Trails and Travails

4.52 easy miles tonight on the canal. Legs were definitely informing me that I'd done something new today, but nothing to worry about. Just making sure I knew. My left foot, however, has been a little wonky since Saturday. I was hoping it'd go away by now, but it hasn't. If I try to land more or less flat on my foot (as opposed to on the outer edge and roll in across the ball of my foot), the outer metatarsal hurts. Like a bone bruise, but not severe... Just there. That said, if I run "correctly," with a slight roll from that metatarsal across the ball of my foot, it doesn't hurt. This only lasts about a half mile to a mile, anyway. Still, it's kind of obnoxious.

17 road miles with a 1.5 mile hill @ 7% at the end tomorrow. Stoked.

7% at the end - whoaaa. Be careful with the foot - little things like that can be a real bitch sometimes... I love your "glorified fartleks" - you were running sub 5 paces for some lengths too - that is crazy. I was exposed to a little bit of the ASL community when I was at Ball State - I never knew much, but pretty quickly figured out that people are just people regardless of their circumstances. They were maybe a little militant about some things, but probably no more so than we would be if we all lived around one another! Anyway, keep up the inspirational running - it is fun to see your progressions!

Keep an eye on your foot and don't let it get worse.

John Kilpatrick wrote:7% at the end - whoaaa. Be careful with the foot - little things like that can be a real bitch sometimes... I love your "glorified fartleks" - you were running sub 5 paces for some lengths too - that is crazy. I was exposed to a little bit of the ASL community when I was at Ball State - I never knew much, but pretty quickly figured out that people are just people regardless of their circumstances. They were maybe a little militant about some things, but probably no more so than we would be if we all lived around one another! Anyway, keep up the inspirational running - it is fun to see your progressions!

Of course, signage always lies. I'm referring to road signs, here, not sign language signs.

You are correct; you'll find fiercely opinionated people in every niche of society, and regardless of the actual legitimacy or morality of their cause, they're often some of the least enlightening people to talk to.

Hope today is inspirational enough for you; I sure loved the results...

Jim Lentz wrote:Keep an eye on your foot and don't let it get worse.

Duly noted; believe you me, I'm in no mood to let an injury sit me out, and I'll gladly sit myself out before that happens.

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I'm having an Ounce moment today. Not that I dropped 30lbs (awesome job, by the way, man!... If you venture into the blog forum... ), but I think it's time for me to accept some new paces. My evidence is as follows:

Exhibit A: Sunday, 7/31/11. Progressive 2:30 run, starting at 8:30 pace for an hour, then 7:57 pace for an hour, then 7:25 to finish. I believe this was at the beginning of my "transition" to faster LSD paces.
Exhibit B: Sunday, 8/6/11. My 3rd marathon - the "1 man marathon" - ever. 26.26 miles at a 7:54 pace... the day after a 15 miler with 2.4k' gain/loss.
Exhibit C: Sunday, 8/21/11. After a brief lull in training motivation, I did this 23 miler at a 7:51 pace... the day after winning a 30k with 4.25k' gain/loss.
Exhibit D: Sunday, 8/28/11. 18.1 miles at a 7:42 pace with stomach cramps that eventually caused me to bag the last 3 miles... the day after a 23.3 mile run with 5.35k' gain/loss.

And today, Exhibit E. As we've seen since early August, my LSD pace has been dropping pretty rapidly to something around 7:45. It should be noted that all of these runs were done on more or less pancake flat roads (the first 2 on the San Gabriel River bike path, the last two in big 7.5 mile loops around Davis). Today's run was not so flat. In fact, it was ridiculously hilly, with a total gain/loss of 1550' over 17.75 miles. Keep in mind, this was on road, so all of that gain is in the form of actual rollers, not minor trail undulations.

