No power leads to unexpected power

Note to Sports Authority: sale items are supposed to cost less

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

I worked from home this morning which allowed me to sleep in a little later. Sort of. At around 4:00 AM our house alarm started bleeping, indicating a loss of battery power. I noticed that the digital clocks had no display and that we were having a power outage. I went back to sleep for an hour, but when I got up for good, I was suffering a bad headache. The power had come back on, so I had a couple of strong cups of coffee and headed out for a neighborhood run .

The humidity was low at 6:30 and the temperatures were in the 60's, so my run was pleasant. I started slowly because my headache was sapping some energy. I picked up the pace and covered a little more than 5K. I was moving steadily but it didn't feel especially fast. I lamented the fact that I hardly ever manage paces faster than mid-9:00 these days and I expected today's to be even slower.

I finished my run and was surprised to see that I almost hit 9:00 overall. It may be that I'd had about an hour between getting up and running or that the weather helped me. Probably a little of both. Either way it was nice to break out of my normal metric and show some better performance.

I had much to do between 11:00 and 5:00 and, throughout the day, I had periods where my headache made me want to lie down and take a nap. Ibuprofen helped a little but, once again, it was Sudafed that did the trick. Pseudoephedrine is wonderful thing. I take it sparingly and I'm always happy when I do.

At one point this afternoon, we stopped into Sports Authority to get my son a new pair of water shoes. I'm very disappointed in their decision to drop brands in favor expanding their floor space for more Nike and Under Armor clothing. I guess people like that, but I don't. My son and I were amused to see this great deal on Adidas running shoes in the kid's section (above). I think their marketing people need to rethink both their merchandise lines and their pricing

The thing about the Dirty Sock course...

Link to picture at Bill McBride Photography

Today's workout (elliptical): 28 minutes

I'm thinking of heading to Babylon this weekend to run the trails in Belmont Lake State park. This is the location for the Dirty Sock 10K that's being held next a week from this Sunday. The course itself is straightforward, mostly flat and non-technical, and, unless it's been raining, well groomed. The thing about this race is the weather. On a cool fall morning it's as good as trail running gets: picturesque woods, a beautiful lake and some interesting sections with that cross over brooks or pass by another lake. But the weekend of Dirty Sock can show a different side of this course - the heat and humidity envelope you and the last mile of the race is plenty tough.

The last time I ran this course was in the spring when I closed out my half marathon training. I wore my Kinvaras on the trails and thought all was well but that night I awoke to significant knee pain that followed me for months. I've since gotten past that problem but I'm a little concerned about a recurrence of this problem. In truth, I had probably over trained the week that I did that run and the knee pain was likely a result of running 30% more mileage than normal.

I'm planning to run in the Mirages, a minimal stability shoe, this weekend and for the Dirty Sock race. I've been running almost exclusively with the Hattori's but I seem to adapt well between those shoes and Mirages. This will also be a big weekend for my friends who race. KWL will be competing in the Philadelphia Grand Fondo bike race (108 miles) and FS is due to run a race on Cape Cod. However, she is "day to day" on deciding whether to participate, due to an injury. I hope everything lines up for both of them this weekend (including good weather) and that we all have great experiences.

A run without purpose

Today's run (street): 2.25 miles

Runner' World has a story in the August issue that suggests that you have a purpose for every running workout. Examples include building endurance, getting faster and simulating race conditions. This morning the purpose of my run was simply continuity.

It's been a taxing week in the office and I count on my daily run to bring balance to life's pressures and stress. Some mornings I get up and run hard, usually when I'm training for a race. Other times I'm happy to complete my route after averaging a mid-9:00 pace. In both those cases I usually feel like I've contributed to my fitness.

Today's run was more obligatory than tactical. I started out slow, almost as a concession to my begrudging agreement to run. I reached my first mile two minutes later than I normally do and that prompted me to step up the pace. As much as I'm told to run without a watch, seeing my performance playing out on the digital display can motivate me to work harder.

