Women's 5k Run!!

Yesterday I competed in the SARR Women's 5k race. Yep, a race ONLY for the ladies. There's something special about being in a race with women only on the roads. There were over 100 male volunteers...friends, fathers, brothers and husbands to most of the women in the field, which made the race special for nearly every one involved. Jer and Chassy couldn't volunteer because they had a workout that morning, but they did cheer me on at various points along the course and held off until after the race to get in their run. It marked the second year I've raced it, the last time being back before my senior year of college in 2008.

Start of the race!

The Women's Run was my second race of the summer, this time with about six weeks of solid training under my belt. My first race was the Carrabba's Relay where I ran an unflattering 3.07mi split at 6:09 pace. Yesterday I covered the hilly course at 5:44 pace for an overall time of 17:47.5. It's the exact same time I ran at the UTSA Diploma Dash in February, which was an easier course in more pleasant weather. It is also the first time I've ever broken 18 for the 5k during the summer. My splits definitely reflected the layout of the course: 5:28, 5:37, 6:03, 38. Yep downhill for the first mile of the race, rolling hills for the second, but then ALL uphill for the last mile. 

Down the Hill

For fear of it being a short course I decided to map it out on mapmyrun.com. SARR provided a lovely map during packet pickup and from all the great pictures that were taken it was easy to determine where the exact start and finish were, and luckily it wasn't a short course. Although this might seem a little OCD to some people, it brings me comfort in knowing exactly what pace I was able to cover a particular distance so when days like yesterday happen, in which I race better than expected, I'm able to really enjoy it! 

Up the Hill

Since it was just a fun summer race to see where my current fitness level was at, there wasn't a whole lot of strategy going into it. Just to go out there and have some fun! If any plan existed it was simply to go out hard, since the majority of the first mile was downhill, and take it kinda easy going up the major hills off of La Jara. I ended up leading the entire race (except the first 70m). It was interesting because they had a lead vehicle, but they also had three volunteers on bikes that were leading the race as well. However overboard it may have seemed at least I didn't get lost! I got to race with some amazing ladies! A couple of the Soler Divas came out, Cynthia and Rochelle, along with Emily and Janey Dunn who are the sweetest and some of the most determined girls I've ever met. 

Great Ladies and Fast Too! Top 5 Overall.

For some additional comparison: last year, during the exact same weekend, I ran an 18:40 5k in Houston. It was pretty much flat as a pancake, just a tad steamier. The 6 weeks leading up to the Houston race mileage was at 41, 61, 73, 78, 80, and 80 (avg 68). This year mileage was at 57, 79, 85, 93, 78, and 95 (avg 81). Things are starting to come a little easier and I'm adjusting to the mileage better as well. I'm really excited about where the next couple of months will take me in my fitness! Though days like yesterday make me wish I could race more often I know in order to do well down the line tougher workouts will need to take precedence over racing. Next race up is 5 weeks out: The Sunrise 10k in Alamo Heights! I can't wait!

Training Talk: Back in Shape, Finally

Today marks exactly 5 weeks of running for Emily and me since we returned from our 100% running-free honeymoon. During that time, Emily has been following the workout schedule that I wrote up for her: a nice, conservative plan involving gradually increasing intensity and volume. I, on the other hand, jumped up to 99 miles during my 2nd week of running. Why? Because I am not good at following my own advice. And I’m a little dumb sometimes.

But, it could be a lot worse. Luckily, getting injured from sudden increases in volume is NOT one of my weaknesses. So, I trucked through 99 miles that first full week, then dropped a bit to 91, then back up to 106, then 100 miles last week. During that time, I’ve mostly felt a little sluggish, and just generally out of shape. That started to turn around at the beginning of last week: I ran the last 8ish miles of my 15 mile run at my parents’ house in Houston at about 6:35 pace. Then on Tuesday I headed over to McAllister Park for one of my staple workouts: 1 on, 1 off fartlek for 2 laps of the park, or a total of 3.7 miles. I averaged 5:41 pace for the whole thing, which is fairly close to how fast I’ve done it when I’ve been in my best shape (I averaged 5:37 pace for that workout last spring, 11 days before I ran my 5k PR of 15:16). Thursday was a solid double of progressive run in the morning, sprints in the afternoon.