I ran today as a Pftiz-style LSD progression: first 5 miles building to ~MP+20%, middle section dropping from MP+20% to MP+10%, last 5 around MP+10%. That translates to 8:10s by the end of mile 5, 7:30s by mile 12.75, and holding that until the finish. Given the hilly nature of the course, I used my NGP - Normalized Graded Pace: the corresponding pace I'd be running if I kept that effort level on flat ground - instead of actual pace splits to determine if I was successful. Even accounting for possible overemphasis of hills by the NGP algorithm, I'd say I still did pretty damn well. Coupled with the fact that I'm not actually training for a marathon right now and each increase in NGP corresponded nicely with equal increases in RPE... Yep, I'm stoked about today.

White numbers are actual average pace for the interval; blue numbers are average NGP for the interval; purple is my MP+X% (average) for the interval. The green is Indian Hill, the supposed 1.5mi @ 7% hill. It hit 7% a few times, sure, but the uphill sections of it averaged ~6.5% and there was maybe a quarter mile of false-flat on the entire thing. The last white/blue/purple values are for the entire mile 13-end, not just the hill.

Overall, 17.78 miles @ 7:51 average pace.

All your numbers make my head hurt!

Wow...you definitely take the numbers and formulas to the nth degree The results look great!!

I like numbers. They're just a hell of a lot more fun AFTER the run than during it. During it = stress. After it = feelings of accomplishment. That said, I do tend to perform math problems in my head while running, especially on roads. For example, I figured out what MP+20%, MP+15%, and MP+10% were while running today. Then I did a few more wonky things with numbers, just for fun.

Really, what matters about that graph to me is that I was able to run a really even progression, both in NGP and RPE, and I didn't finish the run anywhere near out of gas. Sure, I thoroughly enjoyed the half hour nap I squeezed in before class, but I feel like I could go out and do the same exact run again tomorrow without issue.

Ow. This makes my head hurt. Are you sure you're not studying statistics?

Good work the workout! Just remember: stats can be rewarding, and a lot of fun... just don't forget to listen to your body.

That pretty much sums everything up from this summer pretty nicely! What a crazy drop in speed in short order - I have to think hill running had a lot to do with it - and your obviously highly motivated. Yeah, I'd say that is inspirational! Crazy thing is you've made big improvements in both speed and endurance! Good stuff....

Mark B wrote:Ow. This makes my head hurt. Are you sure you're not studying statistics?
Good work the workout! Just remember: stats can be rewarding, and a lot of fun... just don't forget to listen to your body.

Oh c'mon, Mark, you're the former Mr. Numbers himself!
That said, I completely agree about listening to my body more than the watch, which is why most of my encouragement came from the fact that I haven't felt like any of these runs have been very taxing, neither muscularly or aerobically.

John Kilpatrick wrote:That pretty much sums everything up from this summer pretty nicely! What a crazy drop in speed in short order - I have to think hill running had a lot to do with it - and your obviously highly motivated. Yeah, I'd say that is inspirational! Crazy thing is you've made big improvements in both speed and endurance! Good stuff....

I'm definitely a confirmed believer in the school of thought that 99% of us within our first few years of marathon running will see huge benefits with a simple increase in mileage. Once those gains start to plateau, incorporating the intensity has its place. That's not to say that race-specific workouts should be forgotten about. We also need to make the physiological adaptations necessary to continue efficiently at our goal paces. But crazy track workouts and all that? Leave it for the guys who have been doing it an extra 5-10 (or more) years.

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Went to visit K2 this morning. Was going to do it tonight, but no one from the trail running group seemed to be interested (the guy who led last week's is running his first 100 this Saturday, so I don't blame him) and I'm much more comfortable with morning trail runs than evening ones.

Hit the loop twice with ascent times of 14:25 and 13:47 (15:37 and 13:34 last week). The second one definitely had my quads burning; the first was pretty easy. Didn't really push it at all on the downhill (7:30-7:40 pace), as now my left femoral head has decided to take over for the disappearing foot niggle. Same shit it's done time and time again, and I know that keeping up on my ITB/glute stretches will make it feel better in no time. Also, Tuesday was my "workout" day, so no need to push it today. Gotta keep myself disciplined.

