turret with a spiral staircase so that you can go to the top and survey your empire on a regular basis.

Hm. You know, Tom, there is an access point to the attic space in our master bedroom closet...  I don't see how that plan could possibly go wrong! Now, where did Fluff put that sawzall?

Mike MacLellan wrote:+1.

That dropoff on the MAF test doesn't look too significant at all.  Though unless my arithmetic is wrong, are you starting from 190ish to calculate your goal HR?  Or are you really 40 and your profile is a liar?

Also, that first roof picture reminds me of Christmas Vacation.  Clark, get down from there!

Hey, Mike! I do actually hear things like that from the neighbors.

As far as the MAF test goes, even though the perceived fatigue was higher, I was pretty happy with the lack of drop off in HR. I was experimenting a little with breathing patterns and still can't figure out how your hypoxia-inducing pattern lowers heart rate so quickly. If I could keep breathing in that pattern, I could do really well ... at least, until I passed out.

Oh, the heart rate thing. Um, er, well... Ahem. Yes. Well, that.

Um... okay, here goes: If I religiously followed Maffetone's guidelines (180-age), that would put my target heart rate at 129. Except Maffetone's formula also allows adjustments, such as adding 5 bpm to the target if I'd been training consistently without injury and with continued improvement.

He also says that if you use a target HR with success, you don't need to automatically deduct 1 bpm for every year you age. He says taking it down maybe 3 bpm after 5 years of consistent good results. I started doing heart rate training five years ago, and my adjusted target was then 138. That means I should have probably slipped down to 135, which I have tried occasionally. I've more or less kept 138 target, though, partly because my MaxHR is unusually high for somebody my age (193 a few years ago).

So, am I rationalizing? Maaaayyyyybeee...

One could reasonably argue that my various injuries (my peroneal tendon problem more than my broken pinkie toe) denies me the +5 bonus and in fact suggests I actually subtract from 129.

One could also convincingly argue that I'm overdue for that standard downward adjustment, anyway.

But in my (admittedly lame) defense, I will link to this thread that touches on how squishy the whole Maffetone formula gets after you get into the 50-and-up age group. It seems to suggest that the drop-off in aerobic function is more a curve than a straight line.

Regardless, the notion of targeting at least a somewhat lower HR at this point is probably appropriate. But going from the theory to practice is proving difficult. As you can see from the HR levels in the test above, I'm having a rough time even keeping it at 138 as I try to start back up and learn how to use new muscle groups and foot conditions. I haven't yet successfully taught my body how to go slow enough to hit a lower HR. I'm not sure if I have to jam it into lower gear now, or if I can transition into the lower HR as the mechanics start to work their way into habituation.

Bet you didn't expect to provoke so much navel-gazing, did ya?