My increased focus on speed allowed me to make up for that first mile pace and I completed the last third of a shortened course at 10K race pace. In the end I was glad to have run and satisfied with my performance recovery. Still, I'm hoping for a more purposeful attitude when I go out for my next run.

Runners: know thy enemy!

Today's run: 2.6 miles

Hoping to keep my cool

Like most runners, my performance degrades with a rise in temperature. Adding humidity makes it worse and it all makes sense scientifically. If your body needs to cool itself, it will deplete your body's fluid level through sweat. This leads to a loss in plasma volume and a reduction in oxygen to muscles because blood low is being pushed to the surface of the skin. Humidity prevents efficient evaporation of sweat that dissipates heat and helps regulate body temperature.

It seems like every running magazine I read has an article or two about running in the heat. They all say basically the same thing -- that proper hydration (including electrolyte balance) is key. They are also pretty clear that running in extreme heat can drive your body temperature up to dangerous levels. At that point it goes from bad to worse.

I'm thinking about this because I'm two weekends away from the Dirty Sock 10K trail run. It's a great race that goes through the woods and around a lake. It's always held the third weekend in August and the two times I've run it conditions ranged from high heat and humidity to high heat, humidity and rain. Last year I drank 24 ounces of water after I finished and still felt depleted. It wasn't until my daughter brought over an electrolyte drink that I finally felt restored and balanced.

This morning's run did not feel humid (though it was) and I appreciated the temperatures that were still in the 70's. I had a decent run and by the time I came home I was drenched with sweat but I didn't feel overheated. I'm looking for a singlet to wear on race day. Despite the "wife-beater" look that I've always avoided, that may be a good tool for keeping my body temperature down. One thing I'm counting on is that Dirty Sock will fall on a hot and humid day.

Puzzling find beneath my Hattori's

Hey, that's nowhere near my mid-foot!

I did both of my weekend runs on the treadmill and used my second pair of Hattori's that have yet to see pavement. Out of curiosity, I looked at the bottoms to see if the tread picked up a wear pattern from the belt and noticed some evidence of impact on the front medial side. That looked like I may still be pronating, even with a mid-foot strike. I also thought that it may just be belt dust that attached to the out-sole.

When I looked at my primary pair of Hattori's I was quite surprised to see that both heel pads showed clear evidence of wear towards the outside edge of the shoes. These are outdoor shoes and there's no other explanation except that I'm still pushing off the heel at some point in my strike.

This is puzzling because I know I'm landing on my mid-foot when I run in the Hattori's and the white EVA shows an imprint that supports that fact. Clearly there are two points of contact when I land and I'm guessing that I glance off the heel and then strike ahead of the arch. No too bad but not what I want. Perhaps I'll make a trip to a local running store in the next couple of weeks and ask to have my gait videoed. Even if my theory is confirmed I'm not sure if there's much I can do unless I want to go back to a lightweight stability shoe.

Dirty Sock prep: 60 humid minutes on the treadmill

Today's run (treadmill): 5.5 miles

The rain was coming down hard at 6:30 AM and the frequent thunder told me that the storm was close. I hoped that it would move through quickly so I could go out for a long run later in the morning. A check on weather.com showed no hope for a letup so I changed my plans in favor of an indoor workout.

If I had gone to Bethpage State Park I would have targeted 8 miles, but I knew that spending that much time on a treadmill would make me a candidate for the insane asylum. I decided that I would run for 60 minutes, including some time for warm-up and cool down. At the start, the temperature in the guest room seemed pleasant, and I had my trusty water bottle to help keep me hydrated. At the ten minute mark I still felt relatively dry and I wondered how long I would go until the sweating began.

By the time I reached the 15 minute mark I felt like I was in a sauna and I questioned whether I could really go the full 60 minutes. By 20:00 I noted that I was 1/3 my planned time and my running shorts were just about soaked through with sweat. I didn't bother wearing a shirt because I could get away without one indoors. I regretted that I'd forgotten to wear a HRM. It would have been interesting to record my physical response to the heat and humidity over the duration of my run.