Overall, just under 1:20 (1 minute slower than last week) for 8.5 miles.

Double recovery tonight + tomorrow morning to get ready for the weekend.

4.5 easy miles. Bonked about 2.5 miles in. It was a reeeeeeally fun one. Note to self: if you're hungry and lethargic BEFORE a run, eat, wait an hour, THEN run.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Oh c'mon, Mark, you're the former Mr. Numbers himself!
That said, I completely agree about listening to my body more than the watch, which is why most of my encouragement came from the fact that I haven't felt like any of these runs have been very taxing, neither muscularly or aerobically.

Let's just say I'm in recovery.

(And woot! on the perceived ease of these runs. How K2 could be "not very taxing" is impressive. )

K2 lets you know it's there, but it's just like any hill (or distance, for that matter) - you learn to pace it. It's extremely easy to blow up on K2. I blew up on it the first time I ever ran it (2nd lap) and took a shortcut back down. I blew up on the Grand Canyon, and Cardiac this last Saturday. Just instead of hitting mile 20 and starting to bleed huge amounts of time, you hit mile .20 and start that process, so the feedback is a little more instantaneous.

Good note to self Mike. Sometimes I've downed a couple of fig newtons and then headed out the door in those cases too.

That's a good idea, Alex. I don't think the actual Fig Newton brand is vegan, but I know that there are similar ones that are. That or I could just grab a handful of raisins or something. Or a granola bar. Really, I have no excuse.

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Decided early on this week to dump the Friday double and just go for a slightly longer morning run. Instead of 4+3 today, just 5. My reasoning is that as I approach race time (still 12 weeks out, but the bulk of the work starts now and ends in 2 months), I'll benefit from concentrating more mileage in my longer runs and letting my recovery days be more geared towards recovery than squeezing in junk miles. This week, that probably means I'll fall just a hair short of 100 miles, but with 3 quality workouts (VO2max on Tues, progressive LSD on Wed, monster hills Thurs) and a 23+20 this weekend, I'll concede the mile or two.

I think I'll be doing the same switch for Monday runs on the next training block, and I'll bump my T/Th totals to 14 miles each for 45 T-Th + 45 weekend + 10 recovery. Then for peaking I'll be making my weekends 50. Yep, more numbers.

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So, today's 5. 8:31 average pace, easy peasy. Felt great compared to last night, and was pleasantly surprised by how light my footstrike was. That's generally an indicator of my leg fatigue - I hit hard when the legs are shot - so I'm taking this as a good sign. I did a little manual HR count when I finished the run, as I was curious, and counted ~20 beats in the first 10 seconds after stopping. So I'm going to guess I was hovering between 120-130 for most of the run. Pretty low, considering my recovery runs used to be in the 130s when I wore a HRM.

The hip is still obnoxious (upon further review, I've learned that it's my trochanter, not my femoral head), but not when walking/sitting/lying down on it, as it was earlier in the week. And of course, it loosened up by mile 3. Will keep on the stretching.

Glad everything is going well, just be cautious about that hip. You really don't want anything long term to mess up your race plans. I know you know all that...

Always sure to keep an eye on the hip, though it's cried wolf so many times that I know how much discomfort to accept before thinking something unusual is going on. Fortunately, it didn't give me much trouble at all today. That's just about the only fortunate thing about today.

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Three-and-a-half hour runs hurt. I don't care if they're flat, on hills, slow, fast... They hurt. And the last thing I want when I'm already in some good discomfort (the pain generally comes the minute I stop, when I realize my feet are flattened and my legs are completely shot) is heat. Fucking heat. hgerhjfakwhgakgh

Here's the reader's digest of what led up to less-than-ideal starting conditions:
1. Didn't get home until ~11 last night.
2. Had a chai latte at 8 or so. First one in a month. Apparently, my body forgot what to do when that much sugar and caffeine hits it. By the time I got home, my body was completely exhausted, but my mind started racing the minute my head hit the pillow.
3. I tossed and turned until at least midnight.
4. I woke up before my alarm went off (set for 6) and didn't get back to sleep.
5. It was 77 degrees when I started my run at 7:20.