Then this morning, I finished turning the corner: I set out to do a “fastish” long run of 18 miles at anywhere from 6:35 to 6:45 pace. I hit the first mile in 7:08 - which is pretty damn fast for me at 6am - and hit 4 miles in 26:49, already 6:42 pace. By the time I got to the halfway mark, I was down to 6:30 pace, and without any noticeable increase in effort. I hit the last 9 miles in 54:26, or about 6:03 pace. The whole run was 18 miles in just a little under 1 hour and 53 minutes, a total average of 6:16 pace. I can’t remember the last time I was able to just relax and click down the pace like that, and it’s got me really excited about the next few months of training. So let’s hear it for a little bit of patience, because you never know when all the training you’ve done will start to pay off. With this little bit of confirmation that things are going well, it’s time to start really getting serious with training again, and see if I can do what it takes to break through to a new level this fall.

A Day in the Life

Sometimes at work, when people find out that I run anywhere from 80-120 miles a week, they ask something along the lines of “how do you do it?” Well of course I usually give some sort of glib answer like “left foot, right foot, repeat”, but here is the more practical (and detailed answer):

5:30am: Wake up, get dressed, etc.
5:40am: Out the door
5:40am - 7:05am: Run run run # 1
7:05am - 7:40am: Shower, dressed for work, grab some food
7:40am: Off to work
8am - 5:45pm: Work work work
6:10pm: Home again
6:30pm: Out the door for run #2
7:10pm: DONE!
7:45pm: Dinner with my lovely wife, play with dogs, relax, etc.
9:30pm: Bedtime

So that’s pretty much the gist of it. The thing that occurs to me is that this schedule would not really be practical if Emily were not also a runner. Even beyond just tolerating this absurd amount of time exercising, she also joins me on a lot of my easy runs, which means an extra hour and a half per day together to enjoy each others’ company. And who else but a runner would tolerate 9:30 bedtimes? The crazy thing is, there are plenty of runners out there with even more difficult/hard to manage schedules (not to mention kids!), so I try to never think “oh man, this is so tough.” I enjoy running, and I’d say on about 90% of my runs I have a pretty good time, so doing little things like going to bed early isn’t so much a sacrifice as an adaptation. And speaking of, Emily informs me that it’s getting a little late right now...

You Just Gotta Want It

Something has happened to me over the course of the last couple weeks that has surprised even me: I suddenly have the desire to train, and train harder than ever before. I am preparing for the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon in November, and although there will be little goals set along the way that I’d like to reach, this is my big race for the fall - much like it was last year.

There is a huge difference between a year ago and today though: Now, there is desire, and dare I say it, passion. However, I think the most important change is me finally believing in myself. I kept trying to tell myself last year that just as long as I make it through the training I can do it, but it wasn’t enough. That’s not truly believing in yourself. There wasn’t a desire to be the very best runner I could be, not like there is now anyway. I want to wake up early every morning to get in those necessary miles. I want to do the drills and core work that I know will help strengthen and power me through those tough workouts Jer is methodically planning out. I want to make sure I get 8+ hours of sleep a night because I know how important it is in the recovery process of training. Surprisingly enough I also want to eat in a way that will help prepare my body for all those 100+ mile weeks that are ahead.

If you know me at all you know I’m a pretty competitive person. I’m not going to set my sights on something without properly training for it. I was terrified of the type of training that was in store for me during the summer and fall of 2010. I tried to hide it and pretend like it wasn’t there, this fear, but it took over in a way that was destructive to my training and in turn my performance.

We (Jer and I) set a goal of 2:46 last year for the marathon. We adjusted the goal as time came closer and we realized I wasn’t quite there yet. Once race day came along there wasn’t much I could do to change how I was going to perform, all the work was already done. I raced my heart out on November 14th of last year, but I wasn’t prepared mentally for that type of racing. Don’t get me wrong, I pushed myself more than ever before on that day, but the pushing should’ve been there the past 6 months leading up to it.

Sometimes I think I wasn’t ready to run a marathon last year, mentally. It’s 26.2 miles non-stop. That’s a long way to go. But I also don’t think I’d be feeling the way that I am now without having run it last fall. The first time racing a marathon you truly get a feel for what it’s like and no workout is ever going to compare. There is also the possibility of having low iron levels this past fall. We got my blood checked out in the early spring of 2011 and noticed how dangerously close to being a full out anemic I was. We’ll never know if my ferritin level had anything to do with my performance during the training leading up to the marathon, but it’s an interesting thing to note.