I kept drinking water and by the 30 minute/halfway mark I knew that I'd be okay for 30 more. Passing 40 minutes was a welcome milestone and I reached five miles a little before the 50 minute mark. I continued for another 5 minutes and then dropped my pace and finished with a five minute cool down at around 11 minutes per mile.

I wasn't delirious when I stepped off the treadmill but I was sweating profusely and I made a beeline to the refrigerator and grabbed some Gatorade G2.  The very humid conditions, heat and 60 minutes of motion were exactly what I was after today. The conditions at the Dirty Sock 10K are usually brutal, not unlike today's. It occurred to me near the end of my run that I must be in decent shape to have gone through today's workout without quitting or collapsing in exhaustion afterward. I'm hoping that hard workouts like the ones this weekend will yield a good result on race day.

Weekend video report: The Emerging Runner Hill Challenge

Today's workout (treadmill): 24 minutes

Saturday has been a busy day and an early morning appointment prevented me from getting out for my run. That was too bad as conditions were perfect at 8:00 AM when I would have run. By the time I got free, it was already well after lunch. I had just read about TrailRunner Magazine's Hill Challenge that is going on at the Outdoor Retailer show right now in Salt Lake City. I thought that might be the perfect workout for me, given my limited time.

The TrailRunner hill challenge pits two people against each other on treadmills where they compete to see who can cover the most distance in 15 minutes while running at a 10% incline. 15 minutes seems like a short enough time to endure almost anything but I'm not a 20-something super athlete and I know my limits. Instead I did the Emerging Runner Hill Challenge which involved running 24 minutes with increasing speeds and inclines in the first half, followed by decreasing speeds and elevation during the second.

I began the run at 4 MPH with a zero incline and at 00:59 bumped to 1% and 4.1 MPH respectively. I continued this way until I reached 10% and 5.1 MPH which I held for a couple of minutes. After that I decreased by .1 MPH and 1% incline until I finished. I kept my Amphipod hand bottle filled with icy water at the ready and drank liberally throughout my workout. I was sweating profusely by the 10 minute mark and, despite the increasingly easier conditions the run still felt like hard work. 

It was great to complete a hard workout in less than 30 minutes -- perfect for the time I had. Thanks to my daughter (and camera person) I was able to file this weekend's video update. I hope to get out for a long run on Sunday. Let's see if the rain will hold off, at least throughout the morning.

A change of course, ever so slight

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

I've been working half days on most of the Fridays this summer. It's a great way to extend the weekend and since many people don't even come in on Friday, I find these mornings especially productive. The only issue I have is whether to run early or wait until noon and run in Central Park. We're having an impromptu pizza party at noon so I opted to go out for my run this morning.

I just couldn't bear to run the same route that I've fallen into over the past couple of months. The advantage of repeating this course is that I can know instantly, after I finish, how well I did compared with other days. I also know that following this course will get me back home in time to stay on schedule. But after a while the same course grows tedious, so I set out on a different path and chose streets randomly.

I ended up covering just about the same distance as I do on my regular route but at least the scenery was different. I came home a few seconds later that I had on runs earlier in the week, but overall I was running the same. I'm looking forward to a run without time restraints tomorrow and I hope to cover at least 8 miles on one of the days. In the meantime, this morning's route was a nice change from the usual roads.restraints

Why runners should be kookoo for Coco Puffs

Probably too processed to deliver epicatechin - but yummy!

Today's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

I know that they don't sell Count Chocula at Whole Foods but maybe they should. According to an article in yesterday's NY Times, epicatechin, cacao’s primary nutritional ingredient, has been identified as a factor to measurably improve athletic performance. In a study with mice who were tested using epicatechin against mice that didn't, "The fittest rodents...were those that had combined epicatechin and exercise. They covered about 50 percent more distance than the control animals."