Cool. That's actually the name of the town I ran to/through. It was 77 there, as well, with a "real feel" of 81, by 9:30. Then when I finished my run, it was 87 with a "real feel" of 92. Whatever "real feel" is. Something that accuweather.com has registered.

So, 3.5 hours, 9:04 pace, that gives me 23.25 miles with 5k' gain/loss.

The course I did today was a lollipop: essentially what my 34-miler is going to be (late Oct), but instead of 2 laps on the lollipop, just 1 before going back to the start. Each lap is 12 1/8 mile, and I completed one in 1:50:45 (9:08 pace). This includes the K2 climb. If I'm able to keep up that pace for lap 2 - and I think I will be, since I'm doing a 2 week taper into the race - I should finish in just over 5 hours. If I get to the base of K2 after lap 2 ~4:20-4:25, I'm going to really hurt myself going for sub-5. So, I've decided to make sub-5 my A-goal. Sub-5:15 is B-goal, sub-5:30 is C-goal.

Numbersnumbersnumbersnumbers.

I saw Mitch (from the trail running group I joined) running for the Rio Del Lago 100M race. It's his first 100M. He was in 11th, about 5 hours in, looking fresh and smooth and in good spirits.

...Fuck. I was going to do a little light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel thing by posting the forecast for the next 2 weeks, but basically it's this: weekdays, low 80s; weekends, 90. Mother. Fucker. Cool down already, Auburn.

Julie wrote:Glad everything is going well, just be cautious about that hip. You really don't want anything long term to mess up your race plans. I know you know all that...

+1

Your fitness improvements are enormous - just be careful (I think you would tell me that!). Is there any one thing that aggravates it (like hill work, speed work, LSD, etc)? Just curious why it is acting up now after all of the mileage you've put in. (my son just came over and insisted that I put these in here - wait, we are not done yet - here goes..... . Oh, and he says "Go Mike! Oh, and he thinks it needs one more face

John - running aggravates it. Actually, climbing hills (running, not walking) tends to be the most consistent in bringing it out, but the twinges (these hurt; normally it's just a dull ache) come randomly; however, yesterday and today have both showed huge improvements on it.

Here's something encouraging, the lightattheendofthetunnel thing I was hoping for:
Last year's winner for the 34-miler finished in 5:35. The year before that, 5:12. I'm hoping that some local elite doesn't decide it's time to drop the course record by an hour this year.

I think it's time for a gratuitous emoticon fest, in honor of John's son.

When you're out the next day, remember to avoid the night before.

And definitely try to avoid , because you could well end up, you know..

But running with the can be a lot of fun. Just remember to avoid running too far east and getting to Area 51, unless you're , which might explain your odd preference for fish and eggs.

So when you do this race in October, you'll be at first but after a few hours on the trail. But not! As long as everything goes well and you get some and there isn't too much , you'll be of the trail.

Well, that is, unless you get 'd.

How exactly does one get queened?

mul21 wrote:How exactly does one get queened?

They didn't have an emoticon that'd more accurately express "chicked."

That is awesome you are going for winning! Keep your focus and hang in there with the heat. It stinks and it's tough but it makes you tougher, too. You're smart and you're training great.

Ok that's all the emoticons I can apply...

It's tough to read this blog - the emoticons make me nauseous!

Hahahaha - I it! I don't know the course, but 5:12 seems for someone like yourself . If you can keep training like you do, that race is . You just play it and it would be great to see a . Off the subject a little here, but what possible use for , , , or is there? This one looks like a turd and this one just creeps me out .

Oh yeah - great running!