Anyway, I now find myself pushing the envelope more during workouts. Granted I’ve only been seriously training for the past 3 weeks, but Jer and I both noticed this desire that’s suddenly surfaced. There is this willingness to take a leap and really go for it. I look back on the past 6 years of training and I can honestly say I’ve never been this focused before on wanting to be the very best that I am capable of being. It could definitely be related to the fact that a lot of stressors are gone too. The whole getting a masters degree while planning for a wedding at the same time as having a demanding full time job is (thankfully) over. Attempting to train was becoming harder and harder, especially as the wedding and graduation date neared.

Lately things have calmed down and the hardest thing to deal with now is walking that very thin line between training at the highest possible level while avoiding injury. Here’s to seeing what happens over the course of the next 4.5 months and hoping this new found passion to explore my limits sticks around until then.

Jer's Sunday Training Talk: Running Form

I would estimate that 95% of the questions I get about running are related to two topics: the Boston Marathon, and running form. When I get the latter type of question, I would also estimate that 95% of the time it means that the person asking read the book “Born to Run” recently. I’ve never read it myself, but from all the various questions and comments I’ve heard, I feel like I have a pretty good idea what the gist of it is. So here are a couple of common misconceptions that I would like to clear up.

Forefoot striking is the more efficient way to run.
For some, yes. For others, no. Do I know why? Nope. I leave that to the many fine folks out there with degrees in exercise physiology. What I do know is that there are far too many elite runners who have run really fast with their little elite heels hitting the ground first for that to be true. When someone is truly at the top, and I mean world record, Olympic champion kind of top, you have to assume that they are doing most things pretty close to perfectly. If heel striking really slowed you down even 1%, no one would do it. For an elite marathoner, 1% means more than a minute of improvement, and the difference between 4-5 digit appearance fees and 6 digit ones. Although there are a slew of examples available to show that elite runners heel strike pretty frequently (including the current American record holder in the marathon), the one I keep coming back to is Alberto Salazar. In 1980 Salazar DEBUTED at the New York marathon - not an easy course - in 2:09:43. The following year he would run 2:08:13, although the mismeasured course was 150 meters (or about 30 seconds) short. Salazar, in an unrabbited race, on what is universally known to be a slow course, with a textbook heel strike, ran faster than all but TWO Americans have ever run on ANY course. Ever. Only one American has won New York since that time three decades ago, and he is a heel striker as well.

Alberto Salazar is to the far right heel striking it up

Barefoot running is some sort of universal cure for running ills.
Personally I think barefoot running is awesome. I would in fact hazard a guess that nearly every serious runner out there enjoys a good barefoot cooldown around the infield after a hard workout or race. But when I see some guy out running on asphalt in his bare feet (or in Vibram’s or whatever), I have to grimace. I do think there’s something to the idea of working the muscles in our feet and lower legs that can be neglected when wearing more supportive shoes, but when you compare the rewards of focusing on doing good training with the rewards of focusing on running “naturally” (whatever the hell that means), it’s pretty obvious which one gets you more bang for your buck. And unfortunately this barefoot craze also ties into point #1 about believing a certain foot strike is the most important thing in the world. As mentioned above, it isn’t. And those little muscles in your lower legs and feet that barefoot running works out so much? Put on a pair of racing flats, do a good hard track workout, and I guarantee you they’ll get stronger from that too.

Changing how you run can’t be that hard, right?
If you truly want to jump on the barefoot/forefoot/whatever bandwagon, and successfully change your habitual running form, you had better be prepared for some work. Changing your form is not thinking about how you land while doing strides twice a week. You will need to:
1. Drastically reduce your workload until your body can adapt to different stresses.
2. Accept that you are intentionally harming your short term performance (mainly due to #1)
3. Focus on using the new form ALL of the time. My bet is that a coach, filming yourself running, and other things like that are an absolute necessity to make a switch.
4. Accept that you are in all likelihood embracing a higher risk of injury. With the exception of people who are already chronically injured, the way you run now is how your body has adapted to doing it. Changing that is no different than moving to a different country and finding out you have no immunity to local diseases.

And finally, a caveat
This is not to say that there aren’t beginning runners, as well as the rare collegiate athlete, who simply has atrocious form that needs to be fixed. It’s more to give a realistic view of the reality of these issues, so that we can all give better answers to our co-workers when they come asking. Because you know they will.

Oh the Fun of Carrabba's!!

It was time again for the Carrabba's Half Marathon Relay! For a race that is held in mid June in San Antonio it is still an exhilarating race experience. It is by far the most crowded McAllister Park gets any of the 365 days out of the year. The back pavilion is surrounded by eager relay members deciding at the last minute who will run which leg. The strategy behind picking legs is half the fun of the most popular relay race in San Antonio.