Now mice and people obviously differ but the findings were that epicatechin facilitated the creation of new capillaries and new mitochondria. The study said that the combination of exercise and epicatechin yielded the clearest benefits. This morning I had a small piece of dark chocolate before my elliptical workout and I did well, although there are multiple reasons to explain that. The fact is, epicatechin is a flavonol, and, as the Times puts it, "a class of molecules that are thought to have widespread effects on the body." 

I don't believe in supplements but I do think it makes sense that better nutrition will lead to better performance. If that nutrition comes in the form of dark chocolate, who am I to complain?

Seven seconds separates two runs

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

This morning's run was almost exactly like yesterdays. In fact, the only difference was that today's run took me seven seconds longer than on Tuesday. Same route, same weather conditions, same start time. I think my seven second difference happened in the first few minutes when I got off to a slightly slower start. My standard practice has been to start at a moderate pace and gradually increase my speed so that I attain negative splits on every mile. I try to throw in some anaerobic sprinting at the end of my last mile which, at the end, tells me a lot about my state of conditioning.

Although Sunday's 6+ mile run would have been a typical weekend distance for me a few months ago, it was a noticeable jump in length compared to my recent runs. I was glad not to have suffered any ill affects from going 30% longer than usual. No second day hamstring or calf aches like I'd get following a 10K race or a 10 mile recreational run. I'm thinking about upping my distance even further this weekend and targeting 8 miles of LSD. I think if I reestablish my long run base to the level I maintained in winter I'll do okay at the Dirty Sock 10K later this month.

Listen to your body, not your mind

Today's run (street) 2.5 miles

I suspect that I'm behind on my sleep since I've been depending on my alarm to get me up every morning. It's funny how the same thought plays in my head every morning as I pour my coffee: "You're obviously tired so why not rest today?" Somehow I manage to ignore that suggestion and head back upstairs to prepare for my run. I'm learning that the voice in my head has no credibility.

I always turn on bright lights when I'm getting ready for my morning workout. I've read that light signals the brain to stop producing melatonin and that seems to work as I'm generally alert by the time I've dressed. A couple of bites of an energy bar tells my body that I'm fueled and I top it off with a few ounces of coffee.
 
My Garmin found its satellites quickly this morning which saved me some valuable minutes. I took off expecting my legs to feel less than responsive after doing a long-ish run on Sunday. That wasn't the case and by mile one I was cruising. I didn't break any speed records but I did maintain my target pace without much trouble. It's going to be very humid today but at 4:00 AM the air felt a little chilly. That surely contributed to my positive performance. I completed my run feeling as though I could have run for hours. Unfortunately, I had a train to catch.

I've found my minimalism threshold

Dare I say "a little too minimal"?

It wouldn't meet the definition of a "Two-a-day" but I did get out late in the afternoon on Sunday for a bike ride. My wife and daughter had gone over to the middle school to play tennis and I thought I'd surprise them with a visit. After I saw them I did a ride around the neighborhood and followed a route that I commonly run. Once again I was amazed how quickly I covered the roads on my bike compared to when I run them. It's also a lot easier to ride these roads, especially the hills, but there's something about the simplicity of running that I far prefer. Must be this minimalist mindset I've adopted.

Regarding minimalism, I made my second attempt to run in the Invisible Shoes huaraches yesterday and it didn't go well. I tried the sandals with socks (much to wife's horror) but kept in the backyard to prevent her any further embarrassment. I'd hoped the socks would protect my toes from the lace but it actually exacerbated the discomfort. I shed the socks and tried another run but it was so uncomfortable I had to stop.

I really wanted to reach the point of minimalism where all that existed between my bare foot and the road was a thin layer of rubber. The Hattori's get me very close to that and it feels correct and natural. The huaraches may be a good solution for others, but I know I'd need to invest a lot of time acclimating to the feel of these "shoes." The Hattori's work for me already. I think I'll stick with them.