This was my fourth year racing it. The first time was sometime back in high school. I honestly have no idea when since I couldn't find results that far back (I have the worst memory). I ran it with a couple younger girls who I'm pretty sure ran faster than I did that day. The next time was years later right before my senior year of college. I raced it with my college teammates and we were hauling! The course was different and we're 99% sure it was shorter than a half marathon. Last year (2010) marked the third year for me. I had the second leg and accidentally ran the first loop instead of the one I was supposed to run because the volunteers didn't realize the second leg of racers were coming through. It wouldn't have been a big deal, except the first loop is the longest one! We still won our division and got a chance to wear our old high school singlets! That brings us back to this year. I got to race with some awesome ladies while sporting Soler's singlets from start to finish. Here's to hoping next year will be just as fun!

If you live in San Antonio and have never raced Carrabba's I would recommend doing it next year. It helps to break up summer training, it's a wonderful experience for people of all ages, and is run on one of the most shaded courses you'll find in San Antonio.

2008 Waterbear Racing- 1:11:34, 1st Open Mixed, 4th Overall

2010 H.S. Masters- Relivin' the Dream 1:17:25, 1st Open Mixed, 7th Overall



2011 Soler's Sports Ringers- 1:22:40, 1st Open Women, 6th Overall



By far my favorite picture of the day

 

The exchange zone which is surrounded by hundreds of anxious runners!

Jer's Sunday Training Talk, Part 1: Summer Heat

Emily and I live in San Antonio, Texas. Em has lived here her whole life, and I am essentially a local at this point, having lived here for the last seven years. Even before I became a full time San Antonian, I was a resident of Clear Lake, Texas, where the heat and humidity will bake you from the inside out. Given all of this, I consider myself something of an expert in training in hot summer weather. Or if not an expert, at least an experienced amateur. It is sometimes said that training in hot, humid conditions is similar to training at altitude, and offers similar benefits. This is a dirty, dirty lie.

Training in Texas in the summer sucks. It sucks big time. Pretending otherwise is either wishful thinking or the beginnings of outright delusion. I tend to look at two things when evaluating just how shitty it is outside: temperature and dew point. Temperature we all know and understand, and dew point is a measure of the amount of moisture in the air; the temperature at which the air can no longer hold additional moisture, thus forming dew. What I consider the usual for San Antonio is a temperature of 70-75 degrees in the morning, rising to 95-100, with a dew point of about 70-75 degrees. Today for example, we had a low of 78, a high of 103, and a dew point of 72 degrees. The general consensus is that dew points of over 65 is pretty gross, and over 70 is downright miserable.

Elite track and field athletes live in places like Portland, Oregon, where today the temperature started at 54 degrees, and rose to a whopping 64 degrees. And in case you were wondering, the dew point was 54 degrees, firmly within the “wow this feels terrific” range. I say more power to them, but if us Joe Schmos are to keep up, we need to have a well planned strategy for dealing with the conditions facing us.

1. Drink water. Lots of water. More water than you previously could have imagined yourself drinking. When I do my morning 10 miler, I tend to lose about 4 pounds of water weight. Not to get gross or anything, but it sometimes takes until about 3pm before my pee finally gets back to being clear. If I didn't drink water continuously throughout the day, I probably wouldn't even make it to the 2^nd run.

2. Understand that workouts will be slower. For someone like me, this trends to about 10 seconds per mile slower. For others (like Emily when her asthma is acting up) it can be closer to 30 seconds per mile. It doesn't really matter; the fact that running in bad conditions sucks doesn't mean anything about how you'll do in good conditions 3-4 months from now. But if you try to force yourself to hit some predetermined idea of “tempo” pace, you might end up digging a nice, deep hole to fall into.

3. Get the bulk of your running done in the morning. It seems obvious, but damned if people don't still have trouble sucking it up and waking up early. I've been doing 9-10 miles in the morning, with 4-6 miles after work. I probably wouldn't live if I reversed those mileage amounts. Get up while it's dark and (relatively) cool, and get most or all of your running done. Or pay the price.

That's about it. Take it for what it's worth, but as someone who's done 100-115 miles a week in South Texas for more than one summer, I feel like I'm at least a somewhat credible source. How you train during the summer has a profound effect on what results you get in the fall, so it's all too important that us Southern folk overcome adversity and train like champs. If there are weaknesses in how I train from June to August, it will be way too late to compensate for them from September to October. So here's to ignoring the heat and getting it done, and making Quenton Cassidy proud.